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Bobby Webster To Be Raptors’ New Head Of Basketball Operations

August 18th, 2025 at 11:05am CST by Arthur Hill

Raptors general manager Bobby Webster will be promoted to head of basketball operations, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

In a full story on the move, Charania states that Webster will remain the team’s GM, retaining the title he has held since 2017. The Raptors opted not to formally name a president at this time, the team said in a press release announcing Webster’s new full-time responsibilities.

Webster has been running the organization since it parted ways with Masai Ujiri in late June. His promotion follows an extensive search that included several external candidates, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter link).

A report last month indicated that Bulls general manager Marc Eversley and Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan were among the candidates receiving consideration for the job. In addition, former Toronto coach Dwane Casey and ex-Sacramento GM Monte McNair were believed to have interviewed with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president Keith Pelley.

According to Charania, Pelley and Webster worked together closely during Summer League in Las Vegas. That allowed Pelley to get a sense of Webster’s management style, while Webster was able to communicate his vision for the future.

Webster began his career with the NBA’s front office in 2006 before joining the Raptors in 2013 as Ujiri’s first hire. He started as vice president of basketball management and strategy, then worked his way up to assistant general manager before becoming GM.

“Going through this comprehensive process this summer and meeting with external candidates played a critical role in arriving at this decision as it made clear that we already have the right person leading the Raptors in-house,” Pelley said in a statement from the team. “When we weighed the many considerations, including roster construction, team culture and competitive landscape, it made perfect sense to officially hand the team to Bobby and give him the time and support to allow his plan to develop.

“After spending time together this summer in Las Vegas, I was very impressed by Bobby’s leadership style, his rapport with the players and staff, his reputation with his peers across the league and – especially and importantly – his vision for the Raptors. This team is his, now, to lead and I know we all look forward to what comes next.”

At the time of Ujiri’s exit, it was reported that Webster was one of multiple Raptors executives who had received a contract extension. Today’s announcement from the club indicates that Webster had his contract “further” extended, suggesting he signed a new deal for the second time this summer.

Webster will have leeway to run basketball operations as he sees fit for the foreseeable future and could eventually earn the president title, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca

Heat Sign Dru Smith To Three-Year Contract

August 16th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:00pm: Smith has officially re-signed with Miami, per a team press release.

5:49pm: Restricted free agent guard Dru Smith will remain with the Heat on a three-year contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The deal has a total value of $7.9MM, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), which suggests it’ll be worth the veteran’s minimum ($7,898,151). A source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the first year of the deal is fully guaranteed, while the final two seasons carry conditional guarantees (Twitter link).

Miami opened a roster spot to sign Smith by trading Haywood Highsmith to Brooklyn on Friday. Unloading Highsmith’s $5.6MM salary enabled the Heat to add Smith and stay under the cap, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

The 27-year-old guard appeared to be on his way to a standard contract with a strong start to last season, but he suffered an Achilles tear in December. Even though he remained inactive, the team kept him on a two-way contract for the rest of the season.

Heat officials are optimistic that Smith will be fully recovered from the injury in time for the October 22 season opener or shortly afterward, Jackson adds in a full story on the signing.

Appearing in 14 games last season, Smith averaged 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 19.1 minutes per night with .508/.533/.750 shooting numbers. His improvement as a three-point shooter led to his expanded role, and Jackson points out that he logged double-digit minutes in eight straight games before the injury and played the entire fourth quarter in five of his last seven games.

Smith began his career with Miami in 2022 on a two-way contract, then went to Brooklyn later that season on a two-way deal after being waived. He returned to the Heat in the summer of 2023 and was converted to a standard contract before the start of the season. However, that campaign was cut short by his first untimely injury, as he suffered a third-degree ACL sprain in November.

Miami extended a qualifying offer to Smith in June, but league rules prevented him from signing another two-way contract with the team.

A report earlier today suggested that the Heat had interest in adding size to their roster, with an eye on free agents Trey Lyles and Kai Jones. Jones reportedly made a good impression during workouts in Miami this week.

Jackson believes Smith’s signing will put an end to any pursuit of Lyles or Jones. The Heat don’t have much depth in the frontcourt, but Jackson states that the need might be addressed with a trade rather than another free agent signing.

The Heat are back to 14 players with standard contracts and won’t be able to add a 15th player until later in the season without moving back into tax territory.

Jackson notes that Smith, newly re-signed Davion Mitchell and first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis are all natural point guards. However, they could all come off the bench if coach Erik Spoelstra decides to use Tyler Herro and Norman Powell as his starting backcourt.

Rui Hachimura Unlikely To Receive Extension Before Camp

August 16th, 2025 at 5:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rui Hachimura is eligible for a contract extension, but the Lakers aren’t expected to pursue a new deal before training camp opens next month, reporter Jovan Buha stated on his latest Buha’s Block podcast (YouTube link).

“With the current intel I have, I do not expect Rui to be extended by the Lakers in the next six weeks,” Buha said. “It’s certainly possible that something happens, but I would say most of what’s been out there is them wanting to keep the books clean and wanting to see whether he starts or whether he’s their sixth man and how the pieces fit this year.”

The 27-year-old power forward became eligible for an extension when the NBA’s new calendar year began on July 6. He currently has an $18,259,259 expiring contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t work out a new deal with L.A.

Hachimura has been a valuable contributor for the Lakers since he was acquired from Washington in January of 2023. He became a full-time starter last season and averaged 13.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 59 games with .509/.413/.770 shooting numbers.

Hachimura’s future will be affected by the Lakers’ well-known desire to preserve cap space for the summer of 2027. Luka Doncic currently holds the team’s only significant contract that extends past the 2026/27 season, although Jarred Vanderbilt will have a $13.3MM player option that summer.

Whether it’s through an extension or a new contract in free agency, L.A.’s front office will eventually have to decide whether locking up a valuable asset like Hachimura is worth sacrificing some cap room in a summer that could feature a historically great free agent class.

Doncic Gets Injury Scare During Slovenian Exhibition Game

August 16th, 2025 at 1:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

2:23pm: Doncic has a right knee contusion, Marc Stein tweets. He’ll remain with the Slovenian national team and compete in EuroBasket, Woike tweets.

1:30pm: Lakers superstar Luka Doncic apparently avoided a serious injury after a Slovenian teammate landed on his right leg during an exhibition game on Saturday, Dan Woike of The Athletic tweets.

Early in the second half, Gregor Hrovat fell on Doncic’s knee during a defensive play, according to Eurohoops.net. Doncic was able to head to the locker room on his own power but did not return to the game. Doncic, who scored 26 points against Latvia during the first half, did return to the bench to watch his Slovenian teammates collect a 100-88 victory.

It remains to be seen how this will impact Doncic’s status for the EuroBasket tournament. Slovenia is scheduled to play its tourney opener against Poland on Aug. 28. They’ll also face France, Belgium, Iceland and Israel.

Doncic signed a three-year max extension with the Lakers earlier this month.

Hawks Signing N’Faly Dante To Two-Year Offer Sheet

August 16th, 2025 at 11:40am CST by Rory Maher

The Hawks are signing restricted free agent center N’Faly Dante to a two-year, $4.5MM offer sheet, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The Rockets — Dante’s incumbent team — will have two days to match the offer sheet. However, Houston doesn’t currently have enough room under its first-apron hard cap to match the contract Dante agreed to with Atlanta, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

As Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle notes (via Twitter), the Rockets already have three players signed to two-way contracts, so evidently they were prepared for Dante’s departure.

A native of Mali who went undrafted in 2024 after a standout college career at Oregon, Dante signed a two-way deal with Houston last summer. The 23-year-old only made four NBA appearances for the second-seeded Rockets as a rookie, with three occurring during the final three contests of the regular season. The 6’11” big man averaged 6.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 12.8 minutes per game.

While his NBA contributions were limited, Dante had an excellent season for Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, averaging 15.1 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.0 SPG and 2.2 BPG while shooting 74.3% from the field in 42 games (26.8 MPG).

As our Luke Adams recently outlined, two-way restricted free agents rarely sign offer sheets with other teams. But clearly the Hawks like Dante, who will provide frontcourt depth behind Onyeka Okongwu and Kristaps Porzingis — assuming the Rockets don’t make additional moves to position themselves to match.

Dante’s deal will likely be for the veteran’s minimum, which would be worth $4,459,584 across two years.

Heat Reportedly Eyeing Big Men, Including Trey Lyles

August 16th, 2025 at 10:50am CST by Rory Maher

After sending Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love to Utah in a three-team deal last month, the Heat traded Haywood Highsmith to Brooklyn on Friday in a salary-dump move. Those transactions have left Miami thin in the frontcourt, with Bam Adebayo, Kel’el Ware and Nikola Jovic figuring to receive the bulk of the minutes at the four and five.

According to Grant Afseth of FastbreakJournal.com, Miami is exploring ways to add at least one more big man ahead of the 2025/26 season, with free agents Trey Lyles and Kai Jones among the players the team has expressed interest in. Jones impressed the Heat with his “energy and activity” during his workouts this week, sources tell Afseth.

A ten-year NBA veteran who was a lottery pick (12th overall) back in 2015, Lyles has spent the past three-plus seasons in Sacramento. In 69 appearances with the Kings last season, the 6’9″ power forward averaged 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 34.0% from three-point range in 19.6 minutes per game.

Jones, meanwhile, played 40 games for the Clippers and Mavericks in ’24/25, averaging 5.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG while shooting 79.8% from the field in 11.7 MPG. The 24-year-old center was the 19th pick of the 2021 draft.

As Afseth observes, Lyles and Jones provide different skill sets, with the former being a more proven depth piece and the latter offering more athleticism and upside. But either player could theoretically help the Heat as they prepare for the upcoming season.

In addition to moving below the luxury tax line, trading Highsmith also created an opening on the standard roster. Lyles or Jones could fill that 14th spot (Miami is unlikely to add a 15th man to open the season due to its proximity to the tax), but Afseth states multiple times that the Heat are considering other options as well.

Latest On Jonathan Kuminga

August 15th, 2025 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

There has been “renewed” dialogue between the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga‘s camp during the last week as the two sides continue to propose contract concepts, ESPN’s Anthony Slater said during a Friday appearance on NBA Today (YouTube link).

As he has reported previously, Slater says that Kuminga and his representatives are seeking a contract that positions him to be more of a building block than simply a trade chip.

“The word I’ve heard used from the Kuminga side is ‘pawn,'” Slater said. “He doesn’t want to sign this two-year, $45MM deal with a team option where he is clearly just being used to be traded mid-season. That’s not something he wants to sign up for.

“Now if you’re talking about a three-year deal, if you’re talking about something with a player option that shows him a little bit more commitment, that’s something he’d be interested in. But as of now, the Warriors have been hesitant to do that, and because of that, Kuminga is signaling to those around him that he’s very willing – and prefers – (to sign) the qualifying offer over the two-year, $45MM deal. That’s dangerous for the Warriors. They can try to call his bluff, but right now, it seems to be trending toward the qualifying offer.”

A handful of Warriors free agent targets – including big man Al Horford – are awaiting resolution on the Kuminga situation before they can potentially finalize deals with Golden State. However, with training camps not scheduled to start until the end of September and no crucial dates coming up for restricted free agents until the October 1 deadline to accept a qualifying offer, Slater wouldn’t be surprised if the standoff extends into September.

“August is a lot easier for people to just be like, ‘OK, we’ll get to you when we get to you,'” Slater said. “September’s where it starts to get a little bit more uncomfortable. I don’t know if there will be movement or a little bit more angst on the Warriors’ or Kuminga’s side, but September is where this could get a little bit dicier.”

As Slater acknowledges, it would be somewhat surprising if Kuminga gives up $14MM in 2025/26 salary and signs his $8MM qualifying offer instead of taking a two-year, $45MM offer from Golden State. But accepting the QO would put him in a better position to dictate his future, since it comes with a no-trade clause for ’25/26 and the ability to reach unrestricted free agency next summer.

“You talk to people around him and he’s pretty dug in,” Slater said. “If two for $45MM with the team option is going to be the best offer, he will see them in training camp on an ($8MM) expiring qualifying offer which includes a no-trade clause. Because he wants either to be viewed as more of a building block or he wants his freedom, his control of his future. And the qualifying offer, while less money, gives him control of his future.”

Bulls Have Reportedly Rebuffed Trade Interest In Coby White

August 15th, 2025 at 3:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have received a number of trade inquiries about guard Coby White this offseason, but there has been no indication that they’re looking to move him as he enters a contract year, according to Ashish Mathur of Dallas Hoops Journal.

“I know multiple teams tried to trade for Coby this summer,” an NBA executive told Mathur. “There was some chatter that he was almost traded on draft night. The Bulls love him though. He’s not going anywhere. They have shot down trade inquiries for him.”

The idea that the Bulls may have nearly traded White on draft night and have also “shot down” inquiries on him seem to be at odds, but the executive’s remarks may indicate that the team hasn’t been willing to seriously engage on trade discussions regarding White since draft night.

The seventh overall pick in 2019, White was a regular rotation player off the bench for the Bulls for his first four seasons before taking on an increased role as a full-time starter over the past two years.

He set a career high with 19.1 points per game in 2023/24, then topped that figure with 20.4 PPG in ’24/25. The 25-year-old has also put up 4.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per contest while making 37.3% of his three-pointers since the start of the ’23/24 season.

White emerged as Chicago’s go-to scoring option down the stretch this past spring after the team traded away Zach LaVine. The 6’5″ guard averaged 25.0 PPG in his final 25 outings and led the Bulls to a 17-8 record in those games.

While the Bulls did well to re-sign White to a three-year, $36MM contract as a restricted free agent in 2023, that team-friendly deal has made it virtually impossible to sign him to an extension before he reaches unrestricted free agency in 2026. Chicago could go up to about $87MM over four years, but White likely believes he’ll receive more lucrative offers on the open market next summer, either from the Bulls or another suitor (or both).

There has been some speculation that an inability to extend White ahead of free agency might make the Bulls more inclined to consider trading him rather than risk losing him for nothing next summer, and Chicago may still consider that route before February’s trade deadline. But for now it sounds like the team is confident about its ability to re-sign White next July.

The Bulls will hold White’s full Bird rights and have a pretty clean cap sheet going forward, so they’re well positioned to make a strong offer in free agency, but they wouldn’t have the right of first refusal if the guard decides he wants to play elsewhere.

Heat Trade Haywood Highsmith To Nets

August 15th, 2025 at 1:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat and Nets have agreed to a trade that sends wing Haywood Highsmith to Brooklyn along with a 2032 second-round pick in exchange for a protected 2026 second-rounder, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links).

The Nets have officially confirmed the deal, announcing that they’ve acquired Miami’s unprotected 2032 second-round selection and Highsmith in exchange for their own top-55 protected 2026 second-rounder.

It’s a financially motivated deal for the Heat, who will move under the luxury tax line as a result of the move. Miami entered the day operating about $1.6MM above the tax threshold with 14 players under contract.

Sending Highsmith’s expiring $5.6MM contract to Brooklyn will give the Heat nearly $4MM in breathing room below the tax, with at least one standard roster spot to fill before the season begins — the club will likely keep its 15th roster spot open to start the season to avoid going back above the tax line.

The Heat were always considered likely to duck the tax this season in order to reset their repeater clock.

When I identified Miami earlier this month as a good bet to make a cost-cutting move, I mentioned Highsmith as a potential trade candidate and speculated that he should have a little value based on his play as a three-and-D wing last season. The 28-year-old made 74 appearances (42 starts) for the Heat, averaging 6.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game and posting a .458/.382/.721 shooting line.

However, word broke last Friday that Highsmith had sustained a torn meniscus during an offseason workout and underwent surgery to address the injury. The recovery process is expected to sidelined him for at least eight-to-10 weeks, jeopardizing his availability for the start of the season and reducing his value as a trade chip, which is why the Heat had to give up a second-round pick to move him.

Miami will create a trade exception worth Highsmith’s outgoing salary ($5,616,000), which the club will have one year to use.

As for the Nets, they continue to use their cap room to stockpile draft assets, having acquired a pair of first-round picks in separate deals for Michael Porter Jr. and Terance Mann earlier this summer. It’s unclear whether or not Highsmith will be part of their plans for the 2025/26 season, given that there may be a roster crunch in Brooklyn, but taking on his contract puts only a small dent into their remaining cap space.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Brooklyn still has $22MM in room after accounting for Cam Thomas‘ $12.1MM cap hold, though that figure doesn’t include reported two-year, $12MM deals with Day’Ron Sharpe or Ziaire Williams, which aren’t yet official. One of those signings could be completed using the room exception, but at least one will have to use the Nets’ cap space.

Celtics Sign Amari Williams To Two-Way Contract

August 15th, 2025 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have signed second-round pick Amari Williams to a two-way contract, according to the NBA’s official transaction log (hat tip to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype).

Williams, who spent his first four college seasons at Drexel, transferred to Kentucky in 2024 for his super-senior year. In 36 games (all starts) last season, the 6’11” forward/center filled up the box score with averages of 10.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks in just 22.8 minutes per game.

The Celtics traded down from No. 32 on draft night in June and used their newly acquired 46th overall pick to select Williams. At the time, then-ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony reported that the big man would be signing a two-way contract with Boston, but it took a while for the deal to actually come to fruition.

The Celtics carried over Miles Norris from last season on his two-year, two-way contract, signed 57th overall pick Max Shulga to a two-way deal in July, and acquired two-way player RJ Luis in a trade with Utah earlier this month. The club subsequently waived Norris in order to open up a two-way slot for Williams.

Williams will earn a salary of $636,435 if he spends the full season on his two-way contract and will be eligible to appear in up to 50 NBA regular season games. He’ll likely be transferred back and forth between the NBA and the G League many times over the course of his rookie year.

With Williams now under contract, the Celtics are carrying 18 players on their offseason roster, including their three two-ways. Twelve of the other 15 players have guaranteed standard contracts, while Jordan Walsh and Neemias Queta are on partially guaranteed deals and Hayden Gray has an Exhibit 10 contract.

The top 50 players from this year’s draft have now signed NBA contracts for 2025/26 or are committed to playing in a non-NBA league, as our tracker shows.

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