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Atlantic Notes: Z. Williams, Simmons, Celtics, Sixers

September 10th, 2025 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets swingman Ziaire Williams waived his right to veto a trade as part of his new two-year contract agreement with the Nets, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year deal or a two-year deal that includes a second-year option is typically given an implicit no-trade clause, but a team can ask the player to give up that no-trade clause upon signing. Because Williams – whose contract features a second-year team option – agreed to do so, he would lose his Bird rights if he’s traded ahead of February’s deadline.

Brooklyn has been looking to maintain trade flexibility while re-signing its free agents to short-term deals — the team has gotten Williams and Day’Ron Sharpe to waive their trade veto rights and sought to get Cam Thomas to do the same. However, Thomas opted to accept his qualifying offer, taking a lesser 2025/26 salary in order to maintain full control over a potential trade.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • Following up on reports indicating that Ben Simmons rebuffed interest from the Knicks and is no longer being represented by agent Bernie Lee, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post directly connects the two developments — a source tells Bondy that Lee dropped Simmons as a client after the former No. 1 overall pick “sent signals that he wasn’t interested in whatever came from his agent’s conversations with the Knicks.”
  • A panel of NBC Sports Boston staffers, including NBA insider Chris Forsberg, consider which of the Celtics‘ two-way players is most likely to help the team this season. The consensus is that big man Amari Williams, the 46th overall pick in June’s draft, has the clearest path to regular playing time, given the key frontcourt players Boston lost this offseason.
  • Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required) explores some burning roster-related questions facing the Sixers ahead of the 2025/26 season. Outside of the obvious uncertainty related to Joel Embiid‘s and Paul George‘s availability, Mizell considers what the backcourt rotation will look like and how the team will replace Guerschon Yabusele‘s production following his departure in free agency.
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Rockets Notes: Eason, Durant, Playing Time, Owens, Sengun

September 10th, 2025 at 9:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

Many people around the league believe the Rockets will work out a long-term extension with Tari Eason before finalizing a new deal with Kevin Durant, according to William Guillory of The Athletic.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently reported that Durant and the Rockets are expected to reach an extension agreement at some point.

Eason has an expiring contract — the Rockets exercised a $5.68MM club option on the final year of his rookie deal for 2025/26. The fourth-year forward averaged a career-high 12.0 points and 1.7 steals per game while making 57 appearances last season.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

  • In the same story, Guillory opines about a pleasant dilemma: Does Houston have too many good players? Guillory believes coach Ime Udoka will have a difficult time figuring out how to divvy up minutes among so many players capable of heavy minutes on a good team.
  • Mark Owens, a Houston-area boxing trainer, has become a vital asset to the Rockets — the team’s director of performance, Willie Cruz, describes Owens as “an extension of our strength coaches.” Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle (subscription required) profiles how Owens, who served a federal prison term, turned his life around and helped the Rockets become one of the more physical teams in the league.
  • Former Sixers forward Furkan Korkmaz is playing alongside Rockets center Alperen Sengun for Turkey in the EuroBasket tournament. Korkmaz called Sengun, not Joel Embiid, the best center he’s played with in his career. “He’s a special kid and every day he’s trying to give his maximum,” he said in a video posted by Eurohoops Turkey.
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Sixers’ Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre On Trade Block?

September 8th, 2025 at 1:30pm CST by Rory Maher

During his latest Bleacher Report live stream (YouTube link), NBA insider Jake Fischer said there have been persistent rumblings that the Sixers may be considering a salary-dump deal to give them more financial flexibility to re-sign restricted free agent Quentin Grimes.

“There has been buzz all summer long about the Sixers looking to potentially move one of, if not both, Andre Drummond and/or Kelly Oubre,” Fischer said. “If they are able to find a deal for one of those two guys as we get closer to camp, that would open up some more wiggle room for Philadelphia to be able to pay Grimes a little bit more (money).”

Both Drummond ($5MM) and Oubre ($8.4MM) exercised their player options for 2025/26 and will be unrestricted free agents next offseason.

This isn’t the first time Drummond has been mentioned in trade rumors this summer — Tony Jones of The Athletic reported on June 30 that Philadelphia was trying to move the two-time All-Star center. But we haven’t heard anything else on that front until now.

Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) noted a few days ago that the Sixers could potentially dip below the luxury tax line while re-signing Grimes if they traded both Drummond and Oubre. Gozlan pointed to the Nets — the lone NBA team with cap room remaining — as a potential match.

A source confirmed to Net Income of NetsDaily.com that acquiring Drummond (along with other assets) would be the type of move Brooklyn is looking for.

Oubre is also no stranger to trade rumors and makes logical sense as a player on an expiring contract who could be moved. But we haven’t seen any reports linking him to a specific team.

When our Luke Adams discussed yesterday in a Front Office article what a contract compromise might look like between Grimes and the Sixers, he floated the possibility of a four-year, $65MM deal with a partial guarantee in year four.

For what it’s worth, Grimes recently took to Instagram to post a picture of himself in a Sixers uniform, as Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports relays (via Twitter).

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Finding Contract Compromises For Top Three Remaining RFAs

September 7th, 2025 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

It's September 7 and three of the summer's top restricted free agents remain unsigned. By all accounts, there has been no real movement in weeks for Bulls guard Josh Giddey, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, and Sixers wing Quentin Grimes, but we're still expecting resolution at some point this month, prior to the October 1 deadline for restricted free agents to accept their qualifying offers.

As those standoffs drag on, we're taking a closer look today at what "compromise" contracts might look like for Giddey, Kuminga, and Grimes.

These aren't necessarily the contracts we expect them to eventually sign. There's no guarantee that one side or the other will budge from its current position -- either the team or the player may have to cave sooner or later, rather than the two sides meeting somewhere in the middle. In the case of Nets guard Cam Thomas, for instance, signing his $6MM qualifying offer wasn't a "compromise," but it was how his free agency ultimately concluded.

In our view, the proposals below represent fair resolutions for both the player and team, leaving both sides feeling like they came out of the negotiations with a reasonable outcome.

Let's dive in...

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Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Celtics, Queta, Bona

September 6th, 2025 at 4:28pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Knicks will enter the 2025/26 season as a favorite to make it back to the Eastern Conference Finals, but the team will invariably deal with a variety of challenges throughout the year, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post details (subscriber link).

Staying healthy will be crucial for New York.

All-Defensive forward OG Anunoby has dealt with his fair share of health issues within the past few seasons, as has All-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns. Practically everyone got hurt during the club’s 2024 playoff run, before Towns was on the roster. The Knicks have added some veteran depth this summer to hopefully serve as insurance for potential injuries during the season.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

  • In a poll of colleagues, NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg takes a look at how the Celtics could potentially surprise people’s reduced expectations following an offseason of change. Boston traded away former starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, let backup center Luke Kornet walk in free agency, and appears ready to do the same for Al Horford. The team is in something of a holding pattern as it awaits the return of All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum from an Achilles tear, which may not happen until 2026/27.
  • Celtics center Neemias Queta, the team’s fourth-string option at the position last year, will compete for rotational minutes with new signings Luka Garza and Chris Boucher. The seven-footer, who underwent surgery to address a lingering knee issue, is hoping for a career-best showing in 2025/26, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. “I got rested enough this offseason and I think that I put myself in the best position to have a breakout season,” Queta said. “I have the tools to compete with the best.”
  • Second-year Sixers big man Adem Bona is competing for his adopted homeland of Turkey in this year’s EuroBasket tournament. He moved there from Nigeria when he was 13. The 6’9″ pro spoke on Saturday about how his hoops journey began around that time, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. “I only played for a year before I left home to move to Turkey,” Bona said. “My first basketball shoes were given to me by a friend… Basketball was just something I really liked because of the pace and the tempo. So it kind of drove me to the game when I started playing for the first time. It was really amazing.”
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Sixers’ McCain Says He’s ‘On Pace’ To Be Ready For Camp

September 2nd, 2025 at 6:29pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Second-year Sixers guard Jared McCain‘s rookie campaign in 2024/25 was ended by a lateral meniscus tear after just 23 games. However, the 6’2″ pro is optimistic about his ability to return to the hardwood in time for training camp this fall, reports Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire.

On hand to celebrate Philadelphia’s new arena name reveal, the No. 16 pick in 2024 detailed his recovery process to date.

“Yeah, my plan, for sure, is to participate (in camp),” McCain said. “I mean, anything can happen, but for right now, I’m on pace, and I’m doing great for that.”

Given McCain’s expectation that he’ll be available for training camp, it seems that he is very much on track to suit up for the Sixers’ October 22 regular season opener against the Celtics, Carlin notes.

“I think right now, it’s just kind of taking it day by day,” McCain said. “I’m getting on-court (work), doing a lot of stuff, a lot of live stuff, but I still have to talk to them about exactly if I’m free for everything, but I’m definitely getting there.”

Across his 23 healthy contests on the 24-58 Sixers last year, the Duke alum averaged 15.3 PPG, 2.6 APG, 2.4 RPG and 0.7 SPG. He posted an impressive .460/.383/.875 shooting line and finished seventh in Rookie of the Year voting despite his limited availability.

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Atlantic Notes: Simons, Queta, Nets, Sixers

August 29th, 2025 at 9:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics are still “very much willing” to discuss Anfernee Simons trade scenarios, one general manager tells Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. However, another veteran personnel executive suggested that Boston might be better off hanging onto Simons through the start of the regular season.

“Other than Jaylen Brown, there’s not a better scorer than Simons on that roster,” the exec told Bulpett. “I mean, they obviously aren’t going to play the same way they played when they had (Kristaps) Porzingis and (Al) Horford and (Jrue) Holiday. (Head coach) Joe Mazzulla‘s going to have to completely change the style of play.

“Simons… nobody can score like him on that team other than Brown. He’s the second-best scorer, and it’s not even close. … I bet you he’s their leading scorer. Even with Jaylen. He’s going to have the ball a lot, and that dude can really score. That offense is going to have to change to accommodate him, and, on the last year of his contract, he’s going to let it fly.”

Simons is on an expiring $27.7MM contract and likely won’t factor into the Celtics’ plans beyond 2025/26. Having already ducked below the second tax apron, Boston reportedly has interest in shedding additional salary to perhaps move below the first apron or get out of tax territory altogether. But the club may have to exercise some patience to find the sort of deal it wants, another front office source told Bulpett.

“Anfernee Simons makes $27-plus million,” he said. “Who’s got room to put that in their cap? And he’s up after this year, so the Celtics aren’t going to want to take back anything that would load in more salary of less flexibility. I think, unless they are presented with some sweetheart situation, the most likely time for Simons to get moved — again, if he even does — would be at the trade deadline.

“I could see Boston being out of it and another team thinking they need a scorer like Simons to put them over the top. I could see another team that’s close wanting to add that kind of firepower down the stretch and into the playoffs. Even if it’s a rental, a team might go for him, because what we’re seeing now with the second apron and all that, if you win, it’s hard to keep a team with high-priced guys together. An expiring deal is so valuable.”

We have more notes from around the Atlantic:

  • Celtics big man Neemias Queta came up big in Portugal’s first game of EuroBasket, piling up 23 points and 18 rebounds en route to a 62-50 victory over Czechia, as Semih Tuna of Eurohoops details. Queta, who may get a chance to compete for a starting role in Boston this fall, has a tougher matchup ahead of him on Friday when the Portuguese team takes on Nikola Jokic and the Serbians.
  • C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News (subscription required) considers the ways in which the Nets might use their remaining cap room, suggesting a deal with the Mavericks – who are looking to move off some salary to make room to sign Dante Exum – could be a logical fit for Brooklyn.
  • The Delaware Blue Coats, the Sixers‘ G League affiliate, completed a three-team trade with the South Bay Lakers and Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans) that saw them acquire the returning rights to Malcolm Hill and South Bay’s 2026 first-round pick, the team announced (Twitter link). One of the outgoing pieces in the deal was the rights to Jared Brownridge, the former Santa Clara shooting guard who has played for Delaware since going undrafted in 2017. He ranks third all-time with 663 three-pointers made in G League regular season games.
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28 Current NBA Players Competing In FIBA EuroBasket 2025

August 27th, 2025 at 7:07am CST by Luke Adams

On the heels of the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024, the 2025 NBA offseason doesn’t feature a major international tournament in which the United States’ top stars are competing.

However, several of the league’s biggest names – including three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and five-time All-NBA first-teamer Luka Doncic – are taking part in FIBA EuroBasket 2025, which tipped off on Wednesday.

The tournament, also known as the European Basketball Championship, takes place every four years and features 24 European countries vying for a gold medal. The 24 teams who qualified for EuroBasket are split up into four groups and will face the other teams in their group across five games from August 27 to September 4.

At the end of group play, the top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout round, which is a single-elimination tournament featuring the remaining 16 countries.

By our count, 28 active NBA players are taking part in EuroBasket 2025, along with 30 former NBA players and several more who were selected in an NBA draft but have yet to play in the league.

Here’s the full list of current and former NBA players set to compete in EuroBasket, sorted by group and country:

Group A

Czechia (Czech Republic)

  • Current NBA players: Vit Krejci (Hawks)
  • Former NBA players: None

Estonia

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Henri Drell

Latvia

Portugal

  • Current NBA players: Neemias Queta (Celtics)
  • Former NBA players: None

Serbia

Serbia’s roster also includes Nikola Milutinov and Vanja Marinkovic, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Turkey

Group B

Finland

Germany

Great Britain

Lithuania

Lithuania’s roster also includes Rokas Jokubaitis, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league, and Azuolas Tubelis, who was on a two-way contract with the Sixers during the 2023 offseason but was waived before the season began.

Montenegro

Sweden

  • Current NBA players: Pelle Larsson (Heat)
  • Former NBA players: None

Group C

Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Current NBA players: Jusuf Nurkic (Jazz)
  • Former NBA players: None

Cyprus

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Georgia

Greece

Italy

Italy’s roster also includes Matteo Spagnolo, Gabriele Procida, and Saliou Niang, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Spain

Group D

Belgium

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

France

France’s roster also includes Isaia Cordinier, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Iceland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel

  • Current NBA players: Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel’s roster also includes Yam Madar, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Poland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Jordan Loyd

Slovenia

  • Current NBA players: Luka Doncic (Lakers)
  • Former NBA players: None
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Turkey Announces EuroBasket Roster Headlined By Sengun

August 24th, 2025 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Turkey has become the latest team to finalize its roster for EuroBasket 2025, announcing its 12-man squad on Sunday ahead of the start of the tournament this week.

The roster features two current NBA players, including one – Rockets center Alperen Sengun – who is coming off a season in which he earned his first All-Star nod and averaged a double-double (19.1 PPG, 10.3 RPG). Second-year Sixers forward Adem Bona, the 41st overall pick in last year’s draft, will also suit up for Turkey.

Beyond Sengun and Bona, the Turkish national team includes a handful of former NBAers whose names will be familiar to fans. Here are the 12 players who will represent Turkey at EuroBasket:

Bitim, Korkmaz, Larkin, Osman, and Yurtseven all have NBA experience, with Osman (476 regular season games) and Korkmaz (328) each having spent seven seasons in the league, though neither played in the NBA in 2024/25.

Turkey will carry some momentum into EuroBasket, having won each of its past three exhibition games ahead of the tournament, beating Czechia, Lithuania, and Montenegro. The Turkish club will be part of Group A, which also features Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Serbia, and Czechia. Their tournament tips off on Wednesday against the Latvians.

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Jared McCain Talks About Losing Guerschon Yabusele

August 23rd, 2025 at 6:12pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • Sixers guard Jared McCain tells Declan Harris of Sports Illustrated that he lost a close friend and mentor when Guerschon Yabusele signed with the Knicks in free agency. Yabusele helped McCain deal with a difficult rookie season that was cut short by a torn meniscus in December. “Man, I’m gonna miss him, that’s one of the best people I’ve ever been around,” McCain said. “I could go to him for anything; a lot of my teammates are like that, but him, I gravitated to a lot. He was just super nice, just a good person and fun to play with, also another great energy person, so I’m sad to see him go.”
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