2025 September | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: Powell, Achiuwa, Rozier, Smith, Scouts

September 30th, 2025 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward Norman Powell had the best season of his career with the Clippers, but wasn’t selected for the All-Star Game. Traded to the Heat during the offseason, Powell enters this season with extra motivation, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

“I definitely have a chip from feeling like I could have made it,” Powell said. “I should have made it last [season]. It added fuel to the fire this summer on how I am going to capitalize on this [season], that I have to make sure that I’m a surefire pick for an All-Star selection. Finding out that it is in L.A. would definitely be a little punch there to make it. To play All-Star Weekend in Intuit would be amazing. But yeah, I’m definitely excited about the opportunity to go at it again and have a chance to finally get selected.”

We have more on the Heat:

Terry Rozier had the worst season of his career last year and fell out of the rotation. The veteran guard, who has one year left on his contract, comes into this season with something to prove. “I don’t know (why things went sour),” he told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “I was being a human. I’m glad I can still play basketball and do what I love and ready for a turnaround this season.”
Dru Smith has endured major injuries during his career, most recently an Achilles tear. Yet he was re-signed in the offseason, in part because of the resiliency he’s shown, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “What he has is a superpower. I wish you could take some of that and just apply it to other players,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about Smith’s participation in practice less than a year after tearing his Achilles. “When I say superpower or superpowers, it’s a level of grit, it’s a level of fortitude, perseverance. However, you want to describe it, he has no quit in him.”
Big man Precious Achiuwa signed as a free agent on a one-year contract and indicated that familiarity played a role, Miami Heat Spain tweets. He played with Miami during his rookie season. “It was a pretty easy decision because of how well this organization represents the type of player that I am. I also took into account the high competitive level of Spo, I want to forge myself around that,” he said.
A couple of unnamed scouts gave their evaluations of Achiuwa and the Heat’s young players to Jackson, including whether Achiuwa was a better option than some of the other free agent big men the front office looked at.

Bulls Notes: Buzelis, White, Dosunmu, Jones, Expectations, Giddey

September 30th, 2025 at 9:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls forward Matas Buzelis averaged 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per game while appearing in 80 contests as a rookie. He’s aiming for a major award this season, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times.

“I want to win Most Improved Player this year,” Buzelis said. “That’s what I’m striving for. This is a team sport, and everything is about the team. The individual stuff will come if you win, so I’m worried about winning.”

Here’s more on the Bulls:

Coby White‘s ability to play by the season opener is somewhat in doubt. Bulls executive VP Arturas Karnisovas indicated that White will be limited in camp by a calf strain he suffered in August, K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network tweets. “Hopefully, we can see him by end of preseason,” he said.
Ayo Dosunmu and Tre Jones are “back from injury and ready to play,” according to Karnisovas (Twitter link via Johnson). Dosunmu underwent shoulder surgery in March. Jones dealt with a left foot sprain late last season.
Isaac Okoro, acquired in the Lonzo Ball deal, was mainly used as a defensive stopper with Cleveland. He’ll look to do the same with his new team, according to Cowley. “At the end of the day, you look at every team in the NBA there are guys on winning teams that have to sacrifice,” Okoro said. “Everyone in this league wants to score 20, they probably can score 20. They’re coming from being the best player on their high school team, college team, but people have to make sacrifices. In Cleveland I played my role of guarding the best player on the other team, being the hustle guy, and I don’t mind that. At the end of the day I want to win, so if that’s sacrificing that’s the role that I will play.”
Karnisovas considers player development, rather than wins, as the primary goal in Chicago this season, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune writes. “This is the way we have to do it,” Karnišovas said. “We have to be patient. We have to do it the right way. We can’t skip steps. For this team next year, we’ve got to show growth.”
It took a while but restricted free agent Josh Giddey signed a four-year contract this month as a restricted free agent. He never believed he’d wind up elsewhere, according to Poe. “I never had any worries I wasn’t going to be here,” Giddey said. “This was where I wanted to be. They embraced me from day one when I first got here — teammates, front office, fans — and it felt like home really quickly. Right from the jump, I made sure my agent knew this is where I wanted to be. I want to be here long term.”

RJ Nembhard Signed-And-Waived By Bulls

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

Guard RJ Nembhard has been signed and waived by the Bulls, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets.

The Exhibit 10 signing sets up Nembhard to join the G League’s Windy City Bulls. He can earn a bonus up to $85,300 if he reports to Windy City and remains on their roster for at least 60 days.

Chicago’s NBAGL affiliate acquired his returning rights in a trade on Monday (Twitter link).

Nembhard played 33 regular season games with the Capital City Go-Go last season, averaging 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists for the Wizards’ affiliate. He then headed to China, signing with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association for the rest of the 2024/25 season.

Nembhard has 14 games of NBA experience, mostly while playing on a two-way deal with Cleveland, and totaled 15 points and 12 assists in those games during the 2021/22 season.

Seth Curry To Join Warriors On One-Year Contract

September 30th, 2025 at 7:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Seth Curry is joining forces with his Hall of Fame-bound brother Stephen Curry. He has agreed to a one-year contract with the Warriors, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but based on the expected starting salaries for Jonathan Kuminga, Al Horford, and De’Anthony Melton, Golden State likely won’t have enough room below its second-apron hard cap to add a 15th man on a standard contract at this point.

If that’s the case, the younger Curry brother figures to sign a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 deal, which wouldn’t count against the cap. He would have to be waived before opening night, but could re-sign a few weeks into the season once a pro-rated minimum deal would fit below the team’s hard cap. NBA insider Marc Stein confirms (via Twitter) that looks like the plan for the Warriors.

Golden State’s interest in Curry was reported as far back as July. The Warriors delayed their roster moves while trying to resolve Kuminga’s restricted free agency — he finally agreed to a two-year deal on Tuesday.

Curry, 35, has followed a much different NBA path than his brother, who has spent his entire career with Golden State. Seth has played a total of 550 regular season games for Memphis, Cleveland, Phoenix, Sacramento, Dallas, Portland, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Charlotte.

Last season with the Hornets, he appeared in 68 games (14 starts) and averaged 6.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 15.6 minutes per game. Curry knocked down 45.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and is a 43.3 percent career shooter from deep.

He’ll add depth at the shooting guard spot.

Hawks Notes: Porzingis, Alexander-Walker, Kennard, Young, Daniels, Johnson

September 30th, 2025 at 7:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks made some major additions this offseason, dealing for Kristaps Porzingis and signing free agents Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard. Head coach Quin Snyder believes they’ll make the roster much more versatile, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes.

“I think the biggest challenge with that is the balance between having continuity and having change on a game-to-game basis,” Snyder said. “For our team to be as good as I think we need to be and want to be, our players have to understand that every game is different.

“Not just from the standpoint that minutes might fluctuate or rotations are different, but every game is potentially going to require something different, of different players, but we do have the ability and have the versatility, I think, whether it be matchups or style, to play a few different ways, and we’ve got a group that, because there are so many new guys that create new combinations, that I think I mentioned earlier. I think I said that we have to be patient and understand this is a slow burn. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be urgent about, you know, focusing and pursuing that.”

As for the additions themselves, they’ll help in a variety of ways, as the Hawks head coach explained.

“Specifically to our new guys, I think Nickeil gives us another player that’s capable of really defending at the point of attack, which I think is really important,” Snyder said. “Kristaps (provides) versatility defensively…I think you think of Luke because he shoots the ball so well. He’s more than a shooter, as they like to say. So describing some of those individual characteristics.”

Here’s more on the Hawks:

Trae Young addressed the fact that he’ll enter camp without an extension, indicating he wouldn’t let that bother him. He’s eligible for a four-year deal worth up to a projected $223MM, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk notes. “I don’t know [about] the word disappointment, I mean, maybe, for sure,” Young said. “For me, I’m so focused. I’m more happy about the team that we got going into this season. I’m blessed, bro. I wasn’t stressing about anything. If something happened, it happened. If it didn’t, I still got time. I’m focused on this team. I’m focused on right now. I got a great team going into the season that you can’t say I’ve had [before]. So I’m even more excited about that. Who knows what the future is for me. But right now I’m here and I’m present like me and Coach have been talking about. I’m ready to go.”
Kennard, who signed with the Hawks on a one-year deal, believes his skills are well-suited for Snyder’s schemes, Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com tweets. “Pace. Ball movement. Flow,” the three-point specialist said.
Dyson Daniels has made his mark as a wing player but he said he’s capable of taking over point guard duties when needed, Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks tweets.
Jalen Johnson says he’s fully healthy and ready for the upcoming season, Youngmisuk tweets. Johnson said he spent time working out with LeBron James and learning from the Lakers star this offseason. The fifth-year forward underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in late January.

Steve Kerr Doesn’t Anticipate Contract Extension Talks Until After Season

September 30th, 2025 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has only one year left on his contract but doesn’t plan to talk about an extension until after the season, Anthony Slater of ESPN reports.

“I don’t anticipate any negotiation during the season,” Kerr said. “Who knows — maybe it all comes up at some point, and they come to me. But I’m not the slightest bit concerned about it. I don’t think about it. I just think it makes perfect sense for all of us [to wait].”

Kerr is entering his 12th season as Golden State’s head coach but states he hasn’t lost his fire to pursue more championships with the organization.

“I love my job,” Kerr said. “I love what I’m doing every day. I can’t wait to get to the building. Hopefully, I’m here for another few years. But I think it makes sense for the organization and for me to see where this thing is at the end of the year — where they are and where I am. Hopefully, that means we run it back, we keep going with this group, that’d be awesome. But I like the fact we can do it how we want it.”

As Slater notes, the team’s three aging star players — Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green — all have two years remaining on their current contracts. Curry and Green remain staunch Kerr supporters, according to Slater. Though there’s no guarantee Kerr will remain beyond this season, the fact that he wants to remain with the Warriors along with the brass’ strongly support, it would be a huge surprise if he’s not coaching there again next season.

Kerr is currently working off a two-year, $35MM extension he signed during the 2023/24 season.

“I’m very comfortable going into the season with a year left,” Kerr said. “I’m so aligned with [general manager] Mike [Dunleavy] and [owner] Joe [Lacob]. We talked about this — there’s no reason for discussion or concern. This is kind of a point in our relationship where let’s just see how it is at the end of the year.”

Wizards Sign Gak To Camp Deal, Waive Gilbert

September 30th, 2025 at 4:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards have added Akoldah Gak to their training camp roster on an Exhibit 10 contract and waived Keshon Gilbert, the team’s PR department tweets.

Washington’s intention to sign Gak was reported in early August.

Gak spent several years playing professionally in his home country of Australia before coming stateside and joining the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League earlier in 2025. The 23-year-old subsequently suited up for the Wizards’ Summer League team in July, averaging 4.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 16.8 minutes per game across three outings in Las Vegas.

A 6’11” forward, Gak began to play regular minutes in Australia’s National Basketball League after joining the Cairns Taipans in 2023. In 2024/25, he put up 6.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 19.5 minutes per game for Cairns, with a field goal percentage of 51.5%.

Gak almost certainly won’t open the regular season on the Wizards’ roster, but looks like a prime candidate to become an affiliate player for the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s G League team. His Exhibit 10 contract will make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 on top of his NBAGL salary if he’s waived by the Wizards and then spends at least 60 days with the Go-Go.

Gilbert signed with the Wizards on Sept. 19. The point guard, who went undrafted out of Iowa State, transferred in 2023 after playing his first two collegiate seasons at UNLV. He was a second team All-Big 12 selection in 2024 and a third-team choice this year, averaging 13.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 29 games as a senior.

He’ll likely wind up with Go-Go as well.

Magic Notes: Suggs, M. Wagner, Bane, Isaac, Jones, Banchero

September 30th, 2025 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

As Magic guard Jalen Suggs continues to make his way back from a left knee trochlea cartilage tear that has sidelined him since January, the team is targeting opening night for his return, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said on Monday, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required).

Suggs had originally hoped to be back to 100% for the start of training camp, but now the plan will be to use camp and the preseason as a ramp-up period. As Beede writes, the goal will be to get him on the court in one of Orlando’s four preseason games before the regular season tips off.

Moritz Wagner, the Magic big man who is coming off a left ACL tear, isn’t quite as far along as Suggs, Weltman acknowledged on Monday.

“Moe’s timeline is different,” Weltman said. “He’s further away. You guys know there have been unfortunately a series of ACLs in the last decade of the NBA and an associated timeline with that. But you guys also know Moe Wagner. So, he’s not your normal guy. He’s attacking it. and we’re hopeful he can beat that timeline. What that looks like exactly is too soon to say.”

Wagner said he has gotten through the injury rehab portion of his recovery process and is now working on getting back into game shape, according to Beede. At the team’s first practice on Tuesday, Suggs was able to take part in “all of the non-contact drills,” per head coach Jamahl Mosley, while Wagner did many of the same drills but was “probably two steps back” of Suggs in terms of progress (Twitter links).

Here’s more on the Magic:

Adjusting to a new team after spending the first five years of his NBA career in Memphis has been “pretty easy” so far, Desmond Bane said on Tuesday (Twitter video link via Beede). “They’re such good guys that they make it easy to come in here and get our work done so it’s been good,” Bane said of his new teammates.
After appearing in just 11 games across three seasons from 2020-23, Magic forward Jonathan Isaac played in 58 in 2023/24 and 71 last season. Will that number continue to rise in 2025/26? “My goal this season is 82,” Isaac said at media day, noting that he dropped some weight in the offseason (Twitter link via Beede). “If nothing happens, if I don’t get any colds or sicknesses or anything like that, I should be fine to go 82.”
Speaking to reporters on Monday, including Beede (Twitter link), veteran point guard Tyus Jones said the chance to potentially compete for a championship was an important factor in his decision to sign with Orlando.
Star Magic forward Paolo Banchero, who signed a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension in July, said it was an “amazing feeling” to lock in that deal and expressed enthusiasm about the moves the front office made to upgrade the roster over the summer. “I’m definitely happy with the moves the organization made,” Banchero said (subscriber-only story via Beede). “[They] brought in two great, experienced players (Bane and Jones) in here and drafted two great rookies (Jase Richardson and Noah Penda). So, [I’m] just excited to get to work with the group and get on the court and start building that chemistry.”

Pacers Notes: Nembhard, Siakam, Mathurin, Centers

September 30th, 2025 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

After starting alongside Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton for most of his first three NBA seasons, Andrew Nembhard is preparing to take on a more significant on-ball role in 2025/26 as Haliburton spends the year recovering from the Achilles tear he suffered in June.

“It changes my whole perception of the game,” Nembhard said on Monday, per Joshua Heron of The Indianapolis Star. “Bringing the ball up is a whole new way of looking at the game instead of running off the ball.”

While Haliburton has been Indiana’s offensive engine and lead play-maker since joining the Pacers in 2022, it won’t simply be a matter of plugging in Nembhard as the new point guard and making Pascal Siakam the primary scoring option, according to Siakam, who suggested that replacing Haliburton will be a group effort.

“I think for us, last year and the way we play, it’s always been about team,” the star forward said, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “It’s never been about one person. I think this year it’s not gonna be different. We all are gonna have to do it collectively. I was telling the guys, it’s not going to take one person to replace Ty. We’re gonna all have to do it collectively. That’s the way we have to think about it.”

Siakam is aware that he’ll be one of the players who is asked to take on more ball-handling and play-making responsibilities without Haliburton available. That’s not a problem for the 31-year-old, who got accustomed to operating on the ball and initiating the offense during his time in Toronto.

“I’ve done that in the past,” Siakam said. “I think just watching my last two years you don’t really see some of the other things I’ve done before. I feel like one of the funniest questions coach asked me was, ‘Oh, have you had a triple-double before?’ It was like, “Well yeah, I’ve had multiple.’ I can do that too. I feel like what makes me different is that I can adapt to every situation and I’ve worked on every facet of my game.”

We have more out of Indiana:

It’s an important fall for Bennedict Mathurin, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension and is on track to join Nembhard in Indiana’s starting backcourt. The fourth-year wing said at media day on Monday that making “better reads and smarter decisions” will be a key to success for him, according to Dopirak. Head coach Rick Carlisle agreed. “We just need him to run hard, shoot open shots that are there and make simple reads offensively. Our game is played best when it’s fast and simple,” Carlisle said, adding that Mathurin will likely see greater defensive challenges too. “… There’s a very good chance he’ll be asked to guard the ball on a lot of situations.”
Four spots in the Pacers’ starting lineup look set, as Aaron Nesmith will likely join Nembhard, Mathurin, and Siakam in that group. That leaves the center spot up for grabs, with Isaiah Jackson and Jay Huff considered the leading candidates and James Wiseman and Tony Bradley also in the mix. “We have four guys that really are very, very good,” Carlisle said, per Dopirak. “They all bring something different. A lot of this, we just gotta play it out in training camp and the preseason games and see what’s what. I don’t have any preconceived notions as to who’s going to start.” Carlisle acknowledged that Jackson has been working with the starting group in pickup games, but praised the other three centers on the roster and noted that Huff’s ability to shoot and protect the rim will be an “important ingredient” for the club.
In a separate story for The Indy Star, Dopirak passed along notable media day quotes from several other Pacers players, including T.J. McConnell, who knows that he and a few of his teammates will have to step up as leaders with Haliburton out and James Johnson no longer on the team. “I’ve never been a guy to use my voice too much,” McConnell said. “… James and Tyrese were those constant voices. Not only myself, but others have to step up and have more of a voice, not just when they see something.”

Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Horford, Green, Podziemski, Butler

September 30th, 2025 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency remained unresolved when the Warriors took part in their media day on Monday, but it was a major topic of discussion. Stars Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler all addressed the standoff in their respective media sessions, with Green predicting that “everyone will forget (the situation) and move on” if Kuminga signs a contract and “plays great” in 2025/26 (Twitter video link).

“As leaders on the team, you have to acknowledge what’s going on and don’t make it more than what it is, other than a team trying to figure out the situation that’s front of us and the challenge that’s front of us,” Curry said, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Knowing JK’s situation, knowing the new faces that we’re adding to the roster, we talk about it every year going into a training camp what it’s going to take for that particular team to win.

“This is a little different because you have a guy that’s trying to figure out his situation, and we respect that process. It’s going to play out, and when he’s here, ready to work, like we expect him to be locked in on doing what he needs to do to help us win.”

Although the Warriors have reached a multiyear contract agreement with Al Horford, that deal almost certainly won’t be finalized until after Kuminga’s free agency wraps up, which will allow the team can maximize its cap flexibility. That meant Horford wasn’t in attendance at media day either, though Golden State’s veterans expressed excitement about the impending addition — without mentioning Horford by name.

“If we’re talking about a guy like that, he’s won it, which I really, really respect,” Butler said, per Poole. “And he’s been in this league for a long time for a reason. Elite defender. Can make shots. Plays basketball the right way. Super smart. More than anything, he wins. So, wherever that guy ends up, I know he’s going to help that team.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Only five players in NBA history – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Scottie Pippen – have made at least 10 All-Defensive teams, Green, who has earned the honor nine times, will be looking to join that group in 2026, Poole writes for NBC Sports Bay Area. “That’s my motivation,” Green said. “To go and try to make another All-Defensive team and join that list. It’s an amazing list. All first-ballot Hall of Famers. To try to put myself, my name, in the hat with those guys … that would be a dream come true.”
Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski underwent procedures on his wrist and his core in the spring. However, Podziemski is not expected to miss time this fall as a result of those surgeries — he was back on the court as of August 1 and was fully cleared for all basketball activities a couple weeks ago, tweets ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
The Warriors are looking forward to their first full season with Butler on the roster, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, who looks at the mini-camp the star forward hosted at his home in San Diego earlier this month. “It was important for me to welcome those guys, like my family, into my home and have a good time and let them in a little bit of my life,” Butler said.
While it has taken a while to set the roster for the coming season, Curry is optimistic about the Warriors’ ability to compete in 2025/26, per Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “We’re just trying to carry the momentum that we have from last year,” the two-time MVP said. “Getting through an 82-game season is a challenge for every team, but especially a veteran team. But the way that we finished and the record that we had — obviously, before I got hurt during the second round (of last year’s playoffs), we were a relevant threat, and I think we’ve gotten better.”

Month: September 2025