Dell Curry, Brent Barry, Kevin Harlan Joining Amazon’s NBA Coverage
Amazon Prime Video continues to fill out its broadcasting team ahead of its first season of NBA coverage in 2025/26, with Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reporting that Dell Curry is joining Amazon’s coverage as an analyst, while Richard Deitsch of The Athletic says Brent Barry is coming aboard as a game analyst and Kevin Harlan is being hired as a play-by-play man.
Curry, the father of NBA superstar Stephen Curry, has been a color commentator on Hornets broadcasts since 2009. McCarthy speculates that Amazon’s deal with Dell could be a “preliminary chess move” to recruit his son if Steph decides to go into broadcasting himself after he retires as a player.
Barry has spent time in the Spurs’ front office and most recently served as a Suns assistant coach under Mike Budenholzer in 2024/25, but he has plenty of broadcasting experience as well, having previously worked as an analyst for Turner Sports and NBA TV from 2013-18.
Harlan’s voice will be familiar to NBA fans, as he has been calling games on Turner Sports for the last three decades. He’ll continue to call NFL games for CBS Sports too while working with Amazon for NBA broadcasts beginning this fall.
Amazon Prime Video’s broadcasting roster will also reportedly include analysts Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash, Candace Parker, Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Stan Van Gundy, and Udonis Haslem, as well as studio host Taylor Rooks, sideline reporter Cassidy Hubbarth, and play-by-play announcers Ian Eagle and Michael Grady.
Amazon is expected to formally announce its full NBA coverage team soon, per McCarthy. The company will be one of three that broadcasts NBA games nationally for the next 11 years, along with Disney (ABC/ESPN) and NBC.
Jalen Williams, Thunder Have ‘Momentum’ Toward Extension
After agreeing to extend Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren since the new league year began, the Thunder will now “fully focus” on getting a contract extension done with star wing Jalen Williams, ESPN’s Shams Charania said during a Wednesday appearance on NBA Today (YouTube link).
“There is momentum in those conversations with the Thunder between both sides,” Charania said. “There’s been positive talks, and both sides are aligned on where those negotiations are going.”
Like Holmgren, Williams is entering the final year of his rookie scale contract in 2025/26, making him eligible for a rookie scale extension. His standard maximum-salary extension would be worth 25% of the ’26/27 cap, but he and the Thunder could agree to Rose Rule language that would make him eligible for a starting salary worth up to 30% of next season’s cap if he meets certain performance criteria, such as making an All-NBA team.
Williams is coming off a career-best season in which he averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.6 steals in 32.4 minutes per game across 69 outings, with a .484/.365/.789 shooting line. He earned a spot on the All-Defensive second team, as well as the All-NBA third team.
Despite that All-NBA nod in 2025, Williams has not yet met the Rose Rule performance criteria — if he and Oklahoma City negotiate an extension that includes the possibility of his salary exceeding 25% of next season’s cap, he’d have to achieve the performance criteria again in 2026 to reach that figure.
Williams averaged 21.4 points per game for the Thunder during their postseason run to a championship despite dealing with a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist, which he recently underwent surgery to address.
As ESPN’s Brian Windhorst relays, Williams said in a YouTube video this week that he was battling a right wrist sprain for much of the season and suffered the torn ligament during an April 9 game against Phoenix. Between that time and the Thunder’s Game 7 win over Indiana last month, the 24-year-old said he received constant lidocaine injections and cortisone shots to manage the pain.
“I got 28 or 29 shots in my hand throughout the playoffs,” Williams said. “And I was like, ‘That can’t be for nothing. We have to win.’ So, that was my mentality.”
Williams’ shooting percentages dipped to 44.9% from the field and 30.4% on three-pointers during the playoffs, which he said was a result of changing his motion due to the wrist injury.
“I didn’t want to tell the world that I was hurt, and so the world just ganged up on me about how I wasn’t ready for the moment. Which obviously is wrong now,” Williams said. “But that was the most annoying thing, because human nature is you want to just scream that you’re hurt. But I was able to lock in and not use that as an excuse.”
Free Agent Notes: Giddey, Clippers, Knicks, Metu, Moore
Reports since last October have suggested that a salary of $30MM per year is a target for Josh Giddey and his representatives in their contract talks with the Bulls, and that number continues to be mentioned this summer. However, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (YouTube link) isn’t convinced that’s what it’ll take for the Bulls to get a deal done with the restricted free agent guard.
“Both the Bulls and Giddey want to get a deal done,” Johnson said (hat tip to Benedetto Vitale of Clutch Points). “The Bulls, knowing that the market is scarce and the restricted free agency market has very little movement…are playing the slow game here.
“I don’t have particular numbers, other than to say that Josh Giddey’s $30MM per year price tag – that’s been well documented in media and out there since last fall when the rookie contract extension was discussed – has not ever crossed my radar. I’ve never heard the Bulls mention that number. So I would not expect Josh Giddey to sign a $30MM (per year) deal.”
While Johnson refers to the situation as a “stalemate” for the time being, he stresses that negotiations haven’t been acrimonious and says he fully expects Giddey to be wearing a Bulls uniform next season.
Here’s more on free agency:
- The Clippers continue to be linked to guards Bradley Beal and Chris Paul and haven’t ruled out the possibility of adding both players, per NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). While Paul is currently a free agent, Beal will need to finalize a buyout with Phoenix before reaching the open market.
- The Knicks have one roster spot open for a veteran free agent and will likely target a guard, ideally one who can handle the ball, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link). Breaking down a few possible targets who might make sense for the Knicks, Bondy notes that the team has kept an eye on Marcus Smart in case he and the Wizards work out a buyout agreement.
- Former NBA big man Chimezie Metu is nearing a deal with the Turkish team Fenerbahce, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, who says the plan is to finalize a one-year agreement if Metu’s medicals check out. The 28-year-old, who appeared in 260 NBA regular season games from 2018-24, tore his Achilles in March, so Fenerbahce wants to make sure his recovery is progressing as planned. Sources tell Urbonas that Metu is targeting a return to the court before the end of the year.
- After playing for the Spurs during the California Classic Summer League this past week, free agent guard Omari Moore has reached a contract agreement with Valencia, the Spanish team announced in a press release. According to Urbonas (Twitter link), Moore had received NBA interest but has decided to make the move to Spain rather than accepting a two-way contract offer.
Timberwolves Sign Rocco Zikarsky To Two-Way Contract
10:17 pm: Zikarsky’s two-way contract will cover two seasons, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.
2:23 pm: The Timberwolves have officially added second-round pick Rocco Zikarsky to their roster, announcing today in a press release that the 7’3″ center has signed a two-way contract with the team.
Zikarsky, who will turn 19 on Friday, has been a member of the Brisbane Bullets in Australia’s National Basketball League for the last two seasons. The Australian big man appeared in 18 games for the team in 2024/25, averaging 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per contest.
The Bulls technically selected Zikarsky with the No. 45 overall pick on draft night last month, but they did so on behalf of the Timberwolves. The Lakers initially agreed to move up from No. 55 to No. 45 in a deal with the Bulls, then flipped that pick to Minnesota in a deal for No. 36.
Zikarsky’s rights were officially traded to the Wolves as part of the seven-team Kevin Durant blockbuster.
As our tracker shows, Minnesota now has a pair of players on two-way contracts, with Zikarsky joining fellow center Jesse Edwards. The Wolves have one more two-way slot available and free agent guard Tristen Newton is the favorite to fill it, having received a two-way qualifying offer from the club at the end of June.
Mavericks Hiring Popeye Jones, Phil Handy As Assistants
The Mavericks are adding two more veteran assistants to their revamped coaching staff, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports (via Twitter) that Popeye Jones and Phil Handy have agreed to roles under head coach Jason Kidd.
A former NBA forward, Jones hasn’t worked with Kidd since they went into coaching but actually played alongside him for two seasons in Dallas from 1994-96. Since transitioning to coaching in 2007, Jones has spent time the Mavericks as a player development coach (2007-10) and with the Nets (2010-13), Pacers (2013-20), Sixers (2020-21), and Nuggets (2021-25) as an assistant.
Jones will be Kidd’s No. 3 assistant coach and will focus on defense, according to Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com.
Handy, meanwhile, is coming to the Mavericks after previous stints with the Lakers (2011-13), Cavaliers (2013-18), Raptors (2018-19), and Lakers again (2019-24). He and Kidd were both members of Frank Vogel‘s staff in Los Angeles when the Lakers won a championship in 2020.
According to Afseth, the expectation is that Handy will take over the player developmental role previously held by God Shammgod, who left Dallas this offseason for Orlando.
Kidd’s top assistants last season were Sean Sweeney, Alex Jensen, and Jared Dudley, but they’ve since departed for San Antonio, the University of Utah, and Denver, respectively. Two former NBA head coaches, Vogel and Jay Triano, have since been tabbed as Kidd’s new top two assistants, with shooting specialist Mike Penberthy also coming aboard.
Ben McLemore Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison Following Rape Conviction
A week after being found guilty of raping a woman in 2021, former NBA guard Ben McLemore has been sentenced to 100 months (eight years and four months) in Oregon state prison, according to reports from Luisa Anderson of KGW News and Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
McLemore initially faced four criminal changes stemming from an incident that occurred at a Lake Oswego house party nearly five years ago. He was found guilty on one charge of first-degree rape, one charge of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, and one count of second-degree sexual abuse, with the jury finding him not guilty on an additional count of second-degree sexual abuse.
The incident occurred in October 2021 at the home of Robert Covington, McLemore’s teammate on the Trail Blazers at the time. A grand jury heard the case in February 2024, including testimony from the woman who accused McLemore of assaulting her, which led to an indictment against him and a warrant for his arrest.
As Holmes outlines, the prosecution told jurors during the trial that the victim passed out on a living room couch at the party around 2:00 am, incapacitated due to heavy drinking, and regained partial consciousness the next morning when McLemore penetrated her with his fingers and began having sex with her.
McLemore’s attorneys disputed that version of events, claiming she initiated sexual contact and consented to it, and asserting that she was sober enough to give consent even though both she and McLemore were intoxicated.
McLemore, 32, was the seventh overall pick in the 2013 draft. He appeared in 556 regular season NBA games for the Kings, Grizzlies, Rockets, Lakers, and Blazers from 2013-22, averaging 9.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He has been out of the league since his contract with Portland expired in 2022.
James Jones Leaves Suns For Job In League Office
Former Suns general manager James Jones has accepted a job in the league office, the NBA announced today in a press release.
Jones has been named the NBA’s new executive vice president and head of basketball operations. It’s the same role that Joe Dumars held before he left the position to become the Pelicans’ executive VP of basketball operations in April.
Jones’ responsibilities in his new position will include overseeing “development of playing rules and interpretations, conduct and discipline, and policies and procedures relating to the operation of games,” per the league.
“James is widely respected across the NBA for being an inspiring leader and the consummate teammate during his more than 20 years as a highly successful player and team executive,” the NBA’s president of league operations Byron Spruell said in a statement. “With his exceptional relationship-building skills and deep basketball expertise, he is well suited to guide our efforts to shape the current and future direction of the NBA game.”
A three-time NBA champion as a player, Jones had been in the Suns’ front office for the last eight years. He was initially hired as Phoenix’s vice president of basketball operations in 2017, but quickly rose up the ranks to become co-general manager in October of 2018. He was later named the Suns’ lone GM in 2019 and had been the head of basketball operations for the team since then, until he was replaced by Brian Gregory this spring.
At the time of Gregory’s promotion, reporting indicated that Jones was transitioning to becoming a senior advisor for the Suns. However, typically when a head of basketball operations is moved out of that top role, it’s a precursor to him leaving that organization altogether.
Groups Set For 2025 NBA Cup
The NBA has officially announced the six groups of five teams apiece for the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup, also known as the in-season tournament (Twitter link).
In order to set the groups, the league splits the Western and Eastern Conferences into five three-team tiers based on last season’s regular season standings, with one club from each tier randomly drawn into each of the conference’s three groups.
For instance, the top three teams from the West will all be in separate groups, with each of those three groups also featuring one team in the 4-6 range, one in the 7-9 range, and so on.
Here are the groups for the 2025 NBA Cup:
- West Group A: Oklahoma City Thunder (1), Minnesota Timberwolves (6), Sacramento Kings (9), Phoenix Suns (11), Utah Jazz (15)
- West Group B: Los Angeles Lakers (3), Los Angeles Clippers (5), Memphis Grizzlies (8), Dallas Mavericks (10), New Orleans Pelicans (14)
- West Group C: Houston Rockets (2), Denver Nuggets (4), Golden State Warriors (7), Portland Trail Blazers (12), San Antonio Spurs (13)
- East Group A: Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Indiana Pacers (4), Atlanta Hawks (8), Toronto Raptors (11), Washington Wizards (15)
- East Group B: Boston Celtics (2), Detroit Pistons (6), Orlando Magic (7), Brooklyn Nets (12), Philadelphia 76ers (13)
- East Group C: New York Knicks (3), Milwaukee Bucks (5), Chicago Bulls (9), Miami Heat (10), Charlotte Hornets (14)
The round-robin group play games will be starting a little earlier than usual this season and will run from October 31 to November 28. Each team will face the other four clubs in its group once, with the winners of each group and one wild card team from each conference advancing to the eight-team, single-elimination knockout round.
The full schedule of group play games can be viewed right here.
The quarterfinals will be played on December 9-10, with the semifinals and final to follow on Dec. 13 and Dec. 16, respectively, in Las Vegas. The knockout round games will all be aired by one of the NBA’s new broadcasting partners, Amazon Prime.
The Bucks won last season’s NBA Cup, with star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo earning MVP honors after leading Milwaukee to a victory over the Thunder in the championship game.
Wizards Trade Kelly Olynyk To Spurs
July 9: The trade is official, according to announcements from the Spurs and Wizards (Twitter link).
July 8: The Wizards and Spurs have agreed to a trade that will send big man Kelly Olynyk to San Antonio, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Charania, in return for Olynyk, Washington will acquire former first-rounders Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley, along with a 2026 second-round pick. That pick will be the last favorable of Dallas’, Philadelphia’s, and Oklahoma City’s second-rounders.
Olynyk, 34, spent last season with the Raptors and Pelicans. He was limited to 44 games (22 starts) for health reasons, but was solid when he played, averaging 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 20.3 minutes per game, with a strong shooting line of .500/.418/.769.
A forward/center who can stretch the floor (.371 career 3PT%), Olynyk will become part of a Spurs frontcourt led by Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio will also be incorporating another new center, Luke Kornet, who finalized a four-year, $40.7MM deal with the team earlier this week.
Olynyk was just traded two days ago from New Orleans to Washington in the three-team deal that included CJ McCollum and Jordan Poole, but he clearly wasn’t part of the Wizards’ long-term plans. He can be flipped immediately because his salary isn’t being aggregated with another player’s salary as part of this trade.
Branham and Wesley – who were drafted 20th and 25th, respectively, in 2022 – didn’t establish themselves as reliable rotation players during their three years in San Antonio, as their playing time declined each season. Still, they’re both just 22 years old, and Branham has shown some promise as a shooter (.405 3PT% last season), while Wesley has shown he’s a stout on-ball defender.
It’s unclear whether the duo will get a shot to make the team and earn rotation spots in Washington or whether the Wizards made the deal primarily for the second-round pick and the cap savings.
Olynyk is on an expiring $13.45MM contract in 2025/26, while Branham ($4.96MM) and Wesley ($4.72MM) will earn less than $10MM total in the final year of their rookie deals. By taking Branham and Wesley into an existing trade exception, Washington will also be able to create a trade exception worth Olynyk’s $13.45MM salary.
The Wizards have a growing roster crunch they’ll have to address at some point in the coming weeks or months. As a result of this trade, they’ll have 15 players on guaranteed salaries, and that total doesn’t include Richaun Holmes (small partial guarantee), Justin Champagnie (non-guaranteed), or Anthony Gill, who is considered a strong candidate to re-sign with the club.
The Spurs, conversely, will have just 12 players under contract once the trade is official and will have plenty of flexibility below the luxury tax line to fill out the three openings on the standard 15-man roster.
Heat’s Larsson, Johnson Headline All-California Classic Team
A pair of players from the Heat‘s 15-man standard roster earned spots on the All-California Classic Summer League team after the four-team event wrapped up on Tuesday night, with second-year wings Pelle Larsson and Keshad Johnson both making the cut (Twitter link).
The full five-man team of California Classic standouts is as follows:
- Pelle Larsson (Heat): 16.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, +17 (two games)
- Keshad Johnson (Heat): 12.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.5 BPG, .563 FG% (two games)
- David Jones-Garcia (Spurs): 22.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, .471 3PT% (three games)
- Jackson Rowe (Warriors): 9.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.0 SPG, 1.7 APG, 1.3 BPG, .579 FG% (three games)
- Cole Swider (Lakers): 19.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.3 BPG, .455 3PT% (three games)
The Heat and Lakers each went 2-1 at the four-day, round-robin tournament, with the Spurs and Warriors posting 1-2 records.
While both Larsson and Johnson are on standard contracts in Miami, Rowe is on a two-way deal with Golden State and Jones-Garcia and Swider don’t currently have contracts in place with their NBA teams beyond the Summer League.
The California Classic, which took place at the Chase Center in San Francisco, is a prelude to the NBA’s main Summer League event in Las Vegas — all 30 teams, including the Heat, Lakers, Spurs, and Warriors, will compete in the Vegas Summer League, which tips off on Thursday.