Cameron Johnson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Unlikely To Pursue Jimmy Butler Before Deadline

January 4th, 2025 at 11:06am CST by Rory Maher

Although the Warriors would love to find a second star to pair with Stephen Curry, that player is unlikely to be Jimmy Butler, team and league sources tell Anthony Slater, Marcus Thompson II and Sam Amick of The Athletic.

The Warriors were previously identified as a team high on Butler’s list of preferred destinations, though ESPN recently reported that the 35-year-old is open to joining any team after requesting a trade from the Heat. Miami subsequently suspended Butler for seven games for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.”

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Miami prefers to trade Butler “as soon as possible,” and his time with the Heat has almost certainly come to an end.

However, Golden State is not currently viewed as a viable landing spot for the five-time All-Defensive forward, and there have been “no substantive talks or traction” on a possible trade between the Warriors and Heat, a source close to Butler tells The Athletic.

As The Athletic’s authors explain, there are several complicating factors in a potential deal. For starters, Butler’s rift with the Heat centered on his desire to receive a maximum-salary extension, which Miami showed no interest in offering. A Butler extension is also unappealing to the Warriors, according to The Athletic.

Butler’s age, injury history, and another messy impending divorce with his current club are more reasons a trade is unlikely. But his contract makes a deal an “untenable option,” per The Athletic’s trio.

To match Butler’s incoming $48.8MM cap hit, Golden State would have to combine multiple salaries, starting with either Draymond Green ($24.1MM) or Andrew Wiggins ($26.3MM), with the latter considered more likely. However, Wiggins has had a bounce-back season and is popular within the organization. The Warriors prefer to keep him alongside Curry and Green.

Jonathan Kuminga has been floated as a possible candidate to be moved alongside Wiggins for Butler. While the impending restricted free agent isn’t untouchable in trade talks ahead of the February 6 deadline, the Warriors aren’t interested in moving their two best wings for Butler, according to The Athletic.

Here are a few more Warriors rumors from Slater, Thompson and Amick:

A deal for a maximum-salary player like Butler seems unlikely, but the Warriors have expressed interest in players on mid-sized contracts. They already pulled off a trade for such a player in Dennis Schröder, whose $13MM expiring contract could be aggregated in another deal starting on Feb. 5.
Cameron Johnson would seem to be a good fit for Golden State, but the Nets have a high asking price for the sharpshooting forward. The Kings and Thunder are believed to be showing more interest in Johnson than the Warriors at the moment, per The Athletic.
Team and league sources tell The Athletic that Bulls center Nikola Vucevic is viewed as an attractive trade option due to his ability to space the floor and the fact that he likely won’t cost as much to acquire. As the authors note, Golden State has multiple ways to match Vucevic’s $20MM cap hit without exceeding the first tax apron, which is the team’s hard cap. One example provided is Gary Payton II, Kyle Anderson, Lindy Waters and unknown draft capital.

Trade Rumors: Butler, C. Johnson, Nets, Grizzlies, Pelicans

January 3rd, 2025 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The rest of the NBA is watching the standoff between the Heat and Jimmy Butler with “their popcorn out,” according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Insider link), who notes that team president Pat Riley doesn’t make a habit of deferring to his star players, operating with a “bluntness and strength” that’s somewhat atypical of team executives in this era.

“You cannot intimidate Pat Riley,” one prominent player agent said to ESPN.

As Windhorst details, Riley let longtime franchise star Dwyane Wade walk over a contract dispute in free agency in 2016 and reportedly shut down LeBron James when the star forward hinted he wanted head coach Erik Spoelstra replaced back in 2010. If the longtime Heat president approaches the Butler situation with a similar mindset, he’s not likely to grant the 35-year-old’s trade request if he doesn’t like what Miami is getting in return.

“The Heat make mistakes and sometimes have issues with players just like everyone else,” one general manager told Windhorst. “But they do not get pushed around.”

As Tim Bontemps of ESPN points out within the same story, under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, it’s not necessarily the worst outcome to have a maximum-salary free agent walk away for nothing. The Clippers took that route with Paul George this past offseason, opting for additional cap flexibility rather than taking back contracts that they didn’t want and would’ve had trouble moving. If the trade offers for Butler are underwhelming, the Heat may decide that’s the best path for them too.

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:

While Cameron Johnson is among the most coveted trade targets in the NBA, talks involving the Nets forward are expected to be more complex than the ones for Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith, according to Windhorst, so they’ll take more time. There will be more suitors in play for Johnson, and Brooklyn has made it clear the price will be higher than it was for its other veterans. As Windhorst writes, the Nets have expressed a belief that Johnson could be a long-term keeper, since he’d fit well alongside just about any impact player they’re able to land in the coming years. Still, at least one rival executive believes that stance may just be a negotiating tactic. “That’s all good to say, but they’ll trade him if they get what they want,” the exec said. “They like him as a player and a person and all that, but they built his contract specifically to be able to trade him by next summer.”
The bidding war between Memphis and the Lakers for Finney-Smith resulted in “hard feelings emanating” from the Grizzlies and the Nets for the way their talks played out, according to Windhorst. That doesn’t mean the two sides can’t come together for another deal – Memphis is reportedly among Johnson’s possible suitors – but it’s something worth keeping in mind ahead of February 6.
Bontemps asked several people around the NBA how many players earning more than Johnson’s $22.5MM will be traded at this season’s deadline. “Not many,” one said. Another replied, “Maybe two?” The thinking is that CBA-related restrictions will complicate moves involving players with significant cap hits.
William Guillory of The Athletic takes a closer look at the Pelicans‘ trade options, identifying Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy, and Yves Missi as the only players on the roster who are essentially untouchable this season. Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Jordan Hawkins, and Jose Alvarado aren’t technically in that group, but are also unlikely trade candidates, in Guillory’s view.

Nets Notes: Johnson, Marks, Russell, Evbuomwan

January 3rd, 2025 at 8:00am CST by Arthur Hill

X-rays were negative for Nets forward Cameron Johnson, who turned his ankle late in Thursday’s win at Milwaukee, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The injury occurred when Johnson and Ziaire Williams both chased a rebound after a missed three-point attempt. Johnson appeared to land on Williams’ foot, causing the ball to go out of bounds.

Johnson hopped off the floor and had imaging done in the locker room after the game. Although he avoided a major injury, Lewis reports that Johnson was on crutches in the locker room and looks like he may be sidelined for a while.

“All I know is it was super loud, trying to get the ball, and Cam was behind me,” Williams said. “Yeah, I don’t know (what happened). I have to look back. But yeah, man, I kind of ruined the night. I hope it’s nothing serious. I feel really bad right now, I can’t lie to you, man. Yeah, it sucks when you get hurt in a fashion like that.”

Johnson led the team with 26 points while shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 6-of-12 from three-point range. He’s in the midst of the best season of his career, and he’s Brooklyn’s top remaining trade asset after dealing away Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith.

“Yeah, unfortunate. Unfortunate,” D’Angelo Russell said. “He’s a strong guy, though. I know he’ll be back soon, and he’ll be back stronger. I’m not worried about him. He’ll be all right.”

There’s more on the Nets:

In an interview with Lewis, general manager Sean Marks says flexibility is the priority as he works to rebuild the team’s roster. The Nets have $70MM in projected cap space for this summer, along with more future draft picks than any other team. Marks eventually hopes to use those assets to bring star players to Brooklyn. “You have to be poised and position yourself to be able to have that opportunity,” he said. “We’re going to give ourselves the best chance to do that. Now, on whom and when, that’s TBD. But when we took over [in 2016], it was three or four seasons before we were able to say, ‘Hey, we’ve all of a sudden got a team that’s now able to contend. It’s a playoff team.’ And next year, you’re attracting a different caliber player … or players. So we know we’ve done it. We did it before. Now to be able to do it in this new CBA and hopefully reach that ultimate goal, we fell short. We didn’t come close. So the goal now is to be able to do it again, build it up and try and have another hit at it.”
Despite rumors of acrimony when Russell was traded away in 2019, Marks was happy to reacquire him in the Finney-Smith deal, Lewis tweets. “D-Lo the player, we’re accustomed to him, we’re used to him, we’ve been around him,” Marks said. “He’s been in our family before. There’s a level of continuity just from familiarity with the person. So bringing him back into this group, it’ll be exciting.”
The new two-way contract for Tosan Evbuomwan will cover two seasons, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Kings Rumors: Fox, Brown, Ranadivé, Johnson, Ellis

January 2nd, 2025 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of Mike Brown‘s dismissal, there has been plenty of speculation that De’Aaron Fox played a role in the Kings‘ decision, given that Brown was often critical of Fox when speaking to the media, including in the final days before he was let go. The Kings star was asked by one reporter over the weekend whether he felt “pressure or guilt” about Brown losing his job.

However, Fox has adamantly denied any involvement in the move, telling ESPN that he was on good terms with Brown and liked being coached hard by him. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, team and league sources have backed up Fox’s account.

Brown himself is known to believe that Fox had nothing to do with the decision, league sources tell The Athletic. While general manager Monte McNair claimed responsibility for the coaching change, Amick writes that team owner Vivek Ranadivé was actually the “driving force” behind Brown’s ouster. Ranadivé has not spoken to the media.

Here’s more on the Kings:

The decision to fire a well-respected coach and then not adequately explain the decision to reporters is a textbook example of how to turn Fox into a “sympathetic figure” and perhaps make him more justified in seeking a change of scenery sooner or later, Amick observes. Fox has not asked for a trade, per league sources who spoke to The Athletic, but potential suitors are monitoring the situation closely. Among those teams, there’s a belief that the Kings point guard is more likely to become available in the offseason than prior to the February 6 trade deadline, Amick reports. Fox will be extension-eligible again next summer after passing on a new deal this past offseason.
According to Amick, the Spurs, Heat, and Lakers are atop the list of teams most frequently discussed as possible suitors for Fox if he becomes available via trade. The Magic and Rockets are among the other clubs thought to be considering the idea of pursuing Fox, though “the Spurs noise is the loudest,” Amick says.
For the time being, the Kings are focused on upgrading their current roster and don’t intend to entertain inquiries on Fox, according to Amick, who confirms that Nets forward Cameron Johnson is high on the team’s wish list, as Michael Scotto of HoopsHype previously reported. Sacramento has had “extensive” discussions with Brooklyn about Johnson, Amick writes.
The Kings moved to 2-1 under interim head coach Doug Christie with a 113-107 victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday. Defensive ace Keon Ellis earned a start and played a season-high 38 minutes, with Sacramento outscoring the Sixers by 17 points during Ellis’ time on the court. “He’s amazing,” Kings center Domantas Sabonis said of Ellis, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “He’s a professional. He stays ready, and he’s always there when we need him, especially on defense.”

Nets Notes: Russell, Johnson, Williams

January 1st, 2025 at 1:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

D’Angelo Russell has been traded from a Western Conference contender back to the Nets. If Russell is upset about joining a rebuilding team, he didn’t sound that way when speaking to the media on Wednesday. The former Lakers guard seemed excited about going back to Brooklyn, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets.

“It’s a good feeling, honestly, to go back somewhere you’re comfortable, somewhere you know the ins and outs a little bit. See some familiar faces,” he said. “It kind of makes the process a little easier to adjust to. So I’m just grateful for that.”

Russell played two seasons with the Nets from 2017-19. He has an expiring $18.7MM contract.

We have more from the Nets:

Russell changes the backcourt dynamic for the club. He’ll essentially share play-making duties with Ben Simmons, Lewis writes. The club has lacked a pick-and-roll guard since Dennis Schröder was dealt to the Warriors in an earlier trade. “We know the type of player he is: A primary ball handler, very good shooter, a player that’s going to be important for us. Good pick-and-roll player, good playmaker out of pick-and-roll,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “So, very excited to get to coach him. And he’s going to help this team because it gives us a different dimension with his ability to handle and organize players.”
Cameron Johnson left Sunday’s loss to Orlando during the third quarter due to a left hip issue. However, he avoided a serious injury and is expected to play against the Raptors on Wednesday. “I’m good. We’ve been taking care of it. Full go in practice and feel pretty good,” Johnson said on Tuesday to Lewis. “Yeah, it’s just stuff I’ve been dealing with. It’s nothing crazy. It’s not out of the ordinary. Sometimes stuff happens. Left hip just tightened up on me a little too much there. But I’m fine.” Johnson is considered Brooklyn’s most valuable trade asset and is the team’s second-leading scorer.
Ziaire Williams won’t play tonight due to left knee injury management, Lewis tweets. It will be the 12th straight game Williams has missed, though it sounds as if he hopes to suit up for the second end of Brooklyn’s back-to-back set on Thursday.
The front office swapped out one of their two-way players. Get the details here.

Scotto’s Latest: C. Johnson, Nuggets, Bulls, Ingram, Pelicans, Poeltl

December 31st, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The “growing belief” around the NBA that it will take more than one first-round pick to pry forward Cameron Johnson away from the Nets due to his strong play this season and the team-friendly descending/flat structure of his contract, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Johnson has base salaries of $22.5MM this season, $20.5MM in 2025/26, and $22.5MM in ’26/27.

However, Johnson’s deal also includes significant unlikely incentives of $4.5MM this season, $4.1MM next season, and $4.5MM in ’26/27. Those incentives count against the apron, complicating matters for a potential suitor right up against a hard cap, such as the Warriors.

Golden State and Brooklyn discussed Johnson before agreeing to their Dennis Schröder trade, but those conversations were always considered exploratory and Jonathan Kuminga‘s name wasn’t part of them, says Scotto. Among Pacific playoff hopefuls, the Kings may be a more serious suitor for Johnson, having long expressed interest in him, Scotto notes.

Here are a few more interesting tidbits from Scotto:

There’s “growing pessimism” that the Nuggets and Bulls will make a deal centered around Zach LaVine and Michael Porter Jr., league sources tell HoopsHype. As Scotto explains, Chicago doesn’t want to take on Zeke Nnaji‘s four-year contract and doesn’t want to have to give up assets to get a third team to take it. However, Denver may have to include Nnaji for salary-matching purposes and might not have the draft capital necessary to incentivize a third team to acquire him.
Confirming a previous report that the Jazz and Pelicans briefly discussed Brandon Ingram before he made it clear he didn’t want to sign long-term in Utah, Scotto says the two teams “kicked around” the idea of a package that would’ve included John Collins and draft compensation before talks fizzled out.
Scotto also confirms that the Pelicans will look to duck out of luxury tax territory by moving a player or two prior to February 6. Assuming New Orleans is able to open up a roster spot and has enough room below the tax line, the team would like to promote two-way player Brandon Boston to its standard roster, Scotto adds.
Although Toronto hasn’t made starting center Jakob Poeltl via trade, teams around the NBA are monitoring the situation in case that stance changes before February 6, Scotto writes. The Raptors believe Poeltl, who is under contract through at least 2026, fits with their young core, according to Scotto, who suggests an inflection point could come this summer, when the big man becomes extension-eligible again.
In case you missed it, we rounded up a few more of Scotto’s latest rumors in a separate story focused on Pacific teams.

Pacific Rumors: Finney-Smith, Lakers, Kings, Fox, Clippers

December 31st, 2024 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

After acquiring him from Brooklyn, the Lakers would like to hang onto three-and-D forward Dorian Finney-Smith long-term, says Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. However, Scotto hears that the early expectation is that Finney-Smith will decline his $15.4MM player option for the 2025/26 season in order to test free agency.

While it’s unclear if Finney-Smith could exceed that $15.4MM figure in terms of average annual salary on a new contract, he could certainly secure a larger overall guarantee with a new multiyear deal.

According to Scotto, besides the Lakers, other teams that had interest in Finney-Smith before the Nets traded him to Los Angeles included the Grizzlies, Mavericks, Nuggets, Warriors, Kings, and Pacers. That doesn’t necessarily mean all of those clubs will be in the mix if and when Finney-Smith reaches free agency, but they could be some of the potential suitors to watch.

Here are a few more items of interest from around the Pacific:

The next item on the Lakers‘ wish list is a backup center, according to Scotto, who says Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas is still very much a potential target for Los Angeles. As they peruse the market for a big man, the Lakers are expected to dangle Gabe Vincent and their remaining second-round draft capital, sources tell Scotto. The team still controls its own 2025 second-round pick, as well as the Clippers’ 2025 second-rounder.
Teams around the NBA are keeping an eye on the Kings to see if they’ll end up making a panic trade in the hopes of turning their season around, Scotto writes, reporting that Nets forward Cameron Johnson has been a consistent target for Sacramento. The biggest question among rival executives, Scotto says, is whether the Kings would entertain the idea of a De’Aaron Fox trade. There’s a sense from some around the league that Fox would have to request a trade for Sacramento to seriously consider moving him, Scotto adds.
League sources tell HoopsHype that Clippers two-way player Jordan Miller is a strong candidate for a promotion to the 15-man roster if the team can open up a spot for him. In that scenario, San Diego Clippers standouts Tosan Evbuomwan or RayJ Dennis would be among the contenders for the newly opened two-way slot, Scotto writes.

Trade Rumors: Grizzlies, Nets, C. Johnson, Wizards, Lakers

December 30th, 2024 at 9:22am CST by Luke Adams

After Michael Scotto reported on Sunday that the Grizzlies wanted to include top-15 protection on their 2025 first-round pick in their offer to the Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith, Marc Stein writes at The Stein Line (Substack link) that one source said the protection on that pick was actually top-17.

Brian Lewis of The New York Post, confirming that the protection on the pick the Grizzlies offered was so heavy that “it might never have conveyed,” adds (via Twitter) that Memphis was asking for the Nets’ own 2025 second-round pick in return. Based on the current standings, those two selections are just 11 picks apart at No. 26 and No. 37, per Tankathon, and they could end up even closer than that if Brooklyn moves further down the standings.

As Stein explains, the Nets were more inclined to take the Lakers’ offer for Finney-Smith since it added three future second-round picks to their stash without requiring them to give up any draft assets of their own. It also didn’t include any guaranteed salary beyond this season, whereas the Grizzlies’ offer would’ve meant taking back John Konchar, whose deal is guaranteed through 2026/27.

Now that they’ve missed out on Finney-Smith, it wouldn’t surprise anyone around the NBA if the Grizzlies continue talking to the Nets and pivot to pursuing forward Cameron Johnson, according to Stein, who adds that Memphis is expected to continue shopping Konchar.

Brooklyn is said to be seeking multiple first-round picks for Johnson, but they were also asking for a first-round pick for both Finney-Smith and Dennis Schröder and ultimately settled for second-rounders, Stein observes. That doesn’t mean they’ll take second-rounders for Johnson too, but it suggests the asking price of “multiple first-round picks” may come down a little before February 6.

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from across the league:

Many league observers had been expecting the Lakers to pursue the Wizards duo of Malcolm Brogdon and Jonas Valanciunas and were surprised to see them make a deal with Brooklyn, according to Stein. Los Angeles could still technically make a deal for both of those two Wizards, but it would be difficult to land more than one of them without D’Angelo Russell‘s expiring contract. “I like the combo of Finney-Smith and (Shake) Milton better for the Lakers than the two Washington guys,” one longtime talent evaluator told Stein.
Citing team and league sources, Jovan Buha of The Athletic confirms that the Lakers will continue exploring the trade market for additional upgrades ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline. For now, the Lakers’ plan is to assess Finney-Smith’s fit with the current group and make a decision close to the trade deadline on whether it makes sense to give up one or both of their tradable first-rounders (2029 and 2031) in another deal.
Given that Schröder and Finney-Smith were traded for second-round compensation, teams pursuing a first-round pick in exchange for their role-player trade candidates might have trouble getting the return they’re seeking, Stein notes, pointing to Bulls center Nikola Vucevic and Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma as a couple examples. Valanciunas, Brogdon, Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, and Raptors teammates Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown are a few of the players believed to be available for second-round picks, Stein adds.

Nets Notes: Russell, Thomas, Johnson, Scott

December 29th, 2024 at 1:52pm CST by Rory Maher

Following the reported trade that will see the Nets send Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to the Lakers for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated suggested (via Twitter) that Russell could be a buyout candidate to monitor.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype hears that isn’t being considered (Twitter link), with the two sides planning for Russell to head to Brooklyn for a second stint as Net. The impending free agent made his lone All-Star appearance with the team back in 2018/19, Scotto notes.

As Keith Smith of Spotrac writes, part of the reason a Russell buyout seems unlikely is because he earns $18.7MM, well over the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, so he would be ineligible to sign with teams operating over either of the tax aprons if he were released.

Russell has never been known for his consistency and that has been particularly true in ’24/25, with the former No. 2 overall pick seeing his averages drop across the board, including career lows in points (12.4) and minutes per games (26.2). The 28-year-old has started 510 out of 600 regular season games in which he’s appeared during his 10-year career, but has come off the bench for the majority of this season, making just 10 starts in 29 appearances.

Here’s more from Brooklyn:

The Nets will get their leading scorer back on Sunday vs. Orlando, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Cam Thomas, who was previously listed as probable, will return to action after missing the past 13 games with a left hamstring strain. Brooklyn went just 4-9 without the 23-year-old — the team’s offense was ranked eighth in the league prior to the injury, but was 29th in the games he missed, according to Lewis (Twitter links). “He’s done a great job to get himself healthy and ready to play with his teammates…We’re excited to have him back,” said head coach Jordi Fernandez. “His teammates were excited. He was excited, had a smile on his face. So it’s a good day for us.”
Forward Cameron Johnson was sidelined on Friday with a hip contusion but he’ll return on Sunday as well, Lewis adds. According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), rival teams that continue to be under the impression that the Nets value Johnson and have placed a high asking price for him in trade talks, though it’s unclear what specifically they’re looking for in return. The 28-year-old is posting career highs in several statistical categories.
The Nets’ G League affiliate in Long Island has completed a trade, acquiring Tre Scott and a 2026 NBAGL second-round pick from the Osceola Magic in exchange for big man Patrick Gardner. Scott holds two games of NBA experience, having suited up for Cleveland on a 10-day contract back in ’21/22.

Fischer’s Latest: C. Johnson, Kumza, Kings, Little, NBA Cup

December 25th, 2024 at 2:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

NBA executives who gathered for the G League Showcase in Orlando are curious to see how apron restrictions will affect this year’s trade market, Jake Fischer writes in his latest Substack column (subscription required). Fischer states that there are fewer movable contracts than in past seasons, and teams will have to become more creative to get deals done. He adds that front offices will be “counting tens of thousands of dollars in wiggle room” as they try to stay below the aprons.

Fischer cites complications that could affect deals involving Nets forward Cameron Johnson and Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, who are both rumored to be on the trade market. Johnson is making $22.5MM this season, but he also has $4.5MM in various incentives that bring his “apron salary” to $27MM. They include bonuses for playing at least 42 games, reaching the playoffs, scoring at least 15 points per game, and having a true shooting percentage better than 60%. There are five other bonuses, all of which figure into Johnson’s price for any team that acquires him.

Kuzma is in a similar situation, Fischer notes, with a $23.5MM salary and an extra $3MM in unlikely bonuses. His contract also includes a 15% trade kicker, and Fischer states that his apron salary would increase by another $2MM if he were to be traded today.

There’s more from Fischer:

Teams around the league are keeping a close watch on the Kings, who have dropped into 12th place in the West with four straight losses. That slump, combined with last week’s meeting on De’Aaron Fox‘s future involving his agent and team officials, has “raised expectations” that Sacramento will be active ahead of the February 6 trade deadline, according to Fischer.
Fischer hears that Sioux Falls forward Nassir Little has gotten the attention of several NBA teams with his play at the G League Showcase and during the early part of the season. Little, 24, appeared in 45 games with Phoenix last season, but was limited by numerous injuries. He was a first-round pick by Portland in 2019 and could provide immediate, low-cost help for any team with a roster opening. Sources tell Fischer that Little chose the G League over a chance to play in Europe because he believed it gave him a better path back to the NBA. “He’s one of the better game-ready call-up guys,” a scout told Fischer.
Several teams have discovered there are benefits to losing group play games in the NBA Cup, Fischer adds. In addition to often getting easier matchups in the two games that are added to the schedule, teams that didn’t advance to Las Vegas enjoyed a longer break and were able to work in additional practice time.