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Southwest Notes: Edey, Rockets, Branham, Wesley, Williamson

October 6th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Zach Edey, three-point shooter? The former Purdue big man only attempted two shots beyond the arc during his illustrious college career and made one. But the Grizzlies don’t want their lottery pick to feel like he’s restricted to the paint as a pro. He participated in a three-point shooting contest during an open practice on Sunday and showed a good stroke.

“When it’s opportunities to be out on the perimeter, whether it’s trailing the play or he just so happens to kind of move himself out there, I want him to feel like he’s got the green light,” said coach Taylor Jenkins, per Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I don’t want to restrict him by any means. I want to see what he’s capable of.”

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The Rockets will play two preseason games in three days, facing the Jazz on Monday and Thunder on Wednesday. They’re viewing those contests as a measuring stick to see how much progress they’ve made during training camp, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I just want to go out, play hard, win, win the preseason games and get good momentum going into the season,” Jalen Green said. “The same way we’re playing here, we have to go out and play there.”
The Spurs have an Oct. 31 deadline to pick up the contract options on guards Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley for the 2025/26 season. Wesley admits the pressure is on to perform well in training camp — if those options aren’t picked up, he and Branham will be looking at free agency next offseaason. “Everybody knows it’s a contract year,” Wesley told Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “We’re trying to win, trying to get better. There’s a lot of pressure.”
After losing starting center Jonas Valanciunas in free agency, the Pelicans didn’t bring in an obvious replacement. New Orleans will employ smaller lineups, mainly with Zion Williamson as the de facto center, quite often this season, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune writes. “The fact of the matter is we are going to have a ton of games where we don’t have a traditional center on the floor,” coach Willie Green said. “That’s going to happen. We have to get accustomed to playing that way for a good bulk of the game.”

“Legitimate Chance” Rockets, Sengun Will Agree To Extension

October 1st, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s a “legitimate chance” that the Rockets and big man Alperen Sengun will agree to terms on a rookie scale contract extension by the October 21 deadline, a source with knowledge of the negotiations tells Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Sengun expressed a desire to get a long-term deal done.

“We’ve been talking,” he said. “I want to get the contract, and (the Rockets are) trying to negotiate with us and we’re trying to negotiate with them. So, it’s been good. We’re going to make it work. We still have time, you know, and hopefully we can make it work.”

Sengun, 22, enjoyed a breakout season in his third year in the NBA in 2023/24, finishing as a Most Improved Player finalist. He averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 32.5 minutes per game across 63 outings (all starts).

While those numbers make Sengun a strong candidate for a lucrative extension this fall, there has been a belief that the Rockets may prefer to wait on a new deal, since doing so would allow them to maximize their cap flexibility. The Sixers took a similar approach last offseason with Tyrese Maxey, putting off a new contract until this summer for cap reasons. After using up their cap room this summer, the 76ers were able to go over the cap to re-sign Maxey using his Bird rights.

If he’s a restricted free agent next summer, Sengun would have a cap hold of approximately $16.3MM, approximately three times his 2024/25 salary of $5.42MM but still well below his potential first-year salary on an extension. He could earn a projected maximum of up to $38.7MM in 2025/26.

Fellow 2021 first-rounder Jalen Green is also eligible for a rookie scale extension up until October 21. He downplayed the urgency to reach a new deal with the Rockets.

“That’s not really the focus right now,” Green said. “Whatever happens, obviously I want to be here. But the main focus is the season. The main goal is (making the) playoffs. That’s where the focus is.”

Besides Sengun and Green, 18 other players are eligible for rookie scale extensions this fall. Scottie Barnes, Franz Wagner, Cade Cunningham, and Evan Mobley have already signed them.

Rockets Notes: Fertitta, Adams, Griffin, Sengun, Green

September 25th, 2024 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets endured a miserable stretch from 2020-23, when they won just 59 total games across three seasons, but they bounced back to .500 in 2023/24 and appear to be on the upswing. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, team owner Tilman Fertitta expressed optimism about what the future holds, though he knows that more patience will be required, as Jonathan Feigen relays in a subscriber-only Houston Chronicle story.

“Last night I was (viewing) our roster,” Fertitta said. “Our 14th player, whoever that is, would be in the continuous rotation of any team out there. There is no deeper team in the NBA than us. But we’re still very young. As we watch all the greats that played the game, you’re not great until your third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh year. I don’t think Michael Jordan won his first championship until his seventh year.”

Fertitta made his comments at the opening of the Rockets’ new practice facility alongside several current and former Houston players, including two-time Finals MVP Hakeem Olajuwon, who won a pair of titles with the franchise in the mid-1990s. Asked by the Rockets’ owner how long it took him to win his first NBA championship, Olajuwon acknowledged that it happened in year 10.

“We don’t want to wait that long,” Fertitta said. “We plan on winning more than one or two. The point is we’re very young. There’s high expectations. But to be great, we have to get a little older. We’re expecting a great year.”

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According to Feigen, Fertitta admitted that bottoming out and going through a multiyear rebuild wasn’t easy for him and that he frequently considered the idea of accelerating that process. However, his son Patrick and general manager Rafael Stone convinced him to stick with the plan. “Patrick and Raf came to me and said, ‘We can go to NBA purgatory, which is seed seven, eight or nine with no shot of even getting to the second round, or we can do this the right way,'” Fertitta said. “You look at the seven (drafted) guys we have from the last three years, it’s unbelievable, mixed in with some great veterans. We decided to do something that’s going to pay off for the next 12 years.”
Every Rockets player worked out or scrimmaged at the team’s new practice facility either last week or this week (or both), per Feigen, who notes that that group includes center Steven Adams. After missing all of 2023/24 due to knee surgery, Adams has been cleared to fully participate in scrimmages and looked “outstanding” in last week’s games, a source tells The Houston Chronicle.
Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link) clarifies that AJ Griffin gave up all but $250K of his salary for 2024/25 in his buyout agreement with the Rockets, reducing his $3,889,920 cap hit by more than $3.6MM. Feigen had previously mentioned that $250K figure, but didn’t specify whether Griffin surrendered that amount or surrendered all but that amount — we now know it’s the latter. Those savings will create additional spending flexibility for the Rockets, who are now operating below the luxury tax line by over $10MM.
Although Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green both displayed star potential during the 2023/24 season, they rarely excelled at the same time, with Green’s best stretch of the season coming in the second half when Sengun was injured. In a separate story for The Houston Chronicle, Feigen explores why the two former first-round picks may not have been at their best together and what it would take for that to change in 2024/25.

Southwest Notes: Eason, Jackson, Pelicans, Extension Candidates

September 18th, 2024 at 9:23am CST by Luke Adams

The leg injury that sidelined Tari Eason for most of the 2023/24 season has made him the most overlooked of the Rockets‘ young core players, but he remains highly regarded by the team’s decision-makers, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).

Eason’s role for the Rockets in 2024/25 may ultimately be impacted by how some of his teammates perform and what sort of needs are created as a result. However, Feigen points out that Houston outscored opponents by 9.4 points per 100 possessions with Eason on the court last season and that the forward also had the best net rating among rotation players in 2022/23. In other words, the club will find minutes for him.

Eason is unlikely to crack the starting lineup, but assuming he’s fully healthy, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him deployed as the primary backup at both forward sports, says Feigen.

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Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. just celebrated his 25th birthday on Sunday, but as Memphis’ longest-tenured player who is entering his seventh NBA season, he’s embracing his role as a veteran leader for the team, as Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal details. “I definitely feel like a veteran somewhat,” Jackson said. “Especially being here in one place for so long and seeing everybody roll in here in and out. You see a lot of different things with staff, players. It’s crazy when you think about it.”
The Pelicans have formally announced their new media rights deal with Gray Media, which will allow them to locally televise games over-the-air for free. Christian Clark of NOLA.com provides some more details on the agreement, including outlining which markets it will reach and explaining why the Pelicans decided to part with Bally Sports and go this route.
In a story for Bleacher Report, Eric Pincus takes a closer look at what “fair market” deals would look like for several of the top remaining rookie scale extension candidates, including several notable players from out of the Southwest. Alperen Sengun (Rockets), Jalen Green (Rockets), and Trey Murphy (Pelicans) are some of the fourth-year players who will reach restricted free agency in 2025 if they don’t sign new deals by October 21.

Western Notes: Green, Jones, Shannon Jr., Taylor

September 15th, 2024 at 9:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jalen Green became extension-eligible this summer but there hasn’t been any news on that front. The Rockets guard would have to sign that rookie scale extension by the Oct. 21 deadline or else he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency next summer. Green told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle he’d like to sign a long-term contract with the team.

“For sure,” Green said. “My main focus is the season ahead of me with the players that we have, go to the playoffs and go as far as we can. We’re building that team camaraderie, who we are. That’s the main focus right now, and everything will work itself out.”

Whether or not he reaches an extension agreement, Green is approaching the season with enthusiasm. “We went out last season with a bang,” he said. “We’re all on the same page, know what it takes to win. We know what we can do if we play hard. I think we know what we have to do going into this season from the beginning to the end, so hopefully, that leads us into the playoffs.”

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The Thunder traded four second-round picks to move up into the first round and select Dillon Jones with the No. 26 pick. Does that mean the Thunder have immediate plans for him? It’s not out of the question, according to Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. Stiles points out that Cason Wallace jumped right into the rotation in his rookie campaign, rather than being ticketed to the G League.
Terrence Shannon Jr. and his mother, Treanette Redding, filed a Notice of Claim to sue the Douglas County district attorney, the Lawrence (Kansas) police department and a detective for malicious prosecution, among other claims, Mitch Gilfillan tweets. Shannon, a Timberwolves rookie, was found not guilty of all charges at his criminal trial in Kansas in June. Shannon was facing felony charges of first-degree rape and sexual aggravated battery.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has subpoenaed the NBA in his ongoing legal battle over control of the franchise, according to Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico. It’s an unusual move, Novy-Williams notes, and could potentially expose private league communications and financial information to a public audience. The battle between Taylor and prospective owners, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, is headed for arbitration in November.

And-Ones: Rookie Scale Extensions, $500MM Players, Beverley, Muhammad, T. Robinson

August 31st, 2024 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Three of the first four players selected in the 2021 draft have already received rookie scale extensions, but Rockets guard Jalen Green may have to wait until next summer, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Despite a strong finish to last season, there are still questions about Green after three years in the NBA. Houston may want to maximize its cap space for 2025, and Pincus suggests the Rockets’ final offer to Green may not be in the neighborhood of what fellow top four picks Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes received.

That philosophy would also affect Alperen Sengun, who was taken with the 16th pick in 2021. Pincus suggests that Sengun could receive a generous offer before the October 21 deadline if the Rockets are planning to pick up Fred VanVleet‘s $44.9MM option for the 2025/26 season. However, the Turkish center will only have a $16.3MM cap hold if the team plans to decline its option on VanVleet and operate using cap space.

Pincus’ comments are part of his analysis of the entire first round from 2021 and the likelihood of an extension for each remaining player. He gives a C-minus to Cunningham’s new deal, stating that the Pistons assumed unnecessary risk when they could have signed him to a similar contract next summer. The Cavaliers‘ Mobley extension gets a B-minus from Pincus, while the Raptors‘ Barnes extension rates a B-plus.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

Stephen Curry‘s extension with the Warriors and Paul George‘s max contract with the Sixers will push them above $500MM in career earnings, joining LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only players with deals in place to reach that figure, notes Steve Henson of The Los Angeles Times. James Harden will top $400MM under his new two-year, $70MM deal with the Clippers, while Chris Paul will get close to that number after joining the Spurs for one year at $10.46MM.
Longtime NBA guard Patrick Beverley made his debut for Hapoel Tel Aviv today in Israel, according to Eurohoops. Beverley, 36, was in the starting lineup and contributed three points, six assists and his typical intense defense in a preseason win over Elitzur Ironi Netanya.
Former NBA players Shabazz Muhammad and Thomas Robinson have signed with Homenetmen Beirut, per Dario Skerletic of Sportando. Muhammad, who joined the Kings’ G League affiliate in January, last played in the NBA during the 2017/18 season. Robinson, a lottery pick in 2012, has been out of the league for seven years.

Southwest Notes: Green, Tate, Grizzlies

August 27th, 2024 at 10:16pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Jalen Green was having a solid season until March, averaging 17.9 points per game while shooting 40.4% from the field. He had made some strides on the defensive end but still hadn’t exploded onto the scene as a former No. 2 overall pick, Joe Wolfond of TheScore.com writes.

That was until March, when Green then averaged 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per night while shooting 46.1% from the field and 37.0% from beyond the arc in his final 23 games of the season. As Wolfond notes, it wasn’t empty production during the late part of the season, as the Rockets went 13-2 in March.

Green hasn’t yet been extended, however, and reports of Houston’s interest in Kevin Durant or other potential superstars down the line make it seem like the team is open to shaking up the core. As Wolfond writes, this season will be instrumental in determining whether the Rockets will or should commit long-term to the duo of Alperen Sengun and Green, as well as what sort of role Green will carry into the future.

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It might be hard for Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate to find minutes in 2024, with Tari Eason returning from injury and serving as the primary forward defender off the bench, Rahat Huq of Forbes writes. Tate might crack the rotation if he’s able to become a more reliable shooter in his age-29 season. However, the Rockets brought him back along with the likes of Jock Landale and Jeff Green and could combine salaries of some of their lower-minutes players (around $28MM) to match contracts in trades.
By waiving Mamadi Diakite, the Grizzlies are preserving their 15th roster spot for future flexibility, Damichael Cole of Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. The club could use that spot for a depth piece in the event of injuries or could leave it open until later in the season to ensure team salary doesn’t surpass the luxury tax line.
In case you missed it, Matt Ryan is re-joining the Pelicans on a restructured deal for training camp but it does not contain Exhibit 10 language. The contract is a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary Exhibit 9 deal. That means his deal can’t be converted to a two-way contract. The Pelicans’ standard roster stands at 15 players.

Western Notes: DeRozan, Rockets, Suns, D. Jones

August 12th, 2024 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

New Kings wing DeMar DeRozan is staying sharp in California. DeRozan erupted for 54 points for the Mecca Cheaters in the Drew League championship game on Sunday, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee relays. The Drew League is a pro-am event held every year in Los Angeles. DeRozan was named the game’s MVP after his team erased a 16-point deficit in the final five minutes and pulled out a one-point victory.

A free agent last month, DeRozan was acquired from the Bulls in a blockbuster, three-team deal. His new contract with the Kings is worth approximately $74MM over three years.

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The Rockets are doing some early bonding, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jalen Green is hosting a players-only minicamp in Los Angeles this week with Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson among the teammates expected to show up.
The Suns are hiring Oronde Taliaferro as their director of scouting, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Taliaferro, who is expected to focus on college scouting, was previously a scout for the Nets.
The Thunder‘s Dillon Jones, the No. 26 overall pick, is one of the most interesting rookies in this class, Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated opines. Oklahoma City was interested in selecting Jones, a Weber State product, in the second round last year before he opted to return to college to improve his stock. The Thunder gave up five second-round picks in a deadline-deal with the Knicks to acquire the 26th pick. Jones could play a variety of positions for a coaching staff that enjoys tinkering with rotations and lineups.

Southwest Notes: Green, Morris, Thompson, Sengun

July 4th, 2024 at 10:03am CST by Dana Gauruder

Klay Thompson‘s departure to Dallas broke up Golden State’s longtime big three. It almost happened last summer, according to Draymond Green. In an episode of his podcast (Twitter video link), Green revealed that he briefly thought he would be joining the Grizzlies as a free agent in 2023.

“I called Klay, and I called Steph (Curry), separate calls, and Steve (Kerr) and I was just telling them like ‘Yo, I’m leaving. I’m going to Memphis,’” he said.

Green wound up re-signing with the Warriors on a four-year, $100MM contract.

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Free agent Markieff Morris hinted on Twitter (link) he’s planning to return to the Mavericks. “I’m coming back. I want bro to come with me,” he said in a reply to a fan urging him to re-sign with Dallas. His “bro,” naturally, is Marcus Morris, who is also a free agent. Markieff Morris, 34, appeared in 26 regular-season games and one postseason contest last season.
Thompson’s decision to join the Mavericks ends a lengthy history of the franchise falling short in its efforts to attract quality free agents, The Athletic’s Tim Cato opines. The reason why Thompson wanted to go there is that the franchise’s image has changed. There’s a newfound belief that Dallas offers a family atmosphere and comfort alongside its basketball success, Cato concludes.
The Rockets could follow the Sixers’ blueprint for creating max cap space, John Hollinger of The Athletic writes. If they forgo rookie scale extensions for Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun and keep cap holds on the duo next offseason as restricted free agents, Houston can make other roster moves to generate max or near-max cap space. The Rockets would have to decline team options on Fred VanVleet and Aaron Holiday and waive Jock Landale to do so, Hollinger writes. The Sixers put Tyrese Maxey‘s extension on hold until this summer and cleared as much space as possible. They wound up winning the Paul George sweepstakes.

Southwest Notes: Rockets, Mavs, Thompson, Pelicans, Cissoko

June 28th, 2024 at 2:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets will have enough cap flexibility to use the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception this offseason, but Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) is skeptical that they’ll do so. As Feigen explains, Houston will have nearly all of last year’s rotation players back, with No. 3 pick Reed Sheppard joining the mix and Steven Adams and Tari Eason returning from injuries, so there may not be a role available for a mid-level signee.

Since the mid-level exception can be used for the first time in 2024/25 as a de facto trade exception, Feigen expects Houston to be fine with the idea of hanging onto it into the regular season in case it comes in handy on the trade market.

Within that same story, Feigen also briefly touches on the contract situations for Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, who will both be eligible for rookie scale extensions beginning in July. While the Rockets are expected to explore deals with both players, they’re unlikely to offer either Sengun or Green a maximum-salary contract, says Feigen.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Marc Stein adds another team to the list of possible Klay Thompson suitors, reporting on Substack that the Mavericks will explore the feasibility of adding the veteran Warriors sharpshooter. Dallas will have a little flexibility below the first tax apron after agreeing to send Tim Hardaway to Detroit, but won’t have cap room, so a sign-and-trade deal looks like the only way the Mavs would have any chance at Thompson.
Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin vowed in April that the front office would operate with a sense of “urgency” to upgrade the roster this offseason. He reiterated that message this week, as Christian Clark of NOLA.com relays. “We need to be aggressive,” Griffin said. “I think it’s really a positive thing for our organization that we’ve won more games three years in a row. We’ve built what we’ve built in terms of players wanting to stay here. That’s tremendous. That’s not why we are doing this. We are doing this to win.”
Spurs forward Sidy Cissoko underwent an arthroscopic clean-up procedure on his right knee last month, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required), who says Cissoko’s participation in Summer League could be limited as a result. While the Spurs are hopeful that the 2023 second-rounder will be able to suit up at the Las Vegas Summer League, he won’t play in the California Classic Summer League that tips off on July 6, per Orsborn.