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Mark Bryant Joining Knicks’ Coaching Staff

July 24th, 2024 at 6:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mark Bryant will join the Knicks as an assistant coach, according to Ian Begley of SNY (Twitter link). The longtime NBA center is considered to be one of the NBA’s best coaches for big men, Begley adds.

Bryant, 59, spent last season as a member of Monty Williams’ staff in Detroit. He has also worked for Dallas, Orlando, Seattle/Oklahoma City and Phoenix since becoming a coach in 2004.

Starting center Mitchell Robinson, who was limited to 31 games last season due to injuries, should be among the biggest beneficiaries of having Bryant on the coaching staff. The Knicks are still exploring their options at backup center after losing Isaiah Hartenstein to the Thunder in free agency.

New York already has Othella Harrington serving as a big man coach, so it’s not clear how he and Bryant will split those duties, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Lewis points out that Bryant worked in Oklahoma City with Maurice Cheeks, who joined the Knicks’ coaching staff last month, and he helped to develop newly acquired Mikal Bridges in Phoenix.

Bryant was known as one of the strongest men in the NBA, even after his playing days were over, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic, who relays a story of Bryant’s battles in practice with former Thunder center Steven Adams.

The move is a homecoming for Bryant, who grew up in New Jersey and played at Seton Hall before beginning his NBA career. He was selected by Portland with the 21st pick in the 1988 draft and played for 10 teams in 15 seasons.

DeAndre Jordan Re-Signs With Nuggets

July 24th, 2024 at 5:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 24: Jordan’s new contract is official, the Nuggets announced in a press release.

JUNE 29: Free agent center DeAndre Jordan plans to remain with the Nuggets on a one-year, $3.6MM deal, sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Jordan, 35, will be committing to a third season with the Nuggets after signing as a free agent in 2022, just in time for the team’s championship run. His on-court presence has diminished from his peak years, but he’s still a strong locker room presence who can provide rim protection and a lob threat when needed.

Jordan appeared in 36 games this season, making two starts and averaging 3.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 11 minutes per night. Operating exclusively near the basket, his shooting percentage remains high at 62.4%.

A second-round draft pick by the Clippers in 2008, Jordan had his best years in L.A., earning one All-Star appearance and becoming a central part of the “Lob City” teams. He had brief stays with the Mavericks, Knicks, Nets, Lakers and Sixers before coming to Denver.

The veteran’s minimum salary for a player with 10 or more years of experience is projected to be worth a little over $3.3MM, so it will be interesting to see whether Jordan’s new deal is actually worth $3.6MM or if it will come in as a minimum deal. Denver’s proximity to the luxury tax line and the aprons makes every dollar important, and a minimum salary would only count as $2.1MM for salary cap and tax purposes.

The agreement with Jordan takes care of one Nuggets question mark before the start of free agency on Sunday evening. The team’s priority is re-signing shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who declined his player option on Thursday. Vlatko Cancar and Justin Holiday are also unrestricted free agents.

NBA Rejects TNT’s Proposal To Match Amazon’s Media Rights Offer

July 24th, 2024 at 5:49pm CST by Luke Adams

5:49pm: TNT has promised to take “appropriate action” in a statement regarding the media rights deal (Twitter link).

“We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it,” the network states. “In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through the full combined reach of WBD’s video-first distribution platforms including TNT, home to our four-decade partnership with the league, and Max, our leading streaming service.

We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025/26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action. We look forward, however, to another great season of the NBA on TNT and Max including our iconic Inside the NBA.”

3:42pm: Just two days after TNT Sports announced it had submitted paperwork to the league office exercising its matching rights on Amazon’s new media rights deal with the NBA, the league has responded by rejecting TNT’s proposal.

“Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon,” the league’s statement reads.

“Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans. Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements. All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.

“We are grateful to Turner Sports for its award-winning coverage of the NBA and look forward to another season of the NBA on TNT.”

This process is playing out as expected so far. As a longtime NBA broadcast partner, Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT’s parent company) was given some form of matching rights in its previous agreement with the league. However, the belief was that the NBA wouldn’t recognize those rights when TNT matched Amazon’s offer, given the differences between the two companies’ distribution methods and the sort of reach they can offer.

TNT could simply accept the NBA’s decision and back down. However, the expectation is that the company will strongly consider a legal challenge in response to the NBA’s ruling. That could result in an in-court battle over Amazon’s package or perhaps a financial settlement for WBD.

In any case, it seems more certain than ever that the NBA will move forward without TNT Sports as a partner beginning in 2025/26, when its new media rights deals go into effect. That would mean the 2024/25 season will be the last one that features national games and the popular “Inside the NBA” studio show on the network.

The league issued a separate press release officially announcing its agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal, and Amazon Prime Video.

Reggie Jackson Gave Up $3.3MM In Hornets Buyout

July 24th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran point guard Reggie Jackson, who was officially waived by the Hornets on Tuesday, reached a buyout agreement with the team that created the path for his exit, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). According to Scotto, Jackson gave up $3.3MM as part of the buyout.

Hoops Rumors has confirmed that Jackson surrendered exactly $3,303,771, which is the amount the 34-year-old will earn with the Sixers once he clears waivers and signs a new minimum-salary contract with Philadelphia.

The move reduces the amount of dead money on the Hornets’ books from $5,250,000 to $1,946,229, creating a little extra financial flexibility for the club. Charlotte is over the cap but has plenty of breathing room (approximately $16MM) below the luxury tax line.

As for Jackson, he’ll ultimately earn the same $5.25MM salary that he would’ve if he’d remained on his previous contract. He’ll be paid $1,946,229 by the Hornets and $3,303,771 by the Sixers — plus, he’ll now have the opportunity to play for a team much closer to title contention. He was traded from Denver to Charlotte earlier in the offseason.

Jackson is the second veteran point guard to give up money in a buyout agreement in recent days, joining Russell Westbrook, who surrendered $1.7MM when he was waived by the Jazz. Raptors forward Sasha Vezenkov was also bought out this week, having given up his entire $6.66MM salary to get out of his NBA contract in order to return to Greece.

Darius Bazley, Kenneth Lofton Jr. Waived By Jazz

July 24th, 2024 at 4:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz have waived Darius Bazley and Kenneth Lofton Jr., the team announced in a press release.

Both players had upcoming salary guarantee dates, so it’s possible they could re-sign with Utah on new deals later in the offseason. They would have been guaranteed $400K apiece if they had remained with the team through Thursday and $600K if they had been on the opening night roster. Bazley was set to make $2.5MM this season, while Loften was signed for $2.1MM on their non-guaranteed contracts.

Bazley, a 24-year-old power forward/center, signed with Utah on March 12 and appeared in six games, averaging 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 23.7 minutes per night. After being waived by Brooklyn in October, he spent most of last season with Delaware in the G League, other than a three-game stint with Philadelphia on a 10-day contract.

Lofton, a 21-year-old power forward, signed with the Jazz on March 11 and saw action in four games, averaging 13.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 22.8 minutes per night. He appeared in 15 games with Memphis at the start of last season before being waived in December and got into two games with Philadelphia on a two-way contract.

Both players were part of Utah’s Summer League roster.

NBA Announces Details Of Media Deals With Disney, NBC, Amazon

July 24th, 2024 at 4:21pm CST by Luke Adams

After announcing that it has rejected TNT’s proposal to match Amazon’s media rights offer, the NBA formally confirmed the renewal of its broadcast agreement with Disney (ESPN/ABC) and its new deals with NBCUniversal (NBC/Peacock) and Amazon (Prime Video).

The new media deals will cover 11 years, beginning with the 2025/26 season and running through ’35/36. While the league’s announcement doesn’t share any financial details, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic pegs the value of the agreements at about $77 billion in total, with Disney paying approximately $2.6 billion per year, NBC at $2.5 billion per year, and Amazon around $1.93 billion annually.

The NBA states that the new deals will significantly increase the number of games available on broadcast television, bumping that number to about 75 per season. All national games will also be available on streaming services (Prime Video, Peacock, or ESPN’s forthcoming service).

Here are some additional details from the league:

Disney:

Disney will broadcast 80 regular season games per year, including 20+ on ABC and up to 60 on ESPN. ABC’s games will air on Saturdays and Sundays, with ESPN’s airing on Wednesdays and some Fridays.
ABC and ESPN will broadcast about 18 games in the first two rounds of the playoffs each season.
In 10 of the 11 seasons in the agreement, ABC and ESPN will air one of the two conference finals.
ABC will continue to air the NBA Finals.
ABC/ESPN will continue to air the draft, the draft lottery, and half of the Summer League games.

NBCUniversal:

NBCUniversal will distribute as many as 100 regular season games per year. More than half of those games will be broadcast on NBC on Sunday and Tuesday nights. Peacock will stream Monday night doubleheaders throughout the regular season.
The All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday Night (including the dunk contest and three-point competition) will air on NBC.
NBC and/or Peacock will air about 28 games in the first two rounds of the playoffs each season.
In six of the 11 seasons in the agreement, NBC will broadcast one of the two conference finals. They’ll rotate with Amazon beginning in 2025/26.

Amazon:

Amazon will distribute 66 regular season games per year on Prime Video. Those will include Thursday doubleheaders (beginning in January), Friday doubleheaders, some Saturday games, and at least one game on Black Friday.
Prime Video will broadcast the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final of the NBA Cup (in-season tournament).
Prime Video will broadcast all six games in the play-in tournament.
Prime Video will air approximately a third of the games in the first two rounds of the playoffs each season.
In six of the 11 seasons in the agreement, Amazon will air one of the two conference finals. They’ll rotate with NBC beginning in 2025/26.
- Note: Because NBC and Amazon will each broadcast six conference finals, there will be one year in which they each get one and Disney doesn’t.
Prime Video will air half of the Summer League games.

A lawsuit from TNT Sports – a longtime NBA broadcast partner and the odd man out in this round of negotiations – is possible after the NBA rejected TNT’s right to match Amazon’s deal.

However, according to Marchand, neither side would want an extended legal battle in which private conversations could be made public during the discovery process. That means a lawsuit may lead to a settlement, either in the form of other NBA rights or financial compensation.

Thunder’s Nikola Topic Undergoes ACL Surgery

July 24th, 2024 at 3:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Thunder rookie Nikola Topic has undergone successful surgery to address his torn left ACL, the team announced today.

According to Thunder, the procedure was performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, with team medical personnel in attendance. As expected, Topic is projected to miss the entire 2024/25 season, postponing his NBA debut until the fall of 2025.

Word initially broke in early June that Topic had suffered a partially torn ACL, so the Thunder weren’t caught off guard by the need for surgery when they drafted the Serbian point guard with the No. 12 overall pick a few weeks later. Head of basketball operations Sam Presti confirmed when speaking to reporters following the first round of the draft that Oklahoma City expected the lottery pick to be unavailable for all of ’24/25.

Topic will be the second Thunder lottery pick in the past three years to essentially get a redshirt season. Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 draft, suffered a foot injury later that summer that cost him all of ’22/23.

Topic is still expected to join the Thunder shortly and spend his rookie season around the team like Holmgren did two years ago. That experience benefited Holmgren, who finished second in Rookie of the Year voting this spring after averaging 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per contest while starting all 82 games for the Thunder.

Topic will earn a $4.9MM salary in 2024/25 while he recovers from ACL surgery. He has a guaranteed salary of $5.2MM in ’25/26, followed by team options of $5.4MM and $7.5MM in his third and fourth seasons.

Grizzlies Sign Jay Huff To Two-Way Deal, Waive Trey Jemison

July 24th, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have signed free agent big man Jay Huff to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). In order to open up a two-way slot for Huff, Memphis waived center Trey Jemison.

Huff, who went undrafted out of Virginia in 2021, has bounced back and forth between the NBA and G League over the past three years, appearing in 31 regular season NBA games during that time, including 20 while on a two-way contract with the Nuggets last season.

Huff’s contributions at the NBA level have been modest (2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per game), but he has excelled in the NBAGL, earning Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBAGL First Team honors in 2023. In 18 games last season for the Grand Rapids Gold – Denver’s affiliate – he averaged 19.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks in 28.9 minutes per contest, with a strong shooting line of .573/.390/.857.

The 7’1″ center was also impressive at the Las Vegas Summer League with the Magic this month, putting up 16.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 2.2 BPG on .621/.357/.778 shooting in five outings (26.5 MPG).

Jemison signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies in January, then agreed to a two-year, two-way deal when that contract expired. He earned regular minutes down the stretch on a Memphis roster hit hard by injuries, averaging 7.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 1.2 BPG in 23 games (24.9 MPG). However, it appears he’s not in the team’s plans going forward, at least for now.

Huff joins Cam Spencer and Scotty Pippen Jr. as the Grizzlies’ two-way players.

Knicks, Tom Thibodeau Agree To Three-Year Extension

July 24th, 2024 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau have reached an agreement on a three-year extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Thibodeau had one year left on his current contract, so the new deal will begin 2025 and will run through the 2027/28 season.

An extension for Thibodeau had been expected for much of the offseason after he led a banged-up roster to its second consecutive Eastern Conference semifinal this spring.

The Knicks have finished at least 10 games above .500 in three of Thibodeau’s four years at the helm, compiling a 175-143 (.550) regular season record during that time, including a 50-32 mark in 2023/24, which was the team’s best single-season record in over a decade.

As Wojnarowski observes (via Twitter), New York was one of just four teams to finish in the NBA’s top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency in ’23/24. The NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2011 (with the Bulls) and 2021 (with the Knicks), Thibodeau finished fifth in voting for the award this season.

Thibodeau’s extension is the latest major move in what has been an eventful offseason for the Knicks’ front office. The team kicked off the summer by making a deal with the cross-town Nets to land Mikal Bridges, then locked up top free agent OG Anunoby to a five-year contract and signed All-NBA guard Jalen Brunson to a below-market, long-term extension.

The financial terms of Thibodeau’s extension aren’t yet known. There has been speculation that his new contract will exceed $10MM per year, given the eight-figure annual salaries that coaches like Monty Williams, Erik Spoelstra, Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Mike Budenholzer, and Tyronn Lue have received since last spring.

Spurs Inquired On Young Point Guards Before Signing CP3

July 24th, 2024 at 11:06am CST by Luke Adams

Before they signed future Hall of Famer Chris Paul to a one-year contract, the Spurs made several calls to teams around the NBA to inquire about the availability of younger point guards who have yet to enter their prime years, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Darius Garland of the Cavaliers and Andrew Nembhard of the Pacers were among the players the Spurs called about, Fischer reports. Cleveland has shown no interest in moving Garland and the Pacers presumably weren’t keen on trading Nembhard either — he has agreed to a three-year contract extension with Indiana that will make him ineligible to be dealt for six months.

Fischer also mentions Hawks star Trae Young and Josh Giddey – who was sent from the Thunder to the Bulls last month – as players who had San Antonio among their preferred destinations in the event of a trade. However, Young and Giddey now appear on track to open the 2024/25 season in Atlanta and Chicago, respectively, and Fischer doesn’t specify to what level the Spurs reciprocated either player’s interest.

While Paul will be Victor Wembanyama‘s primary pick-and-roll partner for the 2024/25 season, the Spurs figure to remain on the lookout for a player who can ideally fill that role for the next decade, Fischer writes.

No. 4 overall pick Stephon Castle is one candidate — he considers himself a point guard and San Antonio targeted the former UConn star for much of the pre-draft process, sources tell Yahoo Sports. However, as Fischer observes, Castle showed with the Huskies that he can thrive alongside another point guard, so even if they’re bullish on his NBA upside, the Spurs may not be prepared yet to pencil in the 19-year-old as the long-term answer at the position.

In addition to Paul and Castle, the Spurs also still have Tre Jones in the point guard mix. Jones is in the final year of his current contract and will reach unrestricted free agency next summer.