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Knicks Notes: Robinson, Payne, Defense, Brunson

October 10th, 2024 at 8:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Oft-injured Knicks reserve center Mitchell Robinson is on track to return to the hardwood in January, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

The seven-footer is still recuperating from a pair of ankle procedures he has undergone in the past year. He had a December ankle surgery, then incurred another foot/ankle ailment during the playoffs that required surgery in May. According to Charania, the Knicks plan to have Karl-Anthony Towns and Jericho Sims play the majority of the minutes at center while Robinson is unavailable.

Robinson, 26, suited up for just 31 contests last year, averaging 5.6 points per game on 57.5% from the field and 40.9% shooting from the foul line. He also registered averages of 8.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per night.

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New Knicks backup point guard Cameron Payne, whose Sixers were vanquished in a chippy first round series by New York last spring, is acclimating to his new environs, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. As Bondy notes, Payne and Jalen Brunson had a brief run-in in Game 5 of that series after Payne committed a hard foul on the Knicks star. “First thing I did was talk to JB when I got here,” Payne said, “and he’s like, ‘It’s all love.’ So it’s all love.”
The Knicks’ defensive ferocity was already well on display during the club’s Wednesday win over the Wizards, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. “I think we’re just learning each other some more,” new All-Defensive Team addition Mikal Bridges said. “Defensively, I think we can be really good. Just need time and being around each other more, and having practices and playing these preseason games is gonna help a lot.”
Brunson believes he should have earned a spot on the 2024 Paris Olympics men’s basketball team this summer, per Sam Schube of GQ. The 6’2″ All-Star broke his hand during New York’s Game 7 semifinal defeat to the Pacers and would have been unable to play as he recuperated, but he noted that he didn’t make the cut even before that happened. “The team was chosen before I broke my hand,” Brunson said. “The way I played last year, I thought I was deserving. I thought I could have fit in. I’ve played many roles throughout my career; I could play another. But obviously, it just wasn’t in the cards at that time.”

And-Ones: 2025 Draft Big Board, Tanking, NBAGL Trade

October 10th, 2024 at 7:01pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Now through June 2025, writers across the globe will eagerly anticipate an exciting upcoming draft class headlined by Duke forward Cooper Flagg, alongside other top talents. Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN recently paired to provide an early look at the top 100 prospects before the college season tips off (Insider link).

Flagg ranked first, but Rutgers guards Ace Bailey (No. 2) and Dylan Harper (No. 3) aren’t far behind. Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe (No. 4) and France’s Nolan Traore (No. 5) remain among the top options as well, while Duke’s Kon Knueppel (No. 6) is an early riser after an impressive offseason and preseason.

UNC’s Drake Powell, Duke’s Khaman Maluach, Spanish guard Hugo Gonzalez and UConn’s Liam McNeeley round out the remainder of the top 10.

Collin Murray-Boyles is the draft’s highest-ranked returner after making the decision to come back to South Carolina, with the ESPN duo ranking him at 12.

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The top five of Sam Vecenie’s recent mock draft for The Athletic matches ESPN’s big board to a tee, with Brooklyn being slated to be the ones to land Flagg’s services in June’s draft. However, Vecenie’s mock draft deviates from there, with Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis coming off the board at No. 6 due to his ball and scoring skills. Vecenie mocks Georgia’s Asa Newell to the Hornets at No. 7 and Ratiopharm Ulm’s Ben Saraf at No. 8 to the Raptors, while ESPN has those players at No. 31 and No. 16, respectively.
With such a talented draft class on deck, The Athletic’s John Hollinger suspects teams will return to tanking in 2024/25. While some teams greatly underperformed in 2023/24, as in any year, there wasn’t as much incentive to lose since there wasn’t a consensus top pick like in next year’s draft. Hollinger likens the 2025 class to the 2018 class that produced the likes of Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson and Trae Young in terms of the depth of talent. Hollinger’s story addresses this, but I’d contend that while teams may be blown away by the talent of the 2025 class, the Hawks had a better record than nine teams but still landed the No. 1 overall pick. Meanwhile, the Pistons had their worst season in franchise history but didn’t pick until No. 5.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate, executed a six-team trade on Wednesday, per the team (Twitter link). Several picks swapped hands, but for simplicity’s sake, we’ll focus on the player rights that were moved. The Vipers acquired the returning player rights to Jermaine Samuels, who is currently in camp with the Rockets. The Valley Suns acquired Cassius Stanley‘s rights, the Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers) received Dakota Mathias‘s rights, the Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies) got both Malachi Smith and Devin Cannady‘s rights, the Mexico City Capitanes obtained Loudon Love, and Gary Clark‘s rights were re-routed to the Wisconsin Herd (Bucks). Mathias was already signed and waived by the Pacers, so this is an indication he’ll play for the Mad Ants this season as an affiliate player. It remains to be seen whether Stanley, Smith, Cannady or Clark will sign camp deals to be later waived and set up as affiliates. The Capitanes aren’t an NBA team’s direct affiliate, so while Love could still sign anywhere as an NBA free agent, his rights being moved aren’t directly correlated with him potentially being an affiliate player.

Knicks Sign, Waive Moses Brown

October 10th, 2024 at 6:45pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 10: Brown has been waived by the Knicks, according to a release from the team (Twitter link).

OCTOBER 9: The Knicks have signed free agent center Moses Brown to an Exhibit 10 contract, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

Brown, who will celebrate his 25th birthday on Sunday, hasn’t stuck with an NBA team for more than a single season since making his debut in 2019, but he has racked up 150 regular season appearances in stints with the Trail Blazers, Thunder, Mavericks, Cavaliers, Clippers, Nets, and Trail Blazers. He holds career averages of 5.2 points and 5.0 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game.

Brown spent the 2023/24 campaign under contract with the Blazers, appearing in 22 games for the team and posting averages of 3.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 9.1 MPG. He also put up 15.8 PPG and 10.5 RPG in six appearances (24.4 MPG) for the Rip City Remix, Portland’s G League affiliate.

Brown is ineligible for a two-way contract, so the Knicks likely intend to waive him before the season begins and then have him join the Westchester Knicks in the NBAGL. If he were to spend at least 60 days with Westchester, he’d be able to earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $77.5K on top of his standard G League salary.

New York had a full 21-man roster before signing Brown, so the team needed to make a corresponding move to open up a spot for him. The Knicks announced (via Twitter) that they’ve waived Boo Buie, who recently signed an Exhibit 10 contract of his own and is likely ticketed for Westchester.

Heat Sign Warren Washington, Waive Caleb Daniels

October 10th, 2024 at 6:36pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Heat have made a change to their training camp roster, adding center Warren Washington and waiving guard Caleb Daniels, according to a team release (Twitter link).

Washington went undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2024 after a five-year collegiate career that also included stops at Oregon State, Nevada and Arizona State. In 134 collegiate games, he averaged 8.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.

After not being selected in the 2024 draft, Washington suited up for the Heat’s Summer League team. He made a total of six appearances, totaling 14 points and 13 rebounds in limited time. Presumably, Miami will waive him ahead of the beginning of the regular season. While the terms of the agreement weren’t revealed, it’s almost a certainty that he agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal. If that’s the case, he’s eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with the Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami’s G League affiliate).

Daniels was occupying a spot on the 21-man roster on an Exhibit 10 deal. He’s likely to head back to Sioux Falls for a second straight season. He averaged 12.3 points while shooting 36.8% from deep for the Skyforce last season across 47 games. He helped the Skyforce to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference G League playoffs last season and then was a member of the Heat squad that won the Summer League championship in Las Vegas. He averaged 6.0 points in seven summer league games this year.

Daniels appeared in one preseason game, recording eight points behind a pair of threes and nine rebounds. Miami has 21 players under contract, with Washington joining Isaiah Stevens and Zyon Pullin on Exhibit 10 deals.

Pacific Notes: Bronny, Redick, Jones, Kings Analytics, DeRozan

October 10th, 2024 at 6:00pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul was blunt with Bronny James about his assessment of where he could realistically be drafted this summer, Baxter Holmes of ESPN writes in a feature. Even though he knew he wouldn’t be a top pick, James simply wanted to hear his name called.

“Nobody pressured Bronny to go pro,” Paul said. “Bronny had a choice to stay at USC, he had a choice to transfer somewhere else or he had a choice to go pro.”

That, alone, was Bronny’s choice to make, Holmes writes. He wound up being selected at No. 55 to the Lakers, the much speculated landing spot for him despite reports of outside interest. While his decision to go pro after only 25 collegiate games drew criticism, Bronny has been one of the first players in the gym and is eager to shake off any rust accrued from his lone collegiate season following cardiac arrest, Holmes writes.

“Bronny is serious,” Paul said. “This isn’t a f—ing game for him. He wants to play in the NBA, and he wants to play well within his role.”

Paul, Bronny and the entire James family are aware of the narrative surrounding him, Holmes writes, but Paul and Bronny are eager to rewrite it. It won’t be easy to tune out the constant noise — both positive and negative — but the 20-year-old is handling all the questions and pressure with grace. I recommend checking out Holmes’ feature in full here.

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JJ Redick wants the Lakers to be one of the highest-volume three-point shooting teams in the league this season, Khobi Price of The Orange County Register writes. L.A. took 40 three-point attempts in the Sunday preseason game against Phoenix, which was encouraging from Redick’s perspective. “[Forty threes] is a lot,” Redick said. “But if you’re generating good ones, that’s a great number. I would like us to average five or six more threes a game. But you have to be conscientious about how we’re generating those threes.” The Lakers didn’t make many outside additions this offseason, but we previously relayed that they’re interested in getting Anthony Davis to take more shots from outside. Rookie Dalton Knecht and third-year wing Max Christie could also factor into that equation.
Clippers center Mohamed Bamba is dealing with a knee injury that’s sidelined him during the preseason, Law Murray of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). According to Murray, head coach Tyronn Lue said the hope is for Bamba to be ready for the start of the regular season, but as long as he’s out, Kai Jones is the backup center. That’s interesting to note, because Jones is currently only signed to an Exhibit 10 deal. With 15 players on standard contracts, Jones makes the most sense for a two-way deal. We outlined the Clippers’ current roster battle here. However, given that P.J. Tucker is remaining away from the team, there could theoretically be more roster juggling to come, rather than simply converting Jones to an open two-way slot.
Offensive rebounding has been a major focal point for the Kings through training camp and the preseason, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes. Analytically inclined general manager Monte McNair encouraged head coach Mike Brown to make offensive rebounding a staple of the team’s philosophies, Anderson writes. “Talking to Monte was a little bit more convincing,” Brown said. “The next step was doing it in practice and training camp and seeing it on film and realizing, hey, we’re sending these guys to the glass, but because of the way we’re doing it, we’re still pretty good in transition defense. It’s been two years now, going into year three, so I’m convinced that you can attack the glass while still being good in transition defense. It just took time.“
DeMar DeRozan was extremely efficient in his Kings preseason debut, as he scored 15 points in 15 minutes and didn’t miss a shot, Anderson writes in a separate story. Star guard De’Aaron Fox was highly complimentary of his new teammate after the game. “Bringing in that type of talent, especially guys who are extremely unselfish, you enjoy playing together,” Fox said.

Wizards Waive Jaylen Nowell, Sign Erik Stevenson

October 10th, 2024 at 5:23pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Wizards are cycling through Exhibit 10 players, cutting Jaylen Nowell from the training camp roster to make room for Erik Stevenson, according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith (Twitter link).

Washington originally agreed to terms with Nowell in August alongside Kira Lewis and Leaky Black before officially adding them to their roster in September. All three were set up to compete for a spot on Washington’s roster, but with the Wizards already facing a roster crunch with 16 players on standard deals, it was an uphill battle for Nowell (or Lewis) to make it on a standard contract. Of those three signees, Black is the only one eligible for a two-way contract since he has just one year of NBA service. The Wizards have one two-way slot open.

Nowell now has the option to play for the team’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go. If he spends at least 60 days with the club, he’ll earn a bonus worth $77.5K. Nowell is a five-year NBA veteran, appearing in 197 games (four starts) and averaging 8.9 points across appearances with the Timberwolves, Grizzlies and Pistons.

The 6’4″ Stevenson went undrafted in 2023 out of West Virginia. He was cycled onto the Spurs’ roster on an Exhibit 10 contract last offseason, appearing in 48 games with both the Austin Spurs and then Texas Legends in the G League. He averaged 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in his G League appearances last year.

Theoretically, Stevenson will be in competition for Washington’s open two-way slot. It seems more likely, given the timing of the signing, that he’ll end up being waived and spending the 2024/25 season in the G League to develop.

Mavericks Ink A.J. Lawson To Two-Way Contract

October 10th, 2024 at 4:56pm CST by Tristan Tucker

4:56 pm: Lawson’s new two-way deal with the Mavericks is now official, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

3:31 pm: The Mavericks are bringing back wing A.J. Lawson to a two-way contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

Dallas originally waived Lawson on Tuesday from a standard contract. He was signed to a two-year, two-way contract in 2022 by the Mavericks and was converted to a standard deal in March of this year. With the team facing a roster crunch after bringing back Markieff Morris, Lawson’s non-guaranteed contract was waived. Because he only has two years of NBA service, he was eligible to sign back to a two-way deal.

Lawson averaged 18.4 points in Summer League for Dallas and appeared in 42 games with the team last year. Having also spent time with the Timberwolves, he holds a career average of 3.4 PPG across 57 total outings. He averaged 20.7 PPG and 7.0 RPG last year in the G League.

The Mavericks have a two-way slot open, with only Brandon Williams and Kessler Edwards claiming those spots for now. That means no other move will be required to bring Lawson back in.

Pelicans Waive Matt Ryan, Adonis Arms

October 10th, 2024 at 4:54pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Pelicans have waived both guards Matt Ryan and Adonis Arms, according to the NBA’s official transaction log (hat tip to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype).

Both players were on non-guaranteed training camp contracts, so the Pelicans won’t carry any dead money as a result of waiving them.

The decision to waive Ryan is a notable one. The three-point marksman was an instrumental reserve for New Orleans at times last season, averaging 5.4 points per game while shooting 45.1% from deep. He was originally on a two-way contract with the Timberwolves ahead of the 2023/24 season, but was waived last October and was claimed by the Pelicans.

Ryan parlayed his strong play into a standard contract in April. However, he was waived from that standard deal in August after the team signed Javonte Green. The Pelicans, who are operating slightly above the luxury tax line, brought Ryan back on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract but presumably want to start the season with just 14 players on standard deals in order to avoid going deeper into the tax.

Keith Langlois of Pistons.com speculates Detroit could be a landing spot for Ryan if he winds back up on an NBA roster this season (Twitter link). New Pistons head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon was the general manager in New Orleans when the team claimed Ryan last fall. The Pistons are also first in waiver order if they choose to put in a claim for him and they have an open spot on their 15-man roster while being comfortably below the salary cap.

Because Ryan was signed to an Exhibit 9 deal that didn’t include Exhibit 10 language, he’s not eligible for a bonus if he were to join the Pelicans’ G League affiliate Birmingham Squadron. Ryan holds career averages of 4.4 points on 41.1% shooting from three in 63 career appearances with the Pels, Wolves, Lakers and Celtics.

As for Arms, the Pelicans signed him to an Exhibit 10 deal at the beginning of the month. The plan is presumably for him to suit up for the Squadron, where he will be eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days in Birmingham.

Arms went undrafted last season after attending Texas Tech. He played for the Memphis Hustle last season, averaging 16.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He was impressive in Summer League this season, averaging 20.7 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Kings.

Southwest Notes: Eason, Wembanyama, Paul, Irving, Ingram

October 10th, 2024 at 2:14pm CST by Tristan Tucker

After a promising rookie season in which he played all 82 games, Rockets forward Tari Eason played just 22 times in his sophomore season due to a leg injury. Now, Eason is reestablishing his value this preseason, Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicle writes.

Eason, when healthy, is an integral part of the Rockets’ present and future. A strong defensive-minded wing, he holds averages of 9.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 104 career games. The preseason minutes Eason is receiving represent his first NBA action since Jan. 1.

“I don’t think there were too many jitters just because this is my third year, and I try not to overcomplicate things,” Eason said. “The anticipation was real, but I don’t like to say jitters or nerves. When you spend your time worrying, I think that affects performance. So, I try not to worry too much, be as comfortable as possible, trust myself, trust my game, trust my work.”

Eason projects to be a key reserve for the team alongside other young players like Amen Thompson (if he isn’t promoted to the starting lineup), Reed Sheppard and Cam Whitmore.

“For me, it was just trying to figure out a way to fit in as well as possible with that second unit,” Eason said. “[I’m] just figuring it out.”

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The Spurs signed NBA legend Chris Paul this offseason, but Victor Wembanyama was blunt in his assessment of where the team stands. According to San Antonio Express-News’ Jeff McDonald, Wembanyama cautioned that flashy plays like lobs are among the first things opposing teams think to guard. That connection looked ahead of schedule in San Antonio’s Wednesday preseason game against Orlando, but Paul agreed that fundamentals need to be the first focus of synergy. “The game is tough,” Paul said. “A lot of people think it’s just going to be lob, lob, lob. But there’s a lot of regular, fundamental basketball we’ve got to play to hopefully at some point get to that.“
Kyrie Irving helped lead the Mavericks renaissance that culminated in them reaching the NBA Finals last season. In an extensive interview with The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Irving spoke on several Mavs and personal topics, including how he’s feeling content with a veteran role in Dallas. “I used to think leadership is just this lonely, lonely, lonely thing, and it’s not,” Irving said. “It’s literally surrounding yourself with great-minded people, great-hearted people, and being able to ask them to push you at times when you’re not able to push yourself.“
Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram won’t make a preseason appearance until the finale next Tuesday against the Rockets, NOLA.com’s Christian Clark tweets. Ingram is out for undisclosed reasons until then. “He’s fine,” head coach Willie Green said.

Atlantic Notes: Barnes, Olynyk, Barrett, Tillman, Celtics Sale, Lowry

October 10th, 2024 at 12:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Scottie Barnes and Kelly Olynyk played fewer than 100 minutes together after Olynyk was acquired by the Raptors at the trade deadline. Barnes will make his preseason debut on Friday and anticipates he could be an ideal pick-and-roll partner for the veteran big man, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.

“I think we’ve been working on that a lot. You play with different lines at practices, see how things go,” Barnes said. “Kelly’s great at passing. He can dribble really well for his size and just his vision on the floor. So being able to create those advantages where a (center guarding Olynyk) is used to being in the ball screen, it kind of messes up a team or messes up some rotations, for sure. So just got to try to use that, exploit it at times, and see what works throughout the process, throughout games. If it keeps working, you know, you just keep attacking.”

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Raptors wing RJ Barrett is expected to miss the remainder of the preseason with a shoulder injury. That could thrust Ochai Agbaji into the starting lineup when the season begins, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN. In a separate note, Lewenberg reports that Immanuel Quickley should be cleared for contact soon. He’s recovering from a thumb injury.
The Celtics seem determined to expand Xavier Tillman‘s offensive game. Tillman has taken five 3-pointers in two preseason games and made three of them. “You never want to put a ceiling on his game, and now that we have him for an entire offseason and season it’s just continuing to grow,” coach Joe Mazzulla told Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “So he does a great job of working, but all facets are important for his development.”
The Celtics are up for sale and majority owner Wyc Grousbeck provided Himmelsbach with an update. “The sale process is gearing up and about to hit full speed,” he said. “It took this long for our advisers to go through the financial and business data of the team and our whole management team, and spend enough time to put together offering books. Now they’re beginning to have discussions with interested parties, and the bidding process will commence in the next month or so.”
Sixers coach Nick Nurse believes Kyle Lowry could become an NBA head coach after the veteran guard retires, he told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I think that he’s got a couple things that I would think would make him a good coach,” Nurse said. “He really loves the game. He really studies the game. He knows the game, and, obviously, he’s got a toughness level, right? I think he could handle going out there to fight.”