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Nikola Jokic Headlines Serbia’s Preliminary EuroBasket Roster

July 28th, 2025 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is among the 17 players listed on Serbia’s preliminary roster for this year’s EuroBasket tournament, the Basketball Federation of Serbia announced in a press release (hat tip to BasketNews.com).

Jokic is one of a handful of NBA players on the Serbian roster, along with Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, Thunder guard Nikola Topic, Heat forward Nikola Jovic, and Wizards center Tristan Vukcevic.

There are also several other players in the group who have previous NBA experience, such as Vasilije Micic, Marko Guduric, Filip Petrusev, and Alen Smailagic.

The Serbian national team is convening on Monday to begin training for EuroBasket and will play a series of exhibition games in August leading up to the event, which tips off on August 27.

The Serbians will face Estonia, Portugal, Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Turkey in the EuroBasket’s group phase. The field is made up of four groups of six teams apiece, with 16 of the 24 total clubs advancing to the knockout round of the tournament.

It will be the second straight summer in which Jokic has represented Serbia in an international competition — he led the team to a bronze medal finish at the Olympics in Paris in 2024. However, the Serbians were eliminated in the round of 16 by Italy in the most recent EuroBasket tournament in 2022, despite 32 point and 13 rebounds from Jokic in that game.

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Tristan Vukcevic Returns To Wizards On Two-Way Contract

July 11th, 2025 at 7:00am CST by Rory Maher

July 11: Vukcevic’s new two-way deal with the Wizards is official, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

July 10: Free agent big man Tristan Vukcevic is re-signing with the Wizards on a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 22-year-old forward/center was given a qualifying offer last month, making him a restricted free agent, so he may simply be accepting that QO, which is equivalent to another one-year two-way contract.

Both Josh Robbins of The Athletic and Varun Shankar of The Washington Post have confirmed the news (Twitter links).

Washington drafted Vukcevic with the 42nd pick in 2023, but he spent most of the 2023/24 season with KK Partizan in Serbia before joining the Wizards in March of 2024. He started four of the 10 games he played in as a rookie, averaging 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per night.

Vukcevic originally signed a standard contract with the Wizards, who declined their team option on the him last June. He returned to the organization a few days later on a two-way contract.

Vukcevic’s 2024/25 debut was delayed by a few months due to a left knee injury. Known for his ability to space the floor, Vukcevic made 35 appearances with the Wizards last season, averaging 9.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game, with a shooting slash line of .496/.373/.776.

As our tracker shows, Vukcevic will fill Washington’s third two-way spot, joining wings Jaylen Martin and Jamir Watkins. He will earn $636,435 in 2025/26 and can be active for up to 50 regular season games.

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Suns’ Gillepsie, Lakers’ Koloko Among Two-Way Players Receiving QOs

June 29th, 2025 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

A series of players who finished the 2024/25 season on two-way contracts have received qualifying offers from their respective teams, making them free agents, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac. Those players are as follows (all links go to Twitter):

In each case, the player’s qualifying offer is equivalent to another one-year, two-way deal, with a small portion (approximately $85K) guaranteed.

While a rival team could technically sign any of these players to an offer sheet during free agency, we essentially never see that happen with two-way free agents. Most of them end up either accepting their two-way QOs or agreeing to new standard contracts with their current teams.

Gillespie, who turned 26 on Wednesday, is among the players who made a strong case for a promotion to a standard contract this past season. He averaged 5.9 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game for Phoenix across 33 appearances (nine starts) and made 43.3% of his three-point tries.

Koloko (2.4 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 37 games), Vukcevic (9.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and .496/.373/.776 shooting in 35 games), and Wallace (5.4 PPG and 2.6 APG in 31 games) also played rotation minutes for their respective clubs in 2024/25.

Sunday is the deadline for teams to make qualifying offers to players who are eligible for restricted free agency.

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Southeast Notes: Anthony, Wizards, Heat Play-In

April 17th, 2025 at 8:34pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Cole Anthony played a starring role in Orlando’s play-in victory over Atlanta on Tuesday, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes. He scored 26 points and six assists to clinch the seventh seed for the Magic.

As Robbins writes, Anthony had a roller-coaster season in 2024/25, seeing his role fluctuate frequently as he averaged a career-low 18.4 minutes per game, so it was rewarding for him to help secure their spot in the playoffs.

“It’s been up-and-down for him,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “But just his energy, his spark, his juice, what he provides for this team coming off that bench, he plays fearlessly and that’s how we need him to continue to play.”

Now, the Magic are preparing for a first-round series against the 61-win Celtics.

“It was awesome, and we need that from him, to be ready and plug in and give us instant offense like that and just make the right play,” teammate Franz Wagner said.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • Even though they won just 18 games, this was a successful season from a developmental perspective for the Wizards. Three rookies — Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George — started a significant number of games while players like Bilal Coulibaly showed signs of development. In a piece exploring learnings from the season, Varun Shankar of The Washington Post pinpoints Justin Champagnie as a valuable player but writes that players like Richaun Holmes and Malcolm Brogdon might be on the way out in the offseason.
  • In his offseason preview for the Wizards, Keith Smith of Spotrac writes that players like Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart might have value for contending teams this offseason due to their contracts set to expire in 2026. In potential trade scenarios involving those players, the Wizards could take back long-term salary. Brogdon will be a free agent and the Wizards could theoretically involve him in a sign-and-trade while getting a minor asset in return. Outside of that, the Wizards will keep adding to their young core. Smith writes that AJ Johnson and Tristan Vukcevic are two young players in house to watch for bigger roles next year.
  • The Warriors‘ play-in victory over the Grizzlies ensures the Heat will receive Golden State’s first-round pick in June, which will be either 18th, 19th or 20th overall, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. That pick order will be determined by random drawing. Golden State’s pick was top-10 protected. Whether or not the Heat hang onto their own first-round pick will hinge on whether or not they beat Atlanta on Friday.
  • The Heat defeated the Bulls in the play-in tournament for the third straight year, with Tyler Herro serving as a major offensive catalyst, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Pelle Larsson, who played many minutes toward the end of the season in a starting role, returned from an ankle injury and was available on Wednesday, but didn’t play. Forward Nikola Jovic is also close to making his return after not playing since late February. He was upgraded to questionable for the first time since then and could potentially return in the playoffs.
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Wizards Notes: Smart, Middleton, Sarr, Vukcevic, Brogdon, Coulibaly

March 11th, 2025 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Trade-deadline acquisitions Marcus Smart and Khris Middleton have had a positive impact on the Wizards so far. As Varun Shankar of The Washington Post writes, the two veterans have been active for the same seven games since debuting on February 21 and the team has gone 4-3 in those contests. Washington was 9-45 before the duo suited up and has lost the two games Smart and Middleton have missed since then.

Monday’s game vs. Toronto represented the second time in recent weeks that Smart and Middleton have been held out of one end of a back-to-back set for “injury management.” The Wizards have dropped those two matchups, to the Magic and Raptors, by 20 and 15 points, respectively.

While head coach Brian Keefe didn’t say on Monday whether he’d continue to sit Smart and Middleton in back-to-backs for the rest of the season, the Wizards likely won’t go out of their way to make those veterans more available, given the impact they’ve had on winning and the importance of lottery positioning. Washington has had the NBA’s worst record for nearly the entire season, but is now just a game behind Utah and 2.5 games behind Charlotte in the standings.

Here’s more on the Wizards:

  • Keefe experimented on Monday with playing centers Alex Sarr and Tristan Vukcevic at the same time and liked what he saw during those seven minutes, as Shankar relays. “They complement each other offensively, and I thought they could complement each other defensively,” Keefe said of the young bigs. “So I wanted to see what that looked like. I thought they did a good job during that little stint.” Vukcevic said he was “a bit surprised” to be playing power forward, but appreciated the opportunity to try something new. “That’s something that (the Cavaliers are) doing, and it’s working out for them. So it would be great if it could work out for us,” he said.
  • Veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon, who has been on the shelf since February 12 with a left ankle sprain, has been doing on-court work in recent days, including after the team’s shootaround on Monday, per Shankar. However, Keefe declined to give a timetable for Brogdon’s potential return.
  • In an in-depth story for RG.org, Spencer Davies takes a closer look at Bilal Coulibaly‘s second year in the NBA, noting that the forward’s efficiency numbers (.421 FG%, .281 3PT%) have dropped in large part due to a more challenging shot profile and suggesting that the Wizards remain bullish on the 20-year-old’s potential. “I know they believe in me,” Coulibaly told Davies. “They are telling me that every single day, so it feels really good. For me and just my confidence, having guys that believe in me makes me believe in myself too.”
  • Coulibaly took a hard fall in the first quarter of Monday’s loss vs. Toronto after being fouled on a dunk attempt by Raptors forward Jamison Battle (video link). The Wizards have listed him as out for Tuesday’s matchup with Detroit due to a right hip contusion, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says it’s fortunate the second-year forward didn’t injure his head, neck, or back, given how scary it looked in real time.
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Southeast Notes: Hornets, Okogie, Harris, Wizards, Young

January 31st, 2025 at 3:58pm CST by Earnest Marshall

The Hornets are seeking “creative” answers to their rotation with star guard LaMelo Ball out with an ankle injury, according to The Charlotte Observer’s Alex Zietlow.

“It’s hard to make up Melo’s production,” head coach Charles Lee said. “With all that he does, and he does it in such a unique way, and he’s able to sustain it for an entire game, and create so much open space and opportunities for all our guys.”

Charlotte is currently ravaged by injuries, with Ball, Mark Williams, Josh Green and Brandon Miller due to various injuries, including a season-ending wrist issue for Miller. The shorthanded Hornets had a poor offensive showing on Wednesday against the Nets, with Taj Gibson, Vasilije Micic and recently acquired Josh Okogie each inserted into the starting lineup while two-way players Moussa Diabate, KJ Simpson and Isaiah Wong saw extended workloads.

The goal for Charlotte now is to keep its injured players engaged with the team, per Zietlow, and to continue developing some of their younger players.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Hornets could theoretically look to flip Okogie at the trade deadline after acquiring him for Nick Richards, but he’s looked like a solid fit in Charlotte in his first six games. He discussed his first impressions of Charlotte with Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda. “This whole team has been good at bringing everybody in,” Okogie said. “From the outside looking in, I didn’t really know how close they were with each other, but this team jokes, laughs, and kind of does everything together so far since I’ve been here. They’ve all embraced me, and that’s made me feel comfortable already.” In his first six appearances with the Hornets, Okogie is averaging 10.3 points per game and shooting 42.9% from three.
  • After missing 13 games with a hamstring strain, Gary Harris made his return for the Magic‘s Wednesday game against Portland, as first reported by the Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede (via Twitter). Harris played 13 minutes and scored three points.
  • Don’t be surprised if the Wizards go through the trade deadline with one or both of Jonas Valanciunas and Malcolm Brogdon still on the roster, The Washington Post’s Varun Shankar writes. The team could find more value in their leadership than in potential second round picks if offers aren’t to their liking — that was the case last season with Tyus Jones.
  • The team continues to mentor two-way center Tristan Vukcevic, Shankar writes in the same article. Coach Brian Keefe said a team could run its offense through Vukcevic, but the Wizards want to see him become more of a defensive anchor.
  • Hawks guard Trae Young ultimately wasn’t named an All-Star in the East despite averages of 22.5 points and 11.4 assists per game. He responded on Twitter on Thursday night. “[And] it’s no longer getting ‘snubbed’ it’s getting ‘Traed’ at this point,” Young wrote. “Sorry to my fans.. it’ll change eventually! All right, talk soon!“
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Southeast Notes: Ball, Miller, Mann, Carter, Wizards, Vukcevic

December 17th, 2024 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

There was both good and bad news on the injury front for the Hornets on Monday. Star point guard LaMelo Ball, who had been out since November 27, returned to action vs. Philadelphia after missing seven games, and while he made just 5-of-15 shots from the field, Ball posted his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 assists in just 26 minutes of action.

However, the return of one key Hornets starter coincided with an injury to another. As Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes, forward Brandon Miller – the team’s second-leading scorer behind Ball – sprained his right ankle in the fourth quarter and missed the rest of the game. The severity of Miller’s injury isn’t yet known, so it’s unclear how much additional time (if any) he might miss.

“I think that he might have stepped on a foot in front of our bench — I’m not sure whose — then going down the other way, he drives on I believe it was (Paul) George and lays it in,” head coach Charles Lee said. “And then just as he came down, he tweaked it. We’ll evaluate him, and I know our performance staff will be on top of it.”

The Hornets also provided an update on another injured guard on Monday, announcing (via Twitter) that Tre Mann has begun light court work and weight-room activities. Mann, who has been out since Nov. 21 due to disc irritation in his back, will be reevaluated in two weeks, according to the club.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

  • Since returning from a 12-game injury absence on November 27, Magic big man Wendell Carter Jr. has been starting alongside Goga Bitadze and spending more time as a power forward than a center. The adjustment, necessitated by injuries to forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, has been a challenging one for Carter, though he said he thinks he’s getting back to his “old self” after spending a few games feeling like he was “floating” around the court, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “It’s tough. I’m more used to crashing the glass, being around the rim a lot more, being in the pick-and-rolls a lot more,” Carter said. “But being at the four is a little different for me. Sometimes it’s tough because it feels like you’re not doing anything, but guys who watch basketball actually understand that the more you are spaced, the more you give driving lanes for your teammates.”
  • The Wizards got a first-hand look on Sunday at the sort of offense they hope to build, according to Varun Shankar of The Washington Post, who says the front office wants to be able to field a lineup that features no offensive weak links and “multiple decision-makers and ball-handlers.” In their Sunday win over Washington, the defending champion Celtics had seven players score double-digit points and four players record at least four assists apiece, showing what that kind of offense looks like. The 3-21 Wizards, whose 103.7 offensive rating is easily the worst mark in the NBA, obviously have a long way to go.
  • Within the same Washington Post story, Shankar notes that Wizards two-way player Tristan Vukcevic made his G League season debut on Sunday after recovering from a left knee injury. Discussing Vukcevic’s return, head coach Brian Keefe spoke about what he wants to see from the young center this season. “You want him to start impacting the game on the defensive end, being a defensive anchor,” Keefe said on Sunday. “And then continue to do what he does offensively, which is stretch the court. Decision-maker, play-maker — those are the things he’s really good at. Really happy for him that he’s back on the court today.”
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Southeast Notes: Bridges, Williams, Da Silva, Vukcevic

December 14th, 2024 at 7:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heading into his first year with the Hornets, head coach Charles Lee had been planning to start Miles Bridges and Mark Williams together on his front line, but he didn’t have that opportunity until Friday night, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Bridges returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with a bone bruise on his right knee, marking his first game this season alongside Williams, who made his debut last week after recovering from a strained tendon in his left foot.

“I thought they had good games,” Lee said. “Miles, I think you see what he can bring to our offense, in terms of being able to be a pick-and-roll handler, off ball catch-and-shoot guy or off ball driver and play-maker. And then defensively, I thought that his communication was really good, his rebounding. So, I’m encouraged. And I thought Mark had some good spurts on both ends of the floor, too.”

Williams made his first start of the season, contributing 15 points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes and showing signs that he might be ready to resume his normal role after being out of action for about a year. It was his longest outing since being cleared to return as his conditioning level continues to improve.

“It felt good,” he said. “Shout-out to my teammates for keeping my head in it, staying solid. But it felt good. Obviously, the intention was to win the game. This is a small piece of it. We were short in doing that, but I definitely felt good. There’s a lot of stuff I need to improve on individually and we can improve on collectively. But I think with each game I’m getting more and more comfortable with time increasing each game.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • Lee’s first season as a head coach has featured revolving lineups as the Hornets have been hit especially hard by injuries, Boone adds. Lottery pick Tidjane Salaun also returned on Friday night and LaMelo Ball is expected back soon, but many of the combinations Lee has been forced to use haven’t played together very often. “I’m super proud of our guys,” he said. “No matter who’s been available, there hasn’t been any excuses made and there’s just been an overall competitiveness.”
  • Magic rookie Tristan da Silva has appeared in 23 games and made 16 starts, but he realized at today’s practice that he hasn’t played at the same time as Paolo Banchero, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. The first-round pick wasn’t used much early in the season, and his first real opportunity didn’t come until Banchero was sidelined with a torn oblique. Da Silva said Banchero has been extremely helpful in his adjustment to the NBA. “He’s been very vocal,” Da Silva said. “He brings a lot of energy off the bench, which is really good for us, especially on the road. Every time somebody subs out, he’s right there telling people what he sees and giving his input on the game, which is amazing. Advice like that from a guy like that from the sideline is always good.”
  • Wizards two-way center Tristan Vukcevic was expected to start practicing today with the team’s G League affiliate, relays Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. Vukcevic, a second-round pick in 2023, has been sidelined all season with a left knee contusion.
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Southeast Notes: Brogdon, Bogdanovic, Bufkin, Micic

November 18th, 2024 at 9:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Malcolm Brogdon made his season debut on Sunday against Detroit but was limited to one point in 22 minutes, Varun Shankar of the Washington Post notes. He underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb in early October.

Brogdon was the first player off the bench for the Wizards, who acquired him in an offseason trade with Portland. The veteran guard is a candidate to be traded again before the February deadline. He’s playing on an expiring $22.5MM contract.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kobe Bufkin were active for the Hawks on Monday. Bogdanovic hadn’t played since Oct. 23 due to a hamstring strain, while Bufkin was making his season debut after partially dislocating his right shoulder last month.
  • Vasilije Micic made just his fifth appearance of the season on Sunday, scoring nine points in 14 minutes. Micic’s playing time has dropped this season with LaMelo Ball back in action but Hornets first-year coach Charles Lee praised the Serbian guard after the game. “He can initiate the offense for us. He knows the sets very well. I thought that he actually brought some great energy (Sunday),” Lee said, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net. “He’s done a really good job of preparing himself, his mind, and his body. He’s approached every day, even though he has not been in the rotation, like a true professional.”
  • Wizards 2023 second-round pick and two-way player Tristan Vukcevic hasn’t played for either the Wizards or their G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go. Coach Brian Keefe told Shankar prior to Sunday’s game the Vukcevic needs to ramp up his conditioning before returning to the court. The big man was on a standard contract last season but the team declined his team option and re-signed him on a two-way deal in July.
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Wizards Re-Sign Tristan Vukcevic To Two-Way Deal

July 3rd, 2024 at 12:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have re-signed center Tristan Vukcevic on a two-way contract, according to NBA.com’s transaction log. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirmed the move (Twitter link).

Washington drafted Vukcevic with the 42nd pick in 2023, but he spent most of the season with KK Partizan in Serbia before joining the Wizards in March. He started four of the 10 games he played during his brief time in the NBA, averaging 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per night.

The Wizards held a $2.42MM team option on Vukcevic for the 2024/25 season and could have issued him a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent after declining that option. However, neither move was necessary to bring him back on a more team-friendly contract.

While the Wizards traded away starting center Daniel Gafford at last season’s deadline, they should have no shortage of options at the five heading into 2024/25. The club drafted Alex Sarr with the No. 2 pick and agreed to a three-year deal with Jonas Valanciunas in free agency. Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley are among the other big men on the roster, though neither is owed guaranteed money beyond this season, so they could be trade candidates.

Given Washington’s depth up front and Vukcevic’s two-way contract that allows him to be transferred freely back and forth from the G League, he could end up seeing a good deal of action for the Capital City Go-Go.

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