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JD Davison Signs Two-Way Contract With Rockets

July 26th, 2025 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:53 pm: Davison has signed a two-way contract, per NBA.com’s transaction log. It will be a one-year deal, since Davison is entering his fourth NBA season.

8:33 pm: JD Davison, who was waived by the Celtics on Thursday, has agreed to a contract with the Rockets, agent Corey Marcum of EZ Sports Group tells NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).

Houston doesn’t have enough room under its first-apron hard cap to offer a standard contract, so Davison could receive a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal. As a three-year veteran, he is still eligible for a two-way contract, so he’ll have a chance to compete in training camp for one of the Rockets’ openings.

The 22-year-old combo guard got into a combined 36 games during his three seasons in Boston after being selected with the 53rd pick in the 2022 draft. He played on two-way contracts the entire time before being converted to a standard deal on the final day of last season.

The Celtics exercised their 2025/26 team option on Davison in late June, but his $2.27MM salary for next season was non-guaranteed. He wound up being a casualty of Boston’s cost-cutting mission in an effort to move below the second apron.

Davison earned G League MVP honors with the Maine Celtics last season. In 45 total games, he averaged 25.6 points, 7.7 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 34.6 minutes per night with .482/.332/.762 shooting numbers.

Latest On Raptors’ Search For New Head Of Basketball Ops

July 26th, 2025 at 12:02pm CST by Rory Maher

General manager Bobby Webster is running the Raptors‘ front office for now following the abrupt dismissal of Masai Ujiri at the end of June.

According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, Webster is interested in becoming Toronto’s new head of basketball operations on a permanent basis and seems to be the frontrunner to land the position, but there are a number of other candidates to monitor as well.

A source tells Grange that most of the names that have come up in the search process are “lower-tier executives” who would make sense as complementary additions working under Webster.

However, there are some veteran executives who appear to be in the mix, including Brampton native Marc Eversley, who is currently GM of the Bulls. As Grange writes, Eversley is a board member of Canada Basketball, was previously an assistant GM in Toronto, and has a solid relationship with Webster.

Pacers GM Chad Buchanan is another name on the Raptors’ radar, Grange reports.

According to Grange, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president Keith Pelley has met with both Dwane Casey and Monte McNair about the position.

Casey is the Raptors’ former head coach and is currently an executive with the Pistons, while McNair was Sacramento’s GM for five years prior to parting ways with the organization after the 2024/25 season.

One league insider who spoke to Grange suggested that Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard is MLSE’s top choice for the job, though Grange points out that lateral moves for executives under contract with other teams are difficult to pull off.

As for Ujiri, Grange says he would be “very surprised” if Toronto’s longtime former president accepted another NBA job for the upcoming season. In the future, Ujiri could be a candidate to lead an expansion team or run the NBA’s proposed European league, Grange writes.

That said, Ujiri will certainly be linked to any top executive roles that pop up in the coming months, according to Grange, who has heard speculation that the Heat could be a team to monitor, as Pat Riley recently turned 80 years old.

Latest On Cam Thomas

July 25th, 2025 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

Providing an update on Cam Thomas‘ restricted free agency on Thursday, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (YouTube link) said he expects Thomas to ultimately return to the Nets, since it doesn’t seem as if there are other “real” suitors pursuing the high-scoring guard.

Fischer also identified Thomas as the most likely of the top remaining RFAs to accept his qualifying offer, noting that the gap between the sort of contract he’s seeking and what Brooklyn has offered is pretty significant.

“I have not heard that Brooklyn has offered Cam Thomas anything further than a two-year deal with a team option on the second (year) that I don’t believe is going much north – if north at all – of the $14.1 million mid-level exception,” Fischer said. “… Cam Thomas thinks of himself as one of the most elite play-maker scorers in the NBA, and he wants to be compensated as such.

“… I definitely believes he wants north of $20 (million per year),” Fischer added.

Thomas has increased his scoring average in each of his four NBA seasons and put up career highs of 24.0 points and 3.8 assists per game in 2024/25. However, he was limited to just 25 games last season due to hamstring issues and has been up and down from an efficiency standpoint, with career averages of 43.9% from the floor and 34.9% on three-pointers. He’s also not considered an above-average defender.

Brooklyn previously reached two-year agreements with Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams that both include second-year team options, so the fact that the front office offered Thomas a deal with a similar structure makes sense. Despite taking on multiyear deals for Michael Porter Jr. and Terance Mann in trades this offseason, the Nets remain in position to carry over a significant chunk of cap room to the 2026 offseason.

The Nets may yet be willing to increase their offer for Thomas, but if the overall structure of their proposal doesn’t change and they continue to offer just one fully guaranteed year, he would have to decide whether accepting a qualifying offer worth roughly $6MM and sacrificing $8MM+ in 2025/26 earnings would be worthwhile in order to ensure he reaches unrestricted free agency next summer.

Accepting the qualifying offer would also give the 23-year-old the ability to veto trades during the ’25/26 season.

Thomas is one of four restricted free agents who received a standard (ie. not a two-way) qualifying offer in June and remains unsigned. The other three are Josh Giddey of the Bulls, Jonathan Kuminga of the Warriors, and Quentin Grimes of the Sixers.

Latest On Jonathan Kuminga

July 24th, 2025 at 10:45pm CST by Rory Maher

In a story for ESPN.com, Anthony Slater has provided more details regarding the stalemate between the Warriors and restricted free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga.

According to Slater, the two sides did not discuss the financial terms of a new contract leading up to free agency, which led to Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, seeking sign-and-trades from rival teams. The Suns and Kings have shown the most external interest in Kuminga to this point, sources tell Slater, confirming reporting from his colleague Shams Charania.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 continues to hear the Suns are high on Kuminga and says they remain interested in trying to find ways to acquire him, despite having limited assets at their disposal (Twitter link). However, Golden State’s front office hasn’t been impressed with the offers from Phoenix or Sacramento, Slater writes.

In a potential Kuminga sign-and-trade, the Warriors don’t want to take on unfavorable contracts, “would like” to add a talented young player, and are determined to receive a first-rounder, per Slater’s sources.

As Slater details, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. was motivated to get a deal done this week and recently offered Kuminga what the the club believes is the “highest starting salary” he currently has on the table. But the 22-year-old wasn’t moved by the offer, as he told Charania, and seems much more interested in landing with another team.

Signing his $7.98MM qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract with an implied no-trade clause, is an option Kuminga is considering, sources tell Slater. Choosing that path would cost Kuminga money in the short term but would give him more control of his situation and an opportunity to hit unrestricted free agency in 2026, Slater notes.

Part of the reason that Kuminga is trying to find a new home is that he has a “painful memory” of being out of the Warriors’ rotation in their first-round playoff series vs. Houston, according to Slater. The former lottery pick desires a featured offensive role and wants to be a consistent starter, Slater adds.

A source tells Ashish Mathur of DallasHoopsJournal.com that Kuminga has “made it known behind the scenes” that he doesn’t want to continue his career in Golden State, partly because he doesn’t think he can become an All-Star with the Warriors. Kuminga publicly discussed his All-Star ambitions last month in an interview with Slater.

Spurs Sign Lindy Waters On One-Year Deal

July 24th, 2025 at 5:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

July 24: Waters is officially a Spur, according to NBA.com’s transaction log. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports (via Twitter) that the minimum-salary deal includes a $500K partial guarantee.

July 23: Free agent swingman Lindy Waters III has agreed to a one-year contract with the Spurs, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

San Antonio officially had 13 players on its 15-man roster entering Wednesday, as our roster counts show, so the team won’t have to make room for Waters.

Waters spent his first three NBA seasons with Oklahoma City. He finished last season with the Pistons after playing with the Warriors until the trade deadline. Waters was acquired by Detroit in the multi-team blockbuster deal that sent Jimmy Butler to Golden State.

Waters played 38 games for the Warriors, including nine starts, and averaged 5.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 17.2 minutes per night. The Warriors acquired him in a draft-night trade with the Thunder.

Waters’ playing time dropped in Detroit, as its main motivation in the trade was to acquire backup guard Dennis Schroder. Waters made 14 appearances off the bench for the Pistons, averaging 3.4 PPG in 8.8 MPG.

Waters has 156 games of NBA experience and has taken a vast majority of his shot attempts from beyond the three-point arc. He’s had a 36.6 percent success rate from long range in his career.

With Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, lottery pick Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie among the Spurs’ options at the wing, there’s no clear path for Waters to gain rotation minutes but he’ll add depth at the shooting guard and small forward positions.

Celtics Release JD Davison

July 24th, 2025 at 4:24pm CST by Rory Maher

The Celtics have waived guard JD Davison, the team announced (via Twitter).

Boston exercised its 2025/26 team option on Davison at the end of June. However, as we noted at the time, Davison’s $2.27MM salary for next season is fully non-guaranteed, so the Celtics won’t incur a cap hit by releasing him.

According to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link), cutting Davison has moved the Celtics under the punitive second tax apron, giving the team more maneuverability on the trade market.

The Celtics selected Davison 53rd overall in the 2022 draft after he played one college season at Alabama. The 22-year-old had spent virtually all of the past three campaigns on a two-way deal with Boston, but was converted to a multiyear standard contract just before the ’24/25 regular season ended.

While Davison’s NBA contributions have been very modest to this point – 36 total regular season appearances for a total of 198 minutes over his three seasons – he has been a standout performer in the G League, including winning the MVP award with the Maine Celtics in ’24/25.

Davison appeared in 45 combined games with Maine last season, averaging 25.6 points, 7.7 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 34.6 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .482/.332/.762.

The Celtics now have 15 players on their standard roster.

Jared Butler Signs With Suns

July 24th, 2025 at 4:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

July 24: Butler’s deal with the Suns is official, per a team press release (Twitter link via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports). According to Bourguet, Butler’s contract is non-guaranteed and he and Goodwin will be vying for a roster spot this fall.

July 23: The Suns have reached an agreement on a one-year contract with Jared Butler, agents Mark Bartelstein and Kieran Piller of Priority Sports tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 24-year-old guard became a free agent late last month when the Sixers declined their team option on his $2.35MM salary for 2025/26. He finished the season in Philadelphia after being acquired from Washington at the deadline, and the Sixers converted his two-way deal to a standard contract a week after the trade.

Butler appeared in 60 total games last season, and he put up the best numbers of his career in 28 games with Philadelphia. He averaged 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists for the short-handed team, while making 17 starts and posting .426/.352/.870 shooting splits.

Butler began his career in Utah after being selected with the 40th pick in the 2021 draft. He also had a brief stay with Oklahoma City before joining the Wizards on a two-way contract in 2023.

The Suns are making another move to bolster their backcourt, claiming former Lakers guard Jordan Goodwin off waivers. Once both transactions are official, Phoenix will have a full roster with 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.

Jazz Waive Guard Jaden Springer

July 24th, 2025 at 3:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have waived guard Jaden Springer, the team announced in a press release.

Utah had a Friday deadline to decide whether to give Springer a $400K partial guarantee to his $2,349,578 non-guaranteed contract. Springer will now look for another NBA opportunity, unless a team claims him.

After a 10-day contract with the Jazz expired, Springer signed a three-year contract with the club in March but the last two years were not guaranteed. Springer made 17 appearances for Utah, including two starts, and averaged 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 13.2 minutes.

Boston traded the 6’4″ combo guard and a future second-round pick to Houston at February’s trade deadline. The Rockets soon waived Springer and he joined Utah after clearing waivers. Springer came off the bench in 26 games for the Celtics last season.

He was a late first-rounder pick by the Sixers in 2021 but struggled to establish a rotation role. Overall, he’s appeared in 110 NBA games, averaging 2.9 points in 8.8 minutes. He’s made just 23.8 percent of his 3-point attempts.

By releasing Springer, the Jazz now have 15 players on standard contracts.

Restricted Free Agent Kuminga, Warriors Remain At Impasse

July 24th, 2025 at 3:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Negotiations between restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors remain at a stalemate, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter video link).

“It’s a staring contest between these two sides that could continue much longer than just this month,” Charania said.

NBA insider Jake Fischer reported last week that Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, has held numerous discussions with Warriors officials in Las Vegas this month trying to secure a contract that pays at least $25MM in average annual salary, even in the short term. According to Fischer, the Warriors have been reluctant to meet that price in a long-term agreement.

Charania visited with Kuminga on Wednesday said that the 22-year-old forward told him that he was in “absolutely no rush to do a deal with the Warriors.” According to new ESPN insider Anthony Slater (video link), coach Steve Kerr has been in contact with Kuminga during the process but Kerr’s tendency to reduce his role during crunch time and in the postseason has left some “scar tissue,” adding that Kuminga no longer wants to be a “Plan B” option.

Turner continues to pursue possible sign-and-trade transactions. According to Charania, the Suns and Kings “have made concrete offers with the Warriors over the last week or so.” Those clubs have also offered Kuminga an “opportunity for significant minutes, a starting-caliber role” and “those are two things he wants more than anything.”

Golden State has balked at the packages those teams have offered, which leaves Kuminga as well as the organization in limbo. The Wizards, Heat, Bulls, Bucks, and Nets have also been previously named as possible suitors for Kuminga.

The Warriors’ other potential offseason moves have been delayed until the Kuminga situation is resolved, Charania adds. Slater identifies Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton and Seth Curry as free agents that Golden State is interested in. The Warriors currently have just nine players on standard contracts.

Kuminga appeared in just 47 games in 2024/25, having missed more than two months due to a badly sprained ankle. He had an inconsistent role when healthy, averaging 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 24.3 minutes per game, with a .454/.305/.668 shooting line.

Although he was out of the Warriors’ rotation entirely for some key games at the end of the regular season and in the postseason, Kuminga averaged 24.3 points per game on .554/.389/.720 shooting in his final four playoff games vs. Minnesota after Stephen Curry injured his hamstring.

Lonnie Walker IV To Join Maccabi Tel Aviv

July 24th, 2025 at 12:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

12:57pm: Walker’s contract is for three years and approximately $10MM, according to Urbonas. It includes an NBA exit clause until Aug. 1 for this season and exit clauses for 2026 and 2027 until July 15 of those years.

12:19pm: Free agent forward Lonnie Walker IV is signing with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, NBA insider Marc Stein tweets.

The Sixers declined their $2.9MM option on the 26-year-old at the end of last month, making him an unrestricted free agent. Terms of the contract are yet to be disclosed but he’ll be one of the highest paid players in the EuroLeague, according to Stein. It will be a multiyear contract, Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com tweets.

Interestingly, Walker was linked to another Israeli club this month. He reportedly received a two-year offer from Hapoel Tel Aviv. Real Madrid also showed interest in Walker.

Walker was productive for the injury-riddled Sixers during the second half of the season. He appeared in 20 games and averaged 12.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists. However, Philadelphia had major salary cap concerns heading into free agency, which undoubtedly factored into the front office’s decision.

After being waived by Boston just before the start of last season, Walker spent time with Zalgiris Kaunas in the EuroLeague while awaiting his next NBA opportunity. He signed a two-year contract with Philadelphia in late February.

Prior to his stint with the Sixers, Walker appeared in 322 regular season games with the Spurs, Lakers, and Nets from 2018-24.