Blazers Notes: Williams, Roster, Billups, Clingan, Ayton, Camara

After undergoing knee surgery last fall that ended his season early and limited him to just six appearances in 2023/24, Trail Blazers center Robert Williams has been taking part in five-on-five scrimmages in recent weeks and expects to be ready for the start of the season, writes Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. While Williams may be held out of some activities during training camp and the preseason, he’s excited about nearing the end of a long recovery process.

“I’m in a great space right now,” Williams said on Monday. “Trying to stay on top of everything physically and mentally. It’s been a long seven months. A long fight back. But I’m just ready to get back on the court, man. You saw me smiling when I came in here. At one point, I couldn’t even walk, you feel what I’m saying? So I’m just ready to get back out there and show what I can do.”

Williams has been slowed by injuries over the course of his NBA career, having played more than 35 regular season games just twice in six years. However, he has made a significant on-court impact when healthy, earning a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team in Boston in 2022. The big man, who will turn 27 this month, expressed confidence in his chances of returning to that level.

“I feel like I’m there,” he told reporters, per Highkin. “I’ve been playing five-on-five a lot over the past month. But it’s been a nonstop grind since I hurt myself last year. Starting then, from the rehab process to getting back out on the court, everything I went through, it’s been a long grind. I feel like I’m ready.”

Here’s more on the Trail Blazers:

  • After finishing last season with a 21-61 record, the Trail Blazers know they’re unlikely to take a major step toward contention until young cornerstones like Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Donovan Clingan are ready to contribute at a high level. “Until those guys take steps and start playing winning basketball, we’re not going to win at the level we need to,” general manager Joe Cronin said, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “So, part of it’s up to them. When will you guys be ready? When will you take these next steps, and when can you really impact the game instead of just showing flashes or have a good five-game run.”
  • According to Highkin, Cronin likes the fact that the roster has some continuity heading into the 2024/25 season — the GM acknowledged that the team was somewhat “disjointed” after the front office made a pair of major trades just ahead of training camp last fall. The next step, per Cronin, will be to get a better sense of which players on the current roster are long-term keepers. “One thing we’re really hoping to find this year, throughout this season, and definitely by the end of it, is more clarity,” he said, per Fentress. “Last year, I don’t know how much clarity we walked away with. We saw flashes and capabilities, but we didn’t see sustained production or sustained cohesion. And I think this year, we need to build on that. We need to have a better feel and understanding of what we are, what moves we need to make, what additions we need to have, what’s going really well. We need just more focus on what our long-term outlook is going to look like.”
  • Head coach Chauncey Billups is entering the final guaranteed year of his current contract (the Blazers hold an option for 2025/26), but he’s not concerned about his “lame duck” status, he said on Monday. “You can be in the first year of your deal, you can be in the last year of your deal. It’s all the same,” Billups said, per Highkin. “You’ve got to go do a good job. And if not, we see it all the time. Coaches get fired and don’t even get to finish their first year. I don’t think about that, I don’t worry about that. What I’m most proud of is, I’m light-years ahead of where I was when I took this microphone three years ago.”
  • While Portland’s center logjam has been a popular topic of discussion leading up to training camp, there’s no tension between 2024 lottery pick Clingan and former No. 1 overall selection Deandre Ayton, who have been developing a bond ahead of their first season together, Highkin writes. “D.A. is awesome,” Clingan said. “He’s got a lot of energy. He knows the game very well. A lot of skill. To have someone to look up to like that is special. It means a lot to me.”
  • Second-year Blazers forward Toumani Camara said on Monday that he has fully recovered from the rib and kidney injuries that brought his rookie year to a premature end (Twitter link via Highkin). Camara fractured his left rib and sustained a small laceration in his kidney in March.

NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Utah Jazz

Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 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 Utah Jazz.

This is the final installment of our Offseason Check-In series. All 30 articles can be found here.


Free agent signings

  • Svi Mykhailiuk: Four years, $15,050,000. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Signed using cap room.
  • Johnny Juzang: Four years, $11,425,252. Second, third, and fourth years non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
  • Drew Eubanks: Two years, $9,750,000. Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using cap room.
  • Patty Mills: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Max Abmas: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Taevion Kinsey: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Isaiah Wong: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Keshawn Justice: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
    • Note: Justice was subsequently waived.
  • Dane Goodwin: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
    • Note: Goodwin was subsequently waived.
  • Babacar Sane: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
    • Note: Sane was subsequently waived.

Trades

  • Acquired Russell Westbrook, the right to swap their own 2030 second-round pick for the Clippers’ 2030 second-round pick, the draft rights to Balsa Koprivica, and cash ($4.3MM) from the Clippers in exchange for Kris Dunn (sign-and-trade).
    • Note: Westbrook was subsequently bought out.

Draft picks

  • 1-10: Cody Williams
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $24,897,090).
  • 1-29: Isaiah Collier
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $12,903,788).
  • 2-32: Kyle Filipowski
    • Signed to four-year, $12,000,000 contract. First two years guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.

Two-way signings

Departed/unsigned free agents

Other moves

Salary cap situation

  • Went below the cap to use room.
  • Now operating over the cap ($140.6MM) and below the luxury tax line ($170.8MM).
  • Carrying approximately $144.8MM in salary.
  • No hard cap.
  • Full room exception ($8MM) available.

The offseason so far

Two days after the Jazz’s season ended in April, CEO Danny Ainge vowed that the team was prepared to go “big-game hunting” this offseason after finishing below .500 in back-to-back years.

It was an assertion that was met with some skepticism. After all, despite Utah’s consecutive seasons in the lottery, the team hadn’t drafted higher than ninth overall since its rebuild began, and while the front office was able to add some promising young prospects in the 2023 and 2024 drafts, none of them looks like the sort of franchise centerpiece the Jazz can build around for years to come.

It wasn’t a huge surprise then when reports indicated in July that the Jazz’s offseason efforts to acquire an impact player – such as Mikal Bridges – on the trade market had come up short. Giving up five first-round picks for Bridges was a logical next step for the Knicks, who were within a single win of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in the spring and presumably considered themselves just a piece or two away from becoming true championship contenders.

Surrendering that sort of package for a player without an All-Star berth on his résumé would have made less sense for the Jazz, who would have been a playoff contender with Bridges on their roster but still wouldn’t have had enough talent to hang with the Western Conference’s very best teams.

It’s also hard to imagine Ainge – whose trades selling off the likes of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Rudy Gobert are among the defining moves of his executive career – finding himself on the other end of that sort of deal, which would’ve put a major dent in the Jazz’s stash of future draft assets without making them an elite team.

The biggest decision of Utah’s offseason ultimately wasn’t whether or not to meet the substantial asking price for a trade target like Bridges — it was whether or not to turn star forward Lauri Markkanen into one of those trade chips himself.

Markkanen’s situation this summer was an unusual and complex one. He was in the final year of a contract that was so far below his market value that any over-the-cap team acquiring him would’ve been unable to extend him prior to free agency, since they wouldn’t have been able to offer him more than a 40% raise on his expiring $18MM salary.

The only way to circumvent that restriction was to renegotiate (ie. increase) Markkanen’s 2024/25 salary, then to extend him off that new number. But cap room is required for a renegotiation, and the Jazz were one of the only teams with significant cap room available this summer. Renegotiating and extending Markkanen would have made him a more attractive trade chip for Utah, but it also would have made him ineligible to be dealt for six months.

Markkanen became renegotiation-eligible on August 6. He and the Jazz finalized a renegotiation and extension on August 7, ensuring that he won’t become eligible to be traded until February 7, one day after this season’s deadline.

Utah’s willingness to wait that extra day and still give Markkanen as much money as they possibly could on a long-term, maximum-salary contract signaled the team was comfortable with the idea of keeping the 2023 All-Star on its roster for at least the 2024/25 season. And the comments made publicly by both sides – at the time of the deal and since then – suggest they’re committed to continuing their relationship well beyond that, so we shouldn’t necessarily expect Markkanen to hit the trade block during the 2025 offseason.

The Jazz’s decision not to trade Markkanen is an understandable one. They’ve already been rebuilding for two years — moving Markkanen would’ve extended the process by at least a couple more seasons. And without the inability to extend him before trading him, they would’ve had to move him on an expiring contract, limiting their ability to maximize the return.

Still, a Markkanen trade would’ve clearly defined the Jazz’s direction, essentially guaranteeing that they’d retain the top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick they owe the Thunder and making them one of the leaders in the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. With Markkanen on the roster, it’s possible the club will end up in the range of 30-40 wins for a third straight season, not quite good enough to earn a play-in spot and not quite bad enough to have a great shot at a franchise-changing player in the draft lottery.

The Markkanen extension was the most impactful move of a Jazz offseason that didn’t see them commit more than one guaranteed season to any other veteran signee. Svi Mykhailiuk, Johnny Juzang, Drew Eubanks, and Patty Mills all inked free agent contracts with the club, but none of them will earn more than $5MM in 2024/25 and all four could be off Utah’s books by ’25/26 if they don’t impress this season.

The most noteworthy offseason roster additions came in the draft, which saw the Jazz select three players in the top 32: Cody Williams at No. 10, Isaiah Collier at No. 29, and Kyle Filipowski at No. 32.

Williams holds real intrigue as a three-and-D wing if he can increase his shot volume without his percentage dropping off, while the Collier and Filipowski picks saw Utah roll the dice on a pair of prospects who dropped further than initially projected. At one point, both Collier and Filipowski were considered potential lottery selections.

Given that the Jazz’s front office will likely want to hang onto their top-10 protected first-round pick for 2025, I expect we’ll see this year’s crop of rookies and the 2023 first-rounders – Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, and Brice Sensabaugh – get plenty of run this season.


Up next

The Jazz are carrying 15 players on guaranteed contracts and none of them seem likely to be waived before the season begins, so the opening night roster decisions look pretty straightforward.

It’s always possible Utah will swap out one of its two-way players for someone new, but those three roster spots are occupied for now too.

Meanwhile, just two Jazz players are extension-eligible before the regular season begins: John Collins and Collin Sexton. I wouldn’t count on either veteran getting a new deal with two years left on his current contract, but Sexton is the better candidate of the two — I could envision a scenario in which he remains in Utah beyond his existing deal, whereas that’s harder to imagine for Collins.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Russell, Davis, Wood, Redick

LeBron James is feeling optimistic about the Lakers while entering his record-tying 22nd year in the NBA, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes.

I feel damn good,” James said Monday. “I had a great summer. … I feel really good physically. Mentally, I feel really good. Really sharp. Very fresh. Looking forward to getting to work tomorrow. I have not thought about what the future holds. Kind of just living in the moment. Especially with Bronny (James) being here, too. I don’t want to take this moment for granted.

James expressed gratitude for the chance to play for Team USA this summer and enjoyed the fact that several games went down to the wire, which he likened to playoff Game Sevens. Even though it’s unclear for exactly how much longer James will play, he showed no signs on Monday of wanting to slow down.

It felt great to play meaningful basketball,” James said. “To go out there at my age, the miles that I have, and to be able to play at the level I played at, it gave me even more of a sense of, ‘OK, I do have a lot in the tank. A lot.’ And I can help a big part of a team win the ultimate and whatever — if it’s gold, or if it’s a Larry O’Brien Trophy, or whatever the case may be, I can still get it done.

We have more from the Lakers:

  • D’Angelo Russell had an up-and-down season in 2023/24. His scoring average was his best in a Lakers uniform and he made a career-high 41.5% of his three-point attempts (7.2 per game). However, his averages and efficiency plummeted in the playoffs and McMenamin writes that he butted heads with former head coach Darvin Ham at times. Russell addressed his season on Monday. “I think for me, honestly, I really want to apologize in the sense of showing a lack of professionalism at times,” Russell said. “Showing a lack of team-first perception at times. So for me, just keeping that maturity and that professionalism throughout the year no matter the ups and downs. Holding myself more accountable on the defensive end.
  • Head coach J.J. Redick is encouraging Anthony Davis to shoot more threes this season, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register writes. Davis averaged a career-high 3.5 attempts per game in his first season with the Lakers in 2019/20, but that average has declined in each subsequent season. “Even [in] the Olympics when I [made] a three, he’ll text me ‘That’s what I wanna see,’ things like that,” Davis said. “So for him, it’s definitely gonna be just shooting more threes.
  • Lakers center Christian Wood, who is recovering from knee surgery, thinks he has about two weeks left of rehab from injury and then two weeks of ramp-up before being able to play, McMenamin reports (Twitter link). Wood played in 50 games last season for L.A., averaging 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds.
  • The Lakers almost traded with New Orleans for Redick early on in LeBron’s L.A. tenure, McMenamin writes in a separate story. James has long admired Redick, who later became his podcast co-host. When the Lakers job opened up, James and Redick got on the same page quickly before the latter was hired. “I wanted the Lakers, as a player and as a fan of the franchise, to be able to hire the coach that should be there,” James said. “Not only as I’m finishing my career, but long after I’m gone because there’s been so many guys in that seat over the last few years. And to be able to find someone that could be stable in that position is very key for any franchise. And for me to be a part of a legacy franchise, I feel like that was important.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Valanciunas, Hawks, Heat Camp

The Wizards are content to continue developing their young talent and laying the groundwork for a successful future, Varun Shankar of The Washington Post writes.

It’s process over outcomes,” head coach Brian Keefe said on Monday. “I’m a competitor. I want to win, but I want to go into the stuff that gets us to win. … How we prepare, how we handle practices, how we handle shootarounds, how we handle film sessions. Those are the things that’s going to build us to be a sustainable winner.

Washington had a busy offseason, adding veterans like Jonas Valanciunas, Malcolm Brogdon and Saddiq Bey while drafting Alex Sarr, Carlton Carrington and Kyshawn George.

Although the Wizards are expected to be toward the bottom of the league’s hierarchy again, Keefe helped turn the team around midway through the year. They went just 8-31 under him, but they went from being dead last in the league in clutch games played to first during that stretch.

“We’re not giving up, okay? We’re going to lose some games … but we’re not going to lose games [where we] give up end of the third, halftime. [We’re going to] fight till the end, no matter what, up or down,” Valanciunas said.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • Wizards veterans are happy that Valanciunas made the decision to join the team in free agency, Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network writes in a subscriber-only story. The 32-year-old Valanciunas has been in the league since he was 20 and holds career averages of 13.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
  • The Hawks announced a series of front office promotions and hires in a press release, including Daniel Starkman being elevated to vice president of player personnel. In addition, Jay Rodriguez was hired as pro personnel coordinator, Miles Simon and Bubba Burrage were hired as pro scouts and Nick Restifo as director of basketball research. Ben Peterson, Ryan Donahue, Ryan Brooks, Paddy Hogben and John Dusel were among the other additions/promotions. Starkman previously served as the general manager of the team’s G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.
  • Atlanta added some size on the wings while getting a bit younger, Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes in a piece recapping the team’s media day. No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels figure to factor into the rotation while the Hawks also added Larry Nance Jr. Meanwhile, Onyeka Okongwu, Kobe Bufkin, Mouhamed Gueye and Seth Lundy all received positive injury updates. Lastly, Williams writes the Hawks are still considering whether Cody Zeller will make the roster.
  • The Heat have a roster full of players out to prove doubters wrong, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel writes.No matter what it is, we’re going to find a way to make us have a chip on our shoulder,Jaime Jaquez said. “I think even going in, I think it’s seven national TV games for the Miami Heat. That’s what the NBA thinks of us. And that’s OK, because i guarantee that they’re going to still be talking about us when the season goes on and we play our season.

Suns Sign, Waive David Stockton

SEPTEMBER 30: The Suns have waived Stockton, according to NBA.com’s official transaction log. His next stop is expected to be with the Valley Suns later this fall.


SEPTEMBER 28: David Stockton has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Suns, a league source tells Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

Phoenix’s new G League team acquired the 33-year-old point guard’s returning player rights in a trade on Friday, so the Valley Suns will likely be his next stop. If he spends at least 60 days with the G League club, he’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K.

Stockton has played extensively in the G League since his college career with Gonzaga ended in 2014. His NBA experience consists of three games with Sacramento during the 2014/15 season and three games with Utah in 2017/18. He has also played in Croatia, New Zealand, Germany and Puerto Rico.

Stockton’s last NBA opportunity came two years ago when he signed an offseason contract with Indiana.

The Suns had 20 players on their offseason roster, so no corresponding move was necessary to make room for Stockton.

Timberwolves Notes: Edwards, CBA, Towns, Minott

The Timberwolves shook things up in a massive way just before training camp by trading away fan favorite and four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns. Anthony Edwards has evolved into one of the league’s premier players since his league debut in 2020, and the trade signals the organization’s faith in him. Still, Edwards was surprised by the trade of one of his close friends, as detailed in a story by ESPN’s Myron Medcalf.

I think everybody knows [Towns] is my brother,” Edwards said Monday. “So that definitely hurts, but you know, it’s a business, so I just have to roll with it.

Top Wolves decision-makers couldn’t speak on the yet-to-be-finalized blockbuster, but expressed optimism in Edwards’ ability to continue bringing the franchise to glory. The Timberwolves finished with their second-best record in team history last season.

We continue to challenge [Edwards] because we think he can be one of the best players ever and we don’t say that lightly,” team president Tim Connelly said. “And with that expectation comes tremendous responsibility.

Edwards said he thinks Connelly is right.

We have more from the Timberwolves:

  • While Connelly couldn’t speak specifically on the Towns trade, he was candid about the significant impact of the CBA’s second tax apron, Medcalf writes. Both Towns’ $220MM+ deal and Edwards’ $244MM+ contract started this season. “I mean the new rules are … some of the consequences are unintended, quite frankly,” Connelly said. “I don’t know if anyone intended to make it this challenging to make moves, to make trades when you’re above certain aprons. But you gotta be smart, you gotta be lucky, you gotta hit on some of your draft picks and then I think you have to, as much as possible, build teams that can stay together for multiple years.
  • By trading Towns, the Wolves are also betting that Naz Reid will continue to evolve after winning Sixth Man of the Year this past season, Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes. Reid became the longest-tenured Wolves player once the move is official. Hine also lists other ways the move will impact Minnesota, taking a dive into how the team’s starters, flexibility, and depth will all be impacted.
  • Wolves head coach Chris Finch gave third-year forward Josh Minott high praise on Monday, according to Jace Frederick of Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Finch said Minott has been one of the best players in the building for the Timberwolves over the past six weeks and that he’s had an incredible summer. Minott hasn’t played much since entering the league in 2022, averaging just 4.0 minutes and making 47 appearances. However, he averaged 19.5 PPG and 6.7 RPG last season in the G League. Finch’s praise of Minott is significant because after acquiring three players in exchange for Towns, the Timberwolves will have 15 players on guaranteed salaries, with PJ Dozier on a partial guarantee. Minott could have been on the roster bubble for the Wolves, but Finch’s seal of approval suggests his spot isn’t in any immediate danger.

Pelicans, Jose Alvarado Complete Two-Year Extension

SEPTEMBER 30: The Pelicans have issued a press release officially announcing Alvarado’s extension.


SEPTEMBER 28: The Pelicans and guard Jose Alvarado have agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $9MM, agent Ron Shade tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Alvarado is earning $1,988,598 in 2024/25 in the final year of his current minimum-salary contract. That salary, which had been non-guaranteed, will become fully guaranteed as part of the agreement, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The new extension will begin next July and will include a player option for the ’26/27 season, according to Charania.

Alvarado, 26, has spent the past three seasons in New Orleans after going undrafted out of Georgia Tech in 2021. He emerged as a regular contributor for the Pelicans as a rookie free agent in 2021/22, earning a promotion from his two-way contract to the standard roster near the end of that season, and has maintained his place in the team’s rotation since then.

In 2023/24, Alvarado averaged 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals in 18.4 minutes per game across 56 appearances off the bench. Nicknamed “Grand Theft Alvarado” for his habit of making highlight-reel steals, the Pelicans guard posted a shooting line of .412/.377/.673 and finished sixth in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season.

The maximum extension that Alvarado could have signed would’ve been similar to the one Andrew Nembhard received from Indiana, worth over $18MM in 2025/26. While that would’ve been an overpay, the Pelicans did very well to lock up the reserve guard for an additional season at just $4.5MM, a bargain for any effective rotation player. If he continues to produce in New Orleans, Alvarado could opt out in 2026 and seek a more lucrative deal at that time.

The Pelicans now have seven players on guaranteed contracts for the 2025/26 season, with Jordan Hawkins likely to join that group in the next few weeks when the team exercises his rookie scale team option. Brandon Ingram (unrestricted) and Trey Murphy (restricted) will be among New Orleans’ 2025 free agents if they don’t sign extensions of their own.

Central Notes: Mitchell, Allen, Thompson, Bitim

For the first time in his Cavaliers tenure, Donovan Mitchell didn’t have to sidestep any questions about his future on Monday after signing a three-year, $150.3MM extension this offseason, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes.

From the minute I got here I told my mom, I think I was just like, ‘Yo, I really like it here,’” Mitchell said Monday. “For me it was just a no-brainer. I’ve known for a little bit that this was my decision. It’s finally good to have a media day where we’re not talking about where I’m going next. You can lay your roots somewhere that you actually want to be. I think that’s special.

According to Fedor, Mitchell considered other options but had decided on re-upping with Cleveland by early 2024 before putting pen to paper this summer.

It was kind of funny watching everybody say that this is how I’m feeling, but I knew,” Mitchell said. “I don’t want to call it a looming cloud. Every loss is like, ‘What’s going to happen next?’ It’s refreshing. I’m glad that we’re here and I’m excited to be here. You know where you’re going to be, where your feet are. It’s just a calming vibe. I can come in here now and breathe. It’s way more peaceful. I know where home is. I’m happy here.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen received criticism during his postseason rib injury, including from former teammate Marcus Morris, Fedor writes in a separate story. Allen took a sharp hit in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs but brushed it off, underestimating the severity of the injury. The one-time All-Star continually appeared on the injury report with a questionable designation, but it wasn’t until after the season that it was revealed that the rib was actually broken. Despite his toughness being called into question, Allen brushed off all criticism, including that of Morris’s, stating that one can never understand how tough a rib injury is until they themselves go through it.
  • Allen, who signed a three-year, $91MM extension with the Cavaliers this offseason, spoke on Monday about why he decided to accept a new contract from the team with two years left on his existing deal, as Fedor writes. “I like it here,” Allen said. “I like the city. I like the people here. It’s easy to say in front of everybody just to hype everybody up, but I truly do genuinely like it here and I believe in it here. I’ve put in three years, three and a half years to try to see this team succeed and genuinely happy that they’ve put their trust in me for another whatever years.
  • Pistons second-year forward Ausar Thompson is being held out of contract drills to start training camp, according to Larry Lage of The Associated Press. Thompson dealt with a season-ending blood clot in the spring and president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said the 21-year-old is working through a medical process with the NBA and the players’ union. Thompson has been cleared for non-contact drills, conditioning, and strength training.
  • Bulls guard Onuralp Bitim underwent two surgeries to fix a detached retina in his right eye that he suffered in the team’s second-to-last game of the season, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets. As part of his recovery, Bitim said he had to sit on his stomach for 15 hours a day for multiple days. Now healthy, Bitim is battling Talen Horton-Tucker, Kenneth Lofton, Marcus Domask, E.J. Liddell and the two-way players for a spot on Chicago’s 15-man roster.

Heat Notes: Butler, Spoelstra, Herro, Richardson

After the Heat fell in the first round of the 2024 playoffs to the Celtics, team president Pat Riley drew attention when he challenged star Jimmy Butler to miss fewer games and keep his mouth “shut” instead of trash-talking Boston. Riley was noncommittal about the idea a Butler extension and all eyes turned to the Heat’s six-time All-Star for a response.

That response came during Monday’s media day and Butler’s comments were nothing but professional and team-oriented, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.

“I always want to hoop, always want to compete with my guys,” Butler said. “I hear him. I see what he’s talking about. I’m going to play as many games as I can.”

As Jackson writes, Butler entered the offseason seeking a contract extension that would have given him a raise on his existing contract and added another year. But with the Heat not wanting to rush to complete that deal, Butler now intends to play out the rest of the season without an extension and turn down his player option next year. Butler confirmed today that he didn’t consider asking for a trade after Miami opted not to extend him.

“No, I’m good,” he said. “An extension is just a couple dollars. I’m cool, I’m telling you. I’ve made enough. I just want to play basketball and want to be available, like Pat was talking about. I plan on being that and plan on us winning a bunch of games and making everybody happy.”

We have more from the Heat:

  • Asked specifically about Riley’s “keep your mouth shut” comment, Butler downplayed it and suggested he didn’t take offense, Jackson writes. “Not too many things bother me nowadays,” Butler said. “I’m happy. I’m healthy. I’ve got a beautiful family. And I get to hoop. Not too much in the media is ever going to get to me.
  • Head coach Erik Spoelstra, who has now spent five seasons with Butler, suggested that the two of them will need to be at their best and work together in order for the team to reach its potential, according to a report from ESPN. “When you get to that many years together, there’s a lot of unspoken understanding,” Spoelstra said. “He’s at a point now where he needs me to really coach this team at a high level. He needs me to coach him at a high level and push him to higher levels. And I need him to be at his highest level as a player and a leader.” Butler expressed similar sentiments, as relayed in Jackson’s story.
  • Tyler Herro spent the offseason bulking up after an injury-riddled year that limited him to 42 games last year, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald details. Herro gained 12 pounds this offseason and is aiming to be more available, which comes after Riley called him “fragile” in his 2023/24 season-ending presser. “Being able to stay healthy, I think that will help being more durable, having a little bigger frame throughout an 82-game season,” Herro said. “Then just taking care of my body recovery wise and truly being professional. I put the work in on the court and in the weight room. Now it’s all about staying healthy and putting that recovery work in, as well.
  • Herro — who has started 107 games over the past two seasons but was named Sixth Man of the Year in ’21/22 — said he’s comfortable in whatever role the coaching staff has envisioned for him. “We’re going to let the best coach in the league decide, we’re going to let one of the best GMs and presidents ever to do this decide if I’m starting or coming off the bench,” Herro said, per Chiang. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win a championship.
  • Josh Richardson is the only player who won’t be a full participant on the first day of training camp, Chiang adds in the same story. Spoelstra said Richardson will eventually participate in camp but he’s still recovering from his season-ending shoulder injury from February.

Grizzlies Notes: Morant, Rose, Jackson, Bane, Spencer, Konchar

Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant is healthy and ready to go this fall after missing 85 of the team’s last 102 regular season games due to a pair of suspensions and a season-ending shoulder injury. While the last season-and-a-half have been pretty forgettable for fans in Memphis, Morant told reporters on Monday that he wants to remember “pretty much everything” he’s experienced during that time.

“Everything I’ve been through, I wanna remember that feeling I felt each time, no matter what situation it was,” he said, per Jason Munz of The Memphis Commerical Appeal. “I feel like it helped me a lot, it helped me grow more into a better Ja. Right now, you know, I’m probably the happiest I feel like I’ve been in a while. You know just having my family, my AAU team and the little things I was doing to keep me going and that makes me happy being able to do it this offseason – catching up with a lot of my family has been good.

“… I feel like a happy Ja is a scary Ja for a lot of people. So, long as I stay happy and healthy, it’ll be a great season.”

Morant wasn’t the only Grizzlies player to be affected by health problems last season. Nearly every one of the team’s rotation players missed time due to various injuries, but Morant and fellow cornerstones Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane are healthy this fall and the star point guard is bullish about the potential of the 2024/25 squad.

“I honestly feel like this is one of the best rosters we’ve had, you know, on paper, depth-wise,” Morant said. “And now being able to see the guys go out and when we’re playing and stuff, it gives me even more confidence. I feel like we’re pretty much loaded at every position. It’s gonna be interesting to see how it all pans out.”

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

  • Derrick Rose‘s retirement wasn’t something the Grizzlies had expected this fall, but they were happy to accommodate him when he asked to be let out of his contract in order to call it a career, head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman said on Monday, according to Munz. “First, congrats to Derrick Rose on his retirement. Really glad that Derrick was with us for a season,” Kleiman said. “We got a call – it was classic Derrick fashion. Completely respect Derrick, the person he is and the decision he decided to make. But, got a call out of left field from his agent last weekend. ‘He’s ready to ride off into the sunset.'”
  • Kleiman made it clear during his media session on Monday that Morant, Jackson, and Bane are the three players the Grizzlies are building around now and going forward, as Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal relays. “I think that’s one of, if not the best three-man cores in the NBA,” Kleiman said. “I firmly believe that. We’ve spent years trying to think about what are the type of players that fit best around them, and I think every year we have trended more and more in that direction.”
  • Already without Vince Williams (leg) and GG Jackson (foot) for training camp, the Grizzlies are also missing two-way player Cam Spencer for now as he deals with an ankle sprain Kleiman described as “moderate,” according to Cole. “A little bit shorter-handed than we’d like to be,” Kleiman said. “… It’s next man up. Down to the two-ways. We feel strongly about each of the three two-ways on the roster. They’re guys who can potentially contribute.”
  • The Grizzlies are carrying just 13 players on standard contracts for now and could wait as late as two weeks into the regular season to add a 14th man if they so choose. Kleiman didn’t offer any real hints on Monday about who might fill that spot, as Cole notes. “I think realistically, you’ll see someone in the 14th spot before we start the regular season,” Kleiman said. “Don’t hold me to that. Not promising it. Over the course of training camp and preseason, we’ll evaluate.”
  • Reserve wing John Konchar said his goal in 2024/25 is to make at least 38% of his three-pointers, tweets Cole. Konchar was a 40.6% three-point shooter in his first three NBA seasons, but knocked down just 33.0% in the past two seasons.