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2024/25 NBA Over/Unders: Southeast Division

September 9th, 2024 at 9:42am CST by Luke Adams

With the 2024/25 NBA regular season set to tip off next month, we’re getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and continuing an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.

With the help of the lines from a series of sports betting sites – including Bovada and BetOnline – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

In 2023/24, our voters went 16-14 on their over/under picks. Can you top that in ’24/25?

We’ll continue our series today with the Southeast Division…

Orlando Magic

Miami Heat

Atlanta Hawks

Charlotte Hornets

Washington Wizards

Previous voting results:

Atlantic

  • Boston Celtics (58.5 wins): Over (69.7%)
  • New York Knicks (53.5 wins): Over (58.8%)
  • Philadelphia 76ers (52.5 wins): Under (51.7%)
  • Toronto Raptors (30.5 wins): Under (58.7%)
  • Brooklyn Nets (19.5 wins): Over (54.3%)

Southwest

  • Dallas Mavericks (49.5 wins): Over (78.0%)
  • Memphis Grizzlies (47.5 wins): Under (65.6%)
  • New Orleans Pelicans (46.5 wins): Under (60.6%)
  • Houston Rockets (43.5 wins): Under (51.4%)
  • San Antonio Spurs (36.5 wins): Under (52.9%)
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Magic To Sign Mac McClung To Exhibit 10 Contract

September 4th, 2024 at 4:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mac McClung has agreed to a deal with the Magic, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, a source tells Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).

The 25-year-old guard was named MVP of the G League last season, but he’s best known for winning the past two Slam Dunk Contests at All-Star Weekend. He has limited NBA experience, appearing in two games with the Sixers on a two-way deal after becoming the 2023 dunk champion and playing one game each with the Bulls and Lakers during the 2021/22 season.

McClung was also in training camp with Orlando last fall on an Exhibit 10 deal. He was waived before the start of the season and joined the Magic’s G League affiliate in Osceola, where he averaged 25.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists in 27 games.

Orlando already has 15 players with standard contracts, so it will be difficult for McClung to earn a spot on the 15-man roster. The team has a pair of two-way openings remaining, so that’s likely his best path back to the NBA.

McClung has received numerous NBA opportunities since going undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2021. He signed two contracts with the Lakers, a pair of 10-day deals with Chicago and spent time with Golden State before joining Philadelphia and Orlando.

If McClung fails to win a roster spot, the Exhibit 10 contract will allow him to earn a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with Osceola.

The signing will give the Magic 17 players on their training camp roster, four short of the league maximum.

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Nine NBA Teams Have Two-Way Contract Openings

September 1st, 2024 at 9:11am CST by Rory Maher

Two-way contracts allow NBA teams to carry three extra players in addition to the 15 on their regular season roster. These players generally bounce back and forth between the NBA and G League, but remain under team control and can’t be poached by rival franchises.

With training camps set to begin in about a month, there are still nine NBA teams with open two-way spots. Two clubs — the Nets and Magic — each have a pair of two-way openings, while the remaining seven teams have one opening apiece. That means there are currently 11 two-way openings in the NBA.

Here’s the full list of NBA teams with two-way vacancies, as shown by our 2024/25 two-way contract tracker:

  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Charlotte Hornets
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Detroit Pistons
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Orlando Magic
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • Washington Wizards

Technically, the Cavaliers have yet to finalize their reported two-way deal with JT Thor, but we expect that to occur at some point before training camp — that’s why they are not included on this list.

Since two-way deals are non-guaranteed and don’t count against the salary cap, it’s pretty common to see players shuffled in and out of rosters both before and during the season. It’s worth noting that Exhibit 10 deals can be converted to two-way contracts under certain conditions — these teams may be waiting until training camp and preseason to get a better look at young players.

First introduced in 2017, two-way deals have undergone some rule changes in recent years, and the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement has updated them further. Here are some key points to remember:

  • Teams can now carry three players on two-way contracts, rather than two.
  • Two-way players are eligible to be active for up to 50 of their team’s 82 regular season games. If a team isn’t carrying a full 15-man standard roster, its two-way players can only be active for a combined 90 games.
  • Players on two-way contracts will earn $578,577 in 2024/25, half of the rookie minimum.
  • Two-way contracts can’t be signed after March 4.

You can check out our glossary entry to learn more about two-way contracts.

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And-Ones: Klutch Lawsuit, 2025 Prospects, Hewitt, Contenders

August 26th, 2024 at 7:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Klutch Sports Group has issued a response to a lawsuit filed in federal court by longtime NBA agent Mark Termini. Klutch, headed by super-agent Rich Paul, has asked the federal judge overseeing the case to let the Players’ Association arbitrate this dispute, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic tweets.

Klutch contends that Termini ignored NBPA rules to “publicly advance a tale where he (and not Paul) is responsible for Paul’s and Klutch’s unprecedented success.” Klutch also asked the federal judge to dismiss parts of complaint if it is not granted arbitration.

Termini, a former associate of Klutch, is suing for $4.9MM plus interest for an alleged breach of contract. Termini claims Klutch began paying him less than he was owed as the “lead negotiator” on several contracts from 2018-20.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Cooper Flagg, the top prospect in next year’s draft, has a skill set that compares to the Magic’s star, Paolo Banchero, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report writes. The Rutgers’ duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey — considered the No. 2 and 3 prospects — have comparable skills to Coby White and Brandon Miller, respectively. Wasserman draws suitable comparisons for all projected lottery picks in his story.
  • Paul Hewitt has been named head coach of the NBA G League United team in the upcoming Fall Invitational and FIBA Intercontinental Cup, the league tweets. Hewitt is currently the head coach of the Clippers’ G League squad, the San Diego Clippers.
  • The Bleacher Report staff takes a look at 10 wild card NBA title contenders who could make noise in the postseason. The teams are all outside FanDuel’s current top 10 in the odds for the NBA championship next season. Among those teams are the Clippers, Cavaliers and Magic.
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Southeast Notes: Magic, Adebayo, Ware, Lambert

August 24th, 2024 at 8:28am CST by Tristan Tucker

After tearing down the iteration of the team that featured the likes of Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon, the Magic are finally moving toward where they want to be in the league’s hierarchy, Keith Smith of Spotrac writes. Headlined by Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, the Magic made the playoffs as the No. 5 seed. And while they didn’t necessarily go all-in this summer, they added an NBA champion and top-tier role player in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Banchero asserted recently that the Magic belong in the conversation about the East’s best teams. Assuming he, Wagner, Suggs and others continue to progress in linear fashion, that might be true. As Smith observes, the Magic don’t have a single untradable contract.

On the flip side of things, Orlando is still very young and added 2024 first-rounder Tristan Da Silva to a group of deep-bench reserves that also features Anthony Black and Jett Howard. While they aren’t necessarily on a two-timeline approach since their stars are all in their early 20s, the Magic continue to have intriguing upside for growth beyond their biggest names.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Heat‘s selection of center Kel’el Ware in this year’s draft could put the team in position to play Bam Adebayo at the power forward position more often. However, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel believes that Adebayo won’t push for such a move and would be content with any opportunity to simply expand his game. Adebayo shot 35.7% on 42 three-point attempts last season and could increase that volume this season.
  • In a separate, subscriber-only story, Winderman ponders whether Ware is ready for – or deserving of – regular minutes as a rookie. The No. 15 overall pick averaged 18.3 points and 8.4 rebounds in Summer League, but ultimately Miami will decide when he’s ready for responsibility at the NBA level. In my view, the Heat have done an excellent job in assessing which rookies have been ready to contribute right away. For example, Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez quickly established themselves as rotation pieces despite varying levels of college experience. On the other hand, the club took a more patient approach to Nikola Jovic‘s insertion into the lineup while he fleshed out his defensive game.
  • The Hornets are hiring Ryan Lambert as their director of amateur scouting, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Lambert was previously with the Thunder since 2012, working his way up to a senior amateur evaluation scout position last season.
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And-Ones: Diamond RSNs, Dragic, Nowtizki, Oppenheimer

August 23rd, 2024 at 8:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Diamond Sports Group – the parent company of the Bally Sports regional networks – announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement with the NBA to continue local broadcasts for 13 teams for the 2024/25 season, according to Evan Drellich and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

Diamond’s agreements, including a deal with the NHL to continue broadcasting nine teams’ games, will need to be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge. That hearing is scheduled for September 3, per Drellich and Vorkunov. While the new deals will only cover the 2024/25 season for now, they could extend beyond that if Diamond gets out of bankruptcy.

Diamond won’t be moving forward on deals with the Pelicans or the Mavericks, according to Friday’s announcement. The Pelicans news was reported earlier this month, with the team making plans to broadcasting its games for free over the air through Gray TV.

The Mavericks’ broadcast plans for the coming season remain unclear. However, The Athletic characterized the split with Dallas as mutual, and an NBA spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News that the Mavs “declined to continue distributing their games” through Diamond/Bally Sports, so it sounds like the club has a new plan in the works.

The 13 teams whose games will continue to air on Diamond’s regional sports networks in 2024/25 are the Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, Timberwolves, Thunder, Magic, and Spurs.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Saturday’s farewell game in honor of Goran Dragic‘s retirement – dubbed “The Night of the Dragon,” will stream on the NBA App at 2:00 pm Eastern time, the league announced today (Twitter link). Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic will team up as part of “Team Luka,” while Dragic’s roster features former MVP Steve Nash. Eurohoops published the full rosters on Twitter.
  • Speaking to reporters ahead of Dragic’s farewell game, Dirk Nowitzki suggested that he would like to continue working in basketball in some capacity, but he doesn’t plan on becoming a full-time coach for any team. “I don’t think I see coaching in my future,” Nowitzki said, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. “Things could change very quickly, but I don’t see myself as a team coach. I see more myself as an individual coach.”
  • Former Bucks assistant Josh Oppenheimer has accepted a job on Porter Moser‘s coaching staff at Oklahoma, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Milwaukee parted ways with Oppenheimer – who had a “close working relationship” with Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Wojnarowski – back in May as Doc Rivers made changes to his staff ahead of his first full season with the Bucks.
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Eastern Notes: Council, Celtics, Lillard, ’24/25 Standings

August 21st, 2024 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

As he prepares for his second NBA season, Sixers swingman Ricky Council has been participating this summer in the private runs held in Los Angeles by Sixers assistant Rico Hines, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Council is working on fine-tuning his game in the hope of earning rotation minutes in Philadelphia in 2024/25.

“This summer has been a whole lot of work, maybe even more than last year,” Council said. “Keeping my shooting touch up, working on different finishing moves, just learning the game, playing against good competition every day. All that’s going to help me in the long run.”

Having spent most of his rookie season in 2023/24 on a two-way contract, Council didn’t see a ton of action at the NBA level, but he impressed in his limited minutes, averaging 5.4 points in 32 outings (9.0 MPG), with a shooting line of .482/.375/.746. He knows that in order to get more playing time in ’24/25, he’ll have to show he can excel in a complementary role.

“We have Paul George. We have Tyrese Maxey and we have Joel Embiid,” Council said. “I don’t expect they’ll need much off the dribble in that nature. So I just need to be able to hit open shots and guard people.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • There’s “zero truth” to rumors that billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is interested in bidding on the Celtics, a source close to Bezos tells Nick Wingfield of The Information. As Kurt Helin of NBC Sports notes, there has been speculation in league circles that Bezos may have interest in being involved in an expansion franchise in Seattle, but it doesn’t sound like he’s looking to gain control of the defending champions, whose majority ownership group put its stake up for sale earlier this summer.
  • Appearing on the Club 520 Podcast (YouTube link), Bucks guard Damian Lillard admitted that his first year in Milwaukee last season was a “harder transition” than he expected. In addition to going through a tumultuous period in his personal life at the time, he also found it challenging to adjust to playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton after being traded from Portland to Milwaukee just days before training camp. “I’m having to get used to playing with two (great) players and I don’t want to stop them from doing what they do,” Lillard said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “But I got to find how to be the best version of me within this too, so it was just a lot of moving parts. It was more difficult than I thought it would would be.”
  • The Celtics sit atop ESPN’s predictions for the 2024/25 Eastern Conference standings, followed by the Knicks, Sixers, Cavaliers, and Bucks, in that order. The Magic round out ESPN’s projected group of top-six playoff teams, followed by the Pacers, Heat, Hawks, and Bulls in the play-in group. For what it’s worth, ESPN’s panel sees a big disparity between the the top two and bottom two play-in teams, projecting 46 wins for Indiana and 45 for Miami, compared to 31 for Atlanta and 30 for Chicago.
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Nets Notes: Future Trades, Schröder, Staff Changes

August 19th, 2024 at 8:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After the Mikal Bridges trade, it was widely speculated that the Nets would begin offloading a lot of their movable veteran contracts sooner rather than later. Now, as NetsDaily’s Net Income notes, the consensus among NBA observers is that players like Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith will open the season in Brooklyn.

The Nets accrued a massive haul for Bridges, whose only individual accolade during his NBA career is one All-Defensive Team honor. Brooklyn has five new first-round picks plus a swap from New York, in addition to a second-round selection and a massive trade exception.

As Net Income points out, the deals Brooklyn made this summer sending out Bridges and regaining control of the team’s 2025 and 2026 first-round picks arguably turned out better than those rumored at the trade deadline, so the front office figures to take a similar patient approach in its discussions involving players like Johnson and Finney-Smith.

The article dives into a variety of intriguing offseason plot lines:

  • Point guard Dennis Schröder, who is on an expiring $13MM contract, is another intriguing Nets trade candidate. The 31-year-old was the offensive fulcrum of a deep German national team this summer, although that program came up short of a medal. As Net Income observes, there has yet to be much chatter about a Schröder trade, but given how well he plays alongside Team Germany comrades Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner, and the Magic‘s need for a point guard upgrade, Orlando feels like a potential trade partner.
  • Head video coordinator Travis Bader has taken an assistant coaching gig with the Nets, while former assistant video coordinator Jim McDonnell has taken Bader’s old job, per NetsDaily. Capologist Makar Gevorkian has been promoted to vice president of basketball operations for alignment and strategic planning. Brooklyn still needs a new assistant general manager and a new co-head of the performance team.
  • In a separate two-part story at NetsDaily, Net Income takes an in-depth look at how the franchise has grown a significant global fan base under current team owner Joe Tsai.
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Magic’s Banchero: ‘We’re Right There’ With East’s Top Clubs

August 16th, 2024 at 5:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Paolo Banchero believes the Magic should be in the conversation with the Eastern Conference’s top teams, he declared on ESPN’s First Take (hat tip to Dan Savage of NBA.com).

“We feel like we’re right there,” the Magic’s star forward said. “We’re right there with all those (elite teams in the East). I remember last year, we started the year off as a top-two, top-three seed and everybody thought it was a fluke. Everybody thought we were going to be a play-in team and drop out the top of the East. We finished strong and got the fifth seed and had a chance to really grab the two seed at the end of the season. We were right there last year.”

Orlando finished with a 47-35 regular-season mark and was eliminated by the Cavaliers in the opening round of the playoffs.

The best-of-seven series went the distance and Banchero showed why he’d been named an All-Star in February. He averaged 27.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game during the postseason.

Banchero viewed it as a learning experience.

“I learned how to kind of slow the game down in the playoffs,” he said. “The first two games of the series in Cleveland, I felt a little sped up. I turned the ball over a lot. From Games 1 and 2 to Game 3, I think that’s where I made that jump, that adjustment and started to really slow the game down. I started to be really intentional (and) pick my spots on the floor to score and play-make.

“I also learned that you have to be in elite shape – not only physically, but mentally (in order) to deal with a seven-game series. It’s fun to go against the same team over and over, but it’s also a huge challenge. I think that’s something I took and will definitely use for next year.”

The Magic should be a more dangerous playoff team with the addition of shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Orlando brought in the former Nuggets wing on a three-year, $66MM deal in one of the biggest free agent signings this summer.

“Getting KCP is going to help us a lot,” Banchero said. “That’s a guy that’s won two championships in the last five seasons. He’s been around some of the greatest (players) of all-time. So, he’s going to be able to come out and make a huge difference for us. (Also), we’re a really young team and getting that playoff experience (and) a top-five seed last year (gives us) a lot of momentum heading into next season.”

Banchero, who doesn’t turn 22 until November, has lived up to his billing as the top overall pick in 2022. Orlando surprised many people by picking Banchero at that spot after his one-and-done season with Duke.

He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer and it’s a lock that he’ll get a max offer from the Magic.

“Orlando took a chance on me when they drafted me, and I am forever grateful for that,” he said. “I give them my love and respect for that because nobody knew that I was going to go number one. I didn’t know I was going to go number one. So, they put the trust in me to take that chance and take me number one. After that, I felt like it was my job to help them reach heights that haven’t been reached in a long time … We’re trying to take (a huge) jump next year and keep taking it one level at a time.”

Banchero’s appearance on the ESPN show can be viewed here.

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And-Ones: Marquee Matchups, Cap Room, Spending, Most Improved Teams

August 16th, 2024 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA revealed its full schedule for the 2024/25 regular season on Thursday, and while there generally aren’t any surprises on that schedule (it’s not like the NFL, where a team plays fewer than half of the league’s other clubs), it’s still worth circling specific dates and marquee matchups.

Zach Harper of The Athletic, Chris Mannix of SI.com, and ESPN did just that, with Harper highlighting 35 games he’s looking forward to, Mannix naming 10 games to watch, and ESPN identifying 23 games not to miss.

Unsurprisingly, the Knicks/Celtics regular season opener (October 22), Paul George‘s return to Los Angeles with the Sixers (November 6), and Klay Thompson‘s return to Golden State with the Mavericks (Nov. 12) made all three lists.

The other two matchups that showed up on all three lists? Wizards at Hawks on Oct. 28 in the first regular season matchup between this year’s top two draft picks (Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr) and Spurs at Thunder on Oct. 30 in this season’s first Victor Wembanyama/Chet Holmgren showdown.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • A total of seven NBA teams operated under the cap and used room to make moves this offseason. As Keith Smith of Spotrac writes, those clubs used their cap space in very different ways, with some – like the Sixers and Thunder – making splashes in free agency, some (such as the Hornets) focusing on taking in salary in trades, and one (the Jazz) using most of its room to renegotiate a star player’s contract.
  • Which NBA teams have been the “cheapest” in recent years and which have been most willing to spend? Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores that questions, ranking each team by its spending from 2017-24 and considering whether clubs should have been willing to invest more on those rosters. The Warriors, Clippers, and Bucks have been the biggest spenders over the last seven years, while the Bulls, Pistons, and Hornets are at the other end of the list.
  • In a three-part series for The Athletic, David Aldridge ranks all 30 NBA clubs based on how much they improved their rosters with their offseason moves. Aldridge’s list, which is sorted by which teams improved most in the short term rather than which clubs made the “best” moves, features the Thunder, Sixers, and Magic at the top. Not coincidentally, those clubs made three of the summer’s biggest free agent signings, adding Isaiah Hartenstein, Paul George, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, respectively.
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