Southwest Notes: Flagg, Hardy, Nembhard, Morant, Jackson Jr., Barnes
Cooper Flagg, point guard? At least for this week, that’s his spot. With D’Angelo Russell sitting out against Utah in the Mavericks’ preseason game on Monday, Flagg got the nod at the point in a jumbo lineup featuring P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II, Marc Stein of the Stein Line tweets.
The Mavericks staff is eager to see what the No. 1 overall pick in the draft can do in different roles. Flagg responded on Monday with 11 points. He had just one assist but no turnovers.
“When you look at what Cooper’s done here, it’s been really good,” coach Jason Kidd said, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal. “We’ve put him in different situations — running the offense, running plays, playing off the ball. There are things he has to improve. He’s not perfect yet, but being able to make plays and understand the game at a high level at 18 has been really cool to watch.”
Kidd plans to go with the same lineup against the Lakers, according to Afseth.
“You’ll probably see that group start again on Wednesday,” Kidd said.
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Kidd used Ryan Nembhard, who is signed to a two-way contract, as the first point guard off the bench ahead of Jaden Hardy, Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News notes (Twitter links). Hardy has struggled in the preseason and Kidd wants him to be more than a scorer. “I think growth has to be able to not just score the ball. We know he can do that,” the Mavericks‘ head coach said. “Can he make plays for others? Can he get us set in the offense? Being able to compete on the defensive end. He’s going to get a great opportunity in preseason to show that he has grown.” Hardy signed a three-year, $18MM extension last year which kicks in this season.
- Grizzlies stars Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. are making good progress in their rehab from injuries, head coach Tuomas Iisalo said on Tuesday, per Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “Both guys are progressing really well and are able to do significantly more than one week ago,” Iisalo said. Morant is considered week-to-week with a sprained left ankle. Jackson is recovering from turf toe surgery. Neither has seen action in the preseason.
- Expect Harrison Barnes to remain in a starting role with the Spurs, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes (subscription required). While head coach Mitch Johnson has yet to announce an opening night lineup, Barnes has not come off the bench in any game since the 2015/16 season. He enters his 14th season riding a streak of 304 consecutive games played. “I’m just trying to be out there for every game,” said Barnes, who has an expiring $19MM contract.
Hawks Waive M.J. Walker
The Hawks have waived M.J. Walker, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets.
Walker was just signed to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal on Monday.
After going undrafted in 2021, Walker has spent the past four seasons in the G League with the Westchester Knicks and the Greensboro Swarm (the Hornets’ affiliate). The 27-year-old also had a brief 10-day hardship stint with the Suns in 2021/22, playing eight NBA minutes in two appearances.
Walker can collect a bonus worth $45,000 if he spends at least 60 days with the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate. The Skyhawks acquired his returning rights from the Swarm last month.
Hornets Waive Center Ibou Badji
The Hornets have waived center Ibou Badji, the team’s PR department tweets.
Badji, who appeared in one preseason game this month, saw action in 22 NBA games during the 2023/24 season while on a two-way contract with Portland. He averaged 1.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks in 10.3 minutes per contest during his time with the Trail Blazers.
Outside of that stint in Portland, Badji has spent the rest of his professional career playing in the G League or in Spain, including most recently with La Laguna Tenerife, which competes in Spain’s top basketball league (Liga ACB). The 23-year-old headed overseas in the spring after appearing in 50 games for the Wisconsin Herd during the 2024/25 G League season.
The seven-footer from Senegal put up 6.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and an impressive 3.5 BPG in 22.4 MPG for the Herd, earning himself as spot on the NBAGL’s All-Defensive team.
The Greensboro Swarm acquired Badji’s returning rights from Wisconsin in August, which suggests the plan all along was for Badji to join Charlotte’s G League affiliate. Assuming he clears waivers, he would earn a bonus worth $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the Swarm.
Kings Exercise Third-Year Option On Devin Carter
The Kings have exercised their third-year option on guard Devin Carter, according to a team press release.
Carter’s third-year salary will carry a cap hit of $5,158,080. Sacramento had until the end of the month to exercise that option, which is for the 2026/27 season. The team’s next contract decision on Carter will come next fall, when his $7,370,896 fourth-year option for ’27/28 will have to be either picked up or turned down.
Selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Carter appeared in 36 games with the Kings during the 2024/25 season. He averaged 3.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11 minutes per game. The Providence product missed a chunk of the season after undergoing left shoulder surgery in July 2024.
Carter was reportedly included in at least one of the packages offered by the Kings in their failed attempts to acquire Jonathan Kuminga from Golden State this summer.
All of this year’s rookie scale team option decisions can be viewed here.
Sixers Sign MarJon Beauchamp, Waive Emoni Bates
The Sixers have signed MarJon Beauchamp and waived Emoni Bates, according to a team press release.
Philadelphia’s intent to sign Beauchamp was reported over the weekend. At the time, the Trail Blazers were said to be “still involved” in the process.
Beauchamp signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Portland on September 30 prior to being waived on Oct. 7, which lined him up to join the Blazers’ G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix. However, given that he officially signed with the 76ers, it’s likely the Blazers have agreed to let him join the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s affiliate. Typically, the team that has the player on its roster for more of training camp gets first dibs on making him an affiliate player.
Beauchamp, 25, was the 24th overall pick of the 2022 draft. He spent his first two-and-a-half years with the Bucks, the team that drafted him, prior to being dealt to the Clippers ahead of the February trade deadline. He finished 2024/25 on a two-way contract with the Knicks after being cut by Los Angeles.
The 6’7″ small forward has appeared in a total of 135 regular season games for the Bucks, Clippers and Knicks, averaging 4.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .430/.354/.718.
Assuming Beauchamp is waived before the season begins and joins the Blue Coats, he would be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the club.
Bates, who was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract last month, was selected with the No. 49 pick out of Eastern Michigan in 2023 by Cleveland. He played sparingly with the Cavaliers across his first two pro seasons as a two-way signing. In 26 appearances, he averaged 3.0 points and 0.8 rebounds per game.
Heat Sign Steve Settle, Waive Gabe Madsen
The Heat have signed forward Steve Settle III and waived wing Gabe Madsen, according to the team.
Miami originally agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with Settle right after he went undrafted in June. It’s now come to fruition.
Settle started in all 31 games in which he appeared last season at Temple and averaged 12.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks and 33.2 minutes per contest while shooting 47.8% from the field, 41.6% from three-point range and 73.6% from the foul line. He led the team in rebounds, blocks, minutes and three-point field goals made.
Additionally, he appeared in five Summer League games with the Heat.
Madsen re-signed with Miami last week after being waived in September. He returned on an Exhibit 9 contract and appeared in two preseason games, averaging 4.5 points and 2.0 assists in 14.5 minutes per night.
Madsen played a five-year collegiate career, beginning at Cincinnati and spending the next four years at Utah. He averaged 15.2 points per game in 2024/25 and made 36.0% of his three-point attempts over the course of his five college seasons.
Settle will likely be waived and join the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League. If he stays at least 60 days with Miami’s affiliate, he’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300.
Mavericks Give Jason Kidd Multiyear Extension
6:35pm: The Mavericks have officially confirmed Kidd’s extension (Twitter link).
“I’m grateful for the belief that (team owner Patrick Dumont and general manager Nico Harrison) have in me, and the trust we’ve built while working together to construct a team that Dallas can be proud of,” Kidd said in a statement, per Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). “We have a great group of players here who love basketball, are talented & coachable. There’s mutual respect across all departments, and Patrick and Nico set the tone for what we are trying to accomplish here.
“It’s even more special that I can continue to coach the team that drafted me, and where I was able to win a title as a player. I’m looking forward to what’s ahead & continuing to work toward bringing another championship back to Dallas.”
5:26pm: The Mavericks have signed head coach Jason Kidd to a multiyear contract extension, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reports (Twitter link).
The length of the extension has not been revealed, but Dallas made its intentions to retain Kidd clear this offseason. Stein and Jake Fischer reported in early July that the Mavericks intended to sign Kidd to an extension prior to the regular season. He also received an extension after last season.
According to The Athletic’s Christian Clark, Kidd had two years left on his deal prior to the latest extension (Twitter link).
The Knicks were interested in talking to Kidd about their head coaching vacancy this summer before they eventually hired Mike Brown. The Mavs denied the Knicks’ request to speak to their head coach.
Kidd, 52, had head coach stints with Brooklyn and Milwaukee shortly after his Hall of Fame playing career ended. He served as an assistant with the Lakers before getting the Dallas job prior to the 2021/22 season.
The Mavericks reached the conference finals in his first season and lost to Boston on the 2024 NBA Finals. The team didn’t qualify for last season’s playoffs after the controversial Luka Doncic trade and a wave of injuries during the second half of the season.
Dallas wound up hitting the lottery and selecting Cooper Flagg, who will now learn the NBA game under Kidd for several seasons to come if he serves out those extensions.
Jazz Add Bradshaw, East To Camp Roster
The Jazz have added forward Pedro Bradshaw and guard Sean East II to their camp roster, the team announced in a press release. Utah’s intention to sign Bradshaw was reported earlier on Tuesday.
Utah opened up spots on its roster by waiving Max Abmas and Cameron McGriff on Tuesday.
Bradshaw, who went undrafted out of Bellarmine University in 2021, began his career with Utah’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, as a rookie in 2021/22. He has since played for several other NBAGL teams and spent part of the 2024/25 season in Australia with the Cairns Taipans before finishing the year with the Rostock Seawolves in Germany.
A solid rebounder and shooter, the 6’7″ forward averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per game with a 40.2% three-point mark across 45 appearances for Indiana’s G League team in 2023/24. Last season for the Taipans, he registered averages of 10.7 PPG and 5.7 RPG with a .371 3PT%.
East played in 25 games (all starts) last season with the Edmonton Stingers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, averaging 23.3 points, 4.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.9 steals in 31.1 minutes per game. He also played for CSM Constanta of the Romanian Divizia A last season, seeing action in 10 games (all starts) with averages of 26.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.4 steals in 35.1 minutes per game.
East played for four different colleges in five collegiate seasons, winding up with Missouri (2022-24).
Both players will likely wind up getting waived and joining the Stars, where they can earn bonuses up to $85,300 apiece if they stay with the Jazz’s affiliate for at least 60 days.
Clippers Waive Two-Way Player Trentyn Flowers
The Clippers have waived two-way player Trentyn Flowers, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. The move is official, per the NBA’s transaction log.
Flowers accepted his two-way qualifying offer in July. Accepting the qualifying offer locked him in to an $85,300 partial guarantee.
Flowers logged just 27 total minutes in six games at the NBA level as an undrafted rookie in 2024/25, but played a more significant role in the G League. In 42 outings last season with the San Diego Clippers, L.A.’s NBAGL affiliate, he registered averages of 17.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest while connecting on 47.5% of his field goal attempts and 38.5% from distance.
Flowers spent the 2023/24 season in the NBL’s Next Stars program. He averaged 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds on .458/.421/.613 shooting in 18 games (12.7 minutes) with the Adelaide 36ers.
By waiving Flowers, the Clippers now have one open two-way spot. Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller hold the other two-way deals.
The Clippers now have 20 players in camp and don’t plan to add another, The Athletic’s Law Murray tweets. The four players who are not on guaranteed contracts could be competing for the two-way opening.
Pelicans Sign, Waive Chase Hunter, Josh Oduro
October 13: Both Hunter and Oduro have been released, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
October 9: The Pelicans have signed Chase Hunter and Josh Oduro to Exhibit 10 contracts, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets.
New Orleans’ intent to sign Hunter, an undrafted rookie guard, was reported just after this year’s draft.
Hunter had a lengthy college career with Clemson, which spanned six years from 2019-25. He was awarded a medical redshirt after a foot injury limited him to nine appearances in his freshman year, then was granted another extra year of extra eligibility due to COVID-19.
Hunter ended up appearing in 167 games across those six years, making 123 starts. As a super-senior in 2024/25, he averaged a career-best 16.5 points per game on .470/.407/.866 shooting while also contributing 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 steals in 33.5 minutes per contest. Hunter earned first-team All-ACC honors this year and left Clemson as the school’s third all-time leading scorer.
Oduro was signed and waived by the Pelicans during last season’s training camp. The 6’9” forward, who went undrafted in 2024, played four collegiate seasons at George Mason before transferring to Providence for his final year. He averaged 12.9 points and 6.6 rebounds across 148 college games (128 starts).
Oduro played 44 games last season for the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, averaging 11.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 blocks in 29.4 minutes per game.
Both players are likely to be waived and join the Squadron. They’ll be eligible for bonuses worth up to $85,300 if they stay with that club for at least 60 days.