Moses Brown

Nuggets Notes: Murray, Johnson, M. Brown, Holmes

Historically a slow starter who has posted his worst scoring and shooting numbers in October, November, and December, Jamal Murray was optimistic during the preseason about reversing that trend. So far, so good for the Nuggets guard, who has averaged 30.3 points, 6.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds in his first three games, with a scorching-hot .530/.429/.923 shooting line.

As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required) writes, the sample size is still far too small to jump to any conclusions, but if Murray’s hot start continues, he could have a shot to earn the first All-Star nod of his career. Predictably, head coach David Adelman is thinking more about how the point guard’s strong performances so far have impacted winning than whether or not Murray will finally get All-Star recognition.

“How many All-Stars haven’t won championships?” Adelman said. “How many All-Stars don’t have a triple-double in the Finals? … Yeah, he doesn’t go to the glorified pickup game, but the guy is a champion and one of the best players of this generation.”

We have more on the Nuggets:

  • Starting forward Cameron Johnson was unable to finish Monday’s win over Minnesota due to an injury the Nuggets are referring to as right shoulder inflammation, Durando writes in another story for The Denver Post (subscription required). “He was in pain. His shoulder was hurting him,” Adelman said. “I don’t think it’s extremely serious, but it was bothersome. To his credit, he came back out and tried to play. But that’s why it’s nice to have a guy like Tim (Hardaway Jr.) off your bench.” Johnson is listed as questionable to play on Wednesday vs. New Orleans.
  • The Nuggets carried veteran center Moses Brown on an Exhibit 10 contract for the preseason and made a trade to acquire his G League returning rights, but he wasn’t on the training camp roster announced on Monday by the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s affiliate (Twitter link). It’s unclear what the next stop will be for Brown, who has appeared in 163 NBA regular season games since debuting in 2019.
  • The Nuggets officially assigned DaRon Holmes to Grand Rapids on Tuesday, and that figures to be a common occurrence over the course of the season. As Durando writes for The Denver Post (subscription required), on paper, Holmes looks like a strong candidate to be the backup power forward in Denver’s NBA rotation, but the team will proceed extremely cautiously with the 2024 first-round pick after he missed his entire rookie year with an Achilles tear. Holmes is on board with that plan, according to Adelman. “DaRon has been nothing but positive. Great attitude. Good learner. Good in the locker room, not just on the court. Just a great kid overall,” the Nuggets’ coach said. “Can really shoot the ball. And you’ve gotta remember, he’s coming off an Achilles. It’s not like he had a sprained ankle last year. He’s playing basketball again for the first time (since college) in the last four months.”

Nuggets Waive Moses Brown, Kessler Edwards

The Nuggets have waived Moses Brown and Kessler Edwards, a source tells Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link).

Brown, a 26-year-old center, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Denver in September. He appeared in 13 total games last season with Indiana and Dallas, but spent most of the season in the G League. The Nuggets’ affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, recently acquired Brown’s returning rights, so he’s likely headed there once he clears waivers.

Brown has been a journeyman since he entered the league in 2019, making brief stops with seven teams.

Edwards, a 25-year-old small forward, also joined the Nuggets on an Exhibit 10 deal this summer. He got into 40 games with Dallas last season, averaging 4.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per night. He may also be headed to Grand Rapids, where like Brown, he will be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the team.

The cuts leave Denver with 14 standard contracts and all three of its two-way slots filled.

Nuggets Sign Moses Brown

September 14: Brown’s deal with the Nuggets is official, per RealGM’s transactions log.


September 12: The Nuggets have agreed to a deal with Moses Brown, reports Michael Scotto for HoopsHype (via Twitter).

The terms of the contract were undisclosed, but it is expected to be an Exhibit 10 training camp deal, given that the Grand Rapids Gold – Denver’s G League affiliate – recently acquired Brown’s returning rights in a three-team trade.

Brown has played six years in the NBA and holds career averages of 5.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks in 11.7 minutes per night.

He spent the majority of last season with the Westchester Knicks, averaging 17.9 points and 15.7 rebounds per game across 35 G League outings. He also played four games for the Mavericks, with whom he averaged 11.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 18.3 minutes per contest.

The Nuggets added Jonas Valanciunas this summer, as well as getting sophomore big man DaRon Holmes II back from the Achilles tear that caused him to miss his rookie season. They currently have one spot available on their projected 15-man regular season roster, but may not fill it right away due to their proximity to the luxury tax line.

Heat Notes: 2026, Rozier, Achiuwa, Settle, Young

While the idea of opening up cap room in 2026 was once a goal for the Heat, that’s no longer the case, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who notes that several potential marquee ’26 free agents have signed contract extensions that will keep them off the market.

The Heat still want to maintain flexibility going forward, but that will likely be more about having room below the luxury tax line than creating cap space, Jackson explains.

Outlining what it would look like for Miami to operate either over or under the 2026/27 cap, Jackson points out that generating a meaningful chunk of cap room would likely require the club to part ways with both Andrew Wiggins and Norman Powell. Operating over the cap appears to be the more “prudent” path for the Heat next summer, Jackson concludes.

Here’s more on the Heat:

  • After reporting earlier this week that the Heat have been in contact with Precious Achiuwa and have mulled the idea of waiving Terry Rozier, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required) digs a little deeper into that subject, exploring why Miami has considered that path. As Winderman details, Rozier is a potential bounce-back candidate and may be a better player than Achiuwa in a vacuum, but the veteran guard could also end up buried on a crowded backcourt depth chart, whereas the team has a more pressing need up front.
  • Although the Heat’s training camp won’t formally get underway until the week of September 29, several players are already back on the practice court at Kaseya Center for drills, Winderman writes within a look at the team’s roster. Winderman confirms in the same story that Miami – which currently has a full 21-man roster – is still expected to sign undrafted rookie free agent Steve Settle to an Exhibit 10 contract at some point before the regular season, as previously reported.
  • The Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate, acquired Jahmir Young‘s returning rights from the Grand Rapids Gold in a three-team trade that sent Bryson Warren‘s rights to the Westchester Knicks and Moses Brown‘s rights to the Gold (the Nuggets‘ affiliate), per a press release. Young was one of four players who signed Exhibit 10 contracts with the Heat on Thursday, so if he’s waived before the season and then decides to play in the G League, the Skyforce would have his rights.

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

The top rookies of the NBAGL season were also unveiled on Thursday (Twitter link). They are as follows:

All-NBA G League Rookie 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.

2024/25 All-NBA G League Teams Announced

In a series of tweets, the NBA has announced the three All-NBA G League teams for the 2024/25 season. Here’s the full list of honorees:

First Team

Second Team

Third Team

* Denotes two-way contract

^ Denotes standard contract

~ On a standard contract with the Cavaliers

While each player selected has some level of NBA experience, four of them — Flynn, Nowell, Brown and Warren — are currently free agents. Of that group, only Warren didn’t appear in an NBA regular season game during the ’24/25 campaign.

Davison, Tshiebwe and Nowell finished first, second and third in voting (in that order) for this season’s G League Most Valuable Player award, so it’s no surprise that they made the First Team. McClung, who was the league’s 2023/24 MVP, helped Osceola make the NBAGL Finals this spring, with the final spot going to former Pistons guard Flynn, who signed a 10-day contract with Charlotte last month.

Mason Jones recently helped Stockton win its first G League title, earning Finals MVP in the process. He’s joined on the Second Team by NBAGL Most Improved Player Harkless, McGowens, Brown, and Timme.

Former first-round pick Okeke signed a pair of 10-day contracts with Philadelphia before signing with Cleveland ahead of the playoffs. NBA veteran Warren, G League Rookie of the Year Alexander, Heat two-way guard Christopher, and Kings big man Jones round out the Third Team.

Davison and Isaac Jones were promoted from two-way deals to standard contracts at the end of the season. Timme was an NBA free agent before Brooklyn gave him a two-year standard contract in March due to his strong play in the NBAGL.

Kai Jones Signs Two-Way Contract With Mavericks

March 3: The Mavericks have officially confirmed (via Twitter) that they’ve waived Kelley and signed Jones to a two-way contract.


March 2: Dallas will waive Kylor Kelley to make room for Jones, sources tell NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link).


March 1: Kai Jones, who was released earlier today by the Clippers, expects to sign a two-way deal with the Mavericks once he clears waivers, sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).

The 24-year-old center saw limited action in 28 games with L.A. this season, averaging 2.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per night. He was getting consistent playing time earlier in the season, but was only used once during February and hasn’t played more than three minutes in a game since January 15.

At 6’11”, Jones can provide valuable size for a Dallas team that is trying to survive while its top three big men recover from injuries. Anthony Davis is set to be reevaluated March 6 for the adductor strain he suffered in his Mavericks debut. Daniel Gafford, who has a grade 3 MCL sprain, and Dereck Lively, who’s dealing with a fractured ankle, will have their conditions checked on that same date, although they aren’t expected to return for a while.

Moses Brown has been the Mavs’ starting center for the past two games, but he will become a free agent when his 10-day contract expires tonight. Hard cap restrictions will prevent Dallas from offering Brown another contract until April 10.

That could create an opportunity for Jones to make an immediate impact. Even though his NBA career has been disappointing so far, he was regarded highly enough to be the 19th pick in the 2021 draft.

Dallas’ two-way slots are currently filled by Brandon Williams, Kessler Edwards and Kylor Kelley, so a move will have to be made in time for Jones to be added by the March 4 deadline to sign two-way players.

Southwest Notes: Morant, VanVleet, Rockets, Brown, Martin

Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been fined $25K by the NBA for throwing a game ball into the spectator stands at the end of the third quarter of Friday’s one-point loss to New York, the league announced in a press release.

Morant made some poor off-court decisions earlier in his career, which resulted in a pair of suspensions (including a 25-gamer) in 2023. However, he has largely stayed out of trouble since — this is the first time he has been publicly fined in 2024/25, though he has been docked $24K for accruing 11 technical fouls this season, per Spotrac.

A two-time All-Star, Morant missed Saturday’s loss to San Antonio due to right shoulder soreness and is questionable for Monday’s game vs. Atlanta with the same injury designation, according to the NBA’s official injury report.

Here’s more from the Southwest:

  • Saturday’s loss to Sacramento marked Fred VanVleet‘s first game back with the Rockets following a month-long absence due to a right ankle strain. Unfortunately, he aggravated the ankle on the first play of the game when he stepped on a referee’s foot, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. The veteran guard stayed in the game and wound up playing 35 minutes, but his effectiveness was limited, as he finished with just three points on 1-of-8 shooting in 35 minutes (he also chipped in five rebounds, five assists and three steals). “I’ve been sitting long enough,” VanVleet said. “I had the training staff look at it, make sure it was nothing super serious, talked with coach a little bit. Obviously he noticed I wasn’t moving the best, so I was just trusting him at that point. If he decided to pull me I would’ve came out, but I wasn’t gonna take myself out the game. I’ll never do that.”
  • As Lerner relays in another story, VanVleet has been ruled out of Monday’s contest at Oklahoma City. Five other RocketsSteven Adams (sore left ankle), Dillon Brooks (right knee contusion), Tari Eason (left leg injury management), Alperen Sengun (sore lower back) and Amen Thompson (right shoulder soreness) — are questionable for Monday’s game, which is the front end of a back-to-back.
  • After playing a limited role in his first three games with the Mavericks, center Moses Brown provided a major lift in the final two contests of his 10-day contract, including recording 20 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 31 minutes during a victory over Charlotte last week. Brown’s contract expired Saturday night and the Mavs can’t re-sign him or anyone else until April 10 due to their hard cap situation. “He was great,” head coach Jason Kidd said of Brown, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. “Moses gave us a spark, gave us a big (presence) at the rim. We needed someone at the rim, and he did a really good job for us. He’ll probably get another 10-day from someone. And give him credit for coming out as a pro and helping us find a way to win.”
  • Caleb Martin has yet to make his Mavericks debut after being acquired at the trade deadline, but he has been able to go through contract practices in recent days and sounds close to returning from the right hip strain that has kept him out on the shelf since January 10, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. “He’s doing extremely well,” Kidd said of Martin. “There are a lot of positive things around him right now. He’s trending in the right direction. Hopefully here in the next couple of days, we have some really good news. His rehab sessions have been going really good and he hasn’t had any setbacks. With the playing that he’s had here, hopefully he’s back sooner than later.”

Moses Brown, T.J. Warren, Chuma Okeke On Knicks’ Radar

For the first time this season, the Knicks are in position to sign a 15th man. New York has been limited by a restrictive hard cap since acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns in October and currently has $540,127 in wiggle room below that second-apron cap, as we detailed earlier this month. As of Friday, a rest-of-season minimum-salary contract for a veteran free agent would carry a cap hit of $539,876.

The Knicks added a crucial piece to their active roster ahead of Friday’s game, with center Mitchell Robinson cleared to play for the first time this season following ankle surgery. But they didn’t make a free agent addition on Friday and are still weighing their options for that 15th spot.

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), center Moses Brown, forward T.J. Warren, and forward Chuma Okeke are among the players on the Knicks’ radar for their final roster opening.

Warren and Okeke have long been viewed as candidates to become New York’s 15th man — both players were in camp with the team in the fall and have spent the season playing for the Westchester Knicks. They’re also both thriving at the G League level. Warren has averaged 24.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on .492/.359/.836 shooting in 30 outings for Westchester, while Okeke has put up 17.0 PPG and 8.4 RPG with a .457/.365/.706 shooting line.

Brown is technically under contract with Dallas right now, but his 10-day deal expires on Saturday night. Because the Mavericks have even stricter hard cap constraints than the Knicks, they can’t complete another signing until April 10, meaning they won’t be able to immediately re-sign Brown once his current contract is up.

That could open the door for the Knicks or another team to sign the veteran big man, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds in a start for the Mavs on Thursday. Although New York got Robinson back on Friday, the team traded away Jericho Sims at this month’s deadline and saw rookie center Ariel Hukporti go down with a knee injury earlier in the week, so its frontcourt depth has taken a bit of a hit.

It’s worth noting that 10-day signings are an option for the Knicks if they don’t want to commit to a rest-of-season deal with so much time still left in the season. A 10-day contract would carry a cap charge of $119,972 and would allow the club to audition players or temporarily address holes on the roster while retaining late-season flexibility.

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes (via Begley at SNY.tv), not signing anyone on Friday means the Knicks will have enough room under their hard cap to complete a second signing before the end of the regular season if they so choose.

New York currently has 14 players under contract, so a second signing would require the team to waive one of the players on its standard roster. But if the Knicks, for example, want to have both Warren and Okeke on their playoff roster, they could sign one of them on Saturday and the other on the final day of the season, cutting a little-used player such as Delon Wright at that time. The later they complete one signing, the earlier they could make a second roster move.

Southwest Notes: Zion, Mavericks, Popovich, Spurs

With Brandon Ingram no longer on the roster and Dejounte Murray out with a long-term injury, Zion Williamson will have to shoulder more leadership responsibilities for the Pelicans both on and off the court, says William Guillory of The Athletic. While there have been questions in the past about Williamson’s conditioning habits and the way he has communicated with the organization, he has earned rave reviews for the work he has put in behind the scenes this season, according to Guillory.

“I feel like he’s been a lot more locked in. He’s been taking it really seriously. You see a different look in his eye,” teammate Trey Murphy said. “He’s just ready to build and keep building chemistry and figure out what we’re doing.”

The former No. 1 overall pick led New Orleans to its third straight win on Thursday by recording the first triple-double of his career, with 27 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds, as David Brandt of The Associated Press details. New Orleans outscored Phoenix by 17 points during Williamson’s 31 minutes on the court.

“It’s a reminder to the NBA, to the fans, to everybody,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said after the victory. “This is who he can be, night in and night out. That’s what we’re all striving to accomplish as a group. We’re striving to get our best player on the floor.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has his work cut out for him with his top three big men injured, Moses Brown‘s 10-day contract close to expiring, Dwight Powell on a restriction of 10-12 minutes per game, and Kessler Edwards just 10 appearances away from his limit of 50 active games, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Brown – who had 20 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday’s win over Chicago – can’t be re-signed until April 10 once his 10-day deal expires due to Dallas’ hard cap situation, which will also prevent the team from promoting Edwards to the 15-man roster until the final week of the season.
  • The Dallas Morning News staff takes a closer look at what we know so far about the possibility of a new arena for the Mavericks, including the city of Irving’s efforts to lure the Mavs out of Dallas.
  • Appearing on ESPN’s NBA Today on Thursday (YouTube link), Shams Charania of ESPN provided a few more details on the first in-person meeting between Gregg Popovich and his players since the Spurs head coach suffered a stroke in the fall. Charania says that “tears were shed” during the meeting and notes that Popovich hasn’t given up hope of resuming his coaching career, even though he won’t be back this season.