NBA Conducting Own Investigation Into Malik Beasley
The NBA is conducting its own investigation into Malik Beasley related to allegations of improper gambling on games and prop bets, the league confirmed to ESPN’s David Purdum. Beasley is “fully cooperating” in that probe, attorney Steve Haney told ESPN.
Word broke in June, just ahead of his free agency, that the veteran sharpshooter was under investigation by the U.S. District Attorney’s office due to unusual betting activity on Beasley-related wagers during the 2023/24 season.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported in August that Beasley is no longer a “target” in that investigation, though subsequent reports indicated that he’s still a “subject” of the investigation, meaning he’s not entirely in the clear.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the NBA has the right to investigate a case and hand out its own penalty (e.g. a fine or suspension) unless a player is explicitly found not guilty in a court of law. So even if federal investigators don’t charge Beasley, that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t face any punishment from the league, though presumably the findings in both investigations will be similar.
Investigators in the case are reportedly focused on unusually heavy betting activity on Beasley’s statistics in January 2024, including a Jan. 31 game in which action on his “under 2.5 rebounds” prop bet surged significantly in the hours leading up to tip-off — he ended up grabbing six rebounds in that game, meaning the bets deemed unusual lost.
The NBA’s investigation into Beasley is believed to be in its final stages, a source familiar with the situation tells Purdum. For what it’s worth, the 28-year-old wing recently published an Instagram post in which he stated that “my decision is near,” which may be a reference to a free agency decision.
Beasley and the Pistons were reportedly deep in talks on a three-year, $42MM deal before word of the federal investigation broke and Detroit pulled that offer. The Pistons no longer have the cap space or exceptions available to make that sort of offer for Beasley, but could go up to a starting salary of $7.2MM using his Non-Bird rights.
The Cavaliers, Knicks, and Timberwolves are among the other teams said to have registered interest in Beasley. He’s coming off a strong season in Detroit in which he was the Sixth Man of the Year runner-up after averaging 16.3 points per game and finishing second in the NBA in three-pointers made (319).
Atlantic Notes: Z. Williams, Simmons, Celtics, Sixers
Nets swingman Ziaire Williams waived his right to veto a trade as part of his new two-year contract agreement with the Nets, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).
A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year deal or a two-year deal that includes a second-year option is typically given an implicit no-trade clause, but a team can ask the player to give up that no-trade clause upon signing. Because Williams – whose contract features a second-year team option – agreed to do so, he would lose his Bird rights if he’s traded ahead of February’s deadline.
Brooklyn has been looking to maintain trade flexibility while re-signing its free agents to short-term deals — the team has gotten Williams and Day’Ron Sharpe to waive their trade veto rights and sought to get Cam Thomas to do the same. However, Thomas opted to accept his qualifying offer, taking a lesser 2025/26 salary in order to maintain full control over a potential trade.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Following up on reports indicating that Ben Simmons rebuffed interest from the Knicks and is no longer being represented by agent Bernie Lee, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post directly connects the two developments — a source tells Bondy that Lee dropped Simmons as a client after the former No. 1 overall pick “sent signals that he wasn’t interested in whatever came from his agent’s conversations with the Knicks.”
- A panel of NBC Sports Boston staffers, including NBA insider Chris Forsberg, consider which of the Celtics‘ two-way players is most likely to help the team this season. The consensus is that big man Amari Williams, the 46th overall pick in June’s draft, has the clearest path to regular playing time, given the key frontcourt players Boston lost this offseason.
- Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required) explores some burning roster-related questions facing the Sixers ahead of the 2025/26 season. Outside of the obvious uncertainty related to Joel Embiid‘s and Paul George‘s availability, Mizell considers what the backcourt rotation will look like and how the team will replace Guerschon Yabusele‘s production following his departure in free agency.
Markkanen, Finland Advance To EuroBasket Semifinals
The Finnish national team will compete in the EuroBasket semifinals for the first time in the history of the competition after defeating Georgia by a score of 93-79 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Finland, which unexpectedly knocked off Serbia in the round of 16, is led by Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, the only current or former NBA player on the roster. Markkanen was a key contributor on Wednesday, registering 17 points, six rebounds, and a pair of assists in 27 minutes of action, though it was Fenerbahce forward Mikael Jantunen who led the team in scoring against Georgia with 19 points.
The Finnish team made the quarterfinals at EuroBasket 2022 and lost to Spain, the eventual champions. However, that was the first time the country had advanced as far as the quarterfinals in a EuroBasket tournament since 1967 — Finland hosted that year’s competition and finished sixth.
Greece will take on Turkey on one side of the bracket on Friday, while Finland will face the winner of today’s Slovenia/Germany game in the other semifinal. No matter what happens on Friday, it will be the best EuroBasket result ever for Finland.
It was also the best EuroBasket finish ever for Georgia, which participated in the quarterfinals for the first time. The team came up short on Wednesday despite strong efforts from Raptors big man Sandro Mamukelashvili (22 points), former NBA forward Tornike Shengelia (18 points, five assists), and Magic center Goga Bitadze (14 points, six rebounds).
Bitadze was ejected from the game due to an unsportsmanlike foul with 6:55 left in the fourth quarter, notes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter), while Shengelia was ejected a few minutes later after being charged with unsportsmanlike and technical fouls.
Knicks Expected To Hire Billy Lange
Former Sixers assistant Billy Lange is expected to leave his position as the men’s basketball head coach at Saint Joseph’s University in order to take a job on the Knicks‘ staff, according to Pete Thamel, Jeff Borzello, and Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link).
A New Jersey native, Lange has been coaching since 1996, primarily in the college ranks. After taking a series of jobs at smaller programs, he joined Villanova as an assistant from 2001-04 under Jay Wright, was Navy’s head coach from 2004-11, then rejoined Villanova as Wright’s associate head coach from 2011-13.
Lange subsequently made the leap to the NBA, working as an assistant on Brett Brown‘s coaching staff in Philadelphia from 2013-19. He returned to the NCAA in 2019 as the head coach at St. Joe’s and has spent the past six seasons in that role.
According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), the expectation is that Lange will oversee the Knicks’ player development program. He served in a similar role during his time with the 76ers in addition to being involved in Philadelphia’s offense.
The Knicks have made a handful of changes to their coaching staff since bringing in Mike Brown to replace former head coach Tom Thibodeau. New assistants Chris Jent and Brendan O’Connor are expected to run the offense and defense, respectively, while New York is also bringing in former Birmingham Squadron head coach T.J. Saint.
Additionally, the Knicks are retaining several coaches from Thibodeau’s staff, including Rick Brunson and Maurice Cheeks, and are adding Charles Allen and Riccardo Fois, a pair of player development assistants who worked under Brown in Sacramento.
Rockets Notes: Eason, Durant, Playing Time, Owens, Sengun
Many people around the league believe the Rockets will work out a long-term extension with Tari Eason before finalizing a new deal with Kevin Durant, according to William Guillory of The Athletic.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently reported that Durant and the Rockets are expected to reach an extension agreement at some point.
Eason has an expiring contract — the Rockets exercised a $5.68MM club option on the final year of his rookie deal for 2025/26. The fourth-year forward averaged a career-high 12.0 points and 1.7 steals per game while making 57 appearances last season.
Here’s more on the Rockets:
- In the same story, Guillory opines about a pleasant dilemma: Does Houston have too many good players? Guillory believes coach Ime Udoka will have a difficult time figuring out how to divvy up minutes among so many players capable of heavy minutes on a good team.
- Mark Owens, a Houston-area boxing trainer, has become a vital asset to the Rockets — the team’s director of performance, Willie Cruz, describes Owens as “an extension of our strength coaches.” Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle (subscription required) profiles how Owens, who served a federal prison term, turned his life around and helped the Rockets become one of the more physical teams in the league.
- Former Sixers forward Furkan Korkmaz is playing alongside Rockets center Alperen Sengun for Turkey in the EuroBasket tournament. Korkmaz called Sengun, not Joel Embiid, the best center he’s played with in his career. “He’s a special kid and every day he’s trying to give his maximum,” he said in a video posted by Eurohoops Turkey.
Trey Lyles Signs With Real Madrid
September 10: Lyles has officially signed with Real Madrid, according to a press release from the team.
September 4: Free agent big man Trey Lyles is finalizing a contract with Real Madrid, sources tell Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The news of Lyles landing with the EuroLeague powerhouse was first reported by Javier Maestro of Spanish outlet Encestando.
Agent Rich Paul confirms to Marc Stein of The Stein Line that Lyles is signing with Real Madrid (Twitter link). Lyles’ one-year deal will be worth $3MM and will feature an NBA out clause, per Grant Afseth of RG.org.
A 10-year NBA veteran, Lyles has spent the past three-plus seasons in Sacramento. In 69 appearances with the Kings last season, the 6’9″ power forward averaged 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 34.0% from three-point range in 19.6 minutes per game.
Lyles, who has also been used as a small-ball center in recent years, apparently didn’t attract much NBA interest on the open market this offseason, which is a little surprising given his solid-if-unspectacular track record as a contributing role player.
While Lyles was linked to the Heat last month, Miami re-signed Dru Smith shortly thereafter, seemingly ending any further speculation on that front.
Despite playing 10 years in the league, Lyles is still only 29 years old — he turns 30 in a couple of months. The 6’9″ Canadian played one college season at Kentucky prior to being selected 12th overall back in 2015.
Lyles has largely been a rotation regular reserve throughout his career, holding averages of 7.6 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 650 regular season contests, including 131 starts (18.4 MPG). His career shooting slash line is .441/.347/.741.
Lyles spent two years apiece with Denver, Utah and San Antonio at the start of his career. He also had a six-month stint with Detroit during the 2021/22 campaign. This will be Lyles’ first European stop, Urbonas notes.
Real Madrid won both the regular season and playoffs of Spain’s top domestic league (Liga ACB) last season, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the EuroLeague playoffs. The team’s roster features several former NBA players, including Chuma Okeke, Theo Maledon and Mario Hezonja, among others.
Raptors Sign, Waive Quincy Guerrier
The Raptors signed Quincy Guerrier to an Exhibit 10 contract, then waived him, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet reports (Twitter links).
Guerrier went undrafted out of Illinois in 2024. He also played for Syracuse and Oregon during his college career.
He signed with Toronto last year and the club promptly waived him. The 6’7” forward then joined the team’s G League affiliate, the Raptors 905. He appeared in 40 games with them last season, averaging 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per contest.
Guerrier, 26, is a Canadian native. He participated in the Canadian Elite Basketball League with the Montreal Alliance this summer.
He’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he rejoins the Raptors 905 and spends at least 60 days with them.
Pacers Add Jalen Slawson On Training Camp Deal
The Pacers have signed forward Jalen Slawson to an Exhibit 10 deal, the team announced in a press release. Indiana’s G League affiliate acquired Slawson’s returning rights from the Birmingham Squadron last month.
Slawson was a late second-round selection for the Kings in 2023. He appeared in 12 games off the bench for Sacramento as a rookie on a two-way deal.
After not being extended a qualifying offer last summer, Slawson became an unrestricted free agent and signed a camp deal with the Magic last September. He was waived prior to opening night and spent last season with the Osceola Magic in the G League. He appeared in 50 games at that level, averaging 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 30.1 minutes per contest. The 25-year-old was on the Sixers’ Summer League squad in July.
Under the terms of an Exhibit 10 contract, Slawson will earn a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with the Noblesville Boom, Indiana’s G League affiliate.
The addition of Slawson increased Indiana’s training camp roster count to 19, two below the maximum.
Mouhamadou Gueye Joins Bulls On Camp Deal
The Bulls have added Mouhamadou Gueye on an Exhibit 10 contract, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets.
Gueye has 11 games of NBA experience, all with the Raptors in 2023/24. Gueye, who went undrafted out of Pitt in 2022, joined the Raptors on a 10-day deal in February 2024 and a two-way contract that March. He averaged 2.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 10.9 minutes per contest during those NBA appearances.
Gueye was on the Wizards’ camp roster last season, then was waived before opening night. He averaged 10 points and 5.4 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game over 34 contests for the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s G League club.
Having signed an Exhibit 10 deal, Gueye will be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he’s waived by Chicago and spends at least 60 days with the Windy City Bulls.
The addition of Gueye gives Chicago 21 players on its camp roster, the maximum allowed.
Greece Reaches EuroBasket Semis Behind Giannis’ 29 Points
Behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece reached the EuroBasket semifinals for the first time in 16 years, downing Lithuania, 87-76, in Riga, Latvia on Tuesday.
The Bucks superstar poured in 29 points to carry his team into a semifinal matchup with Turkey. Greece stalled in the quarterfinals during four of the last five EuroBasket tourneys, but broke though with a strong second-half effort.
Greece led 44-38 at the halftime break. Lithuania scored the first three points of the second half before Greece increased the cushion back to 51-41. It was 58-43 midway through the third quarter. Lithuania never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Giannis converted 9-of-15 shots and 11-of-16 free throws while scoring 29 points. He also added six rebounds, two assists, four steals and a block. Vasileios Toliopoulos hit three 3-pointers while scoring 17 points and Kostas Sloukas added 11 points and four assists.
Greece moved to within just two wins of their third EuroBasket crown. They took gold in 1987 and 2005.
“My players did a great job playing with a big heart in front of so many thousands of people from Lithuania in a very nice atmosphere,” head coach Vasileios Spanoulis said, per FIBA.
Nuggets big man Jonas Valanciunas led Lithuania with 24 points and 15 rebounds.
“Tonight was a battle. Both teams battled until the end. They were stronger,” Valanciunas said. “They were better than us. I was just happy we fought until the end, no matter what. It was a good fight.”