Suns Claim Jordan Goodwin Off Waivers
JULY 24: The Suns issued a press release confirming they’ve claimed Goodwin, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets.
JULY 23: The Suns have claimed former Lakers guard Jordan Goodwin off waivers, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Goodwin, 26, was released over the weekend so L.A. could create room below the first apron to sign Marcus Smart with its bi-annual exception. In late June, the Lakers picked up their team option on Goodwin’s $2.35MM contract for the upcoming season, which carries just a $25K guarantee.
Phoenix inherits Goodwin’s full contract via the waiver claim, so L.A. will have the $25K come off its books.
Goodwin joined the Lakers on a two-way contract in early February and was converted to a standard deal in late March. He appeared in 29 games, making five starts and averaging 5.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 18.7 minutes per night. He also posted .438/.382/.818 shooting numbers.
The move marks a return to Phoenix for Goodwin, who was acquired from Washington two summers ago as part of the Bradley Beal trade. He appeared in 40 games with the Suns during the 2023/24 season before being dealt to Memphis.
Goodwin began his career on a 10-day deal with the Wizards in 2021 and signed a two-way contract the following season.
The addition of Goodwin will give the Suns 14 standard contracts, along with three two-way deals. His contract will remain non-guaranteed, apart from the $25K, until the league-wide guarantee date in January, and he will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Rockets Sign Josh Okogie
5:37pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
12:37pm: The Rockets and free agent wing Josh Okogie have reached an agreement on a one-year contract, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Charania reports that it’s a $3.1MM deal for Okogie, which suggests it’ll be worth his minimum ($3,080,921). It will be fully guaranteed, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Okogie, who will turn 27 in September, opened the 2024/25 season with Phoenix before being traded to Charlotte in January’s Nick Richards deal. He appeared in a total of 40 games for the Suns and Hornets, making seven starts and registering averages of 7.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 15.6 minutes per contest, along with a .443/.348/.741 shooting line.
Considered a talented, versatile perimeter defender, Okogie had excellent on/off-court splits during his stint with the Hornets, albeit in a small sample. The team had a +2.6 net rating in his 274 minutes of action and a -13.7 mark when he wasn’t on the court.
Okogie’s contract with the Hornets called for his $7.75MM salary for 2025/26 to become guaranteed if he remained under contract through June 30. The two sides agreed to push back that deadline to July 15 as the front office explored the trade market for the 6’4″ swingman, but Charlotte had no luck finding a deal and ultimately waived Okogie last week.
The Rockets recently released Jeenathan Williams, who had a non-guaranteed contract of his own, in order to move team salary approximately $3.6MM below the first tax apron, giving the club the ability to bring in one more veteran-minimum player to fill its 14th roster spot. It looks like Okogie, whose deal will count for about $2.3MM against the cap, will be that player, giving Houston another defensive-minded option on the wing.
Barring cost-cutting moves, the Rockets won’t have the ability to add a 15th man while remaining below their first-apron hard cap until later in the regular season.
Marcus Smart Officially Signs With Lakers
Marcus Smart has officially joined the Lakers. The team announced the signing of the veteran guard in a press release.
“Adding a player like Marcus Smart to our roster allows us to compete at the highest level,” Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said in the statement. “Marcus epitomizes what it means to prioritize winning above all else – whether that’s making huge plays on the defensive end or hitting critical shots in key moments of the most intense games. He knows and understands playoff winning and will be a key leadership voice in our group.
“Surrounding our stars with two-way players like Marcus is critical to our overall vision of how we want to play and win next season. This is an exciting player acquisition, for sure.”
Smart reached a buyout agreement with the Wizards over the weekend and was placed on waivers. At that time, it was reported that the combo guard had decided to join the Lakers. Smart’s new contract is worth roughly $10.5MM over two years and includes a player option for the second season.
Smart, who gave up $6.8MM of his $21.59MM salary as part of his buyout with Washington, could back up both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and will boost his new team with his leadership, ball-handling and defensive prowess.
Smart, 31, has battled health problems over the past two seasons. He was named Defensive Player of the Year with Boston in 2022, but his career took a downturn after a trade to Memphis in the summer of 2023. A wide swath of injuries limited him to 39 total games in a year and a half with the Grizzlies before he was sent to Washington in a three-team deal at this year’s trade deadline.
He appeared in 19 games with Memphis and 15 games with the Wizards last season, averaging 9.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 20 minutes per night with .393/.348/.761 shooting numbers.
NBA Names Kyle Filipowski Summer League MVP, Announces All-SL Teams
Jazz forward/center Kyle Filipowski has officially been named the Summer League Most Valuable Player for 2025, the NBA announced today (via Twitter). Filipowski is also one of five players who earned a spot on the All-Summer League first team.
Here are the full All-Summer League teams, per the league (Twitter links):
First Team
- Kyle Filipowski (Jazz)
- Nique Clifford (Kings)
- David Jones-Garcia (Spurs)
- Jordan Miller (Clippers)
- Terrence Shannon Jr. (Timberwolves)
Second Team
- Ron Holland (Pistons)
- Isaac Jones (Kings)
- Kon Knueppel (Hornets)
- Ajay Mitchell (Thunder)
- KJ Simpson (Hornets)
Filipowski, who is entering his second NBA season after playing 72 games as a rookie, appeared in a total of six Summer League contests (Salt Lake City and Las Vegas). He averaged 23.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 blocks in 27.6 minutes per game. He especially excelled in Las Vegas, averaging 29.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG in three outings.
Clifford, a rookie drafted with the No. 24 pick last month, posted averages of 15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals in six contests. Jones-Garcia, who is seeking a contract, finished an eight-game summer campaign with averages of 22 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists. He posted averages of 21.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in a handful of games in Vegas.
Miller (22.0, 7.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists) racked up impressive number in five summer games after being waived earlier this month by the Clippers. Entering his second season with Minnesota, Shannon (22.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists) excelled in three contests.
After competing in the Summer League championship game on Sunday, both the Hornets (Knueppel and Simpson) and Kings (Clifford and Jones) had multiple players recognized for their play in Las Vegas. Knueppel was named the MVP of the championship game.
Trail Blazers Sign Blake Wesley To One-Year Contract
11:15 am: Wesley has officially signed with the Blazers, the team confirmed today in a press release.
10:11 am: Shortly after being bought out by the Wizards, shooting guard Blake Wesley has agreed to a one-year deal with the Trail Blazers, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). It’ll be a fully guaranteed contract, per Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link).
The 25th overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Notre Dame, Wesley spent his first three professional seasons in San Antonio, where he appeared in 156 total regular season games. He played a limited role for the Spurs, averaging just 4.3 points and 2.4 assists in 14.3 minutes per night, with a .409/.297/.634 shooting line.
While Wesley’s contributions at the NBA level have been modest, he’s still just 22 years old and is considered a strong on-ball defender. He has also shot the ball better in the G League than he has in the NBA, making 45.6% of his field goal tries and 35.9% of his three-point attempts for the Austin Spurs.
Wesley was traded to Washington earlier this month as part of a deal that sent Kelly Olynyk to San Antonio. However, he was only a Wizard for about a week-and-a-half before agreeing to give up roughly $1.38MM of his $4.73MM salary for 2025/26 in order to secure his release.
The exact financial terms of Wesley’s deal with Portland haven’t been reported, but it figures to be a minimum-salary contract, which would pay him roughly $2.38MM. In other words, he’ll more than make up the money he forfeited in his buyout with Washington.
Adding Wesley will give the Blazers 15 players on standard contracts, including 14 with guaranteed salaries. Duop Reath‘s salary guarantee date is coming up on August 1.
Clippers Sign Chris Paul To One-Year Deal
5:49pm: The signing is official, according to a Clippers press release relayed by Mark Medina of Sportskeeda (Twitter link).
“He is joining us as a reserve point guard and is excited to fill whatever role (coach Tyronn Lue) asks him to play,” president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in the statement.
10:13am: Chris Paul is returning to Los Angeles, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link), who hears from the point guard’s representatives at CAA that Paul has agreed to sign with the Clippers for what will likely be his last season.
It will be a one-year, minimum-salary deal for Paul, per NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).
Paul received interest from a number of teams during free agency, but was known to be prioritizing an opportunity to play close to his family in Los Angeles. He reportedly rebuffed interest from Eastern Conference suitors like the Bucks and Hornets, as well as non-West Coast clubs like the Mavericks. The Clippers and Suns were long viewed as the most likely landing spots for the future Hall of Famer.
Paul, who turned 40 in May, spent six seasons with the Clippers from 2011-17 during what was arguably the most successful stretch of his NBA career. He received MVP and Defensive Player of the Year votes in each of his first five seasons in Los Angeles and was an All-Defensive first-teamer in all six years. He also made five consecutive All-Star teams and earned five All-NBA nods (three first-team and two second-team) in his first go-round as a Clipper.
While Paul is no longer in his prime, he started every game for San Antonio last season, marking just the second time in his 20 NBA seasons that he has made 82 regular season appearances. The former Wake Forest standout averaged a career-low 8.8 points per game for the Spurs, but contributed 7.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per night while making 37.7% of his three-point attempts and 92.4% of his free throws.
Paul has started 1,314 of his 1,354 career NBA games, with all 40 of those appearances off the bench coming in Golden State in 2023/24. It’s unclear if he’ll get a chance to be part of the starting five in L.A. next season, with James Harden, Bradley Beal, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and defensive ace Kris Dunn all in the backcourt mix as well.
Still, having Paul on the roster further solidifies the depth chart for a Clippers team that has made several notable veteran additions with limited resources this offseason. The club split its mid-level exception on Beal and Brook Lopez, traded Norman Powell for John Collins, and will now bring Paul aboard on a minimum-salary contract.
Once their signing of Paul is complete, the Clippers will have 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts. They won’t have enough breathing room below their first tax apron hard cap to add another veteran-minimum player before the season begins.
Jonas Valanciunas ‘Fully Committed’ To Honoring Nuggets Contract
After having avoided directly addressing his contract situation in recent weeks, Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas offered clarity on his plans for the 2025/26 season in remarks to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com on Monday.
“I want to clear the air about my playing situation next season now that Denver has made their decision to keep me,” Valanciunas said. “The idea of playing for Panathinaikos, closer to home, was very exciting to me, but that will have to wait. I am fully committed to honoring my contract with the Nuggets this season and will give it my all to compete for a championship.”
The Nuggets reached a trade agreement with the Kings on July 1 to acquire Valanciunas in exchange for Dario Saric, solidifying their backup center spot behind Nikola Jokic by landing a player they had reportedly coveted in recent years.
However, the Lithuanian big man’s future became a hot topic of discussion a couple days later when word broke that he was close to accepting a three-year contract offer from the Greek team Panathinaikos.
While it initially appeared that a buyout might be in the works for Valanciunas, the Nuggets made it clear they wanted him to play in Denver in 2025/26. They officially pulled the trigger on the trade on July 13, with general manager Ben Tenzer telling reporters this past Friday that the Nuggets had had “great conversations” with the center and his camp and that Valanciunas had expressed excitement about the upcoming season.
In order to play for Panathinaikos or any other non-NBA club, Valanciunas would have to secure his release from his current contract and then get a letter of clearance from FIBA. With the Nuggets unwilling to buy him out, his only option to force the issue would have been to hold out and not report to his new team. His comments today indicate he won’t be taking that route.
Valanciunas’ contract will pay him $10.4MM in 2025/26 and includes a non-guaranteed $10MM salary for the ’26/27 season. He’s expected to play a significant role as part of a revamped second unit in Denver that will also include recently added free agents Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr.
Hornets’ Knueppel Named Summer League Championship Game MVP
The Hornets took home the NBA’s 2025 Summer League championship with an 83-78 victory over Sacramento in Sunday’s finale in Las Vegas.
Rookie center Ryan Kalkbrenner (15 points, nine rebounds), and two-way guard KJ Simpson (11 points, seven rebounds, five assists) were among the Hornets who played key roles in the win, but No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel led the way with a team-high 21 points and +9 on/off mark, earning him championship game MVP honors, as Mark Anderson of The Associated Press details.
Knueppel got off to a shaky start in Summer League play earlier this month, scoring just five points on 1-of-8 shooting in his Hornets debut vs. Utah. He bounced back nicely, however, scoring at least 16 points and making multiple three-pointers in each of his next four games.
Knueppel was the first of four players drafted by the Hornets last month — the team also selected Liam McNeeley at No. 29, Sion James at No. 33, and Kalkbrenner at No. 34.
While James and McNeeley appeared in just two of Charlotte’s six Summer League games due to hip and Achilles issues, respectively, all four of the team’s 2025 draftees showed some promise in Las Vegas as the Hornets became the only club to go 6-0 at the event.
Lakers Waive Jordan Goodwin
The Lakers have waived Jordan Goodwin, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter). The move was necessary to create room below the first tax apron to sign Marcus Smart following his buyout from the Wizards.
The Lakers had recently picked up the $2.3MM team option on Goodwin’s contract, but only $25K of the deal was guaranteed.
As the only remaining Laker with a non-guaranteed contract following the team’s decision to waive Shake Milton earlier today, Goodwin’s place on the roster became tenuous once it was clear the Lakers were bringing in Smart on a two-year, $11MM deal that necessitated multiple cost-cutting moves. Smart’s salary for next season is expected to be worth the full bi-annual exception of $5.1MM.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, once Smart signs, the Lakers will be operating about $1MM below the first apron, so they won’t have enough breathing room to sign a 15th man before the season begins without further cost-cutting moves.
Marks adds (via Twitter) that because Goodwin has played in the league for four seasons, he’s ineligible for a two-way deal. The 26-year-old defensive-minded guard played 29 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 5.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 18.7 minutes per night. He shot 38.2% from three and appeared in four of the five Lakers’ playoff games against the Timberwolves, averaging 7.8 minutes per game in the postseason.
Goodwin will now hit waivers and then become an unrestricted free agent if no one claims him (the priority order is determined by the reverse order of last season’s standings). The Athletic’s Tony Jones speculates (via Twitter) that Goodwin is likely to have a number of suitors on the open market.
Marcus Smart To Join Lakers After Buyout With Wizards
July 20: Smart has officially reached a buyout agreement with the Wizards and been placed on waivers, the team announced (via Twitter).
July 19: Marcus Smart has reached an agreement on a buyout with the Wizards and plans to join the Lakers once he clears waivers, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. Smart’s new contract will be worth $11MM over two years and will contain a player option for the second season.
Sources tell Charania that Luka Doncic played a large role in recruiting Smart to L.A. He adds that the Lakers, Suns and Bucks all received permission from Washington to contact Smart, and he had “positive conversations” with all three teams.
The Lakers can use their full bi-annual exception to add Smart, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). They’ll have to clear about $4.2MM in salary to have access to the full amount, which may mean parting with Shake Milton, who has a $3MM non-guaranteed salary, and Jordan Goodwin, who only has a $25K guarantee on his $2.35MM salary.
If that happens, L.A. wouldn’t have enough available apron space to sign a 15th man before the start of the season, as Gozlan notes (Twitter link).
Milton’s salary for 2025/26 will become fully guaranteed after Sunday, so the Lakers will have to act fast if they plan to waive him.
If Smart gives back the equivalent of the bi-annual exception in his buyout, the Wizards will be more than $30MM below the luxury tax, Gozlan adds. Washington has its full $14.1MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception remaining, along with $13.4MM and $9.9MM trade exceptions.
Smart, 31, was named Defensive Player of the Year with Boston in 2022, but his career took a downturn after a trade to Memphis in the summer of 2023. Injuries limited him to 39 total games in a year and a half with the Grizzlies before he was sent to Washington in a three-team deal at this year’s trade deadline.
If Smart can stay healthy, he’ll bring much-needed defensive help to the Lakers’ backcourt. He appeared in 19 games with Memphis and 15 games with the Wizards last season, averaging 9.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 20 minutes per night with .393/.348/.761 shooting numbers.
The Wizards have added numerous young players to their roster this summer, so there likely wouldn’t have been regular playing time for Smart, who had a $21.6MM expiring contract. There were rumors last month that Smart was on the trade market, but the Wizards evidently couldn’t find a team willing to take on his salary.