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Team USA Notes: Durant, Holiday, Brown, Tatum, Embiid

August 9th, 2024 at 6:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Team USA will make a lineup change for its gold medal game on Saturday vs. France, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who says that Suns forward Kevin Durant will be inserted into the starting five, with Celtics guard Jrue Holiday expected to make the move to the bench.

Durant missed all of Team USA’s exhibition contests leading up to the Olympics due to a calf strain, or else he might have been a starter from day one. Despite not getting any game reps in before the Olympics, Durant has been one of the team’s most-used players and top scorers in France, averaging 13.6 points in 20.5 minutes per contest and posting a white-hot shooting line of .579/.611/.929.

The French team’s frontcourt is its biggest strength, with Victor Wembanyama, Guerschon Yabusele, and Mathias Lessort playing key roles in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Rudy Gobert is also in that mix, though he’s banged up and has played a limited role in the knockout round. Adding Durant to the starting five will put the U.S. squad in a better position to match up with France’s size.

Here’s more on Team USA ahead of Saturday’s gold medal game:

USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill spoke to Joe Vardon of The Athletic and Rachel Nichols on the All The Smoke podcast (YouTube link) about the process of building the U.S. roster and his areas of concern entering the tournament. In his conversation with Nichols, Hill discussed the omission of Jaylen Brown from the 12-man squad, indicating that the Celtics wing will receive consideration for the 2028 team in Los Angeles despite the public criticism Brown offered last month. “He’ll be a candidate if he wants in ’28,” Hill said (Twitter video link). “One thing I’ve learned is you can’t take anything personal. My objective is to win.”
After Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was a DNP-CD for the second time in the Olympics in Thursday’s comeback win over Serbia, head coach Steve Kerr explained that it’s hard to find playing time for 11 players in a 40-minute game, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “It’s not about anything Jayson is doing or not doing,” Kerr said. “It’s just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin has filled in since he came back from his injury. It’s just a math problem more than anything.” While it’s a small sample size, Tatum’s .389 FG% in Olympic play is the worst among U.S. players.
Sam Amick and Joe Vardon of The Athletic take a look at the Joel Embiid subplot that will play a part in Saturday’s final, given that the former NBA MVP chose to play for United States over France in these Olympics. Embiid fully anticipates a cool reception from the home crowd in Paris. “They’re going to boo me,” he said with a smile. “I’m going to go back at them and tell ’em to suck it. And so it’s going to be fun.”

Ten Minimum-Salary Free Agent Signings With Bargain Potential

August 9th, 2024 at 5:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns' deal with Tyus Jones and the Bucks' addition of Gary Trent Jr. have been widely lauded as steals, with each contract coming in well below what the player was expected to earn on the open market.

But those aren't the only minimum-salary signings that could pay off in a big way in 2024/25. In fact, they're not even the only potential minimum-salary bargains on Phoenix's or Milwaukee's roster.

Listed below are 10 players - not including Jones or Trent - who signed for the veteran's minimum as free agents this summer and are in position to return surplus value for their respective teams. Let's dive in...

1. Spencer Dinwiddie (Mavericks)

The fact that Dinwiddie had to settle for a minimum-salary deal this offseason isn't a huge surprise, given that he's coming off a down year and finished last season on a minimum contract after hitting the buyout market in February.

But the veteran point guard is just one year removed from averaging 17.3 points and 6.5 assists in 34.5 minutes per game across 79 outings (all starts). He was also especially effective during his previous stint with the Mavericks from February 2022 to February 2023, posting an impressive shooting line of .466/.404/.788 while averaging 17.1 PPG.

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Spurs Sign Brandon Boston Jr.

August 9th, 2024 at 4:41pm CST by Rory Maher

4:41pm: Boston’s deal with the Spurs is official, per RealGM’s transaction log. It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, Hoops Rumors has learned.

11:57am: The Spurs plan to sign free agent guard/forward Brandon Boston Jr. to a contract, league sources Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

According to Scotto, Boston will be given an opportunity to compete for a roster spot in training camp. That reporting suggests the 22-year-old likely received a non-guaranteed deal covering one year, perhaps containing Exhibit 10 language.

A former top high school recruit who struggled in his lone season at Kentucky, Boston has spent the past three seasons with the Clippers, earning $4.3MM over that span. He was the 51st pick of the 2021 draft.

In 105 career regular season contests with the Clips (12.9 MPG), Boston averaged 6.2 PPG and 1.8 RPG on .396/.313/.776 shooting. He was not a regular member of the team’s rotation in 2023/24, appearing in 32 games with a career-low 10.8 MPG.

The Spurs currently have 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts, plus Malachi Flynn and Riley Minix on Exhibit 10 deals. Boston making the 15-man roster seems pretty unlikely, unless he really impresses during training camp.

Since he only holds three years of NBA experience, Boston is still eligible for a two-way contract. The Spurs don’t have a two-way opening at the moment, with Jamaree Bouyea, David Duke and Harrison Ingram occupying the three spots.

However, two-way deals don’t count against the salary cap and are non-guaranteed, so San Antonio could easily swap Boston in for another player if it wanted to; Ingram’s spot seems most secure since he was the 48th pick of June’s draft.

International Notes: Lopez, Mooney, Bacon, Maledon

August 9th, 2024 at 4:15pm CST by Rory Maher

Mexican guard/forward Karim Lopez, who is ESPN’s top-ranked international prospect in the 2026 draft class and a potential lottery pick, has signed with the New Zealand Breakers as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program, he told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link), Lopez signed a two-year deal with the Breakers. The 17-year-old is known for his two-way versatility, basketball instincts and competitiveness, Givony adds.

Here are a few more international notes:

Former NBA guard Matt Mooney has also signed a contract with the Breakers, the team announced in a press release. Mooney played four games with Cleveland and one with New York in two different NBA seasons. The 28-year-old, who is known for his shooting ability, spent the 2023/24 campaign in Italy with Trento after playing in Turkey and Spain the previous two seasons.
Dwayne Bacon, who played four NBA seasons with Charlotte and Orlando from 2017-21, has signed with Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg, according to a team press release (hat tip to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando). The veteran guard/forward has spent the past few seasons playing in Monaco, Greece and China.
Free agent guard Theo Maledon is nearing a contract agreement with ASVEL in his native France, reports Gabriel Pantel-Jouve of BeBasket (Twitter link). The 34th pick of the 2020 draft, Maledon has appeared in 177 NBA games over the past four seasons with Oklahoma City, Charlotte and Phoenix. He has been a free agent since he was released by the Suns in March, later suiting up for Orlando’s Summer League squad. The 23-year-old started his professional career with ASVEL in 2017.

Pelicans Notes: Ingram, Roster, Jazz, TV Deal, Training Camp

August 9th, 2024 at 2:38pm CST by Rory Maher

The trade market for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram remains “limited” due to his contract situation, Shams Charania of The Athletic said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show (Twitter video link).

“Right now, from what I’m told, Brandon Ingram’s trade market is limited,” Charania said. “I think the sense around New Orleans is he’s going to be there. They are fully expecting Brandon Ingram to be a part of the team going into next season.”

According to Charania, Ingram is seeking $45-50MM annually in a possible extension. There have been multiple reports indicating the Pelicans aren’t comfortable going that high. The former All-Star and Most Improved Player winner will earn $36MM in 2024/25, which is the final season of his current contract.

Charania hears the Pelicans are leery of adding a fourth major long-term contract to their books without first seeing how they perform after trading for Dejounte Murray this summer. CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson are the other Pels on lucrative long-term deals, Charania notes.

Here are a few more notes from New Orleans:

While the trade for Murray indicated the Pelicans are willing to be aggressive, they’ve had a pretty quiet offseason otherwise. Christian Clark of The Times-Picayune (subscription required) says people around the league expect the Pelicans to look for a center upgrade, with the Jazz considered a potential match for Ingram. As Clark writes, Utah has a couple of big men (Walker Kessler and John Collins) who have been in trade rumors, though Collins is more of a power forward than a center.
The Pelicans have reached a multiyear agreement with Gray TV to broadcast the grand majority of their regular games for free over the air in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, Clark reports for The Times-Picayune (subscriber link). Local Pelicans games were previously broadcast on Diamond-owned Bally Sports. According to Clark, Diamond told the Pelicans last month they planned to drop their coverage as part of bankruptcy proceedings, freeing the team to explore other options. Sources tell Clark Diamond Sports reengaged with the Pelicans last week and presented a more lucrative offer than the deal with Gray, but the Pels wanted to broaden their fan base and have a long history with Gray.
In a press release, the Pelicans announced that they will hold their training camp this fall at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., from Oct. 1-6. The Pelicans’ training facility, the Ochsner Sports Performance Center, is in the final stages of being renovated. Media Day will be held on Sept. 30 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, per the team.

Spurs To Hire Scott King As Head Coach Of G League Team

August 9th, 2024 at 12:42pm CST by Rory Maher

The Spurs plan to hire Knicks player development coach Scott King to be the new head coach of their NBA G League affiliate in Austin, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).

According to Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link), King has been discussed in league circles as a potential future head coach in the NBA.

King, whose title with New York this past season was technically assistant director of player development, played Division I basketball in college at Stony Brook and Fairfield before graduating in 2016. He got his start with Pacers’ former G League team, the Mad Ants, then was hired by the Pistons as a video intern for the 2018/19 season, as Eduardo Villalpando of VAVEL.com writes.

King has been with the Knicks since 2019, initially being hired as assistant video coordinator prior to being promoted. He was in charge of reviewing questionable plays and determining whether or not they should be challenged, among other responsibilities, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link).

King was held in high regard by Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post, who confirms Wojnarowski’s reporting.

The Austin Spurs were looking for a new head coach after Will Voigt left the organization to join BYU as an assistant under Kevin Young.

Nuggets Granted Disabled Player Exception

August 9th, 2024 at 10:27am CST by Rory Maher

The Nuggets have been granted a disabled player exception in the wake of DaRon Holmes‘ season-ending torn Achilles tendon, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The exception is worth $1,532,820, half of the rookie’s $3,065,640 salary for the 2024/25 season.

Holmes, who starred in college at Dayton, sustained the injury in his Summer League debut with Denver on July 12. The Nuggets traded three second-round picks to Phoenix to move up six spots in the 2024 draft (from No. 28 to No. 22) to acquire the rights to the 21-year-old big man.

A disabled player exception gives an over-the-cap team some extra spending power – but not an additional 15-man roster spot – when it loses a player to an injury deemed likely to sideline him through at least June 15 of the upcoming season.

We go into more detail on who qualifies for disabled player exceptions and how exactly they work in our glossary entry on the subject. But essentially, if a team has a player suffer a season-ending injury prior to January 15, the exception gives that team the opportunity to add an injury replacement by either signing a player to a one-year contract, trading for a player in the final year of his contract, or placing a waiver claim on a player in the final year of his contract.

Since the DPE for Holmes is so small, there’s a good chance it won’t be used by March 10; the Nuggets have 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts, and the exception doesn’t create a roster spot. Still, there was no downside to applying for the DPE, even if it may not prove very useful.

Timmy Allen Signs With Team In Belgium

August 9th, 2024 at 9:03am CST by Rory Maher

Free agent forward Timmy Allen, who played five games with the Grizzlies at the end of the 2023/24 season while on a 10-day contract, has signed with BC Oostende, the Belgian team announced in a press release (hat tip to Keith Smith of Spotrac).

Allen, 24, played college basketball at Utah and Texas prior to going undrafted last year. He spent most of his first professional season playing for the Grizzlies’ NBA G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, averaging 9.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.0 SPG on .432/.341/.738 shooting in 46 Showcase Cup and regular season games (26.4 MPG).

In his five games with the injury-ravaged Grizzlies, who cycled through numerous young players last season via 10-day hardship contracts, Allen averaged 2.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.0 APG in 25.0 MPG, going 6-of-23 (.261%) from the floor.

Oostende is the most successful domestic club in Belgium’s history, having dominated the county’s top basketball league until 2021, when the PBL was succeeded by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT League.

Oostende won 10 straight PBL titles before the BNXT was formed and was champion of the ’23/24 season in the new league, which combined the top basketball divisions of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Spurs Sign Malachi Flynn To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 8th, 2024 at 9:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 8: Flynn’s deal with the Spurs, which is an Exhibit 10 contract, is now official, per RealGM’s transaction log.

AUGUST 7: Malachi Flynn has agreed to a one-year contract with the Spurs, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s a non-guaranteed deal, a league source tells Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 26-year-old point guard made headlines with the Pistons in April when he scored 50 points off the bench in a game against Atlanta. The scoring spree was out of character for Flynn, who has averaged 5.5 PPG in 213 games throughout his NBA career.

Flynn played for three teams last season, starting the year with the Raptors, who selected him with the 29th pick in the 2020 draft. After 31 games, he was shipped to New York in late December as part of the OG Anunoby trade. He saw limited time in 14 games with the Knicks before being dealt to Detroit at the February deadline.

Flynn got a greater opportunity to play after joining the Pistons and responded by averaging 8.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 24 games while logging 14.3 minutes per night. He became a free agent when his rookie scale contract expired after last season, and Detroit elected not to tender a qualifying offer, making him unrestricted.

San Antonio already has 15 players with fully guaranteed deals, plus all three of its two-way contract slots are filled, so Flynn faces a difficult road to win a job at training camp.

Christmas Day Games Include Sixers-Celtics, Lakers-Warriors

August 8th, 2024 at 9:20pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA’s leaked slate of Christmas Day games will feature several heavy hitters.

Sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that, as usual, five games will be broadcast, highlighted by a marquee matchup between two longtime Eastern Conference foes, the revamped Sixers and the Celtics. Boston, the reigning league champion, will host.

The schedule will be rounded out by several clashes between starry clubs, from veteran-laden squads to young up-and-comers. The Spurs will travel to Madison Square Garden to play the Knicks. A Western Conference Finals rematch is also on the docket, as the Mavericks will host the Timberwolves.

The newly Klay Thompson-less Warriors will host the Lakers, and the Nuggets will travel to Phoenix to face the retooled Suns.

Philadelphia almost completely overhauled its roster around incumbent All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The new additions are headlined by nine-time All-Star combo forward Paul George, who departed the Clippers to sign a four-year, maximum-salary deal with the Sixers. Philadelphia also signed seasoned free agents like forward Caleb Martin, center Andre Drummond, and shooting guard Eric Gordon while bringing back wing Kelly Oubre Jr.

The Celtics retained all of their own key players after going 64-18 in the regular season and 16-3 in the playoffs. A pair of new extensions for All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum and All-Defensive Team guard Derrick White highlighted the team’s transactions, though longer-term uncertainty looms as owner Wyc Grousbeck is looking to sell the franchise.

Led by Defensive Player of the Year and impending Olympic medalist Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs figure to improve on their paltry 21-61 record in 2023/24. The team signed 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul to a one-year deal this summer, and traded for veteran combo forward Harrison Barnes. San Antonio also used its No. 4 pick in the lottery on NCAA championship-winning UConn guard Stephon Castle, the 2023/24 Big East Freshman of the Year.

The Knicks, meanwhile traded for former All-Defensive small forward Mikal Bridges this summer to maximize their ability to switch on the wing. The team also re-signed free agent forward OG Anunoby to a long-term contract and free agent center/power forward Precious Achiuwa to a shorter-term deal, inked All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson to a contract extension, and brought aboard veteran point guard Cameron Payne for extra depth.

Fresh off its first NBA Finals appearance with star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Dallas added future Hall of Famer Thompson away from the Warriors as part of a sign-and-trade, while also acquiring young guard Quentin Grimes from the Pistons. Dallas also signed free agent wing Naji Marshall to a three-year deal.

After winning their first (two) playoff series in 20 years this spring, the Timberwolves traded for the draft rights to No. 8 pick Rob Dillingham and retained several of their own free agents.

While Golden State did lose out on Thompson, the Warriors quickly pivoted on the perimeter, signing free agent guard De’Anthony Melton and signing-and-trading for free agent wings Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield. The team is hoping to rebound from a finish as the West’s No. 10 seed and a quick play-in tournament exit.

Denver let free agent starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk in free agency and brought in reserve guard Russell Westbrook.

The Suns hired title-winning head coach Mike Budenholzer and signed Tyus Jones to a steal of a veteran’s minimum contract. Phoenix also brought back several of its own free agents, including wings Josh Okogie and Royce O’Neale and Damion Lee. The team also inked free agents Mason Plumlee and Monte Morris to minimum-salary contracts.

The most questionable omission from all this Christmas scheduling is clearly the Thunder, who claimed the West’s No. 1 overall seed last season and added ex-Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein via a lucrative three-year, $87MM deal. Oklahoma City also dealt guard Josh Giddey – who fell out of the starting lineup in the playoffs – to Chicago for All-Defensive wing Alex Caruso.

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander having finished as the MVP runner-up last year and young pieces Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams set to develop, the Thunder look poised to contend for the West’s top seed once again.