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And-Ones: G League Trades, Charania, Breakout Candidates, More

October 8th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of teams have acquired the G League rights for players who are in camp with them on Exhibit 10 contracts.

The Wisconsin Herd (Bucks) sent Marquese Chriss‘ rights and a 2025 first-round pick to the Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans) in exchange for Liam Robbins‘ rights (Twitter link), while the Raptors 905 are receiving Jared Rhoden‘s rights from the College Park Skyhawks (Hawks) in exchange for the rights to Omari Moore and a 2025 first-rounder (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of Sportsnet).

Robbins is currently on Milwaukee’s preseason roster, while Rhoden is under contract with Toronto.

In other G League trade news, the Austin Spurs announced (via Twitter) that they’ve sent the returning rights for Yauhen Massalski to the San Diego Clippers in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick, while the Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers) acquired Elijah Hughes‘ rights from the Wisconsin Herd (Bucks) in exchange for the rights to Sam Merrill and a 2025 second-rounder.

Trading away Merrill’s returning rights won’t mean anything for the Cavaliers as long as he remains on Cleveland’s NBA roster, but if he were to be waived down the road, the Bucks’ affiliate would have first dibs on him as a G Leaguer.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Shams Charania, who has spent the past few years with The Athletic, is making the move to ESPN to replace Adrian Wojnarowski as the network’s senior NBA insider, Charania announced on Twitter. Recent reporting suggested that ESPN news-breakers currently covering other sports – including Jeff Passan (MLB) or Adam Schefter (NFL) – were among the candidates being considered to replace Wojnarowski, but Charania was always the more logical choice, given his lengthy history of major NBA scoops.
In an Insider-only story for ESPN, Jeremy Woo identifies 11 players he believes are prime breakout candidates in 2024/25. Woo’s 11 candidates fall into four groups: players who could make the leap to an All-Star level, such as Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley; players who could ascend to borderline All-Stars, like Hawks forward Jalen Johnson; players who will benefit from taking on larger roles, including Bulls guard Josh Giddey; and role players who could make bigger impacts, such as Kings guard Keon Ellis.
Kurt Helin of NBC Sports predicts the 10 players most likely to be traded in 2024/25, ranging from big names like Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine to role players such as Bruce Brown and Jonas Valanciunas. Three of the players in Helin’s top 10 – Bojan Bogdanovic, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Cameron Johnson – are currently members of the Nets.

NBA GMs High On Thunder’s Offseason Moves, Celtics’ Title Chances

October 8th, 2024 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder made the best roster moves during the 2024 offseason, according to the NBA’s general managers. Within his annual survey of the league’s top basketball decision-makers, John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes that 37% of his respondents picked Oklahoma City as having the best summer, with the Sixers coming in second place at 33%. The Knicks got 20% of the vote share, while no other club received more than a single vote.

It was one of many favorable outcomes in the survey for the Thunder, who were overwhelmingly selected as the team with the best young core — 60% of GMs selected OKC, compared to 20% for the second-place Magic.

New Thunder guard Alex Caruso was chosen by general managers as the most underrated offseason acquisition, receiving 23% of that vote share, while last year’s Most Valuable Player runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was picked as this year’s MVP favorite (40%), narrowly edging Mavericks star Luka Doncic (30%).

The Thunder also received a handful of votes from the league’s GMs as the team that will win the 2025 NBA Finals, but at 13%, they finished a distant second to the Celtics, who earned a whopping 83% of the vote. Besides those two clubs, only the Mavericks (3%) received a vote to become this season’s champions.

Here are a few more interesting results from Schuhmann’s GM survey, which is worth checking out in full:

New Sixers forward Paul George got 60% of the vote as the offseason acquisition who will have the biggest impact in 2024/25, followed by new Knicks Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns at 13% apiece. The Towns trade, meanwhile, was named the most surprising offseason move, eking out George leaving Los Angeles for Philadelphia (27% to 23%).
Unsurprisingly, Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama was the overwhelming choice (77%) for which player the GMs would most want to start a franchise with. Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic each earned three votes in that category, while Doncic got one.
The league’s general managers are high on No. 3 overall pick Reed Sheppard — the Rockets‘ guard is their pick to win the Rookie of the Year award (50%) ahead of betting favorite Zach Edey of the Grizzlies (30%). Sheppard also comfortably received the largest vote share (43%) when the GMs were asked which rookie will be the best player in five years. Spurs guard Stephon Castle (17%) and Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (13%) were the runners-up in that category.
There was no consensus among the GMs on which 2024 draftee was the biggest steal. Wizards guard Carlton Carrington, Kings guard Devin Carter, Pacers wing Johnny Furphy, Lakers forward Dalton Knecht, Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon, and Thunder guard Nikola Topic each received three votes to lead the way.
Among newly hired head coaches, Mike Budenholzer of the Suns is the one GMs feel will have the biggest impact on his new club. Budenholzer received 40% of the vote, beating out Kenny Atkinson of the Cavaliers and J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons (20% apiece). Meanwhile, Spurs guard Chris Paul (30%) and Raptors guard Garrett Temple (20%) are the active players that GMs feel would make the best head coaches down the road.
Asked what they’d change about the NBA, 20% of GMs said the rules related to the tax aprons, trades, and roster construction are too restrictive and/or should be “indexed to (a) team’s market,” per Schuhmann, making it the top response.

Pacific Notes: Kuminga, Harris, Crawford, James Duo, Suns

October 7th, 2024 at 10:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jonathan Kuminga has high expectations for himself this season. The Warriors forward has set an individual goal of making his first All-Star appearance, he told Marc Spears of Andscape.

“That is my trajectory. That is what I’ve been working towards,” Kuminga said. “I did as much as I could working out, getting my body ready, learning the game, working on things on defense. It’s just a matter of when we start playing now and I can show what I’ve been working on and how my game has grown.”

The Warriors and Kuminga have an Oct. 21 rookie scale extension deadline and the forward will be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension.

“My agent is taking care of that. I need to focus on what I’m trying to accomplish. The more I accomplish, the more things like that handle themselves,” Kuminga said.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Kings’ NBA G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, have named Gabriel Harris as general manager and Quinton Crawford as head coach, according to a team press release. Harris, 33, served as the assistant GM for Stockton last season. Crawford, 34, was an assistant coach with the Suns. He also served as an assistant with the Mavericks in 2022-23 and the Lakers from 2019-2022.
LeBron James and Bronny James made history Sunday night as the first father and son to play together in an NBA game. They were on the court together at the start of the second quarter during the Lakers’ preseason game against the Suns. It coincided with Bronny’s 20th birthday. “For a father, it means everything,” LeBron said, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “For someone who didn’t have that growing up, to be able to have that influence on your kids and have influence on your son. Be able to have moments with your son. And ultimately, to be able to work with your son. I think that’s one of the greatest things that a father can ever hope for or wish for.”
The Suns shot 41% on 3-point attempts in their 118-114 win over the Lakers on Sunday. Kevin Durant saw some good signs offensively, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. “I liked that we generated good shots. We are able to get (21) 3s up in the 1st half,” he said. “Defensively, pick-and-roll coverage, it’ll get better. That’s where we struggled at the most.”

Kings Notes: Ellis, Huerter, Injuries, Jones, Brown, Murray, DeRozan

October 7th, 2024 at 11:51am CST by Luke Adams

There’s no question that Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, and Keegan Murray will be part of the Kings‘ starting lineup this fall, but the fifth member of that group has yet to be locked in, as James Ham of The Kings Beat and Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee write.

Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, and Keon Ellis are all realistic candidates to start at shooting guard for Sacramento. However, it seems likely that Monk will reprise the sixth-man role he thrived in last season. Huerter, meanwhile, hasn’t yet been cleared for full-contact work after undergoing surgery in late March to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

That may make Ellis the frontrunner to start alongside Fox in Sacramento’s backcourt. As Anderson writes, Ellis’ ability to play good defense and to operate on offense without the ball in his hands also makes him a good fit in the team’s starting group, whereas Monk and Huerter could handle a larger offensive load with the second unit.

“If you think about it, Keon, out of all three of those guys, is probably the one who will command the least amount of shots and/or the time the ball is in his hands,” head coach Mike Brown said last week. “He’s shown the last two years that he’s a capable catch-and-shoot shooter, and if you leave him open, he’ll make you pay on the catch-and-shoot shot from the three-point line. He shot 40-something percent from three in both years, so for us that is a little bit of a factor, making sure we put the right combinations on the floor that fit instead of just trying to throw guys out there because we think those guys can all score the best.”

Here’s more on the Kings:

Huerter, who was cleared for on-court workouts near the end of August, said he’s feeling good about the progress he’s made and is eager to advance to the final stage of his rehab process, per Anderson. “The last step for me is really just getting 5-on-5 full contact,” Huerter said. “I haven’t gone contact against a player yet. I haven’t been cleared to do that, but everything else. I’ve been 1-on-0 for four months now. … Itching to get back and go against somebody else.”
The Kings are battling the injury bug this fall, with Huerter and Devin Carter recovering from shoulder surgeries and Trey Lyles (groin), Jordan McLaughlin (ankle), and Orlando Robinson (knee) all dealing with health issues of their own. According to Ham, McLaughlin is expected to be back within the next few days and Huerter should be cleared for contact around the middle of the month, while Lyles will probably be sidelined until the end of the preseason schedule. Robinson and Carter will remain out for the start of the season.
As Anderson details in a separate story for The Sacramento Bee, Brown delivered a profanity-laced tirade near the end of a Saturday scrimmage. As the Kings’ head coach later explained, two-way player Mason Jones capped off a “really, really good day” by turning the ball over and giving up on the last couple plays of the day. Brown responded by calling out Jones and several of his vets. “I got on Foxy and Domas and DeMar a little bit because those three guys can’t let that slide,” he said. “I shouldn’t have to be the one saying that we all have to hold each other accountable. … We all have to hold each other accountable all the time, and if our vets see something like that from a young guy in Mason, then you’ve got to let him know, ‘Hey, Mace, you had a good day, but we can’t finish like that.'”
In another story for The Sacramento Bee, Anderson explores how Murray can continue to grow as a player as the former No. 4 overall pick enters his third NBA season.
A Los Angeles native, DeRozan hasn’t played for one of his hometown teams since entering the NBA in 2009, but he’s thrilled to be living in California again as a member of the Kings, so close to his family in L.A., he recently told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “It means so much,” DeRozan said. “Even one of my daughters, she is asking every day when she can come up — even a day where she could just come up for a day, spend time with me and go back. Her knowing that gives her excitement. That makes me extremely happy.”

Orlando Robinson To Miss At Least Four Weeks With MCL Sprain

October 5th, 2024 at 4:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

A sprained MCL will keep Kings center Orlando Robinson out of action for at least four weeks, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Robinson injured his left knee at Thursday’s practice and will be reevaluated early next month, adds James Ham of Kings Beat (Twitter link).

The 24-year-old big man signed with Sacramento in August after a strong performance with Houston’s Summer League team. He spent his first two NBA seasons with Miami and averaged 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 36 games in 2023/24.

Robinson has a one-year contract valued at $2.09MM, but it won’t become fully guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date of January 7. He holds a partial guarantee of $500K, so it wouldn’t be a major expense to the Kings if he doesn’t make the roster, though Sacramento doesn’t have a ton of wiggle room below the luxury tax line. The team currently has 12 players with fully guaranteed deals, and all three two-way slots are filled.

If he does make the team, Robinson will have to battle for playing time in Sacramento’s crowded frontcourt. Domantas Sabonis is the starting center, and Alex Len serves as the primary backup.

And-Ones: G League Trades, Flagg, 2025 Draft, Howard, Parsons, More

October 4th, 2024 at 7:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rip City Remix – the Trail Blazers‘ G League affiliate – have completed a series of trades involving players who have signed Exhibit 10 contracts with NBA teams this fall, according to a press release from the team.

The Remix acquired Henri Drell‘s returning rights in a three-team trade with the Texas Legends and Windy City Bulls, sending the returning rights for Jazian Gortman, Anthony Duruji, and Jakub Urbaniak to the Mavericks‘ affiliate in the deal. Rip City also acquired David Muoka‘s returning rights from the Long Island Nets in exchange for George Conditt‘s rights and a 2025 second-round pick.

Both Drell and Muoka signed Exhibit 10 deals with Portland ahead of training camp and were recently waived. Now that the Remix control both players’ G League rights, it’s safe to assume they’ll report to the Blazers’ affiliate and will receive Exhibit 10 bonuses (worth as much as $77.5K) as long as they spend at least 60 days with Rip City.

The Remix also received the returning rights for Aleem Ford – along with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 G League draft and a 2025 international draft pick – from the Wisconsin Herd in exchange for Terence Davis‘ and Isiaih Mosley‘s returning rights. Davis recently signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Bucks, so it looks like he’ll ultimately land with the Herd.

Finally, Portland’s affiliate finalized a fourth trade that sent Antoine Davis‘ rights to the Stockton Kings in exchange for the rights to Stanley Johnson and Jayce Johnson, along with a pair of draft picks (Twitter link). None of those players have signed Exhibit 10 deals this fall, but it appears Sacramento’s affiliate plans to have Davis on its roster this season, given the handful of pieces it traded to get him.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg told Jonathan Givony of ESPN that it’s “absolutely not” a foregone conclusion that he’ll be the No. 1 pick in next June’s draft, a position that was echoed by Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer. “Of course he has to prove it,” Scheyer said. “I’ve seen guys who have been projected (No. 1), that have gone there, and then guys that are projected that don’t go because you assume it’s gonna happen. … I believe in Cooper at the end of the day. But again, we got a long way to go before we start thinking about that.”
In a separate Insider-only story for ESPN, Givony shared some takeaways from his recent visits to Rutgers, Duke, UNC, and UConn, four college programs who figure to be well represented in the first round of next year’s NBA draft. Within his section on Rutgers, Givony notes that multiple NBA scouts have told him they have Dylan Harper ranked atop their draft boards ahead of the NCAA season.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report provides his 2024/25 win-loss predictions for all 30 NBA teams, while John Hollinger of The Athletic names the Nuggets, Grizzlies, Clippers, Hornets, and Wizards as five clubs he expects to fall short of their preseason over/under projections.
Georgia businessman Calvin Darden Jr. was found guilty on Friday of fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and two separate conspiracy counts for his role in defrauding former NBA players Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons out of a combined $8MM in 2021. Brian Windhorst of ESPN has the details on the case.
Long Phi Pham, one of the gamblers who took part in a scheme to have former Raptors big man Jontay Porter exit games early for betting purposes last season, pleaded guilty this week to conspiring to commit wire fraud, reports Jennifer Peltz of The Associated Press. Pham, whose sentencing is scheduled for April 25, could face anything from a no-jail punishment to up to 20 years in prison.

Kings Exercise 2025/26 Option On Keegan Murray

October 3rd, 2024 at 3:12pm CST by Rory Maher

The Kings have exercised their 2025/26 team option on Keegan Murray, tweets Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL.

The move ensures that Murray, who is slated to make $8,809,560 this season, will earn a guaranteed $11,144,093 in ’25/26, which is the fourth and final year of his rookie scale contract.

Murray, 24, was the fourth overall pick of the 2022 draft out of Iowa. It was a mere formality that Sacramento would pick up the option, since Murray emerged as a vital part of the team’s core over his first two seasons.

A 6’8″ forward, Murray made the All-Rookie First Team in ’22/23 and followed that up by appearing in 77 regular season games in ’23/24, averaging 15.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.7 APG and 1.0 SPG on .454/.358/.831 shooting in 33.6 MPG. He was also frequently tasked with defending the opposing team’s top perimeter player and has positional versatility on both ends of the court.

The deadline for teams to decide on ’25/26 rookie scale team options is Oct. 31. We’re tracking all of those decisions right here.

Pacific Notes: Sabonis, DeRozan, Monk, Kings, Mann, Lakers

September 29th, 2024 at 11:49am CST by Rory Maher

Kings center Domantas Sabonis recently spoke to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee about “Starting 5,” the Netflix series in which he stars alongside LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum and Anthony Edwards. The show’s premiere is Oct. 9.

As for Sacramento’s offseason, Sabonis said he’s he looking forward to playing with six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, whom the Kings acquired from Chicago in a three-team sign-and-trade.

“It’s amazing,” Sabonis said. “Having a veteran like that, I’ve wanted that for a long time. He has a Hall of Fame career, and to bring that IQ — I was with him in L.A. for a couple weeks working out at USC and I learned so much personally in those couple weeks of workouts. Having him be around the team and having that rub off on everyone is going to be good. He’s here for the right reasons and he wants to win. That’s going to be good for us.”

Here’s more from the Pacific:

Sabonis also covered a number of topics in an interview with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, including his love for Sacramento, the team’s high expectations, and what to expect out of Keegan Murray entering his third season. Sabonis was ecstatic the Kings were able to re-sign Malik Monk to a four-year, $78MM deal in free agency. “Thank God that we kept him,” Sabonis said. “He’s a big piece of how we play, and his energy and vibes off the court. He’s a great locker room guy. He keeps us always locked in and happy. That’s something you can’t replace with a lot of players in the league. He brings a swagger and is always ready to go. For us off the bench last year, he had a burst coming in and helping the second unit. To maintain that with another year of experience under his belt and a new contract it usually gives you more confidence. I’m expecting big things from him.”
Terance Mann‘s new three-year, $47MM extension with the Clippers is fully guaranteed with no team or player option, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Mann will earn $15.5MM in 2025/26, when the extension begins, and he remains trade-eligible due to the terms of the agreement, Marks adds (via Twitter). Mann, a 27-year-old swingman, figures to take on an increased offensive role after the offseason departure of Paul George.
The Lakers intend to hire Vanessa Brooks to be their new head athletic trainer and senior physical therapist, sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). Brooks had been with the Thunder since 2019.

Kings Sign Brodric Thomas To Camp Deal

September 28th, 2024 at 5:08pm CST by Luke Adams

5:08pm: The signing is official, tweets James Ham of The Kings Beat.

4:00pm: The Kings are adding free agent shooting guard Brodric Thomas to their training camp roster, reports Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link).

While Anderson doesn’t specify what type of contract Thomas will sign, it will almost certainly be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal, which won’t count against Sacramento’s cap.

Thomas appeared in a total of 44 NBA regular season games for the Rockets, Cavaliers, and Celtics from 2020-22, but has mostly played in the G League since going undrafted out of Truman State in 2020. Last season, he appeared in 22 games for the Clippers’ G League affiliate, averaging 11.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 24.9 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .387/.357/.750.

The 27-year-old also represented the G League United earlier this month in exhibition games against Serbian team KK Mega Basket.

Although Thomas has only made 18-of-68 (26.5%) three-point attempts at the NBA level, he’s known as a talented shooter and has made 38.9% of 373 career outside shots in the G League.

Assuming Thomas signs an Exhibit 10 contract, he could have it converted to a two-way deal before the regular season or he could be eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived by Sacramento and then spends at least 60 days with the Kings’ G League affiliate. However, the Stockton Kings would have to acquire his returning rights from the San Diego Clippers for that latter scenario to happen.

Once Thomas’ deal is official, Sacramento will have a full 21-man preseason roster.

Injury Notes: Walter, M. Williams, Lyles, McLaughlin, Watson

September 28th, 2024 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors wing Ja’Kobe Walter, the No. 19 pick in this year’s draft, has been diagnosed with an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder, the team announced in a press release on Friday.

According to the Raptors, Walter – who sustained the injury during informal workouts this week – won’t be able to take part in on-court activities during training camp. An update on the rookie’s status will be provided by the club after camp has ended.

While it doesn’t necessarily sound as if Walter’s absence will be a long-term one, Toronto is now dealing with a pair of injuries on the wing that could impact the team’s depth in the early going. Bruce Brown underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday and was ruled out for at least three weeks.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Hornets center Mark Williams, who missed much of the 2023/24 season due to a back issue, strained a tendon in his left foot during an offseason workout on Thursday, according to a press release from the team. Williams will be sidelined through training camp and will be reevaluated in two weeks, the club said in its statement.
The Kings announced on Friday that a pair of veterans won’t be available for training camp, as James Ham of The Kings Beat relays (via Twitter). Forward Trey Lyles will be reevaluated in approximately three weeks after straining his left groin during offseason workouts, while newcomer Jordan McLaughlin has been diagnosed with a grade 2 right ankle sprain and will be reexamined in about two weeks.
Nuggets guard Peyton Watson is dealing with a soft-tissue hamstring injury and likely won’t suit up for either of the team’s first two preseason games in Abu Dhabi next weekend, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscriber link). “I think it’s really important that we’re smart about his injury, his rehab, his recovery,” head coach Michael Malone said. “Because as much as we want him playing these games, the season opener in probably about four weeks is more important.”