Anthony Davis Will Wear Protective Glasses For Remainder Of Career
Like Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did in the 1970s and 1980s, Anthony Davis will not take the court without protective eyewear. The Mavericks big man will require protective glasses the rest of his career, per his doctor’s mandate, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link).
Davis underwent a procedure in July to repair a detached retina in his right eye. He reportedly played through “multiple hits to the face” last season.
Most notably, the big man visited an ophthalmologist last November after getting poked in his other eye — reporting at the time indicated he was experiencing swelling and had difficulty keeping that eye open. That injury, which occurred when Davis was a Laker, was referred to last fall as a corneal abrasion and didn’t cost him any games.
Davis says his vision is now clear and he has no limitations entering camp, MacMahon tweets. However, there is significant redness in his right eye, which he says is caused by eye drops that he has to use.
Davis, who was traded from Los Angeles to Dallas in the controversial Luka Doncic blockbuster in February, was only able to make nine appearances during his first half-season as a Maverick due to an adductor injury.
The 32-year-old averaged 20.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.2 blocks in just 29.6 minutes per night in those nine outings. He’s entering the first year of a three-year extension he signed with the Lakers in 2023. It’s worth approximately $175MM and includes a third-year player option.
Nick Smith Jr. Signs Two-Way Deal With Lakers
The Lakers have added Nick Smith Jr. on a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link via Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. In a corresponding move, the Lakers waived big man Kylor Kelley.
Smith was waived by the Hornets last week due to Charlotte’s roster crunch and glut of guards. The 21-year-old was the No. 27 overall pick in the 2023 draft. He appeared in 60 games last season, including 27 starts, and averaged 9.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
Smith had been on a guaranteed standard contract prior to being waived but was eligible to sign a two-way contract as a third-year player. He’ll fill the Lakers’ open two-way contract slot alongside Christian Koloko and Chris Manon while also filling the 21st spot on their preseason roster. He replaces Kelley, who was signed late last month on an Exhibit 10 deal.
Kelley appeared in 11 NBA games (two starts) last season with the Pelicans and Mavericks, averaging 3.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per night. He was also in the Lakers organization last season, though he didn’t appear in an NBA game with them. He was on their training camp roster but was waived before opening night. He then joined their G League affiliate.
With the South Bay Lakers last season, the 27-year-old appeared in 32 games (27 starts) and averaged 11.5 points on a career-high 68.2 percent shooting from the field, 7.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.4 blocks in 26.7 minutes.
If he clears waivers and rejoins South Bay, he’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he remains with that team for at least 60 days.
Warriors Sign Payton, Richard; Will Bring Back Melton
September 29, 12:30 pm: The Warriors’ deals with Payton and Richard are now official, according to the team (Twitter links). Since both contracts are worth the minimum, making them official won’t affect Golden State’s other signings.
September 28, 7:42 pm: Free agent guards Gary Payton II and De’Anthony Melton have committed to deals with the Warriors, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
The terms of the deal were not included in the report, though they’re likely to be worth the veteran’s minimum. These signings have long been expected around the league, with the understanding being that the Warriors were waiting to complete them until after they finalized their restricted free agency standoff with Jonathan Kuminga.
Payton, a nine-year NBA veteran, has spent a little over four seasons with the Warriors over the course of his career. While he has dealt with injuries in recent years, he appeared in 62 games last season for Golden State, averaging 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in 15.0 minutes per contest while serving as a versatile, defensive-minded guard/forward who can attack in transition.
Melton is another defensive guard with some injury concerns that have popped up in recent years. He signed with the Warriors ahead of the 2024/25 season, but tore his ACL in just his sixth game with the team, ending his season. Golden State included him in its December trade with the Nets for Dennis Schröder.
During his time with the Warriors, Melton averaged 10.3 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals in 20.2 minutes per night. He has only played in 45 games over the last two seasons and will be hoping for a bounce-back year in terms of health.
The Warriors are also signing rookie Will Richard to a four-year contract, Charania reports (via Twitter). The No. 56 pick in the 2025 draft will receive two fully guaranteed years in the deal.
Richard is a four-year college player who spent his final three seasons for Florida. As a senior in 2024/25, he averaged 13.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game and played a key role on the championship-winning team. In six Summer League games for the Warriors, Richard averaged 11.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.8 SPG.
Word of these three deals follows the report earlier in the day that free agent big man Al Horford had agreed to a multiyear deal with the Warriors. Judging by the four signings, the Warriors appear to be targeting defense, especially along the perimeter, and some level of versatility as they look to round out their roster.
Anthony Slater of ESPN notes (via Twitter) that Horford, Payton, Melton, and Richard will occupy roster spots nine through 13 for the Warriors, and that the 14th spot is currently left for the resolution of the Kuminga standoff.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks adds (via Twitter) that as long as the Warriors don’t sign Kuminga to a deal with a starting salary higher than approximately $23MM, they would have the ability to add a 15th player and remain below the second tax apron. That projection assumes Horford receives the full taxpayer mid-level exception, which would hard-cap Golden State at the second apron.
Hornets Notes: Miller, Knueppel, Lee, Mann, Dinwiddie, Lineup
Forward Brandon Miller is healthy and will participate in training camp, Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson said on Monday, according to Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Miller’s 2024/25 campaign was cut short by wrist surgery performed in January.
There’s no timetable regarding the injury status of Grant Williams and Josh Green, Peterson added. Both players are expected to miss all of training camp. Green underwent left shoulder surgery in June, while Williams tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee last November.
We have more on the Hornets from Boone:
- LaMelo Ball was caught off guard by rookie Kon Knueppel‘s athleticism, particularly his hops (Twitter link). “I’m not going to lie. I’m going to go with the bounce,” he said. “For real. I didn’t know he could jump like that. He’s even caught a few little dunks. I’m like, ‘Hold up, I’ve seen ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ at the end and he’s been kind of jumping like that the whole day, though. Solid.”
- Hornets head coach Charles Lee indicated the system and offensive strategy has been tweaked so they can play faster this season. He added he’s more prepared now than he was in his first year on the job (Twitter link).
- Tre Mann re-signed with the team on a three-year, $24MM contract. He missed most of last season due to a back injury but started to feel back to normal in April. “I’m grateful to be healthy,” he said. (Twitter video link).
- Journeyman guard Spencer Dinwiddie signed a one-year deal in July as a free agent. He believes the team has the talent to end its postseason drought. “Being able to help a team possibly trying to make the playoffs is an exciting opportunity and another challenge in my career,” he said. (video link).
- Ball, Miller and Miles Bridges are starting lineup locks. Who fills the other spots? According to Boone, Sexton could be the person sliding into the shooting guard spot. Starting him would allow Lee to moved him to point guard when Ball goes to the bench in the opening quarter. At center, Lee could play the matchup game. Veteran Mason Plumlee appears to be the favorite to snag that spot, backed up by Moussa Diabate and rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Pistons Notes: Extensions, Offseason Moves, Holland, Thompson, Stewart, Ivey
The Pistons have until the end of training camp to reach rookie scale extensions with two key players, guard Jaden Ivey and center Jalen Duren. President of basketball operations Trajan Langdon didn’t tip his hand during Monday’s media day regarding those talks, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press tweets.
“We’re excited they’re both members of the Pistons,” Langdon said. “They will have huge roles … whether or not we get deals done, I don’t know if that happens.”
If they don’t sign extensions, Ivey and Duren will be restricted free agents next summer.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Other than the sign-and-trade for Duncan Robinson and the signing of free agent Caris LeVert, the Pistons didn’t make any major moves. Langdon made some calls this offseason but ultimately wanted to see what they have with their young core, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic tweets.
- Ron Holland appeared in 81 regular season games last season, averaging 15.6 minutes in those contests. He could see even more playing time this season, as coach J.B. Bickerstaff was impressed with the work Holland put in this offseason, Patterson tweets.
- While Ivey and franchise player Cade Cunningham will often have the ball in their hands, Ausar Thompson could initiate the offense more this season. “Ausar with the ball in his hands, he’s a nightmare,” Bickerstaff said, per Sankofa (Twitter link). “We look at how can we get the ball in his hands more, especially in the open floor.”
- Isaiah Stewart was only able to play in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Knicks due to right knee inflammation. He believes he could have made a big difference. “It was frustrating, definitely frustrating. I felt if I played, the series would have turned out different and (we) would have been able to advance,” he said, per Sankofa (video link). Had the series gone to a seventh game, he would have tried to play.
- As for this season, Stewart plans to take more shots from beyond the arc. He attempted 175 three-pointers in 2023/24 but only 53 last season. “Two seasons ago I shot almost 40% from the three,” he said, per Sankofa (Twitter link). “It’s a weapon, especially when we play certain teams and different coverages. I look forward to bringing that back.”
- Are there any players on the roster who could work their way into the All-Star conversation besides Cunningham? Ivey and Thompson are the two players to watch, given that Ivey could have a bigger offensive role and Thompson contributes in so many ways, Sankofa opines.
Ja’Vier Francis To Sign Exhibit 10 Contract With Warriors
The Warriors will add Ja’Vier Francis on an Exhibit 10 deal, a source tells Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link).
The 6’8″ power forward spent the past four years at Houston, where he averaged 5.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game as a senior last season and reached the NCAA championship game.
Francis played for Golden State’s Summer League team after going undrafted and appeared in one game.
Francis is expected to wind up with the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz. The Exhibit 10 contract will make him eligible to earn a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the team.
Heat Notes: Herro, Jovic, Smith, Powell, Ware, Rozier
Heat guard Tyler Herro suggested on Monday that his return from ankle surgery could take longer than initial projections, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Herro underwent surgery this month to alleviate posterior impingement syndrome in his left ankle with the expectation he’d miss about eight weeks.
Herro, who said he couldn’t even jump due to the ankle pain prior to surgery, said the rehab process could go a little longer.
“I’ll be back in the next eight to 12 weeks,” Herro said. “Should be a full recovery. Right now, I’m ahead of schedule as far as the swelling. I should get the stitches out in the next week.”
However, Herro told coach Erik Spoelstra that he’ll try to return on a more accelerated timetable.
“I told Spo that I’ll be back in six weeks,” Herro said. “I’m ahead of schedule.”
Here’s more from the Heat during their annual media day:
- Nikola Jovic is one of the Heat players who is extension-eligible this preseason with an Oct. 20 deadline. He downplayed extension talks on Monday, Winderman tweets. Winderman speculated last week that a contract in the range of $50-60MM over four years could appeal to both sides. Jovic added that he hopes to get a chance to earn a starting job during training camp, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets.
- Dru Smith, who was signed to a three-year deal in August, said he’s been cleared to play in preseason games, according to Jackson. Smith suffered an Achilles tear in December.
- The addition of veteran forward and proven scorer Norman Powell via trade in July came as a pleasant surprise to Spoelstra, according to Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “We’re excited to have Norm with us, his ability to put the ball in the basket. He can do it on the ball, can do it off the ball,” the coach said. “He’s been able to be efficient in a lot of different roles. He’s been part of a lot of winning teams. He’s a competitive dude, has got an edge to him. His work ethic is tremendous. We will thrilled [to get him]. There were a lot of things we planned to do this summer; that one was a little bit of a surprise.”
- Second-year big man Kel’el Ware won’t be handed the starting center job. “He and Bam (Adebayo) had some good moments together. In the playoffs, it wasn’t good,” Spoelstra said. “He’s positioning himself for an important role. He’ll have to prove it; he will have to earn it.”
- Terry Rozier, whose status with the team this season remains up in the air, has been preparing for the season in Miami, according to Spoelstra. “Terry has been in the gym since the middle of July,” he said. “He is in great shape, lost 10, 12 pounds. He was playing pickup anywhere he could in Miami [this summer].”
- Rozier said the FBI investigation regarding suspicious bets when he played for Charlotte weighed on him initially, but is no longer a concern, according to Jackson (Twitter link). He declined to say what his attorney has told him about where that investigation stands. The NBA found no wrongdoing in its own investigation.
Paul George: ‘I’ve Still Got A Lot Of Game In Me’
Paul George isn’t guaranteed to be ready for opening night after undergoing offseason knee surgery, but he remains confident that he’ll return to the player he used to be once he’s fully healthy, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
George had the procedure in mid-July and still hasn’t been cleared for contact drills. He has been doing individual workouts since Philadelphia opened training camp last week.
“Again, getting healthy, I’m the Paul George that the Sixers went out and signed,” he told Pompey. “I do think I’ve still got a lot of game in me. Playing at a high level, that’s still who I am. I’ve got to get to that point. I do think I’ll be a part of camp, going into it. But I do have a voice and a part in the team to help the young guys. … I plan on being both.”
George was limited to 41 games in his first season with the Sixers after joining the team as a free agent on a four-year, $211.5MM contract. He was hampered by a variety of ailments, beginning with a hyperextended left knee during the preseason. The same injury reoccurred in November, and he also dealt with soreness in his left groin and right ankle, as well as a torn tendon in his left little finger.
Pompey notes that George missed 26 of the team’s first 67 games before being shut down for the season on March 17 after being given injections to the left adductor in his groin and his left knee.
George was expecting to be fully recovered in time for training camp, but he injured his left knee again during an offseason workout.
“I’m not a doctor, but I think just trusting my body, trusting the process, going into this season,” he said. “The team is allowing me to kind of be as (close) to 100% as possible, because that’s what I signed up for. That’s what they signed me for, to come in and be the Paul George that they went out and recruited last year. So for me to do that, I do have to be healthy. That’s really it. Again, I’m putting the work in. I’m putting the time in. I’m seeing the progress. I’m feeling more and more like myself each day.”
George also expressed a willingness to move to power forward if that’s what is best for the team, Pompey adds. It’s a position of need after the Sixers lost Guerschon Yabusele in free agency, and they have other options at the wing in Kelly Oubre Jr., restricted free agent Quentin Grimes and rookie VJ Edgecombe.
George’s main concern is getting fully healed so he can make Philadelphia fans forget about last season.
“Last year was tough,” he said. “One of the toughest seasons I’ve been a part of, not just from a team standpoint, but from a personal standpoint. But from a motivational standpoint, it can’t get worse than last year, right? That was a rock-bottom kind of season. I think it was a disappointment, personally, for myself, and obviously for the fans here. But I do think there’s a lot to look forward to.”
Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Horford, Richard, Financial Picture
Jonathan Kuminga won’t join the Warriors for media day as his contract standoff with the team drags on, sources tell Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of ESPN. Kuminga didn’t make the trip to San Francisco for today’s event, and it doesn’t appear he’ll be with the team when practice begins on Tuesday.
Slater and Charania report that Golden State general manager Mike Dunlevy Jr. reached out to Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, on Sunday, but it doesn’t seem that a deal is any closer to being finalized.
The three contract offers the Warriors made this summer all remain on the table, but Kuminga hasn’t shown an inclination to accept any of them. They are two years at $45MM and three years at $75.2MM, which both contain team options on the final season, or three years with no team option at the reduced rate of $54MM.
Kuminga is hoping for a player option, and sources tell the authors that he sent a message to the team saying he would consider that a sign of goodwill after “years of confusion” about his role. He also cited an expectation that he will continue to have uneven playing time and will likely be put on the trade market if he re-signs with Golden State.
Kuminga’s main leverage throughout negotiations has been the threat that he will accept the team’s one-year, $8MM qualifying offer, which would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer. That option is set to expire after Wednesday, and there reportedly haven’t been any discussions about moving the deadline.
The Warriors have kept numerous roster moves on hold throughout the offseason while trying to reach a new deal with Kuminga, but several upcoming signings were reported on Sunday.
There’s more on the Warriors:
- The addition of Al Horford in free agency gives Golden State a starting center who’s a consistent three-point threat for the first time in recent memory, writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Horford shot 36.3% from beyond the arc last season and made 114 three-pointers, the second-highest total of his career, even though he only played 60 games. Johnson sees Horford as a positive influence on Quinten Post, who displayed a reliable three-point shooting stroke once he began getting consistent playing time in January.
- The Warriors will save some money by signing 2025 second-round pick Will Richard to a standard deal, notes Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Richard’s new four-year contract will only count $1.3MM toward the salary cap, while an undrafted rookie or a free agent with a year of service would have been $2.3MM.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks offers a detailed look at Golden State’s finances, noting that the team can only offer Kuminga up to $23MM this season if it plans to carry 15 standard contracts (Twitter link).
- The Warriors announced several promotions and additions in their basketball operations department, including making Nicholas Kerr an assistant coach after he spent the past two seasons as head coach of the team’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
NBA 2025 Offseason Check-In: Chicago Bulls
Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2025 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Chicago Bulls.
Free agent signings
Josh Giddey: Four years, $100,000,000. Re-signed using Bird rights.- Tre Jones: Three years, $24,000,000. Third-year team option. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Caleb Grill: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Note: Grill has since been waived.
- Mouhamadou Gueye: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Wooga Poplar: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Note: Poplar has since been waived.
Trades
- Acquired the draft rights to Lachlan Olbrich (No. 55 pick) in the 2025 draft and cash ($2.5MM) from the Lakers in exchange for the draft rights to Rocco Zikarsky (No. 45 pick).
- Acquired Isaac Okoro from the Cavaliers in exchange for Lonzo Ball.
Draft picks
- 1-12: Noa Essengue
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $25,333,943).
- 2-55: Lachlan Olbrich
- Signed to two-way contract.
Two-way signings
- Yuki Kawamura
- One year, $85,300 partial guarantee.
- Emanuel Miller
- One year, $85,300 partial guarantee.
- Lachlan Olbrich
- One year, $85,300 partial guarantee.
Departed/unsigned free agents
- Talen Horton-Tucker (Fenerbahce)
- E.J. Liddell (Nets)
Other roster moves
- Waived Jahmir Young (two-way contract).
Salary cap situation
- Operating over the cap ($154.6MM) and below the luxury tax line ($187.9MM).
- Carrying approximately $174.3MM in salary.
- Hard-capped at $195,945,000.
- Full non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14,104,000) available.
- Full bi-annual exception ($5,134,000) available.
- One traded player exception available (worth $6,186,573).
The offseason so far
The Bulls underwent some major roster changes during the 2024 offseason, when they sent Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City and signed-and-traded DeMar DeRozan to Sacramento, and at the 2025 trade deadline, when they completed a three-team blockbuster that send Zach LaVine to the Kings and returned veterans Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, and Zach Collins, along with complete control of the team’s 2025 first-round pick.
As a result of all that activity in the previous 12 months, the 2025 offseason was relatively quiet by comparison. With many of the club’s highest-paid players – Huerter, Collins, Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Jevon Carter – on expiring contracts in 2025/26, Chicago could have been very active on the trade market, seeking new homes for those guys while potentially taking on some multiyear deals.
Instead, the Bulls hung onto all six of those players, and while they did add some multiyear money to their cap in free agency and on the trade market, the primary order of business this summer was keeping the current roster intact by re-signing their own free agents.
That effort began during the first few hours of free agency on June 30, when the Bulls struck a deal to re-sign Jones to a three-year, $24MM contract that includes a third-year team option. Bulls head coach Billy Donovan repeatedly lauded the veteran point guard during the final months of last season for his high basketball IQ and his knack for making winning plays, so it didn’t come as a huge surprise that the front office made it a priority to re-sign him at a price that makes sense for a backup point guard.
The Bulls’ other top free agent was also a point guard, but it took much longer for the club to reach an agreement with Josh Giddey, one of four restricted free agents whose standoffs extended well into September. Giddey reportedly came into the summer seeking a $30MM annual salary, while the Bulls initially wanted to do a deal in the neighborhood of $20MM per year. The two sides eventually compromised right in the middle — Giddey signed a four-year, $100MM contract that is fully guaranteed, with no incentives or options, and features a flat structure, with annual cap hits of $25MM.
While it’s a little more than the Bulls wanted to pay, it looks like a pretty good deal for the team. Among NBA starting point guards, Giddey’s $25MM annual salary is on the low end, and he should be entering his prime during the next four years, which will be his age 23-to-26 seasons. The former sixth overall pick hit his stride after Chicago traded LaVine in February, averaging 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 9.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game with a .500/.457/.809 shooting line after the All-Star break.
With Giddey and Jones back under contract, the Bulls were going to have a major logjam in the backcourt, with White, Dosunmu, and Lonzo Ball also expected to play rotation roles and Carter buried on the depth chart. Rather than bringing them all back, Chicago made an effort to balance its rotation a little by trading Ball straight up to the Cavaliers for Isaac Okoro.
Drafted one spot after No. 4 overall pick Patrick Williams in 2020, Okoro – like Williams – hasn’t developed into an impact wing during his first five years in the NBA. But he has shown the ability to be an effective three-and-D rotation player, knocking down at least 36.3% of his outside shots during each of the past three seasons while handling tough defensive assignments in Cleveland.
Okoro has two guaranteed years left on his contract, while Ball’s deal includes a team option for 2026/27, so the trade represented a rare instance of the Bulls cutting into their flexibility for next summer. However, the team still has more than $90MM in expiring player salaries coming off the books in 2026, so the front office will have the ability to go in a number of different directions with the roster at February’s trade deadline and/or next offseason.
Besides Okoro, the one notable newcomer to the roster is 12th overall pick Noa Essengue, an athletic, versatile forward who will be one of the NBA’s youngest players this season — he won’t turn 19 until December. As such, it’s probably not realistic to expect much from Essengue as a rookie, but if he shows some promise and 2024 lottery pick Matas Buzelis continues to make positive strides, the Bulls could have a couple solid building blocks at forward.
Up next
After officially re-signing Giddey last week, the Bulls are at 15 players on guaranteed contracts. They’ve also filled all three of their two-way slots. That doesn’t mean those 18 players are all assured of spots on the opening night roster. Two-way deals, in particular, can be fleeting, since the guaranteed money is so modest and doesn’t count against the cap at all, and there are plenty of trade candidates on the standard roster.
Still, I wouldn’t anticipate major changes to the current group during the preseason. The Bulls are more likely to focus on possible extension candidates, with White, Dosunmu, Vucevic, and Dalen Terry among the many players eligible.
White, who averaged a career-high 20.4 points per game last season and thrived alongside Giddey following the LaVine trade, would be the Bulls’ top extension candidate, but the team is limited to offering him a deal that maxes out at approximately $87MM over four years. He’ll be seeking a more lucrative payday and has reportedly informed the team he doesn’t plan to sign a new contract until he reaches free agency, at which point his maximum contract would increase substantially.
Vucevic also probably isn’t a realistic candidate for a new contract. Many Bulls fans likely expected him to be traded by now, which could still happen by February 5, but even if he plays out the season with the team, the center’s days in Chicago appear numbered.
Terry played a more consistent role in 2024/25, but it doesn’t feel as if he’s shown enough in his first three NBA seasons to warrant a commitment from the team a year ahead of his free agency. Unless he takes another real step forward in ’25/26, he’s at risk of not getting a qualifying offer next summer to make him a restricted free agent.
Huerter and Collins are among the Bulls’ other extension-eligible players, but to me, Dosunmu looks like the only one with a real chance to sign a new contract before opening night. Like White, he faces a limit of about $87MM over four years, but his next deal figures to come in well below that. While he’s a solid defender, Dosunmu is more of a complementary piece on offense, having set career highs with 12.3 points and 4.5 assists per game this past season.
With Giddey and Jones back on multiyear contracts and a potential deal for White on the horizon next July, you could make a case that Dosunmu is more of a luxury than a necessity for the Bulls. But he’s a Chicago native who has been one of this front office’s better draft finds, and locking him up to an extension would give the team some insurance in the event that White doesn’t stick around beyond this season. Dosunmu will be extension-eligible all season long, so there’s no urgency to get something done in the coming weeks, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the two sides begin to discuss a potential deal.