Wizards Notes: Kuzma, Poole, Rebuilding, Van Gundy
After trading Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis, the Wizards have decided to build their future around Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Both players were part of championship teams early in their careers, and Hughes points out that they were able to learn the game from NBA legends.
It appeared Washington’s new management team might opt for a full rebuild, but the Wizards made a strong push to keep Kuzma, who signed a four-year deal worth at least $90MM. The 27-year-old forward said he received indications that the franchise wanted to re-sign him during his exit interview with chairman Ted Leonsis.
“Ted (made) an emphasis that he wanted me to be here, I knew that,” Kuzma said. “I think over my past two years here I’ve been very transparent as a person. The whole entire organization from Ted, the past regime and then the new regime, they’re very transparent people, too. I never really had much to worry about on that front. I still wanted to go through the process. I think and believe I made the right decision.”
Poole, who’s about to start the first year of the extension he signed with Golden State, feels fortunate to have entered the league on a team that had Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
“Those are the two greatest shooters of all time in my opinion, personally,” he said. “There’s just things that you learn in practice, on the road that you wouldn’t be able to learn not being in the mix. I’m thankful for that.”
There’s more on the Wizards:
- During a press conference Saturday, Poole deflected questions about the end of his relationship with the Warriors and about being punched by Draymond Green, relays Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “We’re in Washington now,” Jordan Poole told reporters. “Playing with (Kuzma) now, great duo. Being able to really flourish, expand your game. Like I said, it’s a new team with an entirely new group of guys. It’s a challenge that we’re up for. We have a new front office and a lot of people are invested. Everybody is locked in and wants to be here to start something we can have that should be special.”
- Wizards officials are focused on creating a positive culture around the team, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Sources tell Robbins that the front office won’t consider a full rebuilding project for at least two years. They re-signed Kuzma and brought in Poole and Tyus Jones to help develop first-round pick Bilal Coulibaly and give the team a strong foundation to build around. Robbins adds that the best draft class on the horizon appears to be in 2026, and the Wizards might consider bottoming out to take advantage of that, depending how the current plan works.
- If Jeff Van Gundy decides to return to coaching, there’s “some mutual interest” with the Wizards, who have openings on Wes Unseld Jr.‘s staff, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
Rockets Notes: VanVleet, Free Agency, Brooks, Thompson
Fred VanVleet was one of the biggest winners in free agency, landing a max contract to join the Rockets as their new on-court leader, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The veteran point guard said Houston officials have assured him that he won’t have to change anything about his game.
“They don’t want me to be anybody but myself,” VanVleet said. “And I know people are crazy about the number, but the league is growing every year and that number won’t be that number in a few years. So I know it’s a shock factor with the narrative that I have around me as an undrafted guy, but I’m going to work every day to make sure I prove every penny.”
VanVleet worked out this week with his new backcourt partner, Jalen Green, and he’s in Las Vegas to watch more of his young teammates in Summer League action. He’s looking forward to a fresh start after spending his first seven NBA seasons with the Raptors.
“I owed my whole NBA career to them, but I think it was just time for a change of scenery,” VanVleet said. “I’m just really excited about being with a new group and trying to lead these guys the best I can.”
There’s more on the Rockets:
- General manager Rafael Stone was looking for players with “an edge” when he went shopping with more than $60MM in cap space, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston was among the NBA’s worst defensive teams during its three years of rebuilding, so Stone was determined to find players who are willing to compete on that end of the court. In addition to VanVleet, he landed Jeff Green, Jock Landale and Aaron Holiday in free agency, along with Dillon Brooks in a five-team sign-and-trade deal that was finalized Saturday night. “First, they’re really good basketball players who have won a lot of games and not by accident,” Stone said. “We really wanted to add veteran players who still fit our timeline and knew how to win. And we think we accomplished that.”
- In an interview with Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Brooks said he’s looking forward to bringing his influence to a young team that needs to learn how to win. “I can’t wait to work with Tari (Eason),” Brooks said. “I feel like he can be a great player in this NBA — especially a great defender — and grow his game, his athleticism and everything.”
- Amen Thompson‘s Summer League debut provided more evidence that the Rockets made the right pick at No. 4, Iko adds in a separate story. Before leaving with an ankle injury, the 6’7″ point guard produced 16 points, four rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals in 28 minutes and showed he knows how to attack a defense that’s daring him to shoot from the outside.
Wolves Notes: Finch, Towns, Gobert, Edwards, Conley, Minott
Outside reviews of the Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert pairing were mostly negative, but the Timberwolves saw enough potential that they haven’t tried to break up the experiment this summer. In an interview with Chris Hine of The Star Tribune, head coach Chris Finch talks about how he will approach the upcoming season with the two big men in his starting lineup.
“I think we have to be way more definitive with our spacing around Rudy in pick and roll and KAT in the post,” Finch said. “That gives you two anchor points. Maybe in general, just a little more structured two-big spacing. Both bigs having a purpose at the same time. Then, I think we got away from KAT being in the trail spot. I think we’ve got to get him back where he’s really destructive, which is playing at the top of the floor early in the offense. That’s just off the top of my head of the things that pop out, which I feel pretty confident about being able to firm that up.”
Finch also said Anthony Edwards needs to re-establish his pick-and-roll game with Towns, who missed a major portion of last season with a calf injury. Finch believes Edwards and Gobert developed good chemistry together, and he wants to see that same decisiveness when Edwards is running the pick and roll with Towns.
There’s more on the Timberwolves:
- In the same interview, Finch said Mike Conley was able to upgrade the offense after being acquired in February, and he hopes to see even more progress this season. “I think the single biggest thing he can do for us that we weren’t able to maximize or figure out is to be that connective bridge between Ant, Rudy and KAT,” Finch said. “Make all the right plays and all the little plays that you don’t see, and help talk everybody through all these situations. He’s not wired to want to score all the time.”
- Edwards will face a new level of pressure in the wake of his max extension, including the expectation of bringing an NBA title to Minnesota, observes La Velle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune. The deal also signifies that Edwards has replaced Towns as the face of the franchise, Neal adds.
- After appearing in just 15 games as a rookie, Josh Minott is approaching Summer League in hopes of showing the Wolves he can handle a larger role, Hine adds in another Star Tribune story.“It’s just another opportunity to show the jump I’ve made, to show the work that I’ve been putting in over the summer,” Minott said. “Anybody can watch a workout, but I feel like it’s environments like this, environments like Summer League, where you see how much the work has translated and just how much you’ve gotten better.”
Northwest Notes: Henderson, Wallace, George, Juzang
After suffering a shoulder injury in his Summer League debut, Trail Blazers rookie Scoot Henderson will sit out Sunday’s game, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT. Although he will miss a marquee matchup with Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, Henderson is listed as day-to-day and still may return before the end of Summer League.
The dynamic guard told Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian that he strained his shoulder on a dunk attempt in Friday’s game against the Rockets. Overall, he was satisfied with his first performance against NBA players, which included 15 points, six assists and five rebounds in 21 minutes.
“I think I played pretty smooth,” Henderson said. “I know there are areas I definitely need to improve on. Just little things in my game where I think I can really perfect and master.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder got to see their two draft picks in action for the first time on Saturday, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Cason Wallace wasn’t able to play in the Salt Lake City Summer League because his draft-night trade from the Mavericks hadn’t been processed, and Keyontae Johnson was sidelined with a strained hamstring. Both played well in a win over Dallas, and Wallace particularly impressed his teammates with a 20-point outing. “Great defender, great all-around player,” Chet Holmgren said. “I think he’s gonna fit in well with the other guys we have on this team. Great character, great kid, too. I’m glad we drafted him. It’s a good spot for him.”
- Jazz guard Keyonte George is one of the early stars in Las Vegas with 33 points and 10 assists in his debut, per Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. The rookie out of Baylor has a lock screen on his phone with a graphic listing the concerns that scouts had about him as an NBA prospect. “I wake up every morning with this on my phone,” he said. “Each time I’m going into a game or I’m going into workout, that’s my main focus, each and every day, each and every game. Let’s take care of all this — take good shots, even if they’re not falling, just make sure we take great shots, play with the basketball … and that’s what I feel like I did tonight.”
- The Jazz have withdrawn their qualifying offer to Johnny Juzang, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to RealGM’s transactions log.
John Wall Schedules Private Workout In Hopes Of NBA Comeback
John Wall will hold a private workout for several teams Sunday in Las Vegas, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT.
The 32-year-old point guard attempted a comeback with the Clippers last season after the Rockets elected to hold him out for all of 2021/22. However, he appeared in just 34 games, averaging 11.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per night, before being traded back to Houston at the deadline. The Rockets waived him three days later, and he has remained out of the league.
Wall was a five-time All-Star with the Wizards before Achilles and left heel injuries derailed his career. He hasn’t played in more than 41 games since the 2016/17 season, but he hopes to show teams that he’s still worthy of an NBA contract.
Former first-round picks Dion Waiters and Harry Giles III are also planning workouts in Las Vegas, Haynes adds (Twitter link). They’ll hold separate sessions on Monday for interested teams.
Waiters, 31, has been out of the NBA since the 2019/20 season, when he played 10 combined games for the Heat and Lakers. He attended a mini-camp with the Mavericks last summer, but wasn’t able to land a job.
Giles, 25, has been plagued by knee injuries since he was in high school. His last NBA action came with the Trail Blazers during the 2020/21 season, but he also spent time with the G League’s Agua Caliente Clippers before an injury ended his season in January of 2022.
Mavericks Sign Dereck Lively II To Rookie Contract
Dereck Lively II has inked his rookie scale contract with the Mavericks, the team announced along with a video of the signing.
As the 12th pick in this year’s draft, Lively is eligible to receive $4,775,640 in his first season and can make $22,282,690 over the four-year contract, as our breakdown of rookie scale salaries shows.
The Duke center took advantage of a strong showing during the pre-draft process to rise up draft boards. Dallas had considered taking him at No. 10, but was able to trade down two spots and still get its preferred selection.
That trade sent Davis Bertans into Oklahoma City’s cap room, so it couldn’t be completed until after the July moratorium, which likely delayed Lively’s signing by a few days.
Lively was one of the top recruits out of high school last year, but injuries slowed him down during his lone season at Duke. He earned spots on the ACC’s All-Freshman and All-Defensive teams while averaging 5.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in 32 games.
Dallas’ No. 24 overall pick, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, is one of three first-rounders who have yet to officially sign their rookie contracts.
Second-Round Pick Leonard Miller Signs With Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have reached a four-year deal with second-round pick Leonard Miller that contains a full guarantee on the first two seasons and a partial guarantee beyond that, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Wolfson doesn’t provide dollar amounts for the contract, but the signing is also confirmed by NBA.com’s transactions page.
Miller was selected by the Spurs with the 33rd pick in last month’s draft before being traded to Minnesota for future draft assets. He was considered a potential first-round selection after a strong performance with G League Ignite.
The Wolves’ signings of Shake Milton and Troy Brown are also official, according to the transactions log. Minnesota used portions of its mid-level exception to add both players.
Milton, who spent his first five NBA seasons with the Sixers, reportedly received a two-year, $10MM contract, while Brown, a part-time starter with the Lakers last season, will get $8MM over two years with a team option on the final year.
The re-signing of shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is being paid $9MM for two years, still isn’t official.
NBA Reveals Dates, Groups For In-Season Tournament
The NBA has announced the five-team groups that will used for the league’s first-ever in-season tournament, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The unveiling took place Saturday during a special episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today” held at “NBA Con” in Las Vegas.
The groups were determined in a draw similar to what is used in soccer’s World Cup. There are six groups — three each from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference — and each conference was split into five pots based on last season’s standings. One team was randomly selected from each of the pots to determine the opening-round matchups.
The results are:
- Group 1: Sixers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pacers and Pistons.
- Group 2: Bucks, Knicks, Heat, Wizards and Hornets.
- Group 3: Celtics, Nets, Raptors, Bulls and Magic.
- Group 4: Grizzlies, Suns, Lakers, Jazz and Trail Blazers.
- Group 5: Nuggets, Clippers, Pelicans, Mavericks and Rockets.
- Group 6: Kings, Warriors, Timberwolves, Thunder and Spurs.
The tournament will start with group play, which will match each team with the other four in its grouping. Those games will take place on Nov. 3, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24 and 28.
The winner of each group will advance to a knockout round, joined by the team with the best record in each conference among those who didn’t win a group. Quarterfinal games will be played Dec. 4 and 5, hosted by the higher-seeded teams. The four winners in that round will move on to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the Dec. 7 semifinals and the Dec. 9 championship game.
Bontemps points out that all teams will play within their conference until the last game, which guarantees an East vs. West matchup, just like the NBA Finals.
“Everybody’s not going to buy in right away,” admitted Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations. “So that can’t be the goal that everybody’s going to buy in from day one. These things take time. And I think, as time goes on, I think you can build this up and people can really get into it.”
The championship trophy will be called the NBA Cup, and players will receive $500K each for winning it. Other prize money includes $200K for second place, $100K for losing in the semifinals and $50K for losing in the quarterfinals. The league opted not to provide other incentives, such as a guaranteed playoff spot, for the tournament winner.
We passed along more details on the in-season tournament right here.
Spurs Sign Gregg Popovich To New Five-Year Contract
Gregg Popovich has signed a five-year contract to remain head coach of the Spurs, the team announced (via Twitter).
The new deal is worth $80MM, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, surpassing the record six-year, $78MM deal that Monty Williams got from the Pistons last month.
Popovich also serves as San Antonio’s president of basketball operations, and Wojnarowski notes that the contract doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be the team’s head coach for the next five seasons (Twitter link).
At 74, Popovich is already the oldest coach in NBA history, and the new deal will keep him on the sidelines until nearly his 80th birthday if he coaches through its entirety. It also ensures that he will have ample time to develop Victor Wembanyama, who is expected to be San Antonio’s next franchise player.
Popovich’s most recent contract expired at the end of last season, but the Spurs have been operating under the assumption that he was coming back. That became a near certainty after the team landed the top spot in the lottery and the chance to draft Wembanyama.
Popovich first joined the Spurs in 1988 as the lead assistant to Larry Brown. He left for the Warriors for a couple of seasons in the early 1990s, but returned to San Antonio in 1994 as general manager and vice president of basketball operations.
Early in the 1996-97 season, Popovich named himself head coach, a position he has held ever since. He has the most coaching victories in NBA history with 1,364 and has guided the Spurs to all five NBA titles in franchise history. He has also been named Coach of the Year three times and has served as head coach in four All-Star games.
Popovich has been active in international competitions as well, leading Team USA to the gold medal in the most recent Olympics.
Cavaliers Notes: Mitchell, Roster Moves, Garland, Bates
Friday marked the first day the Cavaliers were permitted to submit an extension offer to Donovan Mitchell, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The All-Star guard has two years left on his current contract, along with a $37MM player option for 2025/26. President of basketball operations Koby Altman hopes to iron out a long-term agreement this summer and shut down rumors that the New York native has an eye on eventually joining the Knicks in free agency.
Altman said the front office will have “internal discussions” about the details of an extension that he hopes will appeal to Mitchell. He added that keeping a competitive roster around Mitchell is the best way to make him want to stay in Cleveland.
“He’s really, really happy here and he’ll tell you that,” Altman said. “All I can go off is Donovan’s actions and his intentions. He’s with us in Vegas right now. He’s super excited about the future. He’ll be at the game tonight. He’s been in Cleveland multiple times this offseason already. He’s worked out with guys, he’s bringing guys with him wherever he is. All you can go off are those actions and how genuine he talks about his experience in Cleveland. I think he sees the runway of the players around him and the youth around him. All I can go off is his actions and his intentions and they’ve all been really genuine.”
There’s more on the Cavaliers:
- Altman told reporters that Mitchell helped with recruiting during free agency, Fedor relays. Cleveland was able to re-sign Caris LeVert, bring in Max Strus in a sign-and-trade and add Georges Niang and Ty Jerome, even though Fedor notes that they all had other options. “This is the team they wanted to come to,” Altman said. “They saw the fit. They saw the upside. They think that we can go a long way.”
- Altman pledged to keep the core of last year’s team together and dismissed speculation that he was considering offers for Darius Garland, calling it “the most crazy rumor you’ve ever heard in your life,” Fedor adds.
- The Cavs are hoping for gradual progress from second-round pick Emoni Bates, Fedor states in a separate Cleveland.com story. Bates, who was once considered the top high school prospect in the nation, is hoping to re-establish himself after struggling through two collegiate seasons. “There’s no expectation here,” Altman said. “Don’t have to come in here and shock the world. Really learn from this group and have fun again. If he blossoms into a rotational player down the road that can really help us space the floor and shoot, which I think is one of his best traits, that’d be great. But no expectation for him and certainly have patience and let him grow.”