Bilal Coulibaly Expected To Miss 6-8 Weeks
It was recently announced that Wizards‘ wing Bilal Coulibaly underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb that he suffered during his time with the French national team competing at EuroBasket. Grant Afseth of RG has now provided an update on the timeline of Coulibaly’s recovery process.
According to Afseth, the 21-year-old is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks, which means he’ll likely be sidelined for at least the first week of the season, which tips off on October 21. Afseth notes that even if Coulibaly were to get back to full health on the earlier side of that timeline, he would still have to undergo a full return-to-competition ramp-up.
“Usually, you’re not touching a basketball, unless it’s just to do off-hand work, until that six-week mark,” a source told Afseth. “Then he’d have to do contact work before playing.”
Coulibaly averaged 12.3 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game for the Wizards last season before missing the final 23 games of the season with a hamstring injury. He saw his three-point shooting numbers drop from 34.6% as a rookie to 28.1% as a sophomore while shouldering a larger offensive workload.
Afseth notes that once Coulibaly returns, he’s expected to resume his place as a key member of the Wizards’ rebuild. A strong defender and open-court player, he projects to fit well alongside 2025 first-round pick Tre Johnson on the wing.
Afseth notes that Coulibaly’s teammate on both the French national team and Wizards, Alex Sarr, was also injured in competition, suffering a calf injury that caused him to pull out of the tournament.
EuroBasket Standouts For NBA Teams To Monitor
The 2025 EuroBasket tournament has officially concluded, with Germany taking home the gold medal after defeating Turkey 88-83. Soon, the NBA players involved in the competition will rejoin their teams as they gear up for training camp, while EuroLeague players get ready for the September 30 season tip-off.
While the competition was a great way for teammates like Franz Wagner and Tristan Da Silva of the Magic to further build chemistry and for international stars like Dennis Schröder and Giannis Antetokounmpo to continue to shape their FIBA legacies, it was also a chance for less-heralded players to gain the eye of NBA executives and scouts, write Cyro Asseo and Sam Yip of HoopsHype.
Asseo and Yip break down eight players who proved during competition that they are worth NBA teams’ attention. They start with Isaac Bonga, who was named MVP of the EuroBasket Final after scoring 20 points and making 4-of-4 three-pointers.
Bonga played four seasons in the NBA from 2018-22, and averaged 3.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 13.1 minutes per night. Since leaving the league, the 6’8″ forward has become one of Europe’s premier defenders while shooting over 37% from three each of the last three seasons.
Asseo and Yip referred to him as “by far the best defender in this year’s Eurobasket” and “perhaps the best perimeter defender outside the NBA.” Bonga, who signed an extension with Partizan Belgrade that runs through 2026/27, is only 25 years old.
Next, HoopsHype’s duo turned to Bonga’s German teammate Oscar Da Silva, brother of Tristan, whom they describe as a 6’9″ versatile defender capable of doing the dirty work that NBA teams value. However, Da Silva’s contract with Bayern Munich extends through 2027 and doesn’t contain a buyout clause.
Finnish high school phenom Miika Muurinen was one of the breakout stars of the tournament, catapulting to international acclaim with high-flying dunks and an intriguing shooting stroke. Asseo and Yip write that Muurinen plans to choose a college sometime this winter and that he is expected to be a high-level prospect in the 2027 draft class.
Tyler Dorsey, a strong shooter and capable ball-handler who helped Antetokounmpo lead Greece to the bronze medal, has been in and out of the NBA since 2017, most recently playing three games with the Mavericks during the 2022/23 season. HoopsHype’s writers say they wouldn’t be shocked if the Bucks moved to bring him in alongside the star forward he has already shown he can succeed alongside.
Andreas Obst, Sylvain Francisco, Mikael Jantunen, and Ercan Osmani are names fans may be less familiar with, but all gave good reason for NBA teams to be intrigued if they decide to bring a player in from overseas.
Obst is considered perhaps the best shooter outside of the United States, Asseo and Yip write, as evidenced by his 43.8% three-point mark over his eight games. At only 6’3″, he may struggle with NBA defensive assignments, but could carve out a role as a shooting specialist.
Francisco has flirted with the NBA, but has never been able to make the leap. However, the writers note that the French guard, who went to high school in Florida, has the same agent that represents European NBA players such as Nikola Jovic and Nikola Topic, while also holding a buyout clause for 2026.
Jantunen had a strong performance for Finland, displaying a high-level shooting stroke for a 6’8″ 25-year-old. He shot 44.1% from three and 91.7% from the free throw line while scoring 12 points per game. Jantunen played two years for the Utes in college.
Finally, the seven-foot Osmani displayed a real ability to stretch the floor, knocking down 56.7% of his threes and submnitting a 28-point performance against Greece that saw the Turkish big man hit six shots from beyond the arc.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Calls EuroBasket Medal His ‘Greatest Accomplishment’
Giannis Antetokounmpo has achieved almost every NBA accolade possible with the Bucks: an NBA championship, Finals MVP, regular season MVP (twice), Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and All-Star MVP. However, he believes that leading the Greek national team to its first international medal since 2009 could be his greatest feat as an athlete, as FIBA.com relays.
Greece won the bronze medal by defeating Lauri Markkanen and the Finnish team 92-89. Antetokounmpo amassed 30 points, 17 rebounds, six assists, and two steals while shooting 9-11 from the field and 12-16 from the free throw line. Markannen, for his part, had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
“This is probably the greatest accomplishment I have ever accomplished as an athlete,” Antetokounmpo said after the game.
He went on to clarify the meaning of what might seem to some an unusual claim, and to ensure fans in Wisconsin don’t take his words the wrong way.
“This is not better than the championship I won with the Bucks. Winning a championship for an NBA club is a huge accomplishment and Milwaukee is a great city. But it is 500 or 600 thousand people,” he said. “But when you are able to make 12 million Greeks happy, and you are able to inspire the next generation – like (the 2005 EuroBasket winners) inspired us from the previous generation in 1987 that inspired them. This is the biggest thing ever.”
Antetokounmpo believes there’s something special about international competition, saying that every time he plays with the national team, he falls in love with the game more, a feeling likely aided by the fact that he was able to achieve this success while playing alongside two of his brothers, Kostas Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo. He’s hoping that by seeing his and the team’s success, more young players will be inspired to chase that feeling.
“There’s a kid right now watching this on TV who is going to be very very happy that maybe one day that he can win a medal with the national team,” Antetokounmpo said.
Nuggets Sign Moses Brown
September 14: Brown’s deal with the Nuggets is official, per RealGM’s transactions log.
September 12: The Nuggets have agreed to a deal with Moses Brown, reports Michael Scotto for HoopsHype (via Twitter).
The terms of the contract were undisclosed, but it is expected to be an Exhibit 10 training camp deal, given that the Grand Rapids Gold – Denver’s G League affiliate – recently acquired Brown’s returning rights in a three-team trade.
Brown has played six years in the NBA and holds career averages of 5.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks in 11.7 minutes per night.
He spent the majority of last season with the Westchester Knicks, averaging 17.9 points and 15.7 rebounds per game across 35 G League outings. He also played four games for the Mavericks, with whom he averaged 11.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 18.3 minutes per contest.
The Nuggets added Jonas Valanciunas this summer, as well as getting sophomore big man DaRon Holmes II back from the Achilles tear that caused him to miss his rookie season. They currently have one spot available on their projected 15-man regular season roster, but may not fill it right away due to their proximity to the luxury tax line.
How Giddey Contract Impacts Bulls’ Financial Outlook
Josh Giddey and the Bulls recently came to terms on a four-year, $100MM free agent contract, putting an end to one of the summer’s longest-running negotiations. In the wake of that deal, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (subscriber link) broke down how it will impact Chicago’s financial future.
In the short term, the Bulls still have their $14.1MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception available, but with no unrestricted free agents left on the board who would warrant such a deal, Gozlan speculates that the team will probably carry that exception into the season, when it could potentially be used for a rotational upgrade or to take on money to add other future-facing assets.
As for next summer, the Giddey extension doesn’t change the fact that Chicago will look to be a player in free agency. Should the Bulls keep Coby White‘s $24.5MM cap hold on their books – which seems likely barring a trade – they would project to have between $40-50MM in cap space in the summer of 2026. Gozlan notes they could use all of that space and then go over the cap to sign White to a new long-term deal.
There are a number of talented players who could potentially reach free agency next summer, including LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Zach LaVine, and Trae Young. However, given recent trends involving star players avoiding free agency, it’s possible that White, an unrestricted free agent, could be one of the names on the market.
Gozlan speculates that with another strong season, White could command a deal reaching around $30MM annually. He has averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game on .450/.373/.873 shooting splits over the past two seasons and will turn 26 midway through the season.
Should the Bulls balk at the idea of paying him, he would undoubtedly be a high-level trade chip, but considering both Lonzo Ball and LaVine have been traded since February, White’s spot in the team’s long-term backcourt seems more stable than it previously did.
Gozlan also notes that Chicago has $90MM in expiring deals between Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter, and Jevon Carter. Trading some of them to bring back long-term money would eat into their 2026 cap flexibility, but could function as a way to essentially conduct free agency business in advance.
Finally, Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu, and Dalen Terry are currently extension-eligible and could cut into the team’s cap space if they’re signed to new deals.
Pistons Notes: Extensions, Thompson, Expectations, Predictions
Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren are both approaching the October 20 deadline to sign contract extensions with the Pistons. With that clock ticking down, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press examines several deals that could help set the market for Ivey and Duren as they enter extension negotiations.
Sankofa notes that the two young players had stretches of excellent play, but due to Ivey’s mid-season injury and Duren’s slow start, there are still questions that revolve around the duo’s long-term value to the organization.
Sankofa looks at Josh Giddey and his recent four-year, $100MM deal with the Bulls as a good measuring stick deal for Duren and Ivey. He also cites Jabari Smith Jr.‘s five-year, $122MM extension as well as Alperen Sengun‘s five-year, $185MM contracts with the Rockets, and Trey Murphy III‘s four-year, $112MM extension with the Pelicans as potential comparables for the two Pistons players.
While this offseason has been a difficult one for restricted free agents, next summer is set to have many more teams with cap space, which Sankofa speculates could convince one or both of Ivey and Duren to play out the season without a new deal to explore the marketplace.
We have more from the Pistons:
- While having a full offseason could pay major dividends for Ivey as he recovers from his leg injury, it may benefit Ausar Thompson to an even greater extent, writes Hunter Patterson for The Athletic. Patterson notes that after missing last summer while recovering from a blood clot, conditioning was an occasional issue for the hard-playing Thompson. Patterson believes that having a summer to reach maximum conditioning while carrying over momentum from an encouraging playoff series against the Knicks could do wonders for Thompson’s development. Patterson is also encouraged by the synergy displayed between Thompson and franchise cornerstone Cade Cunningham, believing that the athletic wing and versatile point guard have games that blend together very effectively.
- The Pistons jumped from 14 wins to 44 wins last season, earning the No. 6 seed in the East. While there is less room for such a dramatic improvement this season, Patterson predicts the team can take the next step and become a top-five seed in 2025/26, though he believes the Magic’s trade for Desmond Bane will give them the edge over the Pistons.
- Pistons president Trajan Langdon is aware of the pressure coming off such an unexpectedly dramatic turnaround, but he’s not going to rush the team’s growth, writes Keith Langlois for NBA.com. Instead, Langdon is prioritizing building the right way and expecting results to follow from that blueprint. Langlois notes that the Pistons could have tried to push some chips in for a big move this summer in light of the uncertainty surrounding teams like the Pacers, Celtics, Bucks, and Sixers, but chose to make moves on the margin that would enhance the young core of the team. Because of that, Langlois writes, Langdon will likely judge the team’s success more on the growth of the young core, both individually and as a group, rather than strictly by wins added.
Mavericks Notes: Nowitzki, Cuban, Depth, Outlook
Franchise legend Dirk Nowitzki has been serving as a special advisor to the Mavericks since 2021, when then-owner Mark Cuban brought him back to the only NBA team he had ever played for. Since the Mavs’ sale in 2023, though, Nowitzki has seen his influence diminish as new powers rose in the organization.
Recently, he said that the lack of clarity on his role has caused him to take stock of his place with the team and the league as a whole, according to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal.
“It felt a little weird… not knowing my role,” Nowitzki said during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “So since then, I’ve kind of pulled back again.”
Nowitzki did have a word of advice for the Mavs’ leadership as they look to repair fan trust following the Luka Doncic trade and subsequent drafting of Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick.
“The owner has to show that he’s willing to spend and then make this a great team for the next decade to come,” Nowitzki said. “That’s all there really is to it.”
We have more from the Mavs:
- Nowitzki isn’t the only person who feels his influence slipping with the Mavericks. Cuban recently suggested that his voice no longer felt particularly welcome, as Christian Clark of The Athletic relays. “There were some things that happened internally where the person who traded Luka didn’t want me there,” Cuban said during a panel last weekend, presumably referring to president of basketball operations Nico Harrison. “So, they won. I lost.” Cuban has been on record saying that he believed he would still have some level of decision-making on the basketball side of things even following the team’s sale, but that as the team ascended, he didn’t want to overstep. He now believes that stepping back was a mistake.
- Nowitzki, despite the confusion about his own role, is optimistic about the team moving forward, Afseth writes in a separate article. “I think they did some smart re-signings this summer with [Daniel] Gafford and P.J. [Washington],” he said. “I think they’re deep, they’re doubled on every position… If they’re fully healthy, hopefully by the new year, somewhere in January… they’re a super deep team that can definitely be in the top four in the West.”
- Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News agrees with Nowitzki’s assessment, calling the Southwest “as competitive as any other division in the NBA” while predicting the Mavericks will end up second in the division behind the Rockets, thanks in part to Houston’s acquisition of Kevin Durant.
Hawks Sign Kobe Johnson To Exhibit 10 Deal
September 11: Two-and-a-half months after his agreement was first reported, Johnson has officially signed with the Hawks, the team announced in a press release. It’s an Exhibit 10 deal, confirms Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).
June 27: The Hawks have agreed to a deal with UCLA forward Kobe Johnson, Jonathon Givony reports for ESPN (via Twitter).
Johnson played for three years at USC, emerging as a starter and a defensive force after averaging just 7.5 minutes per game as a freshman. He subsequently transferred to UCLA for his senior year.
In his lone year as a Bruin, Johnson averaged 7.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.6 steals while shooting 36.2% from three and earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive team, his third consecutive selection to his conference’s All-Defensive team. While his three-point shot has been up-and-down, Johnson is a career 76.7% free-throw shooter, which offers some hope for him finding eventual shooting consistency.
While Givony doesn’t specify the terms of the agreement, it will likely be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract for Johnson. Exhibit 10 deals can be converted into two-way contracts, though the Hawks have already reached two-way agreements with Eli John Ndiaye and Kentucky’s Lamont Butler to two-way contracts.
An Exhibit 10 deal would also put Johnson on track to join the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ G League team, as an affiliate player once the season begins.
Wolves Notes: Randle, Beringer, DiVincenzo, Identity
The Timberwolves‘ decision last summer to trade Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo ended up being a rare win-win deal, The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski writes in a mailbag article.
Randle not only turned in a very positive second half to the season and first-round series against the Lakers, but thanks to his (relatively) smaller cap hit, he allowed the team to prioritize building its depth in a way it wouldn’t have with Towns’ salary, which was worth $5MM more than Randle and DiVincenzo combined last season.
This flexibility was used this offseason to get under the second apron without having to part with key players like Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert, or recently extended Naz Reid. Doing so with Towns in the fold would have been nearly impossible, and would have forced the Wolves into even harder choices than they already had to make when it came to retaining their players.
We have more from the Wolves:
- Another important pickup from the trade with the Knicks was the Pistons’ lottery-protected pick, which ended up conveying and becoming Joan Beringer, thanks to Detroit exceeding expectations. Krawczynski writes that while it’s likely that Beringer plays some minutes for the G League affiliate in Iowa early in the year, the team has made clear it expects him to spend much of this season with the main club as a depth piece behind Gobert, Randle and Reid.
- While DiVincenzo’s debut season in Minnesota was inconsistent, Krawczynski notes that there were positive moments, especially during a small stretch when he was asked to play point guard for the team. DiVincenzo averaged 17.5 points per game and shot 42% on three-pointers in a six-game run where the Wolves went 4-2. Given Mike Conley‘s age, Krawczynski says it’s entirely possible DiVincenzo gets a crack at the fifth starter spot. The Wolves also have sophomore point guard Rob Dillingham waiting in the wings, but it’s unclear if the 20-year-old is ready to take that leap on a team with title aspirations.
- The Wolves have managed to walk the tightrope of being back-to-back Western Conference Finalists while also building a strong core for the future, led by Anthony Edwards and also including Reid, Jaden McDaniels, Beringer, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Dillingham, each of whom is 26 or younger. Given the team’s flexible outlook and recent track record of success, Krawczynski has deemed this the Golden Age of Timberwolves basketball. While there are still decisions for new owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore to figure out moving forward, they have a strong foundation to ensure the team is competitive for years to come.
Suns Waive Alex Schumacher
The Suns have waived Alex Schumacher, reports Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). The move, which was not unexpected, came just a day after the team officially signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract.
Phoenix already held Schumacher’s G League returning rights, since he finished last season with the Valley Suns. Signing him to an Exhibit 10 deal and then waiving him will allow the organization to give him a bonus on top of his standard NBAGL salary for rejoining the Suns’ G League affiliate this fall.
Schumacher, who played two seasons at Seattle University before going undrafted in the 2024 draft, split time between the Valley Suns and the Windy City Bulls last season, averaging 9.2 points and 3.1 assists per game in his G League rookie year.
The sign-and-waive is a common move for teams to retain the ability to keep players in their programs by creating a pathway to more money than a standard G League contract. If the player spends at least 60 days with the team’s affiliate, he can earn a bonus worth as much as $85,300.