12 NBA Teams Sent Evaluators To NBL Blitz
The NBL Blitz, the annual preseason showcase ahead of Australia’s National Basketball League season, took place last week. The event was shorter than usual and was held in Canberra instead of on the sunnier Gold Coast, but 12 NBA teams still had representatives in attendance, according to Olgun Uluc of ESPN, who recaps some of the key storylines from the Blitz.
New Zealand Breakers forward Karim Lopez, a projected 2026 lottery pick, didn’t take part in the tournament due to a back injury, but Uluc notes that NBA scouts had their eye on another potential 2026 first-round pick, Melbourne United’s Dash Daniels, the younger brother of NBA Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Dyson Daniels. Ben Henshall of the Perth Wildcats and Malique Lewis of the South East Melbourne Phoenix were among the other 2026 draft-eligible prospects who drew interest.
Multiple NBA evaluators told Uluc that they were also keeping a close eye on Jaylin Galloway, who had a brief stint as a Bucks two-way player at the end of the 2023/24 season before rejoining the Sydney Kings in Australia. The 22-year-old wing had an impressive showing for Australia at the FIBA Asia Cup and spoke about his desire to make it back to the NBA. Officials from NBA teams were evaluating at the NBL Blitz whether Galloway’s game would translate stateside, per Uluc.
Here are a few more notes from Uluc:
- Former first-round pick Dylan Windler re-signed with the Perth Wildcats this spring, but his eventual goal is to return to the NBA, as Uluc relays. “Ultimately, I wanna play at the highest level and get back in the NBA,” he said. “I think this league is good enough, and has enough talent and competition, and enough scouts and eyes on it at all times that, if you do play well, you’re always in a position to get back there.”
- The Wildcats still have an import spot open and have considered a handful of former NBA players for that slot, according to Uluc, who notes that Perth reached out to free agents like Zavier Simpson, Jahmir Young, and Emmanuel Mudiay earlier in the offseason. After Simpson and Young signed elsewhere and Mudiay chose to continue mulling his options, the Wildcats have more recently looked into Kobi Simmons and Yuri Collins, sources tell ESPN. Uluc hears that longtime NBA guard Patrick Beverley had interest in joining the Wildcats, but Perth didn’t “meaningfully engage” with Beverley.
- Some of the NBA team representatives who attended the NBL Blitz were curious about what the league’s Next Stars program would look like moving forward, Uluc writes. A number of prospects who went through that program – such as LaMelo Ball, Josh Giddey, and Alex Sarr – have become lottery picks and productive NBA players, but the emergence of lucrative NIL opportunities in the NCAA figures to diminish the appeal of the Next Stars program for non-Australian prospects.
Heat To Sign Jahmir Young
The Heat and free agent guard Jahmir Young have reached an agreement on a deal, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
According to Scotto, Young will get a chance to compete for one of Miami’s two-way contract slots. That suggests he’ll sign an Exhibit 10 contract, which can be converted to a two-way deal prior to the start of the regular season.
A 6’1″ point guard who went undrafted out of Maryland in 2024, Young opened his first professional season with the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s G League affiliate, before signing a two-way contract with Chicago in February and finishing the year with the Bulls. He was waived in July to open up a two-way slot for Yuki Kawamura.
Young logged just 30 total minutes in six games at the NBA level, but starred in the NBAGL, averaging 21.7 points, 7.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game in 43 total outings for the Gold and the Windy City Bulls. The 24-year-old struggled with his outside shot for Grand Rapids, but finished the season strong by making 39.7% of his three-point tries in 13 games for Windy City. He was named to the G League’s All-Rookie team and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting.
Young reportedly drew interest from the Perth Wildcats of Australia’s National Basketball League this offseason, but will look to continue his career in the NBA. Vladislav Goldin and Myron Gardner currently occupy two-way slots for Miami, but it appears the team will hold a competition in training camp for its third and final opening.
International Notes: Cancar, Metu, Magnay, Young, Fall
Olimpia Milano has officially confirmed its multiyear deal with veteran forward Vlatko Cancar, announcing the signing in a press release.
Reporting near the start of the month indicated that Cancar was on the verge of finalizing a two-year deal with Olimpia Milano, with the longtime Nugget confirming days later that he would be headed to Italy for the 2025/26 season.
The 49th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Cancar came stateside to join the Nuggets in 2019. Across six years and 143 regular season games with the team, the 6’8″ forward averaged 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per night.
Here are a few more updates from around the international basketball world:
- Veteran center Chimezie Metu was said earlier this month to be nearing a deal with the Turkish team Feneberbahce, but those talks broke down in the final stages, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. According to Urbonas, Metu had arrived in Istanbul and was prepared to sign with the reigning EuroLeague champions before the deal fell through. While Urbonas doesn’t provide specifics, it’s worth noting Metu is making his way back from an Achilles tear that he sustained in March and his agreement with Fenerbahce reportedly hinged in part on how his recovery was going.
- Despite reportedly drawing some interest from the Grizzlies, the team he played for at the Las Vegas Summer League, Australian big man Will Magnay is returning to the Tasmania JackJumpers for the 2025/26 season, the team announced in a press release. “Summer League was an amazing and really valuable opportunity for me; I loved the experience. But I’m now excited to get home and get after it with the new group,” Magnay said in a statement.
- The Perth Wildcats are pursuing free agent guard Jahmir Young, sources tell Olgun Uluc of ESPN. Young finished the 2024/25 season on a two-way contract with the Bulls and scored 40 points on 13-of-18 shooting in a Summer League game for Chicago last Wednesday, but was waived on Saturday to make room for newcomer Yuki Kawamura.
- The New Zealand Breakers have parted ways with veteran center Tacko Fall, the team announced on social media (Twitter link). A former Celtic and Cavalier, Fall averaged 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game for the Breakers in 18 outings last season.
Bulls Sign Yuki Kawamura To Two-Way Deal
3:52 pm: The Bulls have officially confirmed their two-way deal with Kawamura, announcing in a press release that Young has been waived to open up a two-way spot for the newcomer.
3:33 pm: The Bulls will be making a change to one of their two-way contract slots, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that free agent point guard Yuki Kawamura has agreed to a two-way deal with the team.
Chicago doesn’t currently have a two-way opening, with Jahmir Young, Emanuel Miller, and second-round pick Lachlan Olbrich occupying those three roster spots, so one of them will need to be waived, promoted, or traded in order to make room for Kawamura.
Kawamura, 24, arrived stateside in 2024 after playing professionally for several seasons in his home country of Japan. The 5’8″ guard signed a two-way contract with Memphis and spent 2024/25 with the Grizzlies, though his playing time at the NBA level was limited — he logged just 93 total minutes across 22 appearances.
Kawamura was more of a featured player for the Memphis Hustle in the G League, averaging 31.6 minutes per game across 31 outings. He put up 12.7 points, 8.5 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per contest, with a shooting line of .383/.365/.761.
After not receiving a qualifying offer from the Grizzlies, Kawamura became an unrestricted free agent and caught on with the Bulls for Summer League. In five appearances in Las Vegas, he averaged 10.2 points, 6.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game while making 41.7% of his three-point tries, earning himself a two-way offer.
A two-way deal will allow Kawamura to appear in up to 50 regular season games with the Bulls. If he remains under contract through the league-wide salary guarantee deadline in January, he would earn $636,435, which is 50% of this season’s rookie minimum salary.
Summer League Notes: Bulls, Kawamura, Kings, Brink, Jent
The Bulls officially announced their 2025 summer league roster on Thursday afternoon (via Twitter). The group is headlined by recent lottery picks Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue, plus two-way players Jahmir Young and Emanuel Miller and No. 55 overall pick Lachlan Olbrich, who is expected to sign a two-way deal with Chicago.
The Bulls’ summer league squad also features a handful of unrestricted free agents who have NBA experience. Japanese point guard Yuki Kawamura, who spent 2024/25 (his rookie campaign) on a two-way deal with the Grizzlies, is part of the team, as is ex-Grizzlies forward Maozinha Pereira. Former lottery pick Joshua Primo and guard Javon Freeman-Liberty are on the 14-man roster as well.
Windy City Bulls head coach Billy Donovan III will lead the summer league team for the second consecutive year, tweets K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network.
Here are few more notes related to summer league:
- Both of the Kings‘ draft picks — first-rounder Nique Clifford and second-rounder Maxime Raynaud — will compete in summer league action, GM Scott Perry said today at a press conference (Twitter link via Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee). Kings head coach Doug Christie said assistant Dipesh Mistry will be the summer league team’s top coach, as Anderson relays (via Twitter).
- Jordan Brink, an assistant on former head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s staff, will be head coach of the Knicks‘ summer league team, reports James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Edwards, Brink was “largely responsible” for New York’s impressive success rate on challenges last season. Given that he’s leading the summer league squad, it seems pretty likely that Brink will be a member of new coach Mike Brown‘s staff, though that’s just informed speculation and hasn’t been confirmed.
- Assistant Chris Jent will serve as head coach of the Hornets‘ summer league club, per Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter video link). Jent is a longtime NBA assistant and former player who joined Charles Lee‘s staff last year.
G League’s All-Defensive, All-Rookie Teams Unveiled
The NBA has officially announced (via Twitter) the G League’s All-Defensive Team for the 2024/25 season. Here’s the full five-player list:
All-NBA G League Defensive Team
- Braxton Key, Santa Cruz Warriors
- Ibou Badji, Wisconsin Herd (Bucks‘ affiliate)
- Isaiah Miller, Austin Spurs
- Isaac Nogues, Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers‘ affiliate)
- Moses Brown, Westchester Knicks
The top rookies of the NBAGL season were also unveiled on Thursday (Twitter link). They are as follows:
All-NBA G League Rookie Team
- Trey Alexander, Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets‘ affiliate)
- Daniss Jenkins, Motor City Cruise (Pistons‘ affiliate)
- Jahmir Young, Windy City Bulls
- RayJ Dennis, Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers‘ affiliate, which has been rebranded as the Noblesville Boom)
- David Jones Garcia, Mexico City Capitanes (not affiliated with an NBA team)
Key, who was recently promoted to a standard contract with Golden State, was named the NBAGL’s Defensive Player of the Year, while Alexander won Rookie of the Year. Badji, who recently signed with a Spanish club, and Nogues, who has declared for the 2025 NBA draft, finished second and third in DPOY voting, respectively. Jones Garcia was the runner-up for ROY, with Young finishing third.
As our tracker shows, Alexander, Jenkins, Young and Dennis are on two-way contracts with their respective NBA clubs.
Journeyman center Brown also earned a spot on the All-NBA G League Second Team, while Alexander made the Third Team.
Nuggets’ Trey Alexander Named G League Rookie Of The Year
First-year guard Trey Alexander, who is on a two-way contract with the Nuggets, has been named the NBA G League’s Rookie of the Year, according to a press release.
Alexander signed a two-way contract with Denver last July shortly after going undrafted out of Creighton. He has played sparingly at the NBA level, logging just 110 total minutes across 22 outings, most of which came in garbage time. However, he has been a standout for the Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets’ G League affiliate.
In 30 total appearances in the Tip-Off Tournament and NBAGL regular season, Alexander averaged 25.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.6 steals in 37.0 minutes per game, posting a shooting line of .462/.395/.817.
“The Nuggets and Gold are so proud of Trey and all he has accomplished this season.” Gold general manager Ben Tenzer said in a statement. “He is a fantastic player, and an even better person. His work ethic and approach to the game are second to none. We have enjoyed watching his tremendous growth and look forward to all the success that comes his way in the future.”
While it’s possible that Alexander’s strong play in the G League will earn him a longer look from Denver in the NBA next season, he’ll need to be re-signed first. Since the 21-year-old’s two-way deal only covers one season, he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), David Jones Garcia of the Mexico City Capitanes was the runner-up in G League Rookie of the Year voting, while Windy City Bulls guard Jahmir Young, who is on a two-way contract with Chicago, finished third.
The award is voted on by the NBAGL’s head coaches and GMs.
Bulls Notes: White, Smith, Buzelis, Young
The Bulls are in the unusual position of both collapsing and holding onto a play-in spot, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago dropped its fifth straight game Thursday night in New York, falling to 22-34 overall. However, the weakness of the East leaves the Bulls with a game-and-a-half lead over Philadelphia and Brooklyn in the play-in race, and coach Billy Donovan isn’t interested in tanking the rest of the season.
“I think at some point, you gotta be able to talk about winning,” Donovan said. “The loss of DeMar (DeRozan), Alex (Caruso) and Zach (LaVine), in terms of the scoring and how great those guys are as players, losing those types of guys makes it challenging. But there is a responsibility for the guys that are playing. How can they find a way to do things to impact the outcome of the game? You’ve got to be accountable for those things.”
The absence of stars has caused opposing defenses to focus more on sixth-year guard Coby White, who had been a complementary scorer up until now. After Thursday’s overtime loss, White talked about how he handled late-game situations and the need to adapt to different looks.
“They were mixing up coverages,” White said. “They were blitzing, then not coming back, so I was just trying not to force it and let the game come to me. (Josh) Giddey had it going, (Lonzo Ball) had it going, (Nikola Vucevic) had it going, so take advantage of those moments. If that’s how they’re going to play me, then I have to be more of a playmaker, screening, those types of things. It’s definitely been a difference, but it’s something you’ve got to get adjusted to.”
There’s more on the Bulls:
- Backup big man Jalen Smith was ruled out of Thursday’s game after taking a shoulder to the face from Karl-Anthony Towns in the second quarter, per Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. Smith dropped to the court after the contact, and Towns tumbled on top of him. Poe notes that the injury enabled Zach Collins to play 15 minutes in his second game with the team, but he produced just two points while missing all four of his shots from the field.
- Matas Buzelis is hoping to make a late run at Rookie of the Year honors, Poe adds in a separate story. No clear favorite has emerged in this year’s race, and Buzelis, who was recently moved into the starting lineup, believes he has a chance to win over some voters. “I would like to win that award for sure,” he said. “I also want to win as many games as possible. But you know, if you win the games, then you’ll be in that conversation.”
- The two-way contract that Jahmir Young signed this week will cover next season as well, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).
Bulls Sign Jahmir Young, Waive Adama Sanogo
February 20: The Bulls have officially signed Young to a two-way contract and waived Sanogo, the team announced in a press release. Since the moves were completed late Wednesday night, Young will be eligible to appear in up to 16 NBA games for the rest of the season.
February 19: The Bulls are making a change to one of their two-way roster slots, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter links). Shortly after Haynes reported that the team would be waiving big man Adama Sanogo, Scotto followed up to say that guard Jahmir Young would fill that slot.
Sanogo has been on a two-way contract in Chicago for most of the past two seasons after going undrafted out of UConn in 2023. However, he has appeared in just 13 total regular season games for the Bulls and logged a total of 87 career minutes at the NBA level.
Sanogo has played a more meaningful role for the Windy City Bulls in the G League, earning a spot on both the NBAGL All-Rookie Team and the All-NBAGL Third Team last season. In 22 NBAGL games this season, he has averaged 16.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 28.1 minutes per contest.
According to Haynes, Sanogo is expected to miss about four weeks with a knee injury, so the Bulls have decided to fill his two-way slot with a healthy player.
The newcomer, Young, is a 24-year-old point guard who has been playing well in the G League for the Grand Rapids Gold this season after going undrafted out of Maryland last June. He has scored 22.4 PPG on .476/.260/.783 shooting in 30 games for Denver’s NBAGL affiliate, while also contributing 7.3 APG, 4.5 RPG, and 2.0 SPG.
If Young officially signs today, he’ll be eligible to appear in up to 16 NBA games this season for the Bulls, a prorated portion of the full-season 50-game limit. That number would dip to 15 if the deal isn’t formally finalized until Thursday.
NBA G League Announces Participants For 2025 Up Next Event
The NBA G League announced today that 27 players have been selected to participate in the 2025 Up Next event at the NBA’s All-Star weekend next month in San Francisco.
The event – which highlights standout players at the G League level and essentially serves as the NBAGL All-Star Game – features a tournament-style format with four teams made up of seven players apiece. Those clubs face one another in semifinals (first team to 30 points), with the winners meeting in the final. All three games will be played on the afternoon of Sunday, February 16, ahead of the NBA’s All-Star Game.
Ten players for the next Up Next pool are selected by fan votes, while the other 18 are selected by the league. Here are the players who have been named as participants for the 2025 event:
Fan voting
Note: Players are listed in order of votes received. Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on two-way contracts with an NBA team.
- Yuki Kawamura (Memphis Hustle) *
- Justin Champagnie (Capital City Go-Go) *
- Jahlil Okafor (Indiana Mad Ants)
- Adama Sanogo (Windy City Bulls) *
- Skal Labissiere (Stockton Kings)
- Kevon Harris (College Park Skyhawks)
- Maozinha Pereira (Memphis Hustle)
- Trevelin Queen (Osceola Magic) *
- Armando Bacot (Memphis Hustle)
- Keisei Tominaga (Indiana Mad Ants)
G League selections
Note: Players are listed in alphabetical order. Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on two-way contracts with an NBA team.
- Moses Brown (Westchester Knicks)
- Josh Christopher (Sioux Falls Skyforce) *
- Jeff Dowtin (Delaware Blue Coats) *
- PJ Hall (Grand Rapids Gold) *
- Elijah Harkless (Salt Lake City Stars) *
- Isaac Jones (Stockton Kings) *
- A.J. Lawson (Raptors 905) *
- Isaiah Miller (Austin Spurs)
- Jaylen Nowell (Capital City Go-Go)
- Dink Pate (Mexico City Capitanes)
- Daeqwon Plowden (College Park Skyhawks) *
- Quinten Post (Santa Cruz Warriors) *
- Lester Quinones (Birmingham Squadron)
- DJ Steward (Memphis Hustle)
- TyTy Washington Jr. (Valley Suns) *
- Alondes Williams (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Jahmir Young (Grand Rapids Gold)
The G League announced 27 names today, leaving the pool one player shy of the 28 required for four seven-player teams. However, the NBAGL’s announcement says two more participants will be named at a later date to round out the player pool.
It’s unclear if there’s a math error happening here or if Pate will need to be replaced since he’s also participating in the Rising Stars event. Further confusing matters is the fact that Williams’ name shows up in the graphic released by the G League but not in the press release.
However it happens, the Up Next player pool will eventually increase to 28 names, with those players drafted into four teams by a quartet of “influencer” general managers and then coached by G League coaches at All-Star weekend.