Pelicans Re-Sign Kylor Kelley
The Pelicans have brought back center Kylor Kelley for the final day of the 2024/25 season, signing him to a new contract via the hardship exception, the team announced in a press release.
Kelley signed a 10-day hardship contract with the Pelicans on April 3. Over the course of that deal, which expired on Saturday night, he appeared in two games, averaging 3.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per contest.
Kelley, who went undrafted out of Oregon State in 2020, made his NBA debut earlier this season while on a two-way deal with the Mavericks. He has also played in the G League and a handful of other non-NBA leagues – including in England and Denmark – since going pro.
While Kelley’s latest contract is referred to as a “10-day” deal because it’s signed using the hardship exception, it’ll only actually cover one day, paying him $66,503, before it expires. As of Monday, the 27-year-old big man will once again be a free agent, with New Orleans not holding any form of Bird rights on him entering the offseason.
The Pelicans qualify for a hardship exception, which allows them to exceed the usual 15-man standard roster limit, because they have at least four players affected by long-term injury absences.
Central Notes: Mitchell, Ball, Jones, Giddey, Giannis, Furphy
Donovan Mitchell is missing his fourth consecutive game on Sunday due to a sprained left ankle, but the Cavaliers remain confident their star guard will be ready to go when the team begins its first-round playoff series next weekend, writes Joe Reedy of The Associated Press.
Mitchell conducted a full workout at the Cavs’ training facility on Saturday and worked out on the court ahead of Sunday’s game vs. Indiana, Reedy notes.
“I think he’ll be full on with practice. We’re going to have to scrimmage at some point, probably inter-squad with refs, so he’ll participate in that,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “The most important thing is how we build him up with the ankle rehab and then conditioning.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Despite the fact that Lonzo Ball hasn’t played since February 28 due to a right wrist sprain, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said he’d be willing to use the point guard in this week’s play-in game(s) if he’s healthy enough to return. As K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets, Ball would be on a “short leash” in that scenario, per Donovan.
- As for the Bulls‘ other injured guards, Tre Jones (left foot sprain) remains in a walking boot and doesn’t appear close to returning, but there’s “high-level optimism” that Josh Giddey (right wrist tendinopathy) will be available to play on Wednesday vs. Miami, even though his wrist is still bothering him (Twitter links via Johnson).
- After appearing in just three of 11 playoff games in 2023 and 2024, star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will enter this year’s postseason healthy and having played some of his best basketball as of late — he has averaged 31.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 11.8 assists per game in six April outings, all Bucks wins. “He’s doing everything,” head coach Doc Rivers said of Antetokounmpo on Friday, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “And that’s what’s so special about him.”
- With the Pacers‘ playoff seed already clinched, rookie wing Johnny Furphy set new career highs on Friday in points (17) and minutes played (32) while also throwing down an impressive dunk in the second quarter of a loss to Orlando (Twitter video link). Furphy figures to only play garbage-time minutes in the playoffs, but head coach Rick Carlisle likes what he has seen from the first-year swingman, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “He’s just a pure competitor,” Carlisle said. “Everything about him is pure. He doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body. Does everything hard. Does everything with the right spirit.”
Stein/Fischer’s Latest: Griffin, Green, Suns, Beal, More
There has been buzz around the NBA this weekend about the future in New Orleans, where the futures of Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin and head coach Willie Green appear tenuous, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). League sources tell The Stein Line that some people around the league are “undeniably bracing” for Griffin’s exit from the franchise, with Green also said to be on the hot seat.
While injuries were once again a significant factor this season, it has been a disappointing run in recent years for the Pelicans, who haven’t been able to capitalize on getting the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft and acquiring significant trade hauls for Anthony Davis (in 2019) and Jrue Holiday (2020). The club has made the playoffs in only two of the past six seasons and won just two total games in those postseason appearances.
Dyson Daniels‘ rise in Atlanta this season, after he was sent to the Hawks in last summer’s Dejounte Murray trade, has been a “source of tension” within the Pelicans organization, Stein and Fischer say, noting that Green has been questioned internally for having often leaned on Jose Alvarado over Daniels from 2022-24.
Still, Stein and Fischer caution that there were “whispers” about Green’s job being in danger following New Orleans’ 5-29 start in the fall and he has made it through the season, so there’s a chance he could be retained through the offseason too. He’s known to hold “significant support” from owner Gayle Benson, according to The Stein Line.
Here are a few more items of interest from Stein and Fischer:
- While it’s somewhat rare for a team to clean house by firing its head of basketball operations and head coach at the same time, Denver did it last week and the Suns have been “painted” as a team that could follow suit, write Stein and Fischer. General manager James Jones has been atop the front office hierarchy since 2018, whereas head coach Mike Budenholzer just joined the organization on a five-year contract in 2024.
- In addition to exploring a Kevin Durant trade, the Suns are “known to be trying to extricate themselves” from the final two years of Bradley Beal‘s contract, Stein and Fischer confirm. That will be easier said than done, given his no-trade clause and the $111MM he’s still owed. But for what it’s worth, plugged-in Phoenix insider John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 said last week that there’s a “zero percent chance” Beal will be back on the Suns next season (Twitter link).
- If Chauncey Billups hadn’t signed a contract extension with the Trail Blazers, there was a belief he might emerge as a candidate in Phoenix and/or Denver, according to Fischer and Stein. It remains to be seen whether the Suns will make a coaching change this spring, but some of their players were said last May to be high on Billups. The Nuggets, meanwhile, will definitely have a coaching vacancy, but it’s unclear whether or not they would have targeted Billups — as Fischer and Stein explain, there was a sense that Billups, a Denver native, would have been interested in that job if Portland hadn’t retained him.
- Berlin, Germany and London, England are viewed as the frontrunners among European cities to host NBA regular season games next season, with Manchester also believed to be in consideration, per The Stein Line.
Jaylen Brown Gets Pain-Killing Injections In Right Knee
April 13: Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla confirmed on Sunday that Brown has received pain management injections for his right knee, per Ken Powtak of The Associated Press.
“Just part of the rehab process for him to get back to be his absolute best,” Mazzulla said. “He’s continuing to take care of himself and put himself in great position to be ready for the postseason.”
Asked whether he’s confident Brown will be available when the playoffs get underway, Mazzulla replied, “A hundred percent.”
April 12: Celtics star Jaylen Brown was given pain management injections this week as he continues to try to find an answer for his aching right knee, league sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
Brown suffered a bone bruise several weeks ago, and it has become more painful recently, according to Shelburne. He was limited to 22 minutes and barely played after halftime in Boston’s overtime victory at New York on Tuesday. He sat out Wednesday’s game at Orlando, ensuring that he won’t reach the 65-game minimum to be considered for postseason awards, and he has been declared out for Sunday’s regular season finale against Charlotte.
Shelburne notes that teammate Kristaps Porzingis cautioned Brown against trying to do too much after Tuesday’s outing.
“He’s a tough dude,” Porzingis said. “He always preaches his warrior mindset. He lives by it. But to what extent do we need that right now? Maybe he needs to take care of it and make sure he’s going to be ready for the most important moment. I think we need to encourage him to make sure he does everything he needs to prepare to get it healthy and to prepare for what’s going to come.”
The Celtics had Brown on a minutes restriction for a while, but he worked his way back up to about 30 minutes per night prior to this week, per Brian Robb of MassLive. Barring a setback, he’s expected to be ready for the start of Boston’s first-round playoff series next weekend.
“We just got what we needed to get out of him as he continues to push himself and test himself,” coach Joe Mazzulla said after the Knicks game. “We still got games left so we got what we needed to get, what we needed to see and we’ll just continue to move forward.”
Brown, a four-time All-Star and the reigning MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals, is in the midst of another productive season. He’s averaging 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 63 games with .463/.324/.764 shooting numbers.
Robb points out that Brown has chosen to play through the pain numerous times, even though the Celtics have been virtually locked into the No. 2 seed for several weeks. Brown explained his reasoning after a game last week.
“I’m hoping to feel better and better,” he said. “But there’s no guarantee that rest or anything like that is going to make this thing better, so kind of figuring it out and going through it and getting ready for the playoffs.”
Draft Notes: Uzan, Markovic, Coward, 2025 Mock
Houston junior Milos Uzan, who helped the Cougars reach the final of the NCAA tournament, is declaring for the 2025 NBA draft, agent Aman Dhesi tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Uzan is a 6’4″ guard who spent his first two college seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to Houston. In 40 games this past season with the Cougars, he averaged 11.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 31.5 minutes per contest, with a shooting slash line of .453/.428/.783.
Givony suggests that Uzan, who goes No. 42 overall in ESPN’s latest mock draft (Insider link), will be testing the draft waters this spring. If he withdraws from the draft, he will return to Houston for his senior campaign.
Here are a few more notes related to June’s draft:
- Serbian forward/center Bogoljub Markovic is entering his name in the draft, agent Misko Raznatovic announced (via Twitter) earlier this week. Markovic had a productive season for Mega Basket in the ABA League, averaging 13.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 2.6 APG on .526/.391/.757 shooting in 26 games (29.4 MPG). The 19-year-old is another projected second-round pick, coming off the board at No. 50 in ESPN’s mock.
- Washington State senior Cedric Coward is declaring for the NBA draft, agent Todd Ramasar tells Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 (Twitter link). Coward is also entering the transfer portal to keep his options open for his final season of college eligibility. Coward only played six games for the Cougars in 2024/25 due to a shoulder injury, but he put up big numbers in those appearances, averaging 17.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.7 APG and 1.7 BPG on .557/.400/.839 shooting. The 6’6″ small forward is projected to go No. 55 overall in ESPN’s mock draft.
- Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports updated his 2025 mock draft after the NCAA tournament ended earlier this week, with some noteworthy differences from ESPN’s. For example, O’Connor seems higher on South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles (No. 5), Colorado State wing Nique Clifford (No. 14) and Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford (No. 22) than ESPN is (they go No. 10, No. 25 and No. 39, respectively, in ESPN’s mock). O’Connor is also a little more bearish than ESPN on Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears (No. 11 vs. No. 6 at ESPN) and Illinois forward Will Riley (No. 21 vs. No. 16).
Celtics Convert JD Davison To Standard Contract
April 13: Davison’s promotion is now official, according to the Celtics.
April 12: The Celtics are converting two-way guard JD Davison to a two-year standard contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Boston had an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move is necessary.
Boston drafted Davison in the second round of the 2022 draft. In his three years on two-way deals, the 22-year-old has appeared in total 35 games with the Celtics, averaging 1.7 points in 5.2 minutes per contest.
Davison has seen much more playing time at the G League level, averaging 20.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 8.0 assists across 133 regular season games. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the NBAGL this season after averaging 25.6 PPG in the regular season.
Being converted to the standard roster will make Davison eligible for the playoffs.
It’s unclear what the specifics are on his deal at this time, but it may feature little to no guaranteed money for next season. Conversions around this time of year help give contending teams longer looks at developmental players into the offseason and gives them the flexibility to decide whether to keep them around. Davison would have been eligible for restricted free agency this offseason had he not been converted.
Because the deadline for signing players to two-way contracts passed in March, the Celtics are not eligible to sign another player to fill Davison’s slot. Drew Peterson and Miles Norris occupy Boston’s other two-way slots, with Norris on a two-year deal that runs through 2025/26.
Blazers Sign Coach Chauncey Billups To Multiyear Extension
10:50am: Billups’ extension is now official, the Trail Blazers confirmed in a press release.
“The core of Chauncey’s leadership is his ability to build a collaborative culture and growth mindset for our young team,” said Jody Allen, chair of the Portland Trail Blazers. “We’re very happy to extend his contract as head coach, and excited to see his continued work developing our players and transforming this team into one capable of long-term success.”
According to Chris Haynes (Twitter link), Portland exercised its option on Billups for ’25/26 and his extension covers two additional years, so he’s now under contract until 2028.
10:32am: The Trail Blazers intend to sign head coach Chauncey Billups to a multiyear contract extension, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.
Billups’ new deal comes less than a week after general manager Joe Cronin signed his own multiyear extension with Portland. The two have been friends for decades, Charania notes.
2024/25 was the final guaranteed season of Billups’ initial contract with the Blazers, who held a team option for ’25/26. He has been the club’s head coach since ’21/22, compiling a 116-211 regular season record (.355 winning percentage) over the past four seasons.
Billups indicated last summer that he might not be interested in returning as Portland’s head coach beyond this season, and rumors in the first few months of ’24/25 suggested that the two sides were likely to part ways. However, the Blazers somewhat unexpectedly went 10-4 heading into the All-Star break, and the 48-year-old said at the time that he was happy with the team’s progress and hoped to see the rebuild through.
“Me personally, I definitely think that I’ve done enough (to earn a new contract),” Billups said in February. “But I’m also not about to petition for that. I’m not gonna do that. I feel like I’ve done enough. I feel like I’ve developed a ton myself, which needed to happen.”
As Charania writes, the Blazers have gone 22-18 since January 19 and have a top-five defense during that time. Portland holds a 35-46 record heading into Sunday’s season finale vs. the Lakers after winning just 21 games a year ago.
Billups had a highly successful career as a player, having been named to the Hall of Fame last year. The five-time All-Star won a championship and Finals MVP with Detroit back in 2004.
Raptors Sign Colin Castleton To Two-Year Deal
April 13: Castleton’s contract with Toronto is now official, the team confirmed in a press release.
April 11: Second-year center Colin Castleton will be leaving the Sixers and returning to the Raptors on the final weekend of the regular season, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
Castleton, who was on a two-way contract with the Grizzlies earlier this season, was waived by Memphis in January, then inked a pair of 10-day deals with Toronto in March before joining the 76ers on a 10-day pact last Thursday.
In 24 total outings for those three teams in 2024/25, Castleton has averaged 4.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 15.8 minutes per game. He played his best basketball this season with the Raptors, putting up 6.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 1.8 APG in 10 games (four starts) over the course of his 20 days with Toronto.
Because a player can’t sign more than two 10-day contracts with a team in a season, the big man was only able to return to the Raptors if he and the team agreed to a standard contract.
They’ve done just that, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca, who tweets that Castleton and two-way player A.J. Lawson are getting essentially the same deal — a two-year contract that isn’t guaranteed beyond this season. That will allow the Raptors to take a longer look at the duo this offseason, including in Summer League.
Toronto waived Orlando Robinson and Cole Swider on Thursday, opening up a pair of spots on the 15-man roster. At the time, reports indicated that Robinson, Swider, Lawson, and Castleton were among the candidates to fill those openings on new multiyear deals. It appears Lawson and Castleton will be the ones filling out the roster, with Robinson and Swider the odd men out.
Castleton’s 10-day contract with Philadelphia technically runs through Saturday, but with the Sixers not in action again until Sunday, it’s possible they’ll terminate his deal a day early in order to free him up to sign with Toronto.
Warriors Convert Braxton Key To Standard Contract
The Warriors have converted forward Braxton Key‘s two-way deal to a standard contract, according to the NBA’s official transactions log.
The wording in the NBA’s log indicates it was a straight conversion of Key’s one-year contract rather than a brand-new multiyear deal, so he remains on track to be a free agent this summer, when his new contract expires.
As our Luke Adams wrote yesterday, the Warriors had an opening on their standard roster ahead of Sunday’s regular season finale. They have filled it by promoting Key, who is now eligible to appear in the postseason.
A four-year veteran, Key has played a total of 37 NBA games with Philadelphia, Detroit, Denver and Golden State since he went undrafted out of Virginia in 2020. He spent most of 2024/25 in the NBA G League with the San Diego Clippers before signing a two-way contract with the Warriors at the beginning of March.
Key excelled at the NBGL level this season, filling the stat sheet with averages of 16.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.1 blocks on .506/.282/.670 shooting in 49 total games with San Diego and the Santa Cruz Warriors (31.7 minutes per contest). He was named the G League’s Defensive Player of the Year earlier this month.
Hornets Re-Sign Jaylen Sims
The Hornets have re-signed Jaylen Sims for Sunday’s regular season finale after his 10-day contract expired overnight, per a team press release.
As our tracker shows, the Hornets currently have a full 15-man standard roster. However, they were able to sign Sims using a hardship exception, as the team has multiple players dealing with significant injuries.
Hardship contracts typically cover 10 days, but Charlotte’s season concludes today. He will earn $6,650 for one day of work with his hometown team, and the Hornets will carry an identical cap hit on their books.
A 6’6″ shooting guard, Sims went undrafted out of UNC Wilmington in 2022 and has spent the past three seasons suiting up for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s NBA G League affiliate.
Sims made 49 combined appearances for the Swarm in 2024/25, averaging 19.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 32.9 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .442/.375/.837. The 26-year-old also played in five games (18.2 MPG) for the Hornets this month, averaging 6.0 PPG and 2.0 APG on .421/.400/.833 shooting.