Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 11 a.m. Central time (noon Eastern). Click here to read the transcript.
The Sixers will be without two members of their “big three” when they open their season on Wednesday vs. the Bucks, the team announced today. As Ramona Shelburne of ESPN relays (via Twitter), Joel Embiid and Paul George have both been ruled out for that game.
Embiid didn’t play at all during the preseason due to left knee management. In addition to being ruled out for Wednesday’s opener, the star center will also miss Friday’s game in Toronto and Sunday’s in Indiana before being reevaluated this weekend. However, the former MVP is expected to ramp up his return-to-play activities and will scrimmage this week, so it sounds like the isn’t far off from making his season debut.
As for George, he’s said to be recovering well after hyperextending his left knee during the preseason. He’ll also ramp up his on-court activities this week and hasn’t been ruled out for any games beyond Wednesday’s vs. Milwaukee. The plan is for the star forward to be reassessed later this week.
While it’s a somewhat discouraging sign for 76ers fans that two of the team’s three stars will be on the shelf for the start of the season, the team has repeatedly expressed a desire to play it safe with Embiid and George this season in the hopes of having them at full strength for the postseason, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the team isn’t rushing them back for the first of 82 regular season games.
Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Lakers guard Austin Reaves missed some time during the preseason with an ankle injury, but he said on Monday that the ankle feels great now and that he’s good to go for the club’s opener vs. Minnesota on Tuesday (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).
- Suns swingman Grayson Allen missed the team’s final four preseason contests due to a sore right Achilles, but he said he “did just about everything” in practice on Monday and hopes to be active when Phoenix’s season tips off on Wednesday vs. the Clippers, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Meanwhile, Suns guards Josh Okogie and Damion Lee are battling hamstring issues. “I think Damion is close,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Josh is a little bit behind those guys.”
- Dejounte Murray isn’t injured, but his status for the Pelicans‘ opener on Wednesday vs. Chicago is up in the air since he’s away from the team due to a family emergency, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Head coach Willie Green said the team is “hopeful” Murray will be available to make his Pelicans debut on Wednesday.
Although the Warriors think Jonathan Kuminga has All-Star potential, they weren’t willing to sign him at this time to the kind of long-term rookie scale extension he was seeking without a more concrete belief that he’ll reach that level, writes Monte Poole of NBC Bay Area.
[RELATED: No Extension For Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors]
As Poole explains, no one on Golden State’s roster besides Stephen Curry is making $30MM+ per year and Kuminga was seeking a deal that was worth “well beyond that amount.” While the Warriors aren’t opposed to making that sort of commitment to the fourth-year forward, they want to see more from him this season before signing off on such a significant contract.
“He took a leap last season,” one source told Poole. “They want to see another one before they make that investment. He’s still under their control. If Kuminga has a strong season, I know they’ll take care of him.”
Without a rookie scale extension in place, Kuminga will be a restricted free agent in 2025, giving the Warriors the right to match any offer sheet he signs with a new team.
Here are a few more notes from around the NBA on the contract extensions that did and didn’t get done on Monday:
- Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link) provides the year-by-year breakdown of Corey Kispert‘s four-year, $54MM+ extension with the Wizards, which will be worth $13.975MM in each of the first two years, then $13.05MM in years three and four. As previously reported, the final year is a team option.
- Jalen Johnson‘s five-year, $150MM extension with the Hawks will have a flat structure, with $30MM annual cap hits, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
- As part of his extension with the Nuggets, Aaron Gordon picked up his $22.84MM option for 2025/26 rather than turning it down and getting a 40% raise (to $31.98MM) for that season. The Nuggets will be subject to the repeater tax and increasing tax rates next season, so the structure of the deal will allow them to save a projected $60MM in tax penalties for ’25/26, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
- Tony Jones and Sam Amick of The Athletic take a closer look at the impact of the Gordon extension, with Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth weighing in on why the team felt the need to get a deal done: “In many ways, Aaron is the heart and soul of the team. He does a lot of things on the floor that makes us go. The guys rally around him in the locker room, and now with this agreement, we can move forward as a unit. We are built as a team to go deep into the playoffs.”
- The Knicks made the best extension offer they could to Mikal Bridges prior to Monday’s deadline, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, New York was capped at approximately $61MM over two years due to extend-and-trade restrictions, whereas the team will be able to offer about $156MM over four years next offseason, so Bridges was always expected to hold off on a new deal.
- Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) takes a look at what’s next for some of the top players who didn’t sign rookie scale extensions by Monday’s deadline, including Kuminga and Bulls guard Josh Giddey, as well as highlighting a few of the notable veterans who remain eligible to sign extensions during the season, like Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert and Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram.
The NBA’s annual deadline for rookie scale contract extensions passed on Monday, officially bringing the extension period for 2021 first-round picks to an end.
There was some speculation that there may be a downturn in rookie scale extensions this year, given the lack of projected cap room around the NBA in 2025. However, that turned out not to be the case, as 11 eligible players signed new contracts this year.
We’ve seen a noticeable uptick in rookie scale extensions in recent years, with at least 10 such deals completed in each of the last five offseasons. Prior to 2020, the last time as many as 10 rookie scale extensions were signed in a single league year was back in 2006, when players like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh were signing their second NBA contracts.
Since 2020, however, the total rookie scale extensions by year has been as follows:
Here’s a breakdown of the 11 rookie scale extensions signed before this year’s deadline, sorted by total value. In cases where we haven’t yet seen the official contract terms for the extension, we’re basing our figures on the latest reports and will update these numbers as necessary. These deals will go into effect beginning in 2025/26.
Note: Projected values for maximum-salary extensions are based on a 10% annual salary cap increase in 2025. If the cap doesn’t increase by that much, those max extensions won’t be worth as much, since they’re based on a percentage of the cap.
Scottie Barnes (Raptors): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $224,238,150. Projected value can increase to $269,085,780 if Barnes meets Rose Rule performance criteria. Includes 15% trade kicker.- Cade Cunningham (Pistons): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $224,238,150. Projected value can increase to $269,085,780 if Cunningham meets Rose Rule performance criteria.
- Evan Mobley (Cavaliers): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $224,238,150. Projected value can increase to $246,661,965 or $269,085,780 if Mobley meets Rose Rule performance criteria. Includes 15% trade kicker.
- Franz Wagner (Magic): Five years, maximum salary (story). Projected value of $224,238,150. Projected value can increase to $246,661,965 or $269,085,780 if Wagner meets Rose Rule performance criteria.
- Alperen Sengun (Rockets): Five years, $185,000,000 (story). Includes fifth-year player option.
- Jalen Suggs (Magic): Five years, $150,500,000 (story).
- Jalen Johnson (Hawks): Five years, $150,000,000 (story).
- Trey Murphy (Pelicans): Four years, $112,000,000 (story).
- Jalen Green (Rockets): Three years, $105,333,333 (story). Includes third-year player option and 10% trade kicker.
- Corey Kispert (Wizards): Four years, $54,050,000 (story). Includes fourth-year team option.
- Moses Moody (Warriors): Three years, $37,500,000 (story). Includes $1,500,000 in incentives.
As is typically the case, the maximum-salary deals were completed relatively early in the offseason, with Barnes, Cunningham, and Wagner all signed by July 10 and Mobley’s deal coming a couple weeks later.
While I’m not necessarily surprised that those four players got max extensions, it’s worth noting that their career résumés are a little lighter than what we typically see from that group of maximum-salary players. Barnes is the only one of the four who has earned an All-Star nod. By comparison, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, and LaMelo Ball had each made an All-Star team before signing their max extensions a year ago.
That’s not to say that this year’s maximum-salary rookie scale extensions are ill-advised investments, but they’re certainly big bets on continued growth from those four players.
No rookie scale extension agreements were reached between July 22 – when Mobley signed his contract with the Cavs – and October 19, but we got a flurry of action in the final 24 hours before Monday’s deadline, with Warriors guard Moses Moody striking a deal on Sunday night and six more players following suit on Monday.
Moody’s three-year, $39MM deal with Golden State was the smallest of 2024’s rookie scale extensions in terms of both overall money and average annual value, but it’s one of the more intriguing deals of the year. Securing $39MM in guaranteed money is a big win for a player who has never averaged more than 17.5 minutes per game or made more than 11 starts in a season, but Moody still has enough upside that the contract could turn into a steal for the Warriors.
Kispert got the only other rookie scale extension worth less than $100MM overall, with his new four-year deal coming in a little under the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. That’s a fair price for a player who can spread the floor like Kispert, and it could look more team-friendly if he continues to expand his offensive game and/or improves defensively.
I wasn’t necessarily expecting the Rockets to extend Sengun and Green at this time, since they could have put themselves in position to be a cap-space team in 2025 by not locking up that duo quite yet.
That option is likely off the table now, but that’s OK — Houston did well to get Sengun for nearly $40MM below his projected max, and the deal with Green is a unique one that could be a win-win. The former No. 2 overall pick gets a nine-figure payday while the Rockets get another two or three years to observe his growth and assess whether he’s worth a more lucrative longer-term commitment.
Reporting leading up to Monday’s deadline indicated that Suggs and Johnson were among the players seeking $30MM+ annual salaries on rookie scale extensions. Both players got there, just barely, on new five-year contracts with their respective Southeast clubs. Already an All-Defensive player, Suggs is poised to take on more offensive responsibilities in 2024/25 and beyond. If he handles that increased offensive role well, he should deliver a solid return on investment for the Magic.
The Johnson deal could be viewed as a risky bet on a relatively small sample, since the forward had played an extremely limited role for the Hawks in his first two seasons before breaking out in an injury-shortened year in 2023/24. But there’s a path to stardom for Johnson, and if he continues along that path, that $30MM annual salary will eventually look like a bargain for Atlanta.
Finally, Murphy locked in a new deal at $28MM per year with the Pelicans, who have now secured Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Herbert Jones, and Murphy on long-term contracts. Murphy’s extension suggests that either Brandon Ingram or CJ McCollum might be playing for a new team within a year or two, since the cost-conscious Pels would have to go well into luxury tax territory to hang onto both veterans beyond 2025.
A total of 24 players entered the offseason eligible for rookie scale extensions, so almost half the players in that group signed them. That leaves 13 players who didn’t reach agreements and will be entering contract years.
Here’s that list of those players, who are now eligible to become restricted free agents during the 2025 offseason, assuming they finish out their current contracts:
- Santi Aldama (Grizzlies)
- Chris Duarte (Bulls)
- Josh Giddey (Bulls)
- Quentin Grimes (Mavericks)
- Bones Hyland (Clippers)
- Isaiah Jackson (Pacers)
- Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors)
- Tre Mann (Hornets)
- Davion Mitchell (Raptors)
- Day’Ron Sharpe (Nets)
- Jaden Springer (Celtics)
- Cam Thomas (Nets)
- Ziaire Williams (Nets)
Kuminga is the most noteworthy extension candidate not to sign a new deal before Monday’s deadline. He and the Warriors reportedly had discussions throughout the offseason but didn’t ultimately gain serious traction toward an agreement.
Golden State’s offer was rumored to be in the neighborhood of $30MM per year, whereas a maximum-salary extension for Kuminga would have been worth in the $43-45MM range. He’ll bet on himself this season in hopes of securing a huge payday in restricted free agency.
Giddey and Thomas are among the other notable extension candidates who didn’t get new deals and could be targets for lucrative offer sheets in July of 2025. I had viewed players like Aldama, Grimes, Jackson, and Mann as potential candidates for modest extensions, but they’ll have to prove their worth this season too.
A few players in this group – like Duarte, Springer, and Williams – never looked like serious extension candidates and will need to make their case this season that they’re worthy of qualifying offers in 2025 free agency.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that there were six players selected in the first round of the 2021 draft who weren’t eligible at all for rookie scale extensions entering this offseason, for various reasons. Those players are as follows:
- James Bouknight: Fourth-year option declined by Hornets in 2023; waived in 2024.
- Josh Christopher: Waived by Grizzlies in 2023.
- Usman Garuba: Waived by Thunder in 2023.
- Keon Johnson: Waived by Suns in 2023.
- Kai Jones: Waived by Hornets in 2023.
- Joshua Primo: Waived by Spurs in 2022.
Of these six players, only Johnson is currently on a standard NBA contract — he has a non-guaranteed deal with the Nets. Christopher (Heat) and Jones (Clippers) are on two-way contracts, while Garuba is playing in Spain for Real Madrid. Bouknight and Primo aren’t on a roster and may open the season in the G League.
11:00pm: Gordon’s new deal with the Nuggets is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
7:38pm: The Nuggets and forward Aaron Gordon have agreed on a contract extension, NBA insider Chris Haynes tweets. The deal will include a player option and a trade kicker, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets.
While Haynes and Charania refer to the contract as a four-year extension, the agreement will actually adding three new years to Gordon’s current contract and will begin in 2026.
Gordon, who is earning a base salary of $22.84MM in 2024/25, will exercise his $22.84MM player option for ’25/26 as part of the agreement, then receive his maximum salary for the next three seasons after that, Charania adds (Twitter link).
Because Gordon is eligible for a 40% raise on his option salary, the extension will start at $31.98MM, with a ’27/28 salary of $34.54MM and a player option worth $37.1MM in ’28/29. The deal will include $103.61MM in total new money over those three seasons, plus incentives that could increase the total value to approximately $109MM.
Gordon is the second Nuggets starter to get a major extension this offseason. Denver locked up point guard Jamal Murray with a four-year, maximum-salary extension in September.
Superstar center Nikola Jokic and forward Michael Porter Jr. are both signed through the 2026/27 season, with Jokic also holding a player option for ’27/28.
The Nuggets lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency in July and were intent on keeping their remaining core intact. Gordon would have remained extension-eligible during the season if he had declined his ’25/26 option as part of an agreement, but had to get the deal done by Monday night in order to pick up that option and extend off that number.
If he had declined his option, Gordon would have eligible for up to $143.3MM on a four-year extension starting in 2025, so the Nuggets managed to get the deal done somewhat lower than that figure. That should help the team better manage its luxury tax situation in ’25/26.
Gordon has proven to be a versatile starter since he was acquired from Orlando during the 2020/21 season, fitting in well with Jokic on offense and providing solid defense on the wing. He has appeared in at least 68 regular season games in each of his three full seasons with Denver. Last season, Gordon averaged 13.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while struggling with his shooting from deep (29.0%).
After getting waived by the Celtics, Lonnie Walker could have a European opportunity if he’s willing to go that route. Real Madrid is targeting the forward, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. Real Madrid is also exploring other potential options.
Walker will likely draw some NBA interest after clearing waivers on Monday. Boston let him go mainly due to luxury tax concerns.
As Urbonas notes, reporting to the Maine Celtics to open the season and trying to earn a promotion from the G League back to the NBA is another option for the six-year veteran, who holds career averages of 9.8 PPG and 2.3 RPG. He was the 18th pick of the 2018 draft.
We have more from around the international basketball world:
- NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that expansion produces side issues that often go unnoticed to the general public, he told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix. “It’s one of the reasons why expansion isn’t as obvious as some people might think. There is a point of view that I often encounter that expansion is printing money. It’s not,” Silver said. “First of all, you’re in essence selling equity in the league. To the extent you have new national television deals, you now have two new partners, so you’re dividing up the money by two additional ways. There’s also a dilution of talent. It’s one of the reasons we haven’t expanded anytime recently, because we’ve been working towards creating a more competitive league.”
- The NBA G League is experimenting with several new rules, including a target score for overtimes, according to a league press release. Games that go to overtime will be determined by a final target score of seven points. For example, if the teams are tied at 100-100, the target score would be 107. A one free throw rule, expanded coaches challenges, and not counting missed end-of-quarter “heaves” toward a player’s field goal percentage against are among the other experimental rules.
- Former NBA big man Willie Cauley-Stein has signed with Chinese team Nanjing Monkey Kings, according to HoopsHype. Cauley-Stein had hoped to find another NBA opportunity but that didn’t pan out.
No. 4 overall pick Stephon Castle said both before and after the draft that he views himself as a point guard, but his role heading into his rookie season is uncertain, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). The Spurs signed Chris Paul in free agency and also have Tre Jones, who started most of the past two seasons at point. Third-year guards Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley have initiated the offense at times as well.
“I don’t really know, but it doesn’t really matter to me,” Castle said of how head coach Gregg Popovich plans to use him.
Whichever positions Castle is tasked with, he says he’s ready to contribute.
“I feel like just using my versatility to be on the court is the main thing,” said Castle. “Just going out there and not really giving myself any kind of expectations. Just kind of trying to play free. So, I feel like the biggest thing is being on the court so I can find a way to help us win. That’s a good enough role for me.”
Here’s more on the Spurs:
- Popovich claimed last week that he didn’t know who Riley Minix was when training camp opened, but the undrafted rookie forward has made a strong impression on the legendary coach, Orsborn adds. The Spurs recently converted Minix’s Exhibit 10 deal to a two-way contract. He says he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to get Popovich’s attention. “Just staying confident, playing my game, doing whatever the team needed, being able to shoot the ball, make shots when I was open, just all the little things I have been doing all my life,” Minix said.
- Rookie of the Year. Runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year. All-Defensive First Team. Silver medal. Big man Victor Wembanyama accomplished all of those things in his first year-plus after being selected No. 1 overall in 2023. While he doesn’t take those accolades for granted, Wembanyama says he has much more he wants to accomplish, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “It’s the same for all of my trophies, team trophies or even individual,” Wembanyama said. “I love them. I really cherish them. But I want all my trophies that I get right now to be bricks to build something great in the future. You know, one brick by itself is not much. You can get a palace when you accumulate them.”
- In case you missed it, guards Malachi Flynn, Brandon Boston and Jamaree Bouyea — all of whom were on Exhibit 10 deals for training camp — were released on Saturday to finalize San Antonio’s regular season roster. Boston was subsequently claimed by the Pelicans on Monday.
10:42pm: Butler has officially signed his two-way deal, according to the NBA transactions log.
6:21pm: The Wizards are bringing back free agent guard Jared Butler on a two-way deal, Marc Stein tweets.
Butler was on a standard contract with Washington entering training camp but was cut on Saturday. He cleared waivers on Monday.
It’s not surprising that Butler was brought back by the Wizards, who reportedly explored ways to keep Butler on the 15-man roster. He was on a non-guaranteed contract and the team was already carrying 15 players on fully guaranteed deals. It’s entirely possible Butler will wind up signing another standard contract at some point this season.
To make room for Butler, the Wizards waived guard RayJ Dennis, according to the NBA transactions log.
The 40th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Butler spent time with Utah and Oklahoma City before playing for the Wizards in 2023/24. He was on a two-way contract for most of the season before being converted to a multiyear standard contract in April.
Butler appeared in a total of 40 NBA games last season, averaging 6.3 points, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per night, with a .488 FG%. He also had a strong preseason this month, with averages of 6.8 PPG and 4.2 APG on .536/.400/.667 shooting in five games (14.3 MPG).
Dennis was just signed to a two-way contract over the weekend. The undrafted Baylor guard averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 34.3 minutes per game across 35 contests last season (all starts).
The Wizards opted to retain Justin Champagnie and Tristan Vukcevic with their other two-way deals.
The Pistons have exercised their 2025/26 contract options on Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson and Marcus Sasser, the team’s PR department tweets.
For Ivey and Duren, the options cover their fourth NBA seassons. Ivey, the fifth pick in 2022, will now get a guaranteed $10,107,163. Duren, chosen 13th overall that same draft after the Pistons swung a deal to acquire him, will make $6,483,144 next season.
Both players will either start or be regular second-unit players this season. They will be eligible for rookie scale extensions next summer.
Thompson and Sasser were first-rounders last season. Thompson, the No. 5 pick in 2023, will make $8,775,162 in 2025/26, while Sasser, the No. 25 pick last year, will receive $2,886,431. The Pistons will have until October 31, 2025 to pick up their fourth-year options for ’26/27.
Notably, the Pistons also have a fifth player who has a rookie scale team option for 2025/26: Wendell Moore, acquired over the summer in a trade with Minnesota, would make $4,574,283 if his option is picked up.
While Detroit still has another 10 days to exercise Moore’s option, teams typically announce all of those decisions at the same time, so his omission from today’s press release is a strong indication that option won’t be picked up. Assuming that’s the case, he’d become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
We’re tracking all of the ’25/26 rookie scale option decisions right here.
5:35pm: Sengun has officially signed his new contract with the Rockets, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
4:49pm: The Rockets and big man Alperen Sengun have reached an agreement on a five-year rookie scale extension, agents Sean Kennedy and Jeff Schwartz tell Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal is worth $185MM, with a fifth-year player option, according to Marks.
Sengun, 22, is coming off a breakout season that saw him finish third in Most Improved Player voting. He set new career highs in points (21.1), rebounds (9.3), assists (5.0), and steals (1.2) per game while making 53.7% of his field goal attempts in 63 starts (32.5 MPG) before ankle and knee injuries prematurely ended his season.
Despite Sengun’s star turn, there was uncertainty entering the fall about whether or not he and the Rockets would work out a rookie scale extension, since Houston wasn’t expected to offer him a maximum-salary deal at this time and was in position to maximize its 2025 cap room by postponing a new deal for Sengun. If he had entered next offseason as a restricted free agent, Sengun would have had a cap hold of just $16.3MM.
However, Sengun said on media day that he was interested in signing an extension before the 2024/25 season tipped off and Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reported at the time that there was a “legitimate chance” the two sides would reach a deal.
Having agreed to terms with both Sengun and Jalen Green, who signed a three-year, $105.3MM extension, the Rockets now appear poised to operate over the cap next summer rather than under it.
They also have two of their cornerstone players locked up for multiple seasons beyond 2024/25. In addition to Sengun and Green, Rockets youngsters Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore, and Reed Sheppard are also under contract through at least 2027.
Sengun is one of seven players to complete a rookie scale extension in the past 24 hours, joining Jalen Johnson, Jalen Suggs, Trey Murphy, Corey Kispert, Moses Moody, and his teammate Green.