Knicks Working Out Alex Len, Trey Jemison
The Knicks continue to tinker around the periphery of their roster. According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link), New York is working out a pair of free agents who finished last season with the Lakers, veteran Alex Len and former L.A. two-way player Trey Jemison III.
Bondy previously reported that the Knicks will be working out journeyman guard Dennis Smith Jr., who has been without a team since parting ways with Real Madrid in February.
As Bondy notes, New York can field a roster of up to 21 players heading into training camp.
For now, only 12 players occupy the Knicks’ standard roster. 2025 second-round selection Mohamed Diawara is expected to ink a standard deal with New York, while Kevin McCullar Jr. has a two-way qualifying offer extended his way.
Veteran guards Malcolm Brogdon, Landry Shamet and Garrison Mathews have all agreed to non-guaranteed training camp agreements. New York will only be able to retain one of those non-guaranteed veterans into the regular season because of hard-cap restrictions. That said, it’s possible the Knicks could offload a player or two in a trade to create the cap flexibility necessary to hang onto two of Brogdon, Shamet and Mathews.
For what it’s worth, Jemison remains eligible for a two-way contract, but that’s not the case for Len, a 12-year veteran.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Celtics, Queta, Bona
The Knicks will enter the 2025/26 season as a favorite to make it back to the Eastern Conference Finals, but the team will invariably deal with a variety of challenges throughout the year, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post details (subscriber link).
Staying healthy will be crucial for New York.
Former All-Defensive forward OG Anunoby has dealt with his fair share of health issues within the past few seasons, as has All-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns. Practically everyone got hurt during the club’s 2024 playoff run, before Towns was on the roster. The Knicks have added some veteran depth this summer to hopefully serve as insurance for potential injuries during the season.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- In a poll of colleagues, NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg takes a look at how the Celtics could potentially surprise people’s reduced expectations following an offseason of change. Boston traded away former starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, let backup center Luke Kornet walk in free agency, and appears ready to do the same for Al Horford. The team is in something of a holding pattern as it awaits the return of All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum from an Achilles tear, which may not happen until 2026/27.
- Celtics center Neemias Queta, the team’s fourth-string option at the position last year, will compete for rotational minutes with new signings Luka Garza and Chris Boucher. The seven-footer, who underwent surgery to address a lingering knee issue, is hoping for a career-best showing in 2025/26, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. “I got rested enough this offseason and I think that I put myself in the best position to have a breakout season,” Queta said. “I have the tools to compete with the best.”
- Second-year Sixers big man Adem Bona is competing for his adopted homeland of Turkey in this year’s EuroBasket tournament. He moved there from Nigeria when he was 13. The 6’9″ pro spoke on Saturday about how his hoops journey began around that time, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. “I only played for a year before I left home to move to Turkey,” Bona said. “My first basketball shoes were given to me by a friend… Basketball was just something I really liked because of the pace and the tempo. So it kind of drove me to the game when I started playing for the first time. It was really amazing.”
Community Shootaround: Future Hall Of Famers
With a starry new Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class being inducted into Springfield this weekend, Zach Kram of ESPN and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic consider which current NBA players are on track for the honor down the line
This weekend, former All-NBA superstars Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are joining the Hall as first-ballot honorees.
Kram and Vorkunov both tackled the topic of who’s next by stratifying players into tiers of candidacy. Although each differed slightly on who the surefire “locks” would be, there was some overlap.
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Warriors guard Stephen Curry and forwards Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, Mavericks big man Anthony Davis and wing Klay Thompson, Rockets forward Kevin Durant, Clippers guards James Harden and Chris Paul and wing Kawhi Leonard, Lakers forward LeBron James, Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Sixers center Joel Embiid, and free agent guard Russell Westbrook are considered no-brainer picks by both parties.
There are a few other NBA players that only one of the two is convinced will be guaranteed honorees. Vorkunov is confident that Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving will earn the honor. Kram, meanwhile, believes the Hall will anoint Sixers forward Paul George, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, while Vorkunov views those players as “near” locks.
Further down on each list — beyond young guns seemingly on track to get to Springfield like Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic — both Kram and Vorkunov each look at some fringe cases. Kram limits his list to active players, while Vorkunov also examines the candidacy of a few recent retirees.
Among current “bubble” players, both agree that former All-Stars and champs Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love are in the mix for Hall of Fame berths. Kram believes DeMar DeRozan ranks among this group, while Vorkunov is more confident that the six-time All-Star is already a virtual lock.
We want to hear from you. Who do you think has punched their ticket already? Who needs to do more to make the grade? Who doesn’t deserve to be a lock? Weigh in below.
Clippers Deny Circumventing Cap For Kawhi Leonard
Clippers wing Kawhi Leonard found himself the subject of unwanted scrutiny Wednesday, when it was reported by Pablo Torre on his “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast that the six-time All-Star had inked a $28MM endorsement deal for “tree brokerage” Aspiration, a former team sponsor that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. L.A. owner Steve Ballmer invested $50MM into the company.
The 6’7″ swingman reportedly didn’t do any work for the allegedly phony tree-planting company, leading to speculation that the endorsement agreement was a route for Leonard to earn additional money on top of his NBA salary in a manner that would have helped L.A. circumvent the salary cap. Other involved celebrities, including movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr., apparently did perform actual work for Aspiration.
The NBA is now investigating the situation to determine if there was indeed any impropriety.
The Clippers initially released statements to Torre and then to The Los Angeles Times denying any wrongdoing. Now, the team has issued an extended denial, as Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) relays.
“Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap,” the Clippers’ statement reads. “The notion that Steve invested in Aspiration in order to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard is absurd. Steve invested because Aspiration’s co-founders presented themselves as committed to doing right by their customers while protecting the environment.
“After a long campaign of market manipulation, which defrauded not only Steve but numerous other investors and sports teams, Aspiration filed for bankruptcy. Its co-founder, Joseph Sanberg, recently pleaded guilty to a $243 million fraud. Neither Steve nor the Clippers had knowledge of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government initiated its investigation. Aspiration was a team sponsor for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons before defaulting on its contract.
“There is nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement deals with players on the same time. Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had any oversight of Kawhi’s independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong.”
“The Clippers take NBA compliance extremely seriously, fully respect the league’s rules, and welcome its investigation related to Aspiration. The Clippers will also continue to cooperate with law enforcement in its investigation into Aspiration’s blatantly fraudulent activity.”
Torre responded to the Clippers’ claims (via Twitter), standing by his reporting and challenging some of the language in the Clippers’ statement.
Heat Notes: Riley, EuroBasket, Fontecchio, Jovic, Ware
With Heat owner Micky Arison set to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend and team president Pat Riley among the prior honorees slated to present him, Riley reflected on his 30 years with the organization, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“Micky and I had that kind of relationship back and forth, but always positive about what we’re trying to do,” Riley said. “If he didn’t like something, he would tell me, ‘I don’t think we should go that way,’ and I wouldn’t go that way. If he said, ‘Go for it. Damn right, let’s go for it,’ we had the same mentality.
“But if you don’t take a risk — a big-three type risk [signing free agent All-Stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2010], Lamar Odom type risk or Shaquille O’Neal type risk or Jimmy Butler type risk or whatever it is — then you’re too afraid and there’s a fear of failure there,” Riley continued. “So when you make a calculated risk, he has made a lot of them with me — some of them haven’t worked, some of them have worked big time.”
With Riley running its front office, Miami has made a total of seven NBA Finals, winning three championships.
There’s more out of Miami:
- While playing for their respective national teams at EuroBasket this year, Heat role players Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson and Simone Fontecchio are all showing out in larger roles than they’ve had in Miami so far. Still, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel cautions that their production shouldn’t necessarily indicate that they’re capable of taking a leap with the Heat in 2025/26.
- There had been “strong rumbles” last month that the Heat were looking into trading Fontecchio, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link). Stein notes that this buzz happened before Miami traded Haywood Highsmith to Brooklyn. Now that the Heat find themselves below the league’s luxury tax following the Highsmith deal, there is likely little urgency to offload Fontecchio.
- With Jovic playing an outsized role for his native Serbia in EuroBasket, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald considers whether Miami would be served better by starting the young forward in the frontcourt next to Bam Adebayo over center Kel’el Ware. Jackson notes that shifting Adebayo to the four spot while starting Ware at the five last year proved statistically more effective than keeping Adebayo at center and starting Jovic.
Nets Notes: Two-Way Spots, Sharpe, Porter
Even after signing E.J. Liddell to a two-way deal on Wednesday, the Nets still have one open two-way slot to fill. C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News takes a look at three contenders for the role.
Holmes notes that 6’11” former CBA forward Fanbo Zeng, who reportedly agreed to a deal with Brooklyn in August, looks like a solid modern big man. He averaged 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game with the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association. Zeng also connected on 53% of his field goal attempts and 41% of his triple tries.
Undrafted former Alabama forward Grant Nelson underwhelmed while with the Nets’ Summer League squad, but his energetic play and diverse skill set on offense could give him an NBA-level ceiling.
Recently waived former Mavericks forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper, a first-round draft pick in 2023, is the kind of developmental project Brooklyn could explore too, Holmes adds.
There’s more out of Brooklyn:
- More details have come to light on re-signed Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe‘s new contract, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). According to Scotto, Sharpe’s agreement is actually worth $12.5MM across two seasons instead of the originally reported $12MM. It still includes as a second-year team option, as expected.
- Since being traded away from Denver earlier this summer, new Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. has been on a veritable tour of podcasts and live streams, sharing some controversial takes. Holmes opines that the 6’10” vet should consider curbing these public appearances. Porter is making $79.4MM across the last two years of his deal, and Holmes suggests that his continued appearances could affect his standing as a positive veteran influence for Brooklyn’s young roster — which includes five rookies.
- In case you missed it, the Nets remain the only NBA team with cap space available, which they could use in a variety of ways.
NBA Planning New Round-Robin All-Star Game Format
The NBA intends to implement a round-robin tournament format, with an international twist, for the 2026 All-Star game at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome home court on Feb. 15, 2026, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. The league has been nothing if not proactive in tinkering with the format of the competition in recent years, cycling through many different approaches to engage players and fans.
Sources tell Charania that this coming season’s round-robin competition is expected to involve a trio of eight-player teams: a pair of U.S.-born rosters and one squad made up of international players. They would play 12 minutes per quarter of action in a Ryder Cup-emulating setup.
The NBPA and the league received a “positive” reaction from the Competition Committee when they discussed the proposed format change on Wednesday, Charania notes. NBA executives, owners and players were all involved in talks.
For this past February’s All-Star game, the league attempted a four-team tournament format with three All-Star clubs and a fourth “rising star” team. Judging by the ratings, fans were relatively unmoved.
Rumors have abounded since the spring that the league would embrace more of an international flavor to the All-Star game’s format. The competition will be broadcast on NBC after the league’s longtime partnership with TNT ended this past season. The NBA All-Star game will take place while NBC is in the midst of airing the 2026 Olympics in Italy.
Roughly a quarter of current players were born outside the U.S., including all of the league’s Most Valuable Player winners since James Harden in 2017/18.
Central Notes: Beasley, Pistons, Cavaliers
Free agent former Pistons swingman Malik Beasley has touched back down in Detroit, reports Robert Snell of The Detroit News (subscriber link). After coughing up $38K in delinquent money owed, he has moved back into the apartment from which he was evicted last month.
According to Snell, the 6’4″ sharpshooter maintains interest in re-signing with the Pistons for the 2025/26 season. His free agency this summer has been marred by a federal gambling investigation. He is no longer considered a “target” in the probe, but he remains a possible “subject”, so he isn’t entirely in the clear.
Detroit could sign Beasley using his Non-Bird rights for as much as $7.2MM.
He enjoyed a terrific run during his inaugural season with the club, helping the Pistons notch a 44-38 record and return to the playoffs for the first time in six years.
While playing all 82 games for Detroit, mostly as a reserve, Beasley averaged 16.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.7 APG and 0.9 SPG in just 27.8 MPG. He also connected on 41.6% of his triple tries and finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- With just one open standard roster spot left to potentially fill, the Pistons‘ personnel appears to be (mostly) pretty set for 2025/26. Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscriber link) projects the club’s depth chart for the new year, including how he thinks the team will integrate new free agent wing signings Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert.
- The Cavaliers will hold their training camp at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for a second straight year, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Returning to IMG Academy is a testament to the tremendous experience we had there last year,” team president Koby Altman said. “The overall engagement, both at the Bradenton facility and throughout the community, was an invaluable part of our preparations.” The Cavs’ camp will take place from September 30 to October 5.
- In case you missed it, Bulls center Nikola Vucevic announced his retirement from offseason competitions for the Montenegrin national team.
EuroBasket Notes: Giannis, EuroLeague, FIBA, Micic
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his native Greece’s EuroBasket group play contest against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday with a sore knee, per Harris Stavrou of SPORT24 (Twitter link).
Stavrou tweets that the two-time NBA MVP’s head coach, Vassilis Spanoulis, expects Antetokounmpo to be available for Greece’s Thursday tilt against Spain — a Greek win in that contest would put the Spaniards in danger of being eliminated before the round of 16.
Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama and former NBA journeyman forward Juancho Hernangomez lead the Spanish national team this summer.
There’s more out of EuroBasket:
- The leaders of EuroLeague and FIBA chatted on the sidelines in Cyprus during EuroBasket’s ongoing group play round, according to Eurohoops.net. EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas conferred with FIBA Europe president Jorge Garbajos and secretary general Andreas Zagklis, as chatter continues about a potential European NBA league.
- Spanish team coach Sergio Scariolo called out FIBA for its the timing of its doping tests during EuroBasket, writes Michalis Gioulenoglou of Eurohoops.net. “Since it’s my last championship and I’m in a position where, after many years in FIBA national basketball, I can advise FIBA not to put doping controls on a team that is playing back-to-back games and finished playing at midnight,” Scariolo said. “This is extremely disrespectful. With so many days available, the doping control could have been scheduled earlier instead of this crazy late-night timing.”
- While playing for Serbia, former Hornets guard Vasilije Micic appeared to injured his ribs in the fourth quarter of a clash with the Czech Republic, per Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. Although the Nikola Jokic-led squad had been the heavy favorite to win EuroBasket heading into the tournament, Serbia’s backcourt has struggled with the injury bug so far. Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic has already been ruled out for the rest of the competition with a hamstring injury.
Atlantic Notes: Queta, Porzingis, Celtics, Knicks
Former Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis, who was traded to Atlanta earlier this summer, has high praise for one of his ex-teammates in Boston. In a EuroBasket group play encounter this week, Porzingis led his native Latvia to a 78-62 blowout victory over Neemias Queta‘s home country of Portugal.
Porzingis scored 21 points, grabbed nine boards, dished out three dimes, and blocked one shot. Queta, however, held his own against his former teammate, registering 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and a block. As Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews relays, Porzingis lauded Queta for his recent growth.
“Nimi has been getting better each year,” Porzingis said. “And Coach [Joe] Mazzulla has been pretty tough on him. And I believe he’s getting to a point where he deserves some real minutes, some real rotation minutes.”
Queta will likely compete with new signings Chris Boucher and Luka Garza and fellow holdover Xavier Tillman for minutes at the five spot.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- With training camp fast approaching for the new-look Celtics, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston polled a panel of colleagues about their top questions and concerns ahead of the team’s 2025/26 season. Boston will be without injured All-Star forward Jayson Tatum and former starters Porzingis and Jrue Holiday — both of whom were traded away to save money. Third-string center Luke Kornet left in free agency, while sixth man big Al Horford is still unsigned. Questions about Celtics president Brad Stevens‘ team building, Joe Mazzulla‘s ability to coach up a non-championship roster, and more popped up.
- The Knicks are hiring former L.A. Clippers director of international pro scouting Ermal Kuqo to serve as their senior director of minor league operations, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
- In case you missed it, Sixers guard Jared McCain has indicated that he expects to be available when Philadelphia’s training camp opens up later this month.