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NBA Seeks To Dismiss Warner Bros. Discovery Lawsuit

August 24th, 2024 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 24: Baxter Holmes of ESPN provides more details on the NBA’s motion for a dismissal, writing that the league is arguing Warner Bros. Discovery attempted to improperly rewrite the terms of Amazon’s offer and then accept those terms.

“(Turner Broadcasting System) chose not to match NBCUniversal’s offer, which would have enabled TBS to continue distributing games via its TNT linear cable network,” the league wrote in its filing. “Instead, TBS purported to match the less-expensive Amazon offer, but only after revising it to include traditional distribution rights and making numerous other substantive changes.

“… TBS made substantive revisions to eight of the Amazon offer’s 27 sections (including revisions to 22 different subsections), changed 11 defined terms that are collectively used roughly 100 separate times, struck nearly 300 words, and added over 270 new words, substantially altering the parties’ rights and obligations in the process.

“… Far from accepting each term of Amazon’s offer, TBS’s revisions constituted a counteroffer that the NBA was free to reject.”

The NBA is asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, which means it couldn’t be refiled in the future, according to Holmes. More information on the league’s arguments can be found within the full ESPN story.

AUGUST 23: The NBA filed a response to Warner Bros. Discovery’s lawsuit in New York’s Supreme Court on Friday, according to Brian Steinberg of Variety, who reports that the league has sought to dismiss the suit.

Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of TNT Sports, the NBA’s longtime broadcast partner which didn’t reach an agreement with the league during the latest round of media rights negotiations, losing out to Disney (ESPN/ABC), NBC, and Amazon Prime Video. TNT sought to exercise its matching rights on Amazon’s offer but was rejected by the NBA.

In documents filed on Friday, the league reiterated its belief that WBD/TNT failed to match the terms of Amazon’s offer. According to Steinberg, the NBA specified several ways in which TNT’s offer differed from Amazon’s, including:

Amazon’s deal is for distribution via streaming only, whereas WBD’s bid would include games on both the TNT cable network and the Max streaming service.
Amazon agreed to establish a rights fee escrow account into which it will “deposit and maintain three seasons of rights fee payments on a rolling basis and from which rights fees would automatically be disbursed to the NBA on the agreed-upon payment schedule.” WBD, meanwhile, offered to provide the league with letters of credit as an alternative form of security and to only make them available if the company “failed to make a rights fee payment on a timely basis.” In other words, Amazon’s proposal provides more certainty that payments will be made on time, without the risk of delays.
Amazon has promised to promote NBA games during its widest-reaching sports broadcasts, including Thursday Night Football (NFL). WBD “substituted an obligation to promote the NBA in any major sporting league” distributed on TNT or Max — WBD defines “major sporting league” as including NASCAR and various college sporting events, making it a less valuable commitment than Amazon’s in the NBA’s view, Steinberg explains.

As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic previously outlined, August 23 was the deadline for the NBA to file its initial response to the lawsuit. Warner Bros. Discovery now has until September 20 to file its opposition, then the league will have until October 2 to respond again.

According to Steinberg, the NBA said in Friday’s filing that it intends to move for dismissal at an October 4 hearing in New York City.

Previous reporting has noted that neither the NBA nor WBD likely wants an extended legal battle in which private conversations could be made public during the discovery process, so a settlement of some sort remains a possibility.

Pelicans Waive Matt Ryan

August 23rd, 2024 at 9:03pm CST by Rory Maher

9:03pm: The Pelicans officially waived Ryan on Friday, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

1:19pm: The Pelicans plan to waive sharpshooter Matt Ryan, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Ryan, 27, appeared in 28 games for New Orleans in 2023/24, averaging 5.4 points and 1.4 rebounds while shooting 45.1% from three-point range in 13.9 minutes per contest. He missed several weeks of action last season due to a right calf strain and a right elbow injury, which required surgery in December.

New Orleans claimed Ryan off waivers last October, inheriting the two-way contract he signed with Minnesota shortly before the start of training camp. He also had brief stints with the Celtics and Lakers earlier in his career.

The Pelicans converted Ryan to a standard contract at the very end of last season, making him playoff-eligible. However, his three-year deal — which featured a significant end-of-season payday in ’23/24 — was non-guaranteed for the ’24/25 and ’25/26 seasons. That means the Pels won’t carry a dead-money cap hit by cutting Ryan loose.

Ryan’s salary for ’24/25 would have become guaranteed if he had remained under contract through the start of the regular season.

After officially signing Javonte Green, the Pelicans had 15 players on standard contracts, with 13 players on guaranteed salaries. They’re back down to 14 players now, with Jose Alvarado holding the lone non-guaranteed deal.

The Pelicans are still about $1.6MM over the luxury tax line after releasing Ryan, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks, with a tax distribution to non-taxpaying teams projected to be a record high of $18.2MM. 13 teams are presently over the tax threshold, Marks adds.

If Ryan clears waivers in a couple days, he will become an unrestricted free agent. As a three-year veteran, he remains eligible for a two-way contract covering one season.

Javonte Green Signs With Pelicans

August 22nd, 2024 at 5:35pm CST by Tristan Tucker

AUGUST 22: Green’s addition is now official, the Pelicans have announced (Twitter link).

AUGUST 20: The Pelicans are signing free agent Javonte Green, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 6’4″ wing with power forward versatility closed last season with the Bulls.

According to Charania, the deal is for one year. William Guillory of The Athletic adds that it will be a guaranteed minimum-salary contract (Twitter link). Since Green has five years of NBA service, his deal will pay him $2,425,403 while counting for $2,087,519 against the cap.

Green went undrafted in 2015 but caught on with the Celtics ahead of the 2019/20 season. He spent one-and-a-half years with Boston before being traded to the Bulls.

The Radford product was a key part of the 2021/22 Bulls, averaging 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 65 games (45 starts). He wasn’t re-signed by the team after his contract expired in 2023 but he eventually caught back on with the organization last season when he signed a pair of deals with the Bulls to close out the year.

In his nine games last season, Green averaged a career-high 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds. In 195 career games, he holds averages of 5.4 points and 3.1 boards while shooting a .541/.345/.754 line.

Once Green’s deal is official, the Pelicans will have a full 15-man roster of standard contract players, with 13 guaranteed salaries. All three of their two-way spots are also occupied.

With Jonas Valanciunas out of the fold, New Orleans added several bigs to their bench in Yves Missi, Karlo Matkovic and Daniel Theis. While Green doesn’t have the same size as those players, he provides another strong rebounding presence (6.8 rebounds per 36 minutes).

Hall Of Famer Al Attles Dies At Age 87

August 21st, 2024 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Warriors player and coach Al Attles passed away on Tuesday at the age of 87, the team has announced in a press release.

Drafted by the then-Philadelphia Warriors out of North Carolina A&T in 1960, Attles spent his 11-year career as an NBA player with the Warriors, who relocated to San Francisco in 1962.

The 6’0″ point guard appeared in a total of 711 games, averaging 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 25.1 minutes per contest.

Attles, who was named an assistant coach in 1968, spent the final two years of his playing career as the Warriors’ head coach, a position he maintained well after his retirement as a player. He posted a 557-518 (.518) regular season record in that role, which he held until 1983, along with a 31-30 (.508) mark in the postseason.

Attles led the Warriors to an NBA championship in 1975, which was Golden State’s most recent title until the team began its dynastic run last decade by winning a championship in 2015. Attles still has the most regular season wins by a coach in franchise history, though Steve Kerr (519 career wins) could pass his total of 557 as soon as next season.

Following his stint as the Warriors’ head coach, Attles served as the team’s general manager for three seasons. He was an ambassador for the organization for many years after that, briefly returning in an official capacity as an assistant coach during the 1994/95 season.

Attles was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019, having been selected by the Hall’s Contributor Committee.

“Alvin Attles did not just epitomize what it meant to be a Warrior—he was Mr. Warrior,” the team said in a statement on Wednesday. “His tenacious playing style earned him the affectionate nickname of ‘The Destroyer’ on the court, but it was his gentle soul, grace and humility off the court that served as a guiding light for the organization for more than six decades.

“As a player, coach, general manager, ambassador, and most of all, as a person, Alvin set the standards of professionalism and class by which we all strive to achieve. He leaves behind a profound legacy within the game of basketball and the Bay Area community, but especially as a family man and humanitarian. We mourn his loss alongside his wife, Wilhelmina, son Alvin, and all who knew and loved him.”

We at Hoops Rumors send our condolences to Attles’ family and friends.

Wizards Waive Eugene Omoruyi

August 21st, 2024 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

12:00pm: The Wizards have officially waived Omoruyi, the team announced today (via Twitter).

10:48am: The Wizards are expected to place forward Eugene Omoruyi on waivers on Wednesday, reports Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Omoruyi is currently on an expiring $2,196,970 contract. However, his salary is fully non-guaranteed, so Washington wouldn’t be on the hook for any of that money once he’s been officially released.

Omoruyi signed a two-way contract with the Wizards last July after being waived by the Pistons. The former Oregon standout, who previously spent time with Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Detroit from 2021-23, appeared in a career-high 43 games last season for Washington, averaging 4.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 9.1 minutes per night.

The Wizards converted Omoruyi’s two-way deal to a standard two-year contract in March.

If he’s claimed off waivers, Omoruyi’s new team would be responsible for his $2.2MM salary for 2024/25, which becomes partially guaranteed for $1MM if he remains under contract through the start of the regular season. Should the 27-year-old go unclaimed, he’d become an unrestricted free agent and would be able to sign with any club.

Waiving Omoruyi is the first step for the Wizards to address their roster crunch ahead of the regular season. Entering the day, the team was carrying 17 players on standard contracts, including 15 players with guaranteed salaries.

Besides Omoruyi, Jared Butler is the other player without a fully guaranteed deal, so Washington could set its 15-man regular season roster by cutting Butler — or by waiving or trading a player on a guaranteed contract.

Cavaliers Re-Sign Emoni Bates To Two-Way Deal

August 20th, 2024 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Restricted free agent Emoni Bates is back under contract with the Cavaliers, according to the NBA’s official transaction log, which indicates that the forward has signed a two-way deal with Cleveland.

Bates became a restricted free agent when the Cavs issued him a two-way qualifying offer following his rookie season. In all likelihood, he simply accepted that QO, which is the equivalent of another one-year, two-way contract.

A former five-star recruit, Bates was selected 49th overall in the 2023 draft following a pair of up-and-down college seasons at Memphis and Eastern Michigan. The 20-year-old appeared in just 15 games for Cleveland as a rookie, averaging 2.7 points per game on 30.6% shooting in 8.9 minutes per night.

In 27 Showcase Cup and regular season G League games for the Cleveland Charge, Bates showed more promise, putting up 21.6 PPG and 5.7 RPG with a .414/.371/.814 shooting line. He was voted in as a participant in the NBAGL’s Up Next game at All-Star weekend in February.

The Cavaliers have now officially filled one of their two-way slots, with JT Thor reportedly set to fill another. Once Thor’s deal is official, Cleveland will have one more two-way contract to offer.

Bates had been one of just two restricted free agents who remained unsigned. His new deal leaves teammate Isaac Okoro as the only RFA still on the market.

Isaiah Thomas Among FAs Working Out With Kings

August 20th, 2024 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Isaiah Thomas is one of several free agents who are in Sacramento this week to engage in some “competitive workouts” with Kings players, according to Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter link).

Sources tell Cunningham that center Tony Bradley and wings Juan Toscano-Anderson and Lonnie Walker are among the others who will be involved.

It’s unclear whether Kings management is seriously considering making any roster additions based on those workouts, but it certainly couldn’t hurt for those free agents to perform well in the sessions as they seek new contracts.

Thomas, who began his career in Sacramento in 2011, finished the 2023/24 season with the Suns, but hasn’t been a regular rotation player in the NBA for many years, having dealt with a series of injuries since his last full season in 2016/17. The two-time All-Star has bounced around the league since then, spending time with the Cavaliers, Lakers, Nuggets, Wizards, Pelicans, Lakers, Mavericks, Hornets, and Suns.

Bradley, a former first-round pick, spent last season in the G League, while Toscano-Anderson was in the NBAGL for most of the year, though he did appear in 11 games for the Kings while on a pair of short-term contracts in December and January.

Of the four players mentioned by Cunningham, Walker has the strongest case for a spot on an NBA roster this fall. He has averaged 11.2 points per game in 244 contests over the past four seasons with the Spurs, Lakers, and Nets. In 2023/24, the 25-year-old shooting guard recorded 9.7 PPG on .423/.384/.763 shooting in 58 appearances (17.4 MPG) off the bench for Brooklyn.

Sacramento is currently carrying 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts for 2024/25, with Orlando Robinson on a partially guaranteed deal and Keon Ellis on a non-guaranteed salary. The Kings may open the season with just 14 players on their standard roster due to their close proximity to the luxury tax.

Usman Garuba Officially Signs With Real Madrid

August 20th, 2024 at 7:33am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA first-round pick Usman Garuba has joined Real Madrid on a three-year contract, the Spanish team announced today in a press release.

The move had long been expected. Reporting back in May indicated that Garuba was expected to sign with Real Madrid this offseason, but he responded by saying he had yet to make a decision. In mid-July, Spanish reporter Carlos Sanchez Blas (Twitter links) said that the free agent forward/center had a long-term deal in place with Madrid, and that time Garuba didn’t deny it, so we’ve just been awaiting formal confirmation from the team.

The 23rd overall pick in the 2021 draft, Garuba was born and raised in Madrid and was under contract with his hometown team from 2017-21, so this represents a reunion for the two sides. He played in the NBA for three seasons from 2021-24, appearing in 99 games across two seasons in Houston before being traded to Atlanta and then to Oklahoma City during the 2023 offseason.

After he was waived by the Thunder, Garuba caught on with the Warriors, spending most of the 2023/24 season on a two-way contract before being promoted to Golden State’s standard roster ahead of the team’s regular season finale. He played in just six regular season contests for the Warriors.

Garuba’s overall contributions across 105 NBA outings (three starts) have been modest. He averaged 2.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 11.7 minutes per night, making 46.7% of his shots from the floor (including 36.3% of his three-pointers). The big man also played a limited role for Spain in this year’s Olympics, averaging 13.4 MPG off the bench for the national team.

The 22-year-old figures to see more significant action in Madrid, where he’ll team up with fellow newcomer Serge Ibaka in the club’s new-look frontcourt that will reportedly no longer feature Guerschon Yabusele.

Real Madrid is coming off a season in which they went 28-6 in Spanish League (ACB) play and 27-7 against EuroLeague competition. Madrid won the ACB title and nearly achieved the feat in the EuroLeague as well, but fell to Panathinaikos in the championship game.

Udoka Azubuike Signs With Montenegrin Team

August 19th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent center Udoka Azubuike has signed on with Montenegrin club KK Buducnost Voli, the team has announced in a press statement.

The 6’10” big man was initially drafted by the Jazz in 2020, following an All-American career at Kansas. Utah selected him with the No. 27 overall pick.

Azubuike never made a consistent, long-term impact in either of his two NBA stops, in part due to health issues. He has yet to play more than 36 games in a single season. Across 84 contests (10 starts) in four years, he has averaged a scant 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in just 8.6 minutes per night.

Following three years split between the Jazz and their NBAGL affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, Azubuike inked a two-way deal with a starry Suns club for 2023/24. Last year, he appeared in just 16 games for Phoenix, averaging 7.1 minutes per contest.

Clearly, the NBA market for his services has proven somewhat finite this summer. Given that he’s still all of 24, an impressive international showing could help bolster his value stateside once again, and he might eventually be able to earn his next opportunity here that way.

Partizan Belgrade Confirms Additions Of Pokusevski, Other Former NBAers

August 19th, 2024 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Serbian club KK Partizan, which is based in Belgrade and competes in the EuroLeague, held an event on Monday to formally introduce its roster for the 2024/25 season, according to Eurohoops.

Partizan’s squad features several players with NBA experience, including guards Frank Ntilikina and Gabriel Lundberg, whose deals were previously announced.

On Monday, the team also confirmed several signings which had been reported earlier in the summer but hadn’t yet been officially confirmed, such as Aleksej Pokusevski, Sterling Brown, Isaac Bonga, Duane Washington, and Brandon Davies.

Pokusevksi is perhaps the most notable name in the group. The 22-year-old forward was the 17th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft and spent most of the past four seasons with the Thunder before being waived in February. He finished the season in Charlotte, averaging 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 19.2 minutes per game across 18 outings down the stretch for the Hornets.

Brown has 268 NBA regular season appearances under his belt, while Bonga has 143, Washington has 79, and Davies has 78. However, none of the four played in the league in 2023/24.

As Eurohoops notes, former NBA guard Carlik Jones will also play for KK Partizan this season, but wasn’t at Monday’s event — his flight was delayed, according to a report from Mozzart Sport, which indicates that Jones will be at the team’s first practice of the season this week.

Former NBA first-rounder Bruno Caboclo is also under contract with Partizan, but wasn’t in attendance on Monday and isn’t a lock to return to the club. He has reportedly received an offer from Hapoel Tel Aviv, a team in Israel.