Magic Sign Myron Gardner To Exhibit 10 Contract
7:45pm: Orlando has now confirmed the signing of Garnder, via a press statement (via Twitter).
3:50pm: The Magic are signing free agent wing Myron Gardner to an Exhibit 10 contract, a league source tells Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Chris Haynes (Twitter link) first reported that the two sides had reached a deal, citing agent Jake Cohen.
Gardner, who began his college career at Georgetown, transferred to Little Rock and then went undrafted in 2023 after deciding to forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility.
Gardner caught on with the Osceola Magic, Orlando’s G League affiliate, and appeared in 47 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the team last season, averaging 5.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 15.4 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .425/.317/.600. He also played for Orlando’s Summer League team in Las Vegas this July.
Since the Magic control Gardner’s G League returning rights, signing him to an Exhibit 10 contract will allow the team to award him a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived by Orlando and then spends at least 60 days with Osceola.
Once Gardner’s signing is official, the Magic will have 17 players under contract, including 15 on guaranteed standard deals and Trevelin Queen on a two-way deal. The club still has a pair of two-way slots open, and while Gardner could theoretically vie for one of those spots, I’d be surprised if that’s the plan, given his limited contributions at the G League level in 2023/24.
Former NBA Lottery Pick John Henson Confirms Retirement
Former NBA big man John Henson has no intentions of attempting a comeback, confirming to Spencer Davies of RG.org that he has retired as a player and has moved onto the next stage of his life.
“I was so blessed to play this long,” Henson said. “It’s a lot of opportunities, man. It’s just a matter of one step at a time. I’m only 33, so I have time to explore and figure out what I want to do next. This is just the next phase, and we’ll see where it takes me. But so far, so good.”
The 14th overall pick in the 2012 draft, Henson spent his first seven seasons with the Bucks, then played for the Cavaliers and Pistons during the 2019/20 season. He averaged 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 19.7 minutes per game across 445 career outings (160 starts) from 2012-20. Health issues, including wrist and hamstring injuries, slowed him down and limited his availability during his final seasons.
Though he inked a 10-day contract with the Knicks in April 2021, Henson didn’t appear in any games for New York. The 6’9″ center also signed with Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico in March 2022, but ended up not suiting up for the team.
“I could’ve fought. I could’ve went the G League route and tried to work my way back, but I’ve always just been a guy that basketball’s never life or death for me or my life,” Henson said. “I’m not gonna sit here and bang my head against the wall. My first initial thought was let me finish my education and let me see what happens, and then we’ll go from there.”
According to Davies, Henson has passed on offers in recent years to be a veteran mentor on the G League Ignite’s roster and to join the Capital City Go-Go (the Wizards‘ G League affiliate) as an assistant coach.
Henson’s focus has been on media jobs — he’ll provide color commentary for ACC games and serve as an analyst on SiriusXM’s ACC Today program during the 2024/25 season, per Davies. The big man previously spent two seasons appearing on The Bettor Half Hour on MSG Network.
Suns Notes: Trischan, Bell, Budenholzer, More
A former Suns employee is seeking $60MM in damages from the team, according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN, who reports that the individual, Andrea Trischan, filed a complaint claiming discrimination and wrongful termination. Trischan’s attorney Sheree Wright told ESPN that her client “endured overt racist comments and a hostile work environment that went unaddressed despite being reported to HR and executive leadership.”
An ESPN report from 2021 detailed a toxic work environment under former team owner Robert Sarver, who was accused of using racially inappropriate language and engaging in inappropriate and misogynistic behavior. Trischan was hired by the organization in September 2022, about a week after Sarver was suspended by the NBA and a few months before he reached an agreement to sell the team to Mat Ishbia. Holmes notes that Trischan’s role was specifically related to addressing the issues described in ESPN’s investigative report.
Trischan asserts that she received push-back from the team when she attempted to look into claims of misconduct against certain Suns executives, some of whom were named to a “diversity council” that was created without consulting her a couple months after she was hired. According to Holmes, she described facing “harassment, discrimination and retaliation from colleagues and superiors” for attempting to investigate and address the misconduct described in ESPN’s story. The team strongly disputed her claims.
“A former employee who last worked for the organization in 2023 was terminated after less than 10 months due to repeated failure to perform her job duties,” Suns VP of communications Stacey Mitch told Holmes. “This individual filed a baseless charge with a state agency and is now trying to use ESPN reporting from 2022, specific to previous ownership, to make egregious claims in order to support her ridiculous demand for $60 million from the Suns organization.
“To be clear, this individual is making false claims in an attempt to gain tens of millions of dollars. We are confident the courts will find no merit to these claims and quickly resolve this matter.”
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Former NBA guard Charlie Bell, who played alongside Ishbia at Michigan State for two years from 1999 to 2001, has joined the Valley Suns – Phoenix’s new G League affiliate – as a personnel evaluator, reports Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Bell had worked for Ishbia’s United Wholesale Mortgage since 2019, per Rankin.
- Although he’s entering his first season with the Suns, Mike Budenholzer will face plenty of pressure and significant expectations in 2024/25 as he looks to lead the team to a better finish than head coach Frank Vogel did in his first and only season in Phoenix, Rankin writes in a separate story, relaying analysis from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
- Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports outlines five reasons why he expects the Suns to be better in ’24/25 than they were last season, including the head coaching change and the improved bench depth.
- In case you missed it, we recapped the Suns’ summer moves in our Offseason Check-In series earlier this week.
Heat Sign Malik Williams To Exhibit 10 Contract
The Heat have signed free agent big man Malik Williams to their roster on an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) first reported that Miami was signing Williams to a camp deal.
Williams, who went undrafted out of Louisville in 2022, played in Poland during his first professional season, then spent most of last year with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate. The 6’11” forward/center earned a call-up to the NBA in April, signing a 10-day contract and a rest-of-season deal with the Raptors just before the end of the regular season.
Williams started two of the seven games he played for Toronto, averaging 2.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per night and making just 9-of-34 (26.5%) shots from the floor. The 26-year-old was more effective in Sioux Falls, where he put up 10.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 1.3 BPG in 42 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Skyforce. Still, his shooting numbers (.426/.311/.684) were below average, especially for a big man.
According to Winderman, Williams’ deal is “seen as more of a G League move” for the Heat, which suggests they expect to waive him and have him return to the Skyforce for the 2024/25 season rather than giving him a shot to compete for a spot on Miami’s 18-man regular season roster. If he spends at least 60 days with Sioux Falls, Williams will be eligible to earn a bonus worth up to $77.5K on top of his standard G League salary.
The Heat now have 20 players under contract, including 14 on standard guaranteed deals, three on two-ways, and three on Exhibit 10s.
And-Ones: Barkley, Traded Picks, Free Agency, MVP Odds
Appearing at Front Office Sports’ Tuned In summit this week, both ESPN president of content Burke Magnus and NBCUniversal chairman Mark Lazarus indicated they’d love to have the opportunity to lure TNT analyst Charles Barkley to their respective networks, according to Dennis Young of Front Office Sports.
Magnus said that in “a perfect world,” he’d hire Barkley to anchor ESPN’s NBA studio coverage, while Lazarus said if Barkley were available, “certainly we’d be talking to him.” Disney (ESPN/ABC) and NBCUniversal are two of the three broadcasters – along with Amazon – who reached 11-year rights agreements with the NBA earlier this year.
TNT Sports announced last month that Barkley, who signed a 10-year contract in 2022, will remain at the network, which appears likely to lose its NBA broadcast rights beginning in 2025/26. TNT attempted to exercise its matching rights on Amazon’s bid, but was rejected by the league, which has argued that TNT’s offer didn’t match the terms of Amazon’s. The matter is the subject of an ongoing legal battle.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Which of the future first-round picks that have been traded are the most and least valuable? Sam Quinn of CBS Sports tries his hand at ranking those assets, listing 68 first-round picks and swaps from the least valuable (the Jazz‘s right to swap 2026 first-round picks with the Timberwolves) to the most valuable (the Bucks’ unprotected 2029 first-round pick, controlled by the Trail Blazers).
- The rise of veteran contract extensions in recent years means NBA teams can no longer bet on free agency as a reliable path to significantly upgrade their rosters, says Bryan Toporek of Forbes. That may change in future years, Toporek writes, but for now this year’s Sixers (who signed Paul George, Caleb Martin, and Andre Drummond using cap room) look like an outlier rather than a blueprint to follow.
- In an article for DraftKings.com, Grant Afseth takes a look at the stars who have the best odds to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award in 2025, including the favorites (Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic), the second tier of top contenders (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo), and longer shots like Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brunson, and Victor Wembanyama.
2024/25 NBA Over/Unders: Northwest Division
With the 2024/25 NBA regular season set to tip off next month, we’re getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and continuing an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.
With the help of the lines from a series of sports betting sites – including Bovada and BetOnline – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
In 2023/24, our voters went 16-14 on their over/under picks. Can you top that in ’24/25?
We’ll continue our series today with the Northwest Division…
Oklahoma City Thunder
- 2023/24 record: 57-25
- Over/under for 2024/25: 56.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Dillon Jones, Nikola Topic (out for season)
- Lost: Josh Giddey, Gordon Hayward, Mike Muscala, Bismack Biyombo, Lindy Waters
How many games will the Thunder win in 2024/25?
-
Over 56.5 68% (252)
-
Under 56.5 32% (118)
Total votes: 370
Minnesota Timberwolves
- 2023/24 record: 56-26
- Over/under for 2024/25: 52.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Timberwolves win in 2024/25?
-
Over 52.5 65% (230)
-
Under 52.5 35% (123)
Total votes: 353
Denver Nuggets
- 2023/24 record: 57-25
- Over/under for 2024/25: 51.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Russell Westbrook, Dario Saric, DaRon Holmes (out for season)
- Lost: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson, Justin Holiday
How many games will the Nuggets win in 2024/25?
-
Over 51.5 54% (184)
-
Under 51.5 46% (155)
Total votes: 339
Utah Jazz
- 2023/24 record: 31-51
- Over/under for 2024/25: 29.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Jazz win in 2024/25?
-
Under 29.5 61% (196)
-
Over 29.5 39% (126)
Total votes: 322
Portland Trail Blazers
- 2023/24 record: 21-61
- Over/under for 2024/25: 22.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan
- Lost: Malcolm Brogdon, Moses Brown
How many games will the Trail Blazers win in 2024/25?
-
Under 22.5 55% (186)
-
Over 22.5 45% (154)
Total votes: 340
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (58.5 wins): Over (69.7%)
- New York Knicks (53.5 wins): Over (58.8%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (52.5 wins): Under (51.7%)
- Toronto Raptors (30.5 wins): Under (58.7%)
- Brooklyn Nets (19.5 wins): Over (54.3%)
- Dallas Mavericks (49.5 wins): Over (78.0%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (47.5 wins): Under (65.6%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (46.5 wins): Under (60.6%)
- Houston Rockets (43.5 wins): Under (51.4%)
- San Antonio Spurs (36.5 wins): Under (52.9%)
- Orlando Magic (47.5 wins): Over (57.1%)
- Miami Heat (44.5 wins): Under (63.1%)
- Atlanta Hawks (35.5 wins): Under (66.4%)
- Charlotte Hornets (29.5 wins): Under (63.1%)
- Washington Wizards (20.5 wins): Under (56.6%)
Hornets Sign Marcus Garrett, Joel Soriano, Caleb McConnell
8:23am: The Hornets have officially announced the signings and confirmed that all three players, plus Johnson, are on Exhibit 10 contracts, as expected.
8:13am: The Hornets are signing free agents Marcus Garrett, Joel Soriano, and Caleb McConnell to training camp contracts, league sources tell Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
Garrett, a 6’5″ guard who went undrafted out of Kansas in 2021, spent part of his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Heat and appeared in 12 games for Miami. However, the former Naismith Defensive Player of the Year has primarily played in the G League since going pro. He spent last season with the Greensboro Swarm and played for the Hornets’ Summer League team in Las Vegas this July.
Soriano, a 6’10” center, went undrafted in June after finishing his college career at St. John’s. The big man averaged a double-double (14.5 points, 10.7 rebounds) in 66 games during his final two college seasons while also chipping in 1.6 blocks and 1.4 assists in 29.3 minutes per contest.
McConnell went undrafted out of Rutgers in 2023 and spent his rookie year with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. The 6’7″ wing, a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in college, averaged 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 21.7 minutes per game across 47 Showcase Cup and regular season appearances for the Blue, who won the NBAGL championship in the spring. McConnell’s G League returning rights were recently traded from OKC to Greensboro.
Garrett, Soriano, and McConnell will almost certainly sign non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts, which will put them in line to receive bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they’re waived by the Hornets, then spend at least 60 days with the Swarm. It’s worth noting that Exhibit 10 contracts can also be converted to two-way deals before opening night, and Charlotte does have a two-way slot open.
Prior to officially completing these three signings, the Hornets are carrying 17 players on their offseason roster — 14 on standard contracts, a pair on two-way deals, and one (Keyontae Johnson) on a camp contract. They’ve also reportedly agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with Raequan Battle.
Khem Birch Signs With Fenerbahce
Veteran free agent center Khem Birch has signed a one-year contract with Fenerbahce, the Turkish club announced on Wednesday in a press release.
Birch, who last competed in the EuroLeague in 2016/17 with Olympiacos, spent six years in the NBA from 2017-23 before returning to Europe last season to play for Girona Basket in Spain.
Birch represented Canada in the Paris Olympics this summer and there was some speculation that his contributions on an international stage – he earned more minutes than Raptors center Kelly Olynyk in games against Australia and France – might lead to a return to the NBA. However, it appears the 31-year-old will remain overseas for at least the 2024/25 season.
In 282 total regular season games for the Magic and Raptors in the NBA, Birch averaged 5.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 17.1 minutes per contest. He registered averages of 8.8 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 12 Liga ACB outings (23.3 MPG) for Girona last season.
Birch will replace another former NBA big man, Luka Samanic, in Fenerbahce’s frontcourt. The team announced on Tuesday (via Twitter) that Samanic had left the team for personal reasons and returned to his home country of Croatia.
It’s unclear whether Samanic will return to Fenerbahce at some point or whether the two sides will part ways for good after finalizing a one-year deal in August. The former NBA first-round pick spent much of last season with the Jazz, appearing in 43 games for Utah and averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 9.4 MPG before becoming a free agent this summer.
Southwest Notes: Mamukelashvili, Spurs, Washington, Edey
After initially tendering Sandro Mamukelashvili a qualifying offer in June to make him a restricted free agent, the Spurs renounced the big man’s rights in July in order to maximize their cap room. While Mamukelashvili wasn’t sure at that point what his future held, he tells Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required) that his “heart loves San Antonio” and that he was glad to end up re-signing with the Spurs on a one-year, minimum-salary contract.
“You always want to be bought into something special and be a part of something special,” Mamukelashvili said. “With Victor (Wembanyama) being here and adding a couple veterans and some great young guys, it’s something you want to be a part of. It’s constant growth. Nobody’s just sitting laid back. Everybody comes to the gym and works hard. You want to be part of that.”
It’s the second straight summer that Mamukelashvili has re-signed with the Spurs on a one-year deal. He admitted to McDonald that he wasn’t quite as stressed out during his most recent foray into free agency, in part because teams besides the Spurs expressed interest in him.
“My first free agency, if you saw me you would have thought I was a dead man walking,” Mamukelashvili said. “I was not sleeping. I’m on Twitter like, ‘What’s going on? Just give me a minimum deal, you know?'”
Mamukelashvili didn’t play a ton in his first full season in San Antonio in 2023/24, averaging 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game across 46 appearances (five starts). The 25-year-old’s playing time is unlikely to increase substantially in his fourth season, but he’s OK with the idea of accepting a modest role.
“A guy in my situation, just one more year in the league is already a celebration,” he said.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- The Spurs announced on Tuesday in a press release that they’ve hired Mike Noyes as an assistant coach and director of player development while also promoting Josh Larson to general manager of the Austin Spurs and former NBA big man Gorgui Dieng to Austin’s assistant GM. Noyes has spent the past six seasons with the Grizzlies, most recently as a player development coach. Larson has been in the Spurs organization since 2019, while Dieng was hired in 2023 following his retirement as a player.
- Speaking at a youth basketball camp in Dallas over the weekend, veteran forward P.J. Washington said he believes the Mavericks are capable of winning a title after their offseason moves and discussed the areas of his own game that he’s working on improving, as Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News relays. “My ball-handling, being able to rebound the ball and just push and be another outlet,” Washington said. “Being able to shoot off the dribble. Pretty much everything. Working on finishing through contact. Just trying to be a better three-level scorer and trying to be a better play-maker.”
- Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal explores what Grizzlies fans should realistically expect from rookie center Zach Edey, who will likely be asked to play a significant role in his first NBA season.
Jae Crowder Working Out With Kings
Free agent forward Jae Crowder is working out this week with the Kings, sources tell Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 Sacramento (Twitter link).
As Cunningham explains, Crowder is in town to join Kings players seeking “on-court competition” ahead of training camp next month. As was the case with Isaiah Thomas‘ workouts in Sacramento last month, it’s unclear whether Crowder is explicitly getting an opportunity to audition for management or if the sessions are more informal. Either way, it certainly wouldn’t hurt his case for a contract to perform well.
Crowder has appeared in over 800 regular season games since making his NBA debut in 2012. The 34-year-old has averaged 9.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 25.0 minutes per game across 12 seasons, posting a shooting line of .419/.348/.777. In his prime years, he played a key three-and-D role on contending teams in Boston, Cleveland, Utah, Miami, and Phoenix.
Crowder spent the past season-and-a-half with the Bucks and averaged 6.4 PPG and 3.4 RPG with a .371 3PT% in 68 games (22.0 MPG). However, he struggled mightily across two postseasons in Milwaukee, making 6-of-25 shots (24.0%) from the field, including 1-of-13 three-pointers (7.7%), as the team was outscored by 43 points during his 83 playoff minutes.
The Kings currently have 14 players on standard contracts and would surpass the luxury tax line if they add a 15th man. However, two of those 14 contracts aren’t fully guaranteed, so the team still has a little roster flexibility below the tax.
Keon Ellis, who is on a non-guaranteed contract, probably isn’t going anywhere, but Orlando Robinson, who has a $500K partial guarantee, isn’t a lock to spend the entire season with the club. Of course, there’s also nothing stopping Sacramento from adding a 15th man and going into tax territory, then ducking below that threshold with a move later in the season.