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Hawks Considered Favorites For Nickeil Alexander-Walker

June 30th, 2025 at 7:56am CST by Arthur Hill

Heading into the start of free agency, rival teams view the Hawks as the favorites to land Nickeil Alexander-Walker, likely in a sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). This echoes a report on Sunday from Grant Afseth of RG.

Atlanta would be able to absorb Alexander-Walker’s new salary into the $25.3MM traded player exception it created in last summer’s Dejounte Murray deal.

Alexander-Walker is a strong two-way contributor who would bring a valuable element to an emerging Hawks team. The 26-year-old shooting guard is among the league’s top three-and-D players and connected at 38.1% from beyond the arc this season.

His expected move to Atlanta will have ripple effects on at least two other teams, Stein and Fischer add. The Pistons, who have also been considered contenders for Alexander-Walker, will turn their attention to signing Hawks free agent forward Caris LeVert, who had a productive half season off the bench after being acquired from Cleveland in February. Afseth also mentioned Detroit as a potential favorite for in LeVert in the wake of gambling allegations against Malik Beasley.

As Stein and Fischer have reported before, the Kings are working on a deal with Dennis Schröder to take over as their starting point guard. They cite projections that his new contract could approach $30MM over two years, which likely means he would receive the team’s non-taxpayer midlevel exception, which totals up to about $28.9MM over two seasons. Sources tell Stein and Fischer that Sacramento is also in the market for a second point guard to back up Schröder, possibly Russell Westbrook or Malcolm Brogdon.

The Pistons’ pursuit of a shooter to replace Beasley could involve Duncan Robinson, who opted out of his contract with the Heat on Sunday. Sources tell Stein and Fischer that Robinson made his decision with the expectation that he’ll get a longer deal with Miami or that the team will work with him on a sign-and-trade.

Heat’s Duncan Robinson Opting Out Of Contract

June 29th, 2025 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat forward Duncan Robinson is opting out of his contract for 2025/26 in order to become an unrestricted free agent, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who says the veteran sharpshooter will work with the team to either figure out a new deal or accommodate a move elsewhere.

Robinson held an early termination option ahead of the ’25/26 season rather than a traditional player option. They have similar functions, but in order to become a free agent, Robinson will technically exercise the option to terminate his contract early, rather than declining that option and playing out his contract. If it were a traditional player option, exercising it would mean opting in.

Had Robinson opted into the final year of his deal, his $19.9MM salary for ’25/26 would have become partially guaranteed for $9.9MM, which would have forced Miami to decide whether to guarantee his remaining $10MM or waive him in order to create $10MM in savings.

Now that Robinson has opted out, he’s not guaranteed any of that money. But he the Heat could potentially work out a multiyear deal that features a more team-friendly cap hit and ensures that the 31-year-old still earns that $9.9MM — and then some.

The possibility of a new three-year deal to keep Robinson in Miami is one idea that has been floated, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

One of the NBA’s best three-point shooters, Robinson has fired up 7.2 attempts per game from beyond the arc in 423 regular season appearances and has knocked down 39.7% of them. In 2024/25, he averaged 11.0 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.3 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .437/.393/.887, across 74 outings (37 starts).

As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald tweets, Robinson’s decision takes the Heat from $8MM over the projected luxury tax line to $12MM below it. That gives the team enough breathing room below the tax to either bring back the forward on a new contract or perhaps add a replacement via trade/sign-and-trade or the mid-level exception.

Fischer’s Latest: Yabusele, Kornet, Lopez, Hornets, Wolves, D. Robinson

June 28th, 2025 at 9:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Spurs weren’t successful in their attempt to trade for Kristaps Porzingis, who was ultimately sent from Boston to Atlanta, but they remain active in their pursuit of another big man, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

Fischer echoes a recent report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that San Antonio is eyeing Guerschon Yabusele. “Multiple well-placed observers” tell Fischer that the Spurs are viewed as the biggest threat to sign Yabusele, but he hears that the Sixers haven’t given up hopes of keeping him. Fischer notes that San Antonio has a powerful recruiting tool in Victor Wembanyama, Yabusele’s teammate on the French Olympic team. Fischer mentions the Bucks as another team that could make a play for Yabusele.

Yabusele outperformed his contract after returning to the NBA on a one-year, minimum-salary deal following last year’s Summer Games. He became a reliable front court anchor during an injury-plagued season for Philadelphia.

Celtics backup center Luke Kornet could be another Spurs target, Fischer adds.

Fischer shares more inside information from around the league:

The Bucks could be losing their starting center, as Brook Lopez returns to free agency after getting strong interest from San Antonio and Houston two years ago. Sources tell Fischer that the Lakers are expected to pursue Lopez to fill their vacancy in the middle, and he adds that even if L.A. winds up with another option such as Clint Capela, there’s a belief that Lopez plans to leave Milwaukee.
Point guards are likely to draw interest on the market beyond teams such as the Kings, Mavericks and Clippers that have obvious needs. Fischer hears that the Hornets are searching for a veteran to back up LaMelo Ball, who has been plagued by injury issues for most of his career and appeared in just 47 games this season. Fischer adds that the Timberwolves are expected to explore trade and free agency options to improve their backcourt, as it appears Nickeil Alexander-Walker is likely to leave in free agency.
The Heat are awaiting Duncan Robinson‘s decision on his early termination option, which is due by Sunday. Robinson is set to make $19.888MM next season, but only $9.9MM of that is guaranteed. If he opts in, Miami will have 48 hours to waive him after the moratorium ends on July 6 to avoid paying the full amount. Fischer points out that Robinson’s name has been mentioned in several trade rumors over the years, including the Heat’s recent pursuit of Kevin Durant.

Davion Mitchell To Re-Sign With Heat On Two-Year Deal

June 28th, 2025 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Davion Mitchell intends to re-sign with the Heat, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who hears from sources that Mitchell has agreed to a two-year, $24MM contract. The deal will be fully guaranteed, Charania adds.

The ninth overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, Mitchell spent his first three seasons in Sacramento, where he earned a reputation as a tenacious perimeter defender but struggled to provide value on offense, averaging 7.4 points and 2.8 assists in 20.4 minutes per game across 227 outings, with a .434/.327/.703 shooting line.

However, Mitchell had a solid first half in 2024/25 after being traded from Sacramento to Toronto last summer, then took his game to another level down the stretch following another trade that sent him from the Raptors to the Heat.

The 26-year-old emerged as a full-time starter in Miami, averaging 10.3 points and 5.3 assists per game with a .504/.447/.702 shooting line in 30 regular season contests for the Heat. He was even better in the postseason, making 59.3% of his field goal attempts and 52.0% of his three-pointers with averages of 15.2 PPG and 6.5 APG in six play-in and playoff outings.

Mitchell also played his usual strong defense in 2024/25. As Charania notes (via Twitter), among players to contest at least 500 shots, Mitchell ranked in the top five in opposing field goal percentage as the contesting defender, per ESPN Research.

The Heat issued an $8.74MM qualifying offer to Mitchell earlier this week, making him a restricted free agent. The Heat would have had the right to match any offer sheet he signed with a rival team, but he directly negotiated with Miami instead, opting not to test the market.

Mitchell’s new contract means the Heat will likely have to waive Duncan Robinson or negotiate a new contract with him in order to avoid crossing the luxury tax line, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Robinson has until Sunday to make a decision on an early termination option worth $19.9MM. If he opts in for 2025/26, his salary would be guaranteed for $9.9MM, so Miami could create $10MM in cap savings by waiving him (or more than that waiving him and using the stretch provision on his partial guarantee).

Mitchell was ranked 27th on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents.

Heat Notes: Durant Trade Offer, DeRozan, Kuminga, Robinson, Johnson, Smith

June 23rd, 2025 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat weren’t willing to part with rookie center Kel’el Ware, young forward Nikola Jovic or more than one future first-round pick in Kevin Durant trade discussions, a source tells Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Their source says the final offer included Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, two bench players and the No. 20 pick in Wednesday’s draft. Another source tells the authors that Miami was willing to take an unwanted salary from Phoenix, and they note that Marc Stein recently reported that there was interest in Cody Martin.

Jackson and Chiang explain that the Heat are permitted to offer two future first-rounders prior to Wednesday, but would have three available if the trade wasn’t finalized until after the draft is over. Miami wouldn’t consider parting with its picks in 2030 or 2031 to get Durant, and its first-rounders for 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 are in limbo due to obligations owed to Charlotte in the Rozier trade.

The authors add that the Suns could have opted for some tax relief by trading for Duncan Robinson and waiving him before July 8, leaving them on the hook for only the $9.9MM guaranteed portion of his 2025/26 salary. However, sources tell them that Phoenix never expressed any interest in Robinson. As we explained last month, Robinson’s partially guaranteed contract was never as valuable a trade chip in a Durant scenario as the Herald’s duo made it out to be.

There’s more from Miami:

Reports have linked the Heat to Kings forward DeMar DeRozan and Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, but neither player has been the focus of trade talks as of Sunday afternoon, Jackson and Chiang add in the same piece. They note that DeRozan, who’s believed to be on the trade market, will make $24.5MM next season, but only has a $10MM guarantee on his $25.7MM salary for 2026/27.
The Heat should have been willing to give up more of their young talent to add a player of Durant’s caliber, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. He argues that Jovic, Jaime Jaquez, Haywood Highsmith and even Ware if necessary should have been sent out to add a star who’s capable of making Miami an instant contender in the East. While Winderman would have been hesitant to part with future draft assets beyond this year’s first-rounder, he believes Miami could have easily topped the package the Rockets are sending to Phoenix in exchange for Durant.
If the Heat can’t trade Robinson, it’s possible that he could decline his $19.9MM option and return on a new deal starting with the $9.9MM he has guaranteed for next season, possibly around $32MM over three years, Winderman suggests in a separate piece. He also examines the possibility of declining a $2MM option on Keshad Johnson and bringing him back on a two-way contact, as well as Miami’s options with Dru Smith, who is eligible for another two-way deal but appeared close to receiving a standard contract before suffering an Achilles injury in December.

Suns, Wolves Hoping Durant Warms To Minnesota Possibility

June 17th, 2025 at 8:08am CST by Luke Adams

Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Monday that Kevin Durant has “no desire” to be traded to the Timberwolves, but the Suns and Wolves are still hoping he’ll warm to the idea, league sources tell Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Durant doesn’t have the ability to veto a trade, so Phoenix and Minnesota would be free to work out an agreement that sends the former MVP to the Timberwolves, even if he’s unwilling to immediately sign an extension with his new team.

However, after advancing to the Western Conference Finals in each of the past two seasons, the Wolves are reluctant to make a significant roster change if the incoming star isn’t on board, according to Amick and Krawczynski, who note that Rudy Gobert‘s enthusiasm for Minnesota was one reason president of basketball operations Tim Connelly gave up a substantial haul to acquire the big man in 2022.

As The Athletic’s duo writes, the Wolves believed when they spoke with the Suns at the trade deadline in February that Durant was open to playing in Minnesota, given his friendship with Anthony Edwards, his D.C.-area ties with Connelly, and the opportunity to team up with Jaden McDaniels, whose defensive prowess would reduce the pressure on KD at that end of the court. However, the Wolves have been made aware during their recent discussions with the Suns that Durant wants to play elsewhere.

Durant reportedly prefers to end up with the Spurs, Rockets, or Heat – and San Antonio may be atop that list, per The Athletic – but the offers from those teams haven’t been especially compelling from the Suns’ perspective, as Amick and Krawczynski explain. If Durant were more enthusiastic about Minnesota, the Wolves could feel more confident about making an aggressive play for him, which may in turn inspire another suitor to increase its bid.

“Phoenix is trying to drum up better offers,” one rival executive told The Athletic.

The Rockets have had “meaningful” talks with the Suns about Durant and have put a firm offer on the table, but Phoenix was underwhelmed by that proposal, according to Amick and Krawczynski, who hear from league sources that San Antonio has been “conservative” in its pursuit of the 15-time All-Star.

As for the Heat, it’s unclear whether they have the right pieces to really entice the Suns, since salary-matching veterans such as Andrew Wiggins and/or Duncan Robinson are unlikely to hold significant appeal to Phoenix.

While the Suns are said to have interest in Gobert, it remains to be seen whether the Timberwolves would be willing to put the four-time Defensive Player of the Year into their offer for Durant, The Athletic’s duo notes. The Wolves would likely be even more hesitant to put Gobert on the table if Durant remains opposed to the idea of becoming a Timberwolf.

Latest On Kevin Durant

June 14th, 2025 at 5:13pm CST by Rory Maher

Although the Suns cannot aggregate salaries in trades, they have been exploring ways to move below the second tax apron to ease some of the restrictions they’re currently facing. According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), as part of the Kevin Durant trade talks, Phoenix’s front office has larger constructs involving Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale in an effort to reduce the team’s payroll.

Dropping below the second apron is believed to be one of Phoenix’s “primary objectives” in a Durant deal, Fischer writes. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Suns are trying to cut costs for financial reasons, they just recognize how difficult it is to operate over that threshold in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, Fischer explains.

Sources tell Fischer that Phoenix hopes to acquire “starting-level talent” in exchange for Durant, with “quality draft capital” another desired part of the return package. Fischer hears the Suns have been evaluating first-round prospects “in the belief they will obtain at least one meaningful selection” in the 2025 draft.

While Shams Charania of ESPN reports that the Rockets are one of the teams most seriously engaged with the Suns for Durant, Fischer says Houston is “exceedingly reluctant” to meet Phoenix’s asking price. According to Fischer, the Suns view the Rockets as their ideal trade partner due to their combination of young talent and draft picks — Houston controls Phoenix’s first-rounders in 2025 (No. 10), 2027 and 2029.

Fischer adds that the Rockets’ front office recognizes this advantage and is “believed to be willing to go only so far” in its offer to Phoenix, indicating that the Suns might get more assets elsewhere.

League sources tell Fischer that the Timberwolves and Heat are the teams most frequently talked about as potential destinations for Durant. Fischer adds that the Spurs and Rockets have been cited by league executives as having interest in acquiring Durant, along with the Clippers and Raptors “to a lesser extent.”

Fischer also speculates that Durant would enjoy the idea of returning to Texas — where he played collegiately — either with San Antonio or Houston. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 previously stated that the Texas teams may be atop Durant’s wish list.

That could be an important consideration because Durant holds a $54.7MM expiring contract. Fischer says that front offices are considering whether it’s worth the gamble to trade for Durant with no assurances that he will re-sign after next season.

Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets that there have been discussions between Minnesota and Phoenix regarding Durant, but “nothing is close” right now. Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reported on Wednesday that the Heat are interested in dealing for Durant, but “only at the right price.”

Ian Begley of SNY.tv considers it a “long shot” that the Knicks will get involved (Twitter link), echoing other reports from this week. Begley also points out that finding a starting center is among the Suns’ offseason priorities, and trading Durant may be their best opportunity to make that happen.

Fischer considers Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert the best center likely to be available in a Durant deal, but states that it’s difficult to create a workable trade scenario between the Wolves and Suns, who are both operating above the second apron for now. He points out that Minnesota will fall below the second apron if Naz Reid and Julius Randle both decline their player options, and Reid seems almost certain to do so. Otherwise, a trade between the two clubs would likely have to be agreed upon this month but not become official until after the moratorium is lifted in July.

Miami may be more realistic, according to Fischer, who notes that the city was on Durant’s list when he first asked the Nets for a trade. Fischer suggests that Andrew Wiggins and Duncan Robinson are among the players the Heat can send to Phoenix to help match salaries, and they have three first-rounders that can be moved: No. 20 this year, along with their picks in 2030 and 2032.

Sources tell Fischer that Miami was unwilling to part with Kel’el Ware and Jaime Jaquez at the trade deadline, and he speculates that its willingness to include Ware could be a “true swing factor” in a Phoenix deal.

The Spurs and other teams have been reluctant to surrender significant draft capital for Durant, according to Fischer, who reports that the Suns have limited interest in the players San Antonio has offered so far. Fischer states that it’s believed the Spurs are keeping Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft off limits and are only offering players such as Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes.

Arthur Hill contributed to this report.

CBA Observations: Kuminga, D. Robinson, Cavs, Frozen Picks

May 22nd, 2025 at 7:26am CST by Luke Adams

While the NBA's current Collective Bargaining Agreement technically went into effect in 2023, many of the rules affecting tax apron teams weren't fully implemented until 2024. As a result, last summer was a crash course for teams, fans, and reporters alike on those new rules, giving us our first look at the impact they'll have on team-building going forward.

With the 2024/25 season under our belts, we're better equipped entering the 2025 offseason to assess how those new rules - and some old ones - will affect teams' ability to make trades and sign free agents this summer. Still, I've seen some confusion and misrepresentation regarding a few specific rules as speculation about offseason roster moves begins to heat up this spring, so we'll use the space below today to provide clarity on some of those issues.

Let's dive in...

A potential Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade

With Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga headed for restricted free agency this offseason after playing an inconsistent role in his fourth NBA season, there has been a good deal of speculation already about whether Golden State will attempt to recoup value for Kuminga via a sign-and-trade rather than simply re-signing him or matching a rival offer sheet.

I'm not here today to weigh the merits of one path vs. the other. I just want to examine what it would look like from a practical perspective if the Warriors do sign-and-trade Kuminga, since the base year compensation rule would come into play.

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Heat Notes: Sweep, Draft, Free Agents, Grades, Offseason Outlook

April 29th, 2025 at 8:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat got a serious dose of reality in the playoffs, getting swept by Cleveland in the opening round and losing Game 4 by 55 points, which coach Erik Spoelstra described as a humbling experience.

“These last two games were embarrassing, but Cleveland is also a very good team,” he said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “We won whatever we won, they won 64 games. We’re as irrational as we usually are, thinking that we have a chance to win this series and they showed us why we weren’t ready for that.”

Changes are coming for a team that had to fight out of the play-in tournament just to get the last playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

“As an organization, yeah, we’re going to look at this and say this is unacceptable,” Spoelstra said. “We got to get to another level.”

We have more on the Heat:

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details the draft assets the Heat have and the free agent decisions they must make this summer. Miami possesses the No. 20 pick, courtesy of the Jimmy Butler trade, but Oklahoma City will get their pick at No. 15. Other than the No. 20 pick, the Heat can only use their 2030 first-rounder in a trade before or during the draft. The team will likely issue Davion Mitchell a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent but that doesn’t necessarily mean the front office would match any offer sheet. The Heat also have to figure out what to do with Duncan Robinson‘s partially guaranteed contract.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel handed out his regular season and postseason grades for each player, with Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Mitchell at the top of the class and Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Terry Rozier drawing a D-minus and F, respectively, for the regular season, and matching F’s for the playoffs.
Patience must be exercised as the Heat look for ways to improve, ESPN Insider Bobby Marks opines in his offseason outlook. They have some expiring contracts to dangle and could have much more flexibility to chase free agents in the 2026 offseason if they’re prudent. HoopsHype’s Mark Deeks also takes an extensive look at the Heat’s offseason, including the contract situation for each player on the roster.

Injury Notes: Heat, Lillard, VanVleet, Coulibaly, Yabusele

April 3rd, 2025 at 6:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat forward Andrew Wiggins will miss his fourth consecutive game on Thursday due to right hamstring tendinopathy, but another Miami forward, Duncan Robinson, will make his return vs. Memphis, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Robinson hasn’t played since March 23, having been sidelined for the club’s past five contests due to a back problem. However, he feels “a lot better,” according to head coach Erik Spoelstra, who reiterated that the injury is different than the one the veteran sharpshooter dealt with at the end of last season (Twitter link via Chiang).

In addition to being without Wiggins, the Heat will still be missing Kevin Love (personal reasons), as well as Terry Rozier, who is listed as out due to an illness, but neither player has been a regular rotation contributor since the All-Star break anyway.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

The Bucks decided against bringing Damian Lillard on their three-game road trip that begins Thursday in Philadelphia, but head coach Doc Rivers is increasingly optimistic about the guard’s ability to return before the end of the season, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays (Twitter link). Lillard was diagnosed last month with a blood clot in his calf. “He had a great report the other day…the numbers are phenomenal,” Rivers said. “‘Why mess with it?’ was our thing. Why fly him or anything? It could affect (his progress). … We have much more hope today than we did three days ago, I can tell you that. And so, we’re going to take everything that we can do to see if there is a way we can get him back.”
Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet didn’t suit up on Wednesday for the victory that clinched Houston its first playoff spot since 2020, having sat out due to knee and ankle soreness. VanVleet had played in the Rockets’ previous 11 games and should be back in the lineup in short order, but that ankle issue, which forced him to miss 16 games in February and March, likely won’t clear up anytime soon. “It’s going to take some time,” head coach Ime Udoka said, per ESPN. “We will have to deal with it the rest of the season, coming off the injury.”
The Wizards didn’t formally rule out Bilal Coulibaly for the rest of the season when they announced on March 13 that he’d miss about four-to-six weeks due to a right hamstring strain. However, head coach Brian Keefe acknowledged on Thursday that the second-year forward will “probably not” be back before the team wraps up its regular season schedule, as Varun Shankar of The Washington Post tweets.
After missing a pair of games with a right knee sprain, Sixers forward/center Guerschon Yabusele will be activated for Thursday’s matchup with Milwaukee, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.