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Domantas Sabonis Talks Kings’ Offseason

August 10th, 2025 at 9:03pm CST by Eli Cohen

Domantas Sabonis has experienced highs and lows during his tenure as a member of the Kings, and he says he’s excited about what the coming year could look like in the wake of some of the personnel additions made by general manager Scott Perry.

“I think Scott’s done a great job so far, and he’s trying to turn things around just like everyone else,” Sabonis said during his basketball camp in Roseville, as relayed by ABC 10’s Matt George (Twitter link).

He also hinted that there might be more to come.

“A lot has changed; a lot’s probably still gonna change, so we’re just gonna wait and see ’til training camp,” he said.

One area that Sabonis is encouraged by is the addition of Dennis Schröder. The Kings were missing a point guard after they traded De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs in a deal that sent Zach LaVine and Sidy Cissoko to Sacramento.

“Right now, we have a starting caliber point guard. Dennis is very talented,” Sabonis said.

Sabonis was also encouraged by the play of the young Kings at Summer League, and mentioned that he hosted Isaac Jones and rookie Maxime Raynaud in Napa Valley, working out and preparing for the season.

Sabonis has a strong relationship with Doug Christie, who went from interim head coach to head coach this summer, and is looking forward to their partnership continuing this season.

“He was in there with me those three summers, every day in the gym,” Sabonis said, with a smile on his face. “I’ve seen how hard he works, so for him to have this opportunity, the fans love him, he’s one of us here. So I think it’s going to be very exciting.”

When asked about the trade that sent fellow Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas to Denver, Sabonis said, “We know where all these decisions come from. It’s sad to see a friend leave, but at the same time, you understand. I’m happy for him; he’s with the Nuggets now, the top team in the West, and all he wants to do is win. I know he’s happy.”

The star center believes that having a training camp will allow Christie to create a scheme that maximizes the interchange of skills between Sabonis, LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan.

Sabonis said that after his camp, his plan is to fly down to Los Angeles to work out with some Kings players, hinting that DeRozan would be one of the players present.

Celtics Sign Chris Boucher On One-Year Deal

August 10th, 2025 at 7:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

August 10: Boucher has officially signed with the Celtics, according to a press release from the team.

August 5: The Celtics are signing free agent forward Chris Boucher on a one-year, minimum-salary contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (via Twitter).

Boston opened up a frontcourt spot for Boucher by agreeing to trade Georges Niang to Utah on Tuesday. Boucher will compete for minutes at both the power forward and center spots for the Celtics, who have been busy shedding salary and revamping their roster throughout the offseason.

Save for one cameo appearance with Golden State in 2017/18, Boucher has spent his entire career with the Raptors. Boucher has played in Toronto for the past seven seasons, winning a title in 2019 and appearing in 406 games, primarily off the bench (23 total starts).

He has averaged 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.7 minutes during his NBA career while shooting 48.8 percent overall and 33.9 percent beyond the three-point arc.

Boucher, 32, saw action in 50 games last season, averaging 10.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.2 minutes. He didn’t appear in a game after Feb. 26 as the Raptors decided to essentially shut down the veteran big man and take a long look at their younger players.

Boucher was the last remaining player from the Raptors’ championship club. He holds the all-time franchise records as a reserve for points, rebounds, blocks, minutes and games played.

Toronto held Boucher’s Bird rights and reportedly was interested in re-signing him but that didn’t come to fruition. He’ll now join an Atlantic Division rival.

As an eight-year veteran, Boucher will earn $3,287,409 on his minimum-salary deal while the Celtics carry a cap hit of $2,296,274.

Stephen Curry: Championship Is ‘Only Thing I’m Playing For’

August 10th, 2025 at 7:06pm CST by Eli Cohen

Stephen Curry knows that the Warriors will not enter next season as the championship favorites, but his aspirations remain firmly set on the title, writes Julian Ojeda of ClutchPoints.

“I truly believe we can be championship relevant,” Curry says. “We have a team that’s capable of achieving that level again… I think it’s realistic to build towards that.”

The 37-year-old has had a reflective summer, which has involved taking stock of what’s left to accomplish and how attainable those goals might be. In the end, it all comes back to one thing: a shot at adding a fifth ring to his collection.

The list of stars to lead their teams to five championships is an esteemed one, featuring players like Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan, and Kobe Bryant.

“I think for me that’s literally the only thing I’m playing for at this point,” Curry said.

The Warriors saw a great deal of success following their trade for Jimmy Butler, going 22-5 in games in which both Butler and Curry played. Curry averaged 24.5 points and 6.0 assists per game last season while shooting 39.7% from three and 93.3% from the free throw line.

The scoring rate was his lowest in a full year since 2014/15; however, once Butler joined the team, Curry averaged 27.3 PPG and made 40.8% of his three-point attempts for the rest of the regular season.

The Warriors beat the Rockets in seven games in the first round of the playoffs, but lost to the Timberwolves in five games in the second round after Curry got injured 13 minutes into Game 1.

Jazz Plan To Keep Georges Niang

August 10th, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Jazz are planning on keeping Georges Niang after acquiring him from the Celtics, reports Jake Fischer for The Stein Line (subscriber link).

Niang spent four of his first five years in Utah after playing his rookie season with the Pacers. In that time, he averaged 5.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game while shooting 41.1% from three. He split time between the Cavaliers and Hawks last season, posting a career-high 12.1 points in 23 minutes per night in 28 games for Atlanta.

It’s believed that the Jazz value Niang as a veteran locker room presence; depending on what happens with Kevin Love, who is rumored to be exploring the possibility of a buyout, he could be the oldest player on Utah’s roster at 32 years old.

Niang was brought in from Boston along with two second-round picks for undrafted free agent RJ Luis in a deal meant to save money for the Celtics.

Warriors Unlikely To Include Hield, Moody In Kuminga Deal

August 10th, 2025 at 5:02pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Warriors are actively encouraging sign-and-trade offers for Jonathan Kuminga, writes Jake Fischer for the Stein Line (subscriber link). However, Fischer adds that they are unwilling to do a deal that would require them to include either Buddy Hield or Moses Moody for salary-matching purposes.

Because of the CBA’s base year compensation rules regarding sign and trades, any deal that would return more than a mid-level type salary would likely require the addition of a second player from Golden State, but Fischer says the Warriors view Moody and Hield as valuable contributors next season.

Hield and Moody emerged as two of the team’s more consistent shooters last season. Moody averaged 9.8 points and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 37.4% on three-pointers. Hield averaged 11.1 PPG and made 37% of his three-pointers while being the only Warrior to play in all 82 games.

Hield is a career 39.7% three-point shooter and his mark last year was actually the second-lowest of his career. Of the returning players on the Warriors’ roster, only Stephen Curry, Quinten Post, and Brandin Podziemski had higher three-point percentages than Moody and/or Hield.

According to Fischer, the Warriors’ unwillingness to include either player is one of the bigger roadblocks facing the team in trade talks.

Celtics Waive Two-Way Forward Miles Norris

August 10th, 2025 at 4:28pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Celtics have waived Miles Norris, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). He was on a two-way deal.

Norris played three games for the Celtics last season, in which time he averaged 2.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.7 steals in 11.7 minutes per game.

The former UC Santa Barbara standout, who went undrafted in 2023, spent most of the 2024/25 season in the G League, playing for the Memphis Hustle until March and then appearing in several games for the Maine Celtics down the stretch after signing his two-way deal with Boston.

In total, he averaged 16.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 30.5 minutes per game across 44 total outings for the Grizzlies’ and Celtics’ G League affiliates.

The Celtics currently have Max Shulga and the recently acquired RJ Luis on two-way contracts. No. 46 overall pick Amari Williams looks like the top candidate to fill the team’s newly opened third slot.

Cole Anthony Excited To Play For Bucks After ‘Bittersweet’ Departure From Orlando

August 10th, 2025 at 3:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cole Anthony admits he’s having difficulty adjusting to the fact that he’s a former member of the Magic.

“I’ve literally said this to several people … I still feel like I’m on the Magic a little bit,” Anthony told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.

Anthony spoke to Beede during a community appearance in Orlando. Anthony was dealt to the Grizzlies along with fellow guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and four future first-round picks in June in exchange for Desmond Bane.

His stay in Memphis was brief. He reached a buyout agreement with the Grizzlies, giving up $2MM of his $13.1MM expiring contract. He then signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal with the Bucks after clearing waivers.

“I remember that whole week, it was just crazy,” Anthony said. “I’ve been here five years, haven’t played for another team, was drafted here, so it’s something for me that definitely is bittersweet and I’m going to miss it.”

Anthony appeared in 32o regular season contests during his five seasons with Orlando. Last season, he appeared in 67 games (22 starts) and averaged 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 18.4 minutes per night.

He’ll now compete for backcourt minutes in Milwaukee.

“I look at it as a great opportunity to enter another team where they have a playoff pedigree and a championship pedigree,” Anthony said. “They’ve won a ‘chip there. I just want to get in there, contribute and do whatever I can for the team. I want to be a part of winning.”

Atlantic Notes: Russell, Murray-Boyles, Nets Assets, Grimes

August 10th, 2025 at 3:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

D’Angelo Russell signed with the Mavericks as a free agent but he’s heaping high praise on the Nets organization. He feels his career has been extended by what he learned early in his career with Brooklyn, he told Dwyane Wade in a podcast (hat tip to Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post). In the process, he took a swipe at the Lakers organization.

“The organization of Brooklyn is different,” Russell said. “It’s unlike any other. The performance, team, coach — everything about Brooklyn is different than what you would expect. And I’ve been around the league, where I came from the Lakers, where the structure is not the same.”

Russell played 29 games with the Nets last season. He also spent two seasons with them from 2017-19 after beginning his career with the Lakers.

“I always approached the game to where I was nonchalant, and I felt like I could just wing it. They taught me how to be a professional, how to sleep, how to eat, how to recover,” Russell said.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Collin Murray-Boyles‘ personal trainer believes that the No. 9 pick of this year’s draft could turn into a Draymond Green-style defender with better offensive skills, he told Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. “He is more of the modern-day Draymond [Green],” trainer Khadijah Sessions said of the Raptors‘ rookie forward. “He is a defender, he can defend all positions, he can pass, he can set his teammates up… He’s going to be a better Draymond. He’s going to shoot better than him. He’s going to be able to score better than him. But it’s going to be over time and I think him playing behind Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram is going to bring a different monster out of him.”
After selecting a handful of players during the first round of this year’s draft, the Nets still have plenty of draft assets remaining, including extra picks and pick swaps. Yet their best asset might be their own first-rounder next year, which they reacquired from Houston, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post (subscription required). There’s plenty of pressure on general manager Sean Marks that a majority of the players he picked this June pan out, as well as using that future draft capital wisely.
Should restricted free agent Quentin Grimes sign his $8.7MM qualifying offer from the Sixers and become unrestricted next summer? Or will the two parties eventually find common ground on a multi-year contract before next season? Rich Hofmann and Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports take a deep dive into that subject in their latest podcast (video link).

Nets Not Making Aggressive Offers To RFA Cam Thomas

August 10th, 2025 at 1:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets have not made an aggressive effort to sign restricted free agent Cam Thomas on a long-term deal, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

Thomas, who is entering his fifth NBA season, has posted some big offensive numbers the past two seasons. He averaged 22.5 points per game in 66 outings during the 2023/24 season and 24 PPG last season. However, he only made 25 appearances in ’24/25 due to persistent hamstring issues.

Thomas is more of a scorer than a shooter and has other holes in his game, which has limited his market in sign-and-trade scenarios. In a recent story from The Athletic, 16 NBA executives were polled regarding current prominent RFAs. Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga and Quentin Grimes were considered more valuable than Thomas. Whereas 15 of the 16 respondents proposed contracts of at least three years for each of Kuminga, Giddey and Grimes, only eight did the same for Thomas.

Fischer writes that Thomas might be the most likely of those RFAs to accept his $5.9MM qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Last month, Fischer reported that Brooklyn had not offered Thomas anything further than a two-year deal with a team option worth roughly the amount of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1MM). Thomas is believed to be seeking a contract of at least $20MM annually.

Trae Young, Hawks Not Expected To Discuss Extension During Offseason

August 10th, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

There are no plans for extension talks between Trae Young and the Hawks this summer, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (subscriber link).

As Fischer indicated during a Bleacher Report live stream on Thursday, Young and his camp have been resigned for a while to the idea that he’ll have to play out the final guaranteed year on his current deal. He’ll face a decision on a $49MM player option next summer.

Fischer reports that when Young was represented by Klutch Sports, Rich Paul viewed him as a potential partner for Victor Wembanyama. At the time, Paul was hoping to get one of his points guards to the Spurs, whether it was Young, De’Aaron Fox or Darius Garland.

Fischer states that Fox’s contract expiring a year before Young’s brought a sense of urgency to his future, along with Fox’s desire to relocate to Texas. San Antonio acquired him from Sacramento in a three-team deal in February and gave him a four-year max extension last week.

Young is now represented by CAA, and Fischer makes it clear that he’s not looking to force his way out of Atlanta. The Hawks appear to be a legitimate contender after upgrading their roster over the summer, and Fischer states that Kristaps Porzingis may be the best scoring forward Young has ever teamed up with.

Fischer notes that Atlanta’s improvement could boost Young’s chances of earning All-NBA honors this season, which would increase the maximum value of a five-year contract into the $335MM range.

Sources tell Fischer that Young is disappointed that the Hawks haven’t reached out to him about an extension. However, that could change if he pushes them back toward the playoffs. If it doesn’t happen, he may wind up as one of the top free agents in next year’s market.

Fischer adds that Young’s strong relationship with coach Quin Snyder adds to the optimism that a new deal will eventually get worked out.