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And-Ones: NBC, Amazon, Gay, Jackson, CBA, Darlan, More

September 30th, 2025 at 7:58am CST by Luke Adams

With the regular season now just weeks away, the NBA’s new broadcast partners continue to fill out their coverage rosters. NBC Sports issued a press release on Monday announcing that veteran reporter Chris Mannix – who had been writing for SI.com – is joining the network as a digital insider and will appear on NBC’s and Peacock’s studio show to report on and discuss breaking news.

Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video is hiring NBA reporter Chris Haynes as a league insider and has tabbed Marcus Thompson of The Athletic to report feature stories, according to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports. Haynes has been working independently this offseason ahead of his stint with Amazon, while Thompson will continue in his role at The Athletic while pulling double duty for Prime Video.

Amazon also recently added former NBA players Rudy Gay and Jim Jackson to its list of analysts, Glasspiegel notes. They join Kyle Lowry, Dell Curry, Brent Barry, Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, and Steve Nash as current and former players who will have game or studio analyst roles with Prime Video.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Within a look at how the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and tax apron system have diminished free agency, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) reports that multiple teams have lobbied the league to implement some sort of discount for homegrown players — for instance, if a player drafted by a team goes on to become a maximum-salary player for that club, perhaps his cap hit could be 30% of the cap instead of the 35% salary he’s actually earning. However, the NBA hasn’t seriously weighed that possibility to this point, Fischer writes.
  • Thierry Darlan has spent the past two seasons in the G League but was ruled eligible by the NCAA to spend the 2025/26 season at Santa Clara, agent Todd Ramasar tells ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. The 6’8″ guard will enter college as a junior, with two years of eligibility available. Michael McCann of Sportico digs into the decision, writing that it’s the latest defeat for “amateurism,” as the NCAA becomes increasingly open to welcoming players who have already played professionally.
  • ESPN’s NBA insiders take a look at the biggest question facing each of the league’s 30 teams this fall, including where Jaden Ivey‘s fits in for the new-look Pistons, whether the Timberwolves‘ young players are ready to step up, and whether the Spurs can overcome a lack of three-point shooting around Victor Wembanyama
  • The Knicks (53.5 wins), Celtics (42.5), and Trail Blazers (34.5) are among the teams that John Hollinger of The Athletic believes will fall short of their projected win totals this season.
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Timberwolves Sign Jules Bernard, Zyon Pullin

September 28th, 2025 at 5:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Timberwolves have signed Jules Bernard and Zyon Pullin, the team announced today. The terms of the deals were not reported, but they are expected to be non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts.

Bernard, a 6’7″ guard out of UCLA, played 19 games for the Wizards during the 2023/24 season after going undrafted in 2022. He averaged 3.9 points and 1.4 rebounds per game for Washington. Last year, he played for the Cleveland Charge in the G League and averaged 19.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per contest.

Pullin, an undrafted guard from the 2024 class, played a total of three minutes in three games for the Grizzlies last season, but had a successful season in the G League, averaging 20.9 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 5.5 RPG for the Sioux Falls Skyforce and Memphis Hustle.

Pullin signed a two-way contract with the Grizzlies and finished the season with the team, but was waived in July to make room for PJ Hall to sign a two-way deal.

If Bernard and Pullin are waived before the season starts, these deals will allow them to earn a bonus of up to $85,300, provided they sign G League contracts and stay with the Iowa Wolves for at least 60 days.

The two signings are accompanied by the previously reported training camp deal for Alize Johnson, which is also now official.

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Timberwolves Sign Alize Johnson

September 28th, 2025 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

5:00 pm: The Timberwolves have officially signed Johnson, the team confirmed in a press release.

10:12 am: The Timberwolves and free agent forward Alize Johnson have reached an agreement on a one-year deal, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who says Johnson will have a chance to compete with the team in training camp.

While Charania didn’t provide any further information about the contract, it figures to be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 agreement, which could be converted to a two-way deal prior to the regular season or would line up Johnson to receive a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he’s waived and spends at least 60 days with Minnesota’s G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves.

Johnson, the 50th overall pick in the 2018 draft, appeared in 76 regular season games across five seasons from 2018-22, suiting up for the Pacers, Nets, Bulls, Wizards, Pelicans, and Spurs during that time. He never played a major role for any of those clubs, averaging 2.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per contest.

Johnson hasn’t been on an NBA contract since being waived by San Antonio in December 2022. After spending a little time in the G League, the 29-year-old has competed internationally in recent years, playing in South Korea, Puerto Rico, and Japan since 2023.

The Timberwolves have three spots available on their 21-man preseason roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary to make room for Johnson.

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Timberwolves Waive Nate Santos

September 26th, 2025 at 9:50pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Timberwolves have waived forward Nate Santos, according to the NBA.com’s transaction log.

Santos signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the team two days ago. The 6’7″ forward played with the Magic during Summer League after going undrafted in June. He averaged 1.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game over the course of four outings.

Santos previously played two seasons at Dayton after starting his career at Pittsburgh. In his senior year, he averaged 14.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while knocking down 41.8% of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Santos will now be eligible to receive a bonus up to $83,500 if he spends at least 60 days with the Timberwolves’ G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves.

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CJ Fulton Waived By Timberwolves

September 24th, 2025 at 7:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Point guard CJ Fulton has been waived by the Timberwolves, according to the NBA’s player transaction log. The team had just announced its Exhibit 10 deal with Fulton earlier in the day.

As Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets, signing-and-waiving Fulton was the plan all along, as it will line him up to join Minnesota’s G League club, the Iowa Wolves. Should Fulton stick with Iowa for at least 60 days, he’ll be eligible to earn a bonus worth as much as $85,300.

Fulton signed with the Timberwolves after going undrafted out of Charleston this past summer. The Belfast-born guard averaged 7.8 PPG, 6.5 APG and 4.1 RPG during his 2024/25 senior NCAA season, then latched on with Minnesota’s Summer League team.

With Fulton waived, Minnesota has 19 players under contract heading into training camp next week, leaving two openings on its 21-man roster.

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Nate Santos Signs With Timberwolves

September 24th, 2025 at 1:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves have signed free agent forward Nate Santos, the team announced in a press release.

Santos earned second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors last season at Dayton, averaging 14.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 34 games while shooting 44% from the field and 41.8% from three-point range. He transferred to Dayton in 2023 after playing his first two collegiate seasons at Pittsburgh.

After going undrafted in June, Santos joined the Magic for Summer League. He appeared in four games in Las Vegas with a total of five points, six rebounds and three steals.

Santos likely received an Exhibit 10 contract that will make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he gets waived and spends at least 60 days with Minnesota’s G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves.

Santos was one of 44 players invited to participate in the G League Elite Camp in May.

The team’s press release also confirms the signing of guard CJ Fulton, bringing the Timberwolves to 20 players on their preseason roster.

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Timberwolves Add CJ Fulton On Exhibit 10 Deal

September 24th, 2025 at 8:30am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves have signed guard CJ Fulton to an Exhibit 10 contract, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets.

A native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Fulton played four seasons of college ball in the U.S. He had a two-year stint with Lafayette, then spent two seasons at Charleston.

As a senior, Fulton averaged 7.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists. In 127 career NCAA games, the 6’2″ guard shot 42.7 percent from the field and 37.1 percent on three-point attempts. He also appeared in two games with the Timberwolves’ Summer League squad.

The addition of Fulton increases Minnesota’s camp count to 19, two shy of the limit.

Fulton will likely end up with the Iowa Wolves, the Timberwolves’ G League affiliate. If he’s waived and spends at least 60 days with the Iowa club, he’d earn a bonus up to $85,300.

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And-Ones: ESPN Survey, S. Cash, Bargain FAs, More

September 23rd, 2025 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

A panel of 20 coaches, executives, and scouts around the NBA polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps overwhelmingly picked Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the current best player in the NBA, with Jokic receiving 19 votes while Lakers guard Luka Doncic earned the last one.

However, the predictions for 2025/26 MVP were more divided — Jokic leads the way with seven votes, but Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (five), Doncic (four), and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (two) each received multiple votes, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards each got one too.

The panel polled by Bontemps also predicted who will be the NBA’s best player in 2030 (Wembanyama received 16 votes), who will win Rookie of the Year in 2025/26 (Cooper Flagg earned 19 votes), and where LeBron James will be when the 2026/27 season begins — seven respondents expect him to still be a Laker, while five said he’ll be retired and eight believe he’ll be with a new team.

Those coaches, executives, and scouts also believe the Hawks (seven votes) had the best offseason of the NBA’s 30 teams, while the Pelicans (nine votes) had the worst summer. And they nearly unanimously picked the Thunder to repeat as champions. Just two respondents chose the Nuggets to win the 2026 title, while the other 18 stuck with Oklahoma City.

Here are more odds and ends from around the NBA:

  • After being let go by the Pelicans in April, former WNBA star and veteran NBA executive Swin Cash is joining Amazon Prime Video for the 2025/26 season, according to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. Cash will have the role of “front office insider” on Prime Video’s NBA studio show, then will become a studio analyst for Amazon’s WNBA coverage.
  • Thomas Bryant, Precious Achiuwa, Alec Burks, and Delon Wright are among the unsigned players identified by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report as bargain free agents who are capable of helping any NBA team.
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic views the Thunder (62.5 wins), Clippers (48.5), Warriors (45.5), Bulls (32.5), and Jazz (18.5) as the five teams who are the best bets to exceed the over/under win projections set by oddsmakers for the 2025/26 season.
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2025/26 NBA Over/Unders: Northwest Division

September 22nd, 2025 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

With the 2025/26 NBA regular season tipping off next month, we’re getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and continuing an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.

With the help of the lines from a series of sports betting sites – including BetMGM and BetOnline – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

In 2024/25, our voters went 13-17 on their over/under picks. Can we top that in ’25/26?

We’ll continue our series today with the Northwest Division…

Oklahoma City Thunder

  • 2024/25 record: 68-14
  • Over/under for 2025/26: 62.5 wins
  • Major offseason moves:

Denver Nuggets

Minnesota Timberwolves

Portland Trail Blazers

Utah Jazz

Previous voting results:

Atlantic

  • New York Knicks (53.5 wins): Over (63.2%)
  • Boston Celtics (42.5 wins): Over (52.7%)
  • Philadelphia 76ers (42.5 wins): Under (58.7%)
  • Toronto Raptors (37.5 wins): Over (50.2%)
  • Brooklyn Nets (20.5 wins): Over (54.4%)
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Timberwolves Sign, Waive Nojel Eastern

September 18th, 2025 at 6:37pm CST by Luke Adams

September 18: The Timberwolves have now waived Eastern, per the NBA’s transaction log.

September 17: The Timberwolves have signed free agent guard Nojel Eastern, the team announced today in a press release. Details of the agreement weren’t revealed, but it’s almost certainly a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract.

Eastern, a former Purdue standout, has spent the past two seasons playing for the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate. In 29 games in 2024/25, he averaged 12.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.4 steals in 30.0 minutes per contest, with a strong shooting line of .514/.419/.744.

Eastern, who earned Big Ten All-Defensive honors in 2019 and 2020, appears likely to continue his career within the Timberwolves’ organization after suiting up for the team at the Las Vegas Summer League team in July.

An Exhibit 10 deal will put him in line to earn a bonus worth up to $85,300 on top of his base G League salary if he’s waived by Minnesota and then spends at least 60 days with the Iowa Wolves this season.

The Timberwolves now have 19 players under contract, including 13 on guaranteed deals, Bones Hyland on a partially guaranteed contract, three players on two-way pacts, and Johnny Juzang and Eastern on non-guaranteed deals.

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