Ben Simmons To Decide On New Team By Next Week?
Ben Simmons, an unrestricted free agent, is “probably” going to sign with a new team by next week, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on Threads (hat tip to Brian Robb of MassLive).
Windhorst mentioned the Kings, Suns, Knicks and Celtics as teams that have been linked to Simmons, confirming previous reporting from Jake Fischer and Marc Stein.
Simmons is a three-time All-Star who has made a pair of All-Defensive first teams and was the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up in 2021, but he has battled back issues in recent years and has been a tricky fit in lineups that feature any other non-shooters. In 51 total appearances for the Nets and Clippers last season, he averaged 5.0 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per game.
In a subscriber-0nly story for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Keith Pompey takes a look at how Simmons’ career has been derailed, with back injuries the primary culprit. While he’s no longer the player he once was, the 29-year-old remains a talented and versatile defender, according to Pompey, who writes that Simmons is still worthy of an NBA roster spot.
Simmons seems likely to receive a minimum-salary contract from whichever team he picks, considering the former No. 1 overall pick has become a “situational role player,” as Pompey puts it.
International Notes: J. Robinson, Winston, Ramsey, More
Former NBA point guard Justin Robinson has signed a two-year contract with Paris Basketball, according to a press release from the French team (hat tip to Eurohoops).
Robinson bounced around during his three NBA seasons, appearing in 43 games for Washington, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, Sacramento and Detroit from 2019-22. He holds modest career averages of 2.6 points and 1.1 assists in 10.3 minutes per contest.
The 27-year-old has spent time in Australia and Spain since his last NBA job. During the 2024/25 season, he played in Italy’s top basketball league (Lega Basket Serie A) with Trapani Shark, averaging 14.4 PPG, 6.0 APG, 3.0 and 1.1 SPG in 29 games (25.9 MPG).
Paris Basketball competes in both the LNB Élite (France’s top league) and the EuroLeague. Robinson will be replacing T.J. Shorts, who was named MVP of the LNB Élite each of the past two seasons.
Here are a few more overseas items of interest:
- Former Michigan State star Cassius Winston has signed a one-year contract with Hapoel Jerusalem, the Israeli team announced. The 53rd pick of the 2020 draft, Winston spent two years on two-way contracts with the Wizards after going pro. He has spent the past three seasons playing in Germany, Turkey and Italy, respectively.
- Another ex-NBA guard, Jahmi’us Ramsey, is nearing a contract agreement with Italian club Pallacanestro Trieste, according to Superbasket (hat tip to Sportando). Ramsey, 24, was selected 10 picks before Winston (No. 43 overall) in 2020. He holds three years of NBA experience, having played in Sacramento and Toronto. Ramsey spent last season in the NBA G League with the Oklahoma City Blue, averaging 20.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.3 APG and 1.3 SPG on .496/.363/.685 shooting in 34 appearances (28.6 MPG).
- The decision on where to host the 2026 EuroLeague Final Four has been postponed a second time after league shareholders were unable to reach a consensus agreement, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. The Final Four will either be held in Athens, Greece, or Belgrade, Serbia, according to Urbonas, who says another vote could occur in September.
Ron Harper Jr. Released By Pistons
Forward Ron Harper Jr., who was on a two-way contract, has been released by the Pistons, according to the official transaction log at NBA.com (hat tip to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype).
Harper, who went undrafted out of Rutgers in 2022, spent his first year-and-a-half in the NBA on two-way contracts with the Raptors. Toronto released him in December 2023, and he was a free agent until he signed a training camp deal with Boston last summer.
The 25-year-old didn’t make the Celtics’ standard roster for 2024/25, having been waived last October. He caught on with the Pistons in early January, but only appeared in one NBA game with Detroit.
A 6’6″ wing, Harper spent the majority of last season in the NBA G League, averaging 16.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.2 APG and 0.9 SPG in 37 total appearances with the Motor City Cruise and Maine Celtics (29.6 MPG). He shot 38.6% from three-point range on high volume (8.2 attempts per game).
The Pistons have a two-way qualifying offer on the table for Daniss Jenkins and are reportedly signing Colby Jones on a two-way deal as well. If Jenkins returns on a two-way contract, all three of their spots will be filled.
Harper only has three years of NBA experience, so he remains eligible for a two-way deal with another team. Harper is the son of former NBA veteran Ron Harper and the older brother of Dylan Harper, who was selected No. 2 overall by the Spurs in last month’s draft.
Spurs Sign Lindy Waters On One-Year Deal
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.
Lakers Add Christian Koloko, Chris Manon On Two-Way Deals
July 24: Manon is officially a Laker now as well, according to the team (Twitter link via Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group).
July 23: Koloko has officially been signed to a two-way contract, Dan Woike of The Athletic tweets.
July 21: The Lakers are filling two of their three two-way slots by signing Christian Koloko and Chris Manon, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
L.A. made Koloko a restricted free agent in June when the team gave him a qualifying offer. There was an expectation he’d return to the Lakers, but he drew outside interest as well, tweets Charania.
The 7’1″ center from Cameroon showed promise as a rookie with Toronto in 2022/23 after being selected No. 33 overall in the 2022 draft, but his career was sidetracked by a blood clot issue which sidelined him for the entire 2023/24 season. He was medically cleared to continue playing last fall and wound up with the Lakers on a two-way contract.
Koloko made 37 appearances with the Lakers last season, averaging 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per contest. He also played in 12 G League games with the Lakers’ affiliate (South Bay), averaging 14.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG and 3.3 BPG in 29.6 MPG.
The 25-year-old also made five Summer League appearances in Las Vegas, averaging 7.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.2 SPG and 2.6 BPG in 17.5 MPG.
Manon, a 6’5″ guard/forward, went undrafted out of Vanderbilt last month. He played for the Warriors in both the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer Leagues, Charania notes.
Manon thrived at creating turnovers in his four-year college career, the first three of which he spent with Cornell. He posted career averages of 9.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.1 APG and 2.0 SPG on .535/.304/.728 shooting in just 19.6 MPG.
The 23-year-old wing made seven total Summer League appearances for Golden State (17.1 MPG), per RealGM, averaging 9.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.6 SPG and 1.4 BPG, with a shooting line of .442/.286/.676.
All three of the Lakers’ two-way spots will be filled once the deals for Koloko and Manon are official, with center Trey Jemison currently the third player on a two-way contract.
The Lakers reportedly agreed to a two-way deal with former Villanova forward Eric Dixon shortly after he went undrafted in June. It’s unclear what will happen with Dixon now that all three spots are occupied, but it’s worth noting that two-way contracts are non-guaranteed and don’t count against the salary cap, so further changes are certainly possible.
Assuming L.A. eventually carries a full 15-man standard roster (the team may open the season with 14), both Koloko and Manon can be active for up to 50 games next season. Each player will earn $636,435 in ’25/26.
Pelicans Waive Lester Quinones
The Pelicans have waived Lester Quinones, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. The move is official, according to NBA.com’s log of transactions.
Quinones had been on a two-way contract with New Orleans. The team now has one two-way vacancy, with Trey Alexander and Hunter Dickinson holding the other two spots.
After going undrafted out of Memphis in 2022, Quinones spent most his first two seasons as a member of the Warriors organization. Last fall, he signed a two-way deal with Philadelphia, which released him in December.
The 24-year-old shooting guard caught on with the Pelicans in early March, appearing in nine games down the stretch of the 2024/25 season. In those nine contests, he averaged 8.6 points, 2.6 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 18.4 minutes. His shooting line was .386/.317/.833.
While Quinones has yet to carve out a major NBA role to this point in his career, he has put up some big counting stats in the G League. In 41 combined games (36.0 MPG) with the Birmingham Squadron and Delaware Blue Coats last season, he averaged 21.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.9 APG and 1.4 SPG, though he struggled a bit with efficiency (.431/.331/.713 shooting splits) and turnovers (3.7 per contest).
Quinones was signed by New Orleans’ previous front office regime, so the new executives in charge may not have been as high on him. Assuming he goes unclaimed, the 6’4″ guard will become a free agent on Saturday.
Celtics Release JD Davison
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 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
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
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.