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.”
Kevin Love Reportedly Unlikely To Open Season With Jazz
On July 7, veteran forward/center Kevin Love was traded to the Jazz in the three-team deal that sent Norman Powell to the Heat and John Collins to the Clippers.
About a month later, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported that Love was “actively exploring potential pathways out of Utah,” including a buyout. However, Stein didn’t list any possible suitors for Love, who remains on the Jazz’s roster a few weeks before training camps are set to open.
Love is on an expiring contract, which will pay him $4.15MM this season.
Within a story about the types of skill sets the Nuggets might consider targeting with their 15th standard roster spot, Bennett Durando of The Denver Post reports that Love is “widely expected to be traded or bought out by” the Jazz before the 2025/26 season begins, and when that happens, he’s likely to land with a contending team.
That doesn’t mean Love will end up in Denver; Durando makes it clear he’s just floating an idea. But it’s interesting — albeit unsurprising — that Love is reportedly unlikely to stick with the Jazz, who had the worst record in the NBA last season (17-65).
Forward depth may not be Denver’s highest priority, but Durando notes that reserves Peyton Watson, DaRon Holmes II, Zeke Nnaji and Hunter Tyson are all young and relatively inexperienced. Perhaps most importantly, Watson is the only player of the group who has shown he can be a rotation regular to this point.
Love, meanwhile, turned 37 years old today (happy birthday) and is entering his 18th NBA season after being selected fifth overall in the 2008 draft. The five-time All-Star hasn’t played much the past few years, largely serving as a veteran mentor in Cleveland and Miami, though he did finish runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year in 2021/22.
Durando also points out the Love has a longstanding relationship with head coach David Adelman, who was an assistant for part of Love’s tenure in Minnesota.
For what it’s worth, Durando says point-of-attack defense and point guard depth are the other two areas the Nuggets might want to address at some point. As our Luke Adams noted in his Offseason Check-In, Denver has been a taxpayer for three straight years and is operating just over the luxury tax threshold, so the team may be motivated to finish the season below the tax — an important first step toward resetting the repeater clock.
EuroBasket Quarterfinals Set After Greece Beats Israel
Led by Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who dominated with 37 points (on 18-of-23 shooting) and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes, Greece was the final team to advance to the quarterfinals of EuroBasket 2025 on Sunday after defeating Israel.
Although the game was close through most of the first three quarters and the final margin of victory was only five points, the Greek national team never trailed and was ahead for 39:13 of the 40-minute contest, according to FIBA. Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija scored a team-high 22 points for Israel in the loss.
Greece will now face Lithuania, which eliminated host nation Latvia in the round of 16.
In a press release, FIBA announced the dates and tip-off times for each single-elimination quarterfinal matchup, which will continue to be held in Riga, Latvia. They are as follows:
Tuesday, September 9:
- Turkey vs. Poland – 9:00am CT / 5:00pm EEST
- Lithuania vs. Greece – 1:00pm CT / 9:00pm EEST
Wednesday, September 10:
- Finland vs. Georgia – 9:00am CT / 5:00pm EEST
- Germany vs. Slovenia – 1:00pm CT / 9:00pm EEST
Turkey and Germany are the only two undefeated teams (6-0) in the tournament, with both advancing to the quarterfinals on Saturday following victories over Sweden and Portugal, respectively. Turkey faces Poland, which went 3-2 in the group phase and knocked off Bosnia and Herzegovina for a spot in the quarterfinals, while Germany will take on Slovenia, which ousted Italy.
Serbia and France, which both went 4-1 during the group phase and were among the favorites to medal, both lost in the round of 16. Finland and Georgia pulled off those upsets, and will now meet for a spot in the semifinals.
The teams that were eliminated in the round of 16 have been officially classified as well. Group position was the primary criterion, followed by group phase record and point differential.
- France
- Serbia
- Italy
- Latvia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Israel
- Portugal
- Sweden
Turkey, Germany Advance To EuroBasket Quarterfinals
After trailing by a slim margin for the majority of the game, Turkey eventually defeated Sweden, 85-79, to advance to the quarterfinals of EuroBasket 2025, writes Semih Tuna of Eurohoops. The game was surprisingly competitive, considering Sweden went just 1-4 during the group phase while Turkey was 5-0, including Wednesday’s victory over Serbia.
Rockets big man Alperen Sengun was once again the standout performer for the Turkish national team, recording game highs of 24 points and 16 rebounds to go along with six assists and two blocks. Heat wing Pelle Larsson finished with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal in Sweden’s loss.
Head coach Ergin Ataman complained both before and after the game about Turkey having to compete at noon local time despite being the top seed from Group A, as Tuna relays in another story for Eurohoops.
“We didn’t wake up for the beginning of the game. After we understood we were in a difficult situation, in the third quarter, and came back in the game with very good defense, but we gave back this confidence to Sweden,” Ataman said. “Finally, we found a way to win. Now, we will think about the quarterfinal, which I think we will play in regular time, if they don’t want to change again and play in the morning at 11 o’clock.”
Turkey will face the winner of tomorrow’s matchup between Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Germany, which won the 2023 World Cup, was the only other undefeated team during the group phase and is the top seed from Group B. The Germans struggled mightily from three-point range on Saturday against Portugal, starting out just 1-of-24 before finishing 10-of-36, and only had a one-point lead entering the final period, according to Tuna.
However, Germany dominated the final frame, 33-7, to emerge with a 27-point victory.
“Obviously, you can improve in every game. I saw the first game with Sweden; they gave a great fight to Turkey, like Portugal gave a great fight to us,” said AS Monaco center Daniel Theis. “It’s the knockout stage. There are no easy games anymore.”
The German national team had five players — including Dennis Schröder, Franz Wagner, Tristan Da Silva and Isaac Bonga — finish with double-digit points. Portugal was led by Celtics center Neemias Queta, who finished with game highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes.
Germany will face the winner of Sunday’s matchup between Italy and Slovenia on Wednesday.
Hornets Rookies Optimistic About Future, 2025/26 Season
Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer recently interviewed the Hornets‘ four 2025 draft picks — Kon Knueppel (No. 4), Liam McNeeley (No. 29), Sion James (No. 33) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (No. 34) — to see how they’re adjusting to the city and preparing for their rookie seasons, among other topics.
The Hornets were the only team to go undefeated at the Las Vegas Summer League, finishing 6-0 en route to the championship, with Knueppel named the finale’s MVP. The former Duke wing says he’s happy fans are excited about the Summer League showing, but the team is striving for more.
“I think it’s cool,” Knueppel told Boone. “We want to carry that momentum over a little bit. We’ve been having a good fall so far, playing a bunch with the guys. So, it’s been good so far and hopefully we can carry that momentum toward the season.”
Knueppel is also looking forward to playing for head coach Charles Lee, according to Boone.
“He’s a good person first,” Knueppel said. “It’s real easy to gravitate toward someone who is a good guy. And to see the way he operates with other people, everyone in the organization. And his family, too, he loves being around his family, so that’s just someone you want to play hard for. He takes the Xs and O’s really seriously. So, yeah, I’m really excited.”
Here are a few more highlights from Boone’s interviews:
McNeeley on fan enthusiasm for the 2025/26 season:
“Yeah, Charlotte’s like a big sports city, a big sports town. I think it’s cool to give the fans something to hope for, something to root for. It’s really cool to be part of something that’s building and is going to be at a high level in a couple of years.”
Kalkbrenner on what has stood out most about the team:
“Obviously, I’ve never been in the NBA before, but I think this year’s group is really, really committed to changing the culture, and trying to win and bring a winning culture here. It seems like we all want the same thing. We’re not just here to be here, have a job or whatever. We are all trying to win. So, I’ve been really impressed with that and it makes me really excited to get out there with them.”
James on which part of his game he wants to improve most:
“It will really happen once the games start coming. It’s probably too soon to say now. I want to improve everything in my game is the cop out answer I guess, but in reality I know I’m just going to have to figure out what it means to be in the NBA. And doing that, there will be some ups and downs, but I’m OK with that.”
NBA Hires Law Firm To Investigate Clippers, Leonard
The NBA has hired law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate the allegations that the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard used an endorsement deal with fintech company Aspiration to circumvent the salary cap, a source tells Joe Vardon, Sam Amick and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.
While the New York-based firm will lead the investigation, the NBA also has its own investigator who will serve as a consultant, according to The Athletic.
The NBA previously used Wachtell Lipton in a pair of high-profile investigations of ownership misconduct, per The Athletic’s trio, and both resulted in the owners selling the teams. The first case was back in 2014 with former Clippers owner Donald Sterling, and the second occurred in 2022 with ex-Suns owner Robert Sarver.
Wachtell Lipton was also recently employed by the Celtics as part of the team’s sale, Vardon, Amick and Vorkunov add.
On Wednesday, Pablo Torre reported that Leonard signed a $28MM endorsement deal with now-bankrupt Aspiration but performed no work for the company. A follow-up report from Boston Sports Journal stated that Leonard also made a side deal with Aspiration to receive an additional $20MM in company stock.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had previously made a $50MM investment in Aspiration — allegedly with “light-to-no diligence” — and at a higher share price than other investors.
Ballmer and the Clippers have denied any wrongdoing and have said they will fully cooperate with the investigation.
Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg pled guilty last month to two counts of wire fraud for a $248MM scheme to defraud lenders and investors.
If the investigation proves the salary cap was circumvented, the NBA has a wide range of possible sanctions it could impose on the Clippers, Ballmer and/or Leonard, the authors note.
In that scenario, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic argues that commissioner Adam Silver should levy severe penalties on the involved parties. However, Lloyd points out that there’s no specific burden of proof that needs to be reached, so there’s no guarantee the investigation will lead to said penalties.
Knockout Round Set For EuroBasket; Spain Fails To Qualify
Led by a double-double from Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (15 points, 12 rebounds), Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated Georgia by a score of 84-76 on Thursday morning to become the 15th team to qualify for the EuroBasket knockout round, as Michalis Gioulenoglou of Eurohoops writes.
Raptors big man Sandro Mamukelashvili finished with a game-high 20 points for Georgia.
Despite the loss, Georgia became the 16th and final team to qualify for the round of 16 later in the day after Spain fell to Greece, FIBA announced (via Twitter). Led by Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had a team-high 25 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists, Greece eked out a 90-86 victory to claim the top spot in Group C.
Spain and Georgia finished with identical 2-3 records in Group C and Spain had a far better point differential (+43 vs. -19), but the Georgians defeated the Spaniards in their head-to-head matchup, earning the tiebreaker.
It’s a disappointing exit for the defending champions — the Spanish national team has been a perennial powerhouse in both European and international competitions, having won four of the previous six EuroBasket tournaments, including the most recent one in 2022. According to Armando Caporaso of Sportando (Twitter link), it has been nearly 50 years since Spain failed to advance past the first stage of the tournament (1977).
The matchups and the full bracket for the EuroBasket’s single-elimination round of 16 have now been set. The breakdown is as follows:
- First quarter of bracket:
- Lithuania (B2) vs. Latvia (A3)
- Greece (C1) vs. Israel (D4)
- Second quarter:
- Turkey (A1) vs. Sweden (B4)
- Poland (D2) vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (C3)
- Third quarter:
- Germany (B1) vs. Portugal (A4)
- Italy (C2) vs. Slovenia (D3)
- Fourth quarter:
- Serbia (A2) vs. Finland (B3)
- France (D1) vs. Georgia (C4)
The win-or-go-home games involving teams from Groups A and B will take place on Saturday, while the teams in Groups C and D will square off on Sunday. The full schedule for the weekend, including tip-off times, can be viewed here.
The quarterfinals in the top half of the bracket will be played next Tuesday, followed by the quarterfinals from the bottom half of the bracket on Wednesday. The teams that come out of the first and second quarters will face one another in one of the semifinals next Friday, while the winners of the third and fourth quarters will face off in the other semifinal on the same day. The final will be played on Sunday, September 14.
FIBA has also confirmed the final placement of the teams eliminated prior to the round of 16. Those teams, who were classified based on their group position, overall record, and point differential, were ranked as follows:
- Spain (2-3 record, +43 point differential)
- Belgium (2-3, -40)
- Estonia (1-4, -45)
- Montenegro (1-4, -77)
- Great Britain (1-4, -130)
- Iceland (0-5, -76)
- Czechia (0-5, -96)
- Cyprus (0-5, -165)
While Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama (Spain), Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (Montenegro), and Hawks guard Vit Krejci (Czechia) have been eliminated from the tournament and Wizards center Alex Sarr (France) and Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) have been ruled out due to injuries, the remaining 23 active NBA players in the tournament should all be in action this weekend.
Luke Adams contributed to this story.
Grizzlies Sign Olivier-Maxence Prosper To Two-Way Deal
3:59pm: Prosper’s two-way deal with the Grizzlies is official, the team announced (via Twitter).
11:48am: Free agent forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper intends to sign a two-way contract with the Grizzlies, agents Todd Ramasar and Mike Simonetta tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Charania, Prosper mulled multiple contract offers before ultimately choosing Memphis. The Grizzlies were among the teams that conveyed interest in acquiring Prosper via trade before Dallas decided to waive and stretch his contract last Friday, Charania adds (via Twitter).
However, the Mavericks were said to be reluctant to part with one of their two remaining second-rounders to shed Prosper’s salary, and instead stretched it over three years, with annual cap hits of about $1MM through 2027/28.
Dallas needed to open up room under the second tax apron — at which the team is hard-capped — to re-sign Dante Exum.
Prosper has been an unrestricted free agent for a handful of days after being cut by the Mavs. The 6’8″ Canadian spent one year at Clemson and two seasons at Marquette prior to being selected No. 24 overall in the 2023 draft.
Prosper played a very modest role over his first two NBA seasons, averaging just 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game across 92 regular season outings, with a .396/.260/.658 shooting line.
He also played 25 G League games with the Texas Legends as a rookie in 2023/24. The 23-year-old averaged 18.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.9 SPG on .498/.418/.762 shooting in those contests.
As our tracker shows, Prosper will fill the Grizzlies’ third and final two-way spot.
Latest On Nets, Cam Thomas
Cam Thomas‘ decision to sign his one-year qualifying offer (worth nearly $6MM) was a reflection of the fact that he didn’t receive much external interest as a restricted free agent this summer, numerous scouts and league executives told Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
According to Lewis, Thomas has “fans at the highest level in the Nets front office,” but the team clearly wasn’t willing to bid against itself and evidently wasn’t comfortable offering the 23-year-old a long-term deal.
As Lewis writes, there’s risk for both sides now that Thomas is back under contract. From Brooklyn’s perspective, Thomas has an implied no-trade clause, meaning he would have to approve any deal during the 2025/26 season — if that happens, the team that acquires him would only have his Non-Bird rights.
Thomas, meanwhile, reportedly sacrificed short-term money to keep that built-in no-trade clause. General manager Sean Marks targeted multiple play-making guards during the draft, Lewis notes, and the Nets may prioritize their development over more shots for Thomas.
“On a team that’s not trying to win and doesn’t care, if he signs the qualifying offer he runs the risk they don’t feature him after October,” a league source had told The Post before the move. “A team that isn’t trying to win, you’re stuck.”
According to Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron (Substack link), the Nets will be approximately $7MM below the 2025/26 minimum salary floor if they re-sign Ziaire Williams to the same two-year, $12.5MM contract that Day’Ron Sharpe received and waive a few of their non-guaranteed deals before the season begins. That would put Brooklyn in a good position to add assets in another salary-dump deal before the season begins, but a major trade appears unlikely.
Gozlan hears Sharpe will earn $6.25MM each of the next two seasons. As previously reported, the contract features a second-year team option, so it’s only guaranteed for ’25/26.
Second-Rounder Mashack To Open Season With Memphis Hustle
Former Tennessee guard Jahmai Mashack, whose NBA rights were acquired by the Grizzlies after he was selected 59th overall in June’s draft, will open the season with the team’s G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, according to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link).
Herrington’s report was confirmed by Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter).
According to Cole, the Grizzlies are still high on Mashack, who impressed during a five-game Summer League showing, averaging 9.0 points, 4.4 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.2 blocks in 23.7 minutes per contest (.462/.417/.600 shooting line). But after reaching an agreement to sign Olivier-Maxence Prosper, the Grizzlies no longer have an open two-way spot, which leaves Mashack as the odd man out for now.
As Herrington notes, Mashack’s NBA rights are still controlled by the Grizzlies — he’ll be a domestic draft-and-stash player of sorts and not a free agent.
Gui Santos (Warriors) and Nikola Djurisic (Hawks) are two other recent examples of second-round picks who spent their first post-draft seasons in the G League — for what it’s worth, both players later signed standard contracts rather than two-way deals.
Mashack, who turns 23 years old in November, spent four college seasons with the Volunteers, mostly in a reserve role until he was a senior in 2024/25. In 38 starts last season (28.2 MPG), the 6’4″ wing averaged 6.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.5 APG and 1.7 SPG, with a shooting line of .454/.351/.723.
Mashack had been one of four 2025 draft picks who remained unsigned, and technically that’s still the case. But it certainly sounds like he’ll sign a G League contract before the season begins rather than an NBA deal with the Grizzlies.
Still, it’s worth noting that two-way contracts are non-guaranteed and don’t count against the salary cap, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Mashack ends up with the Grizzlies at some point in ’25/26. A multiyear standard deal toward the end of the season with subsequent seasons being non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed is another possibility.