And-Ones: Beasley, FIBA, 2026 Draft, More
A federal judge in New York has found former NBA sharpshooter Malik Beasley liable for $1MM in damages (plus interest) to be paid to Hazan Sports Management, the agency that previously represented him, according to David Purdum of ESPN.
The agency filed a lawsuit earlier this year seeking $2.25MM in damages and legal fees for breach of contract. Hazan Sports alleged in that suit that Beasley left the agency in February 2025 without paying back a $650K marketing advance.
Judge Jeannette A. Vargas wrote in her ruling that “no objections have been filed and no request for an extension of time to object has been made” by Beasley. According to Purdum, the suit doesn’t list an attorney for Beasley.
Beasley finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2024/25 and appeared poised to land a lucrative multiyear deal in free agency. However, his contract negotiations ended when word broke that federal investigators and the NBA were investigating him due to possible connection to illegal betting activity. The veteran wing signed last month with Cangrejeros de Santurce, a Puerto Rican team owned by Bad Bunny, as he awaits clarity on his NBA future.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- FIBA has reached an agreement on a broadcasting deal with TNT Sports that will give the network the rights to several international basketball competitions, including the 2026 women’s World Cup in Germany and the 2027 men’s World Cup in Qatar, according to a press release.
- In his latest preview of the 2026 NBA draft, Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com explores one big question facing each of the top nine prospects on his board, including how real Kingston Flemings‘ shooting improvements are and whether Tennessee’s Nate Ament can make a leap as a shot creator.
- ESPN’s Tim Bontemps shares his “all-contract team” for the 2025/26 season, building the best possible 15-man roster without exceeding the salary cap and without selecting any players on maximum-salary, minimum-salary, or rookie scale contracts. Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, and Hawks forward Jalen Johnson are among Bontemps’ headliners.
- One month removed from this year’s trade deadline, Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports checks in on the early returns of some of February’s biggest deals, noting that Cavaliers guard James Harden, Thunder guard Jared McCain, Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga, and Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu are some of the players off to strong starts with their new teams.
NBA Explores Launching Streaming RSN Hub For 2026/27
The NBA has let its teams know that there’s a chance it will introduce a streaming hub for local broadcasts as soon as next season, sources tell Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal. Many clubs’ local broadcasts have been thrown into disarray due to the fact that Main Street Sports Group, which has regional TV agreements with 13 NBA teams, is likely headed for insolvency.
That group of 13 teams – which includes the defending champion Thunder, along with the Spurs, Pistons, Cavaliers, Clippers, Heat, Timberwolves, Magic, Hornets, Hawks, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Bucks – would be the most likely candidates to be involved in the NBA’s new streaming hub.
As Friend points out, there are a few more teams (the Suns, Jazz, Trail Blazers, Mavericks, and Pelicans) who have already abandoned their respective regional sports networks and could be candidates for the new venture as well. On top of that, Friend’s sources suspect the four teams who have deals with NBC Sports – the Celtics, Warriors, Sixers, and Kings – could be in play due to a sense that NBC may want out of the regional sports network business.
The other eight teams broadcast games on their own networks, which doesn’t necessarily rule them out, but would make it more complicated for the league to negotiate deals with each of them.
While it remains unclear exactly what the new setup will look like, Friend hears that the NBA has engaged in talks with potential partners like YouTube TV, DAZN, Amazon, and ESPN as it considers a package that might resemble NFL Sunday Ticket.
The total number of teams that opt in figures to be a major factor in determining the viability of this new streaming hub, Friend writes, citing sources who think the NBA would need to guarantee a broadcast partner a certain threshold of clubs in order to secure a significant deal. With enough teams involved, industry insiders believe an agreement would be worth billions, Friend adds.
Due to its financial woes, Main Street has missed payments to its teams on January 1, February 1, and March 1, per Sports Business Journal. The NBA originally didn’t plan on launching this sort of streaming hub until down the road, Friend writes, but it has become a higher priority in order to help teams make up for those lost rights-fee payments.
Although the league has informed its teams that it’s trying to get something together for the 2026/27 season, there’s no guarantee that will happen, so Main Street clubs have been advised to explore lining up a bridge deal for their local broadcasts. Those teams are exploring both linear and streaming options, Friend notes.
Friend also points out that, since a new league-wide streaming hub may overlap with League Pass, the NBA may need to either restructure League Pass or eliminate it all together down the road. Amazon currently distributes League Pass as part of its national broadcast agreement with the NBA, so those negotiations would be simpler if the league ultimately strikes a deal to make Amazon its partner on a new streaming RSN.
Northwest Notes: Anderson, Jazz, Dundon, Caruso, Hartenstein
It’s rare for a player added on the buyout market to make a significant impact on his new team, but the Timberwolves believe Kyle Anderson is capable of doing just that, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Besides the fact that the 32-year-old is very familiar with the Wolves, whom he played for from 2022-24, the team also has a need for a versatile wing like Anderson, according to head coach Chris Finch.
“We’re very comfortable, I think, in what he can do and how he fits into us,” Finch said. “We need more connectors, more play-makers. We’ll put the ball in his hands. We’ll treat him like a point guard. Defensively, he gives us versatility, switching, intelligence. He’s a great quarterback of the defense.”
Anderson left Minnesota in free agency in 2024 with the Wolves facing a cap crunch. He received a three-year, $27MM deal from Golden State that his former team likely wasn’t in position to offer, but his time with the Warriors didn’t last long. Anderson was traded from Golden State to Miami to Utah to Memphis in the past two seasons, and after being let go by the Grizzlies, he jumped at the chance to rejoin the Wolves.
“With Kyle, it feels good that A) he had such a great experience here, B) he went on and was rewarded for that experience financially, which we always root for, and C) he wanted to come back because he enjoyed being here, and his family enjoyed being here,” Finch said. “The circle is complete in that regard, and hopefully we can all benefit from it in these last 20 games and in the playoffs.”
We have more from around the Northwest:
- Anderson, who appeared in 20 games with the Jazz this season before being dealt to Memphis, admitted he didn’t love playing for a team that was more focused on preserving its top-eight protected 2026 first-round pick than making the playoffs. “I had a lot of fun in the organization and everybody in the organization was awesome,” Anderson said (Twitter video link via Andrew Dukowitz of Zone Coverage). “Obviously, playing not to win (a championship) is tricky and tough, and I didn’t enjoy it personally, but the staff and the players, I loved the players… the people in the organization were awesome, nothing bad to say about them.”
- Tom Dundon, whose purchase of the Trail Blazers is expected to close at some point in the coming weeks, has reached a deal to sell a 12.5% stake in the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes at a valuation of $2.66 billion, according to Scott Soshnick, Eben Novy-Williams, and Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. It’s unclear, per Sportico, whether the timing of the transaction means Dundon is seeking additional liquidity as he prepares to finalize the Blazers sale.
- The Thunder earned their fourth consecutive victory on Wednesday, beating the Knicks 103-100 on the second night of a road back-to-back. However, they didn’t leave New York unscathed. As Marc Stein tweets, both Alex Caruso (left hip contusion) and Isaiah Hartenstein (left calf tightness) exited early and were ruled out for the rest of the night. It remains to be seen whether they’ll miss more time as a result of those injuries.
Northwest Notes: Hyland, Dort, Nuggets, Blazers
In an excellent profile, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic explores the journey Bones Hyland has taken to end up with the Timberwolves, detailing the tragic 2018 fire that burned down Hyland’s childhood home and took the lives of his grandmother and 11-month-old cousin. Hyland, who jumped out of a second-floor window to safety, tore the patellar tendon in his right knee and was initially told by doctors that they didn’t think he’d play basketball again, Krawcyznski writes.
“I cried my eyes out,” Hyland said. “But I knew it wasn’t the end for me. God always got the last say-so.”
Grieving the loss of two family members and recovering from his own injuries with the overwhelming support of a Wilmington community that made sure he was never alone in his hospital room, Hyland began rehabbing his knee and eventually made it back onto the basketball court, earning a scholarship to VCU and then becoming a first-round pick in the 2021 NBA draft.
Although earlier stints with the Nuggets and Clippers didn’t end the way he hoped, Hyland has found a new NBA home in Minnesota, where he has settled into a second-unit role for the Wolves this season, averaging 7.1 points and 2.5 assists in 14.7 minutes per game, with a 38.8% three-point mark.
“I love having him on the team,” head coach Chris Finch said, per Krawczynski. “He’s the same every day. He’s a super happy guy. He’s one of these guys who brings joy to the game in the way that he plays it.”
We have more from around the Northwest:
- Four days after being ejected from a showdown with the Nuggets after tripping Nikola Jokic on his way up the court, Thunder forward Luguentz Dort expressed some regret for the play that was ruled a flagrant 2 foul, writes Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic. “Obviously, that was unnecessary contact that I shouldn’t have done,” Dort said. “… That’s a physical game and there’s limits to it. And I went over the limit.” Informed of Dort’s comments, Nuggets coaches and players were unmoved, with David Adelman, Bruce Brown, and Jonas Valanciunas each responding with a “no” when asked by Troy Renck of The Denver Post if Dort’s acknowledgement meant anything to them (Twitter video links).
- Efforts to secure public funding for the Trail Blazers‘ arena renovation took a step forward on Wednesday as the Oregon state senate passed Senate Bill 1501, which would allow the state to issue up to $360MM in bonds toward the renovation plan (Twitter links via Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report). The bill, which will be sent to the state’s house of representatives for a vote, is just one piece of the overall puzzle, according to Bill Oram of The Oregonian (subscription required), who notes that the project will also require funding from the city and the county. Additionally, the Blazers still need to negotiate a new Moda Center lease once new owner Tom Dundon takes control of the franchise.
- The two-way deals recently signed by guard Chris Youngblood and forward Jayson Kent with the Trail Blazers will each cover two seasons, running through 2026/27, Hoops Rumors has learned.
And-Ones: Yurtseven, Metu, KD, Wiseman, Dybantsa
A pair of former NBA big men have signed new contracts and are set to resume their playing careers.
Former Heat and Jazz center Omer Yurtseven, who averaged 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 113 NBA regular season appearances from 2021-24, has signed a G League deal and will join the Rockets‘ affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). The Turkish big man has spent most of the past two years overseas playing for Panathinaikos, but recently parted ways with the Greek team.
Meanwhile, former NBA forward/center Chimezie Metu is headed to Europe, having agreed to join Gran Canaria in Spain for the rest of the 2025/26 season, according to an announcement from the team. Metu made 260 NBA appearances from 2018-24 for Sacramento, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Detroit, but signed with Barcelona for the 2024/25 season and then suffered a torn Achilles last March.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Rockets star Kevin Durant spoke recently about his desire to play for Team USA at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, and head coach Erik Spoelstra appears to be on board with the idea, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “Just him saying that is incredible,” Spoelstra said over the weekend. “You know, that’s the culture of USA Basketball. You just want the best American players to raise their hand and say, ‘I want to do this.'”
- Speaking of USA Basketball, Joe Vardon of The Athletic checked in this weekend with former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman, who was representing the U.S. in a pair of World Cup qualifying games against the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Wiseman viewed the games as “a test to see where I was at” following last season’s Achilles tear and an opportunity to show he deserves a spot on an NBA roster. Team USA head coach Stephen Silas believes he made a strong case. “He’s long, he can play pick-and-roll defense,” Silas said. “… He rebounds, he blocks shots. He’s a little rusty; scoring around the hoop was a little bit tough for him. But he belongs on the NBA roster.”
- Asked by McKay Coppins in an episode of Deseret Voices (YouTube link) if he thinks he’ll be the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa suggested it’s not a sure thing that he goes pro this spring. “I might not leave college,” Dybantsa said (Twitter video link via The Deseret News). “… My mom wants me to graduate, so I might not leave.” It’s not uncommon for top prospects to make that sort of declaration during the college season – Cooper Flagg did the same thing a year ago – but it would be virtually unprecedented in recent draft history for a potential top pick like Dybantsa to actually follow through on the idea.
- Former Morgan Stanley investment advisor Darryl Cohen, who advised current Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday and other NBA players, was convicted by a Manhattan jury on Tuesday of wire fraud and investment advisor fraud, reports Michael McCann of Sportico. Cohen, who was charged for leading a scheme to defraud Holiday and former NBA players Chandler Parsons and Courtney Lee, arranged for those players to buy insurance policies at “massive markups” and moved money from their financial accounts into a fraudulent nonprofit organization under the guise that they were making charitable donations, as McCann details.
Pelicans Only Team With Two-Way Opening As Deadline Looms
It’s Wednesday, March 4, which means today is the last day that teams can sign players to two-way contracts for the 2025/26 season, as we outlined earlier this week.
As the day begins, 87 of the 90 two-way slots around the NBA are currently occupied, with two more set to be filled shortly. The Hawks and Cavaliers both have two-way openings, but Atlanta is reportedly signing guard Keshon Gilbert and Cleveland is set to add big man Olivier Sarr.
That leaves the Pelicans as the league’s only team with a two-way contract spot available. In all likelihood, New Orleans will fill that slot by the end of the day on Wednesday, since the financial cost would be minimal and the cap impact would be nonexistent.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Pelicans will be the only team to make a two-way roster move today. Other clubs could make some last-minute changes by either waiving current two-way players or promoting them to standard contracts in order to back-fill their two-way slot with a newcomer. While two-way players can be elevated to the 15-man roster anytime up until the last day of the regular season, a team that does so after Wednesday wouldn’t be able to sign a new two-way player in his place.
Trail Blazers guard Caleb Love, Grizzlies forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and Mavericks big man Moussa Cisse are among the notable players on two-way contracts who are nearing their respective games played limits and could be candidates for promotions, though not all of those clubs currently have space available on their 15-man rosters.
A year ago on March 4, seven players officially signed new two-way contracts, with one two-way player waived and four others promoted to standard contracts. Two years ago, March 4 brought six two-way signings and a pair of cuts involving two-way players.
It remains to be seen how busy today will be relative to the last couple two-way contract deadline days, but we’ll be monitoring transaction reports and announcements throughout Wednesday and bringing you all the latest updates.
Northwest Notes: Sandfort, Harkless, Nuggets, Wallace, Avdija
Payton Sandfort, signed on Monday by the Thunder on a two-way contract, will “fit in well,” coach Mark Daigneault told Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (Twitter link) and other media members.
“He’s a great professional and he’s a really good guy,” Daigneault said. “He hasn’t played a lot this year. He’s been injured, but he’s a guy our scouts really liked coming out of college. He can really shoot the ball with some size, and he’s a great kid. Just a really, really good dude.”
Sandfort, who has been playing for the G League’s Oklahoma City Blue, signed a two-year contract, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets.
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Another two-way player, the Jazz‘s Elijah Harkless, played rugged defense on Denver star Nikola Jokic on Monday. Jokic only scored two points with Harkless guarding him. Afterward, coach Will Hardy paid Harkless a strong compliment. “I think Elijah is our best defender,” Hardy said, per Kevin Reynolds of the Salt Lake City Tribune. “It’s about trying to build a sense of fatigue as the game goes on, because every catch is hard to get. That’s Elijah’s identity. That’s who he is. That’s who we need him to be. And I think when Elijah plays like that, it raises the level of the group.”
- Prior to defeating the Jazz, the Nuggets were defeated by Oklahoma City and Minnesota. The time that Jokic was off the floor was key, as the Nuggets were outscored in both games when the big man rested. Coach David Adelman hinted at rotation changes, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post reports. “It’s just something that we have to learn from,” Adelman said. “I have to find a unit that will actually do it, compete at a higher level. Because to me, that was the game. Then I had to extend minutes, and I’m playing guys into the ground. I can’t do that. Especially with the way the schedule has been very dense.”
- Taking advantage of extended playing time due to injuries, Thunder guard Cason Wallace averaged 14.6 points, 4.8 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 30.9 minutes per game last month. Wallace is extension-eligible this summer and his recent play enhanced his résumé. “You never know when a guy’s gonna pop,” Daigneault told Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, “but he’s had a week and a half now of offense that’s been really, really good and intriguing.”
- Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who hasn’t played since departing in the opening minute on Feb. 22 due to a lower back injury, has been upgraded to questionable for the team’s game against Memphis on Wednesday, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report tweets.
Trail Blazers, Jayson Kent Finalize Two-Way Deal
3:35 pm: Kent’s two-way deal with the Blazers is official, the team confirmed in a press release.
2:30 pm: The Trail Blazers intend to sign forward Jayson Kent to a two-way contract, agent Rob Anshila tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
It will be the first NBA contract of any kind for Kent, who went undrafted out of Texas last June as a fifth-year senior and then caught on with the Rip City Remix, Portland’s G League affiliate, via local tryout last fall.
After transferring from Indiana State to Texas for his final college season, Kent didn’t play a significant role for the Longhorns in 2024/25, averaging 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per contest, primarily off the bench. However, the 6’8″ forward has emerged as a reliable three-and-D contributor in the G League this season, putting up 11.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG on .483/.393/.921 shooting in 38 outings (26.4 MPG) for the Remix.
The Blazers are in the process of making a series of changes to their two-way contract slots. After promoting Sidy Cissoko to the standard roster last month, Portland also waived Javonte Cooke, opening up a pair of two-way spots alongside Caleb Love. The team signed Chris Youngblood to fill one of those openings, and Kent will now fill the other.
Love is nearing his 50-game limit as a two-way player, but it remains to be seen if he’ll join Cissoko in being promoted to the 15-man roster, which is currently full.
As for Kent, assuming his deal gets finalized on Tuesday, he’ll be eligible to be active for up to 12 games for Portland between now and the end of the regular season.
Cunningham, Wembanyama Earn Player Of The Month Honors
Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham has become the first player to be named Player of the Month twice this season, earning the Eastern Conference award for February after also having done so in October/November, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).
Cunningham’s Pistons maintained their comfortable lead atop the Eastern Conference standings by going 9-2 in March. The former No. 1 overall pick led the way, averaging 25.4 points, 9.9 assists, 6.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.5 blocks in 33.5 minutes per contest, with a .472/.373/.769 shooting line.
Cunningham’s biggest game of the month came after the All-Star break when he racked up 42 points, 13 assists, and eight rebounds in a victory over the Knicks in New York. That was one of six double-doubles he recorded in February.
Cunningham beat out fellow nominees Jarrett Allen (Cavaliers), Desmond Bane (Magic), Jaylen Brown (Celtics), Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks), Brandon Ingram (Raptors), Brandon Miller (Hornets), and Ryan Rollins (Bucks) to claim the monthly award in the Eastern Conference, according to the league (Twitter link).
Meanwhile, Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama – another former first overall pick – was recognized for the second time this afternoon, earning Player of the Month recognition in the Western Conference after also having won the Defensive Player of the Month award.
In addition to anchoring the West’s best defense in February, Wembanyama put up big offensive numbers, contributing 22.5 points and 3.5 assists to go along with his 11.3 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game. It was enough to earn the 22-year-old the first Player of the Month award of his career.
San Antonio has dominated the Western Conference’s monthly awards after enjoying an 11-0 February — while Wembanyama took home Player of the Month and Defensive Player of the Month, his teammate Dylan Harper was named Rookie of the Month.
The other nominees for Player of the Month in the West were Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan, Lakers guard Luka Doncic, Rockets forward Kevin Durant, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard.
Chris Youngblood Signs Two-Way Contract With Trail Blazers
March 3: Youngblood has officially signed with the Blazers, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
March 2: The Trail Blazers will sign Chris Youngblood to a two-way contract, agent Kashim Butler of KBA Sports tells ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
The 24-year-old shooting guard was in training camp with Oklahoma City on an Exhibit 10 deal and earned a two-way contract prior to the start of the season. He appeared in 32 games with the Thunder, averaging 2.0 PPG in limited playing time, before being waived in early February after reaching his season limit of 50 games on the active roster.
Youngblood has spent the past few weeks playing for Oklahoma City Blue in the G League, where he posted 23.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 10 regular season games with .463/.327/.794 shooting splits.
Youngblood spent time with Kennesaw State, South Florida and Alabama during his college career and was named AAC co-Player of the Year in 2024.
Portland has a two-way opening after promoting Sidy Cissoko last month, so another move won’t be required before adding Youngblood to the roster. He’ll be able to appear in up to 12 regular season games for the Blazers.