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Blazers Notes: Walton, Sharpe, Henderson, Promotions, TV Deal

September 27th, 2024 at 9:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Trail Blazers will wear a band on their jerseys throughout the 2024/25 season to honor the late Bill Walton, according to a team press release. Walton passed away on May 27 at the age of 71. All of Portland’s jerseys will feature a tie-dye band along the top of the left side with his “32” number in white. As a Trail Blazer, Walton was a two-time All-Star (1977 and 1978) and led the Blazers to the NBA championship in 1977.

We have more on the Trail Blazers:

Expect Shaedon Sharpe to open a lot of eyes during training camp, Sean Highkin predicts in a Rose Garden Report mailbag. Sharpe underwent core muscle surgery and was limited to 32 games last season. He has been healthy all summer and participated in training camp with Team Canada before the Olympics. He also played in a pro-am in Vancouver last month, according to Highkin.
In his latest mailbag, Highkin notes that the make-or-break element of Scoot Henderson’s development is his ability to finish at the rim. As a rookie, the lottery pick shot just 46 percent at the rim, way too low for a guard with his level of athleticism and explosiveness.
The organization has made a number of promotions and additions, according to another team press release. Gilbert Abraham has been promoted to director of player development. Dr. Courtney Watson has been named director of health and player performance after previously serving as the team’s head athletic trainer. Chris Gerona and Jaclyn Lindell have been hired as physical therapists, while Greg Hulbrink has been added as an assistant strength coach.
The Blazers have reached an agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group to launch the ‘Rip City Television Network,’ a network of affiliates throughout the Pacific Northwest, to serve as their new TV home, according to another press release. They are also launching a paid subscription-based, direct-to-consumer streaming service, BlazerVision, this season. It’s the first time in Trail Blazers history that a majority of their games will be available to fans via easy-to-access, over-the-air television.

Hawks Waive Bowden, Nicholas

September 27th, 2024 at 7:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks have waived wing Jordan Bowden and forward Joirdon Nicholas, according to a team press release.

Atlanta signed Bowden to an Exhibit 10 contract on Thursday, and also added Nicholas on a similar contract.

Assuming they clear waivers, they’ll now each be eligible for a bonus up to $77.5K if they spend at least 60 days with the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate.

Bowden most recently played for the Montreal Alliance of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, where he averaged 17.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 3.1 APG.

Last season, Bowden played in the G League for the Maine Celtics and the Skyhawks, Atlanta’s affiliate. He appeared in a combined 25 regular season games, averaging 13.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.8 APG in 27.7 MPG. From 2021-23, Bowden played for the Long Island Nets.

The 27-year-old guard played college ball for Tennessee from 2016-20.

Nicholas went undrafted out of Texas Southern in 2023. He suited up for the Lakers’ affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, throughout the 2023/24 season. Across 39 combined regular season and Showcase Cup contests (16 starts), he averaged 8.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Additionally, Nicholas appeared in 19 contests for the Mexican club Zonkeys de Tijuana in 2023/24.

Jazz To Sign Taevion Kinsey On Exhibit 10 Contract

September 27th, 2024 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz are signing Taevion Kinsey to an Exhibit 10 contract, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets.

Kinsey had been on a two-way contract with Utah, which he signed in July, but was waived in August. He’s now returning to the organization as part of the training camp roster.

Kinsey went undrafted in 2023 after playing five college seasons at Marshall. As a “super senior” for the Thundering Herd in 2022/23, he averaged 22.1 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG on .542/.404/.744 shooting in 32 games (37.8 MPG), earning Sun Belt Player of the Year for his efforts.

A 6’5″ wing, Kinsey signed a training camp deal with Utah last summer and was waived in October. He wound up signing a 10-day contract with the Jazz in March, but he didn’t appear in a game.

Kinsey spent the majority of his first pro season playing for the Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. In 50 Showcase Cup and regular season games with the Stars (29.6 MPG), he averaged 10.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.1 APG while posting a strong shooting line of .555/.427/.780.

He’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived, then rejoins the Stars for at least 60 days.

Pacers Waive Polley, Tominaga; Sign James

September 27th, 2024 at 4:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers have waived forward Tyler Polley and guard Keisei Tominaga, according to a team press release.

Polley signed an Exhibit 10 contract on Thursday and Tominaga inked a similar deal this week. Assuming they clear waivers, they’ll be eligible for bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they spend at least 60 days with the G League’s Indiana Mad Ants.

Polley, a former UConn forward, has spent his first two professional seasons playing in the Greek Basketball League. He played last season for Kolossos, averaging 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds on .442/.347/.795 shooting in 21 games (25.6 minutes).

Tominaga, an undrafted guard, averaged 15.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 26.1 minutes per game across 32 outings (all starts) for Nebraska in 2023/24.

In an additional move, the team signed guard Josiah-Jordan James to an Exhibit 10 contract. The Pacers agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with James shortly after he went undrafted out of Tennessee.

James appeared in 144 games with the Volunteers and helped Tennessee reach the Elite Eight this year for the second time in program history. He appeared in 36 games last season, averaging 8.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 29.2 minutes per night while shooting 40.2% from the field and 34.1% from three-point range.

Reporting in June suggested James was expected to compete for a two-way deal. However, Indiana has already filled all three spots and say in today’s release that he’ll be joining the Mad Ants, which suggests he’ll be waived before the NBA season begins.

Warriors Notes: Roster, Rotation, Looney, Kuminga, Moody, Staff

September 27th, 2024 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking on Thursday to reporters, including Anthony Slater of The Athletic and Kendra Andrews of ESPN, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said the front office believes it “improved the team” this offseason, though he suggested the club will remain on the lookout for further upgrades.

“We’re probably as impatient a franchise as you can be right now given our time horizon and all that,” Dunleavy said, per Slater. “But there’s a fine line between impatience and undisciplined. I feel good about the discipline that we held this summer and the roster we built and the growth from within that we’re going to have. I know everybody is always looking for big headline breaking news and all that, but I really like this team.”

As Slater writes, Dunleavy stressed that there’s “no point in going all in to be slightly above average,” but he and Warriors owner Joe Lacob have both expressed that they’re willing to surrender some future assets in order to upgrade the current roster.

“Does that mean we’re definitely going to do something? No,” the Warriors’ GM said. “We were super aggressive last year around the deadline. Didn’t do a whole lot. You’ve got to have a partner. Making deals in this league can be tough. But the effort and the urgency will always be there.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Head coach Steve Kerr feels good about the depth the Warriors have on their roster, suggesting that as many as 12 to 13 players have a case for rotation minutes and that multiple starting lineup spots could be up for grabs this fall, according to Andrews and Slater. “What I love about this camp is that we do have (starting) spots available,” Kerr said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who have started a lot of games. Last year Wiggs (Andrew Wiggins), (Jonathan Kuminga), Draymond (Green), Trayce (Jackson-Davis) started some games. (Brandin Podziemski), De’Anthony (Melton), Buddy (Hield) has been a starter most of his career. It’s the easiest thing for me to do is just to tell the guys we’ve got starting spots available. That doesn’t mean I’m going to say how many to you or to them.” As Slater writes, Stephen Curry and Green are locks to start, and Wiggins is a relatively safe bet to join them unless he plays himself out of the job, but there could be a competition for the other two spots in the starting five.
While it’s unclear what sort of role he’ll have for the Warriors in 2024/25, veteran big man Kevon Looney is in “phenomenal shape,” a source told Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Speaking to NBC Sports Bay Area, Looney agreed with that assessment. “I feel lighter on my feet, I feel like I can move better,” he said. “I can move the way I want to for longer and I feel like I got a little more stamina.”
Dunleavy said on Thursday that the team has had “positive conversations” with the representatives for Kuminga and Moses Moody about possible rookie scale extensions, tweets Andrews. “Regardless whether we get something done (by October 21), we want those guys here,” Dunleavy said. “Just because you don’t get an extension done doesn’t mean they’re not going to be here for a long time. We’ll still have their rights in free agency if we can’t come to an agreement by the 21st. I think for them, the most important thing is we’ll get through these next few weeks with a deal or not a deal, but all that matters is they have great seasons.”
The Warriors officially announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve hired Terry Stotts and Jerry Stackhouse as assistant coaches, which was first reported early in the offseason. Khalid Robinson, Jacob Rubin, and Anthony Vereen have also been promoted to assistant coaching roles, the club confirmed.
Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard has passed along some of the highlights from his conversation with Kerr on a recent episode of his TK Show podcast. We relayed some of Kerr’s comments about Klay Thompson‘s departure on Wednesday.

Thunder Sign Cormac Ryan, Two Others

September 27th, 2024 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have signed rookie free agent shooting guard Cormac Ryan, the team announced today. While the terms of the contract weren’t revealed, it’s almost certainly an Exhibit 10 deal.

Ryan played college basketball for Stanford, Notre Dame, and North Carolina from 2018-24, appearing in a total of 152 games at the NCAA level, including 36 in 2023/24 for the Tar Heels. As a “super-senior” last season, he averaged 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 30.3 minutes per game with a shooting line of .382/.354/.874.

The Thunder added Ryan to their Summer League roster in July and he suited up in a total of seven games in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, averaging 4.0 PPG and 2.3 RPG on 19.4% shooting in 12.7 MPG. Despite his underwhelming Summer League performance, it seems the 6’5″ guard is in Oklahoma City’s plans for the coming season.

In all likelihood, Ryan will be waived at some point before the regular season begins and will report to the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the OKC Blue. If he spends at least 60 days with the Blue, he’ll be eligible for an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $77.5K on top of his standard G League salary.

In addition to announcing Ryan’s deal, the Thunder also confirmed today that they’ve signed forwards Malevy Leons and Alex Reese, whose Exhibit 10 agreements with the club were previously reported — one in June and one earlier in the day on Friday.

The Thunder now have 20 players on their preseason roster. More moves are likely coming sooner or later, as they’ve yet to finalize reported Exhibit 10 deals with Buddy Boeheim and Javonte Cooke.

Spurs Notes: Vassell, Collins, Bassey, Wemby, Champagnie, Viera

September 27th, 2024 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran wing Devin Vassell won’t be available when San Antonio’s season tips off next month, the team announced today in a press release. According to the Spurs, Vassell is still recovering from surgery to address a stress reaction of the third metatarsal head in his right foot.

Vassell is taking part in non-contact basketball activities and his status will be updated on November 1, per the club. That means he’ll be sidelined for at least the Spurs’ five games in October and perhaps beyond that.

Vassell was the Spurs second-leading scorer last season behind Victor Wembanyama. The 24-year-old averaged 19.5 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 33.1 minutes per game across 68 outings. His 47.2% field goal percentage was a career high.

Here’s more out of San Antonio:

Although the news on Vassell isn’t ideal, the Spurs issued more positive injury updates on big men Zach Collins (labrum surgery) and Charles Bassey (ACL surgery). Collins has been cleared for all basketball activities, while Bassey is in the midst of a “progressive ramp up to live play.” Both players are expected to be available for the start of the regular season, according to the team.
Doug Haller of The Athletic spoke to several former NBA stars and head coaches about what to expect from Wembanyama in his second season and just how good the reigning Rookie of the Year has the potential to be. “Chris Paul is going to make him a lot better,” Hall of Famer Gary Payton said. “He’s going to get him in the right places and get him the ball at the right time, and then once (Wembanyama) gets stronger and a little bit more seasoning, it’s going to be hard to stop him.”
Following the offseason addition of Harrison Barnes, third-year forward Julian Champagnie almost certainly won’t match the 59 starts he made last season. However, he says he’s perfectly fine with coming off the bench and is more focused on continuing to develop his game and doing whatever he can to help the team, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News details in a subscriber-only story. “I’m into growth,” Champagnie said. “You’ve got to be better than you were last year. One percent better every day is still progress. … I know what they’re asking of me. I know what they’re shooting for. I have a good overview on where we are now and where we want to be in the next four or five years. I want to be part of it, so I’m going to do everything they ask of me to the best of my ability. And let the chips fall where they fall.”
Spurs minority shareholder Paul Viera has increased his stake in the franchise from 5% to 11%, according to Michael Ozanian and Jessica Golden of CNBC, who say that Viera’s latest purchase came “at a steep discount in a deal that values the team at $2.5 billion.” The NBA’s Board of Governors has approved the transaction, the Spurs announced in a press release. Viera bought out a stake that had been controlled by the food service company Aramark, per CNBC.

Pacific Notes: Jones, Suns, Kaminsky, Kawhi, Porter, Lakers

September 27th, 2024 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Although he had made 94 starts across eight NBA seasons prior to 2023/24, last season was Tyus Jones‘ first as a full-timer in that role — he started all 66 games he played for the Wizards. That sample size is good enough for new Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer, who tells Steve Aschburner of NBA.com that Jones has “established himself as a great starting point guard in our league” and that the plan is for the veteran to be in Phoenix’s starting five to open the 2024/25 season.

“When you put him out there with Kevin (Durant), Brad (Beal), Book (Devin Booker) and Nurk (Jusuf Nurkic), we feel like we’ve got a strong starting five,” Budenholzer said, confirming what he expects his initial starting group to look like. “And a really strong bench behind them.

“Tyus can help us play faster. He’s great with the kick-aheads, he’s great with getting teammates involved in transition. But then also in the half-court. He’s a guy who has always been a high assists guy, low turnovers. He can get us organized. Everyone talks about how much talent we have. Hopefully he can put them in positions to be their best.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Frank Kaminsky‘s new non-guaranteed deal with the Suns offers him no assurances for the regular season, but he’s still excited to be back with the organization after having worked out at the team’s practice facility in recent weeks, he tells Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. “I love it here,” the veteran big man said. “There’s no other way I can describe it. There’s just such a level of love and comfort that I have living here, being here. I’ve built a nice community here, have great friends — everything here is set up well for me. And that’s why when the camp deal started getting talked about, it’s the one I wanted, just because I love being here.”
This week’s revelation that Kawhi Leonard underwent another knee procedure in the offseason and will be limited in training camp is an ominous one for the Clippers, but president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank attempted to downplay concerns about the star forward’s status, writes Anthony De Leon of The Los Angeles Times. “It’s almost gone,” Frank said of the swelling in Leonard’s knee. “He wants to participate in everything during training camp, but we’re going to hold him back from drill work and really focus on strengthening.” The goal, Frank added, is “to get him to 100% so he can have a great season, not just this year, but for many years.”
New Clippers guard Kevin Porter Jr. will be allowed to take part in team activities during training camp while the NBA continues to investigate the domestic incident that occurred last September, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Porter reached a plea agreement of a third-degree reckless assault misdemeanor in January, but wasn’t in the NBA at that time and may still face a suspension from the league.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report reads between the lines of Rob Pelinka‘s and JJ Redick‘s comments to reporters at the Lakers‘ pre-camp press conference on Wednesday, sharing 10 observations about what the team’s head of basketball operations and new head coach had to say.

Timberwolves Sign Chasson Randle To Camp Deal

September 27th, 2024 at 1:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 27: Randle has officially signed with the Timberwolves, per a press release from the team.

Minnesota is now at the maximum offseason limit of 21 players under contract.

SEPTEMBER 9: The Timberwolves have agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with guard Chasson Randle, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

Randle, 31, spent last season with AEK Athens but is quite familiar with the NBA. He has appeared in 119 regular season games, seeing action for the Knicks, Sixers, Wizards, Warriors, and Magic. His last stint came with Orlando, when he played in 41 games (five starts) during the 2020/21 season and averaged 6.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 20.4 minutes per contest.

Earlier in the day, the Timberwolves’ G League team, the Iowa Wolves, acquired Randle’s returning player rights from the Oklahoma City Blue (Twitter link). That set the stage for an Exhibit 10 offer.

If they’re waived by their NBA club and join that team’s G League affiliate, players who ink Exhibit 10 contracts are eligible for bonuses worth up to $77.5K (on top of the standard NBAGL salary) should they remain with those affiliate squads for at least 60 days.

And-Ones: G League Trade, Brissett, Future Power Rankings, Lowe

September 27th, 2024 at 12:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns‘ and Pacers‘ G League affiliates have completed a trade involving a former No. 3 overall NBA draft pick, per a press release from the Valley Suns. Phoenix’s new affiliate acquired the returning rights to guard David Stockton from the Indiana Mad Ants in exchange for the returning rights to forward Garrison Brooks and former lottery pick Jahlil Okafor.

Brooks and Okafor were among the Suns’ picks in June’s expansion draft, but it’s unclear if either one intends to play in the G League at all in 2024/25 — they both competed overseas last season.

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

Free agent swingman Oshae Brissett is believed to be drawing interest from a EuroLeague team, according to a report from Sportske.net. As Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays, the Serbian outlet says that the Belgrade-based club Crvena Zvezda has its eye on Brissett as a potential target. The five-year NBA veteran, who won a title last season with the Celtics, has been on the lookout for a new home since he turned down his player option with Boston in June.
ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, Bobby Marks, and Tim Bontemps (Insider link) have published the latest installment of their annual “future power rankings,” which are based on each team’s projected on-court success for the next three seasons. The Thunder top this year’s version of the list, while the Celtics drop from No. 1 to No. 2 despite their 2024 championship, since their salary cap situation may get untenable in the near future. The Knicks (third) Sixers (fourth), Mavericks (fifth), Rockets (seventh), Timberwolves (eighth), and Spurs (10th) each rose five or more spots to claim a place in ESPN’s top 10.
Howard Beck of The Ringer sorts the NBA’s 30 teams into six separate tiers based on how clear their plans are going forward. The Nets and Wizards, in full-on rebuilds, are among the teams in the “ever-clear” top tier along with championship hopefuls like the Mavericks and Sixers, while clubs with less obvious goals, like the Hawks, Bulls, and Raptors, find themselves in the lowest “fun-house mirror” tier.
ESPN has laid off senior writer Zach Lowe, sources tell Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Lowe is the second noteworthy NBA reporter to depart the network in recent weeks, joining Adrian Wojnarowski, who unexpectedly announced his retirement from the news industry last week.