Suns Notes: Trischan, Bell, Budenholzer, More

A former Suns employee is seeking $60MM in damages from the team, according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN, who reports that the individual, Andrea Trischan, filed a complaint claiming discrimination and wrongful termination. Trischan’s attorney Sheree Wright told ESPN that her client “endured overt racist comments and a hostile work environment that went unaddressed despite being reported to HR and executive leadership.”

An ESPN report from 2021 detailed a toxic work environment under former team owner Robert Sarver, who was accused of using racially inappropriate language and engaging in inappropriate and misogynistic behavior. Trischan was hired by the organization in September 2022, about a week after Sarver was suspended by the NBA and a few months before he reached an agreement to sell the team to Mat Ishbia. Holmes notes that Trischan’s role was specifically related to addressing the issues described in ESPN’s investigative report.

Trischan asserts that she received push-back from the team when she attempted to look into claims of misconduct against certain Suns executives, some of whom were named to a “diversity council” that was created without consulting her a couple months after she was hired. According to Holmes, she described facing “harassment, discrimination and retaliation from colleagues and superiors” for attempting to investigate and address the misconduct described in ESPN’s story. The team strongly disputed her claims.

“A former employee who last worked for the organization in 2023 was terminated after less than 10 months due to repeated failure to perform her job duties,” Suns VP of communications Stacey Mitch told Holmes. “This individual filed a baseless charge with a state agency and is now trying to use ESPN reporting from 2022, specific to previous ownership, to make egregious claims in order to support her ridiculous demand for $60 million from the Suns organization.

“To be clear, this individual is making false claims in an attempt to gain tens of millions of dollars. We are confident the courts will find no merit to these claims and quickly resolve this matter.”

Here’s more on the Suns:

  • Former NBA guard Charlie Bell, who played alongside Ishbia at Michigan State for two years from 1999 to 2001, has joined the Valley Suns – Phoenix’s new G League affiliate – as a personnel evaluator, reports Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Bell had worked for Ishbia’s United Wholesale Mortgage since 2019, per Rankin.
  • Although he’s entering his first season with the Suns, Mike Budenholzer will face plenty of pressure and significant expectations in 2024/25 as he looks to lead the team to a better finish than head coach Frank Vogel did in his first and only season in Phoenix, Rankin writes in a separate story, relaying analysis from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
  • Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports outlines five reasons why he expects the Suns to be better in ’24/25 than they were last season, including the head coaching change and the improved bench depth.
  • In case you missed it, we recapped the Suns’ summer moves in our Offseason Check-In series earlier this week.

Heat Sign Malik Williams To Exhibit 10 Contract

The Heat have signed free agent big man Malik Williams to their roster on an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) first reported that Miami was signing Williams to a camp deal.

Williams, who went undrafted out of Louisville in 2022, played in Poland during his first professional season, then spent most of last year with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate. The 6’11” forward/center earned a call-up to the NBA in April, signing a 10-day contract and a rest-of-season deal with the Raptors just before the end of the regular season.

Williams started two of the seven games he played for Toronto, averaging 2.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per night and making just 9-of-34 (26.5%) shots from the floor. The 26-year-old was more effective in Sioux Falls, where he put up 10.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 1.3 BPG in 42 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Skyforce. Still, his shooting numbers (.426/.311/.684) were below average, especially for a big man.

According to Winderman, Williams’ deal is “seen as more of a G League move” for the Heat, which suggests they expect to waive him and have him return to the Skyforce for the 2024/25 season rather than giving him a shot to compete for a spot on Miami’s 18-man regular season roster. If he spends at least 60 days with Sioux Falls, Williams will be eligible to earn a bonus worth up to $77.5K on top of his standard G League salary.

The Heat now have 20 players under contract, including 14 on standard guaranteed deals, three on two-ways, and three on Exhibit 10s.

Nets Sign, Waive Tyson Etienne

SEPTEMBER 11: Brooklyn has now waived Etienne, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). As detailed below, the guard is on track to become a returning rights player for the Long Island Nets.


SEPTEMBER 10: The Nets have signed guard Tyson Etienne, Evan Barnes of Newsday tweets. It’s likely an Exhibit 10 deal.

Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, acquired Etienne’s returning rights from the College Park Skyhawks — Atlanta’s affiliate — last week.

If waived and then signed by a club’s G League affiliate, players who ink Exhibit 10 contracts are eligible for bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they remain with those affiliate squads for at least 60 days. It’s likely that’s what will happen in this case.

In 51 regular season games with the Skyhawks from 2022-24, Etienne averaged 7.6 points, 3.5 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 0.7 steals per contest, with a shooting line of .444/.356/.722.

Etienne went undrafted out of Wichita State in 2022. He is a nephew of former NBA player Marcus Camby and cousin of longtime NBA center DeAndre Jordan.

Brooklyn still has a few openings for its training camp roster, so it’ll add more players in the coming weeks. The club currently has 17 players under contract and has also reportedly reached Exhibit 10 agreements with Killian Hayes, Mark Armstrong, and KJ Jones.

And-Ones: Barkley, Traded Picks, Free Agency, MVP Odds

Appearing at Front Office Sports’ Tuned In summit this week, both ESPN president of content Burke Magnus and NBCUniversal chairman Mark Lazarus indicated they’d love to have the opportunity to lure TNT analyst Charles Barkley to their respective networks, according to Dennis Young of Front Office Sports.

Magnus said that in “a perfect world,” he’d hire Barkley to anchor ESPN’s NBA studio coverage, while Lazarus said if Barkley were available, “certainly we’d be talking to him.” Disney (ESPN/ABC) and NBCUniversal are two of the three broadcasters – along with Amazon – who reached 11-year rights agreements with the NBA earlier this year.

TNT Sports announced last month that Barkley, who signed a 10-year contract in 2022, will remain at the network, which appears likely to lose its NBA broadcast rights beginning in 2025/26. TNT attempted to exercise its matching rights on Amazon’s bid, but was rejected by the league, which has argued that TNT’s offer didn’t match the terms of Amazon’s. The matter is the subject of an ongoing legal battle.

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

2024/25 NBA Over/Unders: Northwest Division

With the 2024/25 NBA regular season set to tip off next month, we’re getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and continuing an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.

With the help of the lines from a series of sports betting sites – including Bovada and BetOnline – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

In 2023/24, our voters went 16-14 on their over/under picks. Can you top that in ’24/25?

We’ll continue our series today with the Northwest Division…


Oklahoma City Thunder


Minnesota Timberwolves


Denver Nuggets


Utah Jazz


Portland Trail Blazers


Previous voting results:

Atlantic

  • Boston Celtics (58.5 wins): Over (69.7%)
  • New York Knicks (53.5 wins): Over (58.8%)
  • Philadelphia 76ers (52.5 wins): Under (51.7%)
  • Toronto Raptors (30.5 wins): Under (58.7%)
  • Brooklyn Nets (19.5 wins): Over (54.3%)

Southwest

  • Dallas Mavericks (49.5 wins): Over (78.0%)
  • Memphis Grizzlies (47.5 wins): Under (65.6%)
  • New Orleans Pelicans (46.5 wins): Under (60.6%)
  • Houston Rockets (43.5 wins): Under (51.4%)
  • San Antonio Spurs (36.5 wins): Under (52.9%)

Southeast

  • Orlando Magic (47.5 wins): Over (57.1%)
  • Miami Heat (44.5 wins): Under (63.1%)
  • Atlanta Hawks (35.5 wins): Under (66.4%)
  • Charlotte Hornets (29.5 wins): Under (63.1%)
  • Washington Wizards (20.5 wins): Under (56.6%)

Hornets Sign Marcus Garrett, Joel Soriano, Caleb McConnell

8:23am: The Hornets have officially announced the signings and confirmed that all three players, plus Johnson, are on Exhibit 10 contracts, as expected.


8:13am: The Hornets are signing free agents Marcus Garrett, Joel Soriano, and Caleb McConnell to training camp contracts, league sources tell Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

Garrett, a 6’5″ guard who went undrafted out of Kansas in 2021, spent part of his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Heat and appeared in 12 games for Miami. However, the former Naismith Defensive Player of the Year has primarily played in the G League since going pro. He spent last season with the Greensboro Swarm and played for the Hornets’ Summer League team in Las Vegas this July.

Soriano, a 6’10” center, went undrafted in June after finishing his college career at St. John’s. The big man averaged a double-double (14.5 points, 10.7 rebounds) in 66 games during his final two college seasons while also chipping in 1.6 blocks and 1.4 assists in 29.3 minutes per contest.

McConnell went undrafted out of Rutgers in 2023 and spent his rookie year with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. The 6’7″ wing, a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in college, averaged 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 21.7 minutes per game across 47 Showcase Cup and regular season appearances for the Blue, who won the NBAGL championship in the spring. McConnell’s G League returning rights were recently traded from OKC to Greensboro.

Garrett, Soriano, and McConnell will almost certainly sign non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts, which will put them in line to receive bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they’re waived by the Hornets, then spend at least 60 days with the Swarm. It’s worth noting that Exhibit 10 contracts can also be converted to two-way deals before opening night, and Charlotte does have a two-way slot open.

Prior to officially completing these three signings, the Hornets are carrying 17 players on their offseason roster — 14 on standard contracts, a pair on two-way deals, and one (Keyontae Johnson) on a camp contract. They’ve also reportedly agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with Raequan Battle.

Khem Birch Signs With Fenerbahce

Veteran free agent center Khem Birch has signed a one-year contract with Fenerbahce, the Turkish club announced on Wednesday in a press release.

Birch, who last competed in the EuroLeague in 2016/17 with Olympiacos, spent six years in the NBA from 2017-23 before returning to Europe last season to play for Girona Basket in Spain.

Birch represented Canada in the Paris Olympics this summer and there was some speculation that his contributions on an international stage – he earned more minutes than Raptors center Kelly Olynyk in games against Australia and France – might lead to a return to the NBA. However, it appears the 31-year-old will remain overseas for at least the 2024/25 season.

In 282 total regular season games for the Magic and Raptors in the NBA, Birch averaged 5.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 17.1 minutes per contest. He registered averages of 8.8 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 12 Liga ACB outings (23.3 MPG) for Girona last season.

Birch will replace another former NBA big man, Luka Samanic, in Fenerbahce’s frontcourt. The team announced on Tuesday (via Twitter) that Samanic had left the team for personal reasons and returned to his home country of Croatia.

It’s unclear whether Samanic will return to Fenerbahce at some point or whether the two sides will part ways for good after finalizing a one-year deal in August. The former NBA first-round pick spent much of last season with the Jazz, appearing in 43 games for Utah and averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 9.4 MPG before becoming a free agent this summer.

Los Angeles Notes: Guthrie, Lakers Trade Targets, West, Clippers Rotation

The Lakers are hiring Zach Guthrie as the head coach of their NBA G League affiliate in South Bay, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The G League team has confirmed the hiring (Twitter link).

Guthrie had been an assistant with the Wizards since 2021. He also spent a season with Dallas and four seasons with Utah. Additionally, Guthrie served as the manager of advanced scouting for the Magic and was an assistant video coordinator for two years with the Spurs.

We have more on the Los Angeles teams:

  • Zach LaVine, Trae Young, Jerami Grant and Brandon Ingram are among the rival players who could be linked to the Lakers in trade rumors this season, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report writes. Noting that the Lakers are pushed up against the second tax apron, Pincus believes that a trade would be their only path toward improving the roster. He takes a look at a dozen potential trade targets.
  • The Lakers will wear a No. 44 band on the left shoulder of their uniforms this season to honor Jerry West, according to ESPN Dave McMenamin. West played all 14 years of his Hall of Fame career with the team. He later served as a coach and executive with the organization. West, who was also a consultant for the Clippers beginning in 2017, died in June at the age of 86.
  • Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac, who have all signed new contracts in 2024, are the only surefire starters for the Clippers. How will the rest of the lineup and rotation shake out? The Athletic’s Law Murray tackles that subject, speculating that free agent addition Derrick Jones Jr. and Terance Mann will likely join the above trio in the starting five with Norman Powell preferably slotted in a super-sub role. Two other offseason additions, Nicolas Batum and Kris Dunn, should also claim rotation spots.

Montrezl Harrell To Sign With Australian Team

Free agent big man Montrezl Harrell is headed to Australia, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc reports.

Harrell has agreed to a short-term deal with the Adelaide 36ers. The 2020 NBA Sixth Man of the Year will be an injury replacement for another former NBA forward, Jarell Martin.

Martin is still recovering from a patellar tendon injury and isn’t expected to be available until later in the year, according to Uluc. While Harrell could stick with the 36ers after Martin returns, the team would need to deactivate a local player to make that happen, Uluc adds.

Harrell played eight seasons in the NBA, most recently with the 76ers during the 2022/23 regular season. He averaged 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game that year.

Harrell was waived by Philadelphia in October 2023. He underwent knee surgery last August after he suffered a torn ACL and medial meniscus tear earlier that summer.

The 30-year-old’s best season in the NBA was with the Clippers during the 2019/20 campaign, where he averaged 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. In 515 career regular season outings, Harrell has averaged 12.1 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20.5 minutes.

Before reaching a deal with Harrell, Adelaide also considered former NBA players Justin Jackson and Thon Maker, sources tell Uluc.

Silver: League Still Isn’t Ready To Tackle Expansion

The league isn’t quite ready to explore expansion talks, NBA commissioner Adam Silver revealed during a Tuesday press conference. Silver addressed the media after the league’s Board of Governors meeting.

“There was not a lot of discussion in this meeting about expansion, but only largely not for lack of interest, it was that we had said to them that we’re not quite ready,” Silver said, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “It was something that we told our board we plan to address this season, and we’re not quite ready yet. But I think there’s certainly interest in the process, and I think that we’re not there yet in terms of having made any specific decisions about markets or even frankly to expand.”

Expansion has been put off while the league negotiated a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and reached new broadcast deals. With those items in the rear view mirror, the league could eventually discuss expansion in the coming months. The first step in that process, according to Bontemps, would be forming a committee of several owners to explore the topic and determine what the next steps would be.

Here’s more from Silver’s press conference and the BOG meeting:

  • The commissioner would prefer that legalized sports betting had a “federal framework,” rather than being a state competition with varying rules. “I was in favor of a federal framework for sports betting. I still am,” he said. “I still think that the hodgepodge of state by state, it makes it more difficult for the league to administer it. I think it creates competition, understandably, among states to get — just think New York, New Jersey or a situation like that where you’re both competing for the same customer, so you can compete on tax rates and other things and a regulatory framework.”
  • The league is essentially in wait-and-see mode regarding the potential sales of two franchises, the Timberwolves and the Celtics, according to The Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds. Minnesota’s dispute between current majority owner Glen Taylor and potential majority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez is headed to arbitration. “That’s a process that exists independent of the league that was set out in the sales agreement,” Silver said. Boston’s ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck, intends to sell the majority of its shares later this year or early next year, then close on a sale of the balance of remaining shares in 2028. “I think that Wyc Grousbeck and his ownership group are in the process of working through what the steps will be,” Silver said.
  • Raptors Governor and Chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Larry Tanenbaum has been re-elected as the Board’s chairman, NBA Communications tweets. Tanenbaum has served in that role since 2017.
  • The league could have a national streaming RSN platform as soon as the 2025/26 season, according to the Sports Business Journal’s Tom Friend. Numerous teams were affected Diamond Sports bankruptcy proceedings. Diamond is the parent company of Bally Sports. “I think coming out of this, when we look at the interest of streaming services to carry local games and all the additional functionality that will come to that, there will be a transition and transition for our viewers, as well, in terms of how they discover those games and how they watch them, that I think the end result will be a much better consumer experience,” Silver said.