Santi Aldama

Grizzlies Notes: Defense, Jackson, Iisalo, Aldama, Morant

April 4th, 2025 at 11:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies‘ offense has been under the spotlight since Taylor Jenkins‘ ouster last week due to the massive changes the coaching staff made to its system coming into the season and the steps the team has taken recently to undo some of those changes. However, the Grizzlies’ play on the defensive side of the ball has been a bigger issue during the club’s recent slide, William Guillory of The Athletic wrote this week after the Warriors put up 134 points against Memphis in a Tuesday win.

The Grizzlies performed better defensively in Thursday’s win over Miami, but a unit that had the NBA’s seventh-best defensive rating prior to the All-Star break has still ranked just 20th in the league since then.

Although Defensive Player of the Year candidate Jaren Jackson Jr. missed five games during that stretch due to an ankle sprain, the team’s decline in effectiveness on that end of the court can’t be chalked up to being without its top rim protector for a little over a week. Jackson has posted a 115.2 defensive rating during his time on the court since the All-Star break, compared to a 106.4 pre-All-Star mark.

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

Who exactly is new Grizzlies interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo? In another story for The Athletic, Guillory profiles Jenkins’ replacement, noting that the Finnish assistant was a relative unknown to most NBA fans before his promotion last week. “He’s a really smart guy. No bulls–t,” Grizzlies wing Desmond Bane said. “It’s all about winning and how you get there. Nothing else really matters. He’s not a man of many words if you ain’t talking about basketball.”
The Grizzlies and Santi Aldama didn’t agree to a rookie scale extension prior to the 2024/25 season, but locking up the forward in restricted free agency this summer is reportedly a priority for the front office. Speaking to Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype, Aldama said he wasn’t bothered by putting off contract talks until the 2025 offseason. “Yeah, figure it out later,” he said. “At the end of the day, I want to be somewhere where we’re winning and where we’re fighting for the right stuff. I think here, we got a great thing going. We have a great relationship here, so I would love for it to keep that way. I’m just focusing on taking it day by day, getting better day by day. And that stuff will take care of itself.”
In case you missed it, Grizzlies star Ja Morant was fined $75K earlier today for making finger-gun gestures during Thursday’s game in Miami. Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal explains why the NBA hit Morant with a fine for that gesture even though there are several players around the league who perform similar celebrations.

Grizzlies Rumors: Coaching Change, Morant, Jackson, Aldama, More

April 1st, 2025 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

When Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman held a brief media session over the weekend to discuss his decision to fire head coach Taylor Jenkins, he said he believes the coaching change will give the team “clarity of direction.” As Ramona Shelburne, Tim MacMahon and Michael C. Wright write for ESPN.com, that was almost certainly a reference to an offensive system that was overhauled ahead of the season and has continued to undergo changes since then.

Jenkins had been tasked this season with overseeing and blending the competing visions of newcomers Tuomas Iisalo and Noah LaRoche, according to ESPN’s trio, who note that both assistant coaches received seven-figure salaries when they were hired. Memphis also reportedly paid a seven-figure buyout to Paris Basketball in order to secure Iisalo, whose system leaned on pick-and-roll schemes, pacing, offensive rebounding, and transition offense; LaRoche’s system prioritized spacing and relocations while mostly eschewing pick-and-rolls and dribble handoffs.

“They were going all-in on these new concepts,” one source told ESPN.

The fact that the Grizzlies were deferring so heavily to a pair of new assistants after overhauling Jenkins’ coaching staff signaled to others in the organization, including the players, that the head coach was on the hot seat entering the season.

“Players aren’t stupid,” another source told ESPN. “They know where this is heading when you fire five assistants after the season.”

The short-term returns on the offensive changes were positive, as the Grizzlies got off to a 35-16 start and led the NBA in scoring, pace, and offensive rebounding while ranking dead last in ball screens per game. However, as Shelburne, MacMahon, and Wright detail, opponents began adjusting to Memphis’ new system and star guard Ja Morant expressed frustration both publicly and privately about the way in which the ball had been taken out of his hands.

The Grizzlies began running significantly more ball screens and handoffs in March, but the decision to move on from both Jenkins and LaRoche suggests the Grizzlies felt there were too many cooks in the kitchen and wanted to give Iisalo – the new interim head coach – the opportunity to simplify the offense this spring.

Addressing the coaching change in an episode of ESPN’s Hoop Collective podcast this week (YouTube link), MacMahon stated that the move was about “optimizing” Morant.

“That was a primary motivator for this decision,” MacMahon said (hat tip to RealGM). “There has been noise about Ja being unhappy all season long. There has been noise about, ‘Hey, you know, could Memphis look to move Ja this summer?’ More so, ‘Could Ja look to get out of Memphis this summer? Could Ja look to to force a trade, or at least request a trade? And would Memphis shop him this summer?’ There’s been a lot of that.

“I was texting with a GM after (the coaching change) happened and he said, ‘I would have told you I thought they were definitely going to (shop Morant). Ja was out on them. They won games without him. They have to be sustainable.’ And he said, ‘This is a move that goes in the face of that.’ Basically this is a, ‘Hey Ja, you’re still our guy. Everything we do is going to be based on what’s best for you. What optimizes you.’ They got away from that for a lot of this season and they’re leaning back hard into it.”

Besides the concerns about the offense, there was also a belief in Memphis that Jenkins had lost the locker room and that players – including Morant – were tuning out the team’s longtime head coach, ESPN’s trio reports. One rival Western Conference player told ESPN that the Grizzlies had “lost all of (their) swagger,” while a team source added, “You could just tell no one was on the same page.”

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

Kleiman publicly shot down trade speculation involving Morant last month, and the steps the team is taking to “optimize” him show those comments weren’t just lip service. However, there are still doubts around the NBA about whether the star point guard can lead a team to a title, according to Shelburne, MacMahon, and Wright. “Does he sell tickets? Yes,” one rival GM told ESPN. “Is he a top-25 player when healthy? Yes. Can he win multiple series as the best player? No. Not sure most years you can win even one. Plus he is always hurt.”
The Grizzlies are “committed” to extending Jaren Jackson Jr. and re-signing restricted free agent Santi Aldama this offseason, sources tell ESPN.
Within ESPN’s report, Shelburne, MacMahon, and Wright cite sources who say Draymond Green came close to signing with Memphis when he reached free agency in 2023. That isn’t new information, but a source close to Green insists the longtime Warrior wasn’t just using the Grizzlies as leverage, telling ESPN that he came “very” close to ending up in Memphis via a lucrative sign-and-trade deal. As ESPN’s trio details, the Grizzlies believed Green’s “experience, basketball intelligence and toughness” was just what they needed as they lost Dillon Brooks and dealt with the aftermath of Morant’s suspensions for off-court behavior.
After failing to land Green, Memphis added Marcus Smart instead, but that acquisition didn’t work out as planned due in large part to Smart’s recurring injury issues — he was traded away in a salary-dump deal last month. Since missing out on Green and losing Brooks, the club has also attempted to acquire Mikal Bridges and Dorian Finney-Smith, sources confirm to ESPN, but was unable to land either player.

Southwest Notes: Gafford, Lively, Morant, Bane, Aldama, Borrego

March 30th, 2025 at 8:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks, who hold the ninth spot in the Western Conference, are getting healthy just in time for a possible postseason berth.

Center Daniel Gafford (right knee sprain) has been upgraded to probable for Monday’s matchup against the Nets, Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal tweets. Dereck Lively (right ankle stress fracture) is considered questionable to play.

As we noted on Saturday, Gafford, who has shared starting duties with Lively this season, sustained a Grade 3 MCL sprain in his right knee on February 10 and has been on the shelf for the Mavericks’ past 21 games. Lively hasn’t played since January 14, having suffered a stress fracture in his right ankle.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant is no longer listed on the injury report, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets. Memphis faces the red-hot Celtics on Monday. Morant missed two weeks of action due to a hamstring injury before returning on Saturday, when he racked up 22 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in 31 minutes in a loss to the Lakers.
Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane said there’s no lingering effects from his altercation with teammate Santi Aldama during the team’s win over Utah on Tuesday. Bane shoved Aldama during a timeout and reportedly called out the forward for his defensive effort. “Two competitors,” Bane told Jonah Dylan of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “We’re scratching and clawing against a Utah team on the road. We’re trying to push each other to be better. And that was pretty much that. I probably took it too far. I love Santi. He was in my wedding, I’ll be in his wedding. We talked right on the bench right after, hugged it out in the locker room and everything’s great.”
In an ironic twist, James Borrego filled in for head coach Willie Green on Sunday when the Pelicans faced for Hornets, Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer tweets. Green missed the contest due to personal reasons. Borrego was Charlotte’s head coach from 2018-22.

Bontemps/Windhorst’s Latest: Cap Room, Nets, Wolves FAs, Connelly

March 29th, 2025 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Given the lack of cap room available around the NBA this season, it’s not a great time to be entering the market as a restricted free agents, Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes in an Insider-only story.

“There’s only one team that has a lot of cap space and they may want to do a slower rebuild and aren’t looking to spend it all now,” a veteran agent told ESPN. “I’ve never seen a free agency where only one team has real cap space in my career. These free agents are f—ed.”

That “one team that has a lot of cap space” is Brooklyn — the Nets are expected to operate with between $45-60MM in room, according to Windhorst, and could open up additional space beyond that if they let certain players go. However, there’s an expectation around the league that the Nets won’t necessarily be looking to make win-now moves in free agency this summer.

“They’ve sent the message that if they do anything major with their space, it’s likely going to be through trade, not signings,” one rival executive told Windhorst. “Even if that trade doesn’t happen this summer, they’ll want to keep their options open.”

Nets general manager Sean Marks has shown in the past that he’s willing to pursue restricted free agents and give them aggressive offer sheets. During the team’s initial rebuild, Marks and his front office took that route with Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, Donatas Motiejunas, and Otto Porter Jr. in a span of two years (2016-17). But there’s no indication at this point that Brooklyn plans to pursue an RFA such as Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey, Quentin Grimes, or Santi Aldama in the same way, which means those players may have limited leverage.

“Actually it’s no leverage,” another agent told ESPN. “I’ve prepared my clients for a free agent recession this summer. Next year will be different, the cap will be going up and teams will clean up their books as they deal with the new spending rules. So you may have to wait and try again.”

Here’s more from Windhorst and his ESPN colleague Tim Bontemps:

Examining the Timberwolves‘ upcoming free agent decisions, Bontemps says multiple scouts and executives believe that guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker could command a deal in the range of the full mid-level exception, since he has been a reliable three-and-D role players and is entering his prime years. As our projections show, a full four-year mid-level contract in 2025/26 is expected to be worth in excess of $60MM.
Sources around the NBA believes that both Julius Randle and Naz Reid will return to the Timberwolves next season, according to Bontemps. Both power forwards hold player options for 2025/26, with Randle’s worth $29.5MM (plus incentives) and Reid’s worth $15MM. Even if both players remain in Minnesota, it’s unclear what form that would take — opting out to sign a new deal would be one path, as would opting in, with or without a new extension.
The Timberwolves have another important free agent in their front office, having pushed back Tim Connelly‘s opt-out clause from 2024 to 2025. Team sources tell Windhorst that prospective owner Marc Lore has “made it a priority” to sign the president of basketball operations to an extension if and when he and Alex Rodriguez gain full control of the franchise.
In case you missed it, we also passed along reporting from Windhorst and Bontemps on the Pacers and starting center Myles Turner. That story can be found here.

Grizzlies Rumors: Jenkins, Bane, Aldama, Morant, Iisalo, LaRoche

March 29th, 2025 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

Taylor Jenkins‘ dismissal as the Grizzlies‘ head coach on Friday came as a major surprise, especially given the timing and the fact that he was under contract beyond this season. However, the team’s decision to overhaul his coaching staff a year ago was among the first signs that Jenkins’ days in Memphis may be numbered, according to Sam Amick, Fred Katz, and Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

Last July, executive VP of basketball operations Zach Kleiman and his front office unilaterally decided to replace five of Jenkins’ assistants: Blake Ahearn, Brad Jones, Scoonie Penn, Sonia Raman and Vitaly Potapenko. Team and league sources tell The Athletic that Jenkins became emotional during his final exchanges with those outgoing coaches, and while he had consulted with the front office on the new hires, those last interactions with his former assistants set an “uneasy tone” for the 2024/25 season, per Amick, Katz, and Vardon.

That coaching overhaul may have signaled a declining level of organizational support for Jenkins, but the Grizzlies’ inconsistent play in the second half of this season and against playoff teams was the main reason he was let go, according to The Athletic’s reporting.

Memphis has gone just 9-13 since starting the season 35-16 and has lost nine games in a row to teams at or above. 500, with an average margin of defeat of 12.8 points per game in those contests.

The defensive drop-off during the recent slump has been troubling, Amick, Katz, and Vardon say — the Grizzlies have a defensive rating of 116.7 in their last 22 games, 19th in the NBA, after playing at a top-five level for much of the first half, and league sources tell The Athletic that the organization “worried greatly about buy-in.”

Even in the team’s only win for the last two weeks, a Tuesday blowout of the Jazz, Desmond Bane and Santi Aldama had an altercation on the bench, exchanging shoves after Bane called out Aldama’s defensive effort, according to a source who spoke to The Athletic.

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

A Memphis offense once built around pick-and-rolls now sets fewer screens than any other NBA team and relies more on “clever cutting and off-ball movement,” according to The Athletic’s reporters, who say that the offensive changes came in large part from the new assistants. Star point guard Ja Morant hasn’t been a huge fan of the changes, since he’s playing off the ball more and seeing fewer pick-and-roll opportunities. “Some days he looks like he’s ready to play, and some days he looks like he doesn’t want to be there … because he hates the offense,” one league source tells The Athletic.
The Athletic’s report credits assistants like Tuomas Iisalo and Noah LaRoche with playing pivotal roles in introducing the new offensive system while noting that Jenkins had recently begun reinstalling some of the screen plays Morant likes to run. It’s unclear, then, what sort of message the front office is sending by firing both Jenkins and LaRoche while elevating Iisalo to the role of interim head coach.
League sources tell The Athletic that Morant was upset about the decision to let go of Ahearn last summer and that he “remained supportive” of Jenkins until his firing on Friday.
The Grizzlies paid an above-market salary – along with a buyout – in order to hire Iisalo away from Paris Basketball in 2024, according to Amick, Katz, and Vardon. Paris reportedly liked Iisalo’s offense so much that the team made it a requirement when seeking his replacement that the new coach wouldn’t be allowed to change the system.
Kleiman put out a statement last month strongly refuting the idea that the Grizzlies would consider trading Morant this summer, but firing the only head coach Morant has ever played for will likely reignite speculation about the guard’s long-term future in Memphis, per Amick, Katz, and Vardon. For what it’s worth, two league executives who spoke to The Athletic questioned how much demand there would be for Morant on the trade market, given his injury history, his past off-court transgressions, and a dip in production this season.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Davis, Castle, Morant, Aldama, Thompson

March 19th, 2025 at 6:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

In a season that’s been filled with bad nights for the Pelicans, Monday may have been the worst, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. New Orleans tied a record for the largest margin of defeat in franchise history, falling to Detroit by 46 points, and lost Trey Murphy early in the game with a shoulder injury that could affect his availability for training camp.

New Orleans trailed by 23 points after the first quarter and 31 points at halftime as the home crowd loudly booed the poor effort. It was the fifth loss of the season by at least 30 points, according to Walker.

Coach Willie Green called his players “soft” after the game and said they “looked like a team that forgot how to play basketball.” He also stressed the importance of continuing to compete, even though the Pelicans have been eliminated from the playoff race.

“I think the start of the game with Trey going down, it kinda rocked us from there,” Green said. “We didn’t have a rhythm offensively and we kinda felt sorry for ourselves a bit. You can’t do that. But it shook our guys up, especially with all we’ve been through this season.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks were encouraged by Anthony Davis‘ first practice session with their G League affiliate, tweets Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. However, coach Jason Kidd cautioned that Davis still has a long way to go in his recovery from a left adductor strain. “He’s trending in the right place,” Kidd said. “He had a positive experience in the practice. He’ll continue to do things this week. Hopefully the outcome continues to be positive. A lot of good things, but he’s still some time away for him being in a game.”
The Spurs have been impressed by Stephon Castle‘s ability to handle the challenges of his rookie season, per Mark Medina of Athlon Sports. The fourth overall pick has experienced the typical ups and downs that most rookies face, but he has managed to stay focused on developing his overall game while playing elite-level defense. “There are definitely All-Defensive awards in his future,” teammate Harrison Barnes said. “It’s just with his ability to guard one through four. And he’s strong. There’s still years before he’s going to fill out his body and be the type of player that he is going to become. But I think that he shows a great aptitude to defend at a very high level.”
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant will miss his third straight game tonight due to left hamstring soreness, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link). Santi Aldama has been upgraded to questionable after missing seven of the last eight games with a strained right calf.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said Amen Thompson was able to participate in contact drills on Tuesday as he attempts to return from a sprained left ankle (Twitter link from Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle). It still hasn’t been decided whether Thompson will play Friday at Miami.

Southwest Notes: Eason, Aldama, B. Brown, Mavericks

March 15th, 2025 at 9:42am CST by Rory Maher

Tari Eason offered the Rockets a reminder of his importance when he erupted for a career-high 30 points in Friday’s blowout victory over Dallas, writes Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. Eason, who shot 11-of-15 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the foul line, also recorded eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in 31 minutes.

“I think that every night Tari plays, he’s super impactful,” Jalen Green said. “Getting steals, playing defense. Tonight he did a little bit of everything: scoring, rebounding, playing defense. So nothing that he doesn’t do every time out for us.”

Lerner notes that Eason has been starting for most of the past six weeks due to injuries to Fred VanVleet and Amen Thompson. Eason, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason, has increased his production over that span, averaging 14.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.2 blocks on .520/.380/.895 shooting over his past 13 games (29.1 MPG)

“His effort and intensity is always there,” head coach Ime Udoka said. “Just continues to grow as a player. Also liked when some guys got going, (Spencer) Dinwiddie, got to put (Eason) on him and slowed him down some. And yeah, did what he does at both ends.”

Here are a few more notes from the Southwest Division:

Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama is posting career-best averages of 12.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 2.8 APG ahead of restricted free agency this summer. In an interview with Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda, the Spanish big man said he has worked to add muscle to his frame and credited the team’s offensive system — and his own improvement — for his output thus far in 2024/25. “The way that we move the ball, just getting more opportunities to actually make some plays,” Aldama told Afseth. “I think that’s, that’s been big, and I think the natural growth. I’m still super young, so I feel like every year, I’m just getting better.”
Veteran swingman Bruce Brown has struggled mightily since he was traded to the Pelicans ahead of last month’s deadline, but he had a solid performance in Tuesday’s victory over the Clippers, notching 12 points, five rebounds and five assists (no turnovers). “It was good,” Brown said, per Rod Walker of NOLA.com. “As you all know, I’ve been struggling with the transition. So for my confidence, this helps a lot. Still, I’m learning. I’ve got to keep going. Being aggressive and making my shots. I think that’s the biggest key for me — making my shots and continuing to put my work in.” Brown, who will be an unrestricted free agent in a few months, is shooting just 32.4% from the floor in 12 games with New Orleans, including 16.7% from long distance.
Due to the shocking trade of Luka Doncic and the ensuing tidal wave of injuries, most notably losing Kyrie Irving to a torn ACL, the Mavericks hold the top spot on Zach Harper of The Athletic‘s “Misery Index.” The injury-ravaged Pelicans also make an appearance, coming in at fourth on the five-team list.

Southwest Notes: Fox, Rockets, Jackson, Jensen

March 8th, 2025 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

De’Aaron Fox has been playing this season with a dislocated left pinky finger, according to Mike Monroe of The Athletic, who says that the Spurs guard is expected to undergo surgery sooner or later to address the injury. With San Antonio falling out of play-in contention, that procedure could even happen before the end of the season so that the recovery process doesn’t extend too far into the offseason, Monroe notes.

“Oh, obviously, for me and (general manager Brian Wright), we’ve talked about the surgery thing,” Fox said. “At some point, I’m going to have to get it, but we’ll see where we are before that comes.”

Speaking to reporters on Friday in Sacramento after a loss to his former team, Fox pointed to March 17 as a possible date for the procedure, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). The Spurs will be in Los Angeles at that time for a rescheduled game vs. the Lakers and Fox said he’ll have the injury evaluated by a specialist in L.A. during that trip.

“The surgery may or may not happen that day,” he said.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Veteran center Steven Adams has served as a backup to Rockets starter Alperen Sengun for most of the season, but the two big men shared the court for seven minutes against New Orleans on Thursday and Houston outscored the Pelicans 23-5 during that time, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “It’s good because it’s something new,” Adams said after the win. “It’s just engaging. Also, a lot of my career has been spent that way as well, playing double-big lineup anyway. It’s just good, just figuring it out and I feel like we play with each other pretty well, just gravitate the defense. In a sort of way it’s a different look, so I think it’s a pretty useful tool going forward.”
In a Rockets-centric mailbag for The Athletic, Kelly Iko takes a look at Houston’s cap situation going forward, explains why Cam Whitmore is out of the rotation, and considers what the team’s optimal starting lineup would look like. Even though Amen Thompson has thrived in the starting five, Iko thinks it might benefit the Rockets as a whole to move him back to the bench, with Jabari Smith reclaiming his starting spot.
Santi Aldama returned to action on Friday for the Grizzlies following a two-game absence due to a right calf strain and Jaren Jackson Jr., who has missed two games with a left ankle sprain, might not be too far behind him. According to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link), Jackson was on the floor for the team’s shootaround on Friday morning, dribbling and getting up shots. The team said on Tuesday that the big man is considered “week to week.”
Although Mavericks assistant Alex Jenson has accepted the head coaching job at the University of Utah, he’ll finish out the season in Dallas before officially transitioning into that new position with the Utes, he tells NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link).

Josh Giddey Is Only 2025 RFA To Meet Starter Criteria So Far

February 25th, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

When a player on an expiring contract is eligible for restricted free agency, his qualifying offer is determined in part by whether or not he met the “starter criteria” during the season – or two seasons – leading up to his free agency. As we explain in our glossary entry, a player meets the starter criteria when he achieves one of the following:

He plays at least 2,000 minutes or starts 41 games in the season before he reaches free agency.
He averages either 2,000 minutes or 41 starts in the two seasons prior to his restricted free agency.

If a top-14 pick coming to the end of his rookie contract fails to meet the starter criteria, the value of his qualifying offer declines. Conversely a player who was drafted at No. 10 or later or who went undrafted altogether can increase the value of his qualifying offer by meeting the starter criteria.

In many cases, an increase or decrease to a qualifying offer won’t materially affect the player’s restricted free agency, since a QO is just a one-year contract offer issued in order for the team to retain its right of first refusal. The player has the option of accepting it, but in most cases it functions as a placeholder until the RFA signs an offer sheet with a rival team or negotiates a new multiyear contract with his current team.

Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, for example, will likely sign a lucrative long-term deal when he reaches free agency this summer, so it won’t matter all that much if he falls short of the starter criteria and his QO drops from the standard amount of $10,240,287 to $7,976,830.

But for a player who is less likely to secure a significant payday but still a good bet to receive a qualifying offer, a difference of a few million dollars between potential QOs could have a major impact on how his free agency plays out. That difference may affect how willing a team is to put the qualifying offer on the table and how likely the player is to simply accept it.

With all that in mind, it’s worth checking in on which potential 2025 restricted free agents have actually met the starter criteria so far this season and which ones are on track to do so. The first list is a short one: Bulls guard Josh Giddey is the only player to meet the starter criteria so far.

Giddey had a huge head-start because he made 80 starts for Oklahoma City in 2023/24, meaning he just needed to make two starts this season in order to achieve an average of 41 for the past two seasons. He made his second start for the Bulls way back on October 25, which means his qualifying offer this summer will be $11,142,057 instead of dropping to $7,976,830.

None of the 10 other potential restricted free agents have met the starter criteria though. Of those players, the following three were lottery picks, with their default qualifying offers noted in parentheses:

Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors ($10,240,287)
Davion Mitchell, Heat ($8,741,210)
Ziaire Williams, Nets ($8,353,153)

Kuminga has only started 10 games this season and will fall short of the starter criteria, which will bump his QO down to $7,976,830. Mitchell and Williams still have a chance to get there though — Mitchell has 28 starts under his belt, while Williams has 26. They both need to reach 41 to achieve the starter criteria, and they’ve been regular starters for their respective teams as of late. If they hang onto their starting jobs and stay healthy, they’ll surpass 41 starts.

Again, Kuminga’s free agency is unlikely to be affected by his smaller qualifying offer, since his offer will likely just serve as a placeholder and a last-resort fallback option. Maybe the Nets will be slightly less inclined to give Williams a qualifying offer if it’s worth $8.35MM instead of $7.98MM, but that’s such a small gap that it’s unlikely to affect the team’s QO decision either way. The same goes for Mitchell and the Heat.

The other seven players on expiring contracts who are eligible for restricted free agency are Cam Thomas (Nets), Santi Aldama (Grizzlies), Quentin Grimes (Sixers), Tre Mann (Hornets), Isaiah Jackson (Pacers), Day’Ron Sharpe (Nets), and Jabari Walker (Trail Blazers). Jaden Springer, Chris Duarte, and Bones Hyland were also part of this group before being waived this month.

Of those players, only Thomas has a realistic chance of meeting the starter criteria. He started 51 games last season, which means he needs to get to 31 this season. He’s at 17 and the Nets have 25 left to play. If Thomas can return from his hamstring strain relatively soon, which seems likely, he has a good shot at starting 14 games and reaching the necessary threshold. That would increase his QO from $5,993,172 to $8,741,210.

The others will remain eligible for their standard QOs, based on draft position (or their prior salary, in Walker’s case), as follows:

Tre Mann, Hornets ($6,964,982)
Isaiah Jackson, Pacers ($6,422,431)
Quentin Grimes, Sixers ($6,311,825)
Day’Ron Sharpe, Nets ($5,983,683)
Santi Aldama, Grizzlies ($5,940,797)
Jabari Walker, Trail Blazers ($2,524,624)

Bontemps/Windhorst’s Latest: Smart, Thunder, Rockets, Fox

January 31st, 2025 at 9:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Marcus Smart is a player to watch in advance of next Thursday’s trade deadline, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Insider link), who hears from league sources that there has been “plenty of discussion” as of late about the Grizzlies guard.

Memphis paid a significant price to acquire Smart from Boston during the 2023 offseason, but the former Defensive Player of the Year has been plagued by injuries since that deal, appearing in just 38 games since arriving in Memphis. During that time, young players like Jaylen Wells, Vince Williams, and GG Jackson have emerged for the Grizzlies, perhaps lessening the need for Smart.

Bontemps also points out that moving Smart’s $21.6MM salary off the Grizzlies’ 2025/26 books would put the team in a better position to make moves over the summer, including potentially re-signing restricted free agent Santi Aldama.

Within a look at the top three teams in the Western Conference standings, Windhorst says that Memphis has been “significantly more active” in trade talks than either Oklahoma City or Houston leading up to the February 6 deadline.

Here’s more on those other two West leaders, along with an additional trade-related tidbit from Bontemps and Windhorst:

The Thunder have made it clear they don’t plan to be aggressive on the trade market during the season, according to Windhorst, who notes that the West’s leaders still haven’t had both Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein available at the same time and also swung and missed on an in-season deal (for Gordon Hayward) at last year’s deadline. “With all their draft picks, they can do anything, but they benefit if they can convince everyone they plan to do nothing,” a general manager told Windhorst. “Every team that wants to deal with them will want them to overpay. Plus, teams who want to make a trade will want to engage them because it would raise the price for everyone else.”
One reason the Rockets have repeatedly conveyed that they’re not looking to make a major in-season deal is that they want to see how their current group fares in the postseason, Bontemps writes. According to Windhorst, while Houston is well positioned to consolidate assets in a trade for a star, the team remains optimistic about Amen Thompson‘s potential to develop into that sort of player. As a full-time starter across 12 outings in January, the second-year wing has averaged 18.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game with a 55.7% field goal percentage.
Examining how the De’Aaron Fox situation in Sacramento got to a place where the Kings are exploring moving their star point guard, Windhorst cites sources who say Fox has been “less engaged than usual” this season after declining a preseason extension and that it didn’t help matters when he received “undeserved blame” for the firing of head coach Mike Brown. One league executive who spoke to ESPN thinks Sacramento is right to make the 27-year-old available while he has still has a year and a half left on his contract. “Bottom line here is the Kings seem to know Fox isn’t going to re-sign with them,” that exec said. “That’s clarifying, and now they can be a first mover and do it at a time when they can get the best deal. This is how Utah played things with Donovan Mitchell a few years ago. They got out ahead of it and generated a bidding war.”

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