And-Ones: Holmes, Expansion, Project B, More
Panathinaikos has parted ways with former NBA big man Richaun Holmes, the Greek EuroLeague team announced on Tuesday (Twitter link).
After playing in the NBA for 10 seasons from 2015-25, Holmes signed with Panathinaikos last August, agreeing to a one-year deal that included a team option for a second season. The deal reportedly made him one of the highest-paid players in Europe.
Although Holmes got off to a good start in the EuroLeague, he sustained an MCL injury in the midst of his integration period with his new team, notes Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops, and he saw his minutes decline after he returned to action. The 32-year-old averaged 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game across 19 EuroLeague appearances.
Holmes played in 489 regular season games during his decade in the NBA, but was forced to accept a lesser role as he bounced around the league in his last few years after being Sacramento’s primary starting center from 2019-22.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Expanding to 32 teams and establishing a European league could net NBA owners $20 billion or more, according to Kurt Badenhausen and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico, who conservatively estimate $15 billion in expansion fees for new franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle and another $5 billion in fees for NBA Europe teams. As Badenhausen and Novy-Williams point out, expansion money isn’t shared with players, since it falls outside of basketball-related income, which means each team owner is likely looking at $650MM or more if the NBA expands both domestically and into Europe.
- Joe Vardon and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic provide the latest details on the emerging global basketball league known as Project B, which is working with European super-agent Misko Raznatovic and counts LeBron James‘ longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter as an adviser. Project B has reached deals with several women’s basketball players and is looking to establish a foothold in men’s basketball as well, per Vardon and Vorkunov, who say the league will aim to bring in current and former NBA players, as well as top young prospects from outside the NBA for its developmental program.
- ESPN’s Zach Kram ranks the NBA’s best and worst 10 transactions since last summer. The Hornets‘ selection of Kon Knueppel at No. 4 in the draft tops Kram’s list of the best moves, while the Bucks waiving and stretching Damian Lillard in order to sign Myles Turner headlines his list of the worst moves.
And-Ones: Hollis-Jefferson, LeBron, Sophomores, G. Arenas
After recently going viral on NBA Twitter for a tweet in which he made his case for an NBA roster spot, veteran forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson spoke to Cyro Asseo of HoopsHype about his quest to get back into the league.
“I feel like, given the time I was in the NBA, I think it was very important for me to self-reflect and think about all the things that I could have done differently that kind of shaped me into the person I am today,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “I was just sitting there the other day thinking about it. I was thinking about it all, man. Just where I’m at, how far I’ve come, the growth, the experiences, everything that I’ve been through.
“… It was one of those days where your wheels are turning. And I said, man, I should be in the NBA, dude. I know everyone knows how hard I work, how much I care about basketball, but that’s really where it stemmed from.”
A first-round pick in 2015, Hollis-Jefferson appeared in 305 regular season games for three teams from 2015-21. While he has been out of the NBA for four years, he has continued to compete in professional leagues around the world, spending time in Turkey, Puerto Rico, South Korea, the Philippines, and Lebanon.
Still just 30 years old, Hollis-Jefferson says a desire to be closer to home is a big part of the reason why he’d love to make it back to the NBA.
“Just wanting to be on that big stage and really, really wanting to be closer to home, to be closest to my kids,” he said. “It’s one thing for them to take a max five-hour flight to, say, California, versus a 20-hour travel day to Asia or somewhere else.”
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Despite some speculation that a recent meeting between LeBron James, his business partner Maverick Carter, and Nikola Jokic‘s agent Misko Raznatovic was a recruiting trip, they were actually discussing plans for an international basketball league that is being spearheaded by Carter, multiple sources tell Ben Horney, Daniel Roberts, and Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports.
- Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com identifies the 10 most interesting second-year NBA players he’ll be watching in 2025/26. Woo’s list includes first-year standouts, like reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, players recovering from major injuries, such as Thunder guard Nikola Topic and Sixers guard Jared McCain, and youngsters who will be in line for major role increases as sophomores, including Rockets guard Reed Sheppard.
- Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas was among six people arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of hosting illegal high-stakes poker games at a mansion in Los Angeles owned by Arenas, according to a report from The Associated Press. The press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office detailing the specifics of the case can be found right here.
- A man has been found guilty for second-degree murder in the killing of former NBA forward Adreian Payne, per Silas Morgan and Cristobal Reyes of The Orlando Sentinel (susbcription required). Lawrence Alexander Dority, who shot and killed Payne in May 2022, claimed that he thought the 31-year-old was reaching for a gun and cited self-defense, but Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigators concluded Payne didn’t have a weapon on him and that he didn’t pose a threat to Dority, who is scheduled to be sentenced on August 29.
Nikola Jokic’s Agent Suggests LeBron James To Denver In 2026
A boat trip is sparking speculation that two of the NBA’s biggest names could eventually team up with the Nuggets, according to BasketNews.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, Misko Raznatovic, the longtime agent for Nikola Jokic, shared photos of himself with LeBron James and Maverick Carter, James’ business partner, in St. Tropez. Raznatovic added the caption, “The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026! @kingjames @mavcarter.”
Speculation has been building that James could be on the move — whether it’s during the upcoming season or next summer — ever since he picked up his $52.6MM player option. That decision was accompanied by a statement from his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, who said the 40-year-old star still wants to compete for championships and would be monitoring the Lakers‘ offseason moves.
The Cavaliers, Mavericks, Warriors and Knicks are among the teams that have been mentioned as future homes for James, but the Nuggets also make sense from a competitive standpoint. James is coming off a second team All-NBA season, and partnering him with Jokic could significantly bolster Denver’s title chances.
The Nuggets couldn’t afford to give James another $50MM contract with Jokic ($59MM) and Jamal Murray ($50.1MM) already on their books for 2026/27 and beyond. Aaron Gordon ($32MM) and Cameron Johnson ($23MM) will also limit the Nuggets’ financial flexibility, but James might be willing to accept a smaller salary to join a team that would give him a chance to win a fifth ring.
There seems to be a growing sense around the league that this will be James’ final season with the Lakers as the team focuses on building around Luka Doncic and prioritizes cap space for the summer of 2027. James has been an All-NBA selection in each of his seven seasons since coming to L.A. in 2019 and delivered a title in 2020.