Roster Moves: A. Scott, Cooke, Council, Carey, Hunter
The Celtics have signed wing Aaron Scott to an Exhibit 10 contract, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Scott went undrafted earlier this year, making him an unrestricted free agent.
After spending three college seasons at North Texas, Scott transferred to St. John’s for his senior year. In 36 appearances with the Red Storm in 2024/25, he averaged 8.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 27.2 minutes per game. His shooting slash line was .389/.293/.813.
While those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, college coaches who spoke to The Athletic in June viewed Scott as a “deep sleeper” who could potentially work his way onto an NBA roster at some point.
Here are a few more transactions from around the NBA:
- The Trail Blazers have waived Javonte Cooke, the team announced in a press release. He had been signed to an Exhibit 10 deal for training camp and preseason. A 6’6″ shooting guard, Cooke has played primarily in the G League since 2022, with a stint in Canada for the Brampton Honey Badgers in 2024. The 26-year-old made 42 appearances for the Oklahoma City Blue last season, averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 28.2 minutes per game while converting 42.4% of his shots from the floor, including 33.5% of his three-point attempts.
- Portland’s G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix, acquired Cooke’s returning rights in a trade with the Blue earlier this week. While that would typically signify a player is headed to the NBAGL to open the season, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report hears the Blazers are still considering Cooke for their vacant two-way spot, so there’s a chance he could re-sign with Portland (Twitter link).
- The Rockets have signed a trio of free agents, according to Smith, who tweets that the team has added Vernon Carey Jr., Ricky Council IV and Tyrese Hunter. All three players will soon be waived, sources tell Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). High-flying wing Council spent the past two years with Philadelphia. He was waived by the 76ers in late July and was reportedly going to sign with the Nets, but that deal fell through. Carey, a 24-year-old center, was the No. 32 overall pick of the 2020 draft. He holds three years of NBA experience and last played professionally in Turkey. Hunter, a 6’0″ guard, went undrafted out of Memphis in June. As a senior last season, he averaged 13.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.5 SPG in 32 games (34.0 MPG), posting a shooting line of .415/.401/.774.
- With the possible exception of Cooke, all of these players will be eligible for bonuses worth up to $85,300 if they’re released and spend at least 60 days with their respective clubs’ G League affiliates.
Celtics Cut Jalen Bridges, Kendall Brown, Wendell Moore
The Celtics have waived a trio of players on non-guaranteed training camp contracts, according to NBA.com’s log of official league transactions. Jalen Bridges, Kendall Brown and Wendell Moore Jr. were the three players cut loose, as first reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Bridges, Brown and Moore were all vying for a two-way contract with the Celtics, who created a two-way opening last night by waiving rookie wing RJ Luis. That two-way spot wound up going to Ron Harper Jr., who was promoted earlier today.
After going undrafted out of Baylor last year, Bridges signed a two-way deal with Phoenix. He spent most of his rookie campaign in the G League, and the Suns decided not to give Bridges a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent until his Exhibit 10 agreement with Boston was finalized prior to training camp.
Both Brown (48th overall) and Moore (26th overall) were selected in the 2022 draft. Brown has spent time with Indiana and Brooklyn on two-way deals but spent most of last season in the G League with the Long Island Nets. He made 21 garbage-time appearances over two seasons with the Pacers.
As for Moore, he spent two years in Minnesota before splitting last season with the Pistons and Hornets. He has averaged 8.1 minutes per game across 90 NBA appearances with those three clubs.
Bridges, Brown and Moore are all candidates to join the Celtics’ G League affiliate in Maine. Each player is now eligible for a bonus worth $85,300 on top of his normal G League salary if he spends at least 60 days with the Maine Celtics.
Celtics Convert Ron Harper Jr. To Two-Way Deal
2:49 pm: The Celtics have officially converted Harper’s Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
12:04 pm: After waiving RJ Luis on Wednesday, the Celtics are poised to convert Ron Harper Jr. to a two-way contract, agent Drew Gross tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Harper is currently under contract with Boston on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal. Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted into two-ways up until next Monday, the day before the regular season begins.
A 6’6″ forward, Harper spent the majority of last season in the NBA G League, averaging 16.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 0.9 steals per game in 37 total appearances with the Motor City Cruise and Maine Celtics (29.6 MPG). He shot 38.6% from three-point range on high volume (8.2 attempts per game).
Harper has averaged 4.3 PPG, 1.0 APG, and 0.7 RPG in 10.6 MPG across three outings with the Celtics during the preseason.
Although he has made just 11 total regular season appearances from 2022-25, Harper technically has three years of NBA service, having suited up for at least one game in each of the past three seasons, so this will be his final year of two-way eligibility. That means his new two-way deal will just cover a single season before he becomes a free agent again in 2026.
2025 second-round picks Amari Williams and Max Shulga are Boston’s other two-way players.
Celtics Sign Hason Ward To Exhibit 10 Contract
The Celtics have signed free agent forward Hason Ward to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.
Ward, who went undrafted out of Iowa State in 2024, spent his first professional season with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate. He also stints with the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite Basketball League in the summers of 2024 and 2025.
In 50 G League games last season for Maine, Ward averaged 7.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in 21.9 minutes per contest. He made 66.0% of shot attempts from the floor but just 50% from the free throw line.
It’s a virtual certainty that Ward will be waived at some point in the next 24 to 48 hours, which would put him on track to rejoin the Celtics’ G League team this fall. His Exhibit 10 bonus would ensure that he receives a bonus worth as much as $85,300 on top of his standard NBAGL salary if he spends at least 60 days with Maine.
Boston had an open spot on its 21-man roster after waiving two-way player RJ Luis on Wednesday, so Ward filled that opening.
Warriors, Lakers Top 2025 NBA Franchise Valuations
The Warriors are still the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2025 on Thursday.
Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $11.33 billion, which represents an incredible 24% increase from last year’s $9.14 billion valuation. The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, at $12.8 billion, continue to be the only global sports franchise whose valuation comes in higher than Golden State’s, according to Sportico’s projections.
As Badenhausen outlines, the Warriors lead the NBA in revenue by a significant margin, having generated an estimated $833MM last season. Golden State makes more than $5MM per game in ticket revenue, along with $2.5MM from luxury suites; the club also has a $45MM per year jersey patch deal with Rakuten, earns almost double what any other team makes in sponsorship revenue, and is one of the few teams to fully own and operate its arena, per Sportico.
After placing third a year ago, the Lakers have jumped to second place on Sportico’s 2025 list at $10 billion, based on Mark Walter‘s recent agreement to purchase the team at that valuation. The Lakers moved slightly ahead of the third-place Knicks, who come in at $9.85 billion.
Every team’s valuation has increased by at least 9% since last year, per Sportico, with the average value of an NBA franchise now at $5.51 billion (up 20% from 2024) and no team worth less than $4 billion.
The average valuation has more than doubled since 2022, when it was $2.58 billion. As Badenhausen writes, the NBA’s new $76 billion media rights deal and its global ambitions – including the possible creation of a league in Europe – have played a part in those gains.
Although the Warriors’ $833MM is something out of an outlier, NBA teams generated an average of approximately $408MM in revenue last season, according to Badenhausen, with the Grizzlies coming in last at $301MM. Memphis also ranks 30th on Sportico’s list of franchise values.
Despite placing at the bottom of this list, the Grizzlies actually had the most significant increase in their franchise valuation this past year, rising from $3.06 billion to $4 billion (31%). The Pelicans (30%), Timberwolves (29%), and Eastern Conference champion Pacers (27%) were the other biggest risers.
Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But these projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.
Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2025:
- Golden State Warriors: $11.33 billion
- Los Angeles Lakers: $10 billion
- New York Knicks: $9.85 billion
- Los Angeles Clippers: $6.72 billion
- Boston Celtics: $6.35 billion
- Brooklyn Nets: $6.22 billion
- Chicago Bulls: $6.12 billion
- Miami Heat: $6.03 billion
- Philadelphia 76ers: $5.61 billion
- Houston Rockets: $5.53 billion
- Dallas Mavericks: $5.24 billion
- Toronto Raptors: $5.22 billion
- Phoenix Suns: $5.09 billion
- Atlanta Hawks: $5.02 billion
- Sacramento Kings: $5 billion
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $4.86 billion
- Denver Nuggets: $4.8 billion
- Washington Wizards: $4.78 billion
- Indiana Pacers: $4.76 billion
- Milwaukee Bucks: $4.54 billion
- San Antonio Spurs: $4.5 billion
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $4.34 billion
- Utah Jazz: $4.27 billion
- Portland Trail Blazers: $4.25 billion
- Minnesota Timberwolves: $4.24 billion
- Orlando Magic: $4.21 billion
- Detroit Pistons: $4.17 billion
- Charlotte Hornets: $4.13 billion
- New Orleans Pelicans: $4.02 billion
- Memphis Grizzlies: $4 billion
As Badenhausen notes, Sportico’s projections are based on a control sale price, rather than limited stake purchases. Controlling shares in the Celtics, Lakers, and Trail Blazers all changed hands this past year, though only the Celtics sale has been formally approved by the NBA so far.
William Chisholm is buying the Celtics in two stages, with an initial valuation of $6.1 billion and a blended valuation of roughly $6.5 billion. Walter is purchasing the Lakers at a valuation of $10 billion, while Tom Dundon is buying the Blazers at a $4.25 billion valuation.
Celtics Notes: Tatum, Brown, Mazzulla, Battle
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum remains hopeful about his chances of returning from his torn right Achilles before the 2025/26 season ends, but he tells DJ Siddiqi of PokerStrategy.com that there’s no specific timeline or target date in place at this point.
“Nobody’s pressuring me,” Tatum said. “The team, the doctor, the organization, everybody is just like, ‘We want you to be 100% before you come back.'”
While many players who suffer Achilles tears are sidelined for at least a full calendar year, Tatum made it clear that the recovery process isn’t “time-based” and is confident there would be little risk of aggravating the injury if he’s cleared to come back before the one-year mark.
“Time is obviously important, but you have to hit certain benchmarks,” he explained to Siddiqi. “The most important thing is all these tests of your strength, the strength in your calf, the strength in your leg. Getting into the same strength as your left calf or even stronger. For some guys, that takes six, nine, 12 months. Everybody’s just different. But the surgery that I got, the things that we’ve been doing, I feel very, very confident in that surgical site. We won’t have that problem again.”
Here’s more on the Celtics:
- Celtics star Jaylen Brown told head coach Joe Mazzulla that he’ll be OK after exiting Wednesday’s preseason finale with a hamstring injury, writes Brian Robb of MassLive.com. Brown left in the first quarter and was later ruled out for the rest of the night due to what the team called left hamstring soreness. “Talked to him after, he said he would be fine, but I didn’t get a full update,” Mazzulla told reporters after the game.
- When Mazzulla was named the Celtics’ head coach in the fall of 2022, he took over a team with immediate championship expectations. Those expectations remained the same for his first three seasons on the job, but look a little different in 2025/26 as a result of Boston’s offseason roster changes and Tatum’s Achilles injury. Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (subscription required) takes a look at how Mazzulla is calibrating his coaching style for the new-look roster. “I think you have to adjust based on the roster that you have and the personalities that you have,” Mazzulla said. “But also the type of personality that you want your team to have. Everyone is different so you have to treat everyone different, but at the same time you have to have a collective personality in what you’re trying to do. You have to be able to spend time and understand what makes each person tick, but your team has to tick at a certain level.”
- Ashley Battle – a Celtics scout who also held the title of assistant general manager of the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate – is leaving the organization to join the front office of the Portland Fire in the WNBA, reports Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report (Substack link). A former WNBA player herself, Battle had been working for the Celtics since 2021.
Celtics Waive RJ Luis
The Celtics have waived RJ Luis, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter). The rookie was on a two-way deal.
Boston acquired Luis when they traded Georges Niang and two second-round picks to the Jazz in a salary-cutting move. Luis went undrafted this summer after averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and earning Big East Player of the Year honors for St. John’s last season.
He appeared in three preseason games for Boston, scoring six points on four shots in just under eight total minutes.
The move opens up a two-way slot for the Celtics, who currently have Max Shulga and Amari Williams signed to two-way deals. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe speculates (via Twitter) that the Celtics may have made the move with an eye toward retaining guard Ron Harper Jr.
Al Horford Explains Celtics Exit, Hopes To Retire With Warriors
After returning to the Celtics for a second stint in 2021, Al Horford seemed like he was on track to spend the rest of his NBA playing career in Boston. However, at age 39, the veteran big man decided this summer to leave the Celtics because “they just weren’t in a position to offer me the opportunity that I wanted,” he explained to Nick Friedell of The Athletic.
After winning a title in 2023/24 and racking up 61 more regular season wins in ’24/25, the Celtics are expected to take step backward in ’25/26 as a result of Jayson Tatum‘s postseason Achilles tear, as well as financially motivated offseason trades involving Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Due to its desire to shed salary, the club also wasn’t in position to offer free agents like Luke Kornet and Horford the kind of contracts they’d earned.
“There was two things there,” Horford said. “I think the financial part was a component, but more than that, it was the winning part of it, trying to contend for a championship. And I think there was a lot of things up in the air — and it just felt like they weren’t in the same, that same vision, obviously, because JT getting hurt, that takes a big toll. So I think at that point I really had to — up until then I was staying in Boston the whole time.
“… I think once that offseason happened and it started to progress, it became clear to me the team had different priorities. Obviously, getting rid of Jrue, getting rid of Kristaps. And I know it’s all salary stuff, but it was like a domino effect, and it was tough for me. It was a tough decision, but my wife and I, we prayed about it. I knew that it had to be something that was gonna be — that my family had to be on board with me for us to proceed in something like this. And that was it.”
Horford ended up signing with the Warriors on a two-year contract worth the full taxpayer mid-level exception that includes a second-year player option and a 15% trade kicker.
While the deal didn’t officially get done until October 1 due to Golden State’s desire to resolve Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency before hard-capping itself at the second tax apron, Horford knew much earlier in the summer that he’d become a Warrior. He tells Friedell that recruiting pitches from Stephen Curry and Draymond Green played a role in his decision.
“Yeah, I had communication with them, with Steph and Draymond,” Horford said. “And that was important. It happened very fast because it was at a point where they came to me and they’re like, ‘Hey, we’d love to have you,’ and all these things. And it was one of these things that, for me, looking at this fit and the potential, it just felt right. So them reaching out to me was important.”
Given the fact that his new contract includes a second year, Horford may still have multiple seasons left in the NBA. Still, his hope for now is that he’s able to finish his career in Golden State.
“I think at this point in my career, where I see everything, that is my expectation, just to be here,” he said.
Celtics Notes: Boucher, Gonzalez, Simons, Scheierman
Celtics forward Chris Boucher continued his bid for a starting spot with another strong performance Friday night, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Boucher, who spent the past seven years in Toronto before signing with Boston as a free agent in August, posted 19 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes against his former team. He made his second straight start at power forward and may keep that role when the season begins.
“He cares about winning, he cares about people, he takes pride in his work ethic,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “There’s few guys who take no plays off whether it’s at shootaround, or a game, and that guy is one of them. It’s impressive, 32 years old, to have the energy that he does on and off the court.”
Boucher, who accepted a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract, has been a welcome addition for a team that had significant frontcourt losses from last season. Robb sees him as a natural fit for the up-tempo approach that Mazzulla wants to bring to the offense, and he’s willing to shoot from beyond the arc whenever he gets an open look. Boucher is probably most effective in a double-big lineup, Robb adds, but he can handle some minutes at center if the Celtics want to go smaller.
“I’m really excited,” Boucher told the Toronto media, including Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports, about his decision to sign with Boston (Twitter link). “I talked to them and had a great conversation about what my role could be and the opportunity I could get on this team. So, for me, it was an easy decision to make.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- Rookie forward Hugo Gonzalez is already proving to be a strong wing defender and may challenge for rotation minutes, Robb states in a mailbag column. Robb points out that Jordan Walsh’s adductor strain might create an opportunity for Gonzalez to play right away, unless Mazzulla is hesitant to give a regular role to a 19-year-old with no NBA experience.
- Mazzulla took issue with a report this week that Gonzalez has struggled to grasp some team concepts because of a limited understanding of English, according to Eurohoops. He said Gonzalez is fluent in several languages and is aware of everything that is being presented to him. “At this point, I only yell at him in Spanish — but we also have conversations,” Mazzulla said. “He can speak both languages and does a great job understanding what’s going on out there. Right now, we argue in Spanish, but we’ll get to the point where we’ll do other stuff too.”
- Anfernee Simons made his preseason debut on Friday night, finishing with 18 points and three assists after committing three fouls in the first five minutes, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Simons, who was acquired from Portland in the Jrue Holiday trade, was concerned about making a good impression on his new coach. “I was a little nervous at first, but I think in the second half I calmed down and started to play my game a little bit more,” he said. “I was nervous about being back out there and a new team. (Mazzulla) didn’t say nothing about the fouls, but I knew I needed to chill out with the fouls.”
- The preseason continues to be a learning process for Baylor Scheierman, who was pulled from Friday’s game early in the fourth quarter after committing two live-ball turnovers and missing three contested three-point shots, Washburn adds in the same piece. Mazzulla reacted angrily to the mistakes, but sent the second-year shooting guard back into the game 98 seconds later. “He’s a smart guy and he plays really hard,” Mazzulla said. “But that segment was an important segment for a young player to understand, especially at the start of the fourth quarter. Those momentum swings regardless of the game, you have to play really hard, but you also have to have situational awareness.”
And-Ones: Pierce, Mosley, Daigneault, NBA Europe, Project B
Former Celtics star Paul Pierce was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of driving under the influence after he was found asleep behind the wheel on U.S. Highway 101 in Los Angeles, per an Associated Press report.
California Highway Patrol officers, who were responding to the scene of an unrelated car crash in the area, saw Pierce’s Range Rover nearby after they reopened the four affected highway lanes, according to a press release. Pierce was asleep and showed “signs of alcohol impairment,” prompting the officers to conduct a DUI investigation and arrest him on a misdemeanor charge.
Pierce, a 10-time All-Star and Hall of Famer who won a title with Boston in 2008, has been out of the NBA since 2017, but has worked in broadcasting roles for ESPN and Fox Sports since then.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- While nothing has been set in stone yet, Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault are two names to watch as potential candidates for Team USA’s coaching staff when Erik Spoelstra takes over coaching duties, sources tell Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
- The EuroLeague, the NBA, and FIBA met again this week as the NBA and FIBA continue to explore the potential creation of a European league. In the wake of Wednesday’s meeting, the EuroLeague released a statement that thanked the NBA for “constructive dialogue” but said the proposal for collaboration the EuroLeague presented at the previous meeting has yet to receive “any meaningful response.” According to Alessandro Luigi Maggi of Sportando (Twitter link), the NBA views the model proposed by the EuroLeague as unsustainable.
- While Maverick Carter is no longer part of the proposed basketball league known as “Project B,” other organizers and investors are moving forward with plans for the global league, according to Sam Amick, Mike Vorkunov, and Vardon of The Athletic, who share the latest details. Project B co-founder Grady Burnett tells The Athletic that the goal is to launch a women’s basketball league next fall, with the goal of setting up a men’s league as well. “We’re going to focus on the women’s side at this point,” he said. “I think it’s natural to assume that we will do other things after that.”