Bucks Notes: Rollins, Giannis, Anthony, Green, Turner
Bucks guard Ryan Rollins told reporters after Thursday’s practice that he played through a left shoulder injury last season and underwent surgery to address the issue about a week after the team was eliminated from the playoffs, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). Although he admitted that his shoulder feels “a little different…range-wise,” Rollins clarified that it feels good and he has “no hesitation” in the shoulder.
“It was a four-month recovery,” he said. “I started back playing maybe the end of July, actually doing stuff on the court. And I would say my first live segment was not this week, but last week. So I’m just getting back into playing condition and all that, but I feel stronger. I feel good. I feel confident.”
Asked on Wednesday about what Rollins’ role would look like this season with Kevin Porter Jr. and Cole Anthony also in the point guard mix, head coach Doc Rivers made it clear that he’s not pigeonholing those players into a specific position and wouldn’t have any qualms about playing two of them at a time.
“I don’t look at them as point guards,” Rivers said (Twitter link via Nehm). “I think they all can play all the positions. I mean, we played Ryan and Cole together today. So, it doesn’t matter, they’re guards. Our offense is…not a point guard orientated offense.”
Rivers mentioned earlier in the week that he anticipates Porter will be a starter this fall.
Here’s more on the Bucks:
- Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who remained in Greece this week dealing with a case of COVID-19, is set to join the Bucks as their training camp shifts from Milwaukee to Miami, writes Ben Steele of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He’ll be flying in either tonight or in the morning,” Rivers said on Thursday ahead of the team’s flight to Florida. The Bucks’ preseason schedule will tip off on Monday with a matchup vs. the Heat in Miami, so the club will be in town for a few days before that game.
- Anthony was held out of the contact portion of Thursday’s practice as a precautionary measure due to an unspecified health issue, tweets Nehm. Rivers didn’t provide any details on what was wrong with the veteran guard.
- One of just a handful of Bucks players who didn’t sign a new contract this offseason, A.J. Green is unfazed by not having a contract extension in place yet, as Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. “It’s gonna happen exactly how it should,” said Green, who is on an expiring deal. “If I worry about it, what’s that gonna do for me? I’m not in control of it. I can only do what I can now. So, I just gotta trust that whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen regardless. It’s out of my hands.”
- After saying on media day that he’s happy to be “in a city now that wants to celebrate me,” new Bucks center Myles Turner sought to clarify that the remark wasn’t intended as a shot at Indianapolis or Pacers fans. “This quote has NOTHING to do with Indy fans and EVERYTHING to do with my free agency experience,” Turner tweeted.
Wizards Sign Leaky Black, Waive Jonathan Pierre
The Wizards have made a minor change to their training camp roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve signed free agent forward Leaky Black to an Exhibit 10 contract and waived camp invitee Jonathan Pierre.
Black, who went undrafted out of North Carolina in 2023, spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Hornets, then played last season for the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s G League affiliate. He made 26 NBA appearances for Charlotte in 2023/24, averaging 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per game.
In 44 games last season for the Go-Go, Black averaged 7.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals in 26.7 minutes per contest. Known more for his play on the other end of the court, the 6’6″ forward made the ACC’s All-Defensive team twice as a Tar Heel, in both 2022 and 2023.
In all likelihood, Black will be waived at some point before opening night and will end up rejoining the Go-Go as a returning-rights player. His Exhibit 10 deal will make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 on top of his G League salary if he spends at least 60 days with the Wizards’ affiliate.
Pierre, who will qualify as an affiliate player, will also likely land with Capital City this fall in order to earn his own $85,300 Exhibit 10 bonus.
Washington still has a full 21-man preseason roster.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 10/2/2025
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 2:00 pm Central time (3:00 pm Eastern).
Southwest Notes: DFS, Eason, Bey, Spurs, Wemby, Prosper
Confirming previous reporting, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka acknowledged on Wednesday to reporters, including Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required), that newly added forward Dorian Finney-Smith will “probably not” be ready for the start of the season as he recovers from June ankle surgery. According to Udoka, Finney-Smith hasn’t yet been cleared for contact, though he’s doing “all the shooting and other things with treatment as well during practice.”
As Lerner writes, the Rockets are also continuing to manage the workloads of center Steven Adams and forward Tari Eason, who were coming off procedures on their right knee and left leg, respectively, last season and didn’t play in both ends of back-to-backs. Houston won’t have a back-to-back this season until the first week of December and it’s unclear whether or not Adams and Eason will get the go-ahead to suit up for both of those games.
With Finney-Smith sidelined for now, Eason will receive consideration for a spot in the starting lineup this fall, according to Udoka.
“We’ll see,” Udoka said. “Good to have athletic wing defenders that’ll do a lot of things that he does, especially with Dillon (Brooks) being gone, but still to be determined, and we’ll see what works well. It’s not just about starting with me, as you know. It’s about what fits best, as far as our group. He wants to push for that. We want him to as well. And we’ll see if he gets it.”
Udoka has spoken this week about experimenting with different types of lineups, per William Guillory of The Athletic, noting that he could try out a unit featuring Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun, and Adams that would “probably be one of the biggest in the history of the league.”
We have more from around the Southwest:
- Jordan Poole was the headliner of the Pelicans‘ offseason trade with Washington, but the team also added veteran forward Saddiq Bey in that deal. Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com explores what Bey, who is returning from an ACL injury that cost him the entire 2024/25 season, can bring to New Orleans, noting that he’s earning praise from his teammates and his new head coach in camp. “He’s sort of that Swiss Army Knife type of player,” Willie Green said. “He can play multiple positions, score, post up, defend, rebound. Those guys are extremely valuable to a team’s success.”
- The Spurs were one of the NBA’s worst rebounding teams and put up poor defensive numbers when Victor Wembanyama wasn’t on the court last season. They’re optimistic that the offseason additions of centers Luke Kornet and Kelly Olynyk will help address those issues, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes (subscription required). “We wanted to be able to have that roster versatility to play a bunch of different ways and also protect the paint when Vic’s not on the floor,” general manager Brian Wright said. “I think those guys allow us to do that.”
- After recovering from a blood clot and spending time traveling in China and Japan this offseason, Wembanyama embarked upon a training regimen he described as “brutal,” explaining that he wanted to “get my body back,” according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “I can assure you, nobody has trained like I did this summer,” the Spurs star said. “And this is my best summer so far. I can tell the progress is just incredible. I feel better, I look stronger and the scale says I’m heavier. So everything is a green light.”
- With Grizzlies big men Jaren Jackson Jr., Zach Edey, and Brandon Clarke all likely unavailable to open the 2025/26 season, new two-way addition Olivier-Maxence Prosper is among the players making a strong case for a rotation role in the frontcourt during camp, head coach Tuomas Iisalo said this week, per Michael Wallace of Grind City Media (Twitter link).
Sixers’ Quentin Grimes Signs Qualifying Offer
7:03 pm: Grimes has officially re-signed with the Sixers, the team confirmed in a press release.
3:00 pm: Sixers restricted free agent Quentin Grimes has decided to sign his one-year, $8.74MM qualifying offer, agent David Bauman tells ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Wednesday was the deadline for Grimes to make a decision on that qualifying offer. Accepting it ends a three-month standoff between the 25-year-old guard and the team and will put him on track to reach unrestricted free agency during the 2026 offseason. He’ll also have the ability to veto any trade during the 2025/26 season.
Grimes, 25, spent the first three-and-a-half seasons of his NBA career with the Knicks, Pistons, and Mavericks before being dealt from Dallas to Philadelphia in a trade for Caleb Martin at February’s deadline.
Primarily a three-and-D wing to that point, Grimes took on more ball-handling and play-making responsibilities for a banged-up 76ers team missing several of its top scorers and put up big numbers down the stretch. As a Sixer, he averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in 33.7 minutes per game across 28 outings (25 starts) while posting a shooting line of .469/.373/.752.
That strong finish for Grimes complicated his contract negotiations with Philadelphia this summer. Based in large part on what the former Houston Cougar showed in the second half of ’24/25, his camp initially sought an annual salary in the range of $30MM before eventually lowering that asking price to $20-25MM per year, according to Charania.
The Sixers, however, wary of their tax/apron situation – and, presumably, of overpaying Grimes based on two months of production for a lottery-bound team – never came close to meeting that asking price. According to ESPN and other outlets, Philadelphia were willing to offer a four-year, $39MM deal or a one-year contract that would’ve paid a little more than his qualifying offer. Both offers would’ve required him to forfeit his implicit no-trade clause.
In his latest report, Charania says the 76ers’ one-year offer was worth just $100K more than the qualifying offer. Grimes’ camp, meanwhile, countered with a one-year, $17MM proposal or a two-year, $34MM deal with a second-year player option, Bauman told Charania. The club turned down both offers.
The 76ers will now retain Grimes’ Bird rights and believe they’ll be in good position next summer to either re-sign him in unrestricted free agency or work out a sign-and-trade deal with another team, Charania writes.
If Grimes agrees to a trade during the season, his new club would only have his Non-Bird rights at the end of the season. Non-Bird rights allow for a raise of up to 20%, so in that scenario Grimes’ team would need to use cap room or another exception to offer him a starting salary exceeding about $10.5MM when he reaches free agency.
The Sixers now have a team salary of $194.8MM, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). That puts them well above the tax line of $187.9MM, but below the first tax apron of $195.9MM.
Grimes was one of four restricted free agents whose stalemates with their respective clubs lasted into mid- or late-September. Grimes and Nets guard Cam Thomas ultimately accepted their qualifying offers, while Bulls guard Josh Giddey and Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga worked out multiyear deals.
Warriors To Reevaluate De’Anthony Melton In Four Weeks
After Anthony Slater of ESPN reported earlier today that De’Anthony Melton is still in the late stage of his rehab process following last season’s ACL tear and is expected to miss the start of the season, the Warriors have confirmed as much.
According to the team, the plan is to reevaluate Melton in four weeks. Head coach Steve Kerr said today that the veteran guard will “hopefully be ready sometime in the next couple months,” per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link).
The Warriors’ timeline for Melton indicates he’ll miss at least the first week of the regular season and will likely remain sidelined for longer than that. Based on Kerr’s remarks, it sounds like a best-case scenario would see Melton back on the floor for the team at some point in November.
Melton, who signed a one-year, $12.8MM contract with the Warriors during the 2024 offseason, appeared in just six games for the team before tearing his left ACL on November 12. The 27-year-old also missed a significant portion of the 2023/24 season due to a back issue and has appeared in just 14 regular season and playoff games since the calendar flipped to 2024, so it’s safe to assume Golden State won’t rush his ramp-up period.
Melton signed a new two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Warriors earlier today. The deal, which includes a second-year player option, had been rumored for months and was made official only after Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency standoff was resolved, giving the team clarity on its salary cap situation.
Brandin Podziemski, Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield, and Moses Moody are among the Warriors guards who are candidates to play increased roles early in the season with Melton unavailable.
NBA 2025 Offseason Check-In: Milwaukee Bucks
Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2025 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Milwaukee Bucks.
Free agent signings
Myles Turner: Four years, $108,868,482. Fourth-year player option. Trade kicker (15%). Signed using cap room.- Bobby Portis: Three years, $43,564,242. Third-year player option. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Ryan Rollins: Three years, $12,000,000. Third-year player option. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
- Kevin Porter Jr.: Two years, $10,524,700. Second-year player option. Re-signed using room exception. Waived right to veto trade.
- Gary Trent Jr.: Two years, $7,579,065. Second-year player option. Re-signed using Non-Bird rights. Waived right to veto trade.
- Gary Harris: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year player option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Taurean Prince: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year player option. Re-signed using minimum salary exception. Waived right to veto trade.
- Jericho Sims: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year player option. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Cole Anthony: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Chris Livingston: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception. Waived right to veto trade.
- Amir Coffey: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 9). Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Cormac Ryan: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Trades
- Acquired Vasilije Micic from the Hornets in exchange for Pat Connaughton, the Bucks’ 2031 second-round pick, and the Bucks’ 2032 second-round pick.
- Note: Micic was subsequently bought out.
Draft picks
- 2-47: Bogoljub Markovic
- Will play overseas with Mega Basket.
Two-way signings
- Mark Sears
- One year, $85,300 partial guarantee.
Note: The Bucks carried over Jamaree Bouyea and Pete Nance on two-way contracts from 2024/25
Departed/unsigned free agents
- Brook Lopez (Clippers)
- Stanley Umude (Spurs)
Other roster moves
- Waived and stretched Damian Lillard ($112,583,016 guaranteed salary over two years)
- Bought out and stretched Vasilije Micic (gave up $6,109,150 of $8,109,150 salary).
Salary cap situation
- Operating over the cap ($154.6MM) and below the luxury tax line ($187.9MM).
- Carrying approximately $174.1MM in salary.
- No hard cap.
- Portion of room exception ($3,647,000) available.
The offseason so far
NBA free agency has lost some of its luster in recent years, with many of the league’s best players agreeing to extensions well before they hit the open market, while most of the top players who do become free agents simply signing new contracts with their current teams. This offseason, for example, nine of the top 10 free agents on our top-50 list re-signed with their previous clubs.
The one exception in that top 10? Longtime Pacers center Myles Turner, who left Indiana after a decade with the franchise to sign a four-year contract with the rival Bucks.
Turner’s deal with the Bucks was one of the only truly shocking developments of NBA free agency. The veteran big man had been widely expected to stick with the Pacers after they got within one win of a championship, while Milwaukee entered the offseason operating well over the cap and not particularly well positioned to pursue a top free agent.
But the Bucks’ front office had plenty of reason to be bold this summer. The team had just been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for a third straight year, and star point guard Damian Lillard suffered an Achilles tear in the postseason that would almost certainly sideline him for the entire 2025/26 season. Given that Giannis Antetokounmpo had spoke openly in the past about wanting to make sure he can keep legitimately competing for titles, Milwaukee couldn’t afford to essentially waste another year of the star forward’s prime waiting for Lillard to return.
Trading Lillard would have been an option for the Bucks, but with two years and $112.6MM left on his contract, the 35-year-old would have had limited trade value even if he were fully healthy — recovering from an Achilles tear, he was very much a negative asset, meaning that even if Milwaukee attached its lone tradable first-round pick (either 2031 or 2032) to him, acquiring an impact player for Lillard would have been a very tall order.
Lillard’s diminished value – combined with the fact that working out a sign-and-trade with a division rival for Turner would’ve been difficult, if not impossible – spurred the Bucks to go to extreme measures to create the cap room necessary to sign the longtime Pacer. A series of transactions was necessary in order to open up that room, including trading for Vasilije Micic for the sole purpose of buying him out, but the major move that ultimately got them over the goal line was using the stretch provision on Lillard’s contract, spreading the $112.6MM still owed to him across the next five seasons and reducing his 2025/26 cap charge by more than $31MM.
It was an unprecedented move (at least until a couple weeks later, when the Suns pulled off something similar with Bradley Beal), but one that made sense for a Bucks team desperate not just to head off a possible Antetokounmpo trade request but to get the two-time MVP some help while he’s still at the top of his game.
Sure, it’s not ideal that Milwaukee will still be carrying $22.5MM annually on its cap for Lillard three or four years from now, but it was a necessary evil to upgrade the roster in the short term. And if this gambit backfires and the team has to shift into rebuilding mode a couple years from now, those dead-money cap hits wouldn’t be as significant an impediment — just look at the current Nets, who have been trying to spend enough in recent weeks to simply reach the minimum salary floor.
This still isn’t a roster without holes, but in Turner, the Bucks now have a younger, more athletic, and more versatile version of Brook Lopez, the team’s former starting center who left for the Clippers this summer. Lopez’s ability to stretch the floor on offense and to protect the rim on defense – two things Turner can do very well too – were major factors in Milwaukee’s success in recent years.
And because the Bucks didn’t have to trade a first-round pick to move off of Lillard’s massive contract or to acquire Turner, they still have some trade ammunition in their back pocket to search for a mid-season deal that would further upgrade the roster.
After going under the cap and then using up all their room to sign Turner, the Bucks had limited flexibility to fill out the rest of their squad this offseason, but they took advantage of their remaining rights on their own free agents while also making a handful of savvy minimum-salary signings.
Big man Bobby Portis was re-signed using his Bird rights; point guards Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. were brought back using their Early Bird rights and the room exception, respectively; Gary Trent Jr. returned to Milwaukee on a Non-Bird contract; and Gary Harris, Taurean Prince, Jericho Sims, Cole Anthony, Chris Livingston, and Thanasis Antetokounmpo all received minimum-salary deals from the Bucks.
Many of those players were members of last year’s team that was ousted in the first round of the postseason, but there’s a belief in Milwaukee that younger players like Rollins and Porter are capable of taking another step forward in regular, full-season roles, and that newcomers like Anthony, Harris, and especially Turner can help make the Bucks a more well-rounded team. We’ll see if that belief pays off.
Up next
The Bucks are carrying 15 players on fully guaranteed salaries for 2025/26, but they also have Andre Jackson Jr. on a partially guaranteed deal and Amir Coffey – a productive rotation player for the Clippers last season – on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 deal. In other words, those 15 roster spots likely aren’t set in stone yet, a fact that general manager Jon Horst acknowledged on media day earlier this week.
If the Bucks do trade or waive someone with a guaranteed contract in order to clear space to hang onto Jackson and/or Coffey, the players most at risk would likely be 2023 second-round pick Livingston and 2024 second-rounder Tyler Smith. Neither Livingston nor Smith has earned regular rotation minutes yet, and neither one is owed guaranteed money beyond this season.
If we were evaluating the roster purely based on projected performance, Thanasis would be a logical release candidate as well, but it’s hard to imagine the Bucks waiving Giannis’ brother while they’re doing all they can to convince him to remain in Milwaukee long-term.
Speaking of which, while it was good news that Giannis didn’t seek a change of scenery this summer, his comments on media day – confirming he weighed his options during the offseason and saying he didn’t remember a meeting with governor Wes Edens in which he reaffirmed his commitment to Milwaukee – probably won’t shut down speculation about his long-term future with the organization.
As long as no trade request comes, the front office likely won’t be all that bothered about outside chatter, but Antetokounmpo’s remarks were a far cry from fellow NBA MVP Nikola Jokic talking about his plan to “be with the Nuggets forever.” The simplest way to ensure Giannis conveys a similar sentiment a year from now will be for the Bucks to win.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what happens with Kyle Kuzma this season. The veteran forward scored a career-low 14.8 points per game and made just 30.7% of his three-pointers in 2024/25. He’ll need to be better for Milwaukee to have a shot at contention in ’25/26. Even if he is, Kuzma could be a prime trade candidate, since he’s one of the only players on the roster earning more than about $5MM this season.
Kuzma is eligible for a contract extension before the season begins, but I don’t expect him to get a new deal at this point — it’s more likely we hear mid-season chatter about the Bucks gauging the trade value of Kuzma and their lone tradable first-round pick.
The more logical extension candidate on the roster is fourth-year sharpshooter A.J. Green, who will remain eligible for a new deal all season long if he doesn’t reach an agreement within the next few weeks. The 26-year-old more than doubled his minutes per game to 22.7 last season while registering a career-high three-point percentage of 42.7%.
Although Green’s counting stats (7.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game) don’t jump off the page, he’s a reliable shooter and solid defender who fits well next to Antetokounmpo. As long as the price isn’t exorbitant, working out a new contract with him would make a lot of sense for Milwaukee.
New York Notes: M. Brown, Brogdon, Hart, KAT, C. Thomas, Powell
Knicks head coach Mike Brown made it clear on Tuesday that his philosophy regarding his minutes distribution for starters and rotation players won’t look the same as what the team got accustomed to under former coach Tom Thibodeau, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required).
“The biggest thing is trying to make sure you watch everybody’s minutes instead of trying to chase games,” Brown said. “There might be some games where maybe you throw the towel in early. It’s important to win, but you also have to understand, ‘Hey, I want to keep this guy’s minutes here, this guy’s minutes here, this guy’s minutes here, instead of trying to extend everybody’s minutes.’ Because if the season is long, we don’t want anybody worn out by the end.”
As Bondy observes, Thibodeau’s approach often felt like the exact opposite of the one laid out by Brown. The former Knicks coach frequently faced criticism due to the perception that he overextended his top players, particularly by leaving them on the court late in games in which the team held a big lead.
Brown, who worked as a Warriors assistant from 2016-22, pointed to the 2015/16 Golden State team that chased – and achieved – a regular season record of 73 wins but seemed to run out of gas at the end of that season. That prompted the Warriors to more closely monitor their stars’ workloads in subsequent years.
“It kind of caught up to them [in 2016]. And from that point on, that’s when [head coach Steve Kerr] was like, ‘I’m not going to chase it anymore,'” Brown said. “If we get it, we get it, but I got to make sure for Steph [Curry], if we want him to only play 35 minutes or average 35 minutes a game, then that’s what he’s going to average.”
Three Knicks players – Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby – placed among the NBA’s top six in minutes per game last season, with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns also in the top 25.
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- Veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon doesn’t just expect to make the Knicks‘ regular season roster — he believes he’ll earn a spot in the rotation as well, he tells Bondy (subscription required). “I view myself as having a skill set and being a versatile enough player to crack any rotation in the league,” Brogdon told Bondy. “So I expect to do that here as well.” A report from The Athletic indicated that New York is leaning toward keeping both Brogdon and Landry Shamet for the regular season, which would require the team to trade a player.
- Hart referred to it as “stupidity” to blame Towns for the Knicks‘ Eastern Conference Finals loss to Indiana last spring, according to Bondy (subscription required). As Bondy notes, Towns received some criticism due to his defense, but Hart doesn’t view that criticism as warranted. “I thought [Towns] played well in the playoffs. I mean, hey, I think the only one who should get blamed is me,” Hart said. “I had a terrible — I think I played well in Detroit, played well in Boston. With Indiana, I just didn’t have nothing left.”
- Nets guard Cam Thomas reported to camp looking leaner this fall, but he said the work he did on his body this offseason wasn’t related to his recurring hamstring issues last season, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). “No, it’s just something I want to do. Just me being me,” Thomas said. “Not really related to the hammies. … If I have the weight on or not, I’ll still be doing the same thing. It doesn’t really change how you play, really. At the end of the day, it’s how you look and how you feel. I feel good. Feel good, look good and you play good.”
- Rookie wing Drake Powell, one of the Nets‘ five first-round picks, has been cleared for full-contact work earlier this week, Lewis writes in a separate story. Powell, selected with the No. 22 pick, missed Summer League due to a left knee injury that surfaced during the pre-draft process.
Warriors Officially Sign De’Anthony Melton, Seth Curry
As expected, the Warriors have officially signed free agent guard De’Anthony Melton, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), Melton’s new minimum-salary deal will cover two seasons, with a player option on year two. That means he’ll earn $3,080,921 in 2025/26, with a $3,451,779 option for ’26/27.
Because it’s a multiyear contract, the Warriors’ cap hit in year one will be Melton’s actual salary instead of just $2,296,274, the minimum for a veteran with two years of NBA experience. That will move Golden State slightly closer to its second-apron hard cap.
Melton, 27, signed a one-year, $12.8MM contract with the Warriors last offseason and got off to a good start with the team, averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 20.2 minutes per game through his first six outings. However, he tore his ACL in that sixth game, ending his season. He was later traded to Brooklyn in a deal for Dennis Schröder and finished the season with the Nets.
Melton remains in the late stage of his rehab from that ACL tear, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Golden State expects him to miss the start of the regular season. The Warriors like the progress Melton has made, Slater adds, but will take a cautious approach with his return.
The club also confirmed (via Twitter) that it has signed Seth Curry, whose agreement was previously reported. Curry was reportedly expected to receive a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 deal, which won’t count against the cap.
With the Warriors seemingly unable to carry a full 15-man roster into the regular season, the expectation is that Curry will be waived before the start of the season and potentially return a little later this year, once the team can fit a prorated minimum-salary deal below its hard cap.
The Warriors now have a full 21-man preseason roster.
Eastern Notes: Porter, Celtics, Magic, Hornets, Wiseman
Responding to a question about Kevin Porter Jr.‘s increased responsibilities in 2025/26 now that Damian Lillard is no longer on the roster, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers suggested that the plan will be to start Porter at point guard, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).
“He started out as a high draft pick. He started. They put the ball in his hands. He could literally take any shot and he did,” Rivers said. “And now he comes from that, from not playing at times, coming off the bench, being out of the league, to now back to starting. And that’s a huge a responsibility for him to run the team and still be aggressive. That’s the hardest thing to do, I think, in basketball is from the point guard, understand when and when. It’s just hard, and so I’m sure at times he’ll be great at it and then at times he may struggle at it, but we’ll support him and get him right.”
As Rivers alluded to in his comments, Porter was the starting point guard in Houston from 2021-23, but was out of the NBA during the 2023/24 season due to a domestic violence incident.
Returning to action last season, Porter was up and down for the Clippers, but thrived following a deadline deal to Milwaukee. In 30 regular season outings for the Bucks, he averaged 11.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 19.9 minutes per game and posted a shooting line of .494/.408/.871.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Brian Robb of MassLive.com shares his takeaways from the Celtics‘ first day of practice on Tuesday, which featured an appearance from former Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins. Jenkins got a first-hand look at another former Grizzly, big man Xavier Tillman, who appears to be back to 100% after being plagued by knee issues in 2024/25. “From just a playing perspective, (last season) was very hard,” Tillman said, per Robb. “Just wanting to play, wanting to contribute. But I also knew I was going through stuff myself. My knee would have days where it would just swell up into a balloon after I had one scrimmage or stuff like that. So I knew consistency-wise, I could be there to kind of support. But as far as my actual play, I couldn’t do everything I wanted to do.”
- Speaking of former Grizzlies, Magic newcomers Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones also played together in Memphis under Jenkins, and their chemistry has been on display so far at Orlando’s training camp, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic details. “There’s a comfort level that they have with one another,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said of the duo. “Their veteran leadership, knowing that they’re calling each other out, going to the same baskets. There’s just something about them and their experience through this league that just says, one, they’ve been together before and, if I didn’t (already) know it, I would have thought it.”
- The Hornets officially announced a series of changes and additions to their basketball operations staff, including confirming that former Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune as been hired as an assistant coach, as was first reported in August.
- Although he admits he was “shocked” and disappointed when he tore his Achilles last fall, Pacers center James Wiseman said he got through the recovery process “one day at a time” and believes he’s now in the best shape of his career, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. According to head coach Rick Carlisle, Wiseman was one of the team’s best performers in a conditioning test last week. “You think about what he’s gone through with his rehab and everything else and this is a week before camp, he’s out there with some of our best conditioned wings and guards,” Carlisle said. “That’s a strong statement.”