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Yongxi Cui Signs Two-Way Deal With Nets

September 20th, 2024 at 11:10am CST by Rory Maher

The Nets are signing Yongxi Cui to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The move is official, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).

Also known as “Jacky,” Cui is a 6’8″ wing who graduated from the NBA Global Academy and played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions in the Chinese Basketball Association this past season. He went undrafted in June, making him an unrestricted free agent.

The 21-year-old also suited up for China’s World Cup team last summer before posting solid numbers in the CBA in 2023/24 — he averaged 15.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game in 56 appearances for Guangzhou, with a .520/.365/.783 shooting line.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Cui would be signing a two-way deal with the Nets covering two seasons. Cui worked out for Brooklyn prior to the draft, per NetsDaily, and played for Portland’s Summer League team, seeing limited action in three games.

Cui joins Jaylen Martin as players on two-way deals with the Nets. The team now has one two-way opening.

Raptors’ Bruce Brown Had Knee Surgery, Out At Least 3 Weeks

September 20th, 2024 at 10:42am CST by Rory Maher

Veteran swingman Bruce Brown underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery on Thursday and will be reevaluated in three weeks, the Raptors announced in a press release.

Brown will miss most — if not all — of training camp and preseason. Three weeks from today would be Oct. 11, and that’s when he’ll be checked out again, not when he’ll be ready to play. The Raptors will head to Montreal for camp from Oct. 1-5, then will stay in Montreal for their preseason opener vs. Washington on Oct. 6. The preseason schedule concludes Oct. 18.

As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca tweets, Brown has been dealing with a right knee injury for the better part of a year, and had hoped that resting and rehabbing over the summer would be a suitable solution. Obviously, that didn’t go as planned. Brown told Lindsay Dunn of CityNews Toronto (Twitter link) after the season ended in April that the injury was “very frustrating.”

“It’s been tough,” Brown said. “I mean I really couldn’t bend my knee much I really played on one leg the entire time. I just wasn’t myself since December, but next year I will be fine.”

After playing a crucial role off the bench for the Nuggets during their 2022/23 championship season, Brown drew significant interest as a free agent last summer and eventually signed a two-year, $45MM contract with the Pacers. Indiana sent him to Toronto in January as part of a trade package for Pascal Siakam.

In 67 total appearances (44 starts) for the Pacers and Raptors, Brown averaged 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 27.9 minutes per game, posting a shooting line of .478/.323/.824. Brown is considered a solid, versatile perimeter defender who is a good fit next to more ball-dominant players on offense.

The Raptors picked up their $23MM team option on Brown’s contract at the end of June. The 28-year-old, who has been the subject of several trade rumors since Toronto acquired him, will be a free agent again next summer.

Joel Embiid, Sixers Finalize Three-Year Max Extension

September 20th, 2024 at 7:05am CST by Luke Adams

Superstar center Joel Embiid has agreed to a three-year, maximum-salary contract extension with the Sixers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that the new deal, which begins in 2026/27, will include a player option on the final year.

The deal is official, per an announcement from the team.

“Philadelphia is home,” Embiid wrote in an Instagram post announcing the agreement. “I want to be here for the rest of my career. I love this community and everything you’ve given me and my family. There is a lot more work to do. You guys deserve a championship and I think we’re just getting started!”

“Joel has cemented himself as one of the greatest Sixers of all time and is well on his way to being one of the best players to ever play the game. We’re ecstatic that this extension keeps him and his family in Philadelphia for years to come,” team owner Josh Harris said in a statement of his own. “Joel is a great family man, leader, and person. He is an elite two-way player with a combination of size, strength, and athleticism that this league has rarely – if ever – seen. He is integral to this franchise’s quest for another NBA Championship, and we are honored that he continues to choose this organization as his NBA home.”

Based on current salary cap projections, Embiid’s three-year extension will be worth approximately $192.9MM. He’ll make a projected $59.5MM in 2026/27 and $64.3MM in ’27/28, with a $69.1MM player option for ’28/29. Those figures count on the cap increasing by the maximum allowable 10% in each of the next two seasons.

Taking into account the two years and $106.6MM left on Embiid’s current contract, he’s now on track to earn just shy of $300MM over the next five seasons. The big man’s previous deal included a player option for the ’26/27 season, but it’ll be replaced by the new contract.

After being plagued by foot issues that cost him two full seasons at the start of his NBA career, Embiid has become one of the league’s most dominant players, earning All-Star nods in each of the past seven years and All-NBA spots in five of those seasons.

The former No. 3 overall pick holds career averages of 27.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.7 blocks in 31.9 minutes per game across 433 outings (all starts) and finished in the top two of three consecutive MVP votes from 2021-23, winning the award in ’23.

Embiid appeared headed for another MVP-caliber season in 2023/24 before a knee injury sidelined him for most of the second half and limited him to 39 games. The 30-year-old averaged a career-high 34.7 points per game with an elite .529/.388/.883 shooting line when healthy, then won an Olympic gold medal in Paris with Team USA this summer.

Embiid’s new deal makes him the fifth member of the NBA’s $500MM+ club, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN, who notes (via Twitter) that the Sixers star trails only LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and teammate Paul George in career earnings, based on their past and current contracts. Kevin Durant is the fifth player whose career salaries will exceed $500MM by the end of his current deal.

Embiid’s extension caps a huge offseason of spending for the 76ers, who also signed Tyrese Maxey to a five-year, $203.8MM contract and George to a four-year, $211.6MM deal in free agency. In total, Philadelphia’s three stars are owed approximately $715MM.

Justin Holiday Reportedly Worked Out For Warriors

September 19th, 2024 at 4:05pm CST by Rory Maher

Justin Holiday is among a group of “several” veteran free agents who have worked out for the Warriors in recent weeks, league sources tell Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Slater also confirms that Nassir Little worked out for Golden State, as previously reported.

Holiday, 35, spent last season with the Nuggets. He averaged 4.0 PPG, 1.2 RPG and 1.2 APG on .454/.404/.750 shooting in 58 regular season games with Denver in 2023/24 (14.9 MPG).

Holiday is the definition of a journeyman, having played for 10 NBA teams over the course of his 11 seasons in the league. One of his first stops was with the Warriors — he played for Golden State in ’14/15. He holds career averages of 8.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG and 1.4 APG on .400/.365/.817 shooting in 680 regular season games, including 296 starts (23.1 MPG).

However, a reunion seems pretty unlikely. According to Slater, the Warriors have no plans to fill their 15th standard roster spot to open the season due to their proximity to the first tax apron, at which they’re hard-capped for the ’24/25 campaign. While it’s possible that a veteran could outplay Gui Santos or Lindy Waters — both of whom are on non-guaranteed deals — in training camp and preseason, Slater expresses skepticism that the Warriors will release either player.

Slater also provides an update on No. 52 overall pick Quinten Post, who remains unsigned. According to Slater, Post has been earmarked for a two-way contract, which means one of Golden State’s three two-way players — Pat Spencer, Reece Beekman or Daeqwon Plowden — will have to be cut soon.

It’s worth noting that Atlanta’s G League affiliate recently gave up a second-round NBAGL draft pick in a trade to acquire Plowden’s returning rights. While G League draft picks (especially second-rounders) aren’t all that valuable, it still seems unlikely that the College Park Skyhawks would’ve given one up if they expected Plowden to remain with the Warriors all season, since he’d continue to play for Santa Cruz in the NBAGL as long as he remains on his two-way deal with Golden State.

Philadelphia Mayor Announces Agreement With Sixers For New Arena

September 18th, 2024 at 5:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

A tentative agreement has been reached to keep the Sixers in Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announced on Twitter (video link). The deal, which must be approved by city council, involves a new arena in Center City.

“This is a historic agreement,” Parker said. “It is the best financial deal ever entered into by a Philadelphia mayor for a local sports arena. I wholeheartedly believe it is the right deal for the people of Philadelphia.”

The new arena would be located on Market Street East, which Jeff Gammage, Sean Collins Walsh and Ximena Conde of The Philadelphia Inquirer describe as a “beleaguered” section of the city. Parker promises that the new facility will generate tax revenue for the city and local schools, create hundreds of new jobs and launch “the start of an unprecedented revival of Market Street.”

According to the Inquirer, Parker’s statement followed a meeting with leaders from Chinatown, who have opposed development in the area. Dozens of Chinatown residents gathered outside City Hall on Wednesday to protest the proposed arena, vowing that they will continue to fight it.

The agreement with the Sixers comes after an offer from New Jersey to provide $400MM in tax credits and build a multi-purpose arena once the lease at Wells Fargo Arena expires in 2031. The team currently rents the arena from Comcast Spectacor and has plans to build a $1.3 billion facility when a location is officially secured.

The Sixers released a statement expressing optimism about the new agreement, relays Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link).

“We are grateful to Mayor Parker and her team for their time and diligence in evaluating our proposal,” the statement reads, “and look forward to advancing to the next steps with City Council.”

Adrian Wojnarowski Leaving ESPN To Become St. Bonaventure GM

September 18th, 2024 at 10:22am CST by Luke Adams

Adrian Wojnarowski, the longtime NBA reporter who has worked at ESPN since 2017, announced today (via Twitter) that he’s retiring from ESPN and from the news industry as a whole.

“I grew up the son of a factory worker two miles from ESPN’s campus and only ever dreamed of making a living as a sportswriter,” Wojnarowski wrote. “Thirty-seven years ago, the Hartford Courant gave me my first byline and I never stopped chasing the thrill of it all.

“This craft transformed my life, but I’ve decided to retire from ESPN and the news industry. I understand the commitment required in my role and it’s an investment that I’m no longer driven to make. Time isn’t in endless supply and I want to spend mine in ways that are more personally meaningful.”

While Wojnarowski’s statement didn’t include any details on the next phase of his career, his fellow news-breakers at ESPN – Adam Schefter (NFL), Jeff Passan (MLB), and Pete Thamel (NCAAF) – reported that Woj has agreed to become the general manager of the men’s basketball program at St. Bonaventure, his alma mater.

The school confirmed the news in a press release, indicating that Wojnarowski’s responsibilities in his new role will include “name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities and a liaison with collectives; transfer portal management; recruit, family and alumni player relationships; professional player programs; and program fundraising.”

While Wojnarowski has been a regular presence on ESPN’s NBA broadcasts and studio programming over the past seven years, he’s best known for having been the league’s most prominent news-breaker for well over a decade. The term “Woj bomb” was coined to describe Wojnarowski’s scoops on Twitter, where he and former protégé Shams Charania have battled over the years to be the first to report the NBA’s biggest trades, signings, and other news.

I’d wager that no reporter’s name has shown up more on Hoops Rumors since our inception in 2012 than Wojnarowski’s. His career change will be a significant loss for the NBA news industry, but we wish him well as he prepares to begin work with the Bonnies.

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Newsstand

Rogers Buys Out Bell’s Stake In Raptors’ Parent Company

September 18th, 2024 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

8:18am: Rogers has put out a press release officially confirming the sale agreement.

Notably, for Raptors fans in Canada, the announcement clarifies that TSN, the sports network controlled by Bell Media, will get the opportunity to renew its broadcast rights for Raptors games at “fair market value.” In recent years, TSN and Rogers’ sports network (Sportsnet) have split those Raptors broadcasts 50/50, with each network airing 41 regular season games.

BCE announced in a press release of its own that it has reached a deal with Rogers to retain TSN’s share of the broadcast rights for the Raptors (and other MLSE teams) for the next 20 years, subject to league approval.

8:00am: Rogers Communications has acquired BCE (Bell)’s stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of the Raptors, according to a report from Scott Soshnick and Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico.

The two Canadian communications/media giants had each previously held 37.5% of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Rogers purchased Bell’s 37.5% stake in the company for $4.7 billion in Canadian dollars, per Sportico, which works out to approximately $3.48 billion USD based on the current exchange rate. That puts the overall valuation of MLSE at around $9.3 billion.

In addition to the Raptors, MLSE controls the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, MLS club Toronto FC, and a handful of smaller sports teams, such as the Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League) and Raptors 905 (G League). The company also owns and operates Scotiabank Centre and OVO Athletic Centre, the Raptors’ home arena and practice facility, respectively.

Raptors governor and NBA Board of Governors chairman Larry Tanenbaum controls 20% of MLSE via his holding company Kilmer Sports Inc. He previously held the full remaining 25% but sold a 5% stake to OMERS, a Canadian pension fund, in 2023, per Michael Grange and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca.

As Grange and Friedman note, the MLSE ownership agreement gave Rogers and Bell the right to buy out Tanenbaum by July 2026 and there had been an expectation that they’d do so. If Rogers still intends to move forward with that plan after purchasing Bell’s stake, the company could control nearly all of MLSE within two years. Rogers also owns MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays.

It’s unclear what sort of short- and long-term impact the sale might have on how the Raptors run their business, but the $9.3 billion overall valuation for MLSE is worth noting.

Sportico’s latest round of NBA franchise valuations in December 2023 pegged the Raptors’ value at $4.11 billion, making it the most valuable asset in MLSE’s portfolio. Sportico estimated the value of the Maple Leafs at $2.65 billion in November 2023 and Toronto FC at $725MM in January 2024.

Boban Marjanovic Signs With Fenerbahce

September 18th, 2024 at 6:54am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 18: Marjanovic’s deal is official, according to a press release from Fenerbahce. NBA reporter Marc Stein confirms (via Twitter) that the agreement includes an opt-out window in December.

SEPTEMBER 17: Veteran free agent center Boban Marjanovic has reached an agreement to sign with the Turkish club Fenerbahce, reports Bugra Uzar of Eurohoops. The agreement, which was hinted at in a cryptic tweet by agent Misko Raznatovic, has also been confirmed by Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com.

According to Urbonas, Marjanovic and Fenerbahce are on track to complete a one-year contract that will allow both sides to opt out of the deal before January.

Marjanovic, 36, has been in the NBA since 2015, having spent time with the Spurs, Pistons, Clippers, Sixers, Mavericks, and Rockets over the past nine seasons. The Serbian’s size (7’4″) and skill set made him a situational specialist throughout his NBA career — he has never averaged more than 11.7 minutes per game or appeared in more than 58 games in a single season.

Marjanovic, who holds career NBA averages of 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game across 331 outings, appeared in just 14 contests for Houston last season, logging 71 total minutes.

For most of the offseason, Marjanovic has been seeking a new opportunity in the NBA. However, he drew more interest overseas and is no stranger to European competition, having played in Serbia, Russia, and Lithuania from 2006-15 before making the move across the Atlantic.

He’ll be joining a Fenerbahce team that has made an effort to fortify its frontcourt this month upon losing Luka Samanic — the Istanbul-based club, which competes in the EuroLeague, also added longtime NBA center Khem Birch last week. Nicolo Melli, Wade Baldwin, Nigel Hayes-Davis, Bonzie Colson, Devon Hall, and Marko Guduric are among the other former NBAers on Fenerbahce’s roster.

Cavaliers Re-Sign Isaac Okoro To Three-Year Contract

September 17th, 2024 at 7:18pm CST by Rory Maher

SEPTEMBER 17: Okoro’s new deal is official, the Cavaliers confirmed today in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 14: The Cavaliers are re-signing restricted free agent Isaac Okoro to a three-year, $38MM contract, agents Michael Tellem, Jeff Schwartz and Marcus Monk tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Okoro, 23, came in at No. 20 on our list of 2024’s top 50 free agents, making him the top remaining player who had yet to sign a new deal. It took more than two months, but the NBA’s lone restricted free agent has reached an agreement to return to Cleveland.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Okoro’s $11.8MM qualifying offer would have expired on Oct. 1, though he still would’ve been a restricted free agent had a deal not been reached by that point. The Cavs were approximately $10.4MM below the luxury tax line before accounting for Okoro’s new contract, Marks adds.

According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link), Okoro’s three-year deal features $33MM in guaranteed money. Sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that Okoro’s contract features some unlikely bonuses tied to his team’s success (Twitter link).

The No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 draft, Okoro averaged 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting a career-best 39.1% from three-point range in 69 regular season games in 2023/24, including 42 starts (27.3 minutes per contest). The 6’5″ wing is primarily known for his defense, particularly on the ball, where he’s frequently tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player.

When we polled our readers about Okoro’s situation last week, 59% of those who voted thought he would end up accepting his qualifying offer — essentially just a one-year contract — to hit unrestricted free agency in 2025. About 17% thought he would re-sign with the Cavs on a multiyear contract.

Scotto reports (via Twitter) that the Nets and Hornets were among the teams that showed sign-and-trade interest in Okoro before he agreed to a new contract with Cleveland.

Once Okoro’s signing is official, the Cavs will have 14 players on standard contracts, though only 11 of those deals are fully guaranteed. Tristan Thompson and Sam Merrill are on non-guaranteed contracts, while Craig Porter Jr. has a $1MM partial guarantee on his $1.89MM salary. All three of the team’s two-way slots are filled.

2027/28 Season Viewed As Target For NBA Expansion

September 17th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

One reason the NBA isn’t yet prepared to dive head-long into expansion talks is that a potential Celtics sale could reset the market, sources tell ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Kevin Pelton, and Brian Windhorst. If the Celtics set a new record for the highest sale price ever for an NBA team, it would only increase the price tag for incoming expansion franchises, as ESPN’s trio notes.

Commissioner Adam Silver recently stated that the NBA is “not quite ready” to move forward on the expansion process, though he left the door open for those discussions to happen later on in the 2024/25 league year.

With the NBA continuing to drag its heels on expansion, league sources and people connected to potential bidding groups are viewing the 2027/28 season as the target date for when one or more expansion teams could begin playing, with the ’26/27 campaign considered an increasingly unrealistic – albeit not impossible – option, according to Bontemps, Pelton, and Windhorst.

Based on the growing valuations of NBA franchises, it’s not unrealistic to project that a pair of new teams could net the league $10 billion combined – or even more than that – in expansion fees, ESPN’s reporters suggest.

While some current NBA team owners are wary of further diluting their share of the league’s revenue by slicing off two more pieces of a “pie” currently being shared 30 ways, expansion fee payments (which don’t have to be shared with the players’ union) exceeding $300MM apiece could help sway those ownership groups, as Bontemps, Pelton, and Windhorst point out. Additionally, the $76 billion media rights deal negotiated by the NBA earlier this year has assuaged some owners’ concerns about sharing revenues with 31 partners instead of 29, the ESPN trio adds.

Here are a few more items of note from ESPN’s in-depth FAQ on the possibility of expansion:

Although the National Basketball Players Association has no real voice in the expansion process, the union would be “very much in favor” of adding 36 new jobs (30 standard roster spots and six two-way slots) for its members, sources tell ESPN.
Seattle and Las Vegas are widely considered the favorites to land expansion teams, but they likely won’t be the only cities receiving consideration. Sources who spoke to ESPN view Mexico City as the most likely candidate to seriously enter the mix along with Seattle and Vegas, though Bontemps, Pelton, and Windhorst acknowledge there would be a number of “logistical hurdles” to contend with.
If Seattle and Las Vegas land expansion teams, they would both have to be Western Conference clubs, meaning one current Western team would have to move to the Eastern Conference. According to ESPN, that decision would likely come down to the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Timberwolves, with Minnesota considered the most logical choice to move East since the Wolves are geographically closer to five Eastern opponents than they are to their closest Western opponent (Denver). Still, it could be a “protracted fight” to determine which team would change conferences.
The ownership group of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken – led by Samantha Holloway and her father David Bonderman – is considered the most likely bidder for a Seattle franchise, per ESPN. Hall of Fame NBA executive Rick Welts has served as an advisor for the Kraken ownership group, which also includes the sons of former Sonics owner Barry Ackerley. Chris Hansen, who previously attempted to relocate the Sacramento Kings to Seattle, isn’t expected to lead a bid to bring the NBA to the city, but would be willing to assist in the process, ESPN’s trio adds.
Active NBA players aren’t permitted to own a stake in an existing franchise, but the rules for an active player becoming a stakeholder in an expansion franchise (before it begins play) aren’t as clear. Those rules may need to be clarified in the coming years, with LeBron James seriously interested in getting involved in a bid for a Las Vegas team. According to ESPN’s report, former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is putting together a group to bid for a Vegas franchise — that group is expected to include longtime WNBA star Candace Parker.

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