Southwest Notes: FVV, Adams, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Mavs
The Rockets‘ trade for Kevin Durant was clearly the most impactful move of the team’s offseason, but extending Steven Adams and re-signing Fred VanVleet on a more team-friendly deal shouldn’t be overlooked, Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) writes in a preview of the club’s season.
As Lerner points out, both VanVleet and Adams are respected locker-room leaders in addition to providing value on the court and were among Houston’s most effective players in the postseason series vs. Golden State.
After winning 52 games last season, the Rockets appear capable of increasing that number in 2025/26, perhaps to the 55-win range, Lerner writes. However, winning in the playoffs will be the ultimate barometer of success in Houston this season — the team hasn’t won a postseason series since 2020.
We have more from around the Southwest:
- In addition to previewing Houston’s 2025/26 campaign, Lerner spoke to beat writers for other Southwest teams within the past week to get a sense of their outlooks for the coming season. Michael Wallace of Grind City Media (Chronicle subscriber link) believes the Grizzlies are capable of competing for a top-six seed in the West after trading away Desmond Bane; Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com (subscriber link) thinks the Pelicans will exceed expectations after having widely been projected as the No. 14 team in the conference; and Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com (subscriber link) forecasts a 48-34 regular season and a playoff berth for the Mavericks.
- While the Mavericks‘ new four-year, $89MM extension with P.J. Washington looks relatively team-friendly in a vacuum, it’s unclear how much sense it makes for Dallas, according to Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link), who points to a crowded frontcourt and the team’s increasingly pricey roster going forward as ways the deal could backfire.
- The Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies‘ G League affiliate, acquired the returning player rights for guard Evan Gilyard from the Raptors 905 in exchange for a 2025 NBAGL first-round pick, according to an announcement from the team (Twitter link). Gilyard, who averaged 12.3 points and 5.4 assists per game during the 2024/25 G League regular season for Toronto’s affiliate, is now a candidate to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with Memphis if the team wants to pay him more than the standard NBAGL salary.
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.
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.
Five Under-The-Radar Players To Watch In 2025
We’re still 28 days away from most teams beginning training camp, which typically determines multiple positional battles for teams ahead of the coming season. Still, the majority of teams’ offseason roster moves have been completed and preliminary pecking orders are in place, meaning we can take a stab at identifying true breakout players for 2025/26.
In the space below, we’ll be focusing on players who appear poised to go from the fringes of rosters to rotational mainstays. Think of Guerschon Yabusele last season, who went from being out of the league to being one of the NBA’s most coveted role players.
Last year in this exercise, we included Max Christie, who increased his scoring average from 4.2 points to 9.6 points per game. So while Larry Nance Jr. seems primed for a massive year with the Cavaliers as a role player, he has 546 career games under his belt and doesn’t really fit our criteria.
Luka Garza/Josh Minott, Boston Celtics
The Celtics went out of their way to add both Garza and Minott to standard deals early in free agency after the Timberwolves declined options on both players. However, the Wolves opting to not bring them back isn’t necessarily an indictment — more of a testament to the win-now depth Minnesota built ahead of them.
Garza hasn’t played many minutes over the course of his four-year NBA career, but he has certainly produced when given the opportunity. He holds career averages of 4.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game, which works out to per-36 averages of 22.7 points and 8.9 rebounds.
It would be easy to write off that kind of production since per-36 is hardly an indicative statistic of one’s talents, but that sample comes across 124 career games. And in 39 career regular season G League games, Garza averaged 26.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest.
The Celtics lost Luke Kornet in free agency, traded away Kristaps Porzingis, and are not considered likely to bring back Al Horford. That leaves Neemias Queta, Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman as the only players in front of Garza in the frontcourt. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Garza emerges as a starter down the line.
Minott is also included here after his training camp last season had coaches raving. While he never ended up in the rotation, it’s still noteworthy that the Celtics added him early in free agency. Minott will battle Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman and rookie Hugo Gonzalez for minutes off the bench at the wing position. In 32 career regular season G League games, he has averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.8 blocks.
Nigel Hayes-Davis, Phoenix Suns
If there was an option to select “most likely to be this year’s Yabusele,” Hayes-Davis would have to rank near the top. Hayes-Davis established himself as one of the best international players after not playing in the league since 2017/18. The Suns gave him a standard guaranteed deal after he averaged 15.1 points per game for Fenerbahce. On a new-look Phoenix team, he should get plenty of chances to contribute.
Jaylen Clark, Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves selected Clark with the No. 53 pick in the 2023 draft, with the Wolves essentially redshirting him while he recovered from injury in 2023/24. Last year, in his first healthy NBA season, Clark emerged as a reliable depth option, averaging 4.1 points across 13.1 minutes in 40 games.
With the loss of Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Hawks in free agency, the Wolves will look to rely on their younger depth options to establish themselves this season. While all eyes are on Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. to take steps forward, look for Clark (and perhaps Leonard Miller), to gain more of a foothold in the rotation.
Cam Spencer, Memphis Grizzlies
Every opportunity he received, Spencer impressed for the Grizzlies and their G League affiliate. In just 10.1 minutes per game last year (25 appearances), Spencer averaged 4.2 points. In eight regular season G League games, Spencer averaged 23.5 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 53.8% from the field and 49.3% on three-pointers.
Memphis drafted Spencer last year with the No. 53 overall pick, and he spent all of last year on a two-way deal. After standing out in their developmental system, the second-year guard was rewarded with a standard contract this offseason. Even though the Grizzlies are flush with rotation-caliber players, there could be an opportunity for Spencer to earn some bench minutes following the departure of Desmond Bane.
Western Notes: Connelly, Washington, Jerome, Beal
Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly had the ability to opt out of his contract with the team this offseason but chose not to do so, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets.
When Connelly was hired by the Wolves in 2022, he received a five-year deal that included an opt-out clause after the second season. He and the team agreed in 2024 to push that opt-out back by a year with the ownership situation still up in the air, but now that Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have assumed majority control, Connelly decided not to take advantage of the clause this summer.
Since he’s still on his initial five-year deal, Connelly is under contract with the Wolves for two more seasons, Krawczynski notes. Assuming Lore and Rodriguez are satisfied with the job he has done, the veteran executive figures to be an extension candidate in 2026.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- With P.J. Washington set to become extension-eligible on Friday, Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News weighs the pros and cons of a new deal for Washington from the Mavericks‘ perspective. Like NBA insider Marc Stein, Curtis has heard that an extension for Washington is likely, though he cautions that the exact terms of the deal remain unclear. Washington would be eligible to receive up to nearly $89MM over four years.
- The Grizzlies need elite shooting, two-way play-making, and swagger from newcomer Ty Jerome, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, who takes a closer look at the veteran guard to whom the team devoted its full room exception.
- Appearing on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue pointed out that Bradley Beal put up “unbelievable stats” for the Suns over the past two seasons but was “overshadowed” as the third option behind stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker (hat tip to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). “I think by coming here, I think it’s a fresh start and I think he’s going to be great for us,” Lue said of Beal, who signed with the Clippers after being bought out by Phoenix.
Four 2025 NBA Draft Picks Remain Unsigned
As our tracker shows, 55 of the 59 players selected in June’s 2025 draft have either signed their first NBA contracts or are confirmed to be playing overseas for the upcoming season. John Tonje (Jazz) and Amari Williams (Celtics) recently became the latest 2025 draftees to sign with their respective teams, having finalized two-way deals.
That leaves four players – all second-round picks – who remain unsigned. Those players are as follows:
- Mohamed Diawara (Knicks)
- Alex Toohey (Warriors)
- Will Richard (Warriors)
- Jahmai Mashack (Grizzlies)
NBA insider Jake Fischer provided an update on Richard today, writing that the former Florida wing is expected to sign with Golden State once Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency is resolved. Fischer didn’t say whether Richard would be signing a standard contract or a two-way deal, but his wording suggested the former Florida guard is a candidate for a 15-man roster spot.
Signing Richard to a contract that begins at the rookie minimum could help the Warriors manage their cap/tax/apron situation, since he’d only count for about $1.27MM (compared to roughly $2.3MM for a veteran minimum deal).
Fischer didn’t mention Toohey, who was selected four picks ahead of Richard. That doesn’t necessarily mean Toohey isn’t a candidate for a 15-man roster spot — in certain hard-cap scenarios, it could make sense for the Warriors to carry two rookie-minimum players. But it might be a signal that Richard is the better bet for a standard deal, while Toohey could end up on a two-way contract or as a draft-and-stash prospect.
Diawara is in a similar boat to Richard and Toohey, seemingly stuck in limbo while the Knicks mull their options with their remaining roster spots. It looks like the Knicks will have to carry at least one draft-rights player on a rookie minimum contract in order to navigate their own hard cap, and Diawara is one of two leading candidates to fill that spot — 2023 second-rounder James Nnaji is the other.
If Nnaji signs a standard contract or if the Knicks find a way to create enough cap flexibility to fill out their roster with veteran minimum signings, Diawara is probably ticketed for a two-way deal. As a European-born player who was playing overseas prior to be drafted, the 20-year-old forward would typically be a strong draft-and-stash candidate, but his French team, Cholet Basket, announced last month that Diawara was headed to the NBA.
That leaves Mashack, whose next step remains unclear. It’s not uncommon for one or two players selected near the end of an NBA draft to end up as domestic draft-and-stash prospects, signing directly with their teams’ G League affiliates. But Mashack probably deserves better than that after a strong five-game Summer League showing in which he filled up the box score by averaging 9.0 points, 4.4 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.2 blocks in 23.7 minutes per contest while making 41.7% of his three-point attempts.
The Grizzlies have a two-way contract slot open alongside PJ Hall and Javon Small, so signing Mashack to fill that opening would make the most sense to me — if that’s the plan, I’m not sure why it hasn’t happened yet.
28 Current NBA Players Competing In FIBA EuroBasket 2025
On the heels of the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024, the 2025 NBA offseason doesn’t feature a major international tournament in which the United States’ top stars are competing.
However, several of the league’s biggest names – including three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and five-time All-NBA first-teamer Luka Doncic – are taking part in FIBA EuroBasket 2025, which tipped off on Wednesday.
The tournament, also known as the European Basketball Championship, takes place every four years and features 24 European countries vying for a gold medal. The 24 teams who qualified for EuroBasket are split up into four groups and will face the other teams in their group across five games from August 27 to September 4.
At the end of group play, the top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout round, which is a single-elimination tournament featuring the remaining 16 countries.
By our count, 28 active NBA players are taking part in EuroBasket 2025, along with 30 former NBA players and several more who were selected in an NBA draft but have yet to play in the league.
Here’s the full list of current and former NBA players set to compete in EuroBasket, sorted by group and country:
Group A
Czechia (Czech Republic)
- Current NBA players: Vit Krejci (Hawks)
- Former NBA players: None
Estonia
- Current NBA players: None
- Former NBA players: Henri Drell
Latvia
- Current NBA players: Kristaps Porzingis (Hawks)
- Former NBA players: Davis Bertans, Dairis Bertans
Portugal
- Current NBA players: Neemias Queta (Celtics)
- Former NBA players: None
Serbia
- Current NBA players: Nikola Jokic (Nuggets), Bogdan Bogdanovic (Clippers), Nikola Jovic (Heat), Tristan Vukcevic (Wizards)
- Former NBA players: Vasilije Micic, Marko Guduric, Filip Petrusev
Serbia’s roster also includes Nikola Milutinov and Vanja Marinkovic, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.
Turkey
- Current NBA players: Alperen Sengun (Rockets), Adem Bona (Sixers)
- Former NBA players: Cedi Osman, Furkan Korkmaz, Shane Larkin, Omer Yurtseven, Onuralp Bitim
Group B
Finland
- Current NBA players: Lauri Markkanen (Jazz)
- Former NBA players: None
Germany
- Current NBA players: Franz Wagner (Magic), Dennis Schröder (Kings), Tristan Da Silva (Magic)
- Former NBA players: Daniel Theis, Isaac Bonga
Great Britain
- Current NBA players: None
- Former NBA players: Tarik Phillip
Lithuania
- Current NBA players: Jonas Valanciunas (Nuggets)
- Former NBA players: Deividas Sirvydis
Lithuania’s roster also includes Rokas Jokubaitis, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league, and Azuolas Tubelis, who was on a two-way contract with the Sixers during the 2023 offseason but was waived before the season began.
Montenegro
- Current NBA players: Nikola Vucevic (Bulls)
- Former NBA players: Marko Simonovic
Sweden
- Current NBA players: Pelle Larsson (Heat)
- Former NBA players: None
Group C
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Current NBA players: Jusuf Nurkic (Jazz)
- Former NBA players: None
Cyprus
- Current NBA players: None
- Former NBA players: None
Georgia
- Current NBA players: Goga Bitadze (Magic), Sandro Mamukelashvili (Raptors)
- Former NBA players: Tornike Shengelia
Greece
- Current NBA players: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Former NBA players: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Tyler Dorsey, Kostas Papanikolaou, Kostas Antetokounmpo
Italy
- Current NBA players: Simone Fontecchio (Heat)
- Former NBA players: Danilo Gallinari, Nicolo Melli
Italy’s roster also includes Matteo Spagnolo, Gabriele Procida, and Saliou Niang, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.
Spain
- Current NBA players: Santi Aldama (Grizzlies)
- Former NBA players: Willy Hernangomez, Juancho Hernangomez
Group D
Belgium
- Current NBA players: None
- Former NBA players: None
France
- Current NBA players: Zaccharie Risacher (Hawks), Guerschon Yabusele (Knicks), Alex Sarr (Wizards), Bilal Coulibaly (Wizards)
- Former NBA players: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Theo Maledon, Elie Okobo, Jaylen Hoard
France’s roster also includes Isaia Cordinier, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.
Iceland
- Current NBA players: None
- Former NBA players: None
Israel
- Current NBA players: Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
- Former NBA players: None
Israel’s roster also includes Yam Madar, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.
Poland
- Current NBA players: None
- Former NBA players: Jordan Loyd
Slovenia
- Current NBA players: Luka Doncic (Lakers)
- Former NBA players: None
Pacers Hire Johnny Carpenter, Promote Jim Boylen
The Pacers have added Johnny Carpenter to Rick Carlisle‘s coaching staff as an assistant, the team announced on Monday in a press release.
Carpenter spent the 2024/25 season in a player development/scouting role with the Grizzlies and was with the University of Virginia for nine years before that, working in a series of roles that included assistant coach, director of player personnel, and basketball technology assistant.
Carpenter has an existing relationship with Carlisle, having served as an assistant video coordinator for the Mavericks in 2014/15 when Carlisle was Dallas’ head coach.
As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star tweets, Carpenter also worked with big man Jay Huff at Virginia — he helped convince the Grizzlies to acquire him last season and will now reunite with Huff after a July trade sent the 27-year-old to Indiana.
The Pacers also announced in today’s press release that veteran assistant Jim Boylen will move to the front of the bench, joining Lloyd Pierce and Jenny Boucek as Carlisle’s top assistants. Boylen will fill the opening created after Mike Weinar and the Pacers mutually agreed to part ways.
Southwest Notes: Flagg, Griffin, Sengun, Grizzlies Arena
Mavericks No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg is one of the most anticipated rookies since the days of Blake Griffin. Appearing on the Post Moves podcast with former WNBA MVP Candace Parker and rising All-Star Aliyah Boston, Griffin himself explained why there’s so much hype around Flagg and broke down what he loves about the forward’s game.
“I think he is the most complete player that we’ve seen come into the NBA in recent memory,” Griffin said (hat tip to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal for the transcription). “I’m not saying he doesn’t have room to grow — he still has a ton of room to grow — but he passes, shoots, defends, rebounds. He seems like a great teammate, a great kid. There is, like, what’s the red flag? Which is really exciting for basketball to have these young guys. … Cooper is just able to play and guard so many different positions.”
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Rockets All-Star big man Alperen Sengun has been working to develop a more consistent three-point shot over the summer, per Eurohoops. Sengun has been plying his trade for native Turkey in preparation for EuroBasket next week.“We mostly worked on shooting,” coach Djordje Sijan said. “I went through Partizan’s school with centers, and I can say that Sengun is the best player with his back to the basket in Europe. In the NBA, they focused on where he is dominant, and he developed to perfection. But creativity was forbidden to him. I was asked in an interview, ‘What did you do with him?’ Nothing, I let him get off the shots from all possible positions. Some coaches don’t like it. But this year we worked mostly on the three-point shot. That shot was forbidden to him.”
- The city of Memphis and the Grizzlies have been collaborating on a $550MM plan to renovate FedEx Forum, reports Samuel Hardiman of The Daily Memphian (subscriber link). Both sides want to keep the franchise in town beyond the 2028/29 end of the Grizzlies’ current lease.
- In case you missed it, the Spurs have brought in beloved NBL coach Jacob Chance to lead their G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs.
NBA Teams Average 14.4 Back-To-Backs In 2025/26
Five NBA teams will play a league-high 16 back-to-back sets during the 2025/26 regular season, while six clubs will have just 13 instances of back-to-back games on their schedules. The remaining 19 teams will play either 14 or 15 back-to-backs.
[RELATED: 2025/26 NBA Schedules By Team]
Those totals – along with an overall average of 14.4 back-to-backs per team – are about what we’ve come to expect in recent years.
Prior to the COVID-shortened seasons of 2019/20 and ’20/21, the NBA’s regular season consisted of 177 days, and the league had made a concerted effort to reduce instances of back-to-backs. When the league announced its initial schedule in ’19/20, its press release boasted that teams were averaging a record-low 12.4 back-to-backs that season, marking the fifth straight year in which that number had reached an all-time low.
However, since 2021/22, NBA regular seasons have spanned just 174 days, making it a little more difficult for schedule-makers to avoid back-to-back sets. The average number of back-to-backs per team is still well below where it once was (teams averaged 19.3 in 2024/25), but it’s no longer at a record low.
Here are the back-to-backs by team in 2025/26:
- Charlotte Hornets: 16
Denver Nuggets: 16
Philadelphia 76ers: 16
Phoenix Suns: 16
Washington Wizards: 16 - Golden State Warriors: 15
Los Angeles Clippers: 15
Miami Heat: 15
New Orleans Pelicans: 15
Portland Trail Blazers: 15
Toronto Raptors: 15
Utah Jazz: 15 - Brooklyn Nets: 14
Cleveland Cavaliers: 14
Dallas Mavericks: 14
Detroit Pistons: 14
Houston Rockets: 14
Los Angeles Lakers: 14
Memphis Grizzlies: 14
Milwaukee Bucks: 14
New York Knicks: 14
Orlando Magic: 14
Sacramento Kings: 14
San Antonio Spurs: 14 - Atlanta Hawks: 13
Boston Celtics: 13
Chicago Bulls: 13
Indiana Pacers: 13
Minnesota Timberwolves: 13
Oklahoma City Thunder: 13