Bucks Waive Nigel Hayes-Davis
The Bucks have requested waivers on forward Nigel Hayes-Davis shortly after acquiring him from Phoenix in a three-team trade, the team announced in a press release.
Hayes-Davis made his NBA debut way back in 2018, but was out of the league for seven years before signing with the Suns during the 2025 offseason. The 6’7″ forward established himself as a standout in the EuroLeague, helping Fenerbahce win a title and earning Final Four MVP honors last spring.
While Hayes-Davis parlayed his success overseas into a new NBA contract, his time in Phoenix didn’t play out as he hoped. The 31-year-old averaged just 7.2 minutes per game in 27 appearances off the bench. He played primarily in garbage time and recording 1.3 points and 1.2 rebounds per contest.
A return to Europe is a possibility for Hayes-Davis if he doesn’t catch on with a new NBA team right away. For what it’s worth, he remains eligible to sign a two-way contract but can’t rejoin the Suns.
As for the Bucks, they added salary to their books and didn’t acquire any additional assets when they swapped Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey for Ousmane Dieng and Hayes-Davis ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Given that Hayes-Davis is already off the roster, it seems safe to assume that they like Dieng.
Bulls Acquire Nick Richards In Three-Team Trade Involving Suns, Bucks
9:48 pm: The three-team trade is official, the Bulls announced (via Twitter).
1:58 pm: The Bucks and Suns have expanded the trade, adding the Bulls to the mix, Charania tweets. Richards will head to Chicago instead of Milwaukee with Ousmane Dieng going to Milwaukee.
Richards could see more playing time with the Bulls, considering they dealt Nikola Vucevic this week. Dieng wound up in Chicago earlier this week when the Thunder traded him to Charlotte, which then re-routed him to the Windy City in the Coby White deal.
Dieng appeared in 27 games off the bench for Oklahoma City. He’s making $6.67MM this season and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
11:08 am: The Bucks and Suns have reached an agreement on a trade that will send guard Cole Anthony and wing Amir Coffey to Phoenix in exchange for center Nick Richards and forward Nigel Hayes-Davis, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The news of the deal comes right on the heels of Charania’s report that the Bucks were informing Giannis Antetokounmpo suitors that the star forward will stay put and that they’re moving onto other trade opportunities.
This deal will probably have a minimal impact in terms of on-court performance but it does impact salary cap sheets for this season.
For the Suns, it’s a major financial boon. Phoenix drops under the luxury tax line by roughly $2.5MM and also creates a $5MM trade exception by shipping out Richards, cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets. Richards has an expiring contract, as does Hayes-Davis, who is making just over $2MM with no future obligations.
Anthony is making just under $2.67MM this season, while Coffey has a $2.87MM salary. Both are also on expiring deals with matching cap hits of $2,296,274.
According to Phoenix radio host John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), the trade creates a pathway for the Suns to promote two-way player Jamaree Bouyea to their standard roster. Bouyea is averaging 7.0 points in 15.3 minutes per game through 25 appearances.
Phoenix was already carrying 14 players on standard contracts, one less than the maximum, but the trade will give the team more financial flexibility to promote Bouyea and remain below the tax. It remains to be seen whether the Suns will retain both Anthony and Coffey, but they could create another roster opening if they waive one of them.
Anthony has appeared in 35 games off the bench this season, averaging 6.7 points and 3.5 assists in 15.1 minutes per game. Coffey has seen action in 30 games, averaging 2.4 points in 8.8 minutes per contest. Anthony might be the more valuable piece, as he could fill a role as a backup point.
Richards started 34 of 36 games for the Suns last season after being acquired from Phoenix but his role has diminished this season. He’s appeared in 28 games, averaging 3.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 9.1 minutes. Hayes-Davis has seen even less court time, averaging 1.3 points in 7.2 minutes over 27 games.
While Hayes-Davis seems unlikely to play a major role in Milwaukee and is probably a candidate to be released, Richards could see rotation minutes in the team’s frontcourt.
Suns Notes: Green, Williams, Maluach, Hayes-Davis
New Suns guard Jalen Green is dealing with a “low grade” hamstring strain and won’t be available on Friday when Phoenix’s preseason schedule tips off, head coach Jordan Ott said on Thursday (Twitter link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic).
After facing the Lakers in Palm Springs on Friday, the Suns will travel to Macao, where they’ll face Brooklyn in a pair of preseason contests on October 10 and 12. According to Ott, Green will make that trip with the team, but isn’t necessarily a lock to play in either of those games against the Nets.
“He’ll be with us in China,” Ott said. “He’ll do what he can to see where we’re at in preseason, but we know the goal is that (Oct. 22 season opener).”
We have more on the Suns:
- Another newcomer, center Mark Williams, will also sit out Friday’s preseason opener, Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic. The big man has done everything in training camp except take part in live 5-on-5 action, and the Suns’ plan has always been to bring him along slowly after he was limited to 106 total outings across three seasons in Charlotte due to various health issues. “We’re trying to assess exactly where he is,” Ott said when asked if Williams would play in any of the team’s four preseason games. “The goal is there at the end of camp get him as ready as he can. He’s on a good path. Like I said, every drill work you’ve seen him in. Just not the live 5-on-5.”
- Rookie center Khaman Maluach was listed at 250 pounds during his lone season at Duke and at 253 ahead of Summer League. The 19-year-old confirmed this week that he has made an effort to bulk up in recent months as he prepares to do battle with NBA centers, per Rankin. “I added a little bit of weight, I’m like 263 now, 262,” Maluach said. “… It hasn’t really been (lifting) weights, weights. It’s just like developing and getting strong from like the base. Just working on my weak spots, whether it’s my hips, my knees, my quads and my upper body.”
- Veteran forward Nigel Hayes-Davis, who will be playing in the NBA this season for the first time since 2018, is confident that his game will translate from the EuroLeague to the NBA after he spent the better part of the past decade playing in Turkey, Spain, and Lithuania. “There was a lot of talk that it’s a different game between EuroLeague and the NBA,” Hayes-Davis said (Twitter video link). “Of course it is. But for me, I just need to play basketball and do what I do. I think the way I play basketball on both sides of the ball works in either league, on any continent.”
Pacific Notes: Harris, Wiggins, Hayes-Davis, Aspiration
Zach Harris has been named general manager of the Warriors’ NBA G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to a team press release. Additionally, Noah Robotham has been promoted to assistant GM.
Harris is entering his second season with the Santa Cruz Warriors after serving as an assistant GM last year. He joined the Warriors organization with four years of G League experience, having worked for the Grand Rapids Gold as a basketball strategy coordinator for the 2022/23 season, the Capital City Go-Go as a basketball operations assistant from 2018-20, and as an intern for the Iowa Wolves in 2017.
Robotham is entering his third season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, having spent last year as the team’s manager of basketball operations. In his first season with the Warriors in 2023/24, he served as a coaching associate and basketball operations coordinator.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers reportedly are looking to upgrade the wing position with the Heat’s Andrew Wiggins as a potential target. Lakers beat reporter Jovan Buha expresses skepticism on his Buha’s Block podcast (video link) that the Lakers can pull off a Wiggins trade without including a first-round pick. He also doesn’t expect that some combination of Dalton Knecht, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent would be enough to pull off a trade.
- The Suns signed Nigel Hayes-Davis to a one-year contract in July after he spent seven years playing overseas. The Athletic’s Doug Haller details Hayes-Davis’ long journey back to the NBA. “For sure, I would’ve been surprised (it took so long), but to talk about the past is almost pointless,” Hayes-Davis said. “… I will say that I’m appreciative of the journey that I’ve had. Is it the one I thought about as a child growing up? Of course not. But it’s been fantastic.”
- The ongoing saga regarding Kawhi Leonard‘s no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration as a means of the Clippers potentially circumventing the league’s salary cap rules has been a hot topic the past two weeks. ESPN’s Shwetha Surendran takes a closer at the now-defunct company, including its business model and high-profile investors.
Five Under-The-Radar Players To Watch In 2025
We’re still 28 days away from most teams beginning training camp, which typically determines multiple positional battles for teams ahead of the coming season. Still, the majority of teams’ offseason roster moves have been completed and preliminary pecking orders are in place, meaning we can take a stab at identifying true breakout players for 2025/26.
In the space below, we’ll be focusing on players who appear poised to go from the fringes of rosters to rotational mainstays. Think of Guerschon Yabusele last season, who went from being out of the league to being one of the NBA’s most coveted role players.
Last year in this exercise, we included Max Christie, who increased his scoring average from 4.2 points to 9.6 points per game. So while Larry Nance Jr. seems primed for a massive year with the Cavaliers as a role player, he has 546 career games under his belt and doesn’t really fit our criteria.
Luka Garza/Josh Minott, Boston Celtics
The Celtics went out of their way to add both Garza and Minott to standard deals early in free agency after the Timberwolves declined options on both players. However, the Wolves opting to not bring them back isn’t necessarily an indictment — more of a testament to the win-now depth Minnesota built ahead of them.
Garza hasn’t played many minutes over the course of his four-year NBA career, but he has certainly produced when given the opportunity. He holds career averages of 4.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game, which works out to per-36 averages of 22.7 points and 8.9 rebounds.
It would be easy to write off that kind of production since per-36 is hardly an indicative statistic of one’s talents, but that sample comes across 124 career games. And in 39 career regular season G League games, Garza averaged 26.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest.
The Celtics lost Luke Kornet in free agency, traded away Kristaps Porzingis, and are not considered likely to bring back Al Horford. That leaves Neemias Queta, Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman as the only players in front of Garza in the frontcourt. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Garza emerges as a starter down the line.
Minott is also included here after his training camp last season had coaches raving. While he never ended up in the rotation, it’s still noteworthy that the Celtics added him early in free agency. Minott will battle Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman and rookie Hugo Gonzalez for minutes off the bench at the wing position. In 32 career regular season G League games, he has averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.8 blocks.
Nigel Hayes-Davis, Phoenix Suns
If there was an option to select “most likely to be this year’s Yabusele,” Hayes-Davis would have to rank near the top. Hayes-Davis established himself as one of the best international players after not playing in the league since 2017/18. The Suns gave him a standard guaranteed deal after he averaged 15.1 points per game for Fenerbahce. On a new-look Phoenix team, he should get plenty of chances to contribute.
Jaylen Clark, Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves selected Clark with the No. 53 pick in the 2023 draft, with the Wolves essentially redshirting him while he recovered from injury in 2023/24. Last year, in his first healthy NBA season, Clark emerged as a reliable depth option, averaging 4.1 points across 13.1 minutes in 40 games.
With the loss of Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Hawks in free agency, the Wolves will look to rely on their younger depth options to establish themselves this season. While all eyes are on Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. to take steps forward, look for Clark (and perhaps Leonard Miller), to gain more of a foothold in the rotation.
Cam Spencer, Memphis Grizzlies
Every opportunity he received, Spencer impressed for the Grizzlies and their G League affiliate. In just 10.1 minutes per game last year (25 appearances), Spencer averaged 4.2 points. In eight regular season G League games, Spencer averaged 23.5 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 53.8% from the field and 49.3% on three-pointers.
Memphis drafted Spencer last year with the No. 53 overall pick, and he spent all of last year on a two-way deal. After standing out in their developmental system, the second-year guard was rewarded with a standard contract this offseason. Even though the Grizzlies are flush with rotation-caliber players, there could be an opportunity for Spencer to earn some bench minutes following the departure of Desmond Bane.
And-Ones: ESPN Panel, Top SGs, Lundberg, Hayes-Davis
The Spurs and Hawks are considered the co-favorites to make the biggest leap in the NBA during the upcoming season, according to a panel of ESPN Insiders.
The panel made its predictions on a wide variety of topics, including the team most likely to make a big move before the trade deadline (the Warriors received the most votes) and the next superstar to request a trade (Zion Williamson was the top vote-getter).
Here’s more from around the international basketball world:
- Anthony Edwards tops the list of shooting guards ranked by The Athletic’s Zach Harper. Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell fill out tier one — players who are potential MVP candidates — in “The Bounce’s Top 40 Shooting Guards.” Desmond Bane, Klay Thompson, Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine comprised the second tier as players “who can take over” a game.
- Gabriel ‘Iffe’ Lundberg won’t return to Serbia’s Partizan Belgrade, according to Sportando. The Danish guard, according to a TeleSport report, has drawn interest from both Zenit St. Petersburg and Olympiacos. Lundberg had a brief stay in the NBA, playing four games with Phoenix during the 2021/22 season.
- Tel Aviv’s owner Ofer Yannay had a verbal agreement this offseason with Nigel Hayes-Davis in the event that the free agent forward couldn’t find an NBA contract. Hayes-Davis, who played in Turkey last season, wound up signing a one-year deal with the Suns. “We were sure we were bringing Nigel Hayes-Davis. We were sure it was happening. He had an option to go to the NBA, and he basically said, ‘I’ll try to get a contract in the NBA, and if I don’t, I’ll come to you,’” Yannay said, per Eurohoops.net.
Suns Sign Nigel Hayes-Davis To One-Year Deal
July 10: The Suns have officially signed Hayes-Davis, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
Hayes-Davis and Fenerbahce officially parted ways this week after he reportedly turned down a lucrative offer from the Turkish team that would have made him one of the EuroLeague’s highest-paid players.
June 30: The Suns have agreed to a one-year deal with free agent forward Nigel Hayes-Davis, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter). The deal is fully guaranteed.
Hayes-Davis is coming off being named Final Four MVP as he helped Turkish club Fenerbahce win the 2025 EuroLeague championship. He averaged 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 42.3% from three-point range in 34 EuroLeague contests in 2024/25 (31.1 MPG).
After starring at Wisconsin in college, Hayes-Davis played nine total NBA games during the 2017/18 season, bouncing between the Lakers, Raptors, and Kings. He has been out of the league ever since.
While the 6’7″ forward’s first NBA stint was brief, he has been one of the top players in the EuroLeague over the past three seasons with Fenerbahce. With the Suns loaded with shooting guards and centers, the 30-year-old will provide forward depth alongside Royce O’Neale.
Fenerbahce’s GM said Hayes-Davis was drawing serious NBA interest shortly after the team won the title and was preparing for his potential departure.
Free Agent Notes: Melton, Warriors, Horford, Hayes-Davis
There was chatter early in the free agent period connecting De’Anthony Melton to the Lakers, but that talk has “cooled” in recent days, according to Jovan Buha, who said during a Monday live-stream (YouTube link) that the free agent guard has been more frequently connected to the Warriors as of late.
NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link) confirms as much, citing league sources who say that Golden State has emerged as a “strong contender” to sign Melton.
The Warriors used their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Melton to a one-year contract in free agency last season, but he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in just his sixth game with his new team. Prior to the injury, the 27-year-old was looking like an ideal fit in Golden State’s backcourt, with an average of 10.3 points per game and a .371 3PT%, albeit in a very small sample size.
Here are a few more free agent notes from around the NBA:
- Big man Al Horford is another free agent who has been frequently connected to the Warriors. According to Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog (Twitter link), Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens acknowledged on Tuesday that it’s “unlikely” Horford returns to Boston, though Stevens did say the team made offers to both him and Luke Kornet (who signed with San Antonio).
- Veteran forward Nigel Hayes-Davis and Fenerbahce have officially parted ways, the Turkish team announced (via Twitter). The move paves the way for Hayes-Davis to get his FIBA letter of clearance and officially finalize his reported agreement with the Suns. Hayes-Davis reportedly turned down a lucrative offer from Fenerbahce that would have made him one of the EuroLeague’s highest-paid players.
- Chris Herring, Zach Kram, Bobby Marks, and Kevin Pelton of ESPN broke down some of their favorite – and least favorite – moves of the free agent period so far, with Kornet to the Spurs, Brook Lopez to the Clippers, and Dorian Finney-Smith to the Rockets among the signings that earned kudos.
Free Agent Notes: Simmons, Knicks, Shamet, Ayton, Bonga, More
The Knicks have “checked in” on former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Simmons has also met with three other teams and is expected to make a decision on his next destination soon, sources familiar with the situation tell Begley.
Simmons is a three-time All-Star who has made a pair of All-Defensive first teams, but has battled injuries in recent years, having appeared in just 108 regular season games since the start of 2021/22.
Begley adds in the same story that the Knicks maintain interest in re-signing free agent wing Landry Shamet, but have competition from teams in both conferences for the 28-year-old. Shamet made 50 appearances for New York last season, averaging 5.7 points per game on .461/.397/.667 shooting.
Given how close the Knicks are to the second tax apron, it would probably be a case of signing Simmons or Shamet (or another veteran free agent), rather than adding both, unless they create a little more spending flexibility via trade.
Given their roster situation
- After Jake Fischer reported that the Pacers have some interest in center Deandre Ayton, David Aldridge of The Athletic suggests that interest will be reciprocated. According to Aldridge, a source close to Ayton said Indiana will be considered as a possible landing spot for the former No. 1 overall pick. The big man will clear waivers later today.
- The Serbian club KK Partizan recently announced (via Twitter) a contract extension through 2027 for former NBA forward Isaac Bonga, who appeared in 143 regular season games for three teams from 2018-22. However, Bonga remains on NBA radars, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, who notes that the 25-year-old’s new deal includes an out clause that would give him the ability to return stateside later this summer if he gets an opportunity he likes.
- Another former NBA forward is headed to Belgrade, with the Serbian club Crvena Zvezda announcing (via Twitter) that it has signed Semi Ojeleye. The 2017 second-round pick made 284 NBA appearances for three teams across five seasons, but hasn’t been in the league since 2022.
- In accepting a one-year, minimum-salary offer from the Suns, veteran forward Nigel Hayes-Davis turned down a lucrative offer from Fenerbahce, his team in Turkey, that would have had made him one of the highest-paid players in the EuroLeague, Urbonas reports. While Hayes-Davis won’t earn as much in Phoenix, the 30-year-old will be back in the NBA for the first time since a brief stint in 2017/18.
Suns Notes: Booker, Green, Beal, Hayes-Davis
The Suns and Devin Booker are discussing a contract extension, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes, who notes (via Twitter) that the star guard will soon be eligible to add two years and $150MM onto his current deal.
Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst both reported last month that Phoenix was likely to offer Booker a maximum-salary extension once he’s eligible on July 6 and the 28-year-old was expected to accept it, so Haynes’ report doesn’t come as a surprise.
Here are few more notes and rumors out of Phoenix:
- Doug Haller of The Athletic spoke to a handful of Jalen Green‘s former coaches to get a better idea of how he and Booker will be able to coexist in the Suns’ backcourt. Green, a former No. 2 overall pick, will be sent to Phoenix from Houston as part of the Kevin Durant trade. “First off, they’re really good guys,” former Rockets head coach Stephen Silas said of Green and Booker. “They’re both selfless. They both want to win. They both have seen the goods and the bads and have a really good feel for team basketball and what it takes to help you get over the top and win. It remains to be seen, but I think when you start with the base that those two guys have, it could work.”
- Arizona Sports 98.7’s John Gambadoro has predicted that Phoenix will either trade or buyout Bradley Beal, who still has two years left on his maximum-salary contract, which features a full no-trade clause. While Beal would be open to certain trade scenarios, his preference is to stay with the Suns, as he doesn’t want to uproot his family or move away from them, a source close to the three-time All-Star tells Fred Katz of The Athletic.
- Katz also takes a look at why using the waive-and-stretch provision on Beal isn’t possible unless he gives up at least $13.8MM in a buyout and spoke to some NBA executives about what type of contract the veteran shooting guard might be able to get if he were a free agent (in the range of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception).
- Nigel Hayes-Davis‘ contract with Fenerbahce included a €1 million NBA buyout clause, notes Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The NBA’s “excluded international player payment amount” for 2025/26 is $875K, which means the Suns could pay up to that portion of Hayes-Davis’ buyout — the rest would come out of his NBA salary, unless Fenerbahce agrees to lower the amount of the buyout. The veteran forward agreed to a guaranteed one-year deal with Phoenix on Monday.
Luke Adams contributed to this article.