Nikola Jokic’s Agent Suggests LeBron James To Denver In 2026
A boat trip is sparking speculation that two of the NBA’s biggest names could eventually team up with the Nuggets, according to BasketNews.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, Misko Raznatovic, the longtime agent for Nikola Jokic, shared photos of himself with LeBron James and Maverick Carter, James’ business partner, in St. Tropez. Raznatovic added the caption, “The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026! @kingjames @mavcarter.”
Speculation has been building that James could be on the move — whether it’s during the upcoming season or next summer — ever since he picked up his $52.6MM player option. That decision was accompanied by a statement from his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, who said the 40-year-old star still wants to compete for championships and would be monitoring the Lakers‘ offseason moves.
The Cavaliers, Mavericks, Warriors and Knicks are among the teams that have been mentioned as future homes for James, but the Nuggets also make sense from a competitive standpoint. James is coming off a second team All-NBA season, and partnering him with Jokic could significantly bolster Denver’s title chances.
The Nuggets couldn’t afford to give James another $50MM contract with Jokic ($59MM) and Jamal Murray ($50.1MM) already on their books for 2026/27 and beyond. Aaron Gordon ($32MM) and Cameron Johnson ($23MM) will also limit the Nuggets’ financial flexibility, but James might be willing to accept a smaller salary to join a team that would give him a chance to win a fifth ring.
There seems to be a growing sense around the league that this will be James’ final season with the Lakers as the team focuses on building around Luka Doncic and prioritizes cap space for the summer of 2027. James has been an All-NBA selection in each of his seven seasons since coming to L.A. in 2019 and delivered a title in 2020.
Pacific Notes: Kuminga, Kings, LeBron, Butler
The Warriors are the only team that hasn’t made a roster move since free agency began, and they’re probably stuck until the Jonathan Kuminga situation is resolved, cap expert Yossi Gozlan explains in his Third Apron column (subscriber link).
Golden State is believed to have deals in place with Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton, but those signings can’t be finalized while Kuminga is still on the market. If the Warriors use their taxpayer mid-level exception, they will become hard-capped at the $207.8MM second apron. That creates an opportunity for a team to open up cap space and make an offer to Kuminga at close to $30MM per year, which Golden State wouldn’t be able to match.
Gozlan views a sign-and-trade as the best outcome for both sides, but he adds that if the Warriors wind up re-signing Kuminga, they’ll likely want to keep his salary in the $22-23MM range. That would allow them to use the taxpayer MLE and add three more players on minimum contracts while remaining below the hard cap.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- After a strong Summer League performance, it looks like rookie Nique Clifford will be able to help the Kings right away, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Clifford was a First Team All-Summer League selection, and team officials believe he’s versatile enough to handle either guard spot as well as small forward. Anderson adds that Isaac Jones and Devin Carter also showed that they’re ready for larger roles, while rookie center Maxime Raynaud will enter camp with a chance to become the primary backup center.
- What’s next for Lakers forward LeBron James as he enters his 23rd NBA season? Marc Stein tackles that topic in his latest Substack article, speculating that the 2025/26 season will be James’ last with the Lakers but not his last as an NBA player, though he makes it clear that’s more of a “gut-feel read” than hard reporting. Stein adds that he thinks James has some “genuine curiosity” about the idea of playing in Dallas, even though he and his family are “extremely settled” in Los Angeles.
- Jared Butler‘s new one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Suns is a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 deal, but doesn’t include Exhibit 10 language, Hoops Rumors has learned. That suggests Butler likely won’t be playing for Phoenix’s G League team if he doesn’t earn a spot on the regular season roster.
JD Davison Signs Two-Way Contract With Rockets
9:53 pm: Davison has signed a two-way contract, per NBA.com’s transaction log. It will be a one-year deal, since Davison is entering his fourth NBA season.
8:33 pm: JD Davison, who was waived by the Celtics on Thursday, has agreed to a contract with the Rockets, agent Corey Marcum of EZ Sports Group tells NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).
Houston doesn’t have enough room under its first-apron hard cap to offer a standard contract, so Davison could receive a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal. As a three-year veteran, he is still eligible for a two-way contract, so he’ll have a chance to compete in training camp for one of the Rockets’ openings.
The 22-year-old combo guard got into a combined 36 games during his three seasons in Boston after being selected with the 53rd pick in the 2022 draft. He played on two-way contracts the entire time before being converted to a standard deal on the final day of last season.
The Celtics exercised their 2025/26 team option on Davison in late June, but his $2.27MM salary for next season was non-guaranteed. He wound up being a casualty of Boston’s cost-cutting mission in an effort to move below the second apron.
Davison earned G League MVP honors with the Maine Celtics last season. In 45 total games, he averaged 25.6 points, 7.7 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 34.6 minutes per night with .482/.332/.762 shooting numbers.
Isaiah Crawford Joins Rockets On Two-Way Deal
The Rockets have signed small forward Isaiah Crawford to a two-way contract, agent Andre Buck tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Crawford, 23, signed a two-way deal with Sacramento last summer after going undrafted out of Louisiana Tech. He became an unrestricted free agent on Friday when the Kings withdrew their two-way qualifying offer. Because the deadline to unilaterally withdraw the offer was July 13, Crawford had to grant his consent.
Crawford saw limited action in 15 NBA games last season, but he put up big numbers in the G League. In 37 games with the Stockton Kings, he averaged 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals in 31.5 minutes per night with .471/.401/.789 shooting numbers.
Once his new contract is finalized, Crawford will join Kevon Harris as two-way players in Houston. Center N’Faly Dante has received a qualifying offer that is equivalent to another one-year, two-way deal, and former Celtic JD Davison may also be in the mix for a two-way spot.
Celtics Notes: Lillard, Starting Lineup, Davison, Gonzalez
The Celtics were reported as a potential landing spot for Damian Lillard after he was waived and stretched by Milwaukee, but Lillard never gave serious thought to joining anyone but the Trail Blazers, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. At an introductory press conference this week in Portland, Lillard expressed his excitement over returning to his former team and mentioned a recruiting effort by Jrue Holiday.
“As soon as I was waived and obviously [Jrue] knows that I live here and built my home here and stuff,” Lillard said. “He sent me the eyeball emoji. I kind of knew already like — I already knew where I was pivoting to when he sent it but I didn’t want to say nothing too soon, so here we are.”
Although Lillard isn’t expected to play this season while recovering from a torn Achilles, he could have been an intriguing long-term investment for Boston once Jayson Tatum returns from his own Achilles injury. However, Robb points out that the Celtics couldn’t have come close to matching the three-year, $42MM deal Lillard got from the Blazers. They are currently limited to the $5.685MM taxpayer mid-level exception, and using that exception would have required other moves to get far enough below the second apron.
There’s more from Boston:
- In a mailbag column, Robb projects Neemias Queta to be the Celtics’ starting center on opening night if the current roster remains in place. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White are the only certain members of the starting five, and Robb expects the other two positions to come down to decisions between Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons, and between Sam Hauser and Georges Niang with Josh Minott as a possible wild card.
- This week’s release of JD Davison was a result of him not showing sufficient NBA potential during his three years with the organization, Robb adds in the same piece. He puts the chances of Ben Simmons being signed to fill the open roster spot at “10-20%,” stating that the former No. 1 overall pick will likely get better financial offers elsewhere.
- Spanish basketball legend Rudy Fernandez offers a ringing endorsement of Celtics’ first-round pick Hugo Gonzalez, per Zack Cox of The Boston Herald. Fernandez watched the 19-year-old shooting guard develop from a young prospect into a regular contributor with Real Madrid. “I always tried to instill in him the idea of committing to improving the team whenever he’s on the floor, and he’s done that perfectly,” Fernandez said. “He’s got the physical tools, good hands, a strong understanding of the game on both ends, and he’s a solid standstill shooter. Maybe he could improve his movement shooting, especially coming off screens, but he’s the type of player who gets better every day.”
Evan Fournier Signs Three-Year Extension With Olympiacos
Former NBA guard Evan Fournier has agreed to a three-year extension with Olympiacos, the team announced (via Twitter).
Fournier, 32, first signed with the Greek power last September. His contract was set to expire next summer, so the extension will keep him with the team through the 2028/29 season.
Fournier had a strong showing in his return to Europe after spending 12 seasons in the NBA. He earned second-team All-EuroLeague honors after averaging 16.1 points and 2.8 assists per game and leading Olympiacos into the Final Four. In the Greek League, he averaged 9.4 PPG and 2.3 APG and helped his team defeat Panathinaikos for the championship.
Fournier played three seasons in his native France before Denver selected him with the 20th pick in the 2012 draft. In 2014, he was traded to Orlando, where he enjoyed his greatest NBA success. He was a consistent starter during his six and a half years with the Magic and posted a career-high 18.5 points per game during the 2019/20 season.
He was dealt to Boston at the 2021 deadline, then was shipped to New York later that year in a sign-and-trade. Fournier fell out of favor with former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and barely played for a season and a half before Detroit traded for him at the 2024 deadline.
Fournier appeared in 704 regular season games throughout his NBA career, making 504 starts and averaging 13.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 27.7 minutes per night.
He is also a longtime member of the French national team, capturing silver medals in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, along with the 2022 EuroBasket tournament.
Lakers Sign Four Players To Exhibit 10 Contracts
The Lakers have added four players to their offseason roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that guards RJ Davis and Augustas Marciulionis and forwards Eric Dixon and Arthur Kaluma have officially signed with the club. All four players received Exhibit 10 contracts, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link).
All four of these players are undrafted rookies who reached agreements to join the Lakers shortly after the draft wrapped up in June, so none of the signings come as a surprise. However, it’s worth noting that reporting last month suggested that Dixon would get a two-way contract — instead, he has joined the team on an Exhibit 10 deal.
Dixon was the top prospect on ESPN’s big board who went undrafted having been ranked 44th overall prior to the draft. The 6’8″ lefty led all Division I players in scoring in 2024/25, putting up 23.3 points per game on .451/.407/.813 shooting splits in 35 appearances for Villanova (34.8 MPG). He also chipped in 5.1 rebounds per contest en route to third-team All-American honors.
According to Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link), Dixon didn’t play for the Lakers’ Summer League team due to a foot injury — that may also be the reason why he ultimately signed an Exhibit 10 contract instead of a two-way deal. Since Exhibit 10s can be converted to two-way contracts before the start of the regular season, it remains possible that Dixon will get a promotion at some point.
Davis, a six-foot guard who earned ACC Player of the Year honors for the 2023/24 season, averaged 17.2 points and 3.6 assists per game for North Carolina as a super-senior in ’24/25.
A two-time WCC Player of the Year, Marciulionis averaged 14.2 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 4.1 APG in 35 outings last season for Saint Mary’s. The 6’4″ Lithuanian guard posted shooting splits of .446/.347/.793.
Kaluma, a 6’7″ wing, registered averages of 12.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 1.8 APG during his final NCAA season for Texas, with a shooting line of .462/.359/.784. Prior to his Longhorns stint, Kaluma also suited up for Creighton and Texas State.
Exhibit 10 contracts are non-guaranteed but include bonuses worth up to $85,300 if the player is waived and then spends at least 60 days with his team’s G League affiliate.
Kings’ Isaiah Crawford Becomes Unrestricted Free Agent
The Kings have withdrawn their two-way qualifying offer to forward Isaiah Crawford, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to RealGM’s official NBA transaction log.
Crawford signed a two-way deal with Sacramento last July after going undrafted out of Louisiana Tech. The 23-year-old logged just 46 total minutes in 15 games at the NBA level as a rookie, but was a key part of the rotation for the Stockton Kings in the G League, posting averages of 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.2 steals in 31.5 minutes per game across 37 outings, with a shooting line of .471/.401/.789.
Crawford received a two-way qualifying offer from the Kings last month, making him a restricted free agent, and the deadline for teams to unilaterally withdraw those QOs passed on July 13. However, qualifying offers can still be rescinded with the player’s consent, so Crawford signed off on the move him to make him unrestricted.
[RELATED: 2025/26 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker]
The Kings have signed a pair of players – Dylan Cardwell and Isaiah Stevens – to two-year, two-way contracts since the new league year began on July 1. While Sacramento could technically still re-sign Crawford as an unrestricted free agent, rescinding his qualifying offer suggests the team has other plans for its third two-way slot.
Clippers To Sign TyTy Washington Jr.
The Clippers and free agent guard TyTy Washington Jr. have reached an agreement on a one-year deal, agent Kevin Bradbury tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
While Charania doesn’t mention any financial details, the Clippers are right up against a first-apron hard cap and can’t currently sign a free agent to a standard contract. That suggests Washington will be getting a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal, which wouldn’t count against the cap.
Washington, 23, was the 29th overall pick in the 2022 draft, but played a limited role across 31 outings for the Rockets as a rookie and was traded twice during the 2023 offseason – from Houston to Atlanta to Oklahoma City – before being waived by the Thunder. He subsequently spent his second season on a two-way contract with Milwaukee and his third year on a two-way deal with Phoenix.
Washington has made a total of 58 regular season appearances since entering the league, averaging 3.3 points, 1.2 assists, and 1.1 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .347/.234/.542. He has performed much better in the G League, putting up 21.7 points and 7.4 assists per game with a .414 3PT% in 32 games last season for the Valley Suns.
As a three-year veteran entering his fourth NBA season, Washington remains eligible for a two-way contract, so it’s possible he could claim one of the Clippers’ two-way spots (which are occupied for now) with a strong showing in training camp. Otherwise, he may end up as an affiliate player for the San Diego Clippers, L.A.’s G League team.
Heat, Gabe Madsen Agree To Exhibit 10 Deal
Undrafted rookie shooting guard Gabe Madsen has agreed to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Heat, reports Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress (Twitter link).
Madsen spent the past four years playing for the University of Utah. In his final college season in 2024/25, he averaged 15.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 29.7 minutes per game across 33 outings (all starts), with a .371/.322/.854 shooting line.
Those subpar shooting numbers were uncharacteristic for Madsen, who had made 38.2% of his career three-point tries prior to last season. He showed off his long-range ability this month while playing for the Warriors at the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer Leagues, averaging 9.2 PPG with a .519 3PT% in just 14.0 MPG across six appearances.
As Chekpevich notes, Madsen’s best performance came in Vegas vs. Utah, when he racked up 22 points and made six three-pointers in less than 17 minutes of action.
An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, minimum-salary deal that is fully non-guaranteed and doesn’t count against the salary cap unless the player makes his team’s regular season roster. They can be converted into two-way deals prior to the start of the regular season. They also make a player eligible to earn a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with his team’s G League affiliate.