Paul Jesperson To Coach Suns’ G League Affiliate
The Suns have named Paul Jesperson the head coach of their G League affiliate, the Valley Suns, the team announced today in a press release.
“Paul is ready to take this next step in his career as he moves into the role of head coach,” Valley Suns GM Brendan Sabean said in a statement. “His background and experience complement our vision to utilize the G League as a lifeline of development for Suns and Valley Suns players. He’s a natural fit for the job and I’m looking forward to seeing the impact he can make as head coach.”
Jesperson was an assistant on the Valley Suns’ bench last season, so on one hand, the move looks like a fairly straightforward internal promotion. However, it happened in a roundabout way.
A report in May stated that the Kings had reached an agreement with Jesperson to make him their head of player development, and when Sacramento officially announced Doug Christie‘s staff a few weeks later, Jesperson was named to that position. However, earlier this month, reporting indicated that D.J. Ham had agreed to become the Kings’ head of player development after Jesperson stepped away from the team.
We now know that Jesperson left that new position in Sacramento in order to rejoin the Valley Suns. He’ll replace former head coach John Little, who was named an assistant under new Phoenix head coach Jordan Ott.
Jesperson, who played college basketball at Virginia and Northern Iowa before briefly spending time in the G League and in Europe, worked for the Hawks and the Oklahoma Sooners before joining Phoenix’s NBAGL team as an assistant last season.
Bobby Webster To Be Raptors’ New Head Of Basketball Operations
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
Rockets Notes: Durant, Sengun, Green, Schedule
Although there were expectations that Kevin Durant would sign an extension shortly after being traded, that still hasn’t happened and there are no indications that he and the Rockets are close to a new deal. Nearly two months after the trade with Phoenix was first announced, Durant remains on a path toward free agency next summer with a $54.7MM expiring contract.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon recently suggested that Houston isn’t likely to offer Durant a full max deal, and that Durant and his representatives may not push for it. He added that the Rockets won’t panic if Durant begins the season without a new agreement in place.
Amid that background, Keith Smith of Spotrac speculates on what Durant’s next contract might look like. With an expiring deal in place, he’ll be eligible for a two-year extension through June 30 and can make up to $120,463,616 ($57,915,200 in 2026/27 and $62,548,416 in 2027/28). That figure would start at 35% of the cap.
If Durant lets his contract expire, he would be eligible for a three-year max deal with a total value of $187,645,248 that avoids the complications of the Over-38 rule. Another possibility is a one-plus-one contract that would result in the same figures as the extension.
With Durant believed to be more focused on winning than maximizing his earnings, Smith believes a two-year, $100MM compromise is realistic. Durant would make $50MM per season and would likely receive a player option that gives him the freedom to reconsider his situation in the summer of 2027.
There’s more on the Rockets:
- In an interview with Turkish reporter Socrates Dergi (YouTube link), Alperen Sengun shares his reaction to the Durant trade and his first message to his new teammate (hat tip to Fadeaway World). “I gave him two weeks to settle in first, then I messaged him,” Sengun said. “I told him, ‘Welcome to the team, I can’t wait to play with you. We’re gonna have a great year.’ He replied immediately, saying, ‘We’re going to do great stuff this year.'” Sengun also recalled a conversation he had with Durant during a recent Rockets-Suns game: “Last season, I told him one game, ‘Don’t come to double me, let me play one on one.’ He said, ‘No way, you’re an All-Star now. You’re no longer going to play one-on-one. Get used to it.’”
- In the same interview, Sengun talked about the loss of Jalen Green, who was sent to Phoenix in the Durant deal. Sengun and Green were both drafted in 2021 as the first pieces of Houston’s rebuilding project. “Jalen was like a brother to me,” he said. “We learned the NBA together. I didn’t speak any English when I first arrived. We learned everything from them.”
- The Rockets have the most favorable schedule in the West and the third-easiest in the league, according to Tankathon. While things could change depending on the results of the NBA Cup tournament, they currently have just three games against Western powers Oklahoma City, Denver, Minnesota and both L.A. teams.
Timberwolves Officially Waive Jesse Edwards
The Timberwolves have waived two-way center Jesse Edwards, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
The expected move was first reported at the start of August, and it became a formality when Edwards signed a one-year contract with Melbourne United of Australia’s National Basketball League last week. It’s now official and Minnesota has a two-way opening available, with Rocco Zikarsky and Enrique Freeman holding the team’s other two-way slots.
The 25-year-old big man, who played collegiately at Syracuse and West Virginia, signed with the Timberwolves in July of 2024 after going undrafted. He saw brief action in two NBA games, but he was a rotation player for the G League Iowa Wolves, averaging 11.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 25.1 minutes in 34 total contests.
In late June, Edwards accepted a two-way qualifying offer, which came with a partial guarantee of $85,300. That money won’t count against Minnesota’s salary cap.
There has been no official word yet on Tristen Newton, who is reportedly accepting his own two-way qualifying offer to return to the team and fill the final two-way opening. The 24-year-old shooting guard appeared in eight total games last season with Indiana and Minnesota.
Jaime Echenique Signs With Reggio Emilia
Jaime Echenique is joining Reggio Emilia in Italy, reports Dario Skerletic for Sportando. The deal is expected to be for one season.
Echenique, a 6’11” center out of Barranquilla, Colombia, played one game for the Wizards during the 2021/22 season. This appearance made him the first and, to this point, only Colombian-born player to play in the NBA. The following season, he played 13 games for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League, averaging 13.3 points and 7.4 rebounds in 21.2 minutes per night.
He has spent the last two seasons overseas, playing first for Promitheas in the Greek League, and last season with Petkim Spor in the Turkish league, where he averaged 10.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per night as a part-time starter.
Discussing the new addition to his team, coach Dimitris Priftis expressed high praise and lofty expectations.
“We are completing our foreign player lineup with an important player. Echenique has great skills around the rim and is very experienced, having played in multiple European leagues,” Priftis said. “I believe he can help us develop the style of play we envision and achieve the goals we have set.”
Jazz’s Will Hardy Discusses Ace Bailey
Ace Bailey emerged as one of the more polarizing players during the 2025 pre-draft process due to his camp’s decision not to have him work out for interested teams. After a shortened Summer League, Jazz head coach Will Hardy opened up on his impressions of Bailey and what he’ll be looking for this season from one of the highest-upside players in this year’s draft class.
“For Ace, first and foremost, it’s going to be about building a routine. The NBA is a lot,” Hardy said, as reported by Andy Larson of the Salt Lake Tribune. “The number of appearances is far more than he used to. That’s practice, shootaround, games, but it’s going to be about sort of him finding his routine, because I think the routine saves you during the season, you don’t have to think that much.”
Larson notes that the young players who make up a majority of Utah’s roster have been practicing in Salt Lake City for large portions of the summer, and Hardy expects them to continue to do so for the next two weeks. After a brief Labor Day break, they will join more of the team, undergoing four workout sessions per week throughout September.
Hardy didn’t get a chance to see the No. 5 overall pick as much as he’d have liked in July – Bailey was limited to two appearances at the Salt Lake City Summer League and didn’t play in Las Vegas – but the Jazz coach shared some thoughts on the on-court skill set he thinks the rookie can develop.
“I think Ace showed he was really active in Summer League. He’s a good cutter. He can play in off-ball screens,” Hardy said. “And then defensively, while his body is continuing to get stronger, it’s going to be about using his length, because I think that is a real strength of his right now. I think that’s how he can survive on the defensive end right now.”
In addition to his scoring potential, Bailey showcased a good motor as a rebounder during Summer League, which will likely help him carve out a role as he learns the intricacies of NBA defenses.
Dereck Lively II Expected To Be Ready For Camp
Dereck Lively II is expected to be ready for the Mavericks‘ training camp following offseason foot surgery, writes Grant Afseth for Dallas Hoops Journal.
Lively underwent a procedure to clean up bone spurs in his right foot in July and was initially in a walking boot. This followed a diagnosis of a stress fracture in the same foot in January. Previous reports indicate that the handling of Lively’s foot injury had led to a confrontation between the team’s director of health and performance, Johann Bilsborough, and the athletic performance director, Keith Belton (Belton has since been let go).
Lively’s foot issue limited him to 36 games last season, during which time he averaged 8.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.6 blocks in 23.1 minutes per night.
On Saturday, the Mavs posted a video of Lively working out in Philadelphia, where he has been training with head video coordinator Riley Crean (Twitter video link).
In addition to his rehabilitation, Lively has spent a large part of the offseason in communication with new Maverick Cooper Flagg, giving him advice and helping him get acclimated to the NBA world.
Bryn Forbes Signs With Aris BC
Bryn Forbes will join Aris BC in the Greek league, per the team at Eurohoops.net.
Forbes signed a one-year deal with the team. This will be the 32-year-old sharpshooter’s first time playing in Europe.
Forbes played seven seasons in the NBA, primarily with the Spurs. The 6’2″ guard averaged 8.8 points, 1.2 assists, and 41% from three for his career. His last NBA action came during 2022/23 for the Wolves, a season that was cut short for Forbes following an arrest on domestic violence charges.
He played last season for Santeros de Aguada in Puerto Rico, where he averaged 21.0 points and 3.5 assists in 11 games. He will team up in Greece with Alex Antetokounmpo, brother of former teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo, who also recently joined Aris.
NBA, NBPA Support Limitations On Certain Betting
The NBA has seen a rise in gambling-related concerns since sports betting became widely legalized in 2018. The most famous case was when Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA and pleaded guilty to a federal felony charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, but recent investigations into Malik Beasley as well as Terry Rozier have once again brought the issue to the forefront of public consciousness.
It’s a matter that both the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are aware of and are searching for answers to, according to ESPN’s David Purdum, who writes that both the league and the players’ union have come out in support of limitations on specific types of bets that are most likely to be vulnerable to manipulation by players and gamblers.
In the wake of the Porter case, the NBA asked its betting partners not to allow prop bets for players on two-way contracts. There is now an expectation that more restrictions will follow, especially given widespread sentiment among players that the league’s gambling partnerships are problematic.
There are other reasons for the desired changes. Purdum writes that the players’ union is less concerned with Porter’s case representing a nascent trend and more concerned about the abuse bettors direct towards players regarding failed prop bets.
“[Players] are concerned that prop bets have become an increasingly alarming source of player harassment, both online and in person,” an NBPA spokesperson said. “If tighter regulations can help minimize that abuse, then we support taking a closer look at them.”
One area of specific focus is microbets, which are centered around specific in-game outcomes. New Jersey and Ohio have both introduced bills to ban microbets, and Major League Baseball is currently engaged in discussions about them after two Cleveland Guardians pitchers were placed on leave over suspicious microbet activity.
Community Shootaround: 2025 Rookie Class
The 2025 draft lottery produced some unexpected results, with the Mavericks (No. 1), Spurs (No. 2) and Sixers (No. 3) leapfrogging multiple teams to select Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecombe, respectively.
Flagg is, unsurprisingly, the odds-on favorite (-190 at ESPN BET) to win Rookie of the Year for the 2025/26 season, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com.
But the last two American prospects who were as hyped as Flagg — Zion Williamson and Anthony Davis — didn’t end up winning the award, so it’s not a given that the 18-year-old will claim it next spring, even if it currently seems as though it will “probably be Flagg’s award to lose,” as Pelton puts it.
Which players from the 2025 rookie class are best positioned to challenge Flagg for the award? Pelton groups them into categories, with the “contenders” being Kon Knueppel (No. 4; Hornets), Tre Johnson (No. 6; Wizards) and Ace Bailey (No. 5; Jazz).
As Pelton explains, Johnson, Knueppel and Bailey were selected by three of the NBA’s worst teams from last season should be given plenty of opportunities to earn both shots and minutes. While Knueppel is a distant sixth in betting odds (+2800), Pelton thinks the former Duke guard/forward might be in the best position to have a strong start to his career, followed by Johnson (+750) and Bailey (+1600).
Harper (+1000) and Edgecombe (+1200) are in their own “wild cards” tier. Although they’re undeniably talented, Pelton writes that both guards are joining crowded backcourts on teams that are striving to be competitive, so their playing time might be limited, barring injuries.
Pelton’s final group of rookies — Walter Clayton Jr. (No. 18; Jazz), Nique Clifford (No. 24; Kings), Egor Demin (No. 8; Nets), Jeremiah Fears (No. 7; Pelicans), Ryan Kalkbrenner (No. 34; Hornets) and Derik Queen (No. 13; Pelicans) — are the “long shots” to win the award. Kalkbrenner is the only second-rounder of the bunch and isn’t among the top 28 betting favorites, but Pelton is “intrigued” by his potential as a rookie, noting that the former Creighton center could be a day-one starter in Charlotte.
We want to know what you think. Do you agree with Pelton’s categories of the players best positioned to challenge Flagg for Rookie of the Year? Is there anyone who wasn’t mentioned that you believe could be a dark-horse contender? Head to the comment section to weigh in.