Hawks Waive Kobe Johnson, Lamont Butler, Malik Williams
The Hawks announced today that they have requested waivers on Lamont Butler, Kobe Johnson, and Malik Williams, writes Caleb Johnson for 929 The Game (via Twitter). With the move, Atlanta has finalized its 18-man training camp roster.
Johnson was officially signed to his Exhibit 10 deal just over two weeks ago, and Butler and Williams were signed two days ago. Having been signed and waived by Atlanta, the three players will be eligible for bonuses worth up to $85,300 apiece if they spend at least 60 days with the Hawks’ G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks. College Park acquired Williams’ returning rights earlier this month.
Johnson, brother of Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, went undrafted earlier this year after averaging 7.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.6 steals per game with a .464/.362/.704 shooting line for UCLA as a senior.
Butler, a 6’2″ guard who played his final college season at Kentucky, averaged 11.4 PPG and 4.3 RPG while shooting 39.1% from three as a fifth-year senior. He also went undrafted in June.
Williams played five seasons for Louisville. The 6’11” center averaged 9.5 PPG and 8.0 RPG in his final season before going undrafted in 2022. He appeared in seven games with the Raptors in 2023/24.
Lakers Notes: LeBron, Redick, Luka, Reaves, Buss Brothers
How and where will the NBA’s all-time leading scorer end his career? Yaron Weitzman explores that topic in a story for Bleacher Report, writing that most people around the league expect LeBron James to eventually retire with the Lakers.
If James does leave Los Angeles, the Cavaliers are viewed by agents and executives as the “only team LeBron would seriously consider joining,” Weitzman writes.
“If he wants to do a farewell tour like Kobe (Bryant) did, it’s the only other team that makes sense,” a league executive told Weitzman. “LeBron cares about narratives. He doesn’t want to be like Michael Jordan on the Wizards.”
Still, James potentially joining the Cavs is highly unlikely during the upcoming season for several reasons, Weitzman notes. If LeBron decides to return to Cleveland, it would likely occur in 2026 free agency, and would require the 40-year-old to take a major pay cut.
For his part, Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka continues to insist the team wants LeBron around as long as he wants to be in L.A., per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“We would love if LeBron’s story would be he retired a Laker,” Pelinka said about the possibility of re-signing James next summer. “That would be a positive story.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- According to McMenamin, Pelinka explained why the team decided to extend the contract of head coach J.J. Redick after just one season at the helm. “We think he’s a special coach with a special voice that’s really helping us define the culture of Lakers excellence,” Pelinka said. “We just wanted to make a clear statement that this is what we believe in, what we’re going to lean into and what our players are going to mold into as we continue to develop the identity. I think having long-term planning is helpful as we build this team and go forward.” Redick said he was grateful for the Lakers’ support, McMenamin adds.
- Redick also touched on his offseason conversations with James and Luka Doncic, expressing confidence in both of the team’s stars, as McMenamin writes. “[James is] in a great spot mentally and know he’s going to give us his absolute best,” Redick said. “… I expect the best version of Luka, and it’s my job as a coach to bring that out on a daily basis.”
- Doncic told Dan Woike of The Athletic he feels “way more comfortable” being a Laker now compared to when he was first traded to Los Angeles in February and is looking forward to the season. The Slovenian guard said he made progress becoming a more vocal leader during EuroBasket 2025. “(Being a leader), sometimes it’s comfortable, sometimes not,” Doncic said. “Sometimes it’s great to be a leader and sometimes you have to say things that you don’t want to, but that’s part of being a leader.”
- Evidently Doncic isn’t the only Laker who worked hard at getting in better physical shape this offseason, as Redick said Austin Reaves has improved his “burst” and “athleticism,” tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Redick added that Reaves has been the best player in the gym when he has participated in informal activities.
- Lakers alternate governor Joey Buss and his brother, assistant GM Jesse Buss, are launching an investment firm called Buss Sports Capital, McMenamin and Shams Charania report for ESPN. “Our vision is to really go after strategic investments and good partners — specifically sports-related investments,” Joey Buss told ESPN. “Buss Sports Capital is not going to compete with our interests in the Lakers or the NBA. This is our first step towards where the future of sports is going to lead us. It is exciting to see what growth opportunities exist — particularly opportunities that we can add value to, given our skill sets.” Both Joey and Jesse are expected to remain with the Lakers following the sale of the team to Mark Walter.
- Athlon Sports contributor Mark Medina shares five takeaways from Thursday’s joint press conference with Pelinka and Redick.
Dennis Smith Jr. Signs With Mavericks
September 26: Smith has officially signed with the Mavs, the team announced today (via Twitter).
September 18: The Mavericks are signing Dennis Smith Jr. to a one-year contract, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). Dallas selected Smith with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2017 draft and he spent the first season and a half of his career there.
Dallas has 15 players on standard contracts before signing Smith, including Brandon Williams, who is only guaranteed for $200K until opening night.
Smith’s contract is presumably non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed, setting up an opportunity for him to earn a spot on the opening-night roster if he performs well enough in training camp.
Before the Mavericks waived and stretched Olivier-Maxence Prosper‘s contract to bring back Dante Exum, they reportedly toyed with the idea of moving Jaden Hardy. It’s unclear whether that’s still on the table at all, but if the Mavericks wanted to keep both Smith and/or Williams, it would mean moving Hardy or another player via trade to clear up a spot.
A 6’2″ guard out of NC State, Smith averaged 14.5 points and 4.9 assists in 101 games (all starts) with the Mavericks from 2017-19. He was moved at the 2019 deadline to the Knicks in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis. Since then, he hasn’t played more than 58 games for a franchise, having become a journeyman guard from 2019-24.
Smith had perhaps his most impressive season of his career in 2022/23, when he emerged as one of the premier guard defenders in the league while playing for the Hornets and averaging 8.8 points and 4.8 assists per contest. However, the Hornets didn’t bring him back and he spent the following season for Brooklyn before not playing in the NBA last season.
In all, Smith holds career averages of 9.7 points, 4.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals across 326 career games (152 starts).
Mavericks Sign Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
September 26: Robinson-Earl is officially a Maverick, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
September 21: The Mavericks are in the process of signing Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to a training camp deal, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link). While Stein doesn’t specify the terms, the deal will likely be an Exhibit 10 contract.
Robinson-Earl is a four-year NBA veteran who has spent two seasons with the Thunder and two with the Pelicans after being drafted 32nd overall by the Knicks, who were selecting on behalf of Oklahoma City.
He played a career-high 66 games for New Orleans last season, averaging 6.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per night while shooting 34.1% from three.
This would mark the 21st and final training camp roster spot the Mavs have to offer. Dallas has a good amount of depth at the big man positions, with Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg, Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively II, and Dwight Powell all expected to play rotation roles at the four and/or five.
Stein notes (via Twitter) the lack of roster space for Robinson-Earl, but adds that the 24-year-old chose to accept a non-guaranteed offer from Dallas rather than going overseas, where there was interest in his services.
Grizzlies Announce Injury Updates On Clarke, Edey, Jackson
Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke is undergoing an arthroscopic procedure to address synovitis in his right knee, the team announced in a press release (via Twitter).
Clarke’s 2024/25 season was cut short in March when he suffered a PCL sprain in his right knee.
While that injury has fully healed, per the Grizzlies, he experienced synovitis — inflammation that affects the synovial membranes in joints — during recent training sessions. Memphis says it will provide a return timeline after the procedure, but Clarke is expected to make a full recovery.
Shams Charania of ESPN, who first reported the news, hears that Clarke is expected to miss a minimum of six weeks, which is when he will be reevaluated (Twitter link).
It’s another unfortunate setback for Clarke, who has been plagued by various injuries throughout his career, including a torn Achilles tendon that cost him most of ’23/24.
In the same press release, the Grizzlies also provided injury updates on center Zach Edey and forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr., both of whom are recovering from offseason surgeries.
Edey, who underwent left ankle surgery in June, has been cleared to ramp up basketball activities. However, he remains several weeks away from returning, as he is expected to make his season debut in six-to-nine weeks.
If Edey is ready to play in six weeks, he would be back in early November. The more conservative end of that time frame would see the former Purdue star return around the end of that month.
Jackson, who had surgery in July to repair a turf toe issue, will also begin ramping up his on-court activities. He’s expected to return in four-to-six weeks, which means he could miss a little bit of time to open ’25/26.
On a more positive note, first-round pick Cedric Coward will be a full training camp participant after recovering from a left shoulder injury he sustained last year at Washington State.
With Clarke, Edey and Jackson likely to miss the start of the season, Memphis’ frontcourt depth will be tested early on. Santi Aldama and Jock Landale are among the players who could receive more playing time in their stead.
Blazers’ Scoot Henderson Suffers Torn Left Hamstring
Guard Scoot Henderson sustained a torn left hamstring during a workout this week, the Trail Blazers announced in a press release.
According to the team, Henderson is expected to resume basketball activities in four-to-eight weeks. Portland will provide additional updates on Henderson’s status “as appropriate.”
Crucially, the announcement doesn’t say that Henderson is expected to return in four-to-eight weeks — it’s just when he’ll resume basketball drills. It’s safe to say that, at minimum, Henderson will miss the start of his third NBA season.
A 6’3″ point guard, Henderson was a highly touted NBA prospect who spent two years with the now-defunct G League Ignite prior to being selected No. 3 overall in the 2023 draft.
Henderson got off to a pretty slow start as a rookie, putting up solid counting stats (14.0 points, 5.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds) but struggling with turnovers (3.4) and efficiency (.385/.325/.814 shooting line) in 62 games (28.5 minutes per contest).
While 21-year-old’s per-36 numbers were quite similar in year two, he showed improvement defensively, took a little better care of the ball, and was more efficient (.419/.354/.767 shooting) in 66 contests, most of which came in a reserve role (26.7 MPG).
The Blazers were already going to be shorthanded in the backcourt after re-signing franchise icon Damian Lillard, who was waived by Milwaukee after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in the playoffs, this offseason.
With Henderson out as well, offseason additions Jrue Holiday and Blake Wesley are candidates for more playing time at the point.
Raptors Waive Tyson Degenhart
The Raptors have released Tyson Degenhart, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.
Degenhart agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Raptors shortly after going undrafted in June. The deal became official a few days ago.
Now that he has been released, Degenhart is eligible for a bonus worth $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with Toronto’s G League affiliate, the Raptors 905.
A 6’8″ forward, Degenhart spent four college seasons at Boise State, earning first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors each of the past three years. As a senior in 2024/25, he averaged 18.3 PPG and 6.1 RPG on .526/.349/.797 shooting in 37 games (33.6 MPG).
Miikka Muurinen Signs Three-Year Deal With Partizan Belgrade
Consensus five-star recruit and potential 2027 first-round pick Miikka Muurinen has officially signed with Partizan Belgrade, per a team press release (Twitter link).
According to BasketNews, the Serbian EuroLeague club specified that it has signed Muurinen to a three-year contract.
Muurinen helped Finland achieve its best-ever result (fourth place) at EuroBasket 2025 earlier this month, receiving the tournament’s Rising Star award in the process. In eight games with the Finnish national team, he averaged 6.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 11.1 minutes per contest, shooting 14-of-16 on two-pointers (87.5%), 6-of-17 from long distance (35.3%), and 7-of-15 on free throws (46.7%).
Muurinen, who was the youngest player (he’s 18) competing at the tournament, has spent the past two years in the United States playing high school basketball and had originally been expected to return to AZ Compass for his senior season before a recent change of plans, as agent Teddy Archer told Jonathan Givony of Draft Express (Twitter link).
A 6’10” forward, Muurinen displayed an intriguing combination of length, agility and athleticism at EuroBasket, including several highlight reel dunks. He’s expected to be one of the top college recruits in 2026 if he elects to go that route, though it’s unclear if his new contract has an out clause.
Finnish outlet Salon Seudun Sanomat first reported that Muurinen had reached an agreement with Partizan. Muurinen’s mother, Jenni Laaksonen, recently told Ilta-Santomat her son grew up admiring the play style of Serbian teams as well as Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos.
Partizan Belgrade, also known as KK Partizan, features several former NBA players, including Jabari Parker, Sterling Brown, and German wing Isaac Bonga, among others.
Thunder Sign Jazian Gortman, Zack Austin, Chris Youngblood
The Thunder have signed free agents Jazian Gortman, Zack Austin and Chris Youngblood, the team announced today.
Oklahoma City’s three additions, all of whom played for the Thunder during Summer League action, will put the team at the offseason limit of 21 players under contract.
While the terms of the deals were not disclosed, reporting back in June indicated that Austin and Youngblood would be signing Exhibit 10 contracts for training camp. It seems pretty safe to assume that Gortman received the same.
Gortman, who went undrafted out of Overtime Elite in 2023, spent his first pro season in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd and the Rip City Remix, the affiliate teams of the Bucks and Trail Blazers, respectively.
The 6’2″ point guard caught on with the Mavericks last summer, initially signing an Exhibit 10 deal. Gortman impressed Dallas during training camp and preseason, having been promoted to a two-way contract shortly before the 2024/25 season began.
Gortman made 16 garbage-time appearances with the Mavs, playing 53 total minutes, before being released in late January. He also played 34 G League games (34.5 MPG) with the Texas Legends last season, averaging 20.0 points, 6.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals on .450/.272/.813 shooting.
Both Austin and Youngblood went undrafted in 2025.
As a senior for Pitt last season, Austin was named to the ACC’s All-Defensive team after averaging 4.7 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks in 32 games (32.1 MPG). He also averaged 9.2 PPG while shooting 38.1% from three-point range.
Youngblood spent ’24/25 — his “super senior” campaign — with Alabama after previously playing for Kennesaw State and South Florida. He averaged 10.3 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 28 appearances (25.3 MPG) for the Crimson Tide, posting a shooting line of .447/.388/.804
It’s worth noting that the Thunder currently have an open two-way spot, and, as previously mentioned, Exhibit 10 deals can be converted into two-way pacts. Malevy Leons is also on an Exhibit 10 contract with OKC.
Latest On Quentin Grimes
Sixers restricted free agent Quentin Grimes was “disappointed” not to receive a formal contract offer from the team until this week after he spent nearly three months on the market, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
While a report on Thursday indicated that Philadelphia offered Grimes a four-year, $39MM deal, agent David Bauman explained to Scotto that that concept was “loosely pitched” by the team. That structure would essentially start with Grimes’ $8.74MM qualifying offer and would include 8% annual raises from there.
Bauman, conversely, proposed scenarios in which Grimes’ salary would start in the neighborhood of $17-21MM, with some flexibility for the team in the later years of the deal, per Scotto.
The only formal offer the 76ers have made is a one-year deal that would be worth more than Grimes’ qualifying offer but would require him to waive his implicit no-trade clause, Scotto continues. For Grimes and his camp to accept that offer, the salary would likely have to be above the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1MM) and approach $19MM, sources tell HoopsHype. However, Philadelphia’s proposal was only “slightly” above the QO amount.
As Scotto points out, a salary in that $14-19MM range would allow the Sixers to remain below the second tax apron and would give Grimes a more favorable starting point if he’s traded during the 2025/26 season. In that scenario, his new team would only have his Non-Bird rights, which allow for an offer worth up to 120% of the player’s previous salary. A 20% raise on a salary between $14-19MM could work for Grimes in 2026, whereas a 20% raise on his $8.74MM qualifying offer likely wouldn’t be sufficient.
At this point, a longer-term contract remains unlikely due to the large gap between the two sides’ proposals, according to Scotto, who confirms that Bauman has asked the 76ers about potentially moving back the October 1 deadline for Grimes to accept his qualifying offer. The two sides could agree to push back that deadline as late as March 1, though presumably Bauman is seeking a shorter-term solution.
If the Sixers don’t offer a more lucrative one-year deal or increase their multiyear offer, Grimes is expected to strongly consider signing the qualifying offer, league sources tell Scotto. If Grimes goes that route and spends the entire 2025/26 season in Philadelphia, the team would still have his Bird rights next summer, so the two sides could attempt to work out a new deal at that point, though the former first-round pick would be unrestricted.