Jason Collins Being Treated For Brain Tumor
Longtime NBA center Jason Collins is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, his family announced today in a statement released by the league (Twitter link).
“Jason and his family welcome your support and prayers and kindly ask for privacy as they dedicate their attention to Jason’s health and well-being,” the statement reads.
Collins made history in 2013 as the first openly gay athlete to play in the NBA, NFL, MLB or NHL. He became an ambassador for the NBA after his career ended.
The 18th pick of the 2001 draft, Collins played 13 years in the league, having retired in 2014 after spending his final season with the Nets, the team with which he spent most of his career.
While Collins didn’t put up gaudy numbers, he was lauded for his professionalism and solid work on the defensive end, according to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports, who notes the 46-year-old married his longtime partner, film producer Brunson Green, earlier this year.
We at Hoops Rumors send our best wishes to Collins and his family.
Mike James Returning To Monaco Following EuroLeague, NBA Interest
Veteran guard Mike James has committed to honoring his contract with AS Monaco Basket despite drawing offseason interest from rival EuroLeague clubs and the NBA, sources tell Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com.
As Urbonas reported in June, James was frustrated with Monaco after being suspended for an off-court incident prior to the semifinals of the French league playoffs and was exploring ways to leave the team. However, that issue has now been resolved.
According to Urbonas, the 35-year-old drew “strong” EuroLeague interest and was on the radar of some unspecified NBA teams. Instead, James decided to remain on his current contract with Monaco, which runs through 2027.
James only appeared in 49 NBA games over parts of two seasons with the Suns, Pelicans, and Nets, but he has long been considered one of the top players in Europe, winning EuroLeague MVP in 2024 and helping AS Monaco make its first EuroLeague championship game appearance in 2025 — the team lost in the final to Fenerbahce.
A 6’1″ point guard, James averaged 15.8 points, 5.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 34 EuroLeague games last season (29.1 minutes per contest). He has been an All-EuroLeague performer each of the past four years with Monaco (twice as a member of the first team and twice on the second team).
EuroBasket Notes: Osman, Wagner, Doncic, Loyd
Former NBA forward Cedi Osman has been a key part of Turkey’s run to the EuroBasket semifinals, ranking second on the team in points per game (14.9) and third in minutes (26.8) and plus/minus (+14.0) while converting 51.2% of his three-pointers (5.9 attempts per contest).
However, Osman sustained an ankle injury in Tuesday’s quarterfinal win over Poland. While he returned to that game, he was seen limping off the team bus on Thursday (Twitter video link) and was unable to practice (story via BasketNews).
Head coach Ergin Ataman told Turkish media the 30-year-old will likely be a game-time decision for Friday’s matchup against Greece, as Semih Tuna of Eurohoops relays.
“Their biggest concern was a stress fracture. That’s what it looked like. Thankfully, he avoided a stress fracture,” explained Ataman, “He has bone swelling in that area, preventing him from putting any weight on his foot. He wanted to return to the court in this condition. He will play under any circumstances, but we do not know how effective he can be.
“... We will make a decision based on possible progress,” Ataman continued. “Cedi definitely wants to play, but his injury is serious. He has some time until Friday night, so I hope he can make progress. If the game were (Wednesday or Thursday), he surely would not be able to play.”
Here are a few more notes related to EuroBasket 2025:
- Germany used a second-half comeback to defeat Slovenia and Lakers superstar Luka Doncic on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals. After the game, German national team and Magic star Franz Wagner said he didn’t notice a difference playing against the slimmed-down Doncic, who set a quarterfinal record by scoring 39 points (he also had 10 rebounds and seven assists). “He’s like that all the time, so I see no difference really,” Wagner said, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. “Extremely good player. If he got a little bit better, he might have, but it’s tough to tell with him.”
- Doncic was exasperated with the officiating after the loss, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. “Four fouls at the start of the third quarter—never in my life,” Doncic said. “And a technical two minutes in… that shouldn’t happen in a quarterfinal.” While Doncic said he was “100 percent angry,” he was pleased with Slovenia’s performance at the tournament. “We gave our all. This wasn’t the result we wanted, but our run deserves respect.”
- Veteran guard Jordan Loyd, who won a championship while on a two-way deal with Toronto in 2019, had an excellent EuroBasket showing with Poland, averaging a team-high 22.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals on .490/.422/.875 shooting in seven games (32.0 MPG). NBA insider Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that several EuroLeague teams — most prominently Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid — are pursuing Loyd, who has spent the last three seasons with AS Monaco. Aris Barkas of Eurohoops says Loyd is still under contract with Monaco and the club would have to release him to sign with another team. According to Nacho Duque of Spanish outlet Marca, Loyd has a tentative deal in place with Real Madrid, but there are several complicating factors, including that his Spanish league rights are currently held by Valencia, which could theoretically match any contract he signs.
Clippers Sign Zach Freemantle To Exhibit 10 Contract
September 10: The Clippers officially signed Freemantle on Tuesday, per RealGM’s transactions log. According to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link), it’s an Exhibit 10 deal, as expected.
August 29: The Clippers and former Xavier standout Zach Freemantle have agreed to a deal, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Freemantle went undrafted in June after six college seasons with the Musketeers (he missed the 2023/24 campaign due to injuries). He averaged 16.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 31 games as a “super senior” in 2024/25, earning a second-team All-Big East nod for the second time in his career.
As Scotto notes, Freemantle was named to the Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament team this spring. The 6’9″ forward/center suited up for the Magic during Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 6.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 11.0 MPG.
While Scotto doesn’t clarify what type of contract Freemantle signed, the Clippers don’t currently have the ability to sign him to a standard deal and all three of their two-way spots are occupied. He most likely signed an Exhibit 10 contract, which would put him in line to receive a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he’s released before the season begins and spends at least 60 days with the San Diego Clippers.
Once the signing is official, the Clippers will be at the offseason limit of 21 players under contract.
Trey Lyles Signs With Real Madrid
September 10: Lyles has officially signed with Real Madrid, according to a press release from the team.
September 4: Free agent big man Trey Lyles is finalizing a contract with Real Madrid, sources tell Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The news of Lyles landing with the EuroLeague powerhouse was first reported by Javier Maestro of Spanish outlet Encestando.
Agent Rich Paul confirms to Marc Stein of The Stein Line that Lyles is signing with Real Madrid (Twitter link). Lyles’ one-year deal will be worth $3MM and will feature an NBA out clause, per Grant Afseth of RG.org.
A 10-year NBA veteran, Lyles has spent the past three-plus seasons in Sacramento. In 69 appearances with the Kings last season, the 6’9″ power forward averaged 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 34.0% from three-point range in 19.6 minutes per game.
Lyles, who has also been used as a small-ball center in recent years, apparently didn’t attract much NBA interest on the open market this offseason, which is a little surprising given his solid-if-unspectacular track record as a contributing role player.
While Lyles was linked to the Heat last month, Miami re-signed Dru Smith shortly thereafter, seemingly ending any further speculation on that front.
Despite playing 10 years in the league, Lyles is still only 29 years old — he turns 30 in a couple of months. The 6’9″ Canadian played one college season at Kentucky prior to being selected 12th overall back in 2015.
Lyles has largely been a rotation regular reserve throughout his career, holding averages of 7.6 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 650 regular season contests, including 131 starts (18.4 MPG). His career shooting slash line is .441/.347/.741.
Lyles spent two years apiece with Denver, Utah and San Antonio at the start of his career. He also had a six-month stint with Detroit during the 2021/22 campaign. This will be Lyles’ first European stop, Urbonas notes.
Real Madrid won both the regular season and playoffs of Spain’s top domestic league (Liga ACB) last season, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the EuroLeague playoffs. The team’s roster features several former NBA players, including Chuma Okeke, Theo Maledon and Mario Hezonja, among others.
Lakers Reportedly Looking For Wing Upgrade
The Lakers are open to upgrading on the wing if they can find a player who contributes on both ends of the court and is capable of helping the team raise its ceiling, Marc Stein reports for The Stein Line (Substack link).
Stein cautions that Los Angeles isn’t looking to trade just for the sake of revamping the roster, but the Lakers are hoping the right opportunity presents itself in the coming months.
According to Stein, the Lakers were believed to be reluctant to take on anything more than expiring contracts earlier in the offseason, but that stance has “thawed somewhat.” Several weeks ago, multiple reports stated that L.A. was prioritizing preserving cap room for the summer of 2027.
Stein points to Andrew Wiggins as the type of player the Lakers are likely to be interested in, though it’s unclear if the Heat would move him, having recently sent signals that the team expects the former No. 1 overall pick to open the season in Miami. But if the Heat eventually decide to trim their payroll, Wiggins is a name to watch.
Wiggins will earn about $28.2MM in 2025/26, with a $30.2MM player option for 2026/27.
Stein hears the possibility of Wiggins being pursued by the Lakers gained steam after Luka Doncic signed a three-year extension in early August.
Reporting earlier this summer indicated that the Lakers had checked in with the Heat about Wiggins, but found Miami’s asking price to be “pretty high.” Dan Woike of The Athletic reported in mid-July that he was “pretty confident” the Lakers weren’t interested in Wiggins, though that was a few weeks before Doncic’s extension.
Mavericks Announce 2025/26 Coaching Staff
The Mavericks have officially confirmed head coach Jason Kidd‘s staff for the 2025/26 season, making the announcement in a press release (via Twitter).
Here are the new hires, all of whom are assistant coaches:
- Former Pacers, Magic, Lakers and Suns head coach Frank Vogel will be Kidd’s top assistant, with an official title of associate head coach (our story). Vogel, who won a title as the Lakers’ top coach in 2020, was a coaching consultant for Dallas last season.
- Jay Triano, a veteran assistant who spent the past three years with Sacramento and had prior head coaching jobs with Toronto and Phoenix. He will reportedly be the No. 2 assistant under Kidd.
- Ex-NBA forward Popeye Jones, who played with Kidd for two years in Dallas, is another new assistant. Since transitioning to coaching in 2007, Jones has spent time the Mavericks as a player development coach (2007-10) and with the Nets (2010-13), Pacers (2013-20), Sixers (2020-21), and Nuggets (2021-25) as an assistant. The 55-year-old will reportedly be the No. 3 assistant and focus on defense.
- Phil Handy, a former Cavaliers, Raptors and Lakers assistant. Handy’s teams have won three championships during his coaching career (one apiece with Cleveland, Toronto and Los Angeles).
- Mike Penberthy, a former professional player who has had NBA coaching jobs with the Wolves, Pelicans, Lakers and — most recently — the Nuggets. Penberthy is known as a shooting specialist and has drawn praise from star big man Anthony Davis.
- Dru Anthrop, who most recently was an assistant on Vogel’s staff in Phoenix during the 2023/24 campaign. Anthrop was previously a video coordinator with the Magic, Grizzlies and Lakers (he also had a player development role in L.A.).
- Jordan Sears is rejoining the Mavericks after spending the past two years as head coach of their G League affiliate, the Dallas Legends. He was the Mavs’ head video coordinator from 2021-23 and was a video intern and assistant video coordinator with Milwaukee from 2019-21.
Eric Hughes, Josh Broghamer and Keith Veney will return as assistant coaches, per the announcement.
Sixers’ Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre On Trade Block?
During his latest Bleacher Report live stream (YouTube link), NBA insider Jake Fischer said there have been persistent rumblings that the Sixers may be considering a salary-dump deal to give them more financial flexibility to re-sign restricted free agent Quentin Grimes.
“There has been buzz all summer long about the Sixers looking to potentially move one of, if not both, Andre Drummond and/or Kelly Oubre,” Fischer said. “If they are able to find a deal for one of those two guys as we get closer to camp, that would open up some more wiggle room for Philadelphia to be able to pay Grimes a little bit more (money).”
Both Drummond ($5MM) and Oubre ($8.4MM) exercised their player options for 2025/26 and will be unrestricted free agents next offseason.
This isn’t the first time Drummond has been mentioned in trade rumors this summer — Tony Jones of The Athletic reported on June 30 that Philadelphia was trying to move the two-time All-Star center. But we haven’t heard anything else on that front until now.
Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) noted a few days ago that the Sixers could potentially dip below the luxury tax line while re-signing Grimes if they traded both Drummond and Oubre. Gozlan pointed to the Nets — the lone NBA team with cap room remaining — as a potential match.
A source confirmed to Net Income of NetsDaily.com that acquiring Drummond (along with other assets) would be the type of move Brooklyn is looking for.
Oubre is also no stranger to trade rumors and makes logical sense as a player on an expiring contract who could be moved. But we haven’t seen any reports linking him to a specific team.
When our Luke Adams discussed yesterday in a Front Office article what a contract compromise might look like between Grimes and the Sixers, he floated the possibility of a four-year, $65MM deal with a partial guarantee in year four.
For what it’s worth, Grimes recently took to Instagram to post a picture of himself in a Sixers uniform, as Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports relays (via Twitter).
Community Shootaround: Breakout Candidates
In an article for HoopsHype, Mike Shearer lists seven players who could be primed for breakout seasons in 2025/26. Here’s his full list:
- Shaedon Sharpe (Trail Blazers)
- Bennedict Mathurin (Pacers)
- Andrew Nembhard (Pacers)
- Sam Hauser (Celtics)
- Brandon Miller (Hornets)
- Jake LaRavia (Lakers)
- Terrence Shannon Jr. (Timberwolves)
Shearer acknowledges that Sharpe’s inclusion is a little unconventional, as the 22-year-old averaged a career-best 18.5 points per game in ’24/25. But the Canadian wing is entering the final year of his rookie scale contract and is eligible for an extension until October 20, so he certainly has financial reasons to be motivated for a big season.
Mathurin, who is also eligible for a rookie scale extension, should have a big role for Indiana with Tyrese Haliburton out for the year. Ditto for Nembhard, one of the league’s more unheralded role players who has a chance to show he can be more than that this season.
Boston revamped its roster this offseason for financial and roster-building reasons. There were rumblings that Hauser might be on the trade block, but he’s still a Celtic, and Shearer believes the former Virginia star should have plenty of opportunities to shine in ’25/26.
Shearer also describes why he thinks Miller (second season cut short due to wrist surgery), LaRavia (essentially replacing Dorian Finney-Smith) and Shannon (a Nickeil Alexander-Walker replacement?) could take leaps forward.
We want to know what you think. Do you agree with the players on Shearer’s list? If not, why? Which other players could be primed for breakout seasons? Head to the comment section to weigh in.
Eastern Notes: White, Donovan, Johnson, Wall, Shammgod
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, who won back-to-back NCAA titles with Florida during his college coaching career, was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday. Starting guard Coby White attended the ceremony and spoke to Chicago Sports Network about Donovan’s “amazing accomplishment” and what he likes about having him as a coach (Twitter video link).
“He’s honest,” White said of Donovan. “He pushes you, he’s going to get the most out of you. And for the most part, he’s always been upfront with me.
“But he also believes in his players. He gets his players to compete every night. He builds a relationship with his players, which often times you don’t see (with NBA head coaches).”
Donovan signed a multiyear extension with the Bulls in late July, while White is entering the final year of his contract, which will pay him about $12.9MM in 2025/26.
Here are a few more notes from around the East:
- Wizards lottery pick Tre Johnson III was viewed as one of the best shooters entering the 2025 draft but he also displayed improved ball-handling a couple months ago at Las Vegas Summer League, writes Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network. “I watch bits and pieces of Kyrie (Irving) and Darius Garland, just from a guard’s perspective how they can change speeds,” Johnson said. Second-year big man Alex Sarr believes Johnson is more than capable of creating shots for both himself and others. “I like his play-making in general. I already knew that about him, but it’s just good to see. I feel like we’re just seeing the surface of what he’s capable of,” Sarr said.
- John Wall announced his retirement as a player last month and will cover the NBA for Amazon Prime Video in 2025/26. In an interview with Michael Lee of The Washington Post, Wall said he hopes to have his No. 2 jersey retired by the Wizards. Varun Shankar of The Washington Post considers whether the Wizards should retire Wall’s jersey, noting that the former No. 1 overall pick made five All-Star appearances with the franchise and is the team’s all-time leader in both assists and steals. While it’s been a long time since the organization has retired a player’s jersey, Shankar believes Wall could be a “logical” choice to be honored, as he was the driving force behind Washington’s “best stretch since (Wes) Unseld retired.”
- Assistant coach God Shammgod, who joined Orlando this offseason after nine years in Dallas, believes the Magic have a talented roster capable of taking a step forward this season, he tells Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. “Paolo (Banchero) and Franz (Wagner) and them, they’re coming into their own right now,” Shammgod said. “They’re at the right age where they still young, but they young enough to dare. Dare to be great. And I believe like Paolo and Franz is going to be great, but Desmond Bane, Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black, we got Tyus Jones. Now we got so many great players. … And I feel like right now they all are ready to make their mark. So I’m just happy and honored to be a part of it.”