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Suns Announce Mike Budenholzer’s Coaching Staff

August 6th, 2024 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have issued a press release formally announcing their coaching staff for the 2024/25 season under new head coach Mike Budenholzer.

As is typically the case, most of these hires were reported earlier in the summer, but the Suns waited until now to officially confirm them all at once.

Here are Budenholzer’s assistants:

  • Chad Forcier, who has worked as an NBA assistant in Detroit, Indiana, San Antonio, Orlando, Memphis, Milwaukee, and Utah since 2001, winning titles with the Spurs (2014) and Bucks (2021).
  • David Fizdale, formerly the head coach of the Grizzlies and Knicks, who was first hired as an assistant by the Suns in 2023 and decided to remain with the team following its head coaching change.
  • Vince Legarza, who worked under Budenholzer in both Atlanta and Milwaukee and also served as an assistant coach in Utah from 2019-22.
  • Mike Hopkins, a longtime assistant coach under Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and the head coach at the University of Washington from 2017-24.
  • Brent Barry, a former NBA sharpshooter, TNT analyst, and front office executive. He was most recently the Spurs’ vice president of basketball operations and the Austin Spurs’ general manager.
  • James Posey, who won titles with the Heat and Celtics as a player and has served as an assistant coach in Cleveland and Washington since his retirement.
  • Schuyler Rimmer, who won a championship with Budenholzer in 2021 as a Bucks player development assistant and also worked under Budenholzer in Atlanta. He has been a Lakers assistant for the past two seasons.

Fizdale is the lone holdover from Frank Vogel‘s 2023/24 staff.

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Charles Barkley Won’t Retire In 2025, Will Remain With TNT Sports

August 6th, 2024 at 12:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA analyst Charles Barkley, who previously stated that he planned to retire after the 2024/25 season, has reversed course and will remain on with TNT Sports for “many years to come,” the cable network announced today in a statement (Twitter link via Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News).

TNT is expected to lose its NBA broadcast rights after the 2024/25 season, but Barkley remains under contract with Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT’s parent company) well beyond that, having signed a 10-year, $210MM contract in 2022. He has stated that he didn’t intend to accept a pay cut, so it sounds like TNT plans to honor that contract.

“I love my TNT Sports family,” Barkley said in a statement. “My #1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible. We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me.

“I have to say … I’ve been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about. I appreciate them and all of my colleagues for their continued support, and most importantly our fans. I’m going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come.”

An NBA broadcast partner for several decades, TNT was unable to reach an agreement in the latest round of negotiations as the league struck deals with Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBC, and Amazon. TNT attempted to exercise its matching rights on Amazon’s offer, but was rejected by the NBA, which has led to a lawsuit from WBD.

Barring an unexpected development, the 2024/25 season will likely be TNT’s last as an NBA broadcaster. The popular Inside The NBA studio show, which stars Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, and Ernie Johnson, may also be entering its final season. Barkley said last month that he was open to listening to pitches from Disney, NBC, and Amazon and was still leaning toward retirement, but has now reaffirmed his commitment to TNT for the next several years.

While TNT will likely no longer have NBA broadcasts beyond 2025, the network airs March Madness games and features Barkley on its studio show during the NCAA tournament. It also has the rights to several other sports and events, as TNT Sports Chairman & CEO Luis Silberwasser noted in a statement of his own.

“Charles is one of the best and most beloved sportscasters in the history of television,” Silberwasser said. “I know I speak for all members of the TNT Sports family when I say we are incredibly thrilled to share this mutual commitment to continue showcasing Charles’ one-of-a-kind talents and entertain fans well into the future.

“We continue to add to the breadth and depth of our sports portfolio — including new properties in the College Football Playoffs, Roland-Garros, NASCAR, BIG EAST college basketball, Mountain West football, among others — and it’s fantastic to have Charles for this journey as we develop new content ideas and shows for our fans.”

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Jazz Sign Micah Potter To Two-Way Contract

August 6th, 2024 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: The Jazz have officially signed Potter to his two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 3: The Jazz have agreed to a two-way contract with big man Micah Potter, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Potter, who went undrafted out of Wisconsin in 2021, made his NBA debut in January 2022 while on a 10-day contract with the Pistons, but was unable to land another NBA deal until the Jazz signed him to a two-way contract ahead of the 2022/23 season.

He has spent the past two seasons occupying one of Utah’s two-way slots, appearing in 23 NBA games for the team during that time and averaging 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per contest.

Potter has seen more extensive action at the G League level while under contract with the Jazz. In 2023/24, he appeared in a total of 42 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 15.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 2.9 APG, and 1.8 BPG in just 29.6 MPG and posting an impressive shooting line of .508/.399/.756.

Potter’s strong play with the Stars helped earn him a rare opportunity this summer — SLC head coach Steve Wojciechowski, a Duke alum who has connections to Grant Hill and Mike Krzyzewski, recommended the 26-year-old for the U.S. Select Team ahead of the Paris Olympics, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

While Potter hasn’t yet gotten the chance to play regular minutes in the NBA, his time training and scrimmaging with Team USA in Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi, and London solidified his belief that he’s capable of competing at the highest level he prepares for his fourth season, as Fischer details.

“I always belonged,” Potter said. “I always felt like I belonged, I competed like I belonged and I performed like I belonged. I never had doubt beforehand, but being on the floor with the best players America has, it just confirmed my confidence.”

Potter’s two-way contract will be for one year and will pay him $578,577 if he’s not waived before January’s league-wide salary guarantee date. He’ll be eligible to play in up to 50 NBA games for the Jazz and will join Jason Preston and Taevion Kinsey as Utah’s two-way players.

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Xavier Moon Signs With Zenit St. Petersburg

August 6th, 2024 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA guard Xavier Moon is headed overseas for the 2024/25 season, having signed with Zenit St. Petersburg, the Russian team announced in a press release. It’s a one-year deal, according to the team.

Moon, 29, played in several non-NBA leagues around the world after going undrafted out of Morehead State in 2017. He spent time playing in France, Canada, and Israel before catching on with the Clippers’ G League team in 2021. His strong play in the NBAGL earned him a shot at the NBA level and he has spent parts of the past three seasons under contract with Los Angeles, primarily on two-way deals.

In 28 career NBA appearances, Moon has averaged 3.5 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .406/.235/.571. He has been more effective in the G League, including in 2023/24, when he registered averages of 19.8 PPG, 6.4 APG, and 4.9 RPG and an impressive .480/.410/.900 shooting line across 29 total Showcase Cup and regular season contests.

Moon finished the ’23/24 season with the Clippers, but didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the club in June and became an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

He’ll join a Zenit St. Petersburg team that is coming off a 26-10 season in VTB United League play and will be looking to knock off perennial powerhouse CSKA Moscow next season. Zenit has been prohibiting from EuroLeague competition since February 2022 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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NBA Players With Trade Kickers In 2024/25

August 6th, 2024 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

A trade kicker is a contractual clause that pays an NBA player a bonus when he’s traded. They’re one of the tools teams have at their disposal to differentiate their free agent offers from the ones put on the table by competing clubs — or to incentivize a player to sign an extension before he reaches free agency.

Sometimes the kicker is worth a fixed amount, but usually it’s based on a percentage of the remaining value of the contract. So, a player who has a 10% trade kicker is eligible for a bonus worth 10% of the amount of money he has yet to collect on his deal (not counting an option year).

Regardless of whether a trade kicker is set at a fixed amount or a percentage, the bonus can’t exceed 15% of the remaining value of the contract. Most trade kickers are worth 15%, the highest percentage allowed.

A trade bonus must be paid by the team that trades the player, rather than the team acquiring him. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement also allows a player to waive part or all of his trade kicker as part of a deal, if he so chooses.

If you want a more detailed explanation of how trade kickers work, check out the Hoops Rumors Glossary entry on the subject.

Here’s a list of the NBA players who have active trade kickers for 2024/25, listed alphabetically, along with the details of those trade bonuses:

The following players have trade bonuses on their contracts, but those bonuses would be voided if they were to be traded during the 2024/25 league year, since they’re already earning this season’s maximum salary:

The following players have signed contract extensions that will include trade kickers, but those extensions won’t go into effect until at least the 2025/26 season:

Information from ESPN’s Bobby Marks was used in the creation of this post.

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Western Notes: Nuggets, Markkanen, Mavs, Thunder

August 5th, 2024 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It has been an eventful offseason for the Nuggets and The Athletic’s Tony Jones breaks down all the meaningful developments. They lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency but the front office is convinced Christian Braun can handle a larger role. The Nuggets are also encouraged by Julian Strawther‘s Summer League performances and think he’ll add much-needed shooting to the rotation.

The Nuggets believe Russell Westbrook will fortify their offense and they’ll also need free agent addition Dario Saric to produce in a backup frontcourt role, especially with first-rounder DaRon Holmes having suffered a torn Achilles during Summer League action. If Saric doesn’t deliver, the Nuggets could be forced to use Aaron Gordon as the de facto backup center, Jones writes.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • If the Jazz plan on trading Lauri Markkanen, they’re certainly doing a good job hiding their intentions. Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post that the Jazz recently sent multiple coaching staff representatives to Finland to assist Markkanen in workouts with second-year guard Keyonte George. That gives the impression they’re not looking to deal their starting power forward, regardless of whether he signs an extension.
  • The Mavericks had a solid offseason with the addition of Klay Thompson in a sign-and-trade with Golden State. They also signed free agents Naji Marshall and Spencer Dinwiddie and acquired Quentin Grimes in a trade. Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com takes a closer look at what each player could bring to the defending Western Conference champions.
  • The Thunder‘s front office is wise to keep a roster spot open on the 15-man roster, Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated opines. Any free agent they could bring in now probably wouldn’t play much and keeping that spot open could facilitate a trade involving multiple players, Stiles notes. It could also make it easier to add a player in the buyout market during the season to fill a need.
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Blazers Notes: Henderson, Grant, Future Sale, Rupert

August 5th, 2024 at 10:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson has signed with Klutch Sports and CEO Rich Paul as his representative, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The third pick in last year’s draft, Henderson is eligible for a rookie scale extension in the summer of 2026. How he develops over the next two seasons will determine his earning power.

Henderson appeared in 62 games last season, including 32 starts. He averaged 14.1 points and 5.4 assists per contest, but shot just 38.5% from the field and 32.5% on 3-point tries.

We have more on the Trail Blazers:

  • Jerami Grant‘s name remains prominent among trade circles. Grant would prefer not have a cloud of uncertainty around him during next season, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Grant is enjoying the stability of the five-year, $160MM contract he signed prior to last season and doesn’t want to be moved mid-season.
  • The franchise will eventually be sold but no timeline has been determined, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. The NBA’s new broadcasting agreements were one of the things the Blazers’ current ownership was likely waiting on before starting the sale process. The fees paid by potential expansion franchises, as well as ongoing lease negotiations for the team’s current arena, Moda Center, will likely also affect the timeline for selling the franchise.
  • In the same mailbag post, Highkin says he anticipates guard Rayan Rupert will spend the bulk of his time with the G League’s Remix next season. Rupert, a 2023 second-rounder, appeared in 39 games for the banged-up Blazers last season, including 12 starts.
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Community Shootaround: Indiana Pacers

August 5th, 2024 at 8:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The defending champion Celtics have been on a spending spree, re-signing their own free agents and locking up rotation players to lucrative extensions.

The Sixers made the biggest free agent splash, signing Paul George. The Knicks made a stunning trade, acquiring Mikal Bridges from their crosstown rival. The Cavaliers have given out extensions to three starters. The Bucks still have the duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

So it’s easy to forget that the Pacers were in the Eastern Conference Finals. Their biggest star is Tyrese Haliburton, currently the 12th man on Team USA’s loaded roster. Haliburton pulled a hamstring in Game 2 against the Celtics, though the Pacers were heavy underdogs anyway. But it may have made the series a little more competitive if he had stayed healthy.

Haliburton had some ups and downs during the playoffs but delivered in a big way in his best outings. Now, he’s wondering why the Pacers are being overlooked as one of the top contenders in the East.

“All I keep seeing is, ‘Who’s going to win the East? Boston, Milwaukee, New York, or Philly?’” Haliburton said recently. “It’s like, what are we doing [not being included]? But again, we’re Indiana, people didn’t even know, people didn’t even watch us play until the playoffs. People didn’t watch us play until the second round. But again, that respect comes with winning. So if we want to gain that respect, we just got to keep having success as a team. And it’s coming.”

Like Boston and Cleveland, the Pacers’ offseason has been highlighted by locking in some of their regulars to new contracts. Pascal Siakam received a max four-year deal in free agency and Andrew Nembhard, who posted big numbers in Games 3 and 4 of the conference finals with Haliburton out, signed a three-year contract extension. Siakam’s backup, restricted free agent Obi Toppin, was also re-signed.

Myles Turner remains one of the most productive centers in the league and the Pacers also have a solid young 1-2 punch at small forward in Aaron Nesmith and Bennedict Mathurin. Head coach Rick Carlisle is one of the best in the business, a future Hall of Famer with a championship on his resume.

Undeniably, there’s plenty of quality pieces all over the roster. But are they still lacking that one major impact player to put them over the top? Haliburton could be a perennial All-Star but is he more suited to being the No. 2 player on a championship team than the franchise player?

Those are a couple of questions some experts have about the Pacers, though there’s no reason to expect that they’ll regress. In fact, with the experience they gained in the postseason, they could be even more dangerous next season.

That brings up to today’s topic: Do you feel the Pacers are underrated? Where do they currently rank in the Eastern Conference’s pecking order? Do they need another impact player or can they win a championship with the roster they’ve already built?

Please take to the comments section to weigh on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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Olympic Notes: Team USA’s Focus, Quarterfinals, Curry, LeBron

August 5th, 2024 at 6:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Team USA plays Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics on Tuesday and coach Steve Kerr says that his team’s preparation has been centered on defense, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

“We know what wins a FIBA game,” Kerr said, referring to the international rules played at the Olympics. “We are just completely focused on our defense … and then the beauty of our team and the talent, the depth of our talent is that from one game to the next, we’ve got lots of guys who have the ability to get rolling.”

No one has been the focal point of the offense from game to game, which makes Team USA even more dangerous as it exits group play.

“That’s how we can overwhelm teams. It’s just everybody has to be ready for your moment whenever it is,” Stephen Curry said. “I think that’s a challenge because you don’t know from quarter to quarter from game to game who it’s going to be, [but] it’s a fun way to play. If you’re bought into ‘Let’s just win the basketball game’ and after that, who cares what it looks like.”

We have more on the Olympics:

  • The other quarterfinal matchups will also be played on Tuesday — Germany vs. Greece, Serbia vs. Australia, and France vs. Canada. Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy previews all of those matchups, taking a deeper dive into the France/Canada showdown.
  • In what areas are Team USA most vulnerable? Rebounding and half-court offense, according to Windhorst, who looks at the main strengths and weaknesses of all eight remaining teams.
  • Curry has struggled somewhat offensively during the tournament but he’s excelled as a screener, as The Athletic’s Joe Vardon details. Curry has set screens for LeBron James, leading to smaller overmatched defenders switching onto James. “I’m a good screener and can cause some confusion for a guy like (LeBron) having the ball,” Curry said. “We do it a little bit in Golden State where you have somebody else having the ball and me setting it, and I have a lot of different actions you can run, but if you get (LeBron) going downhill, good luck to anybody trying to stop him and having me come off into space.”
  • James is the game’s global ambassador, Tania Ganguli of The Athletic writes, and now some who idolized him in their youth are facing him in Paris.
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