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Northwest Notes: Hartenstein, Edwards, Gobert, Nuggets

September 7th, 2024 at 5:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The debate over whether or not Isaiah Hartenstein should start for the Thunder remains a hot topic among fans in Oklahoma City as training camp nears, writes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman.

Lorenzi expects Hartenstein to toggle back and forth between the starting five and the second unit depending on matchups, writing that whether or not he starts matters less than the lineups he’ll play with.

Lorenzi wouldn’t be surprised if the Thunder’s top free agent addition plays alongside Chet Holmgren frequently at the start of the season, as head coach Mark Daigneault gathers information on how the duo performs together, but Hartenstein will also be a crucial piece in non-Holmgren lineups, which badly needed a rim protector last season, Lorenzi notes.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The ongoing development of Anthony Edwards is the key to the Timberwolves continuing to raise their ceiling, according to John Schuhmann of NBA.com, who breaks down some numbers and film in considering how the All-NBA guard could keep getting better.
Referring to the four-time Defensive Player of the Year as the league’s “favorite pin cushion,” Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic defends Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert from some of the criticism he’s taking this offseason after being on the wrong end of a Luka Doncic highlight in the Western Conference Finals and playing limited minutes for France during their run to a silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Gobert was a huge part of Minnesota’s success last season and will be even more critical in 2024/25, Krawczynski contends.
In a subscriber-only mailbag for The Denver Post, Bennett Durando explores several Nuggets-related topics, including what Michael Porter Jr.‘s next contract might look like and where Zeke Nnaji stands as he enters a four-year, $32MM extension. General manager Calvin Booth has made it clear he still believes in Nnaji, Durando writes, but the big man’s deal “obviously looks terrible” after a poor 2023/24 showing.

New York Notes: Randle, Knicks, Martin, Etienne

September 6th, 2024 at 6:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-Star Knicks power forward Julius Randle has struggled to stay healthy during New York’s last two playoff appearances, and questions have long lingered about his fit on Tom Thibodeau‘s team.

With All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson now clearly the Knicks’ top offensive option and the team missing center depth, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report pitches an intriguing hypothetical three-team deal involving Randle.

Pincus proposes that the Knicks send Randle and reserve center Jericho Sims to the Hornets and a pair of heavily protected 2025 first-round picks to the Wizards. In Pincus’ suggested deal, the Knicks would acquire floor-spacing combo forward Grant Williams and bouncy center Nick Richards while generating a pair of trade exceptions. Charlotte would also acquire Corey Kispert and Marvin Bagley while Washington would add Josh Green and Cody Martin in Pincus’ hypothetical.

There’s more out of New York:

The Knicks could still be on the hunt for a reserve center, Ian Begley of SNY.tv writes in a new mailbag. New York previously explored signing Omer Yurtseven and Bruno Fernando, both of whom ended up elsewhere.
Heading into the 2024/25 season, the Knicks have one final standard roster spot available. Sources tell Begley that it appears unlikely New York will bring back reserve point guard Ryan Arcidiacono for that spot. The Knicks may instead look to see if anyone stands out in training camp enough to warrant becoming the club’s 15th man.
The Nets‘ G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, have traded their 2025 first- and second-round draft picks to the Iowa Wolves, the Timberwolves‘ NBAGL squad, in exchange for the returning player rights to forward Tyrese Martin. Across 33 contests (28 starts), the 6’6″ wing averaged 17.8 points, 8.0 boards, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals.
Long Island has been active this week. The Nets‘ NBAGL team also shipped out the returning player rights to forward Kaiser Gates to the Hawks‘ G League team, the College Park Skyhawks, to obtain the returning rights for guard Tyson Etienne. In 51 regular season games with the Skyhawks from 2022-24, Etienne averaged 7.6 points on .444/.356/.722 shooting splits, plus 3.5 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 0.7 steals per night.

Teams Limited To Minimum Salary Contract Offers

September 3rd, 2024 at 7:57am CST by Luke Adams

There won’t be a ton of free agents who sign for more than the veteran’s minimum between now and the end of the NBA’s regular season. The majority of the players whose markets exceeded the minimum came off the board pretty quickly in July, and teams aren’t looking to spend big on the players who are still available.

Still, that certainly doesn’t mean every signing for the next seven months will be of the minimum-salary variety. In some cases – especially on the buyout market in February – being able to offer a couple million dollars more than the minimum could be the difference between a team landing a free agent and missing out on him.

With that in mind, it’s worth checking in on which teams don’t currently have the ability to offer more than the minimum. By our count, a third of the NBA is in this boat, though some of those clubs could generate some spending flexibility by making cost-cutting trades.

Here’s a breakdown of the teams currently limited to minimum-salary contract offers for free agents:

Teams above the second tax apron:

Boston Celtics
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
Phoenix Suns

Teams operating above the second tax apron, which comes in at $188,931,000 in 2024/25, face a series of roster-building restrictions, including being prohibited from using any form of the mid-level exception, as well as the bi-annual exception.

The Celtics, Bucks, Timberwolves, and Suns all fall into that group of teams above the second apron and therefore don’t have any cap exceptions available to use on free agents besides the minimum salary exception.

Teams very close to the second tax apron:

Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat

Because their team salaries are below the second apron, the Lakers and Heat each technically have the ability to use their taxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth $5,168,000 this season.

However, both clubs are operating so close to the second apron that using any portion of the taxpayer MLE would push team salary above that threshold, which isn’t permitted — a team that uses the taxpayer MLE can’t have a salary above the second apron upon the completion of the signing (or at any time after that).

Therefore, unless they make a move to shed salary, the Lakers and Heat will be limited to minimum-salary signings from here on out.

Over-the-cap teams that have used all their cap exceptions:

Denver Nuggets
Philadelphia 76ers

The Nuggets are currently operating between the first and second tax aprons and have already used their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Dario Saric. Because the bi-annual exception isn’t available to teams above the first apron, Denver can no longer offer more than the veteran’s minimum.

The Sixers, meanwhile, used their entire room exception to re-sign Kelly Oubre after spending all their cap space. They’re now well over the cap and only have the minimum salary exception left to sign a free agent outright.

It’s worth noting that acquiring a player via sign-and-trade is technically a possibility prior to opening night for teams who have used up all their cap exceptions and want to add a free agent for more than the minimum. However, that’s not currently a practical option for either Denver or Philadelphia, who are both above the first tax apron.

Teams right up against their hard caps:

Dallas Mavericks
Golden State Warriors

The Mavericks have about $4.25MM of their mid-level exception still available after using a portion of it to sign Naji Marshall, and both Dallas and Golden State still have their full bi-annual exceptions on hand.

Based on the roster moves they’ve made so far this summer though, both the Mavs and Warriors are hard-capped at the first apron of $178,132,000 and are less than $1MM away from that hard cap. In other words, unless they shed salary by trading or waiving one or more of their current players, those two teams aren’t just prohibited from using their remaining exceptions — they’re also unable to add another minimum-salary player on a standard contract.

Dallas and Golden State are each carrying at least one player with a non-guaranteed salary, so it would technically be possible for, say, the Mavs to cut A.J. Lawson and then use a portion of their mid-level exception to sign a free agent. However, their breathing room below the hard cap is so limited that any signings above the minimum are unlikely, unless a cost-cutting trade generates more flexibility — the same goes for the Warriors.

Tim Connelly Talks Wolves’ Aspirations, Gobert, Roster, More

September 2nd, 2024 at 1:31pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Timberwolves took off in 2023/24 as their young pieces showed tremendous growth and their core took a step forward together. In an interview with Darren Wolfson of KSTP, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said he’s proud of what the team accomplished last season.

“We don’t want to be [in] a zero-sum game,” Connelly said. “It’s not one winner and everybody else is losers. We had goals — we didn’t reach the ultimate goal, which is to bring a championship to Minnesota. But our team played well. We had some playoff success that has been a long, long time coming and hopefully it’s something we can build upon.”

Connelly spoke extensively on the state of the Wolves’ roster and a few select players. I heavily recommend watching the interview in full, but here are some of the highlights:

On where the Timberwolves stack up in the Western Conference:

“The West is so brutal, it [depends on] a shot here, a shot there, who’s healthy. So much is [based on] matchups and health. We just want to continue to be at the big table. As long as we internally grow and keep holding ourselves to the highest standards, we’re pretty excited about the season.”

On conflicting accounts that surfaced during the Olympics regarding Rudy Gobert‘s health:

“I think Rudy’s good. He had a finger injury but I think he’s good to go.”

On whether the team wants to extend Gobert:

“We’d like Rudy to be here for a long time. We love his agent, he’s been a friend for a long time and is one of the best guys in the league. And certainly our goal with most of these guys is to keep them here as long as they want to be here. … Ideally, I think continuity is going to be one of the better strengths we have going into the season and we really like our core group.”

On how much rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. will play:

“We don’t want to put too much on any young guy’s shoulders, but we’re gonna put a lot on their shoulders. Obviously, they’re going to have to prove they’ve earned those minutes. But where we are, we’ve become a pretty expensive team, so we’re going to have to find some spots for these young guys. We know it’s not always going to be pretty, but most importantly they buy into [Wolves head coach Chris Finch] … We’re not expecting perfection, we’re just expecting a commitment to do things the way we do them.”

On the team’s work ethic this offseason:

“Our gym’s been fantastic, we’ve had 11, 12 guys here all summer. This week, we told the guys to get out of town. It’s really exciting when you don’t have to beg guys to come back to the city. And I think everybody kind of got a taste for it last year and hopefully we can build upon it.”

On who will fill the backup point guard position:

“It’s up to [Finch]. Certainly, we think [our] guys are capable. [PJ Dozier] played full-time point last year in Europe. We drafted [Dillingham] to give him a real opportunity to earn minutes early on and we’re pretty confident he can do that. Again, nothing’s given. I think the depth and the competitive nature of our depth is what helped us get through some tough times the last couple of years.”

On the possibility of filling their open 15th roster spot:

“We could. There’s some flexibility there. We want to be cognizant of where we are relative to the tax. We also want to be cognizant of where we are health-wise going into the season. Of course we’ve talked about it, if the right player is there, we would fill it. But at the moment, we’re gonna sit tight and see what September looks like. I think there will be another deal-making window too where maybe a guy shakes out that we didn’t think would be available.“

NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Minnesota Timberwolves

August 27th, 2024 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Free agent signings

Luka Garza: Two years, minimum salary ($4,512,184). Second-year team option. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
Joe Ingles: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
PJ Dozier: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($1MM). Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

Acquired the draft rights to Rob Dillingham (No. 8 pick) from the Spurs in exchange for the Timberwolves’ 2031 first-round pick and the right to swap their 2030 first-round pick for the Timberwolves’ 2030 first-round pick (top-one protected).
Acquired the Grizzlies’ 2030 second-round pick (top-50 protected; from Grizzlies) and cash ($1MM; from Raptors) in a four-team trade in exchange for Wendell Moore (to Pistons) and the draft rights to Bobi Klintman (No. 37 pick; to Pistons).
Acquired either the Nuggets’ or Sixers’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Hornets/Nuggets), the right to swap their own 2031 second-round pick for the Warriors’ 2031 second-round pick, and cash (from Warriors) in a six-team trade in exchange for Kyle Anderson (sign-and-trade; to Warriors).

Draft picks

1-8: Rob Dillingham
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $28,491,575).
1-27: Terrence Shannon
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $13,076,519).

Two-way signings

Jesse Edwards
Daishen Nix

Departed/unsigned free agents

Kyle Anderson (Warriors)
Jordan McLaughlin (Kings)
Monte Morris (Suns)
T.J. Warren (unsigned)

Salary cap situation

Operating over the cap ($140.6MM), over the luxury tax line ($170.8MM), and above the second tax apron ($188.9MM).
Carrying approximately $205.6MM in salary.
No hard cap.
No form of mid-level or bi-annual exception available.
One traded player exception available (worth $2,537,040).
Two traded player exceptions frozen/unavailable (largest worth $8,780,488).

The offseason so far

The Timberwolves’ proximity to the second tax apron hampered their ability to make roster moves this offseason, limiting them to minimum-salary offers for free agents and preventing them from aggregating contracts or taking back more salary than they sent out in trades.

Moving out of second-apron territory likely would’ve required the Wolves to part with one of their highest-paid impact players, an unappealing option after a run to to the Western Conference Finals. Instead, the front office decided to live with those second-apron restrictions and figure out how to replace three departing ball-handlers – point guards Monte Morris and Jordan McLaughlin, along with versatile wing Kyle Anderson – using limited resources.

Minnesota made its biggest offseason move on draft night, using its unprotected 2030 first-round pick and a lightly protected 2031 first-round swap to move into the lottery and then selecting Rob Dillingham with the No. 8 overall pick. It was a creative deal that cleverly circumvented the second apron restrictions — because the Wolves were acquiring Dillingham’s draft rights before he signed his rookie contract, he counted for $0 in incoming salary.

The Wolves also used their own pick – 27th overall – to select Terrence Shannon, another guard. Once viewed as a potential lottery pick, Shannon saw his stock affected by sexual assault allegations during his final college season, but he was found not guilty of all charges ahead of the draft.

Dillingham and Shannon won’t provide the sort of veteran savvy that Morris and McLaughlin brought to the table and may not be ready to play regular roles right away, but their youth, athleticism, and scoring ability will give the Wolves some real upside off the bench going forward.

While there’s hope that they’ll get something out of their rookies in 2024/25, the Wolves needed another insurance policy behind starting point guard Mike Conley, who will turn 37 before the regular season begins. The club turned to the free agent market and landed veteran forward Joe Ingles, who will be reuniting with former Jazz teammates Conley and Rudy Gobert in Minnesota.

Ingles’ skill set bears some similarities to Anderson’s — both players have the size to guard wings and forwards and can serve as secondary play-makers on offense. Even if the rookies don’t contribute immediately, the Wolves should have enough alternatives to Conley at the point, with Anthony Edwards, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Ingles all capable of operating with the ball in their hands.

Up next

The Timberwolves currently have 13 players on guaranteed salaries, with PJ Dozier penciled in as their 14th man on a partially guaranteed deal. With Dozier’s salary not fully locked in yet and one additional roster spot still available, Minnesota certainly has the flexibility to bring in one more player to fill out its regular season roster.

Still, the Wolves are way over the luxury tax line, so adding a 15th man or eating Dozier’s $1MM partial guarantee would cost them exponentially more in tax penalties than it would in base salary. With that in mind, I’d expect Minnesota to enter the season with Dozier as the 14th man and be prepared to make a change or add a 15th man only if it’s needed.

Gobert is the most notable extension candidate to monitor ahead of opening night — he holds a player option for the 2025/26 season, so he could reach unrestricted free agency as early as next summer.

Gobert is coming off a Defensive Player of the Year season, but I imagine the Wolves will approach extension talks cautiously rather than jumping headlong into another multiyear deal in the range of his current salary ($43.8MM in 2024/25). Minnesota’s cap situation is already somewhat precarious, with Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns on maximum-salary deals, and Gobert wasn’t exactly dominant in the Western Finals vs. Dallas or at the Paris Olympics, where he played limited minutes in a couple of France’s best wins.

Gobert will remain extension-eligible all season as long as his player option is replaced as part of a new deal, so the Wolves aren’t facing an October deadline to get something done.

Finally, while it’s worth keeping an eye on the Timberwolves’ ownership fight, the next step in that battle between Glen Taylor and the Marc Lore/Alex Rodriguez group won’t happen until after the season begins. An arbitration hearing is scheduled for November.

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.

Edwards Teases KD About Playoff Series

August 18th, 2024 at 4:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Anthony Edwards had a little fun with his gold-medal winning Olympic teammate, Kevin Durant, during a ‘Fanatics Fest’ on Saturday. The Timberwolves knocked the Suns out of the postseason and Edwards, who played the starring role in that series, joked that he felt “bad” about it. “I am not going to lie. I felt bad a little bit, only because he is my favorite player of all-time,” he said, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net, “I did not want to send him home like that. It happened, man. I felt bad.” Rest assured, Edwards didn’t feel that bad about sending KD home this past spring.
There’s no doubt the league considers the Timberwolves one of the league’s most exciting and watchable teams, Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star Tribune opines. In the NBA schedule released on Thursday, the Timberwolves had the biggest increase in national TV appearances. They are set to make 18 appearances on ABC, TNT or ESPN and seven more on NBA TV. Among those appearances, they are playing on opening night, Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Western Notes: Kennard, Edwards, Wembanyama, KD, Blazers

August 15th, 2024 at 9:03pm CST by Luke Adams

After the Grizzlies turned down Luke Kennard‘s 2024/25 team option on June 29, the expectation was that he’d sign a new contract with the club. It took over a month, but the two sides eventually agreed to a one-year, $11MM deal, and Kennard said this week that returning to Memphis was always the plan, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

“There are a lot of different conversations that go on throughout that process,” Kennard said. “I told (Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman) I want to be in Memphis. This is where I want to be. I’m excited with what they have built here over the last few years. I just wanted to be a small part of that.”

Family considerations factored into Kennard’s desire to remain with the Grizzlies, according to Cole, who notes that the 28-year-old is an Ohio native whose family isn’t too far from Memphis. Kennard and his wife also had a child in March, so he wasn’t eager to uproot them to move across the country.

“The fact that (family) can come see me anytime is such a big thing,” Kennard said. “Being closer to home plays a big factor. With the new baby and a wife at home, they love where we’re at and the city where we are. It’s been a great time so far. We’ve enjoyed Memphis a lot. We’re just glad we have at least another year.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Anthony Edwards‘ Team USA experience at the 2023 World Cup ended without a medal, but the Timberwolves couldn’t have asked for a better set of circumstances for their young star this summer, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who details how Edwards played an important role for a gold-medal U.S. roster at the Olympics and got the chance to spend several weeks learning from three of the best NBA players of all-time in LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry.
Rising Spurs star Victor Wembanyama didn’t get to spend as much time with Durant in Paris as Edwards did, but the reigning Rookie of the Year appreciated getting the opportunity to speak to the Suns forward following France’s loss to Team USA in the gold medal game. “Clearly, this is my personal childhood favorite,” Wembanyama said in an appearance on M6 (YouTube link; hat tip to Eurohoops). “He became my favorite player… I made it clear to him that I wanted to learn from him and perhaps steal one or two of his secret techniques.”
The Trail Blazers are parting ways with ROOT Sports and will be moving their games to an over-the-air network, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report, who says the details of the team’s TV broadcast plans for the 2024/25 season will be announced soon. It has become a bit of a trend for NBA teams to leave local regional sports networks in favor of over-the-air channels, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, with the Blazers joining Phoenix, Utah, and New Orleans as teams who have recently made that move.

And-Ones: K. Smith, Schedule, C. Brown, Burton, Duke & Rutgers

August 14th, 2024 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Warner Bros. Discovery is suing the NBA after being excluded from the new broadcast rights package, but Kenny Smith isn’t worried about how that might affect what will likely be the final year of “Inside the NBA,” writes Greg Rajan of The Houston Chronicle. Smith, who has been with the network since his playing career ended in 1998, insists that nothing will change inside the studio.

“No, because we do our jobs,” he said. “Our job is to talk (about) the game and give insight and also give you insight about what’s going on behind the scenes with TNT. Like, ‘Hey, we’re not happy.’ That’s part of what makes us different. I don’t think any other network would allow or want their talent to talk about things like that. We’re going to do it, no matter what happens.

“But again, we’ve had a great run. If it continues, it’ll be great. But also, there are massive opportunities for the four of us — again, to create ownership opportunities to make sure our directors, producers, makeup, stats and audio people are still part of one of the greatest shows in sports TV history.”

Smith views the possible end of the network’s affiliation with the NBA as an opportunity for the show to reach out into other areas. He compares it to what Adam Sandler or Peyton and Eli Manning are doing with their companies, providing a chance to create a new brand in sports television.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

More details on the 2024/25 NBA schedule continue to leak out ahead of the official announcement at 3:00 pm ET on Thursday. The Nuggets will host the Thunder on October 24 in the season opener for both teams, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It will be a matchup of the top two seeds in the West last season. After facing the Clippers October 23 in the first game at the new Inuit Dome, the Suns will stay in Los Angeles to take on the Lakers October 25 before hosting the Mavericks in their home opener a night later, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The Kings will have two six-game road trips during the season, sources tell James Ham of Kings Beat (Twitter link). One in January will have them face the Nuggets, Knicks, Nets, Sixers, Thunder and Timberwolves, and another from March 29 to April 7 will feature games against the Magic, Pacers, Wizards, Hornets, Cavaliers and Pistons.
Former NBA players Charlie Brown Jr. and Deonte Burton will be among the players representing the G League United in a pair of September exhibition games, the league announced (Twitter links).
Duke and Rutgers will be the top destinations for NBA scouts when the college basketball season begins, observes Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. The Blue Devils have the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, Cooper Flagg, along with Khaman Maluach, a probable lottery selection who played for South Sudan in the Olympics. The Scarlet Knights’ Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper are also in contention for the top spot in next year’s draft.

Team Gets New Jersey Sponsor

August 13th, 2024 at 5:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Lynx have agreed to a multiyear corporate sponsorship deal with Sezzle Inc., which includes a jersey patch sponsorship, according to Nick Williams of the Star Tribune. Terms of the sponsorship deal were not disclosed but those sponsorship deals around the league are expected to average $10MM for the upcoming season. The Wolves, according to Williams, are expected to earn near the average via their sponsorship.