Pelicans’ Missi, Rockets’ Okogie Playing In AfroBasket
While it lacks the star power of the upcoming EuroBasket tournament, FIBA’s 2025 AfroBasket event, which tipped off on Tuesday, features a pair of NBA players. Second-year Pelicans center Yves Missi is suiting up for Cameroon, while veteran Rockets wing Josh Okogie is representing Nigeria.
Both players got off to strong starts on Wednesday in their teams’ first AfroBasket games. Missi contributed 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists in 24 minutes to help lead Cameroon to an 86-65 win over Tunisia, while Okogie had five points, five assists, four rebounds, and a +12 on/off mark in 27 minutes of action during Nigeria’s 77-59 victory over Madagascar.
Jonathan Kuminga was listed on the preliminary roster for the Democratic Republic of Congo, but isn’t suiting up for the team as his restricted free agent standoff with the Warriors extends well into the offseason.
Still, there are several other former NBA players taking part in the tournament, as the full list of rosters shows.
Bruno Fernando (Angola), Edy Tavares (Cape Verde), Matt Costello (Côte d’Ivoire), Christian Eyenga (Democratic Republic of Congo), Mamadi Diakite (Guinea), Ibou Badji (Senegal), Karim Mané (Senegal), and Wenyen Gabriel (South Sudan) are among the names that may be familiar to NBA fans, with Tavares (14 points, 19 rebounds) and Costello (12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists) submitting big performances en route to victories in their first group play games.
A handful of notable former NBA players are also on the sidelines as coaches for the event, including Luol Deng for South Sudan, DeSagana Diop for Senegal, and Sam Vincent for Libya, observes Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
AfroBasket’s field is made up of 16 national teams divided into four groups of four teams apiece. Each squad faces the other clubs in its group once during the preliminary round; the top-ranked team in each group after those three games advances directly to the quarterfinals, while the eight second- and third-place teams square off in “play-in” games to earn quarterfinal berths.
Group play will continue through Sunday, with the play-in games for the knockout round held next Monday and Tuesday. The quarterfinals will take place on August 20 and 21, with the semifinals played on Aug. 23 and the final (and third-place game) on Aug. 24.
And-Ones: Dynasties, Wolves, Concern-O-Meter, Traded Picks
It may seem like the Thunder have the makings of dynasty, but ESPN’s Tim Bontemps details why it’s tougher than ever to build a dominant team. He outlines how the tax aprons make it more difficult for teams to run it back with the same core of players and that roster mistakes can haunt contenders for several years.
“You have to be right on every decision,” one Western Conference scout told Bontemps. “Now, you have to look at things in not a one-year window, but a three-year window. You literally can’t mess anything up. It puts pressure on the organization to think differently and smartly to make sure you are best-positioned to make the right decisions.”
We have more from around the league:
- Point guard Mike Conley will turn 38 before opening night and finding a suitable replacement could be difficult for the Timberwolves. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report gets creative in an effort to solve that problem, proposing a four-team trade in which Minnesota winds up with Magic guard Anthony Black.
- The Athletic’s Zach Harper provides his ratings for the ‘concern-o-meter’ regarding 10 potential red flags that have popped up around the league this offseason. Rating high on the ‘concern-o-meter’ is the demise of free agency, the moves made by the Pelicans and the continued health issues for the Sixers.
- Speaking of the Pelicans, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports takes a look at every future traded first-rounder, ranking them from least valuable to most valuable. New Orleans’ unprotected 2026 pick, which its new front office dealt to the Hawks in a draft-night trade, is considered the most valuable among those picks. The Bucks‘ 2029 pick, which could go to either the Trail Blazers or Wizards, is ranked No. 2, followed by the 2027, ’29 and ’31 first-rounders the Suns dealt away.
Mike Hopkins Joins Pelicans’ Coaching Staff
The Pelicans have hired Mike Hopkins as an assistant coach and head of player development, Pete Thamel of ESPN tweets. Hopkins joins Willie Green‘s staff after spending last season with the Suns as an assistant under Mike Budenholzer.
Prior to last season, Hopkins spent most of his career at the college ranks. He was the head coach at the University of Washington from 2017-24. He posted a 122–111 record with the Huskies, though they reached the NCAA Tournament just once during that time.
Prior to that opportunity, he was a longtime assistant under Jim Boeheim at his alma mater, Syracuse. Hopkins was on Boeheim’s staff from 1995-2017.
Green’s staff also includes associate head coach James Borrego and assistants Jarron Collins, Casey Hill, Aaron Miles, Corey Brewer and Jodie Meeks.
Contract Details: Bridges, Springer, Two-Ways
Mikal Bridges‘ new four-year contract extension with the Knicks will start at $33,482,145 in 2026/27, Hoops Rumors has learned. Bridges’ maximum first-year salary on a veteran extension would have been $34,860,000, so his actual deal will come in about $1.38MM below that.
Bridges will earn $36,160,714 in 2027/28 and $38,839,285 in ’28/29, with a ’29/30 player option worth $41,517,856, for a total of exactly $150MM.
Interestingly, while most trade kickers are worth either the maximum allowable 15% or a round number like 5% or 10%, the trade kicker on Bridges’ deal comes in at 5.69%.
Here are more details on recently signed contracts from around the NBA:
- Jaden Springer‘s one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Pelicans includes Exhibit 9 language but not an Exhibit 10 clause, Hoops Rumors has learned. Those terms Springer will be competing for a 15-man roster spot in training camp and likely doesn’t plan on joining New Orleans’ G League affiliate if he’s waived before opening night.
- The two-way contracts recently signed by Enrique Freeman with the Timberwolves and Daeqwon Plowden with the Kings are both just for one year, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Freeman got the maximum allowable $85,000 partial guarantee and will have 50% of his $636,435 salary guaranteed if he remains under contract through opening night, while Plowden received a $75K partial guarantee.
- Max Shulga‘s two-way contract with the Celtics also just covers one season, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. That’s notable, since a handful of second-rounders drafted ahead of him signed two-year two-way deals. The No. 57 overall pick, who got a partial guarantee worth $85,300, will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2026.
Pelicans Sign Jaden Springer
2:47 pm: Springer’s contract is a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 deal, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who tweets that the guard will compete for a roster spot in training camp.
7:22 am: The Pelicans have signed free agent guard Jaden Springer, the team announced in a press release.
The No. 28 pick in the 2021 draft, Springer played a limited role in Philadelphia across two-and-a-half seasons before being sent to Boston at the 2024 trade deadline. He spent roughly a full calendar year with the Celtics, then was rerouted to Houston in a salary-dump deal in February 2025.
After being cut by Houston, Springer signed a 10-day deal with the Jazz in February and agreed to a two-year contract with the team in March following that initial 10-day audition. However, he was waived by Utah last week before his minimum salary for the 2025/26 season could become partially guaranteed.
Springer, who is known more for his perimeter defense than his offensive game, has career averages of 2.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per contest across 110 regular season outings. He played a significant role at the G League level during his first two years with the 76ers, but has only made two appearances in the NBAGL since the start of the 2023/24 season.
Details of the Pelicans’ deal with Springer aren’t yet known — it’s a pretty safe bet that it will be a minimum-salary contract, but it’s unclear whether or not it will include guaranteed money.
For what it’s worth, New Orleans has 14 players on standard guaranteed contracts and has enough breathing room below the luxury tax line to carry a 15th man into the regular season, so there could be a path for Springer to make the team this fall. Because he has four years of NBA experience, he’s no longer eligible for a two-way deal.
Signed Second-Round Picks Now Count Against Cap
Between July 1 and July 30 of each NBA league year, a player signed using the second-round pick exception doesn’t count toward his team’s cap, but that changes as of July 31. Beginning on Thursday, each of the second-rounders signed using that exception will begin carrying 2025/26 cap hits.
[RELATED: 2025 NBA Draft Pick Signings]
The effect this will have on teams around the league is negligible. The only club still operating below the cap is Brooklyn, but the Nets didn’t make any second-round picks in this year’s draft and haven’t signed any second-rounders that were stashed from previous drafts, so this change won’t reduce their cap room at all.
The Nets are far from the only NBA team that hasn’t signed a second-round pick to a standard contract this offseason. In fact, only 11 of the league’s 30 clubs have done so.
The Suns, Magic, Hornets (two picks), Sixers, Lakers, Pistons, and Pacers made the top eight selections of the 2025 second round and have signed those players to standard deals, while the Pelicans (No. 40 pick Micah Peavy), Kings (No. 42 pick Maxime Raynaud), Cavaliers (No. 49 pick Tyrese Proctor), and Hawks (2024’s No. 43 pick Nikola Djurisic) have joined them. The rest of this year’s second-rounders are either still unsigned, will play overseas, or agreed to two-way contracts.
None of those 11 teams surpassed an apron threshold as a result of their second-rounders’ new cap hits. For example, the Cavs would be well over the second apron with or without Proctor on their books.
Since none of those teams will see their ability to make other roster moves affected by the new cap charges, this is really more of a housekeeping note than anything.
Pelicans Sign Bryce McGowens To Two-Way Contract
July 31: McGowens’ two-way contract with the Pelicans is now official, the team announced in a press release.
July 30: The Pelicans are signing free agent guard Bryce McGowens to a new two-way deal, his Priority Sports agents Kyle McAlarney and Mark Bartelstein tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
McGowens has split his three previous NBA seasons between the Hornets and Trail Blazers.
The Nebraska swingman inked a two-way deal with Charlotte as a rookie in 2022/23, toggling between Charlotte and its NBAGL affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. His contract was converted to a multiyear standard deal midway through that first pro season. In 105 combined regular season bouts for the Hornets across two years, he averaged 5.2 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.0 APG, with a shooting line of .419/.330/.764.
Charlotte cut McGowens in the summer of 2024, and he subsequently agreed to a two-way deal with the Blazers. The 6’7″ wing played a limited role at the NBA level for Portland, averaging just 2.5 MPG across 13 outings.
Still just 22, McGowens put up impressive numbers for the Rip City Remix, Portland’s NBAGL affiliate, in 2024/25. Across 16 regular season bouts, he averaged 29.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.5 SPG and 0.8 BPG on .487/.330/.806 shooting. A right rib fracture cut his season short.
McGowens will join fellow two-way signings Trey Alexander and Hunter Dickinson in New Orleans.
And-Ones: Spagnolo, Storylines, Offseason Grades, Givony
Matteo Spagnolo, whose NBA rights are held by the Timberwolves, will continue his EuroLeague career in Spain, having signed a three-year deal with Baskonia, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com.
Minnesota selected Spagnolo with the 50th overall pick of the 2022 draft. The point guard’s contract with Baskonia includes NBA exit clauses, per Urbonas.
Spagnolo is coming off a second EuroLeague season with ALBA Berlin, for whom he averaged 9.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 21.0 minutes per game. He played for the Timberwolves’ Summer League team the year he was drafted but hasn’t since participated in any NBA contest.
Here’s more from around the international basketball world:
- What are the big storylines still hovering over the NBA this offseason? ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks examine that topic, citing Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency, Luka Doncic‘s extension talks and Russell Westbrook‘s free agency among the issues that have yet to be resolved.
- The Hawks, Nuggets, Rockets get the highest marks from ESPN’s Kevin Pelton for their offseason moves. Pelton hands out grades for every team in the league, with the Pelicans receiving an F for their transactions.
- Draft expert Jonathan Givony has left ESPN after an eight-year stint with the network, he announced on his Twitter page. ESPN offered him an extension but Givony declined, stating “we were unable to find alignment on my value to the company.” He will continue to analyze the draft as well as college, high school, and international basketball for the company he founded, DraftExpress.
Summer League Notes: Rookie Standouts, Maluach, Fears
The 2025 Summer League gave fans and teams first impressions of most of this year’s incoming rookies, as well as serving as a showcase for several sophomores and younger veterans. In the wake of the event, Law Murray of the Athletic breaks down each rookie’s performance with an eye for what it could mean for the coming season.
Cooper Flagg (Mavericks), Dylan Harper (Spurs), and VJ Edgecombe (Sixers) were arguably the biggest names who participated in the Summer Leagues – headlined by the Las Vegas event – and despite some shooting efficiency concerns, all three gave their fans plenty of reason for excitement.
Flagg displayed a well-rounded on-ball skill set, Harper came up clutch in his last game to force overtime, and Edgecombe lived at the free throw line while displaying some advanced ball-screen offensive game, Murray observes.
The next three picks in the draft, Kon Knueppel (Hornets), Ace Bailey (Jazz), and Tre Johnson (Wizards), all showed off their shot-making capabilities, which will likely be what earns them regular playing time as rookies. Knueppel was rewarded for his play with the only All-Summer League Second Team selection among rookies, while Nique Clifford (Kings) was the lone rookie to make the First Team, thanks to his stellar all-around play.
Other rookies, such as Collin Murray-Boyles (Raptors), Carter Bryant (Spurs), Joan Beringer (Timberwolves), and Brooks Barnhizer (Thunder) flashed tantalizing defensive capabilities, though Murray-Boyles and Bryant were inconsistent offensively, Murray notes.
Here are a few more leftover Summer League notes:
- John Hollinger of the Athletic takes a look at some of the low points of Summer League, including the worst ejection of the tournament, awarded to the Celtics‘ Jordan Walsh for not only having an excessive foul on the Heat’s Pelle Larsson, but for accidentally throwing him into Walsh’s own front office executives courtside.
- In terms of players who struggled, Hollinger mentions Khaman Maluach (Suns), who had difficulty catching lobs and other passes, Jeremiah Fears (Pelicans), who was unable to spearhead an offense and create for others, and the limitations of the four Nets rookies who suited up, among others.
- On the non-player side, Hollinger points to an abundance of turnovers caused by stepping out of bounds, as well as the prevalence of split-screen interviews that made following the games an exercise in patience and eagle-eyed vision.
Pelicans Waive Lester Quinones
The Pelicans have waived Lester Quinones, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. The move is official, according to NBA.com’s log of transactions.
Quinones had been on a two-way contract with New Orleans. The team now has one two-way vacancy, with Trey Alexander and Hunter Dickinson holding the other two spots.
After going undrafted out of Memphis in 2022, Quinones spent most his first two seasons as a member of the Warriors organization. Last fall, he signed a two-way deal with Philadelphia, which released him in December.
The 24-year-old shooting guard caught on with the Pelicans in early March, appearing in nine games down the stretch of the 2024/25 season. In those nine contests, he averaged 8.6 points, 2.6 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 18.4 minutes. His shooting line was .386/.317/.833.
While Quinones has yet to carve out a major NBA role to this point in his career, he has put up some big counting stats in the G League. In 41 combined games (36.0 MPG) with the Birmingham Squadron and Delaware Blue Coats last season, he averaged 21.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.9 APG and 1.4 SPG, though he struggled a bit with efficiency (.431/.331/.713 shooting splits) and turnovers (3.7 per contest).
Quinones was signed by New Orleans’ previous front office regime, so the new executives in charge may not have been as high on him. Assuming he goes unclaimed, the 6’4″ guard will become a free agent on Saturday.