Tragedy has struck Timberwolves big man Naz Reid and his family. His sister, Toraya Reid, was shot and killed Saturday in New Jersey, Eva Herscowitz of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. A New Jersey prosecutor charged Shaquille Green, whom the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said was in a relationship with Toraya Reid, with her murder.
Reid’s former teammate, Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns, was devastated by the news.
“Heartbroken. No words can ever take away the pain for my brother,” Towns tweeted. “Holding everyone close in prayer today.”
There’s little question who the most important Suns player is. Beyond recently extended All-Star guard Devin Booker, however, identifying the top talent on the current roster is more of an open question.
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (subscriber link) tackles that question, ranking the five most important Phoenix players aside from the 6’5″ Kentucky alum. Second-year wing Ryan Dunn, new post-Durant trade additions Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, and new centers Mark Williams and Khaman Maluach make the cut.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
Although there were expectations that Kevin Durant would sign an extension shortly after being traded, that still hasn’t happened and there are no indications that he and the Rockets are close to a new deal. Nearly two months after the trade with Phoenix was first announced, Durant remains on a path toward free agency next summer with a $54.7MM expiring contract.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon recently suggested that Houston isn’t likely to offer Durant a full max deal, and that Durant and his representatives may not push for it. He added that the Rockets won’t panic if Durant begins the season without a new agreement in place.
Amid that background, Keith Smith of Spotrac speculates on what Durant’s next contract might look like. With an expiring deal in place, he’ll be eligible for a two-year extension through June 30 and can make up to $120,463,616 ($57,915,200 in 2026/27 and $62,548,416 in 2027/28). That figure would start at 35% of the cap.
If Durant lets his contract expire, he would be eligible for a three-year max deal with a total value of $187,645,248 that avoids the complications of the Over-38 rule. Another possibility is a one-plus-one contract that would result in the same figures as the extension.
With Durant believed to be more focused on winning than maximizing his earnings, Smith believes a two-year, $100MM compromise is realistic. Durant would make $50MM per season and would likely receive a player option that gives him the freedom to reconsider his situation in the summer of 2027.
There’s more on the Rockets:
The Warriors do not want to include the contract of either Moses Moody or Buddy Hield as part of a possible Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade with the Kings, Sam Amick of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter). That essentially stalls the deal indefinitely, as Golden State would need to move off one of those players in order to take back Malik Monk and fill out the rest of its roster.
There’s still plenty of time left between now and the October 1 deadline for Kuminga to accept his qualifying offer, so it’s possible other suitors or offers will emerge for the restricted free agent forward, but for now, Golden State expects Kuminga to return to the team for 2025/26.
Kuminga was injured for much of the 2024/25, but when he did play, the 22-year-old showed his athleticism and scoring ability. In 47 healthy games, he averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per contest.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
Former Rockets guard Jalen Green reflected on his time in Houston, along with the trade that sent him to the Suns, in a lengthy post on The Players Tribune. Green was part of the price the Rockets paid, along with Dillon Brooks and the 10th pick in this year’s draft, to acquire Kevin Durant. Although he’s sad to leave the city, Green said he understands the reasoning behind the deal.
“Listen, nobody likes to get traded. But I can honestly say that I get it, bro,” he wrote. “This is a business, and if I was up there in the executive chair, I probably would’ve made the deal, too. I think it’s a better situation for both sides, and I’m just excited to get it popping with Book (Devin Booker), and to create that winning culture that we figured out down here in Houston.”
Selected with the second pick in the 2021 draft, Green represented the first step in the Rockets’ rebuilding process after trading James Harden. He went through a lot of losing during his first two years in Houston, but things turned around in 2023 when Ime Udoka was hired as head coach and Brooks and Fred VanVleet were brought in to change the culture. Green reflected on the growing process that led to a 52-win season and the second seed in the West.
“My rookie year, we won 20 games. Twen-tee, bro,” he added. “Within three years, we had the Toyota Center packed out for a home playoff game. I’ll always be proud of that. To flip it around like that, it’s about culture. We had our young core, but we also had vets like Fred VanVleet — guys who had really won in this league — showing us the way.”
There’s more from Houston:
The Suns are comfortable with their current roster, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports, though they must make at least one more move.
Aided in large part by the Kevin Durant trade and the buyout of Bradley Beal‘s contract, the Suns have dropped under the tax aprons and can now aggregate contracts in a trade, do a sign-and-trade and use mid-level exceptions. However, it’s unlikely they’ll make another significant move.
While Rankin confirms the Suns have some interest in restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, they likely lack the draft capital and assets to pique the Warriors’ interest. Veteran free agents Russell Westbrook and Al Horford are not on their radar, Rankin adds.
Phoenix will have to add another player to the standard roster by the fall to meet the minimum of 14.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
In the wake of the Suns‘ trade of Kevin Durant and buyout agreement with Bradley Beal, team owner Mat Ishbia admitted that he may have taken the wrong approach when he took control of the franchise two years ago and immediately began throwing draft picks and money around to build an expensive, top-heavy roster.
“The big thing I learned is you got to start and have the vision and identity from day one and I did not do that with the Phoenix Suns,” Ishbia said during a Thursday interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I thought, ‘Hey, let’s add some money. They’ve already got a good thing going. Let’s untap some resources and it will only get better,’ and that’s not how it works.
“… Everybody has got to have an alignment of what we’re about here in Phoenix and we didn’t do a good enough job of that. That’s on me. I’ll take the blame.”
“Alignment” has been a recurring talking point for Ishbia and the Suns this summer as they made changes to their front office and brought in a new head coach for the third consecutive offseason.
Ishbia said during his SiriusXM NBA Radio appearance that he and new general manager Brian Gregory are “completely aligned with what we’re trying to do,” and brought up “alignment” again when he explained why he doesn’t feel pressure to make sure star guard Devin Booker stays happy in the coming years.
“Devin’s going to be happy because we’re going to try to win,” the Suns owner said, per Rankin. “We’re going to do things that will be aligned with the vision and the identity that he agrees with 1000% and I agree with 1000% along with our GM (Gregory) and our coach (Jordan Ott). The alignment from owner to GM to coach to star/franchise player was never there before, to be clear. It is now and it’s crystal clear.”
According to Ishbia, the Suns are now committed to building “the right way” over the long term, and made it a priority this summer to add “younger, up-and-coming” talent while creating more salary cap flexibility going forward.
Here are a few more highlights from Ishbia, via Rankin:
On parting with Beal:
“He’s a great guy. Just not a fit with Phoenix Suns going forward. We told him that. We made that decision. We let them know wanted to move forward without him. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. … He’s a great player, but for Phoenix and what we’re doing, it wasn’t a fit and we had to move on and make those decisions.”
On why the Suns hired Ott as their head coach:
“We had to get a coach that’s thinking forward and not looking back. Not looking at what worked in 2020, but what’s going to work in 2030. What’s the future and Jordan Ott is an unbelievable basketball mind. Praised by everybody we reached out to, every reference possible and we’ve been really happy with him so far. He’s young, he’s going to build with our team and he hopefully can be a great coach for the Phoenix Suns for the future.”
On No. 10 overall pick Khaman Maluach:
“We’re excited about Malauch. He’s 18, though. People have unreal (expectations). He’s 18. I have a son that’s 14. He’s four years older. He’s still a kid and he’s going to develop. It’s going to take a little bit of time, but we really love what he’s got and think he can be a real impact player.”
On the return in the Durant blockbuster:
“We wanted Jalen Green, to be clear. We like Jalen. He’s 23 years old, the leading scorer for the two seed in the West and Dillon Brooks, he’s a straight dog. He’s the type of guy we want here in Phoenix. He’s not on your team, you probably don’t like him, but I’m telling you. … He plays defense against the best player. He’s great around Booker. You put him around Booker, you put Jalen Green with Booker, we feel good about that.”
Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks will be entering the 2025/26 season with a chip on their shoulders as a result of the trade that sent them to the Suns in exchange for Kevin Durant, writes Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
“I love the trade. It gives me and Jalen an opportunity,” Brooks said in response to Green asking him about the deal, prompting Green to interject, “Motivation.”
Brooks added that he felt like coming to Phoenix had been a long time in the making — he thought he had been traded to the Suns in his sophomore season, a deal in which the Grizzlies believed they were trading MarShon Brooks.
“I can’t wait to connect with the fans and bring that toughness, bring that urgency, and be ready for the journey,” Brooks said.
Green was candid about how he took being traded from the Rockets, who drafted him No. 2 overall in the 2021 draft.
“It hurts. Houston is home to me and forever will be home to me,” he said. “I started my NBA career there and built a lot there… obviously it was sad to leave, but it’s a business.”
He also expressed optimism about the coming season, and specifically about how he could fit with newly extended Devin Booker.
“We’re two people who are going to be able to accept the double team and play off each other,” Green said. “We’re two people who know how to attract the defense, and everyone’s going to set up around us. So when we’re doing something like that, you’ve got to pick who you want to score tonight. And me and him both, it’s going to be a deadly scoring duo.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Booker is already hard at work preparing for the upcoming season (Twitter video link).
“I’m told he’s been working out with players on the Suns, the young players on the Suns, over the last week, two weeks,” Charania said. “So he’s fully immersed himself with this team, with Jalen Green, with Dillon Brooks… I think there will be a better feel, they’re hoping, around this team.”
That’s a sentiment that Green echoed, despite knowing that outside expectations for the Suns have declined following a disappointing couple seasons and the departure of Durant.
“The position we’re in, we’re going to surprise a lot of people and make a lot of noise,” Green said.
Finishing with the second-best record in the West, the Rockets weren’t able to give Reed Sheppard the playing time that a No. 3 overall draft pick normally receives. So they’ve decided to make his development the focus of their Summer League team, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. That process extends beyond his on-court contributions, as Sheppard has also become a leader and teacher for his teammates as they work to earn NBA roster spots.
“He’s been more vocal with this group,” Summer League head coach Garrett Jackson said. “I’m constantly encouraging him to do that. But just being more assertive, getting us set up in our sets as the point guard of this team.”
Sheppard showed his full array of skills in Friday’s loss to the Clippers, finishing with a game-high 28 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks in 33 minutes. He’s been given full control of the offense in Las Vegas, with the instructions to play fast and freelance while adhering to principles set by head coach Ime Udoka.
“He’s getting better and better every day,” teammate Nate Williams said. “He puts in the work and I see him putting in the work behind the scenes. I love having him as a teammate. He’s not the most vocal guy — he leads with his actions — but he does what he’s supposed to do. Makes the right plays and does the right things off the court. He’s a good kid and he’s growing every day.”
There’s more on the Rockets:
Asked on Monday about the biggest factor that made the Rockets want to make a deal for Kevin Durant, general manager Rafael Stone offered a simple answer, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).
“He’s Kevin Durant,” Stone said.
Stone went on to laud Durant’s shooting efficiency and prowess as a half-court scorer, suggesting that adding that dimension to the offense should make Houston a more well-rounded team. He’s also looking forward to seeing what the team’s young players learn from the 15-time All-Star.
“His work ethic is just awesome,” Stone said. “The speed at which he practices and kind of the intensity of which he practices is something that has made him great over the years, and it started when he was very young. And so of all the things that that I hope rubs off, that’s the main one.”
There was some uncertainty entering the offseason about how aggressive the Rockets would be in their pursuit of Durant, given that he’s entering his age-37 season and doesn’t necessarily fit the timeline of the club’s young core. Asked about that line of thinking, Stone suggested that Houston is no longer a “developmental” team and that he believes those young players are ready to win now.
“We were the No. 2 seed (in the West) last year, and I think a very legitimate one. And so we think we can contend now,” Stone said. “We lost a close series last year, and we thought we had a real chance of contending in the playoffs last year, and we hope to have a real chance of contending in the playoffs this year.”
Here’s more from the Rockets’ GM: