- The Blazers are planning to improve from within rather than making aggressive moves for high-priced veterans that could cost them major resources, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian reports. “We’re heavily invested in a lot of our young guys, so development will continue to be a focus,” GM Joe Cronin said. “We’re not going to win at an extremely high level until some of those guys are ready. But at the same time, it’s our job to give them the best environment to thrive in. And often that’s with additional help. I think this year there were some flaws in the roster, especially in some missing skill sets and just in general imbalance, where it made it complicated for those guys to reach their highest potential.”
- Jontay Porter‘s ban from the NBA for gambling-related violations has taken a toll on his brother, Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., Bennett Durando of the Denver Post tweets. “It has not been easy for him,” coach Michael Malone said. “That’s why I give him credit, because he’s carrying so much in his heart and in his mind.”
- Thunder big man and two-way player Olivier Sarr suffered a left Achilles tendon rupture during the G League Finals on Monday night, according to a team press release. In 15 games this season with the Thunder, Sarr averaged 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 6.5 minutes. Sarr also saw action in 18 games with the Blue and averaged 14.0 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 28.2 minutes.
- Bismack Biyombo fainted during a game in early March. The Thunder center revealed to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman that he was dehydrated due to fasting. Biyombo has fasted at various times throughout his career for religious reasons.
The Rip City Remix – the Trail Blazers‘ G League affiliate – have completed a series of trades involving players who have signed Exhibit 10 contracts with NBA teams this fall, according to a press release from the team.
The Remix acquired Henri Drell‘s returning rights in a three-team trade with the Texas Legends and Windy City Bulls, sending the returning rights for Jazian Gortman, Anthony Duruji, and Jakub Urbaniak to the Mavericks‘ affiliate in the deal. Rip City also acquired David Muoka‘s returning rights from the Long Island Nets in exchange for George Conditt‘s rights and a 2025 second-round pick.
Both Drell and Muoka signed Exhibit 10 deals with Portland ahead of training camp and were recently waived. Now that the Remix control both players’ G League rights, it’s safe to assume they’ll report to the Blazers’ affiliate and will receive Exhibit 10 bonuses (worth as much as $77.5K) as long as they spend at least 60 days with Rip City.
The Remix also received the returning rights for Aleem Ford – along with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 G League draft and a 2025 international draft pick – from the Wisconsin Herd in exchange for Terence Davis‘ and Isiaih Mosley‘s returning rights. Davis recently signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Bucks, so it looks like he’ll ultimately land with the Herd.
Finally, Portland’s affiliate finalized a fourth trade that sent Antoine Davis‘ rights to the Stockton Kings in exchange for the rights to Stanley Johnson and Jayce Johnson, along with a pair of draft picks (Twitter link). None of those players have signed Exhibit 10 deals this fall, but it appears Sacramento’s affiliate plans to have Davis on its roster this season, given the handful of pieces it traded to get him.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Duke freshman Cooper Flagg told Jonathan Givony of ESPN that it’s “absolutely not” a foregone conclusion that he’ll be the No. 1 pick in next June’s draft, a position that was echoed by Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer. “Of course he has to prove it,” Scheyer said. “I’ve seen guys who have been projected (No. 1), that have gone there, and then guys that are projected that don’t go because you assume it’s gonna happen. … I believe in Cooper at the end of the day. But again, we got a long way to go before we start thinking about that.”
- In a separate Insider-only story for ESPN, Givony shared some takeaways from his recent visits to Rutgers, Duke, UNC, and UConn, four college programs who figure to be well represented in the first round of next year’s NBA draft. Within his section on Rutgers, Givony notes that multiple NBA scouts have told him they have Dylan Harper ranked atop their draft boards ahead of the NCAA season.
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report provides his 2024/25 win-loss predictions for all 30 NBA teams, while John Hollinger of The Athletic names the Nuggets, Grizzlies, Clippers, Hornets, and Wizards as five clubs he expects to fall short of their preseason over/under projections.
- Georgia businessman Calvin Darden Jr. was found guilty on Friday of fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and two separate conspiracy counts for his role in defrauding former NBA players Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons out of a combined $8MM in 2021. Brian Windhorst of ESPN has the details on the case.
- Long Phi Pham, one of the gamblers who took part in a scheme to have former Raptors big man Jontay Porter exit games early for betting purposes last season, pleaded guilty this week to conspiring to commit wire fraud, reports Jennifer Peltz of The Associated Press. Pham, whose sentencing is scheduled for April 25, could face anything from a no-jail punishment to up to 20 years in prison.