Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Sign Elfrid Payton To 10-Day Contract

March 21st, 2025 at 10:35am CST by Rory Maher

10:35am: Payton’s 10-day contract is now official, the Pelicans confirmed in a press release. He is eligible to play in five games over the next 10 days.

9:30am: The Pelicans intend to sign free agent guard Elfrid Payton to a 10-day contract, agent Darrell Comer tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

A Louisiana native who played college ball at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Payton appeared in seven games with the Pelicans in the fall on a non-guaranteed deal. In one of those games, he recorded a career-best 21 assists. He was released in early December.

Payton, 31, signed a pair of 10-day hardship contracts with Charlotte last month. He struggled to make an impact in his six games with the Hornets, only scoring six points on 3-of-21 shooting (14.3%) in 123 total minutes.

Prior to 2024/25, it had been two full seasons since Payton had appeared in an NBA game, last suiting up for Phoenix in ’21/22. He has spent time in the G League over the past three campaigns, including playing for the Pelicans’ affiliate — the Birmingham Squadron — in ’24/25.

In 13 total games with New Orleans and Charlotte this season, Payton has averaged 4.1 points, 5.2 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 20.5 minutes per contest. He has converted 38.8% of his field goal attempts, including missing his only three-pointer, and split his two free throws.

Mohamed Bamba‘s 10-day contract with the Pelicans recently expired, creating an opening on the team’s standard roster. It’s possible the Pelicans might be able to bring back Bamba while adding Payton — they could qualify for a hardship exception due to the injuries to Dejounte Murray, Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy and Brandon Boston. Boston’s injury, a left ankle stress reaction, is the only one of the four that might not be season-ending — he’ll be reevaluated today.

Payton will earn a $171,756 salary on his new 10-day contract, while New Orleans carries a cap charge of $119,972.

Robert Williams III To Miss 4-6 Weeks After Arthroscopic Procedure

March 20th, 2025 at 5:47pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III will miss at least four-to-six weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Williams had been dealing with inflammation in the knee.

Given that there are just over three weeks of games remaining on the Trail Blazers’ schedule, Williams will almost certainly miss the rest of the regular season.

Portland is only two games back of the No. 10 seed, so if they were to qualify for the play-in and then earn a playoff berth, there’s technically a chance Williams could return at some point in the postseason during that four-to-six week timeline. However, that’s no certainty even in the unlikely event the Blazers advance that far.

Williams hasn’t played since Feb. 20 and has been limited to 20 games (three starts) with Portland this season. He’s averaging 5.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per night. Williams has appeared in just 26 total games since being traded to the Trail Blazers prior to the start of the 2023/24 season.

At full health, Williams is one of the premier defenders in the league. He averaged 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 2.2 blocks in the 2021/22 season, finishing seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He has appeared in 235 career games.

With Williams and fellow big man Deandre Ayton dealing with injuries this year, rookie center Donovan Clingan has filled in as Portland’s starting center in recent weeks and is performing admirably.

P.J. Tucker Signs Another 10-Day Deal With Knicks

March 20th, 2025 at 2:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

2:00pm: Tucker’s second 10-day deal is now official, the Knicks confirmed in a press release (Twitter link).

10:22am: Veteran forward P.J. Tucker is signing a second 10-day contract with the Knicks, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reports (via Twitter).

Tucker made his season debut on Wednesday with a two-minute cameo in a loss to San Antonio. He signed his initial 10-day contract with the anticipation that the Knicks would retain him for the remainder of the season. Another 10-day deal doesn’t guarantee that — he’ll have to be signed to a standard contract after this 10-day deal expires to attain that goal.

Tucker started off with the Clippers after picking up his $11.54MM player option over the summer. An agreement was reached in early October that he would remain away from the team while his agent worked with the front office to find a trade.

Nothing materialized until February 1 when the 39-year-old forward was sent to Utah as part of a four-player deal. He was traded again five days later, being shipped to Toronto as part of the five-team Jimmy Butler deal. He remained inactive with the Raptors until he was waived February 28.

Tucker will earn $189,872 over the course of his 10-day deal, while the Knicks carry a cap hit of $119,972. No roster move is necessary, as he’ll continue to hold the 15th spot on New York’s standard roster.

More Details On Celtics’ Impending Sale

March 20th, 2025 at 12:20pm CST by Rory Maher

In a press release via Business Wire, Boston Basketball Partners LLC officially confirmed that it has reached an agreement to sell its majority stake in the Celtics at a record valuation of $6.1 billion to a group led by William (Bill) Chisholm.

Other members of the new group include current minority owner Robert Hale, Bruce A. Beal Jr., and Sixth Street, a private equity firm.

Sixth Street, which also purchased a stake in the Spurs in 2021, will invest more than $1 billion in the Celtics, a source tells Mike Vorkunov, Jay King and Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

The impending sale still needs to be approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors. According to The Athletic’s trio, the transaction is expected to take a few months to be finalized.

“Bill is a terrific person and a true Celtics fan, born and raised here in the Boston area,” Wyc Grousbeck said. “His love for the team and the city of Boston, along with his chemistry with the rest of the Celtics leadership, make him a natural choice to be the next Governor and controlling owner of the team. I know he appreciates the importance of the Celtics and burns with a passion to win on the court while being totally committed to the community. Quite simply, he wants to be a great owner. He has asked me to run the team as CEO and Governor for the first three years, and stay on as his partner, and I am glad to do so.”

“Growing up on the North Shore and attending college in New England, I have been a die-hard Celtics fan my entire life,” Chisholm said in his own statement. “I understand how important the Celtics are to the city of Boston – the role the team plays in the community is different than any other city in the country. I also understand that there is a responsibility as a leader of the organization to the people of Boston, and I am up for this challenge.

“My partners and I have immense respect for Wyc, the entire Grousbeck family and their indelible contributions to the Celtics organization over the last 23 years. We look forward to learning from Wyc and partnering with Brad Stevens, Joe Mazzulla and the talented team and staff to build upon their success as we work to bring more championships home to Boston.”

Stevens, Boston’s president of basketball operations, met with four prospective ownership groups in the month preceding the sale, sources tell The Athletic. A group led by another current minority owner, Steve Pagliuca, had been considered the frontrunner to purchase the team, per The Athletic’s report. However, Pagliuca released a statement (via Twitter) confirming his bid was unsuccessful.

“I recruited new partners with deep resources and expertise in technology and international markets to maximize the Celtics’ successes to ensure we can always compete for Championships, luxury taxes be damned,” Pagliuca said in part. “We made a fully guaranteed and financed offer at a record price, befitting the best sports fans in the world, and with all the capital coming from individuals who are fully committed to winning on and off the court.

“We had no debt or private equity money that would potentially hamstring our ability to compete in the future. We have felt it was the best offer for the Celtics. It is a bid of true fans, deeply connected to Boston’s community and we’ve been saddened to find out that we have not been selected in the process.”

Celtics’ Controlling Stake To Be Sold For $6.1 Billion

March 20th, 2025 at 9:20am CST by Dana Gauruder

9:37am: The new ownership group also includes minority owner Robert Hale, Himmelsbach tweets.

9:20am: The Celtics are being sold to William Chisholm for a valuation of $6.1 billion, a new record for a controlling stake in a North American sports franchise, Scott Soshnick of Sportico reports (via Twitter).

Chisholm is the managing director and co-founder of Symphony Technology Group, a California-based private equity firm, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reports. Chisholm is a Massachusetts native and lifelong Celtics fan. His involvement in the bidding was first reported last week.

The Celtics’ sale of $6.1 billion surpasses the NFL’s Washington Commanders ($6.05 billion) for the highest sum ever for a North America sports team, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck is expected to remain governor through the ownership transition. He’ll remain in that role, continuing to oversee the team’s operations, through the 2027/28 season, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic tweets.

The Grousbeck family expected a handful of bids for the franchise during the sales process. The Grousbeck family announced last July 1 that it was putting the team up for sale, just a few weeks after the Celtics won their 18th championship.

The Grousbeck family said then that it intended to sell 51 percent of the team in late 2024 or early 2025. The Grousbeck family is selling the team for estate and family planning considerations.

The sales price is a huge jump from the amount paid by Grousbeck 20-plus years ago. Grousbeck founded and led the group, Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C., which bought the Celtics for $360MM in 2002.

Rivals Expect Hornets To Revisit Mark Williams Trade Market In Offseason

March 19th, 2025 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

Some rival executives around the NBA expect the Hornets to reopen trade talks on center Mark Williams and explore the market for him again this summer, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).

Charlotte agreed to a trade last month that would have sent Williams to the Lakers in exchange for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, an unprotected 2031 first-round pick, and a 2030 first-round pick swap. However, that deal was voided by the Lakers two days later due to concerns about Williams’ physical.

Despite those concerns on Los Angeles’ end, Williams had been playing consistent minutes as the Hornets’ starting center leading up to the trade deadline and has remained on the court since the deal was rescinded.

Since the All-Star break, the third-year big man has averaged 15.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.3 blocks in 27.3 minutes per game across 12 outings. Those numbers are right in line with his season-long averages of 15.4 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.2 BPG in 35 games (25.8 MPG). He missed the start of the season due to a foot injury after sitting out most of last season with a back ailment.

We haven’t heard many specific details about the Lakers’ problems with Williams’ physical. It’s entirely possible the issue they flagged was a minor one that wouldn’t be a concern for another team’s doctors. We also don’t know if the Lakers’ interest in Williams has dissipated altogether as a result of what they learned from his physical, or if they might still be willing to acquire him if the cost isn’t quite so high.

It’s worth noting that the Lakers weren’t the only team to flag an issue during a physical last month — the Mavericks did the same thing with Caleb Martin after agreeing to a pre-deadline trade with the Sixers. Because Martin’s physical was completed ahead of the trade deadline, the Mavs and Sixers were able to amend the terms of their agreement, with Dallas deciding to move forward with the trade after Philadelphia agreed to include a second-round pick.

It’s possible the Lakers would have been willing to do something similar with the Hornets, but they didn’t have the opportunity, since Williams’ physical was completed after the deadline. At that point, Los Angeles’ only two options were to complete the trade based on the agreed-upon terms or to void it.

Assuming Williams remains injury-free and finishes the season strong, he should draw offseason interest from teams besides the Lakers, though any suitor would certainly want to thoroughly vet his health. Whether he remains in Charlotte or joins a new club, the 23-year-old will be eligible this offseason for a rookie scale extension.

Draymond Green Believes He Has Strong DPOY Case

March 19th, 2025 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

Warriors forward Draymond Green was a huge factor in Tuesday’s in over Milwaukee, racking up 10 defensive rebounds, four blocks, and two steals while serving as the primary defender on Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored just 20 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

After Golden State’s victory, Green told reporters, including Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, that he believes he’s making a strong case for Defensive Player of the Year consideration.

“Obviously, if we keep winning and close this year out strong, most definitely,” Green said. “I look around the league and don’t see many players impacting the game on the defensive end the way I do. I don’t see many players completely throwing off an entire team’s offense the way I do. One thousand percent.

“Especially with Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) going down, seemed like he had it won. And now it is right there. So, one million percent I have a case, and I will continue to build that case for these next 13 games. Tonight was a prime example of that.”

The Bucks’ 93 points on Tuesday represented a season low for the team, Youngmisuk writes, while Antetokounmpo had his worst shooting night in over two years. According to NBA.com’s tracking data, Giannis made 0-of-7 field goal attempts when Green was his primary defender, prompting head coach Steve Kerr to refer to the forward’s performance as “incredible.”

“To hold him to five field goals, Draymond showed why he is still one of the great defenders in the world,” Kerr said. “It wasn’t just the defense; it was the leadership, the energy.”

As Green pointed out, the Defensive Player of the Year race looks wide open following Wembanyama’s season-ending injury. Evan Mobley, Dyson Daniels, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Luguentz Dort are among the frontrunners, but none of those candidates have gained the same sort of narrative momentum Wembanyama had (though betting odds favor Mobley).

Green doesn’t rank among the league’s top 20 in defensive categories like steals (1.4) or blocks (1.1) per contest, but he made it clear on Tuesday he believes his impact on a game goes far beyond box-score numbers.

“You got some people that have a vote on the East Coast that probably see us play four times a year,” Green said. “And if you look at the stats, you be like, ‘Oh, Draymond averages one steal and a block.’ Those numbers don’t jump off the page at you. But you watch me play and then ask the opposing coach what did I do to (their) offense? It’s a different story.

“This award is widely based off statistics, and those statistics don’t always tell the story … But I want another one, and I ain’t retired yet. I still got a chance.”

In order to ensure he qualifies for award consideration, Green will have to play 20-plus minutes in at least 11 of the Warriors’ 13 remaining regular season games.

Kings Rule Out Domantas Sabonis For At Least 10 Days

March 19th, 2025 at 7:10am CST by Luke Adams

Kings center Domantas Sabonis has been diagnosed with a moderate right ankle sprain after undergoing an MRI on the affected ankle, the team announced on Tuesday night (Twitter link via James Ham of The Kings Beat).

According to the Kings, Sabonis will be reevaluated in 10 days. That would mean he’ll miss upcoming games vs. Cleveland (Wednesday), Chicago (Thursday), Milwaukee (Saturday), Boston (March 24), Oklahoma City (March 25), and Portland (March 27).

The earliest possible return for the big man, based on the timeline initially reported by Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) and confirmed by the team, would be Saturday, March 29 in Orlando.

Sabonis sustained the injury early in the third quarter of Monday’s win over Memphis, badly turning his right ankle as he drove toward Memphis’ basket and falling to the floor in pain (Twitter video link via Jake Gadon of CBS Sacramento).

It was the second injury Sabonis suffered during the game. He had a bloody gash above his left eye after taking an inadvertent shot from Grizzlies guard Luke Kennard in the first quarter, but he was able to return to the court in the second quarter after getting stitched up.

It has been a bad run of health luck this month for Sabonis, who also recently missed six games due to a strained hamstring — Monday was just his second game back from that injury. The Kings went 2-4 during that six-game stretch and are 3-6 on the season without their starting center, so another multi-game absence doesn’t bode well for the team, which holds the No. 9 seed in the West at 34-33 and is battling for a playoff spot.

Jonas Valanciunas figures to return to the starting lineup with Sabonis unavailable. A trade-deadline addition, Valanciunas started all six games while Sabonis recovered from his hamstring strain.

We mentioned it in our initial story on Tuesday, but it’s worth reiterating that Sabonis must play at least 20 minutes in seven of the Kings’ remaining contests to meet the requirements for the NBA’s 65-game rule.

The 28-year-old has averaged 19.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game this season, making him a strong candidate for an All-NBA spot. But with just 15 games left in Sacramento’s season and Sabonis already expected to miss six of them, there’s no guarantee he’ll play enough down the stretch to qualify for end-of-season award consideration.

Kings Sign Terry Taylor To 10-Day Contract

March 18th, 2025 at 8:37pm CST by Luke Adams

8:37 pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release relayed by the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson (Twitter link).

11:37 am: The Kings and forward Terry Taylor have agreed to a 10-day contract, agent Darrell Comer tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Tayor, 25, has appeared in a total of 95 NBA regular season games for the Pacers and Bulls since 2021, but hasn’t been on an NBA roster since last fall, when he was in camp with Sacramento. He was cut just before the regular season began.

The 6’4″ forward has spent the year in the G League with Sacramento’s affiliate, the Stockton Kings, averaging 16.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.0 block in 33.9 minutes per game across 44 total appearances in the Tip-Off Tournament and the regular season. He has posted a shooting line of .443/.364/.708.

Taylor seems unlikely to enter the Kings’ rotation at the NBA level, but will provide depth as the team continues its push for a postseason berth.

Sacramento had been carrying just 13 players on standard contracts and was required to get back to 14 this week, as we explained on Sunday. Taylor will fill that 14th spot for at least the next 10 days. When his deal expires, the Kings will have the option of signing him to another 10-day deal, signing him for the rest of the season, or letting him go. If Taylor isn’t re-signed, the club would have to add a new 14th man.

Taylor will earn $124,288 over the course of his 10-day deal, while the Kings carry a cap hit of $119,972. He’ll be eligible to appear in up to six games for Sacramento during those 10 days.

Wizards’ Kispert Undergoes Thumb Surgery, Out For Season

March 18th, 2025 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Wizards wing Corey Kispert will miss the rest of the 2024/25 season after undergoing surgery on Tuesday in New York City to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb, the team announced (via Twitter).

According to the Wizards, Kispert is expected to make a full recovery from the injury – which he sustained in the third quarter on Saturday vs. Denver – prior to the start of next season.

Kispert made 61 appearances off the bench for the Wizards this season, averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 26.3 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .451/.364/.852. A talented outside shooter, the former Gonzaga standout has knocked down 38.2% of 5.2 three-point attempts per game over the course of his four-year NBA career.

Kispert was one of 11 players to sign a rookie scale extension during the 2024 offseason, having finalized a four-year, $54MM deal that will go into effect in 2025/26. He’s the second of those 11 rookie extension recipients to be ruled out with a season-ending injury in the past 24 hours — Pelicans swingman Trey Murphy sustained a shoulder injury on Monday that will prevent him from suiting up again in ’24/25.

With Kispert sidelined for the rest of the season and Bilal Coulibaly likely in the same boat due to a hamstring injury, there will be more playing time open on the wing in D.C. for players further down on the depth chart.

AJ Johnson, Jaylen Martin, and Colby Jones are among the players who should be in line for increased roles. All three established new career highs in minutes on Monday in Portland with Kispert on the shelf — Johnson played 35 minutes, Martin played 28, and Jones logged 25.