Atlantic Notes: Walker, Pettiford, Nets, Raptors
The Sixers hold a $2.94MM club option on Lonnie Walker‘s contract for next season. Will they exercise it? Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer believes they will, contingent on where the team stands financially after the draft and which players they’ll target in free agency.
After signing with the Sixers, Walker appeared in 20 games and averaged 12.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the depleted club in the second half of the season. Pompey anticipates Walker can serve as a backup guard and take on a bigger role when injuries strike.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Nets hosted Tahaad Pettiford for a workout last week, NJ.com contributor Adam Zagoria tweets. Pettiford appeared in 38 games for Auburn as a freshman last season, all but one off the bench, and posted averages of 11.6 points and 3.0 assists in 22.9 minutes per game. Pettiford is currently ranked No. 38 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.
- The Nets will have more cap space than any other team this offseason. How should they spend their money? Yossi Gozlan of ThirdApron.com (subscription required) breaks down their cap space projection, how they could utilize it, and how their restricted free agents factor into the economic equation.
- How can the Raptors become a contender again? Along with offensive improvement from Scottie Barnes, the most likely path to contention is via a trade, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes in his latest mailbag. They will have movable contracts for salary-matching purposes, Koreen notes. They also need at least two of their young players to establish themselves as rotation-quality performers or better.
Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Game 3 Loss, Haliburton, Offense
Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith was able to return to Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter after spraining his right ankle in the third quarter, but he was in pain when he woke up on Monday, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.
According to head coach Rick Carlisle, Nesmith will be listed as questionable on the injury report for Game 4 and will likely be a game-time decision on Tuesday.
It’s a potentially significant development for the Pacers, given that Nesmith has been one of their most important players during the playoffs. The 25-year-old has increased his averages to 15.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with a 53.5% mark on three-pointers in the postseason — all of those marks would be career highs. Additionally, his +8.8 playoff net rating is the third-best mark on the team behind only Myles Turner (+9.1) and Tyrese Haliburton (+8.9).
We have more on the Pacers:
- The Pacers have made a series of historic comebacks during these playoffs, but they found themselves on the other end of a major in-game swing at home on Sunday, blowing a 20-point first-half lead and losing Game 3 by a score of 106-100. Haliburton took the blame after the loss for allowing the team’s usual up-tempo pace to lag in the third and fourth quarters, according to Dopirak. “I felt like I was walking the ball up every play.” Haliburton said. “It’s definitely an area where I know when I watch film I’m going to kick myself for. I’m already thinking about it, kicking myself for it. Honestly, I think a lot of our offensive struggles in the second half are going to be due to me. I gotta be better there and I will be better in Game 4.”
- Although he was unhappy about the Pacers’ second-half offense, Haliburton was pleased with how the team performed on defense against a talented Knicks group, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “You hold a team like that to 106 (points), that’s — you should win that game,” Haliburton said. “… I mean, 100 points isn’t us, you know? So kudos to them, they did a good job, but there’s definitely areas that we can improve on. We’ll have a great film session (on Monday). Guys will watch film on their own tonight and tomorrow, and see where we can get better.”
- John Haliburton, Tyrese’s father, will be permitted to attend Indiana’s home games in a suite beginning on Tuesday, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania. The elder Haliburton agreed not to attend the team’s home or road games after getting involved in an on-court altercation with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at the end of their first-round series and hasn’t been at any of the past eight contests since then. He will continue to remain away from road games.
2025 NBA Offseason Preview: Brooklyn Nets
After officially bringing their "big three" era to an end by trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at the February 2023 deadline, the Nets stumbled down the stretch of that season, then found themselves stuck in the middle in 2023/24 -- not good enough to seriously contend for a playoff spot, but with no incentive to tank due to the fact that the Rockets controlled their 2024 first-round pick.
Having finished with a 32-50 record in '23/24, Brooklyn saw Houston capitalize on some lottery luck by claiming the No. 3 overall pick when the Nets' pick moved up six spots from its pre-lottery position.
Maybe that was the final straw that convinced general manager Sean Marks to regain control of the Nets' 2025 and 2026 first-round picks, but I suspect he was already plotting that move anyway. Brooklyn had no easy short-term path back to contention, and without those draft picks in hand, there was no way for the team to benefit from bottoming out.
The Nets paid a significant price to negate the Rockets' swap rights for their 2025 first-rounder and to reacquire their own 2026 pick, giving up control of four future Suns first-rounders (either outright or via swaps), including one that landed in the '25 lottery. However, the move set up the Nets to tear down their roster, lose a ton, and hopefully be in position to add their next franchise player in the 2025 or 2026 draft.
Brooklyn traded Mikal Bridges during the summer of 2024 and entered the fall projected to be the NBA's worst team, but new head coach Jordi Fernandez showed why the organization wanted to hire him in the first place by guiding the Nets to some unexpected first-half success. A club that bettors projected to finish with fewer than 20 victories won nine games in the span of a month before the end of November, prompting Marks to take action. Brooklyn was involved in two of the NBA's first three in-season trades of 2024/25, sending out Dennis Schröder to Golden State and Dorian Finney-Smith to the Lakers before the new year.
While losing Schröder and Finney-Smith slowed down the Nets, Fernandez's club continued to display impressive resilience, taking six of seven games right before the All-Star break to reach the 20-win mark with two months left in the season. This still wasn't a good team, of course, but it outperformed expectations at 26-56, making that first-round pick a little less valuable than anticipated -- especially after Brooklyn was unable to replicate Houston's lottery luck from a year ago, resulting in a slide to No. 8 overall.
Marks repeatedly stated over the course of the season that he loved seeing Fernandez and the Nets win games and that he wasn't looking to instill a losing culture in Brooklyn. That attitude may very well pay off in the long run, and it's not like losing more would've given the Nets a shot at Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper, both of whom will likely be drafted by teams who finished ahead of Brooklyn in the standings.
Still, the Nets' 2024/25 performance sets up an interesting dilemma. Armed with cap room entering this summer, do they look to accelerate their rebuild by adding more win-now players and seeing what Fernandez is capable of when given more talent to work with? Or will Marks want to keep taking things slow in order to take another shot at a high lottery pick and ensure that 2026 first-rounder is worth the price he paid for it?
The Nets' Offseason Plan
It has been widely reported that the Nets are the only NBA team that will have significant cap room, which is accurate. The exact amount of space they'll have is a little trickier to pin down.
Stein’s Latest: Suns’ HC Search, Giannis, Bucks, Sixers
While it remains unclear which head coaching candidates will advance to the final round of the interview process for the Suns, Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link) says there are “rumbles in coaching circles” that Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney and Heat assistant Chris Quinn made strong impressions during the early stages of Phoenix’s search.
[RELATED: Suns Ready To Move On To Next Round In Coaching Search]
As Stein notes, it’s also worth keeping an eye on the Michigan State alums in the candidate pool, since Suns owner Mat Ishbia values ties to his alma mater, as evidenced by the fact that he named fellow Spartan Brian Gregory the team’s new general manager earlier this spring. Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott and Nets assistant Steve Hetzel both attended Michigan State, according to Stein, who singles out Ott as a name to monitor.
The expectation is that the Suns will narrow their pool of candidates to about three finalists, Stein reports.
Here are a few more items of interest from Stein’s latest Substack article:
- As the Bucks try to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to continue his career in Milwaukee, one factor they’re emphasizing is the ability to continue competing in a weakened Eastern Conference, Stein writes. Although Milwaukee has been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for three consecutive years, the path to the NBA Finals still looks much clearer in the East than in the West, especially given the injury-related uncertainties surrounding would-be contenders like Boston and Philadelphia, Stein adds.
- The Bucks also hope that Doc Rivers‘ ongoing presence helps strengthen their case to Antetokounmpo, who is believed to have a “strong working relationship” with the veteran coach, Stein writes.
- Stein confirms prior reporting from his Stein Line colleague Jake Fischer, writing that the Sixers want to add a “dynamic young talent” to their roster and therefore won’t be inclined to trade the No. 3 overall pick if it would mean trading out of the draft or moving down more than a few spots in the lottery.
- In case you missed it, Stein also identified a few veteran point guards who might be targets for the Mavericks this summer. We have the full story on that here.
PJ Haggerty Withdraws From 2025 NBA Draft
Guard PJ Haggerty, who was a consensus second-team All-American and the AAC Player of the Year in 2024/25, has elected to withdraw from the NBA draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).
Having spent time at TCU, Tulsa, and Memphis since 2022, Haggerty will be transferring to Kansas State for the 2025/26 season, he tells ESPN.
After appearing in just six games for TCU in 2022/23, Haggerty had a breakout year as a redshirt freshman for Tulsa the following year, averaging 21.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.9 steals per game in 31 outings (all starts).
The 6’3″ guard put up nearly identical marks for Memphis last season, with averages of 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.8 steals in 36.6 minutes per game. He also put up career highs in three-point percentage (36.4%) and free throw percentage (81.8%) during his lone year as a Tiger.
Haggerty was ranked 64th overall on ESPN’s big board of 2025 prospects, making him a borderline candidate to be drafted. The 21-year-old will continue earning NIL money at the college level for at least one more season while looking to further boost his draft stock. According to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com (Twitter link), Haggerty’s NIL earnings next season are expected to exceed $2MM.
College early entrants have until the end of the day on May 28 to withdraw from the NBA draft if they want to retain their NCAA eligibility.
Jrue Holiday, Lonzo Ball, Chris Paul Possibilities For Mavericks
The Mavericks will explore a potential trade with the Celtics for Jrue Holiday as they look for someone to take over ball-handling duties while Kyrie Irving is injured, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack column (subscription required).
Stein admits that a deal for Holiday would be tricky given Dallas’ financial position and the fact that he has three years and $104MM left on his contract. Holiday is among the players Boston is reportedly considering moving to reduce next season’s payroll, so the Celtics won’t be looking to take back big contracts in return. A third or fourth team may have to get involved to make a trade feasible.
Irving suffered a torn ACL in his left knee on March 3. A report last month suggested that he might be able to return by January, but Dallas will need someone to serve as the lead guard until he fully recovers from surgery.
Stein cites Bulls guard Lonzo Ball as “a more reasonable trade target” for the Mavs. Ball signed a two-year, $20MM extension in February that includes a team option for the second season. It would be much easier for Dallas to fit Ball’s contract into its current salary structure, and he’s coming off a relatively healthy season after missing two and a half years with severe knee issues. At 27, Ball is seven years younger than Holiday and could turn into a better long-term investment.
League sources tell Stein that Chris Paul is another player to watch for the Mavericks. Even though he turned 40 earlier this month, Paul was able to appear in all 82 games with the Spurs and produced another productive season, averaging 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 28 minutes per night with .427/.377/.924 shooting splits.
Stein states that the year Paul spent tutoring Victor Wembanyama and his other young teammates was considered successful, but there’s “anticipation” that he might be changing teams again this summer. San Antonio traded for De’Aaron Fox in February and is expected to add Dylan Harper with the second pick in next month’s draft. With Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle also in the backcourt mix, there may not be enough minutes for Paul.
Stein expects plenty of interest around the league in Paul if he decides to move on.
Knicks Notes: Towns, Brunson, Wright, Shamet, McBride
Karl-Anthony Towns‘ best playoff performance since joining the Knicks came when his team needed it the most, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). New York was trailing by 10 points entering the fourth quarter on Sunday and staring at a potential 3-0 series deficit. With Jalen Brunson having an off night and being kept on the bench due to foul trouble, the Knicks needed Towns to take over the offense.
He delivered in a huge way, scoring 20 of his 24 points during the first eight minutes of the quarter. He was 6-of-9 from the field during that stretch and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He also collected eight rebounds as New York gradually overtook Indiana to claim a 106-100 victory.
“Just teammates put me in great spots to succeed and I wanted to just capitalize on the opportunity,” Towns said. “And just all of us we were just doing what it takes to win and putting ourselves in position to get back in the game and put ourselves in position at the end of the game where we could find ourselves with a chance to win. Finding a way.”
It was an encouraging response after Towns was limited to 28 minutes in Game 2 while being kept on the sidelines for most of crunch time. The Pacers have been targeting him on defense throughout the series, but on Sunday Towns found a way to fight back.
“He can score on all three different levels,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He’s comfortable at the three-point line. He’s comfortable putting it on the floor. He’s comfortable playing back to the basket. So, as long as he stays aggressive, it’s a huge plus for us. And then the double-team comes and then he can playmake off that.”
There’s more on the Knicks:
- Brunson came out of the game after picking up his fifth foul with 7:03 remaining because Thibodeau wanted to make sure he was available to close out the victory, per Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. After sitting for more than five and a half minutes, Brunson returned to hit a floater in the lane with 1:17 left that gave the Knicks the lead for good. “Did you expect anything less from JB? He got that (Clutch Player of the Year) award for a reason,” Towns said. “We knew when we got in that fourth quarter, we gotta get back in the game and we felt very confident.”
- Thibodeau normally sticks with set rotations, especially in the playoffs, but he made a couple out-of-character moves that sparked the Knicks’ victory, Schwartz observes in a separate story. Thibodeau changed his starting lineup, replacing Josh Hart with Mitchell Robinson, then gave early minutes to Delon Wright and Landry Shamet, who both saw their first significant action of the postseason. “High-character guys,” Thibodeau said. “Both guys have done a good job. We picked up Delon late. Landry’s been terrific all year. … He’s played really well, he’s great for the team, he’s always ready. The same can be said for Delon. They’re really, really good pros. When I say that, I mean they do the right thing every day. That goes a long way. It’s not just lip service, it’s doing the actual work, which I think is important.”
- Miles McBride barely played in the first half after picking up three quick fouls, but he made an impact when he returned in the third quarter, notes Peter Botte of The New York Post. McBride scored seven straight points late in the quarter to reduce the Pacers’ lead to nine. “It’s not easy to do, particularly when you go to the bench after a minute and then you’ve gotta still stay in the game mentally,” Thibodeau said. “I thought his intensity was huge for us. He’s a catalyst, his defense, his hustle, and I think it gives people energy when you see him flying around like that.”
International Notes: Jokic, Bogdanovic, Valanciunas, Micic, Hayes-Davis, Biberovic
Serbian basketball federation president Nebojsa Covic is counting on having a full team for this year’s EuroBasket tournament, including Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, according to a BasketNews report. The Serbians have never won the gold medal in the event, but they would be among the favorites if all their stars are available.
The event will take place from August 27 to September 14, which Covic believes will give everyone plenty of time to recover from the rigors of an NBA season.
“I expect us to have a complete squad. I think that those constant questions about Jokic playing can create an unhealthy environment. We are all working on having a complete squad ready,” he said. “NBA stars like Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic now have three months of rest after the seasons they had and that were very demanding.”
Jokic was one of the stars of last year’s Summer Olympics in Paris as Serbia captured a bronze medal and narrowly missed defeating the United States in the semifinals. He has been representing his country in international competitions since 2013.
There’s more international news to pass along:
- Kings center Jonas Valanciunas speculated about finishing his career in the EuroLeague as he attended the league’s Final Four in Abu Dhabi, BasketNews relays in a separate story. It won’t happen for a while, as Valanciunas has two years remaining on his current contract. “I want to play in the EuroLeague, I want it for this atmosphere,” he said in an interview with SPORT24. “I want to play basketball, I want to enjoy this atmosphere.” Valanciunas played four seasons in Lithuania before coming to the NBA in 2012.
- Suns guard Vasilije Micic wants five million euros ($5.685MM) to play in Europe next season, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. Phoenix holds an $8.1MM team option on Micic for 2025/26, but that’s likely to be declined because he barely played after being acquired from Charlotte in February. Micic has received interest from Hapoel Tel Aviv and Crvena Zvezda, but Maggi states that not many European teams can meet his salary demand.
- After capturing the EuroLeague title over the weekend, Fenerbahce is preparing for the possible loss of Nigel Hayes-Davis and Tarik Biberovic to the NBA, per Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. Hayes-Davis, 30, had brief stints with three NBA teams during the 2017/18 season, while Biberovic, 24, is a draft-and-stash prospect who was selected by Memphis in the second round in 2023. “There is serious interest in Tarık and Nigel from the NBA,” Fenerbahce general manager Derya Yannier said. “I don’t know what will happen over there. These are factors that could actually weaken our hand and prolong the process during the summer. Even before they leave, it’s difficult to have a clear view in terms of budget and roster planning.”
Josh Hart Suggested Knicks’ Starting Lineup Change
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau shook up his starting lineup for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, with Mitchell Robinson replacing Josh Hart. After New York staged a thrilling comeback to pick up its first win of the series, Hart revealed that not only is he OK with the change, it was actually his idea, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post (subscription required).
Hart told reporters that he made the suggestion during a meeting with Thibodeau after watching how well Robinson performed in Game 2.
“It was never going to be a tough day for me because I had a hand in that decision,” Hart said. “When I’m in a decision like that and kind of got the ball rolling on that, it was funny, y’all are scrambling, trying to get answers and I never really cared. Because it was kind of my decision. I was comfortable with it.”
Even though Hart came off the bench, he remained in his regular role for most of the night. He logged 34 minutes while contributing eight points and 10 rebounds, several of which came late in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.
Robinson had six points, six rebounds and a blocked shot in 29 minutes and enabled the Knicks to avoid the slow starts they experienced in Games 1 and 2. The score was tied at 24-24 when he checked out for the first time with 1:10 left in the first quarter.
“It really didn’t impact either guy from a minutes standpoint. So to me, when Mitch was coming off the bench, he’s a starter coming off the bench. When Josh comes off the bench, he’s a starter coming off the bench,” Thibodeau said. “Their minutes are gonna be the same. And both guys mix and match. Both guys are comfortable with both units. The thing that I love about Josh is the unselfishness.”
Another benefit of the change was more time at power forward for Karl-Anthony Towns, who led the rally by scoring 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Hart added that the seeds of Sunday’s move go back to the second-round series against the Celtics.
“This was a conversation that we had, that I’ve had before,” he said. “Actually I mentioned, I talked to a couple of people about it before Game 6 [against Boston], I was struggling with the matchup of Luke Kornet, and wasn’t able to really figure that out. Game 6 I had a pretty good game. But it was something that I’ve had in the back of my mind and I’ve always been willing to do. Down two [games], especially with how Mitch played last game, that was something that we had to do.”
Western Notes: Shannon, Murray, Hetzel, Jokic
Rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. has earned more playing time in the Western Conference Finals after his performance in Game 3, according to Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. Shannon delivered 15 points in 13 minutes as Minnesota blew out Oklahoma City, cutting the Thunder’s series lead to 2-1.
“I’ve been wrestling with getting another guy in the rotation,” Finch said, per Cassidy Hettesheimer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “A guy that could stretch the floor in transition, be a downhill player, got a good body, physicality. … We kind of knew coming into the game that we were going to get to him. You’re definitely going to see him more.”
We have more from the Western Conference:
- Even though Keegan Murray took a step back in his third season, signing the Kings forward to a rookie scale extension would probably be a wise move this offseason, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith writes. Murray can play either forward spot and he could handle a bigger offensive role. A five-year contract in the $130-140MM range feels like the sweet spot for both parties, in Smith’s estimation.
- Nets assistant Steve Hetzel is one of many candidates for the Suns’ head coaching job, a search that has moved into the next phase. Hetzel has also been an assistant with Detroit, Charlotte, Orlando and Portland and is known for his calm, unflappable demeanor, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes.
- Nikola Jokic needs to hold the Nuggets’ management more accountable if they want to keep him there, Mark Kiszla of the Denver Gazette writes. Jokic is eligible for a two-year extension this offseason but he ought to decline it and force ownership and the front office to improve the roster, in Kiszla’s view.