Hawks Rumors

Celtics Notes: Brown, Chisholm, Boucher, Hauser

The Celtics appear headed for a step backward due to Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury and the loss of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, who were both shipped out in cost-cutting moves. However, Jaylen Brown expressed optimism about the upcoming season in an interview this week on V-103 FM in Atlanta, relays Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe.

“I know Boston, it looks gloomy right now, obviously with JT being out and us kind of ending the year, but it’s a lot to look forward to,” Brown said. “I want the city to feel excited about that. This is not the end, so I’m looking forward to what’s next.”

Being in his hometown, Brown received a question about possibly joining the Hawks someday. With four years left on his $304MM supermax extension, it’s not a realistic possibility anytime soon, but Brown left the door open. When host Darian Morgan said he’d like to see Brown in a Hawks uniform, Brown replied, “I feel you. I think my grandma would too.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

  • New majority owner William Chisholm shares Brown’s outlook about the team’s prospects, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Chisholm believes other players will seize the opportunity to replace the stars who are no longer available. “I think they’re going to surprise some people,” Chisholm said. “I think this is a good team and I think we have a really good coach and a really good president of basketball operations. I think Payton Pritchard said it in an interview, that we’re going to surprise some people, and I think there’s real talent here that hasn’t been fully realized.”
  • Newly acquired Chris Boucher may be the favorite going into camp to win the starting job at power forward, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Coach Joe Mazzulla’s handling of the four spot should provide an indication of how he plans to approach the season, Robb adds. Using the 6’9″ Boucher alongside Neemias Queta would give the team more size on defense and better rebounding. Another option is to start shooting specialist Sam Hauser, which would satisfy Mazzulla’s tactical reliance on a three-point barrage but would leave the Celtics vulnerable in other areas. Robb mentions Josh Minott as a potential wild card who could wind up earning regular minutes.
  • Second apron concerns mean Holiday and Porzingis would likely have been traded even if Tatum hadn’t gotten injured, but some other moves might have played out differently, Robb adds in the same piece. He believes Al Horford or Luke Kornet would have been re-signed if Tatum had been healthy, and the Celtics might have made a stronger effort to add low-cost veteran free agent help.

Hawks Sign Kobe Johnson To Exhibit 10 Deal

September 11: Two-and-a-half months after his agreement was first reported, Johnson has officially signed with the Hawks, the team announced in a press release. It’s an Exhibit 10 deal, confirms Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).


June 27: The Hawks have agreed to a deal with UCLA forward Kobe Johnson, Jonathon Givony reports for ESPN (via Twitter).

Johnson played for three years at USC, emerging as a starter and a defensive force after averaging just 7.5 minutes per game as a freshman. He subsequently transferred to UCLA for his senior year.

In his lone year as a Bruin, Johnson averaged 7.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.6 steals while shooting 36.2% from three and earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive team, his third consecutive selection to his conference’s All-Defensive team. While his three-point shot has been up-and-down, Johnson is a career 76.7% free-throw shooter, which offers some hope for him finding eventual shooting consistency.

While Givony doesn’t specify the terms of the agreement, it will likely be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract for Johnson. Exhibit 10 deals can be converted into two-way contracts, though the Hawks have already reached two-way agreements with Eli John Ndiaye and Kentucky’s Lamont Butler to two-way contracts.

An Exhibit 10 deal would also put Johnson on track to join the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ G League team, as an affiliate player once the season begins.

Hawks Sign Charles Bassey To Exhibit 10 Contract

The Hawks have signed big man Charles Bassey, the team announced in a press release on Wednesday. It’s a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, a league source tells Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

Bassey was selected by Philadelphia with the 53rd pick in the 2021 draft. He was waived after one year with the Sixers and signed with San Antonio, where he played for the past three seasons.

Injuries were an issue for Bassey during his time with the Spurs — his 2022/23 season was cut short due to a non-displaced patella fracture, then he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in December 2023. The 24-year-old appeared in 36 games in 2024/25, averaging 4.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per night.

Bassey was a standout with the Celtics during Summer League play this July, averaging 15.3 points and 11.0 rebounds per contest in Las Vegas while shooting 70.4% from the field across three outings. He reportedly drew interest from Partizan Belgrade, but has decided to remain stateside as he seeks an NBA roster spot.

While most camp invitees who receive Exhibit 10 contracts don’t end up making their teams’ regular season rosters, there could be a pathway for Bassey to earn a spot in Atlanta. As we detailed last week, the Hawks are carrying just 11 players on fully guaranteed contracts (plus Vit Krejci with a significant partial guarantee), so players with non-guaranteed deals or small partial guarantees – including Bassey, Caleb Houstan, Mouhamed Gueye, and N’Faly Dante – could be vying for two or three roster spots.

Because he has four years of NBA experience, Bassey isn’t eligible to have his Exhibit 10 deal converted into a two-way contract.

Finland Shocks Serbia; Lithuania Also Reaches EuroBasket Quarterfinals

Finland pulled off one of the biggest international upsets in recent years, surprising Serbia on Saturday in a EuroBasket elimination game, writes Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen led the way for the Finnish team with 29 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in the 92-86 victory.

“Unreal,” Markkanen said. “Great performance by the team. We needed every single one of them tonight — everybody in the stands, the staff, the players. Big credit to them. We’re not done yet, but we’re gonna enjoy this. Obviously, that’s a heck of a team we just beat, and now we move forward.”

Led by perennial MVP candidate Nikola Jokic and with six other current and former NBA players on its roster, Serbia was considered among the favorites for the EuroBasket title when the tournament began. But its prospects took a major hit when Bogdan Bogdanovic suffered a ruptured hamstring muscle last week that forced him out of the competition.

Serbia cruised to victories in its first four games behind dominant performances from Jokic. However, they dropped to second in Group A after Wednesday’s loss to Turkey and didn’t respond well in the knockout round.

Jokic delivered 33 points and eight rebounds on Saturday, but Serbia didn’t offer much other scoring punch outside of Nikola Jovic‘s 20 points. Despite his many career accomplishments, Jokic has never medaled at EuroBasket.

Up next for Finland will be the winner of Sunday’s game between France and Georgia.

Lithuania also advanced to the quarterfinals on Saturday with an 88-79 victory over Latvia, joining Turkey and Germany, who won earlier in the day.

With Rokas Jokubaitis sidelined by a serious knee injury, Arnas Velicka starred for the Lithuanians with 21 points, 12 assists and five rebounds, while Azuolas Tubelis contributed 18 points and 12 rebounds and Deividas Sirvydis added 18 points.

Latvia was eliminated despite a stellar performance from Hawks big man Kristaps Porzingis, who finished with 34 points and 19 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Porzingis told reporters that he has mostly recovered from the illness that sapped his strength last season with Boston, according to BasketNews.

“It’s true that there were still some days when I wasn’t feeling perfect, and I’m still working my way back to having my gas tank full,” he said. “But as the tournament went on, I started to feel really good physically, and I knew I could push my body, I could push myself to go. Today was an example of that. It’s just up from now. Overall, a great summer with my Latvian teammates, being back home, enjoying time with family. And yeah, I would have liked to finish on a more beautiful note.”

Lithuania’s quarterfinals opponent will be the winner of Sunday’s Greece-Israel matchup.

NBA Teams With Fewest Players On Guaranteed Contracts

As of Friday, seven of the NBA’s 30 teams are carrying at least 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts and are unlikely to have many additional offseason acquisitions in store. Another nine teams are carrying 14 players on fully guaranteed deals, while 10 others have 12 or 13 guaranteed contracts on their books.

As our roster counts page shows, that leaves four clubs carrying 11 or fewer players on fully guaranteed deals. That doesn’t necessarily mean all four of those teams will sign free agents to guaranteed contracts before the regular season begins, but it’s worth checking in on them to take a closer look at their roster situations.

[RELATED: 2025/26 Non-Guaranteed Contracts By Team]

Atlanta Hawks

Although the Hawks are only carrying 11 players on guaranteed contracts, it’s possible no more additions are coming before the regular season, since they have four more players on partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed deals, and all four could be in the team’s plans.

One of those four players, Vit Krejci, should be a lock for the regular season roster. Krejci has been a regular rotation piece over the past two seasons and $1.5MM of his $2.35MM salary is also guaranteed. N’Faly Dante is the other Hawk with a partial guarantee — only $85,300 of his $2.05MM salary is locked in, but the Hawks probably wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of signing him away from Houston with an offer sheet if they planned to waive him before the season begins.

Former Magic forward Caleb Houstan and 2023 second-round pick Mouhamed Gueye have non-guaranteed minimum salaries for 2025/26. Houstan made 40% of his three-point attempts last season, and the Hawks may not be ready to give up on Gueye, who had his rookie year shortened significantly by a back injury.

Waiving any one of those four players would clear a path for Atlanta to either add a new 15th man or to carry an open roster spot into the regular season.

Cleveland Cavaliers

In addition to their 11 players on guaranteed salaries, the Cavaliers have Dean Wade, a reliable reserve whose contract features a significant partial guarantee, and Craig Porter Jr., a minimum-salary reserve who has been productive in limited minutes and who could play a greater role this fall if Darius Garland misses the start of the season due to toe surgery, as expected.

That’s still just 13 players on standard deals, so Cleveland will need to find a 14th man. Even though they could use some additional depth due to Garland’s toe injury and Max Strusfoot surgery, it’s probably safe to assume the Cavs won’t carry a full 15-man roster into the season since they already have the league’s highest payroll and won’t want to further increase their luxury tax bill if they don’t need to.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Cavaliers sign a player to a partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed contract for their 14th spot. That would give the team some flexibility early in the season to make a change at that spot if they need to bring in extra depth at a specific position.

A player on a non-guaranteed deal without an early salary guarantee date won’t have his salary for 2025/26 locked in unless he remains under contract through January 7, so the Cavs could maintain some flexibility with the 14th spot until then. For now, a guard or wing to help fill in for Garland and Strus would make sense.

Golden State Warriors

The offseason practically hasn’t started for the Warriors, who belatedly finalized a pair of draft-night trade agreements on July 6 and haven’t made a single roster move since then. Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency standoff is the reason for the hold-up. Until they know the exact value of Kuminga’s cap hit – or the cap hits of the players they acquire in a sign-and-trade for Kuminga – the Warriors want to hold off on filling out the rest of their roster, since they may need to navigate a hard cap.

For now, Golden State is carrying just seven players on fully guaranteed contracts, four below the total for any other team. But Trayce Jackson-Davis and Gui Santos, who have non-guaranteed salaries, are probably sticking around, and Kuminga would get them to 10 players if he re-signs.

The Warriors are also believed to have deals lined up with several free agents, starting with Al Horford, who will likely receive most or all of the taxpayer mid-level exception. Horford and De’Anthony Melton (likely on a minimum-salary deal) have been the free agents long assumed to have handshake agreements with Golden State. Seth Curry, Gary Payton II, and Malcolm Brogdon are among the other rumored candidates to sign with the team (Curry seems to be the most likely), along with second-round picks Will Richard and possibly Alex Toohey.

It’s probably safe to assume that some combination of these players will fill out the Warriors’ roster once Kuminga’s free agency is finally resolved. Whether they carry 14 or 15 players could depend on how much Kuminga signs for — if the forward accepts his $8MM qualifying offer, Golden State would be in a way better position to carry a full roster than if he signs the team’s reported proposal that starts at $21.75MM.

New York Knicks

The Knicks have 11 players on guaranteed salaries, with Ariel Hukporti as their non-guaranteed 12th man. Technically, waiving Hukporti to replace him with another player is a possibility, but New York has so little cap flexibility below its second-apron hard cap that it’s not a practical route, since Hukporti’s $1,955,377 cap hit gives the club important extra breathing room that a $2,296,274 veteran’s minimum deal wouldn’t.

As their situation stands, the Knicks have enough room below the second apron to sign one veteran free agent to a minimum-salary contract and one draft-rights-held player to a rookie-minimum deal. A salary-shedding trade could change the equation for the club, but if that doesn’t happen, the Knicks have next to no maneuverability and won’t be able to add a 15th man until near the end of the season.

While swapping non-guaranteed players on and off the roster during the first part of the season is a viable option for a team like Atlanta, it’s not practical for New York, since those moves would burn much-needed room below the hard cap. That may be one reason why the Knicks are taking their time to decide who their 13th and 14th men will be. Once they sign those guys, they may end up committed to them for a while.

Hawks Sign, Waive Javan Johnson, Dwight Murray Jr.

September 4: One day after being signed, both Johnson and Murray have been waived by the Hawks, per a team press release.

As we noted below, the procedural move will make each player eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the College Park Skyhawks to open 2025/26.


September 3: The Hawks have officially signed forward Javan Johnson and guard Dwight Murray Jr. to their offseason roster, the team announced today in a press release.

Johnson, who went undrafted in 2023 after playing college ball at Troy, Iowa State, and DePaul, has spent most of his first two professional seasons in the G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors. He also had a brief stint in 2024 with the Gladiadores de Anzoátegui in Puerto Rico.

In 49 total appearances last season for Santa Cruz, Johnson averaged 13.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 26.9 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .417/.374/.912. The College Park Skyhawks – Atlanta’s G League affiliate – acquired the 26-year-old’s returning rights last month in a three-team trade that also involved the Salt Lake City Stars.

Murray, who went undrafted in 2023 too, played in Montenegro for KK Mornar in 2023/24, then spent last season with the Skyhawks, starting 29 of 43 games for Atlanta’s NBAGL team. A native of Austell, Georgia, the 6’0″ guard put up averages of 9.0 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per contest and a shooting line of .391/.315/.762.

While the Hawks didn’t provide any details on the contracts signed by Johnson and Murray, it’s safe to assume both deals include Exhibit 10 language, which will line them up to earn bonuses worth up to $85,300 if they’re waived by Atlanta and then spend at least 60 days with College Park. Both Johnson and Murray would qualify as returning-rights players for the Skyhawks.

The Hawks now officially have 20 players under contract, one shy of the offseason limit.

Southeast Notes: Badji, Young, Riley, Arison

The Hornets’ G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, has traded for the rights to center Ibou Badji in a deal with the Bucks’ NBAGL squad, the Wisconsin Herd, Greensboro announced via Twitter.

In the exchange, Wisconsin acquired the No. 31 pick in the 2025 G League draft and the rights to center Jeremiah Tilmon and guard Lindell Wigginton.

Badji, 22, led the G League in blocks in 2024/25, and was named to the G League All-Defensive Team for his play with Wisconsin. The big man inked a two-way deal with the Blazers in 2023/24, appearing in 22 contests (one start). He averaged 1.5 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 10.3 MPG.

Across 34 games for the Herd in 2024/25, Badji averaged 6.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 3.4 BPG. He joined the Spanish squad La Laguna Tenerife in April.

Wigginton last played in the Chinese Basketball Association, while Tilman has been with clubs in Kuwait, the Dominican Republic, and Korea since 2024.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

  • Hawks guard Trae Young is eligible for a standard veteran extension and could decline his 2026/27 player option to begin a new deal sooner rather than later. Keith Smith of Spotrac previews what a possible contract might look like for Young, though he observes that Atlanta appears to be waiting to see how the four-time All-Star performs with the team’s new-look roster before committing to a lengthy extension. Young, an undersized guard, would need to make an All-NBA in 2026 to qualify for a super-max contract, worth up to 35% of the cap’s max in the first season.
  • Heat owner Micky Arison is headed to the Hall of Fame this week as a contributor. Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel examines why Pat Riley, who has made the Hall of Fame before as a coach, has yet to make the cut as a contributor. Riley is one of the great modern executives, having overseen three very different rosters en route to seven NBA Finals appearances since 2005/06, winning three championships.
  • In case you missed it, Miami opted not to waive and stretch the $26.7MM contract of guard Terry Rozier ahead of this season. The deadline to do so was Friday.

28 Current NBA Players Competing In FIBA EuroBasket 2025

On the heels of the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024, the 2025 NBA offseason doesn’t feature a major international tournament in which the United States’ top stars are competing.

However, several of the league’s biggest names – including three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and five-time All-NBA first-teamer Luka Doncic – are taking part in FIBA EuroBasket 2025, which tipped off on Wednesday.

The tournament, also known as the European Basketball Championship, takes place every four years and features 24 European countries vying for a gold medal. The 24 teams who qualified for EuroBasket are split up into four groups and will face the other teams in their group across five games from August 27 to September 4.

At the end of group play, the top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout round, which is a single-elimination tournament featuring the remaining 16 countries.

By our count, 28 active NBA players are taking part in EuroBasket 2025, along with 30 former NBA players and several more who were selected in an NBA draft but have yet to play in the league.

Here’s the full list of current and former NBA players set to compete in EuroBasket, sorted by group and country:


Group A

Czechia (Czech Republic)

  • Current NBA players: Vit Krejci (Hawks)
  • Former NBA players: None

Estonia

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Henri Drell

Latvia

Portugal

  • Current NBA players: Neemias Queta (Celtics)
  • Former NBA players: None

Serbia

Serbia’s roster also includes Nikola Milutinov and Vanja Marinkovic, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Turkey

Group B

Finland

Germany

Great Britain

Lithuania

Lithuania’s roster also includes Rokas Jokubaitis, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league, and Azuolas Tubelis, who was on a two-way contract with the Sixers during the 2023 offseason but was waived before the season began.

Montenegro

Sweden

  • Current NBA players: Pelle Larsson (Heat)
  • Former NBA players: None

Group C

Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Current NBA players: Jusuf Nurkic (Jazz)
  • Former NBA players: None

Cyprus

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Georgia

Greece

Italy

Italy’s roster also includes Matteo Spagnolo, Gabriele Procida, and Saliou Niang, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Spain

Group D

Belgium

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

France

France’s roster also includes Isaia Cordinier, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Iceland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel

  • Current NBA players: Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel’s roster also includes Yam Madar, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Poland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Jordan Loyd

Slovenia

  • Current NBA players: Luka Doncic (Lakers)
  • Former NBA players: None

And-Ones: ESPN Panel, Top SGs, Lundberg, Hayes-Davis

The Spurs and Hawks are considered the co-favorites to make the biggest leap in the NBA during the upcoming season, according to a panel of ESPN Insiders.

The panel made its predictions on a wide variety of topics, including the team most likely to make a big move before the trade deadline (the Warriors received the most votes) and the next superstar to request a trade (Zion Williamson was the top vote-getter).

Here’s more from around the international basketball world:

  • Anthony Edwards tops the list of shooting guards ranked by The Athletic’s Zach Harper. Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell fill out tier one — players who are potential MVP candidates — in “The Bounce’s Top 40 Shooting Guards.” Desmond Bane, Klay Thompson, Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine comprised the second tier as players “who can take over” a game.
  • Gabriel ‘Iffe’ Lundberg won’t return to Serbia’s Partizan Belgrade, according to Sportando. The Danish guard, according to a TeleSport report, has drawn interest from both Zenit St. Petersburg and Olympiacos. Lundberg had a brief stay in the NBA, playing four games with Phoenix during the 2021/22 season.
  • Tel Aviv’s owner Ofer Yannay had a verbal agreement this offseason with Nigel Hayes-Davis in the event that the free agent forward couldn’t find an NBA contract. Hayes-Davis, who played in Turkey last season, wound up signing a one-year deal with the Suns. “We were sure we were bringing Nigel Hayes-Davis. We were sure it was happening. He had an option to go to the NBA, and he basically said, ‘I’ll try to get a contract in the NBA, and if I don’t, I’ll come to you,’” Yannay said, per Eurohoops.net.

EuroBasket Notes: Wagner, Giannis, Risacher, Doncic

Germany made a huge statement by going unbeaten on its way to the 2023 FIBA World Cup title, and a win at EuroBasket would cement its status as an international basketball power. Magic forward Franz Wagner talked to reporters, including Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops, about what another major championship would mean for his nation’s basketball program.

“It would be a massive achievement,” Wagner said. “I think winning anything is super difficult. I think winning something for your country, obviously, is super special. We felt that two years ago, and we’re doing everything we can to have that feeling again and bring home a gold medal for your country.”

Germany is a huge favorite to advance out of Group B, which also includes Great Britain, Lithuania, Sweden, Montenegro and host Finland. The pressure ratchets up in the knockout stage, with single-elimination games being played from September 6-14 in Riga, Latvia.

“I think every do-or-die game, and especially national team games, when you play for your country, and especially when the time you have with the team is kind of short or way shorter than during a season with a team, I think those games are always super physical and every player is putting it all out there,” Wagner said.

On the tournament format, he added, “I think that’s what makes those games super fun to play and hopefully fun to watch as well.”

There’s more from EuroBasket:

  • Rival players are raving about the impact that Giannis Antetokounmpo has for Greece, according to a story on the FIBA website. Willy Hernangomez says the Bucks star “tries to destroy everyone in front of him,” and Spanish teammate Santi Aldama claims Antetokounmpo takes his intensity to a different level when he’s part of the Greek national team. “He always talks about how he plays hard every single day,” Aldama said. “And seeing an MVP-level player play as hard as he does every day … and him having the pride to play for his country every summer you can see it’s different when he plays for his country. And he takes a lot of pride in playing for his country.”
  • In an interview with Christos Tsaltas of Athletiko, Zaccharie Risacher talks about the things he learned during his rookie season with the Hawks that have made him a better player. Risacher may need to take on a larger role for France with several important teammates unavailable, and he said he’s willing to do whatever is asked of him. “I want to contribute to my team so that it wins as many games as it can and contribute in any way I can,” Risacher said. “With defense, with scoring, with rebounds. I’m a versatile player and I have to make sure I’ve adapted and I can do the right thing and make the right phase at the right time to help as much as I can.”
  • Lakers star Luka Doncic delivered a fiery locker room speech after Slovenia lost to Serbia by 34 points in an exhibition game, relays BasketNews. “I don’t like to talk about what’s going on in the team. Yes, we had a conversation,” teammate Edo Muric said. “We cleared up a lot of things and said what needed to be said. This defeat actually brought us even closer.”