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Nuggets, Kings Officially Swap Jonas Valanciunas, Dario Saric

July 13th, 2025 at 4:21pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Nuggets‘ trade sending Dario Saric to the Kings in exchange for Jonas Valanciunas is now official, according to a press release from Denver.

The trade agreement between the two teams was first reported on July 1. At the time, it seemed like a fairly straightforward deal — Denver was adding a reliable backup center behind Nikola Jokic, while Sacramento was reducing its team salary by swapping out Valanciunas’ $10.4MM salary for Saric’s $5.4MM expiring contract, allowing the Kings to stay out of tax territory while completing other moves.

However, it became more complicated within the past 12 days, as word broke that Valanciunas had a three-year contract offer on the table from the Greek team Panathinaikos that he wanted to accept.

While there has been no indication that the mutual interest between Valanciunas and Panathinaikos has waned, the Nuggets have reportedly told the 33-year-old and his camp that they want the big man the honor his contract. According to reports, Denver had maintained interest in Valanciunas in recent years and views him as a critical addition to its roster.

In order to sign with Panathinaikos, Valanciunas would have to negotiate a buyout with the Nuggets and get a FIBA letter of clearance — as long as he’s on an NBA contract, he can’t unilaterally decide to play in another league, without Denver’s cooperation. Now that the trade is official, he and the Nuggets can formally sit down and discuss next steps, but it sounds for now as if the plan is to have him in camp in Denver in the fall.

Valanciunas landed with the Wizards via sign-and-trade last summer, then was traded to the Kings in February. The durable center made 81 total appearances last season in Washington and Sacramento, averaging 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 18.8 minutes per contest.

Saric, meanwhile, couldn’t carve out a rotation role in Denver after signing with the team as a free agent in 2024. He made just 16 appearances, averaging 3.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per night. It’s unclear whether the Kings intend to keep him on their roster entering next season — a return to Europe could be in the cards for the 6’10” forward/center if he reaches free agency.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Knicks Notes: Yabusele, Brown, Triano, Kolek

July 13th, 2025 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

In an interview with Arthur Puybertier of BeBasket, a French basketball outlet, Guerschon Yabusele reveals that he strongly considered the Nuggets in free agency before deciding the allure of playing in New York was too strong to pass up. After returning to the NBA with an impressive season in Philadelphia, Yabusele accepted a two-year contract with the Knicks.

“It was super fast! As soon as I received (the offer from New York), I had to give an answer within two hours,” Yabusele said. “On the other side, we also had the one in Denver. You had to be quick not to miss the opportunity that New York represents, in a great living environment!”

Along with the lifestyle that comes with playing in the nation’s largest city, Yabusele is thrilled to be joining a title contender. Coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks have bolstered their roster with the addition of Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson while several other top Eastern teams are dealing with injuries to star players.

“When you look at New York, you can already see that the franchise has risen a lot in recent years,” Yabusele added. “They are conference finalists; the collective project is visible and very interesting for me. They are a very good team that plays very well together and is playing for the title! Having this goal was something important for me, I want to play for something. Apart from that, New York is a historic team. Playing at Madison Square Garden is the dream of every NBA player, including mine! It’s a special place, I’m very happy to be there!”

There’s more on the Knicks:

New head coach Mike Brown is emphasizing quick decisions on offense, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. That philosophy was on display in Friday’s Summer League opener as players were instructed to drive, shoot or pass within half a second of getting the ball. “It doesn’t just mean playing up and down, like we have to get out in transition,” Summer League coach Jordan Brink said. “The fast part is all of the stuff in our actions. If we get the ball up the floor quick and don’t have anything, we’re to the next action. Fast is really decision-making, playing with a ‘.5’ mentality.”
The Mavericks denied the Knicks’ request to interview Jay Triano in their search for an associate head coach, sources tell Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Triano served as Brown’s top assistant and offensive coordinator in Sacramento, but he just joined the coaching staff in Dallas last month and the Mavs didn’t want to lose him so quickly, Bondy adds. Dallas also turned down New York’s request to interview head coach Jason Kidd before Brown was hired.
After appearing in 41 games as a rookie, point guard Tyler Kolek is enjoying a fresh start with a new coaching staff, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “I think every season is a new opportunity,” he said. “Every year is a fresh start, new guys come in. We signed some free agents, so every year there’s fresh opportunity. And it starts right here, proving myself here, proving myself in August workouts, prove myself in camp, and then throughout the season. Just keep on proving myself until you get to where you have to be and then you have to do it all over again. It never really stops.”

Nuggets Notes: Jokic, Valanciunas, Holmes, Jones

July 13th, 2025 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets star Nikola Jokic doesn’t plan to agree to an extension this summer, but there are “no signs” he’s considering leaving Denver, Sam Amick of The Athletic stated during a recent appearance on Sactown Sports 1140 (YouTube link). However, Amick warns that things can always change, saying the organization shouldn’t feel too comfortable about Jokic until the new contract is official.

“It guarantees now that Joker has another decision to make next summer,” Amick said. “You can’t tell me, if this next coming season is a train wreck for the Nuggets, that that won’t be an issue. Now yes, he can sign a four-year extension if he waits, more money, it lines up potentially better with his next extension when he’s older so there’s plenty of plausible deniability for why he did it, but they also are coming off a year where they fired their coach and the GM, and yes, they got to the second round, but those guys try to win championships.”

Amick praised Denver’s new front office, saying they’re “off to a really strong start,” but added that Nuggets fans would be more comfortable if Jokic had taken the extension now. The three-time MVP will reportedly hold off extension plans until 2026, when he’ll be eligible for a four-year deal worth a projected $285.4MM instead of the three years at $206.4MM that’s currently on the table.

There’s more on the Nuggets:

Denver can’t afford to let Jonas Valanciunas out of his contract to play in Europe due to a lack of other options on the free agent market, Marc Stein of The Stein Line told Adam Mares of DNVR Sports (Twitter video link). “The other 29 teams are operating under the strong belief that Al Horford will end up going to Golden State,” Stein said. “… (The Nuggets) don’t have someone to pivot to. They don’t have a shot at Horford.”
DaRon Holmes made steady progress after tearing his right Achilles tendon during last year’s Summer League, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. The rookie big man was able to resume running and pregame shooting workouts by December, taking at least 200 three-pointers per day unless trainers advised him to rest. After conducting the operation, Holmes’ surgeon said he might be able to return by March, but the team never moved away from its plan for him to sit out the entire season. “I was met by a sense of determination and optimism on his part,” said his business manager Mitch Brown. “It really struck me that his mentality as a 22-year-old kid was so strong, dealing with something like this.”
Spencer Jones, the only two-way player that Denver kept from last year’s roster, continues to impress at Summer League, Durando adds in a separate story. The 24-year-old small forward had 19 points, six rebounds and two steals in Saturday’s loss to Minnesota.

Northwest Notes: Valanciunas, Nuggets, Thunder, J. Gentry

July 12th, 2025 at 8:21am CST by Rory Maher

The agreed-upon trade between the Nuggets and Kings that will send Jonas Valanciunas to Denver and Dario Saric to Sacramento will likely be completed this weekend, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter links).

According to Stein, the delay was due to the Nuggets needing additional time to finalize “all aspects” of their Michael Porter Jr./Cameron Johnson trade with the Nets. Both of those players have extensive injury histories, so that may have played a factor, though Stein didn’t explicitly say that.

Denver had to formally complete the Porter/Johnson deal before it could acquire Valanciunas due to the way the trades were structured.

Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Head coach David Adelman believes Valanciunas can be the offensive hub of the Nuggets‘ second unit, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post relays. “Point center. You can play combo guards. You don’t need a lead point guard (in lineups with Valanciunas),” Adelman said on ESPN’s Summer League broadcast. “You can play five-out offense, play off the elbow, post him up. He’s such a skilled player. … He shoots the ball better than most people realize. So that’s how I envision him. I think you have multiple combination guards. You can get away with that with a guy like that.”
The Thunder have signed (or are signing) their top three players — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren — to maximum-salary extensions this summer. Sam Quinn of CBS Sports explains why Oklahoma City is uniquely well positioned to manage the punitive aspects of having an expensive payroll in the future, noting that the defending champions may not operate over the second tax apron until the 2027/28 season.
The Timberwolves are hiring Jack Gentry — a former Lakers coaching associate — to be their new head video coordinator, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Jack is the son of longtime NBA coach Alvin Gentry, who is currently a member of Sacramento’s front office.

Cap Observations: Mutual Options, DFS, Incentives, Nuggets, BAE

July 11th, 2025 at 4:21pm CST by Luke Adams

After NBA teams spent the week officially finalizing many of the trades and free agent signings they'd agreed to during the July moratorium (or earlier), we're starting to get a clearer sense of trends emerging among the contracts signed in 2025/26, as well as a better idea of how teams are managing their cap exceptions and apron-related restrictions.

With that in mind, we're taking a closer look today at some of those contract trends, as well as a unique trade kicker, a cap-related decision facing the Nuggets, and a new use of the bi-annual exception.

Let's dive in...

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Nuggets Sign Tim Hardaway Jr. To One-Year Contract

July 10th, 2025 at 3:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

July 10: Hardaway is officially a Nugget, the team announced in a press release.

July 1: The Nuggets have agreed to a one-year contract with Pistons free agent wing Tim Hardaway Jr., ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter link). He’s signing for the veteran’s minimum, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post tweets.

Hardaway made 77 starts for vastly-improved Detroit, averaging 11.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 28 minutes per game. He shot 40.6 percent from the field and 36.8 percent on 3-point attempts.

Denver has been extremely active in recent days, agreeing to deal Michael Porter Jr. and a first-rounder to the Nets for Cameron Johnson, reaching a one-year deal with another wing, Bruce Brown, and adding big man Jonas Valanciunas in an agreed-upon deal with the Kings.

Hardaway figures to be a second-unit player with Denver, unless he supplants Christian Braun at shooting guard or Johnson at small forward. The 33-year-old Hardaway will be playing for the fifth team in his NBA career. He’s also had stints with Atlanta, New York and Dallas.

According to cap expert Yossi Gozlan, these moves will push the Nuggets right up against the luxury tax (Twitter link).

Losing Hardaway is a blow to the Pistons, who have been forced to adjust their free agent strategy due to gambling allegations against Malik Beasley. Detroit has also lost backup guard Dennis Schroder, who agreed on a three-year deal with the Kings. The Pistons have secured an agreement with free agent Caris LeVert and are looking at a variety of scenarios to fortify their wing positions.

Nuggets Notes: Holmes, Tyson, Valanciunas, MPJ

July 9th, 2025 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

After suffering a torn right Achilles tendon during last year’s Summer League, Nuggets big man DaRon Holmes is returning to Las Vegas to restart his NBA career, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. The organization had huge expectations for Holmes after trading up to take him with the 22nd pick in the 2024 draft, but the injury forced him to sit out his entire first season. He has fully recovered and won’t be on any limitations for Denver’s first game Thursday evening.

“It can be pretty difficult, because you have to trust what the trainers are saying (while recovering),” Holmes said. “So if they’re like, ‘Hey, we don’t want you coming back in the gym tonight — rest your legs, rest your Achilles,’ I might try to fight back and say no, I want to get shots up. But I have to listen to what they have to say. They went to school for eight-plus years doing that. I grew up playing basketball. So that’s the fight. It’s more of a mental thing. But I listen to what they have to say. And I trust my form. I’ve been still getting up shots, but I listen if they say (to rest).”

Holmes considers himself to be a natural power forward, but he’ll likely see some time at center this summer. He’s a little short for the position at 6’9″, so Durando expects him to compete for backup minutes during the season at the four spot with Zeke Nnaji and Peyton Watson.

“Anywhere they put me, I’ll be comfortable playing,” Holmes added. “I spent a lot of summer time playing the five. … I trust what the coaches have. I trust this team, the organization.”

There’s more on the Nuggets:

Hunter Tyson will return to Summer League for a third season, Durando states in a separate story. The former second-round pick was the only player on Denver’s standard roster who averaged fewer than 10 minutes per game last season, so he signed up for another summer in Las Vegas to sharpen his skills. “Trying to use this opportunity to get better,” Tyson said. “Make the most of it every time I step on the floor. … Going to go out there and try and win, try and work on my game, try and get better. Use the game reps to continue to grow my game.”
The Nuggets’ trade with Sacramento for Jonas Valanciunas remains on track to be finalized this week, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), but the team hasn’t agreed to guarantee his $10MM salary for 2026/27. Valanciunas will make $10.395MM during the upcoming season and has been hoping to return to Europe to play for Panathinaikos. On Tuesday, during his first public comments since news of the trade broke, Valanciunas sounded ready to report to the Nuggets. “Once the trade is finalized, we’ll put together the plan for the trip to Denver,” he said, per Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. “The team will outline how they see the situation, medicals, and all the details. That part is up to them.”
Michael Porter Jr. released a YouTube video thanking Nuggets fans for their support and discussing his trade to Brooklyn. Porter said he enjoyed his time with the organization, especially the 2023 championship, but added that his “ceiling in Denver kind of plateaued.”

Mavericks Hiring Popeye Jones, Phil Handy As Assistants

July 9th, 2025 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks are adding two more veteran assistants to their revamped coaching staff, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports (via Twitter) that Popeye Jones and Phil Handy have agreed to roles under head coach Jason Kidd.

A former NBA forward, Jones hasn’t worked with Kidd since they went into coaching but actually played alongside him for two seasons in Dallas from 1994-96. 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.

Jones will be Kidd’s No. 3 assistant coach and will focus on defense, according to Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com.

Handy, meanwhile, is coming to the Mavericks after previous stints with the Lakers (2011-13), Cavaliers (2013-18), Raptors (2018-19), and Lakers again (2019-24). He and Kidd were both members of Frank Vogel‘s staff in Los Angeles when the Lakers won a championship in 2020.

According to Afseth, the expectation is that Handy will take over the player developmental role previously held by God Shammgod, who left Dallas this offseason for Orlando.

Kidd’s top assistants last season were Sean Sweeney, Alex Jensen, and Jared Dudley, but they’ve since departed for San Antonio, the University of Utah, and Denver, respectively. Two former NBA head coaches, Vogel and Jay Triano, have since been tabbed as Kidd’s new top two assistants, with shooting specialist Mike Penberthy also coming aboard.

Groups Set For 2025 NBA Cup

July 9th, 2025 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced the six groups of five teams apiece for the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup, also known as the in-season tournament (Twitter link).

In order to set the groups, the league splits the Western and Eastern Conferences into five three-team tiers based on last season’s regular season standings, with one club from each tier randomly drawn into each of the conference’s three groups.

For instance, the top three teams from the West will all be in separate groups, with each of those three groups also featuring one team in the 4-6 range, one in the 7-9 range, and so on.

Here are the groups for the 2025 NBA Cup:

West Group A: Oklahoma City Thunder (1), Minnesota Timberwolves (6), Sacramento Kings (9), Phoenix Suns (11), Utah Jazz (15)
West Group B: Los Angeles Lakers (3), Los Angeles Clippers (5), Memphis Grizzlies (8), Dallas Mavericks (10), New Orleans Pelicans (14)
West Group C: Houston Rockets (2), Denver Nuggets (4), Golden State Warriors (7), Portland Trail Blazers (12), San Antonio Spurs (13)
East Group A: Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Indiana Pacers (4), Atlanta Hawks (8), Toronto Raptors (11), Washington Wizards (15)
East Group B: Boston Celtics (2), Detroit Pistons (6), Orlando Magic (7), Brooklyn Nets (12), Philadelphia 76ers (13)
East Group C: New York Knicks (3), Milwaukee Bucks (5), Chicago Bulls (9), Miami Heat (10), Charlotte Hornets (14)

The round-robin group play games will be starting a little earlier than usual this season and will run from October 31 to November 28. Each team will face the other four clubs in its group once, with the winners of each group and one wild card team from each conference advancing to the eight-team, single-elimination knockout round.

The full schedule of group play games can be viewed right here.

The quarterfinals will be played on December 9-10, with the semifinals and final to follow on Dec. 13 and Dec. 16, respectively, in Las Vegas. The knockout round games will all be aired by one of the NBA’s new broadcasting partners, Amazon Prime.

The Bucks won last season’s NBA Cup, with star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo earning MVP honors after leading Milwaukee to a victory over the Thunder in the championship game.

Nuggets Sign Bruce Brown To One-Year Deal

July 9th, 2025 at 1:34pm CST by Eli Cohen

July 9: Brown has officially signed with the Nuggets, according to a press release from the team.

June 30: The Nuggets have agreed to a deal to bring Bruce Brown back to Denver on a one-year deal, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

Sam Amick of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the deal will be worth the veteran’s minimum.

Since leaving the Nuggets as a free agent in 2023, Brown has spent time with the Pacers, Raptors, and Pelicans. He averaged 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in 2024/25 over 41 games split between Toronto and New Orleans before being held out of action down the stretch with a right knee injury.

The versatile 6’4″ wing spent time with the Pistons and Nets before his first stint in Denver, which culminated in him playing a key role off the bench for the championship team in 2022/23. After averaging 12 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game in the playoffs that year, Brown left the team for a two-year, $45MM offer from the Pacers that Denver didn’t have the ability to match.

Brown now returns to a Denver team that is making aggressive moves to position itself for another title run, including trading longtime starter Michael Por ter Jr. and a first-round pick for Cameron Johnson.