Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jaden Ivey Undergoes Knee Surgery, Out At Least Four Weeks

October 16th, 2025 at 3:09pm CST by Rory Maher

Former No. 5 overall pick Jaden Ivey underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee on Thursday to relieve discomfort, the Pistons announced in a press release. The team says the former Purdue star will be out at least four weeks, which is when he’ll be reevaluated.

According to Detroit, Ivey’s surgery and knee discomfort are not related to the fractured left fibula which ended his 2024/25 season after just 30 games. Following an arduous rehabilitation process, 23-year-old guard said he was 100 percent healthy entering training camp.

It’s unfortunate news for Ivey, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension until October 20, the day before the ’25/26 campaign begins.

It’s also a tough blow for the Pistons, who were hoping to see Ivey take a step forward in his fourth year. Now his season debut will be delayed until at least mid-November.

In 30 appearances last season, Ivey averaged 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 29.9 minutes per contest, posting a shooting slash line of .460/.409/.733. The 40.9% mark from long distance was a career-best percentage by a significant margin.

The Kings recently showed with Keegan Murray (thumb surgery) that teams aren’t necessarily afraid to make long-term investments in players who are injured. But for a variety of reasons, Ivey’s situation is a bit more complicated, and the procedure seemingly decreases the odds of an extension being reached in the next few days.

Ivey will earn about $10.1MM in the final year of his rookie scale contract. If he doesn’t sign an extension, he would be eligible for restricted free agency next summer.

With Ivey out, Ausar Thompson, Marcus Sasser, and Caris LeVert are among the players who could have more ball-handling responsibilities for Detroit. Duncan Robinson is also a crafty play-maker who can orchestrate a pick-and-roll, though he isn’t a primary initiator.

Hornets Waive Spencer Dinwiddie

October 16th, 2025 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

12:28 pm: The move is official, according to a Hornets press release.

12:08 pm: Just three months after signing a guaranteed contract with the Hornets as a free agent, veteran point guard Spencer Dinwiddie is being waived, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Dinwiddie agreed to terms with Charlotte early in free agency on a one-year, minimum-salary deal and officially finalized that agreement on July 13. Because his salary was guaranteed, the 32-year-old will still receive his full $3,634,153, while the Hornets will carry $2,296,274 in dead money on their cap, assuming Dinwiddie goes unclaimed on waivers.

An 11-year NBA veteran, Dinwiddie played a more significant role than expected in Dallas last season due to the Luka Doncic trade and a series of injuries affecting guards like Kyrie Irving and Dante Exum. He was one of the only Mavericks players who made it through the season without dealing with any major health issues.

In 79 games (30 starts), Dinwiddie averaged 11.0 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 27.0 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .416/.334/.802. All of those numbers were in the ballpark of his career rates.

The Hornets’ decision to sign Dinwiddie in July was a little curious, given that the team had already traded for Collin Sexton and agreed to re-sign Tre Mann at that point in the offseason. It appeared the front office was making it a priority to load up on point guard depth after Mann and starter LaMelo Ball missed significant time last season due to injuries.

However, facing a roster crunch this fall and with Ball and Mann both healthy, the Hornets decided that Dinwiddie was the odd man out. He registered six points and six assists in 30 total minutes across two preseason games with the club — Charlotte was outscored by 20 points in those 30 minutes.

Once Dinwiddie is officially placed on waivers, the Hornets will have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, plus center Moussa Diabate on a non-guaranteed deal. There had been speculation that Pat Connaughton would be the roster casualty in Charlotte, but unless more moves are coming in the next few days, it looks like the former Buck is now on track to make the team’s regular season roster.

Warriors, Lakers Top 2025 NBA Franchise Valuations

October 16th, 2025 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors are still the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2025 on Thursday.

Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $11.33 billion, which represents an incredible 24% increase from last year’s $9.14 billion valuation. The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, at $12.8 billion, continue to be the only global sports franchise whose valuation comes in higher than Golden State’s, according to Sportico’s projections.

As Badenhausen outlines, the Warriors lead the NBA in revenue by a significant margin, having generated an estimated $833MM last season. Golden State makes more than $5MM per game in ticket revenue, along with $2.5MM from luxury suites; the club also has a $45MM per year jersey patch deal with Rakuten, earns almost double what any other team makes in sponsorship revenue, and is one of the few teams to fully own and operate its arena, per Sportico.

After placing third a year ago, the Lakers have jumped to second place on Sportico’s 2025 list at $10 billion, based on Mark Walter‘s recent agreement to purchase the team at that valuation. The Lakers moved slightly ahead of the third-place Knicks, who come in at $9.85 billion.

Every team’s valuation has increased by at least 9% since last year, per Sportico, with the average value of an NBA franchise now at $5.51 billion (up 20% from 2024) and no team worth less than $4 billion.

The average valuation has more than doubled since 2022, when it was $2.58 billion. As Badenhausen writes, the NBA’s new $76 billion media rights deal and its global ambitions – including the possible creation of a league in Europe – have played a part in those gains.

Although the Warriors’ $833MM is something out of an outlier, NBA teams generated an average of approximately $408MM in revenue last season, according to Badenhausen, with the Grizzlies coming in last at $301MM. Memphis also ranks 30th on Sportico’s list of franchise values.

Despite placing at the bottom of this list, the Grizzlies actually had the most significant increase in their franchise valuation this past year, rising from $3.06 billion to $4 billion (31%). The Pelicans (30%), Timberwolves (29%), and Eastern Conference champion Pacers (27%) were the other biggest risers.

Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But these projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.

Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2025:

Golden State Warriors: $11.33 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $10 billion
New York Knicks: $9.85 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $6.72 billion
Boston Celtics: $6.35 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $6.22 billion
Chicago Bulls: $6.12 billion
Miami Heat: $6.03 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $5.61 billion
Houston Rockets: $5.53 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $5.24 billion
Toronto Raptors: $5.22 billion
Phoenix Suns: $5.09 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $5.02 billion
Sacramento Kings: $5 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $4.86 billion
Denver Nuggets: $4.8 billion
Washington Wizards: $4.78 billion
Indiana Pacers: $4.76 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $4.54 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $4.5 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $4.34 billion
Utah Jazz: $4.27 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $4.25 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $4.24 billion
Orlando Magic: $4.21 billion
Detroit Pistons: $4.17 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $4.13 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $4.02 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $4 billion

As Badenhausen notes, Sportico’s projections are based on a control sale price, rather than limited stake purchases. Controlling shares in the Celtics, Lakers, and Trail Blazers all changed hands this past year, though only the Celtics sale has been formally approved by the NBA so far.

William Chisholm is buying the Celtics in two stages, with an initial valuation of $6.1 billion and a blended valuation of roughly $6.5 billion. Walter is purchasing the Lakers at a valuation of $10 billion, while Tom Dundon is buying the Blazers at a $4.25 billion valuation.

LeBron James Aiming To Make Season Debut By Mid-November

October 15th, 2025 at 10:59pm CST by Eli Cohen

In the wake of the news that LeBron James would miss the start of the Lakers‘ season with sciatica on his right side, there has now been an update in his timeline, courtesy of ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter video link).

Charania says that James and the Lakers are targeting a mid-November season debut, but that LeBron will not rush back prematurely.

“A source told me tonight that LeBron would be taking a patient approach with this rehab from nerve injury,” Charania said. “The ramp-up process for this will be a lot of basketball-shape conditioning work.”

Charania notes that James started dealing with the nerve issue during a workout at the end of July or beginning of August, which impeded his usual preseason training ramp-up period.

Charania points to October 30 as a key date for James to be reevaluated, but adds it’s expected that he will need at least a few weeks after that to return to a conditioning level that he feels comfortable with before taking the floor again.

James, who will turn 41 in December, has played at least 75 games, including playoffs, in each of the last two seasons, after not having reached that benchmark since the 2017/18 season.

Kevon Looney Out At Least Two Weeks

October 15th, 2025 at 5:29pm CST by Eli Cohen

Kevon Looney, the Pelicans‘ projected starting center, will be out for at least two or three weeks, the team announced (via Twitter).

According to the Pelicans, Looney was diagnosed with a proximal tibiofibular ligament sprain in his left knee, an injury sustained during the team’s October 5 contest against South East Melbourne. He’ll be reevaluated in two-to-three weeks, with further updates provided as appropriate, per the team.

Looney signed a two-year deal with the Pelicans after spending the first 10 seasons of his career with the Warriors, with whom he won two championships. He holds career averages of 5.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.

Looney was brought in by New Orleans to add veteran experience to the frontcourt depth chart alongside second-year center Yves Missi and rookie Derik Queen, the latter of whom is recovering from wrist surgery that kept him out for the entirety of the Pelicans’ preseason.

Given New Orleans’ suddenly shallow depth chart up front, second-year big man Karlo Matkovic could be in line for an increased role early in the season. He played 42 games for the Pelicans last season and averaged 7.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 18.8 minutes per night.

Malcolm Brogdon Announces Retirement

October 15th, 2025 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon, who was competing for a spot on the Knicks‘ roster this month, has decided to call it a career, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. According to Charania (via Twitter), Brogdon is retiring as a player.

Charania suggests (via Twitter) that Brogdon was on track to make New York’s regular season roster after joining the team on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract. However, the 32-year-old had been considering retirement and informed the Knicks on Wednesday of his decision.

“Today, I officially begin my transition out of my basketball career,” Brogdon wrote in a statement to ESPN. “I have proudly given my mind, body, and spirit to the game over the last few decades. With the many sacrifices it took to get here, I have received many rewards. I am deeply grateful to have arrived to this point on my own terms and now to be able to reap the benefits of my career with my family and friends. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all who have had a place in my journey.”

The 36th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Brogdon was named Rookie of the Year in 2017 with the Bucks and won a Sixth Man of the Year award with the Celtics in 2023. He spent three seasons in Milwaukee and three in Indiana before playing one year apiece in Boston, Portland, and Washington.

Considered a reliable contributor on both ends of the court, Brogdon had career averages of 15.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in 29.1 minutes per game across 463 total regular season outings, with a shooting line of .463/.388/.874.

Although he was a valuable rotation player when he was on the court, injuries were a recurring problem for Brogdon, who was reportedly medically red-flagged ahead of the 2016 draft due to concerns about his foot and later dealt with various knee and leg issues. After making 75 appearances as a rookie, he played more than 56 games just twice in the next eight seasons and never again cracked the 70-game mark.

Due to their hard cap situation, the Knicks would only have been able to keep one camp invitee out of a group that included Brogdon, Landry Shamet, and Garrison Mathews unless they were to make a cost-cutting trade within the next few days.

With Brogdon no longer in the mix, New York may simply decide between Shamet and Mathews, who are both receiving “strong” consideration for a regular season roster spot, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team would still have to shed salary elsewhere in order to keep both players.

NBA G League, NGBPU Announce Collective Bargaining Agreement

October 15th, 2025 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League and the Next Gen Basketball Players Union (NGBPU) have officially announced their Collective Bargaining Agreement. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported earlier this month that the two sides had agreed to terms on the NBAGL’s first CBA since the NGBPU was formed in 2020.

The new CBA will cover a four-year term, beginning immediately and running through the 2028/29 season. The G League and the union will each have the ability to end the agreement a year early (ie. after the ’27/28 season) by exercising an opt-out clause on or before October 1, 2027.

Here are several of the rules that were collectively bargained by the league and the players’ union:

The standard G League player salary will increase to $45K for 2025/26 (up 4.7% from the previous base salary) and will rise by 3% annually in subsequent seasons.
A player who spends the entire season on a G League roster and doesn’t receive compensation from an NBA team (via an Exhibit 10 bonus or a partial/full salary) will receive an additional $5K in 2025/26. That amount, known as the “enhanced minimum salary payment,” will increase by 3% per year.
NBA teams will now be permitted to designate a maximum of five affiliate players per season instead of four.
Beginning in 2026/27, if a player has at least three years of NBA or G League experience, a team will only be able to control his returning rights for one year following his latest stint in the league. Previously, that term was two years.
Beginning in 2026/27, the buyout amount for a player who has at least five years of NBA or G League experience will be reduced from $50K to $30K. That’s the amount that must be paid to the league if a player wants to terminate his G League contract early.

All of the key points of the new CBA for G League players can be found right here.

Hawks’ Porzingis: No Rush For Contract Extension

October 15th, 2025 at 8:33am CST by Luke Adams

Hawks forward/center Kristaps Porzingis is currently eligible for a contract extension after being traded to Atlanta over the summer. However, he tells Fred Katz of The Athletic that he’s in no hurry to get a new deal done.

“I know that’s an option,” Porzingis said of a potential extension. “I wanna see how the year goes. I wanna show that I’m playing at a high level again, that I’m healthy, that I’m everything, and then that kind of stuff will take care of itself, you know? We’ll see. … I don’t wanna rush anything and say this or that, but I wanna take it one day at a time.”

Porzingis is earning roughly $30.7MM in 2025/26, which is the final season of a two-year, $60MM extension he signed with the Celtics in 2023. He completed the deal almost immediately after being traded to Boston, but this time around, he and the Hawks didn’t immediately look to work out a post-trade extension.

While Porzingis’ comments suggest he’s happy to wait on a new contract, it also doesn’t sound as if Atlanta is necessarily pushing hard to get an extension done. Atlanta reportedly hasn’t aggressively looked to extend Trae Young either as he enters a potential contract year (Young holds a player option for 2026/27). The front office, led by new general manager Onsi Saleh may be taking a wait-and-see approach to the current roster in the hopes of evaluating how the new pieces fit together over the course of the season.

For his part, Porzingis is optimistic about the Hawks’ new-look roster and his place on it.

“I was really happy that I could end up in a place like this, playing with these young guys, playing with Trae, who’s one of the best passers in the league,” he told Katz. “It’s an exciting situation for me. … I’m very, very happy.”

Porzingis averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game last season for the Celtics, posting an impressive shooting line of .483/.412/.809. However, he was limited to 42 games due to various health issues, including an illness that limited his availability during the second half and continued to affected him in the postseason. The 30-year-old put up just 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 20.9 minutes per game on .316/.154/.689 shooting during Boston’s playoff run, but tells Katz that illness is no longer an issue.

“I just didn’t have the engine that I usually have,” the big man said. “… As soon as I got some rest and got back in shape with the (Latvian) national team, I’m feeling great. I feel awesome now.”

Players with multiple years left on their contracts who are eligible for veteran extensions have until Monday to finalize agreements. But because he’s on an expiring deal, Porzingis will be eligible to sign an extension with the Hawks until June 30, 2026. The same goes for Young, assuming he declines his ’26/27 player option as part of an agreement.

That means Atlanta will have the ability to weigh its options during the season and even into the spring — the team could try to work out extensions with Porzingis and Young later in the 2025/26 league year to keep them off the free agent market.

Jalen Green To Miss Start Of Season With Hamstring Injury

October 15th, 2025 at 7:25am CST by Luke Adams

Jalen Green won’t be ready to make his Suns debut when the team’s regular season schedule opens next Wednesday, according to head coach Jordan Ott. Prior to Tuesday’s preseason finale against the Lakers, Ott told reporters – including Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic – that Green aggravated the hamstring injury he sustained early in training camp.

“We all know the soft tissue injuries are really hard to see exactly the progress,” Ott said. “Obviously it’s frustrating, but this is all part of it. Thankfully we caught it early, it’s not that serious, but he wants to be out there. New teammates, new system. There’s just other ways. We’re going to have to speed him up. That’s the reality of it. He did a great job in the China trip hanging in there with us.”

Ott initially described Green’s injury in early October as a “low grade” hamstring strain. The reaggravation occurred during the team’s trip to China for a pair of exhibition games against Brooklyn, preventing the newly acquired guard from suiting up in any of Phoenix’s four preseason contests.

Green will be reevaluated in 10 days, Ott said on Tuesday. That means he’ll miss the team’s regular season opener against Sacramento next Wednesday, but might have a chance to play in one game of a back-to-back set next Friday and Saturday against the Clippers and Nuggets.

Green spent the first four years of his NBA career in Houston before being sent to Phoenix along with Dillon Brooks in the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade over the summer. Injuries were rarely an issue for the former No. 2 overall pick during his time as a Rocket — he has appeared in all 82 regular season games in each of the past two seasons and hasn’t missed a game since February 2023.

Suns center Mark Williams also didn’t play in any of the club’s four preseason contests, but that was part of a plan designed to ramp him up for the start of the regular season. He has been playing live 5-on-5, Ott said on Tuesday, per Rankin.

While they rested some of their regulars on Tuesday, the Suns have been rolling with a starting lineup of Devin Booker, Brooks, Grayson Allen, Ryan Dunn, and Oso Ighodaro for most of the preseason. Williams would presumably replace Ighodaro if he’s ready to go for the start of the season, while Green would likely step in for either Allen or Dunn once he’s cleared to return.

Mavericks Give Jason Kidd Multiyear Extension

October 14th, 2025 at 6:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

6:35pm: The Mavericks have officially confirmed Kidd’s extension (Twitter link).

“I’m grateful for the belief that (team owner Patrick Dumont and general manager Nico Harrison) have in me, and the trust we’ve built while working together to construct a team that Dallas can be proud of,” Kidd said in a statement, per Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). “We have a great group of players here who love basketball, are talented & coachable. There’s mutual respect across all departments, and Patrick and Nico set the tone for what we are trying to accomplish here.

“It’s even more special that I can continue to coach the team that drafted me, and where I was able to win a title as a player. I’m looking forward to what’s ahead & continuing to work toward bringing another championship back to Dallas.”

5:26pm: The Mavericks have signed head coach Jason Kidd to a multiyear contract extension, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reports (Twitter link).

The length of the extension has not been revealed, but Dallas made its intentions to retain Kidd clear this offseason. Stein and Jake Fischer reported in early July that the Mavericks intended to sign Kidd to an extension prior to the regular season. He also received an extension after last season.

According to The Athletic’s Christian Clark, Kidd had two years left on his deal prior to the latest extension (Twitter link).

The Knicks were interested in talking to Kidd about their head coaching vacancy this summer before they eventually hired Mike Brown. The Mavs denied the Knicks’ request to speak to their head coach.

Kidd, 52, had head coach stints with Brooklyn and Milwaukee shortly after his Hall of Fame playing career ended. He served as an assistant with the Lakers before getting the Dallas job prior to the 2021/22 season.

The Mavericks reached the conference finals in his first season and lost to Boston on the 2024 NBA Finals. The team didn’t qualify for last season’s playoffs after the controversial Luka Doncic trade and a wave of injuries during the second half of the season.

Dallas wound up hitting the lottery and selecting Cooper Flagg, who will now learn the NBA game under Kidd for several seasons to come if he serves out those extensions.