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Germany Defeats Turkey For EuroBasket Gold; Schröder Named MVP

September 14th, 2025 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

A back-and-forth battle between a pair of 8-0 teams went down to the wire in Sunday’s EuroBasket championship game, with Kings point guard Dennis Schröder helping to secure a gold medal for Germany by scoring the final six points and turning an 83-82 deficit into an 88-83 victory over Turkey.

Schöder (16 points, 12 assists), former NBA wing Isaac Bonga (20 points, 4-of-4 three-pointers), and Magic forward Franz Wagner (18 points, eight rebounds) were the standout performers for Germany, which has won two of the past three major international basketball competitions.

Although the Germans didn’t make the podium at the Paris Olympics last summer, the country is now the defending FIBA World Cup (2023) and EuroBasket (2025) champion and has posted a 21-2 record in those three tournaments, per HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Germany outlasted a Turkish national team that was led by Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28 points), former NBA forward Cedi Osman (23 points, 6-of-9 on three-pointers), former NBA guard Shane Larkin (13 points, nine assists, six rebounds), and Sixers big man Adem Bona (12 points, 5-of-5 shooting).

While they weren’t able to claim their first EuroBasket championship, Turkey matched their best-ever result by taking silver. The Turkish team lost to Yugoslavia in the 2001 final, which was the only other time the country made the championship game.

Schröder was named the EuroBasket Most Valuable Player after leading the Germans to their first title in the event since 1993. He scored at least 16 points in all nine games, averaging 20.3 points and 7.2 assists per contest.

The 2025 EuroBasket All-Star Five was made up entirely of NBA players, with Lakers guard Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) joining Schröder, Wagner, and Sengun (Twitter link).

Antetokounmpo and the Greek national team beat Finland in the third-place game earlier on Sunday.

Free Agents Who Sign After Monday Won’t Be Trade-Eligible On December 15

September 14th, 2025 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Unless he’s part of a sign-and-trade deal, an NBA free agent who signs a new contract can’t be traded immediately. The Collective Bargaining Agreement states that a newly signed free agent is ineligible to be traded until December 15 or until he’s been under contract for three months, whichever comes later.

Based on that rule, the majority of the free agents who signed new contracts in July, August, and the first half of September will become trade-eligible on December 15 (a smaller group of free agents who met certain specific criteria won’t become trade-eligible until January 15).

By our count, at least 81 players are currently on track to become eligible to be moved on December 15. That doesn’t take into account any players signed to Exhibit 9 or Exhibit 10 contracts who might earn regular season roster spots, since they’re not included on our list (they’ll be added if they haven’t been waived by opening night).

However, with the exception of camp invitees who unexpectedly stick around for the regular season, that list won’t continue to expand to include any additional names after Monday, which will be exactly three months away from December 15. A free agent who signs a new contract after September 15 will remain trade-eligible for a full three months rather than becoming trade-eligible on December 15.

For instance, a player who signs on September 22 would become eligible to be dealt on December 22; one who signs on October 4 would become trade-eligible on January 4, and so on.

For most players, there will be no meaningful difference between becoming trade-eligible on December 15 or a few weeks later, since the majority of deals get done in the days leading up to February’s deadline anyway. But a pair of trades were completed on December 15 last season, as soon as certain players’ restrictions lifted. That sort of Dec. 15 trade won’t be possible this season for any free agent who signs after Monday.

It’s also worth noting that a player who is traded after December 16 can’t have his salary aggregated with another player’s salary in a separate deal prior to the trade deadline. That rule will further limit teams’ flexibility to make moves this winter involving late-September or October signees.

Finally, we should mention that November 5 is an important date in this discussion, since this season’s trade deadline will land on February 5. A player who signs a free agent contract on November 6 or later will be ineligible to be dealt during the 2025/26 season.

Once the season begins next month and we have a better sense of which players signed after Sept. 15 have earned spots on regular season rosters, we’ll publish a new list of those players’ trade eligibility dates to complement our December 15 and January 15 round-ups.

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Early Look At Hornets’ Potential Roster Crunch

September 14th, 2025 at 12:53pm CST by Rory Maher

Barring a trade (or two), Charlotte will be facing a roster crunch this fall.

As our tracker shows, the Hornets currently have a full offseason roster, with 18 players on standard contracts (16 guaranteed) and all three two-way spots filled. They need to trim their standard roster down to 15 players before the regular season begins.

None of the players on standard deals are signed to training camp contracts, and until the Hornets free up roster spots, they will be unable to finalize Exhibit 10 deals with players who will be headed to their G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, to open the 2025/26 season. That likely won’t play a factor in the roster battle, but it’s worth mentioning nonetheless.

Here’s the list of players currently on standard contracts, sorted by how much money they make:

* Denotes non-guaranteed contract.

Outside of maybe Miller and Knueppel, it wouldn’t totally surprise me if Charlotte decided to eventually trade virtually anyone on the roster. But for the sake of this exercise, we’ll assume that Ball, Bridges, Sexton, Green, Williams, Salaun, McNeeley, James and Kalkbrenner won’t be on the move in the next five-plus weeks.

The Hornets re-signed Mann to a guaranteed three-year, $24MM contract in free agency and he can’t be traded until January 15. It’s safe to say he won’t be waived before the season begins.

Dinwiddie and Plumlee were also free agent additions and neither can be dealt until Dec. 15. Although they both received guaranteed contracts, they’re only earning the veteran’s minimum in 2025/26.

Either Dinwiddie or Plumlee could theoretically be cut this fall, but it would be a little strange to sign a player to a guaranteed deal only to release him before he suits up for a regular season contest. It’s certainly an option, especially if one gets hurt, but it seems fairly unlikely right now.

By process of elimination, that likely leaves four players — Connaughton, Smith, Jeffries and Diabate — essentially vying for the 15th and final roster spot.

Of the four, Jeffries seems like the most obvious candidate to be waived. He was sent to Charlotte last October as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, and while he appeared in 47 games last season, he wasn’t a major contributor. The five-year veteran is on a fully non-guaranteed contract, so the Hornets won’t incur a cap hit if they release him.

Despite earning $9.42MM in 2025/26, Connaughton also seems pretty likely to be cut. Perhaps I’m wrong and Charlotte will keep his expiring contract to use for salary-matching purposes in a future trade, but he has negative value on that deal after his career was derailed by injuries the past few years. When they sent Vasilije Micic to the Bucks for Connaughton in July, the Hornets acquired two second-round picks in the deal — it seems safe to assume they made the trade for the draft assets, not for Connaughton himself.

That leaves Smith and Diabate. Smith is just two years removed from being selected in the first round of the 2023 draft, but he hasn’t taken a major step forward since entering the NBA, having made exactly 39.1% of his field goal attempts in both of his professional seasons. He played a more significant role last season, but the Hornets were outscored by 14.3 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court, compared to 6.3 points per 100 possessions when he wasn’t playing.

Smith also has a backcourt logjam working against him, while Diabate should benefit from the fact that the Hornets don’t have many viable options in the middle — Plumlee and Kalkbrenner are the only other centers on the roster, so Diabate could actually play rotation minutes this fall, as he did last season, whereas the path to regular playing time for Smith would be more crowded with Miller and Mann back from injuries and Dinwiddie and Sexton now in the mix as well.

It’s worth reiterating that Smith’s salary for 2025/26 is guaranteed, but neither he nor Diabate is owed any guaranteed money beyond the coming season and Charlotte is operating way below the luxury tax line this season. In other words, eating some guaranteed money shouldn’t really affect the team’s flexibility.

Still, even if Jeffries, Connaughton, and Smith look like the most logical odd men out, it’s possible this situation won’t end up being quite that straightforward, so it’ll be worth keeping an eye on this fall.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Greece Defeats Finland For EuroBasket Bronze Medal

September 14th, 2025 at 11:24am CST by Rory Maher

Greece survived a late rally by Finland in the third-place game of EuroBasket 2025, winning by a final score of 92-89 to claim the tournament’s bronze medal.

Greece led for nearly 38 minutes of the 40-minute contest and never trailed. While they were up by double-digits for the majority of the game, including a 17-point lead with four minutes left, Finland nearly pulled off a dramatic comeback, getting to within one possession in the closing seconds before coming up short.

The Greek national team was led by Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 30 points, 17 rebounds, six assists (seven turnovers), one steal and two blocks in just under 31 minutes. He converted two free throws in the clutch to help seal the victory.

Ex-NBA guard Tyler Dorsey, a Greek nationalized citizen, also had a big game, going 5-of-9 from three-point range en route to 20 points. Guard Vasileios Toliopoulos, who went scoreless in Greece’s semifinal loss to Turkey, had 15 points.

It’s the first time Antetokounmpo has won a medal with Greece and the first time the country has finished in the top three at EuroBasket since 2009, when it also won bronze.

Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen had team highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds for Finland, which also received strong contributions from Elias Valtonen (18 points, five rebounds, three steals), Mikael Jantunen (13 points, six rebounds, seven assists) and Olivier Nkamhoua (15 points, five rebounds).

Despite the loss, the Finnish national team had an excellent run in the tournament, including knocking off medal favorite Serbia in the round of 16. Finland, which finished in fourth place, had already secured its best result in EuroBasket history by making the semifinals.

The final between Germany and Turkey will take place later on Sunday.

International Notes: Loyd, Larkin, NBA Europe, Athens

September 14th, 2025 at 9:29am CST by Rory Maher

Veteran guard Jordan Loyd, who starred for Poland during EuroBasket 2025, is close to signing a contract with Turkish powerhouse Anadolu Efes, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (via Twitter).

Loyd, who had a brief stint with Toronto during the team’s title-winning season in 2019, averaged a team-high 22.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals on .490/.422/.875 shooting in seven games (32.0 MPG) for Poland.

Stein previously reported that Real Madrid was the most prominent suitor for Loyd, but evidently team was unable to sign him away from AS Monaco because his Spanish league rights are held by Valencia, among other complicating factors.

Loyd, 32, helped Monaco reach the EuroLeague final for the first time in franchise history last season. In 27 EuroLeague contests, he averaged 10.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 1.9 APG on .468/.392/.892 shooting (22.7 MPG).

Anadolu Efes, meanwhile, won the EuroLeague in both 2021 and 2022. Last season, it was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the playoffs by Panathinaikos, the 2024 champs. Efes also competes domestically in Turkey’s Basketball Super League.

Here are a few more international notes:

In an extensive — and exclusive — interview with Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype, former first-round pick Shane Larkin discussed becoming a Turkish nationalized citizen, his journey to becoming a star in Europe, battling OCD, and Turkish teammate Alperen Sengun, among other topics. “I had a few incredible seasons over here and I had opportunities to go back to the (NBA) and I was like, “Nah I’m cool, like I’m good where I am”… and when people hear that, they don’t understand what it is like to be one of the better star players in Europe. You have to really experience it to fully understand it,” Larkin said as part of a larger quote. The 5’11” point guard, who plays for Anadolu Efes, will compete in the final of EuroBasket on Sunday with Turkey, which faces Germany.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, FIBA Europe president Jorge Garbajosa said he has “no doubt” that the NBA’s European league will come to fruition at some point, though the details are still being worked out. “There’s a long way to work from today until whenever we start,” Garbajosa said, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. “This is going to happen. It’s very clear. Mr. [Adam] Silver announced it publicly, and so did Mr. [Andreas] Zagklis. I did it also. It is not easy to create this competition in Europe, so it’s going to take a while. But this is going to happen. How and when? Let’s see. Some prospects talked about 2027. I think it’s a good year. But obviously NBA is working on it. We are their partners, we want to be their partners, we want to be together with them.”
The 2026 EuroLeague Final Four will be played at the Telekom Center in Athens, Greece, the league announced in a press release. Athens also hosted the 2007 edition of the EuroLeague Final Four.

Nuggets Sign Moses Brown

September 14th, 2025 at 8:28am CST by Eli Cohen

September 14: Brown’s deal with the Nuggets is official, per RealGM’s transactions log.

September 12: The Nuggets have agreed to a deal with Moses Brown, reports Michael Scotto for HoopsHype (via Twitter).

The terms of the contract were undisclosed, but it is expected to be an Exhibit 10 training camp deal, given that the Grand Rapids Gold – Denver’s G League affiliate – recently acquired Brown’s returning rights in a three-team trade.

Brown has played six years in the NBA and holds career averages of 5.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks in 11.7 minutes per night.

He spent the majority of last season with the Westchester Knicks, averaging 17.9 points and 15.7 rebounds per game across 35 G League outings. He also played four games for the Mavericks, with whom he averaged 11.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 18.3 minutes per contest.

The Nuggets added Jonas Valanciunas this summer, as well as getting sophomore big man DaRon Holmes II back from the Achilles tear that caused him to miss his rookie season. They currently have one spot available on their projected 15-man regular season roster, but may not fill it right away due to their proximity to the luxury tax line.

Ime Udoka Says Rockets’ Fifth Starter Will Be Decided At Training Camp

September 13th, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets‘ starting lineup is mostly set, but one spot will be up for grabs when training camp opens later this month.

Houston sent starters Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to Phoenix, along with the 10th pick in this year’s draft, in the Kevin Durant trade. Durant will start alongside Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Fred VanVleet, but coach Ime Udoka has several options with the fifth position.

“It’s to be determined,” Udoka told Ben DuBose of RocketsWire at a September 11 community event the team hosted this week. “I do think Jabari (Smith Jr.) showed tremendous growth this offseason, and obviously he started the majority of his time here, before the injury. But we’ll take a look at everything. We feel we have incredible depth this year and a lot of versatility, so we could go a number of different ways, as far as that. I think some of that will be proven in training camp.”

Smith began last season as a starter and kept that role for 39 games before breaking his hand in January. Thompson took his place and turned out to be too good to move back to the bench. Smith occupied a sixth man role for the rest of the season, but he may be the best fit with the other four members of the current starting unit. At 6’11”, he provides plenty of size next to Durant and Sengun, and he’s proficient enough as a three-point shooter to stretch defenses and create driving lanes.

DuBose notes that the Rockets enjoyed tremendous success with double-big lineups late last season, so center Steven Adams might receive consideration, at least against certain matchups. Adams only started three games during the regular season, but Udoka leaned heavily on him during the playoff series against Golden State.

Free agent addition Dorian Finney-Smith is a strong wing defender who greatly improved the Lakers’ defense after being acquired in a December trade. At 32, Finney-Smith brings a veteran presence to what’s still mostly a young team, and he shot 41.1% from three-point range last season.

Another option is fourth-year forward Tari Eason, who made a career-high 16 starts last season. Eason is a disruptive defender like Finney-Smith, but he’s not quite as accomplished as an outside shooter.

EuroBasket Notes: Championship Game, Bonga, Pesic, Rules Changes

September 13th, 2025 at 9:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Turkish coach Ergin Ataman is supremely confident heading into Sunday’s EuroBasket title game against Germany, according to BasketNews. Ataman is one of the most successful coaches in Europe, making five appearances in the EuroLeague Final Four and winning it three times. He has never won an international competition, but he believes his unbeaten team is ready to change that.

“I like to win. Before every game, we talk with our assistants. Even five minutes ago (before this conference), they told me that everybody is under a lot of stress and pressure now, especially in the federation. I told all our guys I have had this stress maybe in my first EuroLeague final,” Ataman said at Saturday’s press conference. “After that, it’s the same every game; it’s the same for me. I don’t have any stress. It’s a basketball game.”

In a separate story, Dennis Schröder, who has been through numerous huge games with Germany, refused to react to Ataman’s comments and said he and his teammates will concentrate on the task at hand.

“I mean, we try to focus on ourselves,” Schröder said. “I know the strategy he’s trying to do. And it’s been working for him for sure. So, at the end of the day, good job. We just try to focus on ourselves, go out, compete, stay together as a team, and bring the trophy home.”

There’s more as EuroBasket 2025 nears its end:

Franz Wagner believes German teammate Isaac Bonga deserves another shot at the NBA, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. Wagner responded to a question after Bonga contributed 10 points and five rebounds and helped shut down Lauri Markkanen in the semifinal win over Finland. “I think (Bonga’s) shown for a couple of years now that he’s an elite defender, shoots the three really well, and can make some plays off the bounce too,” Wagner said. “So I think he could have a lot of teams interested in him.” Bonga spent four total seasons with the Lakers, Wizards and Raptors, but has been playing overseas since 2022.
Veteran coach Svetislav Pesic will step down from the Serbian national team when his contract expires later this month, according to Eurohoops. With a roster full of current and former NBA players, Pesic’s team had been considered among the favorites at EuroBasket, but the Serbians were upset by Finland in the round of 16. “It was a privilege to be the head coach of the Serbian national team, to train and lead the best Serbian basketball players,” Pesic said. “… However, the time has come to find a new coach who will be able to continue what we started in the previous period.”
FIBA Europe officials are considering changes to EuroBasket when the tournament returns in 2029, states Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews. President Jorge Garbajosa said injury replacements may be permitted and teams won’t be required to play on consecutive days.

Celtics Notes: Brown, Chisholm, Boucher, Hauser

September 13th, 2025 at 8:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics appear likely to take a step backward in 2025/26 due to Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury and the loss of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, who were both shipped out in cost-cutting moves. However, Jaylen Brown expressed optimism about the upcoming season in an interview this week on V-103 FM in Atlanta, relays Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe.

“I know Boston, it looks gloomy right now, obviously with JT being out and us kind of ending the year, but it’s a lot to look forward to,” Brown said. “I want the city to feel excited about that. This is not the end, so I’m looking forward to what’s next.”

Being in his hometown, Brown received a question about possibly joining the Hawks someday. With four years left on his $304MM super-max extension, it’s not a realistic possibility anytime soon, but Brown left the door open. When host Darian Morgan said he’d like to see Brown in a Hawks uniform, the Celtics star replied, “I feel you. I think my grandma would too.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

New majority owner William Chisholm shares Brown’s outlook about the team’s prospects, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Chisholm believes other players will seize the opportunity to replace the stars who are no longer available. “I think they’re going to surprise some people,” Chisholm said. “I think this is a good team and I think we have a really good coach and a really good president of basketball operations. I think Payton Pritchard said it in an interview, that we’re going to surprise some people, and I think there’s real talent here that hasn’t been fully realized.”
Newly acquired Chris Boucher may be the favorite going into camp to win the starting job at power forward, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Coach Joe Mazzulla’s handling of the four spot should provide an indication of how he plans to approach the season, Robb adds. Using the 6’9″ Boucher alongside Neemias Queta would give the team more size on defense and better rebounding. Another option is to start shooting specialist Sam Hauser, which would satisfy Mazzulla’s tactical reliance on a three-point barrage but would leave the Celtics vulnerable in other areas. Robb mentions Josh Minott as a potential wild card who could wind up earning regular minutes.
Second apron concerns mean Holiday and Porzingis would likely have been traded even if Tatum hadn’t gotten injured, but some other moves might have played out differently, Robb adds in the same piece. He believes Al Horford or Luke Kornet would have been re-signed if Tatum had been healthy, and the Celtics might have made a stronger effort to add low-cost veteran free agent depth.

Jaren Jackson Jr. Provides Update On Recovery From Offseason Surgery

September 13th, 2025 at 7:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

Appearing at his annual youth basketball camp Saturday in Memphis, Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. talked about the progress he has made since undergoing a procedure for a turf toe injury in early July, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

“I’m feeling good,” Jackson said. “I’m progressing the right way. I’m doing what I need to do. Every day has been a building block.”

The Grizzlies expect to reevaluate Jackson in late September, right around the opening of training camp. That would give him a little more than three weeks to get ready for opening night when the Grizzlies host New Orleans on October 22. Jackson didn’t commit to playing in the opener, but said he feels good about the progress he has made.

“I’m aiming for whatever my body is telling me, but I’m progressing the right way,” he said. “I think everybody is going to be happy.”

It has been an eventful offseason for Jackson, who agreed to a renegotiation and extension that will pay him $240MM over the next five years. That cements him as part of the foundation for the franchise, which will be looking to bounce back after being swept by Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoffs.

Jackson made his second All-Star appearance last season, and he earned All-Defensive honors for the second time in his career. In 74 games, he averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 48.8% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range.

Jackson announced in August that he’s changing his number from 13 to 8 as he enters his eighth NBA season. The number carries family significance, as Jackson’s father wore it when he played for the Clippers in the 1990s.

Jackson also talked to Cole about the importance of holding events like the youth basketball camp in the community, saying Memphis feels like home to him now.

“It’s always important to do stuff in the place that you’re from,” Jackson said. “… I’ve lived here longer than any place in my life, so can’t take that from me.”