Suns Announce Mike Budenholzer’s Coaching Staff
The Suns have issued a press release formally announcing their coaching staff for the 2024/25 season under new head coach Mike Budenholzer.
As is typically the case, most of these hires were reported earlier in the summer, but the Suns waited until now to officially confirm them all at once.
Here are Budenholzer’s assistants:
- Chad Forcier, who has worked as an NBA assistant in Detroit, Indiana, San Antonio, Orlando, Memphis, Milwaukee, and Utah since 2001, winning titles with the Spurs (2014) and Bucks (2021).
- David Fizdale, formerly the head coach of the Grizzlies and Knicks, who was first hired as an assistant by the Suns in 2023 and decided to remain with the team following its head coaching change.
- Vince Legarza, who worked under Budenholzer in both Atlanta and Milwaukee and also served as an assistant coach in Utah from 2019-22.
- Mike Hopkins, a longtime assistant coach under Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and the head coach at the University of Washington from 2017-24.
- Brent Barry, a former NBA sharpshooter, TNT analyst, and front office executive. He was most recently the Spurs’ vice president of basketball operations and the Austin Spurs’ general manager.
- James Posey, who won titles with the Heat and Celtics as a player and has served as an assistant coach in Cleveland and Washington since his retirement.
- Schuyler Rimmer, who won a championship with Budenholzer in 2021 as a Bucks player development assistant and also worked under Budenholzer in Atlanta. He has been a Lakers assistant for the past two seasons.
Fizdale is the lone holdover from Frank Vogel‘s 2023/24 staff.
Charles Barkley Won’t Retire In 2025, Will Remain With TNT Sports
Veteran NBA analyst Charles Barkley, who previously stated that he planned to retire after the 2024/25 season, has reversed course and will remain on with TNT Sports for “many years to come,” the cable network announced today in a statement (Twitter link via Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News).
TNT is expected to lose its NBA broadcast rights after the 2024/25 season, but Barkley remains under contract with Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT’s parent company) well beyond that, having signed a 10-year, $210MM contract in 2022. He has stated that he didn’t intend to accept a pay cut, so it sounds like TNT plans to honor that contract.
“I love my TNT Sports family,” Barkley said in a statement. “My #1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible. We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me.
“I have to say … I’ve been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about. I appreciate them and all of my colleagues for their continued support, and most importantly our fans. I’m going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come.”
An NBA broadcast partner for several decades, TNT was unable to reach an agreement in the latest round of negotiations as the league struck deals with Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBC, and Amazon. TNT attempted to exercise its matching rights on Amazon’s offer, but was rejected by the NBA, which has led to a lawsuit from WBD.
Barring an unexpected development, the 2024/25 season will likely be TNT’s last as an NBA broadcaster. The popular Inside The NBA studio show, which stars Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, and Ernie Johnson, may also be entering its final season. Barkley said last month that he was open to listening to pitches from Disney, NBC, and Amazon and was still leaning toward retirement, but has now reaffirmed his commitment to TNT for the next several years.
While TNT will likely no longer have NBA broadcasts beyond 2025, the network airs March Madness games and features Barkley on its studio show during the NCAA tournament. It also has the rights to several other sports and events, as TNT Sports Chairman & CEO Luis Silberwasser noted in a statement of his own.
“Charles is one of the best and most beloved sportscasters in the history of television,” Silberwasser said. “I know I speak for all members of the TNT Sports family when I say we are incredibly thrilled to share this mutual commitment to continue showcasing Charles’ one-of-a-kind talents and entertain fans well into the future.
“We continue to add to the breadth and depth of our sports portfolio — including new properties in the College Football Playoffs, Roland-Garros, NASCAR, BIG EAST college basketball, Mountain West football, among others — and it’s fantastic to have Charles for this journey as we develop new content ideas and shows for our fans.”
Jazz Sign Micah Potter To Two-Way Contract
AUGUST 6: The Jazz have officially signed Potter to his two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.
AUGUST 3: The Jazz have agreed to a two-way contract with big man Micah Potter, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Potter, who went undrafted out of Wisconsin in 2021, made his NBA debut in January 2022 while on a 10-day contract with the Pistons, but was unable to land another NBA deal until the Jazz signed him to a two-way contract ahead of the 2022/23 season.
He has spent the past two seasons occupying one of Utah’s two-way slots, appearing in 23 NBA games for the team during that time and averaging 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per contest.
Potter has seen more extensive action at the G League level while under contract with the Jazz. In 2023/24, he appeared in a total of 42 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 15.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 2.9 APG, and 1.8 BPG in just 29.6 MPG and posting an impressive shooting line of .508/.399/.756.
Potter’s strong play with the Stars helped earn him a rare opportunity this summer — SLC head coach Steve Wojciechowski, a Duke alum who has connections to Grant Hill and Mike Krzyzewski, recommended the 26-year-old for the U.S. Select Team ahead of the Paris Olympics, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
While Potter hasn’t yet gotten the chance to play regular minutes in the NBA, his time training and scrimmaging with Team USA in Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi, and London solidified his belief that he’s capable of competing at the highest level he prepares for his fourth season, as Fischer details.
“I always belonged,” Potter said. “I always felt like I belonged, I competed like I belonged and I performed like I belonged. I never had doubt beforehand, but being on the floor with the best players America has, it just confirmed my confidence.”
Potter’s two-way contract will be for one year and will pay him $578,577 if he’s not waived before January’s league-wide salary guarantee date. He’ll be eligible to play in up to 50 NBA games for the Jazz and will join Jason Preston and Taevion Kinsey as Utah’s two-way players.
Xavier Moon Signs With Zenit St. Petersburg
Veteran NBA guard Xavier Moon is headed overseas for the 2024/25 season, having signed with Zenit St. Petersburg, the Russian team announced in a press release. It’s a one-year deal, according to the team.
Moon, 29, played in several non-NBA leagues around the world after going undrafted out of Morehead State in 2017. He spent time playing in France, Canada, and Israel before catching on with the Clippers’ G League team in 2021. His strong play in the NBAGL earned him a shot at the NBA level and he has spent parts of the past three seasons under contract with Los Angeles, primarily on two-way deals.
In 28 career NBA appearances, Moon has averaged 3.5 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .406/.235/.571. He has been more effective in the G League, including in 2023/24, when he registered averages of 19.8 PPG, 6.4 APG, and 4.9 RPG and an impressive .480/.410/.900 shooting line across 29 total Showcase Cup and regular season contests.
Moon finished the ’23/24 season with the Clippers, but didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the club in June and became an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
He’ll join a Zenit St. Petersburg team that is coming off a 26-10 season in VTB United League play and will be looking to knock off perennial powerhouse CSKA Moscow next season. Zenit has been prohibiting from EuroLeague competition since February 2022 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
NBA Players With Trade Kickers In 2024/25
A trade kicker is a contractual clause that pays an NBA player a bonus when he’s traded. They’re one of the tools teams have at their disposal to differentiate their free agent offers from the ones put on the table by competing clubs — or to incentivize a player to sign an extension before he reaches free agency.
Sometimes the kicker is worth a fixed amount, but usually it’s based on a percentage of the remaining value of the contract. So, a player who has a 10% trade kicker is eligible for a bonus worth 10% of the amount of money he has yet to collect on his deal (not counting an option year).
Regardless of whether a trade kicker is set at a fixed amount or a percentage, the bonus can’t exceed 15% of the remaining value of the contract. Most trade kickers are worth 15%, the highest percentage allowed.
A trade bonus must be paid by the team that trades the player, rather than the team acquiring him. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement also allows a player to waive part or all of his trade kicker as part of a deal, if he so chooses.
If you want a more detailed explanation of how trade kickers work, check out the Hoops Rumors Glossary entry on the subject.
Here’s a list of the NBA players who have active trade kickers for 2024/25, listed alphabetically, along with the details of those trade bonuses:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (15%)
- OG Anunoby, Knicks (15%)
- Desmond Bane, Grizzlies (15%)
- Nicolas Batum, Clippers (15%)
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks (15%)
- Jimmy Butler, Heat (15%): Traded
- Note: Waived bonus.
- Anthony Davis, Lakers (15%): Traded
- Note: Waived bonus.
- Draymond Green, Warriors (15%)
- James Harden, Clippers (15%)
- Al Horford, Celtics (15% or $500K, whichever is lesser)
- Brandon Ingram, Pelicans (15%): Traded
- Note: Waived bonus.
- Kyrie Irving, Mavericks (15%)
- LeBron James, Lakers (15%)
- Derrick Jones, Clippers (5%)
- Kyle Kuzma, Wizards (15%): Traded
- Note: Amended bonus.
- Zach LaVine, Bulls (15%): Traded
- Note: Amended bonus.
- Naji Marshall, Mavericks (5%)
- Caleb Martin, Sixers (15%): Traded
- Kevin Porter Jr., Clippers (15%): Traded
- Bobby Portis, Bucks (15%)
- Julius Randle, Knicks (15%): Traded
- Austin Reaves, Lakers (15%)
- Jayson Tatum, Celtics (15%)
- Klay Thompson, Mavericks (15%)
- Matisse Thybulle, Trail Blazers (15%)
- Derrick White, Celtics (15%)
The following players have trade bonuses on their contracts, but those bonuses would be voided if they were to be traded during the 2024/25 league year, since they’re already earning this season’s maximum salary:
- LaMelo Ball, Hornets (15%)
- Devin Booker, Suns (10%)
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics (7% or $7MM, whichever is lesser)
- Stephen Curry, Warriors (15%)
- Luka Doncic, Mavericks (15%)
- Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves (15%)
- Darius Garland, Cavaliers (15%)
- Paul George, Sixers (15%)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder (15%)
- Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers (15%)
- Nikola Jokic, Nuggets (15%)
- Kawhi Leonard, Clippers (15%)
- Ja Morant, Grizzlies (15%)
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves (10%): Traded
- Fred VanVleet, Rockets (15%)
- Trae Young, Hawks (15%)
The following players have signed contract extensions that will include trade kickers, but those extensions won’t go into effect until at least the 2025/26 season:
- Scottie Barnes, Raptors (15%)
- Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves (7.5%)
- Aaron Gordon, Nuggets (3%)
- Jalen Green, Rockets (10%)
- Evan Mobley, Cavaliers (15%)
- Ivica Zubac, Clippers (5%)
Information from ESPN’s Bobby Marks was used in the creation of this post.
Lakers Officially Announce Redick’s Coaching Staff
The Lakers have formally announced the coaching staff that will work under J.J. Redick during his first season in Los Angeles, issuing a press release to confirm its assistant coaching hires.
Most of the Lakers’ hires, headlined by former NBA head coaches Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks, have been previously reported, but here’s the full list of assistants in one place:
- McMillan, who has compiled a 760-668 (.532) career regular season record as the head coach of the SuperSonics, Trail Blazers, Pacers, and Hawks.
- Brooks, who most recently served as an assistant in Portland and was a longtime head coach in Oklahoma City and Washington. He had a 521-414 (.557) regular season record and a 49-48 (.505) postseason mark, having led the Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012.
- Bob Beyer, a veteran assistant who spent time with the Raptors, Magic, Warriors, Bobcats, Pistons, Thunder, Kings, Pelicans, and Hornets from 2003-24.
- Greg St. Jean, who was a Lakers player development coach from 2019-21 before spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach in Dallas (2021-23) and Phoenix (2023/24).
- Lindsey Harding, the reigning G League Coach of the Year for the Stockton Kings and the first full-time female assistant coach in Lakers franchise history.
- Beau Levesque, who has held the title of player development coordinator with the Clippers for the past four seasons.
The Lakers also announced that they hired Michael Wexler as their head video coordinator. He was a coaching associate last season with the Suns and previously served as the head video coordinator for the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx.
The Lakers’ goal was to surround Redick, a first-time NBA coach, with an experienced staff that could help him learn the ropes, which is why the club targeted former head coaches like McMillan and Brooks and a longtime assistant like Beyer to lead the group.
“Through an international and thorough process, we’ve brought together an experienced, diverse, and dedicated coaching staff,” Redick said in a statement. “Our goal from day one is about fostering a high-performing environment of player development and team alignment through relentless work, daily collaboration and innovation. Players and staff are here to enjoy the pursuit of excellence every time they step on the court. The expectations are clear, and my staff and I are committed to doing everything we need to do to ensure success at the highest level.”
Heat Sign Zyon Pullin To Exhibit 10 Contract
Zyon Pullin has become the first player from the 2024 draft class to sign his second NBA contract, having returned to the Heat on a non-guaranteed deal. The team officially announced the signing on Monday, with Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald reporting that it’s an Exhibit 10 agreement (Twitter links).
A 6’4″ guard out of Florida, Pullin played for UC Riverside from 2019-23 before transferring to the Gators for his super-senior year. He was an All-SEC honoree in 2023/24 after averaging 15.5 points, 4.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per contest in 33 games (27 starts), with a shooting line of .444/.449/.847.
Pullin quickly agreed to terms with the Heat after going undrafted in June, officially signing a two-way contract with the team on the first day of the new league year on July 1. However, he didn’t see much playing time for Miami’s Summer League squad and was waived on July 25 when the club needed to open up a roster spot to sign Summer League standout Josh Christopher to a two-way deal.
Pullin’s new deal signals that the Heat still view him as a prospect they want in their system. He could be converted back to a two-way deal anytime up until the day before the regular season if he impresses in camp, but the more likely scenario is that he’s waived and becomes an affiliate player for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League team.
A player on an Exhibit 10 contract can earn a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived by his NBA team and then spends at least 60 days with his club’s G League affiliate.
Contract Details: Kennard, Fernando, Graham, Allen
Luke Kennard‘s new one-year contract with the Grizzlies, originally reported to be worth $11MM, actually has a base salary of just $9.25MM, Hoops Rumors has learned. Kennard can also earn an additional $1,387,500 in unlikely incentives, so his deal can max out at $10,637,500.
That disparity between the reported terms and the actual terms is important, given Memphis’ proximity to the luxury tax line. An $11MM cap hit would have put the Grizzlies over the luxury tax line by about $1MM, but because Kennard counts for just $9.25MM against the cap, the team’s salary is hovering right around $170MM, a little below the tax line ($170,814,000).
Kennard, Desmond Bane, and Brandon Clarke have unlikely contract incentives that could make Memphis a taxpayer if they’re earned. Given how close they are to the luxury tax line, I’d expect the Grizzlies to keep a close eye on each player’s progress toward his respective bonuses and make a minor cost-cutting move by February’s trade deadline if necessary — finishing the season just slightly above that tax threshold would cost the team a significant end-of-season payout that’s only available to non-taxpayers.
Here are more details on some recently signed contracts from around the NBA:
- Bruno Fernando signed a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Raptors. It’s non-guaranteed for the time being, but Fernando’s full $2,425,403 salary (and $2,087,519 cap hit) would become guaranteed if he remains under contract beyond the first day of the regular season, Hoops Rumors has learned.
- Devonte’ Graham‘s one-year, non-guaranteed training camp contract with the Trail Blazers includes Exhibit 9 language, but not Exhibit 10 language, Hoops Rumors has learned. That suggests Graham probably isn’t planning to join the Rip City Remix (Portland’s G League team) as an affiliate player if he’s waived by the Blazers this fall.
- Jarrett Allen‘s three-year, $90.72MM extension with the Cavaliers is a straightforward, fully guaranteed contract with no options on the final year and no trade kicker, Hoops Rumors has confirmed.
Olympic Notes: Holiday, Germany, Canada, Daniels
With its win on Saturday over Puerto Rico, Team USA clinched the top seed entering the quarterfinals of the men’s basketball tournament at the Olympics and will face Brazil in the first game of the single-elimination portion of the event on Tuesday.
According to head coach Steve Kerr, Jrue Holiday will be ready to go on Tuesday after not playing against Puerto Rico on Saturday, tweets Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Holiday was ruled out due to an ankle injury, but it sounds like the issue is relatively minor.
At least one or two stars on the U.S. roster were DNP-CDs in each of the club’s first two games, so not having Holiday active allowed all 11 other players to see the floor on Saturday. Anthony Edwards led the way with a team-high 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting, while five other Americans scored in the double-digits.
Here are a few more Olympic notes:
- While they’ve been somewhat overshadowed at the Olympics by teams with more NBA players or more recognizable stars, the Germans are the reigning World Cup champs and went undefeated in their three pool-play games, with a point differential (+47) that ranks second behind Team USA. Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com lays out the reasons why Germany remains a serious medal threat, starting with rising star Franz Wagner.
- Canada faced a tough lineup of games in pool play, but after registering wins over Australia, Spain, and Greece, head coach Jordi Fernandez believes those challenging first-round matchups better equipped his team for what’s to come. “We’ve played with a Game 7 mentality because we played the toughest pool in the Olympics,” Fernandez said. “We’re more prepared than other teams who probably had big leads. We haven’t had those big leads, and even at times when we had them, these teams were so competitive that came back. I like where we’re at. This ‘group of death’ will help us be more prepared for the quarterfinals.”
- Australia went just 1-2 in the so-called group of death, but their point differential was strong enough to earn them a spot in the quarterfinals. Olgun Uluc of ESPN shares his takeaways from the Boomers’ performance through three games and considers what areas they’ll need to improve to have a shot at a medal. On the plus side, Dyson Daniels has been a revelation so far this summer, Uluc writes — in addition to handling the most challenging defensive assignment on the perimeter, the Hawks guard has averaged 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game with a .417 3PT%.
NBA, FIBA Have Discussed Idea Of New League Or Tournament In Europe
The NBA has ramped up talks with FIBA and has considered the idea of launching a new league or annual tournament in Europe, commissioner Adam Silver confirmed in a conversation with Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
While the discussions between the NBA and FIBA aren’t new, Silver referred to them as “much more serious” than they’ve been in the past, according to Reynolds, who notes that the league may feel the time is right to take advantage of the sport’s popularity in Europe. The level of European basketball star power has never been higher than it is right now and the NBA recently finalized a media rights deal that will run through 2036, opening the door for the league office to focus on new endeavors.
“We certainly haven’t made any definitive decisions,” Silver said from the Olympics in France. “I continue to believe there’s enormous opportunity here. It’s not something where we’ll transform a league structure in the short term. But I think that there’s an appetite among our team owners for additional investment in global basketball. We have a huge initiative in China. We have a huge initiative in Africa. Given the quality of the basketball here in Europe, it would seem to make sense that we should be doing something here as well.”
According to Reynolds, Silver said he has no preference on whether to pursue the establishment of a league or a tournament in Europe. For now, he and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum are using their trip overseas as an opportunity to get feedback from FIBA officials, league executives, and other stakeholders about the NBA’s potential options.
“We want to make sure we have a true grasp of the opportunity,” Silver said. “We’ll take the time we need to before we decide to move forward on any initiative.”
As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic writes, many existing European teams compete separately in domestic and international leagues, so a new international league run by the NBA could give teams across the continent additional options beyond established competitions like the EuroLeague and EuroCup.
According to Vorkunov, many top European basketball clubs lose money or at least don’t turn a significant profit, so there’s a sense that an NBA-run league could provide an “improved economic structure.” However, there’s also concern that the quality of the product could suffer as a result — with no salary cap currently in place in the EuroLeague, some teams are in the red because they’re spending aggressively in pursuit of championships.
“The fear has always been if the NBA comes in, it’s going to be what the NBA is in the States: it’s business and it’s entertainment, and then it’s sports,” one EuroLeague source told Vorkunov.
As Vorkunov observes, the NBA has shown with its Basketball Africa League that it’s capable of effectively organizing and maintaining an international competition that incorporates teams from several countries and operates separately from those teams’ domestic leagues.
“No one was waiting for the NBA to come in but at this point, there’s a certain need to structure the markets and the competitions in a certain way,” a EuroLeague team president said to Vorkunov. “There is one brand that has proven they can do that.”
According to Reynolds, Silver stressed that if the NBA were to launch a league in Europe, the goal wouldn’t be to replace the EuroLeague or other top competitions.
“We certainly don’t want to do damage to the strong bones of the basketball infrastructure that are in place,” Silver said. “On the other hand, in terms of regional and pan-regional competition here in Europe, it would be my sense — and again, I’m still studying — that lots of investors are losing significant amounts of money every year. And while this isn’t just about money, most things that continue to lose money without a trajectory towards profitability ultimately do not survive. And so, whatever we do here, I think it’s important that it’s additive to the European basketball structure.”