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Carson Cooper

Carson Cooper, Grizzlies Agree To Two-Way Deal

By | at June 25, 2026 12:09 am

The Grizzlies are signing big man Carson Cooper to a two-way deal after he went unselected in the 2026 draft, Billy Reinhardt reports (Twitter link).

Cooper is a four-year player out of Michigan State. After only making eight starts in his first three seasons, the 6’11” center started all 35 games for the Spartans as a senior, averaging 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per game. It was his first season averaging more than 5.0 points per game.

While Cooper is limited offensively, he is a strong athlete with decent touch around the basket and has shown good instincts and vision as a passer. His defense is hit and miss, but he moves well and plays with a toughness that the Grizzlies seem to value in the players they’ve added over the last several years. He only attempted five three-pointers this season, hitting two of them, but he’s a career 72.6% free throw shooter, having improved every season.

The Grizzlies added a considerable amount of size during the 2026 draft, selecting physical forwards Cameron Boozer and Karim Lopez and agreeing to acquire imposing big man Isaiah Stewart as a backup center for Zach Edey. In Cooper, they’re adding another player with an interesting combination of size and skill to the group.

Cooper was unranked in Jeremy Woo’s final big board for ESPN, and ranked 86th in Sam Vecenie’s draft guide for The Athletic (subscriber link).

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Warriors Notes: Porzingis, Green, Podziemski, Free Agent Targets

By | at May 30, 2026 8:47 pm

The most important decision of the Warriors’ offseason could be whether to re-sign free agent big man Kristaps Porzingis or to free up enough money to use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, writes Keith Smith of Spotrac. Porzingis was productive when he played this season, but he was only available for 15 games after being acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline. Smith suggests a short-term deal if Golden State decides to keep him, something in the neighborhood of $50MM over two years.

However, parting with some salary could enable the Warriors to use the NTMLE, which is projected to be worth a little over $15MM next season. Smith theorizes that could be enough to lure LeBron James if he decides to leave the Lakers this summer and doesn’t want to settle for a salary that’s at or near the veteran’s minimum. Smith mentions a few other free agents who might be available in that price range, including John Collins, Rui Hachimura, CJ McCollum, Anfernee Simons and Khris Middleton.

Smith expects Draymond Green to turn down his $27.7MM player option for a longer deal, but not at a huge discount. Smith proposes around $75MM over three seasons, with either a partial guarantee or a team option on the final year. Al Horford ($5.9MM) and De’Anthony Melton ($3.5MM) also have player options that Smith believes they’ll exercise because neither is likely to earn more in free agency.

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • A potential rookie scale extension for Brandin Podziemski is another order of business for the summer, Smith adds. Podziemski hasn’t become a star during his three years with the team, but he’s steadily improved and has value as a passer and rebounder as well as a scorer. Smith advises the Warriors to make the deal if they can lock up Podziemski for around $64MM over four seasons. Otherwise, they should wait and negotiate with him as a restricted free agent next summer.
  • Michigan State center Carson Cooper, who worked out for the Warriors this week, patterns parts of his game after Green and believes he would be a good fit in Golden State, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle relays in a subscriber-only story. “How he played, the way he can impact the game is kind of how I feel I can impact the game a little bit,” Cooper said. “I play hard-nosed defense, get shooters open, give them the ball, work on the (dribble handoffs), facilitate, find cutters and passing and just be a solid player.”
  • Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required) points to Simons, Ayo Dosunmu, Jaxson Hayes, Josh Okogie, and Coby White as free agents who could add some youth and athleticism to the Warriors’ roster.
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Western Notes: Kings, Warriors, DiVincenzo, Sorber

By | at May 28, 2026 9:29 pm

UConn forward Alex Karaban headlines a group of six prospects set to work out for the Kings on Friday, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Karaban, a senior who was automatically eligible for the draft, goes 31st overall in the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Jeremy Woo and comes in at No. 30 on ESPN’s big board.

The other five draft prospects are Ryan Conwell (Louisville), Otega Oweh (Kentucky), Toibu Lawal (Virginia Tech), Tyler Nickel (Vanderbilt), and Mark Mitchell (Missouri). All are in ESPN’s top 100, with Conwell (No. 36) the only other player aside from Karaban in the top 50.

Sacramento controls the seventh, 34th and 45th picks in next month’s draft, Anderson notes.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • The Warriors hosted six prospects — Trey Campbell (Northern Iowa) Oscar Cluff (Purdue), Carson Cooper (Michigan State), Jaden Henley (Grand Canyon), Elias Ralph (Pacific), and Jalen Warley (Gonzaga) — for a pre-draft workout on Thursday, per an announcement from the team (Twitter link). Boilermakers center Cluff (No. 63) is the top-ranked player in that group, according to ESPN, with Henley (No. 72) also in the top 100.
  • Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said Donte DiVincenzo was the “heart and soul of so many things we do” after the veteran guard tore his right Achilles tendon in the first round of the playoffs, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. It was a brutal blow for the 29-year-old, who brought a consistent toughness and competitiveness to Minnesota. Now he faces an uncertain future, as he’s likely to miss most — if not all — of next season as he enters the final year of his contract, which will pay him $12.5MM in 2026/27. “He’s trying to get back as soon as possible, and I think he’s going to have a great recovery, the way he’s treating it and the attitude he has about it, getting right, getting better, it’s just great to see,” Jaden McDaniels said. “I mean, we all love Donte. Hopefully he’s going to have a speedy recovery.”
  • Thomas Sorber has missed his entire rookie season due to a torn ACL, but the Thunder big man is still getting his NBA education on the sidelines and hopes to play in Summer League in July, per Dan Woike of The Athletic. “I’m still reading the scouting report. I’m still seeing who’s a hot shooter, who to worry about, who not to worry about,” Sorber said. “Just trying to get the game plan in my head so when I am ready next year to play, then I’ll be able to, you know, already have it under my belt.” The 20-year-old center was the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft.
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Portsmouth Invitational Tournament Announces 2026 Rosters

By | at April 13, 2026 11:47 pm

The 2026 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament will take place this week from April 15-18 in Portsmouth, VA. The event features college seniors working to boost their stock ahead of the NBA draft, with invitations to the combine a possibility for some standouts.

Several P.I.T. alumni have gone on to become solid NBA players in recent years, including Toumani Camara, Craig Porter Jr., Daniss Jenkins and Kobe Sanders, among others. Camara (2023) and Sanders (2025) were both second-round picks.

This year’s tournament features eight different teams with eight players apiece, for a total of 64 participants. Here’s the full list, per the P.I.T.:

Champaign native Boswell, who helped lead the Illini to the Final Four, appears to be one of the top prospects among the group. The 6’2″ guard came in at No. 66 on ESPN’s latest big board, with Volunteers center Okpara (No. 86) and Boilermakers big man Kaufman-Renn (No. 88) among the other prospects on the top-100 list.

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