Knicks Considering James Borrego In Head Coaching Search
James Borrego could become a target in the Knicks‘ ongoing search for their next head coach, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, who hears the team has “tossed around” the idea of speaking with the veteran coach.
Borrego, 47, has been an assistant to Willie Green with the Pelicans for the past two seasons. He previously spent four years as the head coach in Charlotte, compiling a 138-163 record and winning 43 games in his final season. Edwards notes that Borrego is a client of CAA, the agency formerly run by team president Leon Rose, and he has built a strong reputation for “offensive creativity and analytics-forward approach.”
Borrego has worked in the league since 2010, spending time as an assistant coach with the Hornets, Magic and Spurs before getting the head coaching opportunity. He also served as interim head coach in Orlando during the 2014/15 season, compiling a 10-20 record in 30 games.
Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown appear to be the current front-runners for the job after interviewing with the Knicks last week, Edwards adds, but he states that the team’s interest in Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd is still worth monitoring. He notes that Kidd hasn’t received an extension in Dallas, in contrast with two other coaches New York requested permission to interview. Ime Udoka agreed to a long-term extension with the Rockets on Thursday, while Billy Donovan is reportedly working on an extension with the Bulls.
Edwards still considers Kidd to be a “long shot” to join the Knicks, even though changes are being made to his coaching staff. Edwards confirms that none of Kidd’s assistants were given extensions after the team reached the NBA Finals last season, and Sean Sweeney is leaving to become the associate head coach in San Antonio. Contracts for assistants Jared Dudley and God Shammgod will expire at the end of the month, and they have both received interest from other teams, sources tell Edwards.
Ben Tenzer To Become Nuggets’ EVP Of Basketball Operations
The Nuggets will name Ben Tenzer executive vice president of basketball operations and add Timberwolves executive Jon Wallace to their front office as executive vice president of player personnel, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). They will both report to vice chairman Josh Kroenke, Charania adds.
Tenzer has been serving as interim general manager since the team made the surprising decision to fire former GM Calvin Booth and head coach Michael Malone in the final week of the regular season. Tenzer joined the organization in 2012 and was promoted to vice president of basketball operations in 2023.
Wallace formerly worked for the Nuggets, joining the team in 2019 as a basketball operations associate and working his way up to scouting coordinator. He left for Minnesota in 2022 to become director of player personnel and general manager of the team’s G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves. Wallace played college basketball at Georgetown and spent three years as an assistant on Patrick Ewing‘s staff with the Hoyas.
The Nuggets’ restructuring of their front office is now complete with the draft looming on Wednesday and Thursday, and free agency set to start next Monday.
Top 50 NBA Free Agents Of 2025
With the 2024/25 NBA season in the books, the offseason has begun, and so has free agency — sort of.
A tweak in the league’s most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement means that teams are permitted to begin negotiating with their own free agents one day after the NBA Finals end rather than having to wait until June 30 to do.
Clubs still aren’t allowed to talk to rival teams’ free agents until June 30, and most contracts can’t be officially signed until July 6, but some free agents will almost certainly reach tentative agreements prior to the typical opening of the free agent period.
Listed below are our top 50 free agents for the 2025/26 NBA season. Our rankings take into account both a player’s short-term and long-term outlook and lean a little more heavily toward market value than present on-court value.
Players who are under contract for next season aren’t listed here, even if their salaries aren’t fully guaranteed and they’re candidates to be waived. However, we’ll continue to update this list up until June 30, so certain players may be added or removed as option decisions are made and other roster moves are finalized.
In addition to the players listed below, there are plenty of other free agents available this summer. You can check out our breakdowns of free agents by position/type and by team for the full picture.
Here are our top 50 free agents of 2025:
1. Kyrie Irving, G, Mavericks (player option)
It’s a reflection of the relative weakness of this year’s free agent class that a 33-year-old who will spend the rest of 2025 recovering from a torn ACL tops our list. But there’s some precedent here that bodes well for Irving’s chances of scoring a big payday — Klay Thompson signed the most lucrative free agent contract of the 2019 NBA offseason (five years, $189.9MM) despite having suffered an ACL tear a few weeks earlier that would sideline him for all of 2019/20. I don’t expect Irving, who is four years older now than Thompson was in 2019, to receive quite that lengthy a commitment from Dallas, but he has a chance to top Klay’s average annual salary. After trading Luka Doncic earlier this year, the Mavericks are pot-committed to Kyrie, the only star ball-handler and play-maker on their roster, who will have some leverage in spite of his injury.
Update: Irving reportedly intends to sign a three-year, $119MM contract with the Mavericks.
2. James Harden, G, Clippers (player option)
While his field goal percentage (41.0%) and three-point percentage (35.2%) were both well below his career averages, Harden enjoyed a bounce-back year of sorts in 2024/25, registering his highest scoring average (22.8 PPG) since 2020/21 and earning a spot on an All-NBA team for the first time since ’19/20. With Kawhi Leonard out for the first half of the season, Harden was the primary offensive engine for a Clippers team that performed better than expected after losing Paul George. The former MVP won’t get a long-term contract as he enters his age-36 season, but I could see him getting multiple guaranteed years with a salary bump, assuming he declines his $36.3MM player option.
Update: Harden reportedly intends to sign a two-year, $81.5MM contract with the Clippers.
3. Myles Turner, C, Pacers
The top option among a solid group of free agent centers, Turner has increased his value this spring by anchoring the Pacers’ defense during their unexpected run to Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The 29-year-old isn’t perfect – notably, he’s a subpar rebounder for his size – but as a big man who can protect the rim on defense and stretch the floor on offense, Turner has a rare, coveted skill set. Brook Lopez, who has a similar game to Turner, is coming off a two-year, $48MM contract that he signed at age 35. Given that he’s six years younger than that, I expect the Pacers center to get at least three or four years and to comfortably clear Lopez’s last deal in terms of per-year salary. Indiana will have competition for him, but reports have suggested the club is willing to enter luxury tax territory for the first time since 2006 to keep their core intact. We’ll see if that’s still the case in the wake of Tyrese Haliburton‘s Achilles injury.
4. Josh Giddey, G, Bulls (RFA)
I don’t know that Giddey is a top-five player among this year’s free agents, but he’s reaching the market at age 22, making him one of the strongest candidates to sign this summer’s biggest free agent contract. He was reportedly seeking $30MM per year when he and the Bulls discussed a rookie scale extension last fall. After a slow start, he finished his contract year strong by averaging 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game on .500/.457/.809 shooting after the All-Star break. One factor potentially working against Giddey is that the Bulls may be wary of bidding against themselves again after committing five years and $90MM to restricted free agent Patrick Williams a year ago.
5. Julius Randle, F, Timberwolves (player option)
Randle wasn’t scoring or shooting as much during his first year as a Timberwolf as he had gotten accustomed to during his years in New York, but after finding his footing in Minnesota, the 30-year-old continued to be an effective scorer, rebounder, and play-maker, putting up averages of 18.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 4.7 APG. Given the lack of league-wide cap room available this summer, declining his $30.9MM player option isn’t a no-brainer. If he goes that route though, Randle should be able to lock in a much bigger overall guarantee on a multiyear deal — even if it means taking a slight short-term pay cut for 2025/26.
Update: Randle reportedly intends to sign a three-year, $100MM contract with the Timberwolves.
6. Fred VanVleet, G, Rockets (team option)
An underrated point guard whose contributions go far beyond his box-score stats, VanVleet has helped transform the culture in Houston, serving as a veteran leader for a young team that improved by 19 wins in his first season as a Rocket, then by 11 more wins in his second season. The Rockets could afford to overpay VanVleet during those two years because their young players were all still on their rookie scale deals, but with the roster starting to get more expensive, the club may decline the 31-year-old’s $44.9MM team option in order to sign him to a longer-term deal with a more manageable first-year cap hit.
Update: VanVleet reportedly intends to sign a two-year, $50MM contract with the Rockets.
7. Jonathan Kuminga, F, Warriors (RFA)
The final few weeks of Kuminga’s season were a microcosm of his first four years in the NBA. After falling out of the Warriors’ rotation entirely for the regular season finale, the play-in game, and most of the first round, the 22-year-old got another opportunity in round two following an injury to Stephen Curry and took full advantage, scoring 24.3 points per contest on 55.4% shooting in Golden State’s final four games. That tantalizing upside as a big-time scorer makes Kuminga one of the year’s most intriguing free agents, even if the fit with the Warriors has been a challenge at times.
8. Naz Reid, F, Timberwolves (player option)
The NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2023/24, Reid put up pretty similar numbers in ’24/25, increasing his points (14.2), rebounds (6.0), and assists (2.3) per game. A beloved Timberwolf, Reid has been the third big man in Minnesota’s frontcourt in recent years, but could be in line for a much more significant role if the team doesn’t retain Randle — or if Reid leaves the Wolves to sign elsewhere. Teams in need of a forward/center who can knock down outside shots will likely take a long look at Reid, with the Pistons said to be among his potential suitors. Still, it will take more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1MM) to make him a competitive offer, so Minnesota is in the driver’s seat to retain him.
Update: Reid reportedly intends to sign a five-year, $125MM contract with the Timberwolves.
9. Cam Thomas, G, Nets (RFA)
There are a lot of red flags to consider with Thomas. He’s not a great play-maker for a ball-dominant guard, isn’t a strong defender, and hasn’t shot three-pointers especially efficiently since entering the league (.345 3PT%). He’s also coming off a series of hamstring injuries that limited him to just 25 outings in 2024/25. But there are few players in the NBA who are better at simply getting the ball in the basket. Thomas has improved his scoring average every year since being drafted in 2021, establishing a new career high with 24.0 PPG this past season. The Nets, who barely have any multiyear contracts on their books, are well positioned to give the 23-year-old a lucrative multiyear deal and hope that he continues to develop the non-scoring aspects of his game.
10. Quentin Grimes, G, Sixers (RFA)
After establishing a reputation during his first three-and-a-half NBA seasons as a solid three-and-D role player, Grimes showed after being traded to the Sixers at the deadline that he’s capable of playing a featured role too, averaging 21.9 points and 4.5 assists per game on .469/.373/.752 shooting in 28 games with Philadelphia. It’s hard to know how much stock to put in those stats, given that the 76ers were very much in tank mode during that stretch of the season, but even if he returns to his complementary role, Grimes is a valuable piece. The Sixers will be looking to re-sign him without going too deep into tax-apron territory.
11. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, G, Timberwolves
The third Timberwolf on our list already, Alexander-Walker has rejuvenated his career in Minnesota after having been an afterthought in the three-team February 2023 trade that sent him from the Jazz to the Wolves. A talented perimeter defender, Alexander-Walker has displayed a reliable outside shot over the past three seasons (.385 3PT%) and will still be just 27 years old when training camps get underway this fall. I’d expect him to be a popular target for teams with the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception available, and he could even end up exceeding that figure.
12. Santi Aldama, F, Grizzlies (RFA)
Aldama flies somewhat under the radar in Memphis, where he plays a complementary role to stars like Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., but he quietly had a career year in his fourth NBA season, averaging 12.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 25.5 minutes per contest. His 48.3% mark on shots from the floor and 36.8% percentage on three-point tries were both career bests too. A solid, versatile frontcourt defender, Aldama will be a priority for the Grizzlies this offseason and has a pretty good case to match or exceed the four-year, $58MM contract Obi Toppin signed with Indiana a year ago.
13. Brook Lopez, C, Bucks
If Lopez were 10 years younger, he might be up in the top five of this list alongside Turner, his fellow rim-protecting, floor-spreading center. At age 37, he’ll still draw plenty of interest on the open market, but he’ll have a hard time getting more than a couple guaranteed years. I’ll be interested to see whether Lopez prioritizes one last big payday or if he’s open to accepting a substantial pay cut to take on a role with a team that may be closer than Milwaukee to contending for a title in 2026. He nearly left the Bucks for the Rockets in 2023 — maybe this will be the year he finally changes teams.
14. Bobby Portis, F/C, Bucks (player option)
A reliable part of the Bucks’ frontcourt for the last five seasons, Portis earned Sixth Man of the Year votes in three of those years — he started too many games to qualify in one of the other two seasons, then only suited up a total of 49 times last season due to a 25-game suspension that cost him much of the second half. His consistency is an asset, and it’s one Portis believes he should be rewarded for. He recently spoke about a desire to be “compensated fairly” after accepting what he views as team-friendly contracts in recent years. Given that context, it seems relatively safe to assume he’ll decline his $13.4MM player option in search of a more sizable commitment, either from Milwaukee or another team.
Update: Portis reportedly intends to sign a three-year, $44MM contract with the Bucks.
15. Caris LeVert, G/F, Hawks
With three ball-dominant guards (Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Ty Jerome) on the roster in Cleveland, LeVert wasn’t an ideal fit for a team that needed more of a three-and-D wing in his spot. The Cavaliers ultimately ended up sending him out in a trade to get exactly that sort of player (De’Andre Hunter). But LeVert thrived leading the second unit in Atlanta following his change of scenery, looking more like the player who frequently averaged between 17 and 20 points per game earlier in his career. The Hawks reportedly want to bring him back in that role and have plenty of cap flexibility to do so.
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43. Thunder Win First Championship Since Move; SGA Named Finals MVP
The Thunder claimed their first NBA championship since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City, as they defeated the depleted Pacers, 103-91, in Game 7 on Sunday.
Seattle, which won the championship in 1979, relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. The Pacers, who have never won an NBA title, played the last three quarters without Tyrese Haliburton, who suffered an Achilles injury in the first quarter.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this season’s Most Valuable Player, also earned Finals MVP honors, the league announced (via Twitter). It’s the 16th time a player has won both in the same year, though it hasn’t happened since LeBron James pulled it off during the 2012/13 season.
The Thunder should be major contenders for years to come with their young core, featuring Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. The top priorities for the Thunder this offseason center around extensions.
Gilgeous-Alexander has met the performance criteria for a super-max contract and will become eligible to sign that extension next month. The 2024 MVP runner-up still has two years left on his current deal and can’t exceed six years in total, so the maximum value of his extension would be a projected $293.4MM over four years, beginning in 2027/28.
Williams and Holmgren are eligible for rookie scale extensions until the beginning of next seasons and both could receive the max – five years and a projected $246MM. The maximum value of those extensions could increase to a projected $296MM if All-NBA, MVP or Defensive Player of the Year honors are negotiated into the contracts.
The Pacers’ offseason outlook could change dramatically due to Haliburton’s injury. Myles Turner, their starting center, is headed to unrestricted free agency and while the Pacers reportedly want to re-sign him, they could have plenty of competition. Bennedict Mathurin is eligible for a rookie scale extension.
Several other key players, including Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, are signed through at least the 2027/28 season. Could they look to shed salary in light of Haliburton’s injury?
With the NBA Finals decided, the 2025 NBA offseason is officially underway. For the second straight year, teams will be permitted to negotiate contracts with their own free agents one day after the Finals. Players who won’t be free agents this offseason but who will become eligible to sign contract extensions on July 6 will also be permitted to begin negotiations with their current teams on Monday.
Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising if some agreements are reported this week. Free agent contracts still can’t be officially finalized until after the July moratorium lifts on July 6.
The draft will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, with free agency beginning on June 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern time.
Lottery Pick Facilitated Durant Trade
The Rockets’ willingness to give up their lottery pick in this week’s draft played a significant role in the agreed-upon Kevin Durant blockbuster with the Suns, Kelly Iko and Sam Amick report.
The Rockets refused to give the Suns’ 2027 and 2029 first-round selections, which Houston controls via prior trades, back to Phoenix. Those picks were sent to Brooklyn in the February 2023 Durant deal and the Rockets acquired them in a June 2024 deal with the Nets.
However, the Rockets had found it difficult to bring in top prospects for workouts this spring due to the possibility of a Durant deal. The Suns believe they can draft a player at that spot who can be an immediate contributor.
The trade between the clubs was the culmination of weeks-long discussions, though the two sides hadn’t talked for a week before the conversations were reignited on Thursday. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone refused to part with most of his young players, including Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason. Efforts were made to add other trade partners to the mix but that didn’t gain any footing, so it became a straight two-team swap.
Jalen Green, who struggled in the postseason, became increasingly aware he could be part of a potential package, even though he preferred to stay put. He received word that he was being dealt approximately an hour before the deal was first reported.
According to Phoenix sports talk show host John Gambadoro, the Rockets were willing to give up Smith prior to the February trade deadline. They offered Smith and Green without any draft picks for Durant at that time (Twitter link).
While there were numerous reports in recent months that the Rockets were unwilling to break up their young core, they eventually warmed to the idea of making an all-in move. The prospect of adding a dynamic scorer and proven postseason performer like Durant was seen as their best win-now option, according to The Athletic duo. There’s a strong belief that the Durant-Rockets partnership will extend beyond next season, even if he doesn’t sign an extension right away next month.
Houston head coach Ime Udoka, who recently received an extension, was a strong behind-the-scenes advocate for adding Durant, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post. Udoka, who overlapped with Durant in Brooklyn, has a close friendship with the star forward.
With both Green and Dillon Brooks included in the trade, a starting spot should open up in Houston for Smith, who was moved to the second unit for a portion of the season. Amen Thompson, who replaced Smith in the lineup, will join Fred VanVleet in the backcourt. The Rockets hold a $44.9MM option on VanVleet’s contract, with a decision due in the next week.
Durant expressed excitement when asked by Kay Adams at Fanatics Fest in New York about the trade, ESPN’s Shams Charania relays.
“Being part of the Houston Rockets, I’m looking forward to it,” Durant said. “Crazy, crazy last couple weeks, but I’m glad it’s over with.”
Tyrese Haliburton Exits Game 7 With Achilles Injury
8:21 pm: ESPN’s Lisa Salters spoke to Haliburton’s father prior to the end of the first half and he confirmed that his son suffered an Achilles injury (Twitter video link).
The team will likely be conducting more tests to confirm the diagnosis, but if it’s an Achilles tear for Haliburton, it could cost him the entire 2025/26 season.
7:50 pm: Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has exited Game 7 of the NBA Finals in the first quarter after sustaining a right lower leg injury (Twitter video link via ESPN). He won’t return to the game, according to the team.
With just over five minutes left in the first quarter on Sunday, Haliburton caught a pass outside the three-point line and made a move to drive toward the Thunder’s basket. However, his right leg gave way as he pushed off and he fell to the court, where he shouted in frustration and banged his fist against the floor. He was unable to put any weight on the leg as he was helped off the court.
Haliburton had been playing through a right calf strain that he suffered in Game 5 of the series. The injury likely would have sidelined him for multiple weeks had it occurred during the regular season, but he was determined to play through it and was able to finish out Game 5 and compete in Game 6 without any setbacks.
Playing through a calf strain generally increases the risk of suffering a major Achilles injury (ie. a tear) — that happened to Kevin Durant when he attempted to return early from a strained calf in the 2019 NBA Finals.
We don’t know that Haliburton injured his Achilles tonight and we’ll obviously be hoping for a best-case scenario, but video of the play and the guard’s reaction suggest the injury is a significant one, affecting that lower part of his right leg.
An All-NBA third-teamer during the regular season, Haliburton has made several huge game-winning shots for the Pacers during the playoffs, leading the way for the upstart club as it pulled off multiple upsets in the Eastern Conference bracket and pushed the 68-win Thunder to a Game 7 in Oklahoma City. If Indiana is going to win its first NBA championship on Sunday, the team will have to do it without its starting point guard.
Suns Notes: Beal, Green, Wild-Card Suitors, Lanier, Durant, Cousins
With the Suns agreeing to trade Kevin Durant to the Rockets, Phoenix radio talk show host John Gambadoro continues to believe the team will either trade or buy out Bradley Beal, he said on The Kevin O’Connor Show (Twitter video link).
Of course, Beal has a no-trade clause and would have to agree to waive it for a deal to be made. If the Suns are unable to trade or buy out Beal, then they’d have to hope he could rebuild his value on the court. Gambadoro previously noted that head coaching candidates were asked how they would utilize Beal if he’s still on the roster.
Cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link) looks back at the buyouts of Kemba Walker and Blake Griffin in recent seasons as examples of what Beal might be willing to give back, presuming the three-time All-Star could receive a full non-taxpayer mid-level exception deal elsewhere. If Beal were willing to give up 25 percent of his current contract with two years left, the cap hits for the Suns would total $40.25MM and $42.85MM.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- While the Suns now seemingly have two combo guards with similar skills, they are not planning to move Jalen Green, Gambadoro tweets. Instead, the Suns will look to pair him with Devin Booker in the backcourt and see how they’ll mesh. Green has shown durability, appearing in every game over the past two seasons. He averaged 21.0 points and 3.4 assists this season.
- While Durant negotiations were primarily focused on the Heat, Rockets and Timberwolves, several wild-card suitors emerged, including the Raptors, Cavaliers, Nuggets and Clippers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Cavs, in particular, were a long shot since they would have needed to send out enough salary to get under the second apron for 2025/26. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been allowed to aggregate salaries. Since the Suns are also a second-apron team, a deal between Phoenix and Cleveland would have required the involvement of at least one more club.
- Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier worked out for the Suns on Friday, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. Lanier set the Volunteers’ single season record for made three-pointers with 123 this past season. He’s ranked No. 38 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list. The Suns own the 29th and 52nd picks in addition to the 10th and 59th selections they’re acquiring from Houston.
- Earlier in the weekend, Durant brushed off a comment by former NBA center DeMarcus Cousins, who claimed on Fan Duel’s Run It Back show that there were “fistfights” in the Suns locker room. As Rankin relays, Durant responded on social media that Cousins’ source for that claim was “lying” and that there were “NEVER” any locker room fights.
2025 NBA Offseason Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves
After making it to the Western Conference Finals in 2024 for the first time in 20 years, the Timberwolves found themselves at the center of a battle over team ownership and facing an increasingly concerning long-term salary cap situation entering last summer.
Glen Taylor was fighting to stop minority stakeholders Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez from gaining majority control of the franchise at the same time that Anthony Edwards' Rose rule rookie scale extension took effect, which gave the Wolves a trio of max-salary players and pushed the team's salary above the restrictive second tax apron.
A year later, much has changed in Minnesota. Longtime Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns, the club's No. 1 overall pick back in 2015, was traded to New York before the 2024/25 season began; Lore and Rodriguez ultimately won their protracted struggle with Taylor for ownership of the team; and Edwards is now the only maximum-salary player on Minnesota's roster after Towns was traded and Rudy Gobert took a pay cut on his latest contract extension.
But there was one notable constant that carried over from 2024 to 2025: the Timberwolves made it back to the conference finals for a second straight time this spring.
It wasn't just the first time in franchise history that the team had accomplished that feat in back-to-back seasons -- it was the first time the Wolves had won even a single playoff series in consecutive years. The club, which made its NBA debut in 1989, has compiled just six postseason series victories in its history, and four of them have occurred within the past two years.
As talented as some of those Kevin Garnett-led Timberwolves teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s were, you could make a strong case that this 2020s iteration of the Wolves is the best the club has ever been.
Still, there's work to be done, not just to get the Wolves to the next level but to make sure they don't drop off at all from their current level. In Julius Randle, Naz Reid, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Minnesota will have three of the NBA's top 15 free agents this summer and may not be able to bring all of them back. And even if the front office can retain that trio, more upgrades may be necessary to turn the Wolves from a perennial playoff team into a legitimate championship threat.
Figuring out how to take that next step will be the challenge facing president of basketball operations Tim Connelly this offseason.
The Timberwolves' Offseason Plan
Technically, there's a possibility that Connelly won't be the one making the roster decisions facing the Timberwolves this summer. He has an opt-out clause in his contract that gives him the ability to leave the team if he so chooses. However, there has been absolutely no indication he's thinking about taking that route.
Spurs To Hire Mavs Assistant Sweeney As Associate Head Coach
Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney has agreed to become the associate head coach of the Spurs under Mitch Johnson, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets. The Spurs’ interest in Sweeney was previously reported by Marc Stein.
Sweeney has been an assistant under Jason Kidd with the Nets and Bucks as well as the Mavericks. They’ll now lose him to an up-and-coming division rival.
Sweeney’s name has frequently popped up when head coaching jobs have come open but he has yet to land one of those coveted positions. He most recently interviewed for the Suns head coaching job.
Stein also reports that another Mavericks assistant, Jared Dudley, is being pursued by the Grizzlies and Cavaliers (Twitter link). According to The Athletic’s Fred Katz, the Mavericks opted not to extend the contracts of their assistant coaches after their 2024 run to the NBA Finals (Twitter link). That is apparently a contributing factor in those assistants seeking other jobs.
Dallas could try to convince former Lakers and Suns coach Frank Vogel, who is now a consultant to the organization, to take Sweeney’s spot, according to Stein (Twitter link). However, Vogel apparently is comfortable in his consultant’s role as he awaits another head coaching opportunity.
Another assistant, God Shammgod, is drawing interest from the Magic, Stein adds (Twitter link).
California Notes: Warriors, Buss Legacy, DeRozan, Monk
After acquiring six-time All-Star forward Jimmy Butler midway through 2024/25, the Warriors’ offseason will be focused on building out their roster with an eye towards a deeper playoff run next spring.
In a story previewing the team’s summer, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) notes that Golden State possesses the draft picks and movable contracts needed to make some key personnel improvements.
According to Gozlan, restricted free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga‘s next deal could prove crucial to helping the club level up. Gozlan considers a sign-and-trade with another team to be the best path for the Warriors to maximize value for the 22-year-old and for Kuminga to get the bigger role he seems to be seeking. The Warriors also have other, more veteran free agents for whom they could extract value in sign-and-trade deals.
Golden State has just nine players under contract heading into the summer and are $17.4MM below the projected luxury tax line.
There’s more out of California:
- With the Buss family set to sell their majority stake in the Lakers after 46 years, Jim Alexander of The Orange County Register looks back on the transformative impact late patriarch Dr. Jerry Buss’ ownership had on the league at large. Beyond drafting superstars Magic Johnson and James Worthy early in his tenure, Buss helped eventize the league, making the games more than just basketball and helping elevate the NBA’s profile around the world.
- Now-Pacers All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton‘s big showing in the ongoing Finals highlights a glaring point guard deficiency for the team who drafted him in 2020, observes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. After trading Haliburton in 2022, the Kings went on to move De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio this past season as part of a three-team deal that netted them swingman Zach LaVine. New general manager Scott Perry now must work to find the club’s new lead ball-handler of the future, Anderson writes, noting that players like Ja Morant, Trae Young, Darius Garland, and Jrue Holiday have been floated as potential trade fits.
- The Kings haven’t yet engaged in trade conversations about veteran wings Malik Monk or DeMar DeRozan, but Anderson tweets that talks could kick up with Kevin Durant‘s trade fate now resolved.