Jaylen Nowell Joining Chinese Team
Jaylen Nowell is heading to China, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who reports that the free agent guard has signed with the Shanxi Loongs. Nowell republished a social media post announcing the news on his Instagram account.
A second-round pick in the 2019 draft, Nowell spent his first four NBA seasons in Minnesota, where he played a regular rotation role and averaged 9.1 points in 17.0 minutes per game on .447/.322/.798 shooting across 184 outings.
However, Nowell wasn’t retained by the Timberwolves during the 2023 offseason and has bounced around the NBA and the G League since then, spending time with the Grizzlies, Pistons, and Pelicans, as well as the Stockton Kings and Capital City Go-Go. He has put up big numbers at the NBAGL level, including averaging 24.7 PPG with a .527/.479/.900 shooting line this past season for the Go-Go, but has seen action in just 21 total NBA games since departing Minnesota.
Nowell, who will turn 26 next month, was on an NBA roster as recently as February, when he signed a 10-day contract with the Wizards, but he didn’t play at all during that brief stint with the club.
Shanxi featured multiple former NBA players this past season, with Brandon Goodwin and Hamidou Diallo leading the club in scoring while Harry Giles also played a modest role. The Loongs ranked second among 20 Chinese Basketball Association teams in the regular season standings with a 34-12 record, but fell in the playoff semifinals to the Beijing Ducks.
Kings Reportedly Have Interest In Darius Garland
The Kings, who are in the market for a point guard after trading De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio in February, have interest in Darius Garland and consider the Cavaliers guard a possible trade target, league sources tell Grant Afseth of RG.org.
Following the deadline deal that sent Fox to the Spurs, the Kings leaned more heavily on shooting guards and forwards like Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Malik Monk for ball-handling responsibilities, with reserve point guards like Devin Carter and Markelle Fultz playing limited roles.
Bolstering the point guard spot will be a priority for Sacramento this offseason, as new head of basketball operations Scott Perry acknowledged earlier this spring. Tyus Jones is among the free agents believed to be on the Kings’ radar, but the trade market would give the front office more avenues to acquire an impact player at the position.
Multiple reports since the Cavs’ season ended have indicated that Cleveland appears to be more willing than in the past to entertain the idea of trading Garland this offseason. However, the 25-year-old underwent toe surgery on Monday and is expected to miss some time at the start of next season.
For the Cavs, finding a Garland trade that improves their roster – or at least doesn’t hurt it – while creating a more favorable cap situation going forward was always going to be difficult. His recovery from surgery will make that task even more challenging, since potential trade partners are unlikely to value him quite as highly until he’s back to 100%.
League sources tell RG.org that the Kings and Hawks have also had a conversation about what a Trae Young trade might look like, but those talks didn’t advance. Afseth describes the discussions as “due diligence” from Atlanta’s side and suggests that Perry wasn’t especially enthusiastic about the construct of the deal.
While Young has some fans in Sacramento’s front office, Afseth writes, the team is thought to prefer Garland over the Hawks star, at least prior to Garland’s surgery.
Latest On Jason Kidd, Knicks’ Coaching Search
There’s “mutual intrigue” between Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and the Knicks, who reportedly have interest in hiring him away from Dallas, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Monday during a SportsCenter appearance (Twitter video link).
Peter Botte of The New York Post confirms that the interest between Kidd and the Knicks is mutual, while Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link) provides more details on why the former NBA star appeals to New York. As Stein explains, Kidd has existing relationships with Knicks owner James Dolan and star point guard Jalen Brunson, who is thought to be a “strong Kidd advocate.”
Kidd also has experience handling the New York City spotlight as both a player and a coach, which is considered an important part of the job, given how often the Knicks’ head coach is expected to speak on behalf of the franchise, Stein notes. Members of the front office, including president of basketball operations Leon Rose, essentially never talk to the media.
Whether that mutual interest between Kidd and New York leads anywhere remains to be seen, however. The Knicks haven’t yet asked the Mavericks for permission to speak to their head coach and likely won’t do so unless they’re confident they have a real chance to hire him, as Windhorst observes. Stein, who stated over the weekend that Dallas may simply turn down New York’s request for permission if it comes, agrees that the Knicks ultimately may not even submit that request, if that’s the outcome they’re expecting.
Still, until the Mavericks make it clear on or off the record – like the Rockets did with Ime Udoka – that they’re not entertaining the idea of letting their head coach go, or until the Knicks begin focusing on a new target, the chatter surrounding Kidd will likely continue, Stein writes.
Here’s more on Kidd and the Knicks’ head coaching vacancy:
- Kidd wasn’t a big fan of having to act as the Mavericks’ de facto spokesman in the wake of the team’s Luka Doncic trade in February, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Still, Stein doesn’t believe Kidd is unhappy in Dallas or angling for the Knicks’ job, noting that the veteran head coach is close with Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. Kidd and his family are also settled in Dallas, and he has also spoken enthusiastically in multiple media appearances in recent weeks about the prospect of adding Cooper Flagg.
- Speaking of Flagg, the projected No. 1 overall pick is scheduled to visit Dallas next Tuesday. Stein suggests that the Mavericks likely won’t want Kidd’s future with the Mavs to still be an open question at that point, so resolution one way or the other should come within the next week.
- Although it seems as if Kidd is the Knicks’ Plan A, the organization is expected to conduct an “exhaustive search that includes coaches at every level,” league sources tell Edwards.
- While Tom Thibodeau had a reputation for being reluctant to play his youngsters, Jared Schwartz of The New York Post notes that second-round picks like Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride blossomed under the Knicks’ former head coach. Player development could be an important consideration in this coaching search, Schwartz adds, since the team will want to get the most out of 2024 draftees Pacome Dadiet, Tyler Kolek, and Ariel Hukporti.
Eastern Notes: Yabusele, Sixers Arena, Hawks, Mazzulla
Guerschon Yabusele is “excited” to see how his free agency plays out and plans to remain in the NBA, he told Cyro Asseo de Choch of Hoops Hype. The Sixers big man was one of the few bright spots for the franchise this season after playing in Europe from 2020-24. He posted averages of 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.1 minutes per game while appearing in 70 contests.
He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after playing for the veteran’s minimum.
“We will see those options also with the upcoming summer when we’re going to know a little bit what’s going on,” he said. “I know the Sixers are going to look change some pieces in the roster, so you have to wait also to see what’s gonna happen but the draft’s gonna set everything pretty much for every team to know where they’re going with the trades and stuff like that.
“I guess we’ll see soon, but I’m pretty excited. It’s going to be my first time really enjoying free agency, especially in the NBA. I’m pretty excited just to hear the offers, to see what’s going on, to see the movement. This summer is going to have a lot of movement on every team, so to be able to be part of that is just amazing.”
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Sixers and Comcast Spectacor have selected an architecture firm to design their new arena, according to Jake Blumgart of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Populous, a global arena design firm, will craft the plans for the new South Philadelphia structure. It’s scheduled to open in 2031, replacing the Wells Fargo Center.
- Asa Newell (Georgia), Clifford Omoruyi (Alabama), Will Richard (Florida) and Jase Richardson (Michigan State) were among the players who worked out for the Hawks on Monday, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Richardson and Newell are considered first-round talents. They are currently ranked No. 20 and 21, respectively, on ESPN’s Best Available list. The Hawks hold the No. 13 and 22 picks in the first round.
- Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has been spotted in Turkey on an apparent scouting mission, Chema de Lucas tweets. Mazzulla could be there to take a look at Euroleague star Nigel Hayes-Davis, who plays for Fenerbahçe and has drawn interest from Boston in the past. Hayes-Davis had a brief stay in the NBA in 2017/18, playing nine games for three teams.
Western Notes: Gafford, Lakers, Kings, Jazz
Mavericks big man Daniel Gafford would be a good trade target for the Lakers but they’d probably have to overpay to get him, Jovan Buha of The Athletic stated on his Buha’s Block podcast (YouTube link; hat tip to BasketNews.com).
Buha speculated that it would require a package of Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht and a first-round pick to get Dallas’ attention. Gafford will make $14.4MM in the final year of his contract next season, making him a prime trade candidate on a team with frontcourt depth.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- Camryn Carter (LSU), Tyrese Proctor (Duke). TJ Bamba (Oregon), Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee), Alex Toohey (Sydney) and Mohamed Diawara (Cholet) worked out for the Kings on Monday, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. Toohey, a forward, is rated No. 36 overall by ESPN and Proctor is No. 43 on their Best Available list.
- The Jazz are promoting Marquis Newman to director of pro scouting and Katie Benzan to general manager of the NBA G League’s Salt Lake City Stars, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Newman has spent 11 years with the Jazz. Benzan, who was hired by Utah in 2022, will become the second current female GM in the G League.
- There’s hope for the Jazz if they take their cue from the Pacers and Thunder, Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune opines. They should study how these teams were built and developed and their style of play, Monson writes, to establish a blueprint for another small-market franchise like the Jazz.
2025 NBA Offseason Preview: Los Angeles Clippers
The summer of 2024 represented the end of an era for the Clippers. Nearly five years after Kawhi Leonard committed to the Clippers as a free agent at the same time the team was finalizing a blockbuster trade for Paul George, the latter departed in free agency, accepting a four-year, maximum-salary contract offer from the Sixers that L.A. had been unwilling to match.
The version of the Clippers built around Leonard and George was a perennial championship threat when those two were on the court. However, that happened far less frequently than the organization had hoped, with one star or the other often sidelined due to an injury by the time the club was facing postseason elimination. During the five years the two L.A. natives spent together as Clippers, the team won just three playoff series -- and all of those victories came in 2020 and 2021.
So while the Clippers certainly weren't happy to see George walk for nothing in free agency last offseason, it did generate some new opportunities for a team that had spent the last four years operating in luxury tax territory and didn't have an NBA Finals appearance to show for it.
Getting George's contract off the books and getting out of tax apron territory opened up more roster-building avenues for the Clippers and allowed them to spread out some of the money they'd earmarked for George among several rotation players. The club brought in Derrick Jones using the mid-level exception, Nicolas Batum on the bi-annual exception, and Kris Dunn via sign-and-trade, creating the depth necessary to remain competitive during the first half of the season as Leonard recovered from a knee ailment.
Career years for Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell and an All-NBA performance by James Harden as the team's primary offensive engine fueled a strong season for the Clippers, who - even with Leonard limited to just 37 appearances - won more games in 2024/25 (50) than they did in four of their five years with George on the roster.
Unfortunately, L.A. drew a brutal first-round matchup against the Nuggets, who beat the Clips in seven games before going on to push the eventual Western champion Thunder to seven games in the next round. If the seeding had worked out a little differently and the Clippers had ended up on the opposite side of the bracket from the Nuggets and Thunder, would they have won a series or two? We'll never know for sure, but it's certainly possible. This was a good team without many obvious holes.
That's the good news for the Clippers entering the 2025 offseason. The bad news? Even with Harden and Leonard healthy for the postseason, it wasn't good enough to beat the best of the West, so the front office will have to find a way to make additional improvements this summer.
The Clippers' Offseason Plan
While Harden could decline his $36.4MM player option, become an unrestricted free agent, and sign with a new team, there has been absolutely no indication that's the direction he'll go this summer.
Garland’s Injury Could Place Pressure On Cavs To Re-Sign Jerome
Darius Garland‘s toe surgery could put more pressure on the Cavaliers to re-sign backup point guard Ty Jerome despite the high penalty they’d have to pay in luxury taxes, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Garland is likely to miss the preseason and some regular season games as he rehabs from the toe surgery he underwent on Monday.
Jerome, who served as Cleveland’s backup point guard this season, is one of the more intriguing free agents on a limited market. He is coming off a career year in which he was a finalist for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.
Jerome played a huge role in the Cavaliers’ regular season success that buoyed them to the top seed in Eastern Conference playoffs. Jerome averaged 12.5 points and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 43.9 percent on his three-point attempts in 70 regular-season appearances. His playing time diminished during the second round against Indiana due to shooting woes, defensive issues and turnovers.
He is projected to get offers with a first-year salary at or near the projected non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $14.1MM.
Jerome, who made $2.6MM this season, is eligible for a four-year contract worth up to $63MM from Cleveland, which holds his Early Bird rights. However, the $14.3MM salary he would make on such a deal would cost the Cavs $80MM of luxury taxes since they’re projected to operate above the second tax apron next season, Vardon writes, citing an ESPN analysis.
Being above the second apron severely limits teams ability to sign quality free agents and make trades, which could give more incentive for Cleveland to retain Jerome.
The Spurs, Mavericks, Nuggets and Warriors are among the teams that have been mentioned as possible suitors for the 27-year old, who had previous stints with Phoenix, Oklahoma City and Golden State.
Mavericks Notes: Nelson, Doncic, Prosper, Wei
Former Mavericks head coach Don Nelson took a shot at the current organization for trading Luka Doncic, Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes. Nelson, who was named the recipient of this year’s Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Basketball Coaches Association on Sunday, commented on the controversial deal prior to Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
“It was a tremendous mistake by the Dallas franchise to trade him,” Nelson said.
Nelson, 85, was coach and GM of the Mavericks from 1997 to 2005. His son, former Mavs executive Donnie Nelson, was instrumental in the draft-day deal that brought Doncic to Dallas.
“I want everybody to know I’m wearing Luka’s shoes, his new shoes from Nike that just got on the market, and I wore them in protest for the trade from Dallas,” Nelson said.
Here’s more on the Mavericks:
- Second-year forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper underwent season-ending surgery on his right wrist in early March. Prosper offered an update to the Dallas Morning News’ Mike Curtis (Twitter link), saying he should be fully healthy in a few weeks. “Rehab is going great. The process is where it’s supposed to be and I’ll be back soon,” said Prosper, who posted averages of 3.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 0.8 APG in 11.2 MPG across 52 appearances this season. Prosper is under contract for $3MM next season. Dallas will have to decide by October 31, 2025 whether or not to pick up his $5.26MM option for the 2026/27 season.
- Guard Lin Wei, one on the top scorers in China, has a workout scheduled with the Mavericks, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Lin Wei, who is draft-eligible this month, is averaging 21.6 points per game this season while shooting 34.4% from distance for Nanjing MK of the Chinese Basketball Association.
- In case you missed it, projected top pick Cooper Flagg will visit with the Mavericks brass on June 17. Get the details here.
Hawks Among Teams Eyeing Myles Turner
In addition to the Pistons, the Hawks are among the teams who have interest in center Myles Turner, reports Grant Afseth of RG.org. Turner, currently vying for a championship with the Pacers, will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Reports in recent weeks have repeatedly indicated that the Pacers and Turner have interest in working out a new deal and that Indiana is willing to become a taxpayer for the first time since 2006 in order to make it happen. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) wrote on Sunday that there’s “strong sentiment” among league executives that Turner will remain in Indiana, with cap strategists projecting a deal in the range of $30MM per year.
However, Afseth says the Hawks are “monitoring Turner’s situation closely,” with their own veteran centers Clint Capela and Larry Nance Jr. headed for unrestricted free agency this offseason.
Even with Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Dyson Daniels wreaking havoc on the perimeter, Atlanta ranked just 18th in defensive rating in 2024/25. The team also came in at No. 18 in three-point percentage. Turner, a big man who can space the floor (.396 3PT% in 2024/25) and protect the rim (2.0 BPG), would be a major asset on both ends of the court.
Still, if the Pacers are committed to retaining Turner and he doesn’t want to go anywhere, it’s hard to envision a scenario in which he ends up in Atlanta. The Hawks don’t project to have cap room this summer, so barring some significant cost-cutting moves, the club would need Indiana’s cooperation to acquire Turner via sign-and-trade, which seems unlikely.
Since the Pacers hold Turner’s Bird rights, they’ll have the ability to offer any amount up to his maximum salary if they’re comfortable paying the associated luxury tax penalties.
And-Ones: 2021 Re-Draft, FA Centers, Teams To Watch, More
If teams were to redo the 2021 NBA draft knowing what they know now, All-NBA guard Cade Cunningham would still be the first overall pick, according to HoopsHype. However, the site’s 2021 re-draft suggests there would be deviations from what actually happened in many other places, starting at No. 2, where Evan Mobley moves up a spot.
Alperen Sengun (No. 16 to No. 3), Austin Reaves (undrafted to No. 6), and Jalen Johnson (No. 20 to No. 8) are among the other notable risers into HoopsHype’s new-look top 10, while Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, Josh Giddey, and Jonathan Kuminga are among the top picks who dropped at least a few spots in this exercise.
Herbert Jones (No. 35 to No. 14), Aaron Wiggins (No. 55 to No. 16), and Ayo Dosunmu (No. 38 to No. 20) are a few of the second-round selections who, with the benefit of hindsight, should’ve been drafted in the first round, per HoopsHype.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Although there are no All-Star level centers set to reach free agency this offseason, there are several solid starter-level big men to watch, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac, who has Myles Turner, Naz Reid, and Brook Lopez atop his rankings.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks identifies 10 of the most important NBA teams to watch this offseason, including the one with significant cap room (Brooklyn), some who will be looking to shed salary (Boston and Phoenix), and several who figure to be seeking the piece(s) that could push them over the top next season (Denver, Golden State, and the Lakers, among others).
- Will NBA franchise valuations continue to rise after the Celtics were sold for a record $6.1 billion? Daniel Roberts of Front Office Sports explores that subject, soliciting thoughts from a handful of current and former team owners, including Ted Leonsis of the Wizards and former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry.
- A federal judge approved a settlement on Friday that will pave the way for colleges and universities to begin paying athletes directly. Dan Murphy of ESPN takes a closer look at what exactly it means.