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New York Notes: Jokubaitis, Randle, Wilson, DSJ, Walker, Howard

July 17th, 2024 at 8:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rokas Jokubaitis has been a Summer League standout, but the Knicks don’t seem to have a roster spot for another guard, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. Jokubaitis turned in an impressive performance on Wednesday, making all seven of his shots from the field while finishing with 16 points, five assists, two steals and a block in a narrow win over Sacramento.

A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, Jokubaitis is under contract with Barcelona, but Popper notes that it might be tough for him to get playing time there in a backcourt that features Ricky Rubio and Juan Nunez. He may have the option to join Zalgiris in his native Lithuania, according to Popper, or the Knicks could send his draft rights to another NBA team as part of a trade.

There’s more on the New York City teams:

Julius Randle‘s recovery from shoulder surgery is going “incredibly well” and he’s looking forward to being part of the Knicks‘ revamped roster following the trade for Mikal Bridges, Ian Begley of SNY states in a mailbag column. On August 3, Randle will become eligible for an extension of up to four years and $181.5MM, but Begley hears that negotiations on a new deal “aren’t at the forefront” for either Randle or the team.
Jalen Wilson looks like a veteran in his second Summer League experience, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The 2023 second-round pick has been a team leader for the Nets, scoring 27 points and finishing plus-19 in Tuesday’s comeback victory over the Knicks. “It’s fresh as a rookie; you don’t know really what to expect. But now this is my second year coming back,” Wilson said. “It’s just fun. You get to see things, get to experience having a chance to win it. That’s the thing that drives a guy, especially when it’s our second time doing it.”
Dennis Smith Jr. has been cheering for the Nets in Las Vegas, but sources tell Collin Helwig of NetsDaily that the free agent guard is considered “very unlikely” to be back in Brooklyn. Lonnie Walker is also expected to move onto another team, Hellwig adds.
Juwan Howard talks to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com about why he decided to join the Nets‘ coaching staff.

Heat Notes: Richardson, K. Johnson, Haslem, Ware

July 17th, 2024 at 7:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat swingman Josh Richardson is just starting to get back to basketball after undergoing a season-ending labrum procedure on his right shoulder in early March, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Richardson, who wasn’t able to resume shooting until July 2, is hoping to be ready for the start of training camp, but he admits that’s “the optimistic goal” and says no official timetable has been set.

“I’ve had three days on the court now,” he said. “I’m shooting like mid-ranges. That’s the farthest I can shoot. I’m shooting little floaters here and there, but I can’t shoot threes yet. But it’s good for me because I can kind of break my shot down and work it back up from the bones.”

Richardson averaged 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 43 games last season, and Chiang notes that he was playing his best basketball right before the injury occurred. He had the chance to test the free agent market this summer, but he decided to pick up his option and remain in Miami on a veteran’s minimum deal that will pay him roughly $3MM.

“Nobody wants to play on a minimum, to be honest,” Richardson said. “But yeah, I had offers when I came back for more. But it’s kind of the crib. So it’s one of those things that you’re kind of like, what’s important? … Hopefully this season I can find that form for longer and play like I know I can play and make them pay me.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Keshad Johnson was inspired by a speech delivered to the Summer League team this week by longtime franchise cornerstone Udonis Haslem, Chiang states in a separate story. Johnson signed a two-way contract after going undrafted out of Arizona, which means he’ll have to fight for his spot in the league, just like Haslem did two decades ago. “He touched on every topic possible, honestly,” Johnson said. “As much as he was saying, I feel like him just being up there was speaking to me, speaking to my soul, speaking to who I need to be as an overall player and what I need to mold my career after.”
Johnson’s status for the rest of Summer League may be in jeopardy after he left today’s game in the third quarter with a sprained left ankle, per Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel, although Johnson expressed hope he might be ready for Friday’s game. “Ankle is good,” he said. “Still got adrenaline going right now. Just a little sprain. It happens with the game of basketball and everything. Take it day by day, get as much treatment as possible.”
First-round pick Kel’el Ware continues to impress in Summer League action, Chiang adds. The rookie center posted 24 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and six dunks in Wednesday’s win over Dallas as the Heat improved to 3-0 in Las Vegas. “I do have to give a shout out, Kel’el did a heck of a job,” coach Dan Bisaccio said. “We continue to challenge him defensively. He took that challenge. Everything at the rim was contested. We want to continue to see that. Obviously, this is never enough. But we’re really, really happy with him anchoring our defense today.”

Isaiah Thomas Works Out For Bucks

July 17th, 2024 at 6:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent guard Isaiah Thomas was one of several players who attended a workout with the Bucks today in Las Vegas, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter video link).

At 35, Thomas is looking for another NBA opportunity after finishing last season with Phoenix, where he saw limited playing time in six games. He signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Suns in March and was given a standard deal through the end of the season.

Thomas was a two-time All-Star in Boston, but he has bounced around the league over the past seven years and hasn’t played regularly since appearing in 40 games with Washington in the 2019/20 season.

At his peak, Thomas was an explosive scorer who averaged 28.9 PPG during the 2016/17 season and finished fifth in the MVP voting. At 5’9″, he relied on his quickness and ball-handling skills to get off shots over much taller players. However, he hasn’t been the same since suffering a hip injury during the 2017 playoffs.

Other players at today’s workout, according to Charania, were Justise Winslow, Hamidou Diallo, Will Barton and Jaylen Nowell.

The Bucks reached an agreement on Tuesday with free agent Gary Trent Jr., which will give them 15 standard contracts once it’s finalized. That includes Andre Jackson on a partially guaranteed deal, so Milwaukee has some flexibility if wants to add another player. The team is limited to offering minimum-salary contracts to outside free agents because it’s operating over the second tax apron.

WBD Reportedly Plans To Match Amazon’s Media Rights Package

July 17th, 2024 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA’s Board of Governors ratified the league’s new media rights deal Tuesday night, according to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal, but the process is still far from over.

Sources tell Friend that Warner Bros. Discovery — the owner of TNT Sports, a longtime NBA media partner — is expected to match the “C” package given to Amazon, which could set off a contentious legal battle. Commissioner Adam Silver hinted at that possibility in a press conference Tuesday night when he said work remains to be done “with existing partners.”

The next step will be for the league to give WBD written copies of the three contracts. Their annual value was originally reported as $2.6 billion for ESPN, $2.5 billion for NBC Universal and $1.8 billion for Amazon, although Friend hears the current numbers are slightly higher. That begins a five-day timeframe in which WBD CEO David Zaslav has the option to match the deal with either NBC or Amazon.

Friend’s sources say that Zaslav views Amazon’s streaming deal — which includes alternating conference finals, a Thursday package, Friday or Saturday games, the NBA Cup (in-season tournament), early-round playoffs and international rights — as the most fiscally responsible. Friend adds that WBD plans to match Amazon with its own streaming service, Max, while running simulcasts on TNT.

According to Friend’s sources, the NBA will likely argue that Max doesn’t possess nearly the same reach as Amazon, which has 200 million worldwide customers compared to about 100 million for Max. Friend notes that the league’s stance could lead to a lawsuit, a financial settlement for WBD, or possibly a fourth broadcast package.

Friend reports that the Board of Governors approved the media rights package in a 29-1 vote, with the only opposition coming from the Knicks, which isn’t surprising given owner James Dolan’s public criticism of the deal and the NBA’s revenue sharing policies.

Sources told Friend that the three-hour meeting in which the rights deal was approved was “a breeze,” and owners received a memo Tuesday informing them that its total value has increased to $77 billion over 11 years. The price tag had many owners questioning whether WBD can really afford to match to match the Amazon bid, Friend adds, noting that the company laid off 1,000 employees this week after similar cutbacks in 2022 and 2023.

Friend points out that streaming has become an increasingly popular option in sports television, and the NBA appears to want to get involved. His sources say that cable TV wasn’t mentioned at all during the BOG meeting or by Silver at his session with reporters.

Friend also cites speculation that NBA TV, which is produced in Atlanta by Turner Sports, could eventually be moved to a studio in New York or New Jersey. His sources indicate that Silver wants the league to continue owning the network regardless of where it’s based.

2024/25 NBA Roster Counts

July 17th, 2024 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Although NBA rosters are limited to 15 players during the regular season, teams are allowed to carry up to 21 players during the offseason. Expanded offseason rosters allow clubs to bring in players on contracts that aren’t fully guaranteed, giving those players a chance to earn a regular season roster spot or getting a closer look at them before sending them to their G League affiliate.

In addition to the usual 15-man rosters, NBA teams are permitted to carry up to three players on two-way contracts. Two-way deals essentially give clubs the NBA rights to three extra players, though they often spend much of the season in the G League rather than with the NBA team. While two-way players don’t count toward the 15-man regular season roster limit, they do count toward the 21-man offseason limit.

Over the course of the 2024 offseason and 2024/25 season, we’ll keep tabs on how many players are on each NBA team’s roster, breaking them down into a few groups. Here are the various categories you’ll find in our list:

Official: These players are officially under contract with a given team. The total number of players under contract is listed, with the number of players on fully guaranteed contracts noted in parentheses. So a team with 12 guaranteed contracts, one partially guaranteed contract, and two non-guaranteed deals will be listed as “15 (12).”
Two-way: These are players signed to two-way contracts. Unless otherwise noted, these deals are official. You can find a specific team’s two-way players right here.
Reported: These are players whose contract agreements have been reported but haven’t been made official. We’re expecting them to be finalized, though it’s possible that some will fall through or were reported erroneously.
- Note: We won’t be listing Exhibit 10/training camp agreements or including them in our roster counts until they’re official.
RFA: This player received a qualifying offer and remains a restricted free agent, having yet to agree to a new deal.
Total: A team’s total roster count, taking into account all of the above. In some cases, this number may exceed 21, since not all of the players in the categories above are officially under contract.

Here are the NBA’s roster counts for 2024/25, which we’ll continue to update through the rest of the offseason and regular season:

Updated 11-5-24 (2:10pm CT)

Atlanta Hawks

Official: 15 (15)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Boston Celtics

Official: 14 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 17

Brooklyn Nets

Official: 15 (13)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Charlotte Hornets

Official: 15 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Chicago Bulls

Official: 15 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Cleveland Cavaliers

Official: 14 (11)
Two-way: 3
Total: 17

Dallas Mavericks

Official: 15 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Denver Nuggets

Official: 15 (15)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Detroit Pistons

Official: 14 (13)
Two-way: 3
Total: 17

Golden State Warriors

Official: 14 (12)
Two-way: 3
Total: 17

Houston Rockets

Official: 14 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 17

Indiana Pacers

Official: 14 (12)
Two-way: 3
Total: 17

Los Angeles Clippers

Official: 15 (15)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Los Angeles Lakers

Official: 15 (15)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Memphis Grizzlies

Official: 15 (15)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Miami Heat

Official: 14 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 17

Milwaukee Bucks

Official: 15 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Minnesota Timberwolves

Official: 15 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

New Orleans Pelicans

Official: 15 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

New York Knicks

Official: 14 (12)
Two-way: 3
Total: 17

Oklahoma City Thunder

Official: 15 (13)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Orlando Magic

Official: 15 (15)
Two-way: 2
Total: 17

Philadelphia 76ers

Official: 14 (13)
Two-way: 3
Total: 17

Phoenix Suns

Official: 14 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 17

Portland Trail Blazers

Official: 15 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Sacramento Kings

Official: 14 (11)
Two-way: 3
Total: 17

San Antonio Spurs

Official: 15 (15)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Toronto Raptors

Official: 15 (14)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Utah Jazz

Official: 15 (15)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Washington Wizards

Official: 15 (15)
Two-way: 3
Total: 18

Categories:
Hoops Rumors Originals

Spurs Re-Sign Charles Bassey On One-Year Contract

July 17th, 2024 at 3:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 17: Bassey’s new deal has been officially completed, the Spurs announced in a press release.

JULY 16: The Spurs are re-signing center Charles Bassey to a fully guaranteed one-year, $2.2MM contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Bassey has played with San Antonio the past two seasons. The addition of Bassey will give San Antonio a full 15-man roster. San Antonio also reached an agreement with Sandro Mamukelashvili on Tuesday.

San Antonio waived Bassey earlier this month in order to complete the three-team trade with the Kings and Bulls highlighted by DeMar DeRozan and Harrison Barnes.

Bassey, 23, suffered a torn left ACL in December while playing for San Antonio’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs. Bassey was averaging 3.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 10.8 minutes per game with the NBA club in 19 appearances prior to the injury. He made $2.6MM last season.

There haven’t been any updates on Bassey’s condition but obviously the Spurs felt comfortable enough about his rehab to give him a guaranteed deal. The terms reported by Charania suggest it’ll be worth the minimum — for a player with Bassey’s three years of service, that would be $2,162,606.

The big man was drafted by the Sixers in the 2021 second round and spent one year in Philadelphia.

Khris Middleton Recovering From Two Ankle Surgeries

July 17th, 2024 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said on ESPN’s Summer League broadcast on Tuesday (Twitter video link) that Khris Middleton underwent surgery this summer, Shams Charania and Eric Nehm of The Athletic have provided the details. According to Charania and Nehm, Middleton is actually recovering from two separate procedures.

The first was an arthroscopic surgery on Middleton’s left ankle to address an injury that plagued him throughout the 2023/24 season. The Bucks forward originally sprained the ankle on February 6 and said a month later that he had never experienced a sprain as bad as that one — it ultimately kept him on the shelf for nearly a month-and-a-half, costing him 16 games.

Middleton also underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right ankle, per The Athletic’s duo, to clean up a lingering issue. He sprained his right ankle in Game 2 of the team’s first-round postseason series vs. Indiana.

The procedure on Middleton’s left ankle occurred shortly after the Bucks were eliminated in the playoffs in May, while the second procedure on the right ankle was completed in mid-June.

Although it may not be welcome news for Bucks fans that Middleton – whose effectiveness has been compromised by injury issues in recent years – is recovering from surgeries on both ankles, Charania and Nehm say the recovery process is going well.

The 32-year-old was walking around without pain or discomfort in Las Vegas over the weekend and has already begun light on-court workouts, league sources tell The Athletic. The expectation is that Middleton will be ready to go for the start of the 2024/25 season.

Middleton’s numbers are down over the past two regular seasons as he has struggled to stay healthy, but he performed more like his old self during the postseason this spring, helping to keep the Bucks in the series vs. the Pacers with Giannis Antetokounmpo unavailable and Damian Lillard sidelined for two games. He averaged 24.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in those six games, making 48.2% of his shots from the field and 90.0% of his free throws.

Hornets Notes: Chemistry, Bridges, Gibson, Jackson, M. Williams, Black

July 17th, 2024 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Brandon Miller, Mark Williams, Grant Williams, and several other Hornets players were in attendance at Tuesday’s Summer League game alongside new president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson and player enhancement coach Kemba Walker, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

Summer League head coach Josh Longstaff said it “speaks volumes” to have the team’s veterans in the building “coaching up” and “cheering on” the Summer League squad, while guard Nick Smith Jr. added that it felt good to have “my big brothers (there) to support us.”

“It’s special, man,” Grant Williams said. “We are just trying to support one another, make sure we understand that team is first and team matters and really, really just committed to getting better and improving and making it a premier organization in the league.”

There are other signs of positive vibes around the organization this summer, according to Boone, who notes that co-owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin hosted a dinner event on Monday night in Las Vegas that included all of the Hornets’ players as well as a significant number of team personnel. Veteran big man Taj Gibson, the newest member of the roster, was among those impressed, Boone writes.

“It was really nice,” Gibson said. “To be honest with you, just meeting the ownership alone … First you see the ownership, the ownership is so welcoming. Those gentlemen, their energy is just vibrant in how they move and how they already circled and brought all the pieces together last night. It was like a family reunion, because that’s how relaxed we were. Talking, laughing, talking about what it’s going to be like. It was great, just to have that dialect.”

Gibson added that the team’s budding chemistry was on display at the event: “I’ve been to many of those dinners where every guy is over there, guys are over there. But (Monday) night, everybody was mixing. Everybody.”

Here’s more on the Hornets:

Bridges’ new three-year, $75MM contract with the Hornets has a descending structure, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). The deal, which is fully guaranteed with no options, is worth $27,173,913 in 2024/25, exactly $25MM in ’25/26, and $22,826,087 in ’26/27.
Gibson’s one-year, minimum-salary deal is partially guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. Gibson is assured of receiving at least $1,082,270 and would lock in his full $3,303,771 salary if he remains under contract through the league-wide guarantee deadline of January 7.
While the signings of Gibson and Seth Curry bring the Hornets’ roster count to 15 players on standard contracts, that number could dip to 14 soon, Boone writes for the Charlotte Observer, noting that Reggie Jackson is considered unlikely to open the regular season with the team. The expectation is that Jackson will be cut at some point to allow him to try to catch on with a team closer to contention, according to Boone.
In a pair of exclusive interviews, Boone spoke to Hornets center Mark Williams about his efforts to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2023/24 season and to two-way player Leaky Black about his desire to earn a place on Charlotte’s standard 15-man roster.

Central Notes: Trent, LaVine, Donovan, Harris, Holland

July 17th, 2024 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Gary Trent Jr. had multiyear offers worth approximately the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception ($5.2MM) on the table in free agency, league sources tell Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. However, the 25-year-old swingman ultimately decided to accept a one-year, minimum-salary offer from the Bucks in order to reunite with former teammate Damian Lillard and contend for a title in Milwaukee.

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, who had a preexisting relationship with Trent through his father (Gary Trent Sr.), flew to Miami earlier this month to help recruit the free agent wing to Milwaukee, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN.com.

While Trent’s three-point numbers last season (2.5 per game on 39.3% shooting) fell a little shy of Malik Beasley‘s marks (2.8 makes on 41.3% shooting), Eric Nehm of The Athletic believes there’s reason to believe the newcomer can boost those stats even further when sharing the floor with stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lillard.

As Nehm writes, Trent also isn’t just a catch-and-shoot player — he has the ability to put the ball on the floor a little and attack closeouts on offense. And while he’s not the most consistent defender, Trent has had his moments on that end of the floor and should benefit from having Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez protecting the rim behind him.

Here’s more from around the Central:

A source who spoke to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times referred to DeMar DeRozan as someone who has acted as a “buffer” between Bulls head coach Billy Donovan and star guard Zach LaVine for the past three seasons. According to that source, with DeRozan no longer around, the team would risk a “dysfunctional” locker room next season if it brings back LaVine.
After signing a two-year, $52MM contract with the Pistons earlier this month, veteran forward Tobias Harris said his biggest goal for the coming season is to “be the best leader I can be for this group” and trying to help his younger teammates reach their full potential, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “I’m going into year 14,” Harris said on Tuesday’s Summer League broadcast on NBA TV. “I’ve had a lot of experience in this league and one of the most satisfying things is seeing the young guys come up for us to figure out how good we can be as a group and have the best type of team chemistry and flow for us.”
Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Pistons rookie Ron Holland discussed his Summer League experience, his goals for his rookie season, and the NBA players he wants to model his game after (including Mikal Bridges and Jaylen Brown). Meanwhile, Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press takes a look at what Holland has shown in his Summer League games so far, noting that the 19-year-old’s impressive tools and his room for growth have both been on display.

Adam Silver Talks Apron Rules, Expansion, Dolan Letter, More

July 17th, 2024 at 10:29am CST by Luke Adams

Executives from teams like the Clippers, Nuggets, and Lakers have cited the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement and its new tax apron rules this offseason when explaining their inability to retain key players or to make roster upgrades. The apron has also been blamed by some league observers for a perceived decline in blockbuster trades, given the various new restrictions that apron teams face when trying to make deals.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, including ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, NBA commissioner Adam Silver defended the apron rules, suggesting they’re having their intended effect and disagreeing with the notion that they’ve made the offseason any less exciting.

“What I’m hearing from teams, even as the second apron is moving to kick in, the teams are realizing there are real teeth in those provisions,” Silver said. “I don’t know how to view this, but I know reports have come out that the summer was boring from a fan standpoint. I don’t certainly think it was. We still saw a lot of critically important players moving from one team to another as free agents.

“But at the same time, I think this new system, while I don’t want it to be boring, I want to put teams in a position, 30 teams, to better compete. I think we’re on our way to doing that.”

Silver also pushed back on the perception that the NBA is trying to break up dynasties or discourage teams from being able to win two or three titles in a row.

“As long as we can create something close to a level playing field in terms of the tools available to teams to compete, I’m absolutely fine with dynasties and I’m fine with new teams emerging every year,” Silver said.

Here’s more from the commissioner:

The NBA is still putting the finishing touches on its new media rights deals, according to Silver, who reiterated that the league will turn its focus to possible expansion when those agreements have been finalized. “I will say (expansion)’s a bit more complicated than is suggested sometimes,” Silver said, per Holmes. “Just think of the new media deals, for example. Once they’re completed, when you bring in new partners, you’re diluting those payments to teams. Sometimes it seems as if we’re printing money when we expand. Actually, it’s no different than selling equity in any business. I think there needs to be a fair amount of modeling at the league office, working with existing owners and really thinking through the long-term prospects, again not just economically but also for potential of dilution of talent.”
Silver confirmed that Knicks owner James Dolan sent a letter to the NBA office and the rest of the league’s teams criticizing the new media deals, acknowledging that the contents of that letter were discussed at Tuesday’s Board of Governors meeting. However, he declined to go into any more detail, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post writes. “My response is we try to keep these issues in the family,” Silver said. “… I don’t think it’s appropriate to get into the specifics of what was discussed at our meeting.”
According to Holmes, Silver referred to Wyc Grousbeck‘s announcement that the Celtics are up for sale as “bittersweet,” lauding the current ownership group for the work it has done with the franchise over the past couple decades. “I understand the family circumstances and why he and his family have elected at this moment to sell the franchise,” Silver said. “I’m frankly saddened by it, just because not only have they won two championships, but beyond that they’ve operated the team in a first-class manner and he’s been a first-class owner in this league.”