George, Miller Head Canada’s Camp Roster For AmeriCup
NBA players Kyshawn George and Leonard Miller are among the 14-man camp roster unveiled by Canada Basketball for this month’s AmeriCup in Nicaragua, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. The tournament will take place from August 22-31.
George, the 24th pick of the 2024 draft, appeared in 68 games with the Wizards last season, including 38 starts. The 6’8” forward averaged 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.5 minutes per game.
The 6’10” Miller, a 2023 second-round pick, has appeared in a combined 30 games off the bench for the Timberwolves the past two seasons.
It’s somewhat of a disappointment that Canada didn’t get a greater turnout from some of their other young NBA players such as Shaedon Sharpe and Bennedict Mathurin, Lewenberg notes, but it will provide a good opportunity for George and Miller (Twitter link). Quincy Guerrier, Kyle Wiltjer, Nate Darling, Charles Bediako and Mfiondu Kabengele are some of the other familiar names on the camp roster.
Nathaniel Mitchell has been named head coach for the AmeriCup, and will be joined by assistant coaches Ashton Smith, Shawn Swords, and Patrick Tatham, according to a Team Canada press release.
Mitchell previously served as head coach at the 2022 FIBA Men’s AmeriCup, where Canada finished fourth in Brazil. Training camp for this summer’s tournament began today in Toronto. Team Canada will hold some exhibition games in Miami prior to the tournament.
International Notes: Theis, EuroBasket, Doncic, Cancar, Nebo
Former NBA big man Daniel Theis signed with AS Monaco in February, spurning an offer from Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos. Theis apparently could have stayed in the NBA after being waived by the Thunder, Eurohoops.net relays.
“Before coming to Europe, I had an offer from the Knicks,” Theis told Euro Insiders. “Mitchell Robinson was coming back from injury. I spoke with (Tom) Thibodeau and he told me I would be insurance for them if Robinson couldn’t play. I thought, if I stay until the end of the season and don’t play, what chances will I have in the summer? So I said, ‘I’m going to Europe. If I play well, I’ll have better chances.’ Maybe I wouldn’t have come to Europe if (Monaco coach Vassilis) Spanoulis hadn’t called me. I didn’t just look at the money, but the school, the life, everything.”
Theis played for six different NBA teams and had grown weary of being on the move.
“Trades in the NBA are kind of like, ‘Thank you, but you have to go — we traded you to Chicago.’ Then you pass medicals, go back for two days to where you were to get your things and move. It’s tough,” he said. “After some years, you see the business side of the league. Sometimes it’s not that your team doesn’t want you, but another team wants you more. Or sometimes you’re part of a trade because your contract fits better somewhere else. It’s like Panini stickers — you take two, I take one. When you have a family, it’s not easy.”
Here’s more international news:
- Alex Mumbru is the current head coach of the German national team. While Germany has plenty of NBA firepower, he told Spanish news agency EFE (hat tip to Eurohoops.net) that he considers Serbia and France the favorites in this year’s EuroBasket tournament. “We have to play well, improve every day, try to play good basketball, and the team has to have chemistry. Pressure? Everyone’s trying to create it,” he said. “I think Serbia and France are the two strongest teams. We have good players, too, and we’re going to the EuroBasket to win and compete seriously. I’m sure we’ll go there with great desire.”
- Luka Doncic claimed that Vlatko Cancar and Josh Nebo were blocked from representing Slovenia by Olimpia Milano, according to Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal. “As far as I understand, the club didn’t allow them to come,” he said “In the end, the Lakers allowed it, Milan didn’t. I’d rather not get involved in it, but that should be the player’s decision. In my opinion. Those two are not at fault.” However, Aris Barkas of Eurohoops reports that an official statement released by Milan’s GM Christos Stavropoulos refuted Doncic’s claim. “Regarding some recent media reports, I would like to clarify on behalf of the club that the health of our players has always been and always will be our priority,” he said. “In the specific cases of Vlatko Cancar and Josh Nebo, I need to point out that both players are recovering from very serious injuries that severely limited their availability during the last season. In agreement with them, a procedure for their gradual return to action will be implemented to safeguard principally their health and long-term competitiveness.”
- Barkas calls EuroBasket a can’t-miss tournament due its star power, making it superior to any other international basketball event outside of the Olympics.
Central Notes: Hunter, Langdon, Buzelis
De’Andre Hunter started on a regular basis during his first five seasons in the league with the Hawks. In 64 combined games with Atlanta and the Cavaliers last season, he started just nine games in 64 games.
Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor (subscription required) argues that Cleveland should keep Hunter in a reserve role. He notes that with Ty Jerome signing with Memphis, the Cavaliers need another high-scoring sixth man and points to Hunter as the most logical candidate — he averaged 17 points in 27.2 minutes per game last season.
Hunter may be more talented than Max Strus, the other candidate to start at small forward, but Hunter is not the best stylistic fit with the starting five, Fedor opines. The Cavs beat writer also points out that Hunter has shown he’s comfortable coming off the bench, as he receives more freedom and has an expanded offensive role.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- In his second season as the Pistons’ president of basketball operations, Trajan Langdon has continued to make personnel decisions with the desire to keep his options open for future moves, Pistons.com’s Keith Langlois writes. Langdon added Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert to fortify his bench without sacrificing future flexibility and it’s likely that he’ll only reach rookie scale extensions agreements with Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren before the October deadline if the contract numbers match their on-court contributions.
- By all accounts, Matas Buzelis wants to be a special player and is doing what is necessary to reach that status, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. With contract issues surrounding Coby White and Josh Giddey, the second-year Bulls forward has become the most important player on the roster. After averaging 22.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in two Summer League contests, Buzelis has been busy in the weight room and on the court, looking to expand his game.
- Former Magic guard Cole Anthony spoke about his excitement to join the Bucks. Get the details here.
And-Ones: Dynasties, Wolves, Concern-O-Meter, Traded Picks
It may seem like the Thunder have the makings of dynasty, but ESPN’s Tim Bontemps details why it’s tougher than ever to build a dominant team. He outlines how the tax aprons make it more difficult for teams to run it back with the same core of players and that roster mistakes can haunt contenders for several years.
“You have to be right on every decision,” one Western Conference scout told Bontemps. “Now, you have to look at things in not a one-year window, but a three-year window. You literally can’t mess anything up. It puts pressure on the organization to think differently and smartly to make sure you are best-positioned to make the right decisions.”
We have more from around the league:
- Point guard Mike Conley will turn 38 before opening night and finding a suitable replacement could be difficult for the Timberwolves. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report gets creative in an effort to solve that problem, proposing a four-team trade in which Minnesota winds up with Magic guard Anthony Black.
- The Athletic’s Zach Harper provides his ratings for the ‘concern-o-meter’ regarding 10 potential red flags that have popped up around the league this offseason. Rating high on the ‘concern-o-meter’ is the demise of free agency, the moves made by the Pelicans and the continued health issues for the Sixers.
- Speaking of the Pelicans, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports takes a look at every future traded first-rounder, ranking them from least valuable to most valuable. New Orleans’ unprotected 2026 pick, which its new front office dealt to the Hawks in a draft-night trade, is considered the most valuable among those picks. The Bucks‘ 2029 pick, which could go to either the Trail Blazers or Wizards, is ranked No. 2, followed by the 2027, ’29 and ’31 first-rounders the Suns dealt away.
Celtics Sign Chris Boucher On One-Year Deal
August 10: Boucher has officially signed with the Celtics, according to a press release from the team.
August 5: The Celtics are signing free agent forward Chris Boucher on a one-year, minimum-salary contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (via Twitter).
Boston opened up a frontcourt spot for Boucher by agreeing to trade Georges Niang to Utah on Tuesday. Boucher will compete for minutes at both the power forward and center spots for the Celtics, who have been busy shedding salary and revamping their roster throughout the offseason.
Save for one cameo appearance with Golden State in 2017/18, Boucher has spent his entire career with the Raptors. Boucher has played in Toronto for the past seven seasons, winning a title in 2019 and appearing in 406 games, primarily off the bench (23 total starts).
He has averaged 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.7 minutes during his NBA career while shooting 48.8 percent overall and 33.9 percent beyond the three-point arc.
Boucher, 32, saw action in 50 games last season, averaging 10.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.2 minutes. He didn’t appear in a game after Feb. 26 as the Raptors decided to essentially shut down the veteran big man and take a long look at their younger players.
Boucher was the last remaining player from the Raptors’ championship club. He holds the all-time franchise records as a reserve for points, rebounds, blocks, minutes and games played.
Toronto held Boucher’s Bird rights and reportedly was interested in re-signing him but that didn’t come to fruition. He’ll now join an Atlantic Division rival.
As an eight-year veteran, Boucher will earn $3,287,409 on his minimum-salary deal while the Celtics carry a cap hit of $2,296,274.
Cole Anthony Excited To Play For Bucks After ‘Bittersweet’ Departure From Orlando
Cole Anthony admits he’s having difficulty adjusting to the fact that he’s a former member of the Magic.
“I’ve literally said this to several people … I still feel like I’m on the Magic a little bit,” Anthony told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.
Anthony spoke to Beede during a community appearance in Orlando. Anthony was dealt to the Grizzlies along with fellow guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and four future first-round picks in June in exchange for Desmond Bane.
His stay in Memphis was brief. He reached a buyout agreement with the Grizzlies, giving up $2MM of his $13.1MM expiring contract. He then signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal with the Bucks after clearing waivers.
“I remember that whole week, it was just crazy,” Anthony said. “I’ve been here five years, haven’t played for another team, was drafted here, so it’s something for me that definitely is bittersweet and I’m going to miss it.”
Anthony appeared in 32o regular season contests during his five seasons with Orlando. Last season, he appeared in 67 games (22 starts) and averaged 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 18.4 minutes per night.
He’ll now compete for backcourt minutes in Milwaukee.
“I look at it as a great opportunity to enter another team where they have a playoff pedigree and a championship pedigree,” Anthony said. “They’ve won a ‘chip there. I just want to get in there, contribute and do whatever I can for the team. I want to be a part of winning.”
Atlantic Notes: Russell, Murray-Boyles, Nets Assets, Grimes
D’Angelo Russell signed with the Mavericks as a free agent but he’s heaping high praise on the Nets organization. He feels his career has been extended by what he learned early in his career with Brooklyn, he told Dwyane Wade in a podcast (hat tip to Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post). In the process, he took a swipe at the Lakers organization.
“The organization of Brooklyn is different,” Russell said. “It’s unlike any other. The performance, team, coach — everything about Brooklyn is different than what you would expect. And I’ve been around the league, where I came from the Lakers, where the structure is not the same.”
Russell played 29 games with the Nets last season. He also spent two seasons with them from 2017-19 after beginning his career with the Lakers.
“I always approached the game to where I was nonchalant, and I felt like I could just wing it. They taught me how to be a professional, how to sleep, how to eat, how to recover,” Russell said.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Collin Murray-Boyles‘ personal trainer believes that the No. 9 pick of this year’s draft could turn into a Draymond Green-style defender with better offensive skills, he told Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. “He is more of the modern-day Draymond [Green],” trainer Khadijah Sessions said of the Raptors‘ rookie forward. “He is a defender, he can defend all positions, he can pass, he can set his teammates up… He’s going to be a better Draymond. He’s going to shoot better than him. He’s going to be able to score better than him. But it’s going to be over time and I think him playing behind Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram is going to bring a different monster out of him.”
- After selecting a handful of players during the first round of this year’s draft, the Nets still have plenty of draft assets remaining, including extra picks and pick swaps. Yet their best asset might be their own first-rounder next year, which they reacquired from Houston, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post (subscription required). There’s plenty of pressure on general manager Sean Marks that a majority of the players he picked this June pan out, as well as using that future draft capital wisely.
- Should restricted free agent Quentin Grimes sign his $8.7MM qualifying offer from the Sixers and become unrestricted next summer? Or will the two parties eventually find common ground on a multi-year contract before next season? Rich Hofmann and Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports take a deep dive into that subject in their latest podcast (video link).
Nets Not Making Aggressive Offers To RFA Cam Thomas
The Nets have not made an aggressive effort to sign restricted free agent Cam Thomas on a long-term deal, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Thomas, who is entering his fifth NBA season, has posted some big offensive numbers the past two seasons. He averaged 22.5 points per game in 66 outings during the 2023/24 season and 24 PPG last season. However, he only made 25 appearances in ’24/25 due to persistent hamstring issues.
Thomas is more of a scorer than a shooter and has other holes in his game, which has limited his market in sign-and-trade scenarios. In a recent story from The Athletic, 16 NBA executives were polled regarding current prominent RFAs. Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga and Quentin Grimes were considered more valuable than Thomas. Whereas 15 of the 16 respondents proposed contracts of at least three years for each of Kuminga, Giddey and Grimes, only eight did the same for Thomas.
Fischer writes that Thomas might be the most likely of those RFAs to accept his $5.9MM qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Last month, Fischer reported that Brooklyn had not offered Thomas anything further than a two-year deal with a team option worth roughly the amount of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1MM). Thomas is believed to be seeking a contract of at least $20MM annually.
Celtics Trade Georges Niang, Two Picks To Jazz
August 6: The move is now official, per the Celtics (via Twitter).
The second-rounders headed to the Jazz in the deal are either the Celtics’ or Magic’s 2027 pick (whichever is most favorable) and either the Celtics’ or Cavaliers’ 2031 pick (whichever is most favorable), per Jake Fischer (Twitter link).
August 5: The Celtics are trading Georges Niang and two future second-round picks to the Jazz for rookie RJ Luis Jr., ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.
Utah is utilizing part of the $26.6MM trade exception created in last month’s three-team trade in which Utah dealt John Collins to the Clippers, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
It’s another salary dump for the Celtics, allowing them to move well below the second tax apron.
Niang was acquired by Boston from the Hawks in the three-team Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster this offseason. The 6’7″ forward has an expiring $8.2MM contract for next season.
Niang has been on the move quite a bit this year. He began last season with Cleveland and played 51 games for the Cavaliers, all but one off the bench, before getting dealt to Atlanta in February. Niang appeared in 28 games with the Hawks, including two starts. Overall, he averaged 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.5 minutes per night last season.
Niang will provide Utah with another floor-stretching big off the bench. He’s a career 39.9% shooter on three-point tries.
It will be his second stint with the Jazz, whom he played with from 2017-21. They’re looking at him as someone who can play a rotation role and bring veteran leadership to their young core, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The two sides have spoken, according to Jones, and Niang is happy and excited to be back in Utah.
Luis, an undrafted rookie out of St. John’s, was signed to a two-way contract, so he’ll fill the Celtics’ open two-way slot. Boston reached an agreement with free agent forward Chris Boucher to take Niang’s spot on the 15-man roster.
According to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link), the Celtics shed approximately $5oMM off their luxury tax bill with the Niang trade. They’re now just $1.7MM above the first apron and $9.4MM above the luxury tax line. They also created a $8.2MM trade exception.
Pacers’ Mike Weinar Withdraws From Knicks Search For Top Assistant
Pacers assistant Mike Weinar has removed his name from consideration for the Knicks‘ top assistant position, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post tweets.
Ian Begley of SNY (Twitter link) confirms Weinar has removed withdrawn from consideration to be Mike Brown‘s offensive coordinator and lead assistant, adding that Hornets assistant Chris Jent remains a candidate for the job. New York’s interest in Jent was reported over the weekend.
Jent guided Charlotte to the Summer League title last month. Prior to arriving in Charlotte, he spent five years on the Hawks’ bench (2017-22) and two seasons with the Lakers (2022-24).
Jent served as the interim head coach for the Magic for the final 18 games of the 2004/05 season.
Weinar has spent the bulk of his NBA career working with head coach Rick Carlisle in Dallas and Indiana. Prior to his time with the Pacers, he served as an assistant for the Mavericks, having transitioned from a basketball operations role to join the coaching staff. His tenure in Dallas included the club’s 2011 title run.
According to Bondy, there were family considerations involved in Weinar’s decision.