Mavericks Rumors

Jeanie Buss Explains Lakers’ Approach To Luka Doncic Trade

February 28th, 2025 at 2:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss was one of the few people with advance knowledge of the trade talks with Dallas involving Luka Doncic, but she wasn’t sure the deal would get done until the last minute, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register.

Speaking at an event on Thursday to promote her new Netflix show, Buss told reporters that the front office proceeded cautiously throughout the process, making sure to prevent leaks that might have affected team chemistry if the deal had fallen through.

“I mean, not until (general manager Rob Pelinka) told me it was done and they had made the trade call,” she said. “Because these things fall apart all the time. It was really important to me that we didn’t blow up the team. If it had leaked out and the trade hadn’t happened, that would be really unfair to the progress that the coaching staff had made with the team. Because it’s a huge distraction. And the trade deadline is part of the business. It increases the level of stress for everybody. And I’m really proud that it didn’t leak out and that we were able to execute the trade in a way that still was surprising to all the parties involved. But that goes with this business.”

Buss compared the acquisition of Doncic with two significant deals from Lakers history, Price adds. She cited the 2008 trade with Memphis for Pau Gasol and the 2011 agreement with New Orleans for Chris Paul that was eventually overturned by then-commissioner David Stern.

As the Doncic trade edged closer to reality, Lakers officials were worried about any unexpected snags that might prevent it from being finalized.

“There’s always this concern there’s going to be some new ruling that, like, now what’s going to happen?,” Buss said. “But what I have complete confidence in Rob is that he knows how to walk a deal through step by step to make sure that everything is complete and buttoned up and that’s exactly what happened.”

Buss praised Pelinka and Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison for their discretion in keeping the deal quiet, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. From the time the first discussions were held on January 7, they were able to operate in near secrecy, even though Utah had to be brought in as a third team to take the salary of Lakers guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.

Buss also compared the trade to the type of deals her late father, Dr. Jerry Buss, used to make when he built the Lakers into one of the NBA’s premier franchises.

“He’d be very proud. When you get a player of that stature, you have to give up a lot. My dad was such a great poker player, and he said that he always wanted me to remember that poker was a game of patience,” she said. “That you had to wait for the right cards, but once you got the cards, you had to go from zero to 100 and play the cards and not be afraid to play them. So, it was difficult because we were not looking to trade Anthony Davis or Max Christie. But it was a deal that he would’ve made, and we had to go for it.”

Mavs Inquired About Anthony Edwards Before Trading Doncic To Lakers

February 28th, 2025 at 7:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers were not the only team that Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison reached out to regarding a possible Luka Doncic trade. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Mavericks had informal discussions with the Timberwolves regarding a possible Doncic-Anthony Edwards swap in the weeks leading up to the blockbuster deal with Los Angeles.

Those discussions didn’t go anywhere because Minnesota had no interest in trading its All-Star guard. However, the Timberwolves brass was stunned that Dallas was even considering the idea of trading Doncic, sources tell Amick.

From a salary standpoint, the numbers would have matched up pretty neatly — Doncic is making $43MM this season and Edwards is pulling in $42.2MM. Edwards is in the first year of a five-year, max extension that currently adds up to $244.6MM. Recall that the main motivation for Dallas to trade Doncic is that the front office didn’t want to give him a five-year, super-max extension worth a projected $345MM.

Had the Timberwolves been willing to trade Edwards for Doncic, the two franchises would have essentially swapped superstars entering or in their prime. Edwards is still just 23 years old, while Doncic is 26.

Instead, the centerpiece of the package the Mavs received was 31-year old big man Anthony Davis, an oft-injured perennial All-Star who suffered an adductor strain in his Dallas debut and has yet to return. The deal has been extremely unpopular with Mavericks fans but they might have had a different reaction if the team essentially replaced one high-scoring play-maker with a younger one.

Thus far, the Lakers are 4-2 in the games that Doncic has played since the trade, including a 111-102 win over the Timberwolves on Thursday.

Southwest Notes: Thompson, Whitmore, Pelicans Lineup, Brown

February 27th, 2025 at 9:19pm CST by Earnest Marshall

With Fred VanVleet out for the past 11 games, Amen Thompson‘s ball-handling role has been amplified, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle observes.

“For sure, I feel like my play-making’s taken a step up, and they’ve put me in positions where they trust me to do that,” Thompson said. “I feel like it’s just more experience being at the one and knowing where my guys are gonna make their shots most of the time.”

While his play-making has been impressive (6.3 assists per game in his last 11 compared to 2.9 APG before that), it raises the question of exactly what Thompson’s offensive role will be when VanVleet returns. The Rockets will be fully healthy for the first time since December when VanVleet returns, but coach Ime Udoka hasn’t yet decided on a starting lineup.

Thompson has more than earned a continued stay in the starting lineup and he did start next to VanVleet earlier this year. However, the Rockets are just 5-6 in their last 11 games without their veteran point guard and will receive a boost when he returns.

“I think when we signed Fred, the beauty of him was that he could play on and off ball,” Udoka said. “He had been with [Pascal] Siakam and Kawhi Leonard, those guys, and always been a handler but another recipient because of the shooting. Obviously, that stands out. So [it’s] something he does pretty naturally, something I’m sure he’ll welcome. You know, get some easier shots [rather] than having to create and be on the ball all the time.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

In the Rockets‘ past five games, swingman Cam Whitmore has only played 25 total minutes, with a pair of DNP-CDs. According to Udoka (Twitter link via Lerner), Whitmore’s drop in minutes is directly linked to Jabari Smith Jr.‘s return to the lineup. “There’s not a ton of minutes, just like at the start of the season, for all the wings,” Udoka said. “Like I said, depth is a really good problem but people are gonna get squeezed out for sure.” Whitmore is averaging 9.1 points per game in 38 appearances this season.
Pelicans center Kelly Olynyk is playing alongside rookie big man Yves Missi since coming from Toronto at the trade deadline. As Rod Walker of NOLA.com observes, New Orleans is finding some success with two-big lineups featuring the duo. The Pelicans have out-rebounded opposing teams in the three games with Olynyk and Missi playing next to each other. “We like the big lineups so far,” said coach Willie Green. “After many games of not being able to win the rebounding margin, we’re winning that and that’s giving us extra possessions. It’s allowing us to get out and play in transition.”
After averaging 10.5 minutes per game in his first two outings with the Mavericks, Moses Brown drew a start on Thursday, as noted by Dallas Hoops Journal’s Grant Afseth (Twitter link). Brown has tonight and Saturday’s game against the Bucks before his current 10-day deal expires. Due to Dallas’ restrictive hard-cap situation, the team won’t be able to re-sign him at that time.

Mavs Notes: Davis, Doncic, Irving, Marshall, Thompson

February 27th, 2025 at 8:17am CST by Luke Adams

Anthony Davis wasn’t able to play on Tuesday in the Mavericks‘ first game against the Lakers since the blockbuster trade that sent Davis from Los Angeles to Dallas. But he was in the building and told Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times that he appreciated the tribute video the Lakers made for him and the love that the fans in L.A. showed him.

Davis also spoke about the experience of being traded without having any idea it was coming, a rarity for player with his résumé. Davis had been traded once before in his career, but in that case he asked the Pelicans to move him and knew for months that a deal was likely coming. After learning about the blockbuster sending him to Dallas, the big man immediately FaceTimed longtime teammate LeBron James, he told Turner.

“When it happened, I honestly didn’t know s–t,” Davis said. “(LeBron)’s been my running mate for six years … so the first thing I wanted to do was call him.

“… Obviously, I know there are going to be a lot of political things in the front office when they talk to me. The front office has to do what it has to do and obviously they’re going to do what’s best for the organization. So I don’t know if I ever got the ‘real’ about any of it. I don’t know what’s true or what’s not, coming from upstairs. So, my thing is, I’m gonna go to my counterpart who I’ve been running with and see what’s going on, get his reaction and that’s all it was. We had a conversation. That was it.

“Everybody’s saying nobody knew and all this other s–t. I just don’t believe it. But, hey man, I’m past that. I’m ready to move forward with Dallas, try to get a championship there with these guys. First off, getting back on the floor and get ready to compete. All the emotions, that s–t lasted that night when it was just a shock.”

Davis, who is currently on the shelf with an adductor strain, is scheduled to be reevaluated on March 6.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

As Sam Amick of The Athletic writes, there are a number of people in Dallas who are predicting Luka Doncic‘s “basketball demise” in the coming years due to his health history and social habits that include “a taste for beer and hookah.” But Doncic showed in Tuesday’s Lakers win over Dallas why the decision to trade him could age horribly, according to Amick, who says most people around the league continue to think that the Mavs made a “grave mistake.”
After having been teammates with Doncic for two years, it was “awkward” but “fun” to face him as an opponent, Kyrie Irving told reporters after Tuesday’s game, per Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. Irving spoke at length about his bond with Doncic and said it’s “one of those lifetime things” that goes beyond basketball. The Lakers’ newest star agreed. “Kai is my hermano,” Doncic said. “We go way beyond basketball. So, it was good to see those guys. Like I said, we went to the wars together, and it was really fun to see them all.”
Mavericks forward Naji Marshall acknowledged in a conversation with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda that it has been a challenging few weeks for the team, which has had to deal with the aftermath of the Doncic trade and a series of injuries that have decimated the frontcourt. However, he remains bullish about the Mavs’ chances of contending this season. “I think we’re all still locked in,” Marshall said. “Everyone is still focused and not letting the outside noise derail the goals that we made up at the beginning of the season. And it’s still very possible to accomplish those. So I think that we’re in a great spot. … Stay tuned. It’s a long season. We are not done yet. Stay tuned.”
Following Sunday’s game in Golden State, Mavericks sharpshooter Klay Thompson presented Dr. Richard Ferkel, who repaired Thompson’s Achilles tear in 2020, with a 2022 Warriors championship ring, as Amick relays (Twitter video link). Kalan Hooks of ESPN has the full story.

Lakers Notes: Doncic, LeBron, Mavs Win, Defense

February 26th, 2025 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

Luka Doncic scored just 19 points in his first game against the Mavericks on Tuesday, but he also contributed 15 rebounds and 12 assists, registering his first triple-double since joining the Lakers and becoming the third player in NBA history – along with Russell Westbrook and teammate LeBron James – to post triple-doubles against all 30 teams, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Most importantly, Doncic and the Lakers picked up the win, defeating his former team by a score of 107-99. After the game, the star guard sounded more relieved than triumphant, according to McMenamin.

“It was just a lot of emotions and not much sleep,” Doncic said. “I can’t even explain (it). It was a different game. … Sometimes I don’t know what I was doing. And I’m just glad it’s over, honestly.”

While the scene wasn’t as charged as it figures to be on April 9 when the Lakers visit Dallas for the first time since the trade, Doncic said getting his first game against the Mavs out of the way will “definitely help me,” though he added that it will take “a while” to feel like he has closure on that era of his career.

“Obviously there’s a lot of emotion that goes in when you give so much to a franchise and you sacrifice for a franchise and you have that type of love and respect for a franchise — throughout all the journeys,” James said, per McMenamin. “(Doncic and the Mavericks) went to the Finals, all that stuff. He’s grown from being an 18-, 19-year-old kid to now a 25-year-old man with a family. … And when you move on or they move on from you, it’s very emotional, obviously. It’s very taxing.

“It’s probably a lot of things that were going on in his head that probably didn’t even involve the game itself. And with that said, I thought he handled it tremendously.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Within an interesting behind-the-scenes look at how the first few weeks of Doncic’s time in Los Angeles have played out, ESPN’s McMenamin notes that James has expressed a willingness to defer to his new superstar teammate on offense. “I’ve worked on my outside shot and my catch-and-shoot game for quite a while now to be able to sync up with someone like Luka,” LeBron said. “… I believe that in order for us to ultimately be the team that we want to be with him here, he has to have the ball, he has to be able to put us all in position, he has to be him. The seven years that we’ve seen in the NBA with Luka, we want that Luka.”
Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison was on the court during warmups on Tuesday, but Doncic didn’t acknowledge Harrison and stated after the game that he didn’t see him, as ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne writes.
Shelburne also provides a few more details on Doncic’s first game against the Mavericks, such as Mark Cuban‘s admission that he “hated” rooting against his former franchise player. According to Shelburne, Doncic jokingly told Cuban to “shut up” after the Mavs’ former majority owner made a point of booing him.
Since January 15, the Lakers own the NBA’s best record (15-4) and No. 1 defensive rating (107.4), as Jovan Buha of The Athletic observes. While their roster has undergone significant changes during that time, the Lakers’ defensive rating during that time isn’t being buoyed by Anthony Davis‘ play — since his last game with the team on January 28, L.A.’s defensive rating is a league-best 105.9. Head coach J.J. Redick praised the Lakers for being “committed” to playing team defense and told reporters on Tuesday that James has been playing at “an All-NBA defense level” in recent weeks, according to Buha.

Southwest Notes: Powell, Christie, Smith Jr., Bagley

February 25th, 2025 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks won’t have Anthony Davis when they face the Lakers for the first time since the teams’ blockbuster deal that landed Luka Doncic in Los Angeles. They could get another big man back for the showdown. Dwight Powell, who has missed the last 16 games due to a hip injury, has been upgraded as questionable, Marc Stein tweets.

It’s expected that Powell will be active, Stein adds. Powell has appeared in 33 games off the bench this season, though he’s averaged just 7.6 minutes in those appearances.

The Lakers will honor Davis with a video tribute, NBA insider Chris Haynes tweets.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Another of the players the Mavericks acquired from the Lakers was guard Max Christie. He has given Dallas a boost since the deal, averaging 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists in eight games. Christie told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears he’ll looking forward to Tuesday’s game but harbors no ill will toward his former team. “I’m not even looking at this game as a ‘revenge game,’” Christie said. “I’m actually looking forward to it from a sense that I get to see old teammates, old colleagues, old coaches. I’m looking forward to just enjoying that game. I want to win, obviously. The Lakers are a playoff team. They’re really, really good. It’s a good test for us as a matchup, as a team as well. But I’m not going in there with any bad blood or any intention of trying to drop 40 on them. I’m just going in there to try to win the game, play my game and let the game come to me.”
Blending Jabari Smith Jr.‘s offensive skills with the current rotation will be a key to the Rockets’ postseason success, Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes. If Houston has any hope of making a deep run, Smith must become more of a focal offensive option, according to Iko. Smith has played two games since recovering from a fractured hand, an injury he suffered on New Year’s Day.
Big man Marvin Bagley III wound up with the Grizzlies in a three-team trade earlier this month. Bagley, the No. 2 pick of the 2018 draft, has only made one brief appearance with Memphis. Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal explores how Bagley might carve out a role with the Grizzlies, his fourth team since entering the league. He’ll be a free agent after the season.

Mavericks, Doncic’s Lakers Ready For ‘Weird’ Matchup

February 25th, 2025 at 1:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Almost immediately after word broke earlier this month that the Mavericks were sending Luka Doncic to the Lakers in the most shocking trade in recent NBA history, a steady flow of reports questioning Doncic’s weight and conditioning began leaking out of Dallas.

Although Doncic never publicly responded to those leaks, a source close to the five-time All-NBA guard tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN that they’ve been a motivating factor for Doncic as he settles into his new home.

“A beast was awakened inside him,” the source said to ESPN.

On Tuesday, Doncic will have the first opportunity to exact some level of revenge on the organization that traded him, as the Lakers tip off a six-game home stand by hosting the banged-up Mavericks. The Lakers are expecting it to be an emotional reunion, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

“I think he’ll be fine,” head coach J.J. Redick said of his newly added star. “Every day that he’s been with us it’s becoming a little more normal. I’ve been there. The first time you play your old team, particularly this close in time duration, it’s going to be weird. But he’ll be OK.”

While the matchup will mean more to Doncic than to the rest of the Lakers, his new teammates are all excited for it and will have his back as he faces his old team, according to Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who used to play with Luka in Dallas.

“I’m excited, man,” Finney-Smith said. “I know (Doncic is) gonna be ready but I try not to put too much pressure on him because at the end of the day, we just want to get the win. We get the win, I know he’s gonna be happy.”

Doncic didn’t look like his usual self in his first three games as a Laker after returning from a lengthy layoff due to a calf strain. He averaged just 14.7 points on 35.6% shooting in those three outings. But he showed on Saturday in Denver why the Mavericks’ decision to trade him was so stunning, going off for 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals in a 23-point win over a Nuggets team that has repeatedly stymied the Lakers in recent years.

Doncic’s former Mavs teammates are fully prepared to see that version of Luka on Tuesday, according to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.

“I expect him to bring his A-game,” Mavs forward P.J. Washington said. “Knowing just the player he is, the mentality he brings to the game, I know he’s going to be ready as soon as we get out there. We can’t wait to compete against him. We miss him, but at the end of the day, he’s our brother and we’re always going to love him but we just gotta go out there and compete against him.”

“I would love to get into the emotions after the game, but before the game it’s just about having fun and making sure that we lock in and have a deep focus,” Dallas guard Kyrie Irving said. “They’re going to come in and be ready to play against us. Luka’s obviously going to have a lot of confidence in that game. He played well the last game so he’s feeling good. We just have to be aware.”

Mavericks Notes: Kidd, Doncic, Nowitzki, Washington, Thompson

February 24th, 2025 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks guard Jason Kidd can relate to how his former star point guard Luka Doncic feels. Kidd was an All-Star entering his prime when Dallas dealt him to Phoenix in 1996.

“It shocks you because you don’t know about that side of the business,” Kidd told Christian Clark of The Athletic. “But you have to grow up fast. It is a business.”

Doncic never saw the trade to the Lakers coming, thinking he’d be signing a super-max extension after the season with Dallas.

“You believe you are going to be with the franchise forever,” Kidd said. “But the business of basketball sometimes gets in the way. Teams change. I’ve been involved in quite a few sales of the team. Any time there is a sale, there could be change. It just happens.”

We have more on the Mavericks:

Dallas legend Dirk Nowitzki was on vacation when news broke of the Doncic trade. Nowitzki didn’t see it coming either, he revealed on a Sportsradio 96.7 FM interview relayed by the Dallas Morning News. “I felt a little disappointed and sad for him. He obviously didn’t see this coming, so he invited me to come out to his first game in LA, and I felt like I had to support him,” Nowitzki said. “I felt like, I played with him in my last season, we’ve gotten close, I’ve tried to mentor him, I’ve tried to help him as much as I can the last few years and he’s a good kid. I felt like I had to go out there and support him in this new chapter, because I think and it was reported he was obviously pretty down and disappointed in how it went down. So I wanted to be there for him, I wanted to be there for his family and show support. But you guys saw my face, it was weird. It was surreal to see him play for the Lakers. I’ll never be a Laker fan, but I’ll always be a Luka fan.”
An ankle sprain limited P.J. Washington to one February game prior to the All-Star break. He came back strong on Friday with 24 points and seven rebounds against New Orleans. “He’s a budding star for our team, and he’s showcasing that,” Kyrie Irving said of Washington, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal. “His numbers have showcased that. So I think it’s about time we started furthering that conversation about P.J. Washington consistently doing these things and being a great asset for our team as one of our leaders and making money plays.” Washington added 17 points against Golden State on Sunday.
Klay Thompson’s technical foul on Sunday has been rescinded upon league office review, NBA Official tweets. Thompson was held to 11 points in the 24-point loss to Golden State.

Checking In On Open NBA Roster Spots

February 24th, 2025 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

There has been no shortage of free agent signings across the NBA since the trade deadline, but several clubs still have at least one open roster spot as we near the home stretch of the season.

Using our roster counts tracker, let’s check in on which teams have openings and which are most likely to fill them in the short term.

Teams with multiple open spots on their standard 15-man rosters:

New Orleans Pelicans
Sacramento Kings

The Pelicans and Kings are both currently carrying 13 players on standard contracts, which teams are permitted to do for up to 14 days at a time or 28 days in total during a season.

New Orleans dipped down to 13 players last Thursday by buying out Javonte Green, which means the club will have until next Thursday (March 6) to get back to 14 players. Two-way player Brandon Boston is considered a strong candidate for a promotion, though he’s still eight games away from his 50-game limit because he has been out since February 8 with a sprained ankle.

Sacramento, meanwhile, dropped to 13 players when Daishen Nix‘s 10-day contract expired last Monday night. The Kings need to re-add a 14th man by next Tuesday (March 4) in order to adhere to the NBA’s roster rules.

Teams with one open spot on their standard 15-man rosters:

Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Golden State Warriors
- Note: Two of the Warriors’ 14 players are on 10-day contracts.
Indiana Pacers
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks

The Celtics, Bucks, Timberwolves, and Knicks are all deep into luxury tax territory and may not be in any rush to add a 15th man, since that player would cost exponentially more once tax penalties are taken into account. New York is currently restricted by a hard cap but could sign a player as soon as February 28.

The Hawks and Pacers have enough breathing room below the tax not to worry about surpassing that line, so they may look to add someone sooner rather than later, perhaps on a 10-day contract.

The Warriors, meanwhile, will dip back to 12 players once the 10-day contracts for Kevin Knox and Yuri Collins expire this Friday night. Golden State has some hard-cap issues to navigate for the rest of the season and might not want to get back to 14 players right away.

Teams with full standard 15-man rosters that include one 10-day contract:

Brooklyn Nets
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Memphis Grizzlies
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

These teams each have 14 players on standard contracts and one on a 10-day deal. With one exception, they’re all below the tax line and could continue cycling through 10-day signings or add a player on a rest-of-season contract when their current 10-day deals expire.

The one exception is Dallas. The Mavericks are right up against their hard cap, so once Moses Brown‘s 10-day contract ends, they won’t be able to bring in a new 15th man (or bring Brown back) until April 10.

Teams with an open two-way slot:

Brooklyn Nets
Golden State Warriors

The Warriors will reportedly fill their open two-way slot with Australian guard Taran Armstrong, so the Nets are really the only team with a two-way spot available, having promoted Tyrese Martin to a standard contract last Thursday.

It’s a pretty safe bet Brooklyn will fill that opening at some point before March 4, which is the deadline for two-way signings. You can also count on several other teams promoting, waiving, and signing two-way players before that deadline.

Wolves Rumors: Durant, Randle, Reid, Alexander-Walker

February 24th, 2025 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

Confirming earlier reporting that said the Timberwolves were among the teams who inquired on Kevin Durant prior to the February 6 trade deadline, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) reports that Minnesota was calling potential trade partners in the days leading up to the deadline to explore the possibility of getting below the second tax apron in order to aggregate salaries for the Suns star.

While there was little – if any – “tangible urgency” in Minnesota for major in-season changes to the roster, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to explore the idea of acquiring Durant, according to Fischer, who notes that the veteran executive has a history of operating aggressively on the trade market.

Although nothing came of the Wolves’ pursuit of Durant this month, Fischer wonders if it was connected at all to the impending ownership takeover by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez and whether the team might renew its pursuit of Durant during the offseason if and when Lore and Rodriguez have officially assumed control of the franchise.

Here’s more from Fischer on the Wolves:

Multiple cap strategists from rival teams have suggested to Fischer that it might be in Julius Randle‘s best interest to exercise the $30.9MM player option he holds for the 2025/26 season. Randle, who has battled injuries over the past two seasons and has seen his production slip in Minnesota, seems unlikely to match that first-year salary on the open market if he opts for free agency.
Those same camp strategists consider it likely that Naz Reid will turn down his own $15MM player option this offseason in search of a more lucrative longer-term deal, says Fischer. However, as Fischer writes, teams like Cleveland, Dallas, and San Antonio – who were interested in Reid the last time he neared free agency – may be less inclined to pursue him this time around. The Cavaliers and Mavericks have since added other players to their respective frontcourts, while the Spurs – who were hoping in 2023 to add a floor-spacing center to play alongside Victor Wembanyama – have since begun playing Wembanyama at the five instead.
There’s an expectation that the Wolves and Reid will likely continue their relationship beyond this season, but Nickeil Alexander-Walker‘s future in Minnesota is more uncertain, Fischer writes. Since being traded to the Wolves in 2023, Alexander-Walker has emerged as an excellent point-of-attack defender who can hit outside shots (he has a .393 3PT% as a Timberwolf). Some league executives believe his next contract could get as high as $20MM per year, according to Fischer, which could make life difficult for a Minnesota team that already has plenty of sizable contracts on its books.

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