Bucks Rumors: Giannis, Tax, Lopez, Portis, Point Guards
After stating during multiple television appearances this week that a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade appears unlikely to happen in the short term, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reiterated that point on Friday in a an ESPN.com story co-authored by Tim Bontemps.
At the moment, Windhorst and Bontemps say, the expectation around the NBA is that Antetokounmpo will still be in Milwaukee by the time the 2025/26 season tips off.
However, the ESPN duo stresses that’s just where things stand as of today. It doesn’t necessarily mean the situation won’t change at some point this offseason, since there’s no indication Antetokounmpo has definitively told the Bucks that he’s staying. It remains possible he could request a change of scenery later in the summer if he decides he’s not thrilled with the team’s direction.
For now though, the Bucks aren’t listening to trade inquiries on Antetokounmpo and aren’t expected to make any deal involving the two-time MVP in the short term.
Here’s more on the Bucks from Windhorst and Bontemps:
- In meetings since the Bucks’ season ended, general manager Jon Horst and head coach Doc Rivers have presented plans to keep the core of the roster intact around Antetokounmpo, per ESPN. Milwaukee went 10-4 without Damian Lillard in March and April and is optimistic about its ability to contend for a top-six playoff spot until he’s ready to return, which the club hopes will happen before the end of the 2025/26 season, as Windhorst and Bontemps explain.
- Personnel around the NBA are curious about the Bucks’ appetite to be a taxpayer in ’25/26 after paying substantial penalties in recent years, according to Windhorst and Bontemps, who hear from sources that the team is indeed prepared to operate above the tax line again. It would be difficult for the Bucks to retain free agent big men Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis without surpassing that threshold, ESPN’s duo notes.
- While Milwaukee may be a taxpayer again next season, rival teams think the Bucks will look to operate below the first tax apron, giving them access to at least part of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. The team may need that MLE to sign a free agent point guard to step in for Lillard. According to Windhorst and Bontemps, Dennis Schröder, Tyus Jones, and Malcolm Brogdon are a few names to watch.
Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook To Opt Out Of Contract
Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook won’t exercise his $3.47MM player option for the 2025/26 season, league sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
Declining that option will put Westbrook on track to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He would have the opportunity at that time to either re-sign with Denver or join a new team.
Westbrook, 36, played a significant role for the Nuggets after signing with the team as a free agent during the 2024 offseason. He averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 27.9 minutes per game across 75 appearances (36 starts) during the regular season, with a .449/.323/.661 shooting line. He also contributed 11.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 3.7 RPG in 13 playoff contests (24.1 MPG).
A former MVP and a nine-time All-Star, Westbrook is a polarizing player for a future Hall of Famer. He was lauded by coaches and teammates in Denver this past season for his energy, competitiveness, and leadership, and remains an excellent play-maker and an elite rebounder at his position. However, he’s also an inefficient scorer whose high-energy style often results in out-of-control plays and a high turnover rate.
Despite his flaws, Westbrook has been a great value on minimum-salary contracts in recent years after earning the maximum for much of his playing career. Since being bought out by the Jazz in 2023, he has opted for situations with the Clippers and Nuggets where he can play a major role on a team with championship aspirations. If money were more of a priority, Westbrook could likely have done better than the veteran’s minimum on the open market over the last couple seasons.
His decision to decline his option doesn’t come as a major surprise, since his $3,468,960 option was based on a 5% raise on this past season’s minimum salary. With the salary cap expected to rise by 10%, Westbrook’s new minimum projects to be $3,634,153, so even if he wants to remain with the Nuggets, opting out to sign a new contract makes sense.
It’s also worth noting that if Westbrook signs a one-year minimum-salary deal with Denver or another team, his cap hit for 2025/26 would be just $2,296,274. If he signs another one-plus-one contract that includes a second-year option, his cap charge would be equivalent to his actual salary, whether or not he earns the minimum.
Westbrook is currently recovering from a procedure to repair multiple ligament tears in his right hand.
Malachi Flynn Joining Turkish Team
Free agent guard Malachi Flynn, a former NBA first-round pick, has reached an agreement to join Bahçeşehir Koleji, the Turkish team announced today in a press release (hat tip to Sportando).
The No. 29 overall pick in 2020, Flynn spent his first three-and-a-half NBA seasons with the Raptors, appearing in 175 regular season games and averaging 5.4 points and 2.0 assists in 15.0 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .379/.338/.756.
The former Washington State standout was traded from Toronto to New York alongside OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa in December 2023, then was flipped to Detroit several weeks later in the deal that sent Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to the Knicks. His most memorable NBA outing came near the end of the 2023/24 season with the Pistons, when he went off for 50 points in an April game against the Hawks.
Despite that display of his scoring ability, Flynn had a hard time finding work at the NBA level during the 2024/25 season and spent much of the year with the Austin Spurs in the G League. He put up 22.6 PPG on .475/.391/.847 shooting in 36 games with San Antonio’s NBAGL affiliate, earning a 10-day contract with the Hornets in March. That was the 27-year-old’s most recent stint on an NBA roster.
Bahçeşehir Koleji, Flynn’s new team, doesn’t compete in the EuroLeague or EuroCup, but is coming off a strong year in Turkey’s Basketball Super League. The club went 18-12 in the regular season and made the semifinals in the playoffs before being eliminated by Fenerbahçe.
2025 NBA Offseason Preview: Detroit Pistons
The 2023/24 Pistons were one of the worst teams in NBA history. Detroit lost 28 games in a row in the first half and got off to a 4-39 start en route to a 14-68 overall record, which was the worst single-season mark in the franchise's 76-year existence.
The Pistons hadn't won more than 23 games in any of the four years prior to '23/24, but that 14-win showing in a season when they were supposed to take a step forward was an embarrassing low point that prompted an offseason overhaul during the summer of 2024.
Trajan Langdon replaced Troy Weaver as the head of basketball operations, while J.B. Bickerstaff took over as head coach just one year after Monty Williams received a six-year contract worth a reported $78.5MM. The Pistons' roster underwent some significant changes too, with Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley signing as free agents and Tim Hardaway Jr. acquired in a trade with Dallas, adding some veteran floor spacers to a team headlined by former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham.
It would be difficult to pinpoint which of those specific changes made the biggest difference in Detroit, given that they all worked out pretty much exactly as the club had hoped. Bickerstaff established a hard-nosed, defensive-minded culture, turning a roster that ranked 25th in defensive rating in 2023/24 into a top-10 unit in '24/25. He finished second in Coach of the Year voting.
The veteran acquisitions, led by Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Beasley, also helped turn things around for a Pistons team that had ranked 29th in the NBA in three-pointers made and 26th in three-point percentage in '23/24. Detroit still wasn't exactly raining down three-pointers like the Celtics, but the club improved its rankings in those categories to 20th and 17th, respectively.
Most importantly, with more space to operate on offense, Cunningham enjoyed a breakout year, establishing new career highs in points (26.1) and assists (9.1) per game, as well as field goal percentage (46.9%) and three-point percentage (35.6%). He earned his first All-Star nod, was named to the All-NBA third team, and was a finalist for Most Improved Player.
The Pistons' year-over-year improvement - from 14 wins to 44 - represented the sixth-biggest turnaround in NBA history and finally gave fans in Detroit a reason for optimism going forward. Even though they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the two postseason wins the Pistons picked up against the Knicks were the most they'd gotten in a season since 2008, when they went to the Eastern Conference Finals.
This version of the Pistons is likely still a little ways off from another conference finals appearance, but it's extremely encouraging that the organization seems to have the right leaders - Langdon and Bickerstaff - in place and that a protracted rebuild is finally beginning to bear fruit. With several promising young contributors still on the rise and plenty of cap flexibility going forward, Detroit is well positioned to continue clawing its way up the Eastern Conference standings in the coming years.
The Pistons' Offseason Plan
Cunningham's breakout season represents a double-edged sword for the Pistons. As thrilled as they must have been to see the former top pick become one of the league's best guards at age 23, his spot on the All-NBA third team increased the value of his maximum-salary rookie scale extension by a projected $45MM. It will now start at 30% of the 2025/26 cap instead of 25%, adding nearly $8MM in extra salary to the team's cap for next season.
Trade Rumors: Celtics, Durant, Knicks, Pelicans, Spurs, Magic
The Celtics won’t be actively looking to move Jaylen Brown or Derrick White this offseason, but they also don’t necessarily view either player as untouchable, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on Wednesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (YouTube link).
“The primary focus, from my understanding, with the Celtics’ offseason has been Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, (and) Sam Hauser, their trade markets,” Charania said. “Now, are teams making big offers and calling about Jaylen Brown and Derrick White? 100 percent. The Celtics prefer not to trade them, from my understanding. But if they get a big offer, they have to look at everything.”
Asked by McAfee if it’s accurate to say that everyone except Jayson Tatum, who will spent most or all of the 2025/26 season recovering from an Achilles tear, is theoretically in play, Charania replied, “Essentially.”
As has been reported repeatedly since Boston was eliminated from the playoffs last month, the club will be looking to reduce its luxury tax bill and get below the second tax apron in 2025/26, since Tatum’s injury figures to significantly reduce the odds of the Celtics seriously contending for another title next season.
Here are a few more trade-related rumors from around the NBA:
- Brian Windhorst said during a Thursday appearance on ESPN’s Get Up (YouTube link) that he thinks Kevin Durant “definitely” has interest in the Knicks as a potential landing spot. However, after Stefan Bondy of The New York Post reported on Wednesday that the Knicks aren’t expected to pursue Durant, Steve Popper of Newsday has echoed that report, citing a league source who says New York isn’t interested in making a deal for the star forward.
- Within his latest mock draft, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports says league sources continue to mention the Pelicans as a team with interest in moving up in the draft. According to O’Connor, multiple front office executives believe New Orleans, which controls the No. 7 overall pick, has interest in Rutgers’ Ace Bailey, who could be picked as early as No. 3, so Yahoo’s latest mock include a hypothetical trade between the Pelicans and Sixers.
- The latest mock draft from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic also includes some sourced information related to potential trade scenarios. According to Vecenie, league sources believe the Spurs could move their No. 14 overall pick if a preferred target isn’t on the board and think the Magic will explore using at least one of their two first-rounders in a trade for offensive help.
Sixers Have Talked To Spurs About No. 2 Pick
The Sixers have engaged in discussions with the Spurs about the possibility of moving up in the draft from No. 3 to No. 2, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
With Cooper Flagg viewed as a lock to be the first player drafted on June 25, Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper is widely considered the second-best prospect in this year’s class, making him the heavy favorite to be the No. 2 pick. However, it’s unclear how enthusiastic San Antonio is about the idea of adding Harper to a backcourt that already features former All-Star De’Aaron Fox and reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle.
The Sixers have no shortage of talent at guard either, with Tyrese Maxey locked up to a long-term deal and Jared McCain making a strong first impression last season before a knee injury prematurely ended his rookie year. But Maxey and McCain are more reliable outside shooters than Fox and Castle, which should make them better suited to operate alongside another ball-handler.
If the Sixers do end up staying at No. 3, they’re zeroing in on four potential candidates for that pick, according to Scotto. A Wednesday report indicated that guard V.J. Edgecombe has made a strong case for consideration at No. 3, while forward Ace Bailey is also scheduled to make a pre-draft visit to Philadelphia for a private workout, so it seems safe to assume those are two of the four prospects in the mix.
A trade down has also been rumored as an option for the 76ers, though the team reportedly wants to add young talent to its roster and therefore isn’t looking to trade out of the first round entirely.
In addition to the No. 3 overall pick, Philadelphia holds the No. 35 selection in 2025. The club has traded away its own 2026 and 2028 first-rounders, but holds other future draft assets it could dangle in an effort to move up to No. 2, including the Clippers’ 2028 first-round pick, swap rights with the Clippers in 2029, their own first-rounders in 2030 and 2032, and an excess of second-rounders.
Taylor Jenkins, Mike Brown Reportedly Among Knicks’ Coaching Candidates
The Knicks have reportedly been denied permission to speak to five head coaches currently employed by NBA teams, but their search for Tom Thibodeau‘s replacement isn’t entirely focused on candidates who already have head coaching jobs. Former Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins and former Kings coach Mike Brown are also said to be on New York’s radar.
Sam Amick of The Athletic cited league sources who say there’s an “increased Knicks focus” on Jenkins and Brown, while Stefan Bondy of The New York Post‘s list of potential candidates (subscription required), based on intel he has gathered, includes a “top contenders” tier that consists solely of Jenkins and Brown.
Jenkins, who was the head coach in Memphis from 2019-25, compiled a 250-214 (.539) record during that time and led the club to three playoff appearances — ’24/25 would have been a fourth, but he was fired with nine games left in the regular season.
Although Jenkins’ career postseason record of 9-14 is underwhelming and the Grizzlies were disappointed by his results this season, it’s worth noting that his ouster didn’t exactly jump-start this year’s team. The Grizzlies finished the regular season by going 4-5 under Tuomas Iisalo, then were swept out of the first round by Oklahoma City.
Brown, meanwhile, was dismissed by the Kings midway through the 2024/25 season after guiding the team to a 107-88 (.549) mark across two-and-a-half seasons, with one playoff appearance and one play-in exit. Brown, who also previously coached the Cavaliers and Lakers, earned Coach of the Year honors in 2009 and 2023.
As Amick observes, Brown interviewed for the Knicks’ head coaching position in 2020 before Thibodeau was hired, and league sources tell The Athletic he left a “very strong impression” on the club.
Here’s more on the Knicks and their head coaching vacancy:
- After originally reporting that Michael Malone isn’t a candidate for the Knicks’ job, Bondy says it’s now not out of the question that the former Nuggets coach could get an interview. However, Malone remains a “long-shot” option, according to Bondy.
- Although the Mavericks declined the Knicks’ request to speak to Jason Kidd, Bondy agrees with Newsday’s Steve Popper, who said on Wednesday that Dallas’ denial doesn’t necessarily spell the end of New York’s pursuit of Kidd. As Bondy explains, Kidd is believed to be seeking a contract extension from the Mavs — if he doesn’t get that new deal and New York is willing to offer him a long-term contract, Kidd could make things uncomfortable for his current team. Still, Bondy acknowledges there’s probably only a “small” chance of the situation playing out that way. One league source he spoke to was adamant that the Mavs won’t let Kidd go.
- In a separate column for the Post, Bondy suggests Thibodeau’s dismissal was more about relationships than results and questions the statement put out by Leon Rose in which the Knicks’ president of basketball operations said the change was necessary because the team is “singularly focused on winning a championship.” No one in the organization, Bondy argues, was more “singularly focused on winning” than Thibodeau.
Hawks Rumors: Draft, TPE, Turner, LeVert, Front Office
Although the Hawks hold a pair of first-round picks at Nos. 13 and 22, there hasn’t been much chatter among league sources about Atlanta exploring the idea of packaging those selections to move up in the draft, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
By contrast, Fischer writes, a few other teams with multiple first-rounders, including Brooklyn (Nos. 8, 19, 26, and 27), Oklahoma City (Nos. 15 and 24), and Orlando (Nos. 16 and 25), are viewed as trade-up candidates.
Still, there’s significant “league-wide curiosity” about the Hawks’ offseason plans for their roster, given that they’re operating well below the luxury tax line and possess multiple sizable traded player exceptions, Fischer writes. According to Fischer, Atlanta is “known to be conducting due diligence” about possible targets that would fit into the $25.3MM exception created in last summer’s Dejounte Murray deal.
That TPE, which would expire if it remains unused through July 7, could be used in a traditional trade or by acquiring a player via sign-and-trade. If it’s used, it would hard-cap Atlanta at the first tax apron for the 2025/26 league year.
Here’s more on the Hawks:
- Fischer confirms that Atlanta has had interest in Pacers center Myles Turner, as reported earlier this week. The Hawks had viewed Turner as a player who might make sense as a sign-and-trade target using that $25.3MM trade exception, Fischer explains, though his price might increase beyond that based on his performance during Indiana’s run to the NBA Finals. There has also been no indication that the Pacers, who want to re-sign Turner, would be eager to accommodate a sign-and-trade.
- Sources tell Fischer that the Hawks have exhibited a “keen” interest in re-signing Caris LeVert, whom the team acquired from Cleveland in February’s De’Andre Hunter trade. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported that retaining LeVert is expected to be a priority for the team. The 30-year-old guard finished the season strong in Atlanta, averaging 14.9 points per game on 48.2% shooting in 26 appearances off the bench.
- While the Hawks say their search for a president of basketball operations hasn’t ended, it’s very possible that their front office additions of Bryson Graham as senior VP of basketball operations and Peter Dinwiddie as senior VP of strategy and analytics will end up being their more significant hires, says Fischer. Even before those additions, the club had a large group of front office executives involved in personnel decisions, according to Fischer, who reiterates that bringing in a senior advisor to complement general manager Onsi Saleh remains a possibility.
- In case you missed it on Wednesday, Atlanta reportedly declined the Knicks’ request to speak to Hawks head coach Quin Snyder.
Brandin Podziemski Undergoes Core Muscle Surgery
Brandin Podziemski underwent a second offseason procedure this week, according to the Warriors, who announced in a press release that the guard had surgery on Tuesday to repair a core muscle injury.
Podziemski had undergone left wrist debridement surgery two weeks earlier. Golden State indicated at the time that he was expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the start of training camp. The team repeated that message in the wake of his latest procedure.
Podziemski averaged 11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 26.8 minutes per game across 64 regular season outings during his second NBA season in 2024/25.
Although the 22-year-old posted a solid shooting line of .445/.372/.758 in the regular season, he struggled with his shot in the playoffs, making only 36.4% of his attempts from the floor, including 32.8% of his three-point tries.
Podziemski’s wrist and core issues may have played a part in that postseason drop-off, though it sounds like he was probably dealing with the latter for much of the season. He missed 12 consecutive games in December and January due to what the team referred to at the time as a right abdominal injury.
The Warriors guard will earn a salary of roughly $3.7MM next season, with a decision due on his 2026/27 team option (worth $5.7MM) by the end of October. Assuming that option is exercised, which looks like a lock, he’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2026 offseason.
2025 NBA Offseason Preview: Los Angeles Lakers
The four seasons that followed the Lakers' 2020 title were relatively uninspiring for a team that featured two future Hall of Famers in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Los Angeles posted a total regular season record of 165-153 (.519) across those four years from 2020-24, missing the playoffs once and getting eliminated in the first round twice. Even in 2023, when the Lakers advanced to the conference finals, they had just a 43-39 record during the season and were swept out of the postseason by Denver.
While the end result of the 2024/25 season was another first-round playoff exit, there are a couple important reasons why it would be inaccurate to say the year was more of the same for the Lakers.
First, with the lone exception of the COVID-shortened championship season in 2019/20, L.A.'s 50-32 record was the best single-season mark the club has posted since 2012. The last time the Lakers won 50 or more games in a full 82-game season was when Phil Jackson was on the sidelines and Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum were on the roster.
Second, and more importantly, Luka Doncic became a Laker during the 2024/25 season.
Much of the discourse in the hours, days, weeks, and months that followed February's shocking Doncic blockbuster focused on what exactly the Mavericks were thinking when they traded away a popular five-time All-NBA first-teamer in his prime. But Dallas wasn't the only franchise whose trajectory was changed irrevocably by the decision. Instead of having James pass the torch in the coming years to Davis, who turned 32 years old in March, the club is set up to build around the 26-year-old Doncic for the next decade.
The acquisition of Doncic didn't turn the Lakers into legitimate championship contenders in the short term. After all, there will always be some growing pains when a ball-dominant star gets accustomed to a new situation halfway through the season.
Plus, the fact that they had to part with Davis - a star in his own right - and nixed a separate deadline deal for center Mark Williams due to concerns about his physical meant the Lakers had a serious dearth of frontcourt talent. It was an issue that came back to haunt them in the postseason, when the Timberwolves dispatched them in five games in the conference quarterfinals.
That sort of first-round playoff exit with the old roster would've created real angst in Los Angeles heading into the offseason, and we likely would've spent weeks or months speculating about how the Lakers could add another impact player this summer to take advantage of what little time they have left with LeBron. Instead, the high of the Doncic trade has lingered for months, significantly reducing the pain of that quick postseason ouster.
Sure, the Lakers need to address the center position and will explore additional roster upgrades before next season tips off, but it certainly feels like there's far less urgency to make a major splash in the short term now that one of the NBA's perennial MVP candidates appears poised to be in L.A. for years to come.
The Lakers' Offseason Plan
Although it's an issue that will have to be addressed later in the summer, ensuring that Doncic will, in fact, be a Laker for the foreseeable future figures to be a top priority for the front office. The star guard will technically become extension-eligible in July, but restrictions on his total years and dollars will remain in place until August 2, six months after the trade that sent him to Los Angeles. At that point, he'll be able to sign for up to a projected $228.6MM over four years.