Arbitration Hearing For Timberwolves’ Ownership Dispute Slated For November
The Timberwolves’ ownership dispute will stretch into next season. An arbitration hearing that would essentially settle the dispute between minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez and principal owner Glen Taylor will begin early November, Nick Williams of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
The dispute has been ongoing since the tail end of the regular season. Taylor nixed the previous tiered payment agreement with Lore and Rodriguez, citing a breach of contract. Lore and Rodriguez disputed that characterization, stating that they had the funds necessary to become majority owners but were awaiting NBA approval and should have been entitled to an extension.
The third payment in dispute would increase Lore and Rodriguez’ share from 36% to about 80% and the purchase agreement stipulates that they could buy out Taylor’s remaining 20% stake anytime before March 2025.
The arbitration hearing will last approximately one week, with the ruling from a three-member arbitration panel coming within 30 days, Williams adds. A mediation hearing on May 1 failed to resolve the dispute, automatically moving the issue to arbitration.
If the arbitration panel rules in Taylor’s favor, he’ll retain majority ownership. The panel could also rule Lore and Rodriguez qualified for a 90-day extension, and Taylor must sell them the team or pay monetary damages.
Rockets Sign Jack McVeigh To Two-Way Contract
JULY 25: McVeigh’s two-way contract with the Rockets is now official, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
JULY 15: Australian forward Jack McVeigh has agreed to a two-way deal with the Rockets, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc reports.
The 6’8” McVeigh, 28, is coming off the best season of his professional career with the Tasmania JackJumpers. He led them to the 2024 NBL Championship and earned Championship Series MVP honors. Over the 2023/24 NBL season, McVeigh averaged 16.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for the JackJumpers, shooting 52.5% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc.
McVeigh is a member of the 12-man Australian Boomers team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He had nine points in Australia’s exhibition loss to Team USA on Monday.
McVeigh spent four seasons at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before beginning his professional career in the NBL.
Rockets big man Jock Landale is also on the Australian national team.
The Rockets had one opening for another two-way player. Jeenathan Williams and N’Faly Dante hold the other two-way deals.
Anthony Gill Re-Signs With Wizards
1:58pm: While we don’t yet know the terms of the contract, Gill has officially re-signed with the Wizards, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
10:25am: Free agent forward Anthony Gill is re-signing with the Wizards, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets.
Gill, 31, has played the last four seasons with Washington. Last season, he appeared in 50 games (three starts) and averaged 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per contest.
Gill reached double figures in points in six of the last 11 games of the season when he saw regular playing time on a depleted roster. His two-year, veteran’s-minimum deal expired at the end of the season.
He’ll add depth, experience and leadership to a mostly young roster. No details of the agreement have been reported but the addition of Gill would give the Wizards 19 players on their training camp roster, including 17 on standard contracts. Two of those players on standard deals (Eugene Omoruyi and Jared Butler) have non-guaranteed salaries.
Over his four-year career, Gill has averaged 3.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game across 179 outings.
Gill had reportedly drawn interest from multiple European teams, including Barcelona and Anadolu Efes, but preferred to remain in the NBA. Gill started his professional career in Europe, having played for Russian club Khimki from 2017-20 after going undrafted out of Virginia.
International Notes: Vezenkov, Anderson, Gillespie, Brazdeikis, Jokubaitis, Moneke
Sasha Vezenkov is thrilled to be back in Europe, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net writes. He signed a five-year contract with Olympiacos after getting waived by the Raptors.
“The goal is to reach the top. With a few words and a lot of work. I am happy to be back with all of you, to rejoin my old teammates and the new players,” Vezenkov said in a press conference.
The Greek team is equally as excited to have Vezenkov back in the fold. “Vezenkov is the best player in Europe. He went to the NBA as the best player in Europe. He has won and will continue winning championships with Olympiacos for the next five years,” team co-owner Panagiotis Angelopoulos said.
Vezenkov was so eager to return that he reportedly gave up his entire $6,658,536 NBA salary for 2024/25 in a buyout agreement with Toronto. According to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops, the forward’s new deal with Olympiacos is worth 18.5 million Euros across five years, post-taxes.
We have more international news:
- Former NBA wing Justin Anderson has joined FC Barcelona on a one-year deal, Sportando relays. Anderson played last season for Valencia Basket. Anderson appeared in 242 NBA games after being a 2015 first-round pick, most recently with Cleveland and Indiana during the 2021/22 season.
- Freddie Gillespie has signed a one-year deal with the New Zealand Breakers, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc tweets. The American forward last played for KK Crvena Zvesda. He appeared in 29 games for Toronto and Orlando from 2020-22.
- Forward Ignas Brazdeikis is returning to Zalgiris Kaunas, according to a press release. The University of Michigan product appeared in 64 NBA games, mostly with Orlando, from 2019-22.
- Rokas Jokubaitis has officially signed his three-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to a team press release. His former team, Barcelona, announced this week that it has officially parted ways with him. Jokubaitis played for the Knicks during the Summer League and his NBA rights continue to be held by New York.
- After a report surfaced this week claiming that he had agreed to sign with Partisan Belgrade, former NBA big man Chima Moneke declared on his social media account (Twitter link) that he is committed to playing for Baskonia next season. “I genuinely don’t know who is making up all these rumors but they’re getting tiring. I’m a Baskonia player and I’m really excited for this season,” he wrote. Moneke appeared in two games with Sacramento in 2022/23.
Rockets’ Tari Eason Discusses Leg Injury, Rehab
Following a solid rookie season, Tari Eason fell victim to the injury bug last season. Eason appeared in just 22 games, none after January 1st.
The Rockets forward underwent surgery to treat a benign growth on his lower leg, with the procedure involving “excising and bone grafting the lesion along with inserting an intramedullary rod in his tibia to help accelerate healing.”
Eason told The Athletic’s Kelly Iko it was all a new experience for him.
“It was a trying time,” Eason said. “I’ve never really dealt with a major injury or anything that has kept me out of basketball for a long period of time. It was tough on me mentally, but I had the right people in my corner, giving me good, positive energy and praying. That helped me stay grounded through the process.”
Indeed, Eason appeared in all 82 games in his rookie campaign, averaging 9.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 21.5 minutes per night. The rehab process has been arduous but he’s confident he’ll be ready to reestablish himself in training camp.
“I feel good. I feel like I’m close to 100 percent. You’ve seen me jumping, running, dunking,” he said. “I feel pretty normal, to be honest. It’s really about getting all the movements back to where they were.”
Eason was the 17th pick of the 2022 draft and projects as a key reserve on the much-improved Rockets. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason.
Here’s more from his interview with Iko:
- Eason said he felt soreness in his shin before the season began: “I’d say right before training camp in the Bahamas during the team trip. Working out, I would notice that my shin would be really, really sore. I thought that was maybe through lack of treatment or stretching, things like that. I put more time in the training room and just ignored it. But definitely around training camp, because every time I jumped, I was in pain.”
- The injury took a mental toll on him: “It was weird going to games and not suiting up, wearing regular clothes. It was sad. There was a point where I really was sad, a low point. I didn’t know what was going to happen, I didn’t know what the solution was. That thought of not knowing is uncomfortable.”
- On how he views next season: “I don’t have too many words on that. I’m going to let my game do the talking. A lot of stuff has been said, a lot of ways people view me, I hear it all. But I’m not here to prove anything.”
Olympic Notes: Murray, Schroder, Rankings
There’s been a lot of speculation regarding Jamal Murray‘s spotty minutes for Team Canada, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.
After attending to a personal matter, Murray didn’t dress for Canada’s game against France and played just seven minutes against Puerto Rico. It’s anticipated he’ll play about twice as much during Canada’s scrimmage against Brazil on Wednesday.
The slow ramp-up has led to rumors that Murray is dealing with an injury or that some other factor is limiting his participation. Team Canada achieved a World Cup bronze last summer without Murray, so it remains to be seen how he’ll impact this year’s squad.
- While LeBron James has been named a flag bearer for the United States and Giannis Antetokounmpo will carry the Greek flag, another NBA player will have that honor for Germany. Dennis Schröder and Anna-Maria Wagner (judo) will carry the German flag during the opening ceremonies on Friday in Paris, according to a tweet from the German Olympic Committee.
- It’s no surprise that Team USA and Team Canada are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt’s Olympic men’s basketball power rankings. France, Germany and Serbia round out the top five in the 12-team event.
- In case you missed it, Team USA coach Steve Kerr said there are no plans to replace Kevin Durant on the roster. Durant didn’t play in any exhibition games due to a calf strain.
Heat Notes: Summer League, Christoper, Larsson, Ware
The Heat won the Las Vegas Summer League championship with a dramatic 120-118 overtime victory over the Grizzlies on Monday. The Heat won all six of their games in Vegas, plus the last two in the California Classic. Second-rounder Pelle Larsson made the game-winning shot.
“By the end of this (Monday), a lot of us coaches, we were really hoping that it wouldn’t be over,” Summer League coach Dan Bisaccio said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “Obviously, yes the priority is we want to win the championship. But at the same time, this journey that we were on with this group was amazing. It was something truly special.
“I understand this is summer league. But the fact that these guys came together as a group like that, they kind of put aside their individual goals for the better of the team. I just think that speaks volumes to who they are and what their character is.”
We have more on the Heat:
- The team has 14 players on standard contracts and don’t plan to add a 15th player until later in the regular season due to tax apron concerns. They also have all three two-way slots filled. Those two-way spots could change — they don’t count against the cap — in the aftermath of Summer League performances. Josh Christopher, Caleb Daniels, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams — all of whom are free agents at the moment — made compelling cases to receive a two-way deal or at least a training camp invite, according to Chiang.
- Speaking of Christopher, he was named Most Valuable Player of the championship game, Chiang tweets. The former first-round pick scored a team-high 24 points, including six 3-pointers. He also added four rebounds, one assist, three steals and two blocks. “I think this Heat culture thing just brought the best out of me. I don’t think I’ve had a series of games better than this in my life, honestly,” Christopher said.
- Larsson signed a three-year contract prior to summer competition and impressed the coaches in a number of ways, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He’s a tireless worker,” Bisaccio said. “He’s a great leader on the floor and he’s just got a really good disposition and he’s a man of a craft, is the word I’m looking for. Behind the scenes, he’s always trying to work on his shot. He’s always trying to find that new angle that he can give you, that extra detail on a pick and roll.”
- First-round pick Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez and Keshad Johnson earned A grades on Winderman’s Summer League report card.
International Notes: Jokubaitis, Hall, Harper
Rokas Jokubaitis has a clear path to sign with Maccabi Tel Aviv now that his former team, Barcelona, has announced that it has officially parted ways with him.
Jokubaitis played for the Knicks during the Summer League and is reportedly in “advanced talks” with the Israeli team. According to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (Twitter link), Maccabi is very likely Jokubaitis’ destination.
The Lithuanian point guard spent the past three years with Barcelona, where he averaged 5.3 points and 2.8 assists per game last season.
Jokubaitis appeared in five games for New York in Las Vegas, averaging 9.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 19.1 minutes per contest.
We have more international news:
- Former NBA forward Donta Hall has signed a two-year deal with Spain’s Baskonia, according to a press release from the club. The American big man most recently played for Monaco. He averaged 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 13.4 minutes over 38 games in EuroLeague action last season. Hall has made 22 NBA regular season appearances with Detroit, Brooklyn and Orlando.
- Former NBA point guard Jared Harper has signed a two-year contract with Hapoel Jerusalem, according to a team press release. Harper, who went undrafted in 2019 and made a total of 16 appearances for the Suns, Knicks and Pelicans, has played for Valencia in the EuroLeague for the past two years. In 53 EuroLeague appearances, he averaged 9.3 points and 3.0 assists in 17 minutes per game.
- In case you missed it, Mavericks second-round pick Melvin Ajinca will play for France’s ASVEL Basket next season.
New York Notes: Johnson, Barrett, Kolek, Payne, Achiuwa
Now that Mikal Bridges has been dealt, which Nets player currently has the most trade value? Cameron Johnson could fit that description, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Johnson is entering the second year of a four-year, $94.5MM contract. Johnson averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game last season, despite battling numerous injuries. He’s a career 39.2% 3-point shooter and has good size for a wing.
The Kings, Magic and Lakers are among the teams who may have interest in the Nets sharpshooter, Lewis adds.
We have more from the New York teams:
- The Nets have hired Andre Barrett as a scout, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto tweets. Barrett worked four years for the league after a playing career in the NBA and a few foreign stops. He had been the scouting director for the now-defunct G League Ignite.
- Second-round pick Tyler Kolek is eager to learn from Knicks starting point guard Jalen Brunson, the rookie out of Marquette told The Athletic’s Fred Katz. “It’s just playing under control, picking angles, getting to the line,” Kolek said. “That’s a really big thing. (Brunson) does a great job at getting to the line. I really gotta learn that. In the NBA, it’s so different. … You can over-exaggerate things, just little tricks of the trade you can pick up from older guys.” Kolek averaged 9.6 points and 7.0 assists in 27.2 minutes per contest for the Knicks’ Summer League team.
- Despite the free agent addition of Cameron Payne, Kolek is currently viewed as the backup point guard ahead of Payne, according to Ian Begley of SNY TV. However, unless coach Tom Thibodeau goes with a 10-man rotation, Kolek may not get regular minutes. Miles McBride still projects to be in the rotation with Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart also coming off the bench.
- The main backup big for the Knicks is still a question mark but they remain in regular contact with one of their free agents, Precious Achiuwa, Begley writes. However, Achiuwa has drawn interest from several other teams.
Pelicans Sign Antonio Reeves To Three-Year Deal
JULY 23: Reeves’ deal is official, according to the NBA’s transaction log.
JULY 22: The Pelicans and second-round pick Antonio Reeves have agreed on a three-year, $5.41MM contract, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. The third year is a team option.
New Orleans likely used the second-round pick exception to sign Reeves at the minimum-salary level. A three-year rookie minimum deal this season is worth $5,408,801.
Reeves averaged 11.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game in five appearances for the Pelicans’ Summer League team in Las Vegas.
Reeves was the No. 47 overall pick and was dealt by Orlando to New Orleans in a draft-night trade. The Magic acquired second-round pick swaps in 2030 and 2031 in the deal.
Adding Reeves puts the Pelicans at 14 standard contracts if Matt Ryan, whose deal becomes guaranteed on opening night, is included in that total, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune tweets.
A Chicago native who spent his first three college seasons at Illinois State, Reeves transferred to Kentucky in 2022 and spent his final two seasons with the Wildcats.
Reeves could emerge as an offensive spark-plug. The 6’4″ guard had a very efficient offensive season in 2023/24, averaging 20.2 points and 4.2 rebounds on .512/.447/.863 shooting in 33 games (31.4 MPG).