When asked about Porter’s current extension eligibility, Nets GM Sean Marks indicated that no decision would be coming in the immediate future.

“We’ll have those discussions. We’ve got time. There’s no immediate hurry right now. We value him a lot. He had a terrific year,” Marks said, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHyper (Twitter link). “I love Mike, the guy, the person, the player, and I hope he is part of this team.”

Porter had the most productive season of his career during his first year in Brooklyn last season, averaging 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists, though he only played 52 games due to injuries as well as the Nets jockeying for draft positioning.

However, there has been some speculation around the league that the 28-year-old scoring forward might not fit the Nets’ timeline after this year, as they have embraced a youth movement, selecting seven players in the first round over the last two seasons.

We have more news and notes from the Atlantic Division:

• Drake Powell was one of the first-round picks selected by the Nets during the 2025 NBA Draft. He was hoping to use Summer League to push him into a larger role next season, but his performance coming into Tuesday was starting to give fans cause for concern, as he entered the contest having scored 11 points through four games while shooting 1-for-28 from the field and 0-for-14 from three. Rather than giving in to panic or despair, the cold stretch offered a good chance to push him to be better, C.J. Holmes wrote for The New York Daily News prior to the game. That seemed to be the case, as Powell had by far his best Summer League performance on Tuesday, scoring 18 points on six shots and hitting four of his seven threes in a 32-point victory over the Kings.
• After reshaping their roster with the Jaylen Brown trade, the Sixers added a valuable bench scorer in Anfernee Simons to help with some of the depth issues. Head coach Nick Nurse is excited to get to work figuring out how best to utilize him, Tony Jones writes for The Athletic. “I really like Anfernee a lot,” Nurse said. “Obviously, he can really score. He shoots it easy, and he shoots it off the bounce. I think he’s a heck of a talent.” He added that he sees Simons and rookie Labaron Philon as both being very important to the team’s offense off the bench, and envisions them playing together. He also says it’s a crucial season for Tyrese Maxey, who will be tasked with figuring out how to balance searching for his own shot and organizing the offense alongside two high-volume scorers in Brown and Joel Embiid. “He can go and play one on one from all three levels and get a shot off and nail it. He’s got that in his game,” Nurse said. “He’s just so good at the other stuff. I just want him to keep it simple and keep doing what he’s doing. I want him to continue to grow as a leader and to continue to get better defensively. He’s made great strides at that over the last two years. I just want him to continue to grow and keep having fun out there and bring that energy for the rest of the group.”
• Former St. John’s guard Oziyah Sellers is trying to use Summer League to prove what he already believes: that he’s a “perfect fit” for the Knicks, Zach Braziller writes for the New York Post. “I feel like I’ve played with a chip on my shoulder pretty much my whole life. But now it’s a little elevated,” Sellers said. “That’s why every chance I get, every opportunity I get, I try to make the most of it. Regardless if I’m making shots, missing shots, just try to bring energy, play hard and let the rest take care of itself.” Through three games, Sellers has averaged 5.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game. He has yet to hit a three-point shot, though he shot over 40% from deep in each of two of his last three seasons in college.

Arison, one of the league’s longest-tenured team owners, will take over the chairman title from Raptors governor Larry Tanenbaum, who has been in the role since 2017. Tanenbaum has represented the Raptors’ ownership group since February 1998 but is stepping down from that position after Rogers Communications bought out his remaining 25% ownership stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment earlier this month.

In a statement, NBA commissioner Adam Silver expressed gratitude to Tanenbaum for his service and confidence in Arison moving forward.

“Micky’s long record of service on the Board, his strong relationships with his fellow team owners and his deep understanding of our game and business make him an exceptional choice to assume this important leadership role,” Silver said, per the NBA’s press release.

Arison, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025, put out his own statement conveying enthusiasm about stepping into the new role.

“I look forward to working closely in this new capacity with Adam, the league office and my fellow team governors to champion our teams and players, ensuring we continue to deliver exciting and unforgettable experiences for our fans,” Arison said.

His tenure will begin in September 2026, following the annual Board of Governors’ meeting.

One of those teams, the Sixers, appears to be utilizing its on-court star power to attempt to lure the superstar to Philadelphia. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reports that the Sixers’ three stars – Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, and Joel Embiid – have been in touch with James, with Maxey serving as the primary recruiter.

Maxey, like James, is represented by Klutch Sports, and he and James have had offseason workouts together multiple times over the last few years. Maxey has even gone so far as to refer to James as a “big brother.”

James and Embiid won a gold medal together playing with Team USA, while Brown and James have a long history of competing against one another in the playoffs.

Bob Myers, president of the Sixers’ parent company, recently went on Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul‘s podcast in order to pitch Philadelphia as a landing spot, while new team president Mike Gansey said that the team has been in touch with Paul throughout the offseason.

“We’ve had conversations with Rich, really, since the Jaylen trade,” Gansey told Tony Jones of The Athletic. “LeBron and his camp have kept quiet, and there has been speculation for different teams. But we’d obviously love to have LeBron.

“… I think his decision is dragging out because he has a lot of good options and he wants to figure it out. He would obviously add a lot to our team. But at the end of the day, I know he’s going to make the right decision for him and his family.”

Gansey has a longstanding relationship with the four-time champion. Not only was he a fixture of the Cavaliers front office when James led them to a championship in 2016, but he also played with James on an all-state team in Ohio over two decades ago.

James has previously indicated that his decision will come down to a combination of on-court fit, winning situation, and quality of life.

According to Vorkunov, Wachtell Lipton – the law firm leading the investigation – has also looked into whether Leonard had an endorsement deal with a separate company that has, to this point, gone unnoticed.

The Clippers, who have been accused of circumventing the salary cap to pay Leonard beyond his NBA salary via a no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration (a team sponsor), have denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the team and owner Steve Ballmer were victims of the fraud perpetrated by co-founder Joe Sanberg, who has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.

However, Vorkunov reports that some team executives around the league increasingly believe that the Clippers will face some sort of punishment from the NBA.

While Vorkunov doesn’t provide specifics on the potential improperly covered expenses and second endorsement deal that the NBA’s investigators are looking into, he takes a deep dive into Leonard’s and the Clippers’ relationships with Aspiration, sharing some previously unreported details.

According to Vorkunov, some former Aspiration employees have pushed back on the idea that Leonard’s lucrative endorsement agreement with the company was always meant to be a no-show job. As he details, there were discussions about the usage of Leonard’s likeness for promotional material for Aspiration, including one potential campaign inspired by Groot, a tree-based character from The Avengers franchise. The company made mock-ups of the concept, but the creative team was eventually told to stop pursuing it.

“Stop thinking about Kawhi,” one employee said they were told, according to Vorkunov. “This feels like a dead end.”

“Nothing ever came from it,” another former employee said of the efforts to build a promotional campaign around Leonard. “I’m not sure why it died, whether it was on our end or his end or if we couldn’t figure out a concept.”

The Clippers, Leonard, and the Raptors are all heavily invested in the outcome of the league’s investigation, given that Toronto has a pending trade agreement in place to acquire the two-time Finals MVP. That deal won’t be completed until the NBA’s probe wraps up in order to ensure that Toronto won’t take on the risk of any penalty assessed to Leonard.

“Did I want to return to Miami? Yeah, I did,” Powell said, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “But obviously, it’s a business. They made their decisions and made their moves and things happen. And it is what it is.”

Powell would have fit the new-look Heat’s needs well, but Miami’s cap situation prevented the team from re-signing him to the type of deal he had earned for himself based on his strong play last year. Now he’s looking forward to bringing his experience and scoring ability to Chicago.

“I know where I’m at in my career,” he said. “Obviously, the whole focal point is winning and wanting to get back to that championship stage. But just looking at the opportunity that was in front of me, that’s going to allow me to be able to play my game of basketball how I want to play it and be able to help pass on knowledge.”

Powell isn’t the only player who is disappointed to no longer be in Miami. Fourth-year wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. will play for the Bucks next season after being included in the trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, leaving the team that drafted him 18th overall in 2023.

“It was definitely devastating for sure,” Jaquez said of the trade, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I love Miami. I love this city. It really felt like home to me.”

Jaquez said that his reaction in the viral video of him discovering the news while playing pickup basketball was genuine, but that he had known it was happening that day and had gone to the gym to occupy his mind. He added that he’s excited for the opportunity to really be able to shine on the new-look Bucks.

We have more from the Heat:

• While some players are mourning their departures from the Heat, others are still waiting to learn their fate, including Keshad Johnson. Despite not receiving a qualifying offer from the team, the 2026 dunk contest champion is hopeful that a reunion could be in the cards. “If the opportunity presents itself, I for sure want to be a Heat. For sure,” he said, adding, “I love the 305 forever.” He added that he’d be willing to consider a two-way deal to stay in Miami, though he also noted that he’s talked to several teams around the league this summer.
• Monday marked the deadline for the Heat to rescind their two-way qualifying offer for second-year center Vladislav Goldin, Chiang notes (via Twitter). Miami declined to do so, which means that offer remains on the table for the 7’0″ center and cannot be withdrawn. Goldin has averaged 8.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks through five Summer League games across Las Vegas and California this offseason.
• After being criticized by Draymond Green on a podcast for a perceived double standard in how he discussed Green’s 2022 altercation with teammate Jordan Poole and Bam Adebayo‘s recent confrontation with Tyler Herro, longtime Heat big man Udonis Haslem responded to Green’s comments on Sunday in a lengthy social media post, Chiang writes. “If you think your big 32 year old, 3 or 4 rings at the time having a– swinging on a 23 year old Jordan Poole at the time is the same then you are even more delusional that I thought,” Haslem wrote. “Anyone who knows Bam knows he’s strong as baby bear. If he would’ve unloaded on Tyler 100% it’s over. You fired off on that young boy like it was a club punch and you never met him before in your life.”

“I like who we are and we’re pretty proud of who we are,” Connelly said, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “… The recruitment is just this team. Obviously, (James is) an unbelievable player. Whatever decision he makes is going to be the right one. There’s a lot going on. When you’re as great as he is, you should have optionality. When you look at our team, it’s hard not to be excited about what we have.”

Although the Timberwolves, who got their start in the NBA in 1989, are still seeking their first championship, they’ve been in the playoffs for five straight seasons and have won five playoff series in the past three years, making the Western Conference finals twice during that time.

Connelly believes they’ve improved their roster this offseason by making a series of transactions that included bringing in Ball and Green while re-signing mid-season addition Ayo Dosunmu. Still, after moving power forwards Julius Randle and Naz Reid, the Wolves have a hole at power forward — they view LeBron as the perfect fit to fill it.

“We have the best coach. We have amazing fans,” Connelly continued. “In the last couple years, our success has been as good as anybody — outside of the guys who’ve won it all. Not just speaking to LeBron, but to any free agent, this is a place you’re going to have a lot of fun and win a lot of games.

“… We’re trying to change the narrative of how this organization is viewed. We’re kind of proud of who we are, and certainly, wherever LeBron ends up, he’s going to make that place much, much better. But it’s hard not to look at LaMelo and Jaden (McDaniels) and Rudy (Gobert) and (Anthony Edwards) and Josh. We saw what (Terrence Shannon Jr.) did in the postseason.”

According to Krawczynski, the Wolves privately recognize that they’re a long shot to land LeBron, but they also believe the four-time MVP and his agent Rich Paul are giving the team real consideration.

Minnesota currently has 13 players on standard contracts and only has about $4MM in breathing room below a hard cap at the second tax apron, so the team’s 14th man will almost certainly receive a minimum-salary contract. If James signs elsewhere, it seems likely that the Wolves will focus on adding another player who can play power forward, even after recently signing veteran free agent Trey Lyles.

Players on NBA contracts often don’t play a full Summer League schedule, especially if they have little left to prove in Las Vegas. That has been the case for Dybantsa, who racked up 50 points and 14 rebounds in his first two games, as well as Johnson (26 points in his only game) and Riley (50 points in two games, including 32 on Sunday), according to Sorrentine.

“It’s a culmination of camp all the way through the games,” the Wizards’ coach said. “It’s not just what (everyone’s) seen on TV. We’ve had a good camp, a lot of good practices and shootarounds and a couple of good games.”

Here’s more on the Wizards:

• In addition to Dybantsa, Johnson, and Riley, the Wizards are carrying 11 other players on standard contracts, and all 11 – including Anthony Davis and Trae Young – were in Las Vegas over the weekend for a three-day veteran mini-camp, Robbins writes in another story for The Athletic. As Robbins observes, while it’s common for veterans to show up at Summer League, it’s rare for a team to have its entire roster in attendance — the Wizards believe it’s a testament to the culture they’re developing. “We’ve been trying to build a culture for the past two years, since I got drafted at least, and I think it’s showing right now,” George said. “I mean, there was no way I was missing summer league, and I think by me being here, Alex (Sarr) being here, Bilal (Coulibaly) being here, it just attracted all the other vets. I think it shows a lot that everybody’s around.”
• Speaking to Robbins, Young acknowledged that he’s heard the criticism the Wizards have received for giving him a four-year, $213MM deal – this year’s largest free agent contract – but said he’s eager to prove his doubters wrong. “I know if we win, winning takes care of everything,” Young said. “I can’t really get caught up in what people are thinking or what people are saying right now. What’s done is done. So I’m going to make sure the people that believe in me are proved right.”
• Meanwhile, Wizards general manager Will Dawkins pushed back on the idea that investing so heavily in Young will hamstring the Wizards as they look to build a contender in the coming years. “I think we continue to keep our optionality and flexibility,” Dawkins told Robbins. “It actually helps us so that we’re bringing someone in that’s going to allow us to raise the level of the group sooner, and we can make more answers on all of our players.”
• Patrick Ewing spoke to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link) about leaving his position as the Knicks’ basketball ambassador for a role as a Wizards assistant, explaining that he still has the “coaching bug” and that he has continued to live in the D.C. area. “I enjoy teaching,” Ewing said. “I enjoy trying to give back to a lot of these young kids.” Ewing added that he’s bullish on the Wizards’ young talent and believes the team can “make some noise” in the Eastern Conference in the coming years.

“Luke’s work ethic and commitment to his craft have ade him one of the most efficient three-point shooters in NBA history,” Suns general manager Brian Gregory said in a statement. “His floor spacing, high basketball IQ, and connective play-making bring another dimension to our offense.”

June 30: Luke Kennard has agreed to a two-year, $13MM deal with the Suns, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. The second year includes a player option.

The Suns were reportedly looking at a number of veteran wings who could provide shooting. Kennard was one of their primary targets with the Lakers also reportedly interested in retaining him.

Kennard finished the season with Los Angeles after being dealt by Atlanta. He appeared in a total of 78 games, averaging 8.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest. His shooting numbers were eye-popping for a three-point specialist — 53.3% overall from the field and a career-best 47.8% beyond the arc.

Kennard’s career 44.2% three-point shooting ranks second all-time to Golden State coach Steve Kerr (45.4%) for players with at least 250 made threes. He has led the league in three-point percentage in three separate seasons.

According to cap expert Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Twitter link), Kennard could fit into the taxpayer mid-level exception if his number comes in a little below what Charania reported — a two-year deal using the taxpayer MLE would max out at $12.4MM. They could utilize the non-taxpayer mid-level if they get under the first apron, but that would require additional roster moves.

The Suns shot 36.1% on threes last season, placing them outside the top 10 in the league. With Grayson Allen heading to Charlotte, the Suns needed another perimeter shooter and landed one of the best. Phoenix will be Kennard’s sixth team in a career that began with Detroit in 2017.

Kennard, 30, projects to back up Jalen Green and Devin Booker with his new team.

The 48th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Ingram has spent the past two seasons on two-way contracts in San Antonio. The former UNC standout has appeared in just 12 NBA games during that time, having played primarily in the G League for the Austin Spurs.

In 40 NBAGL outings in 2025/26, Ingram averaged 16.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.2 steals in 34.0 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .492/.340/.629.

Because Ingram had finished two consecutive seasons on two-way contracts with the Spurs, the team’s qualifying offer to him was a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a partial guarantee of roughly $109K. However, he didn’t accept that offer before Monday, which was the league-wide deadline for a team to unilaterally withdraw a QO for a restricted free agent.

Ingram is now free to sign outright with any team, with the Spurs no longer holding the right of first refusal. He also remains eligible to sign one more two-way contract with San Antonio, but the club’s two-way picture is crowded right now. Second-round picks Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Maliq Brown recently signed two-way contracts and Emanuel Miller holds the third spot, while the Spurs still have a two-way qualifying offer on the table for David Jones Garcia.

There has been no indication that any other team pulled a qualifying offer prior to Monday’s withdrawal deadline. As our list shows, there are still nine unsigned restricted free agents on the market (four standard RFAs and five two-way RFAs).

USA Basketball announced last October that Spoelstra was taking over for Steve Kerr as the head coach of the men’s basketball team in advance of the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics. However, there was no information at the time about what his staff might look like.

Daigneault, the head coach in Oklahoma City since 2020, has an NBA Coach of the Year award and a championship under his belt, while Bickerstaff is coming off a 60-win season and currently serves as the president of the National Basketball Coaches Association. Few, meanwhile, has led the Zags to a pair of NCAA championship games and is a carryover from the 2024 Olympics — he was an assistant under Kerr in Paris alongside Spoelstra and Tyronn Lue.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• David Kelly, the new executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, hasn’t made much noise since taking over the role from Andre Iguodala in February, but he spoke out on Friday against the second tax apron rules in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, arguing that the second-apron restrictions should be removed or at least “softened,” per Ben Golliver of ESPN. “We are not fans of the second apron,” Kelly said. “We did not propose the second apron. We should have done a better job of fighting back against the second apron. In the future, we will have a much more unified union, and we will do a better job of fighting back. … We’re seeing (the apron system) decimate teams and force decisions to be made that are not basketball decisions.”
• Kelly also spoke about the NBA’s investigation into the Clippers‘ and Kawhi Leonard‘s agreements with the now-bankrupt green banking company Aspiration, opining that the process shouldn’t have taken this long and suggesting that the players’ union doesn’t think “there’s a ‘there’ there” (Twitter links via Jake Fischer of The Stein Line).
• While Seattle has remained a “one-bid city” for NBA expansion, in the words of Tim Booth of The Seattle Times, it looks like there are four different groups vying to bring a team to Las Vegas, prompting Booth to wonder whether or not the league will be comfortable moving forward with both cities on the same timeline. One of the prospective owners hoping to land an expansion team in Las Vegas, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, explained to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic that he believes his experience bringing the NHL to the city gives him a leg up on the competition. “We did a couple things really well. We’re going to do it on steroids with an NBA team,” Foley said. “… We’ve already brought a major-league franchise to Las Vegas. We’ve jumped through all the hoops. … I believe we’re in a really good spot to compete.”
• Appearing on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast (YouTube link), new Sixers wing Jaylen Brown spoke about why he believes the NBA’s agency model is “broken” and explained why he found it useful to work with the players’ union instead of an agent when he first entered the league (Twitter video links).

Kalamian is a longtime NBA assistant who has worked for eight different teams since 1995 and was most recently on Milwaukee’s staff under Doc Rivers. Herscu, a former Lakers and Kings assistant, was in Portland with Splitter as an assistant and also coached the Rip City Remix in the G League last season. Ahearn, a former NBA guard, coached the Spurs’ G League team from 2017-20 and was a Grizzlies assistant under Taylor Jenkins from 2020-24.

Here’s more on the Bulls:

• In an in-depth story for ESPN.com, Jamal Collier takes a look at the dysfunction in Chicago under the previous front office regime, detailing how a number of executives who worked under Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley didn’t feel as if their voices were being heard and noting that there was confusion about whether the Bulls’ tanking-averse approach was an edict from the ownership level or if it reflected Karnisovas’ and Eversley’s shared philosophy.
• Within his story, Collier shares several quotes from new head of basketball operations Bryson Graham, who spoke to ESPN about his belief that he and a collaborative front office can “build something special” in Chicago. “I’m not trying to come in and overcorrect. I’m just leading in the way that I believe is the proper way to lead,” Graham said. “As you make decisions, you might convince your group when it gets down to the nitty-gritty. But earlier in the process, you just want to take in, and you want to hear from [everyone], and you want everyone focused on trying to give their absolute best to help make the right decision. And then ultimately I’ll take that information, process it and do what I need to.”
• Multiple team sources told ESPN that the Bulls’ vision has been clearer this offseason than in recent years, with one basketball operations staffer oferring the following insight to Collier when discussing the changes since Graham has been hired: “There’s a very, very, very different vibe. Everybody feels it. We’re meeting. A group. Beyond four people. Talking about the draft, free agency, hiring a coach. It’s not under a cloak of secrecy. We’re not finding out from an (ESPN alert).”
• Second-year Bulls forward Noa Essengue spoke to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (YouTube link) about his recovery from shoulder surgery, being “pain-free” while working out, and what new head coach Splitter wants to see from him.

The 51st overall pick in the 2022 draft, Martin has appeared in a total of 122 NBA regular season games for Atlanta, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia, averaging 6.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 17.7 minutes per contest. The former UConn standout was waived by the Nets at this year’s trade deadline and finished the season on a two-way contract with the 76ers before reaching unrestricted free agency.

If Martin does make the make overseas, it would be the first time that the 27-year-old has played professionally in Europe. He wasn’t in the NBA during the 2023/24 season, but remained stateside that year, playing for the Iowa Wolves in the G League.

Here are a few more notes and rumors from around Europe:

• Former NBA center Damian Jones is engaged in advanced negotiations with Real Madrid, confirms Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. Jones, a 2026 first-round pick who won a pair of titles in Golden State, made 279 total regular season appearances for seven NBA teams from 2016-24. He has played in China and Puerto Rico since last suiting up for Cleveland in 2024.
• Real Madrid is also said to be showing interest in 2025 second-round pick Max Shulga, who spent his rookie season with the Celtics, writes Javier Molero of Eurohoops, citing multiple reports. Although the former VCU sharpshooter appeared in just 11 regular season games for Boston in 2025/26, he was promoted to the standard contract late in the season for cap/tax reasons and saw garbage-time action in a pair of playoff contests.
• Olympiacos has denied a report that stated the Greek team made free agent forward David Jones Garcia a two-year contract offer worth $3MM annually, according to Stefan Acevski of Eurohoops. As Acevski details, Olympiacos had interest in Jones Garcia last summer, but he opted to sign a two-way contract with the Spurs. This time around, San Antonio has a two-way qualifying offer on the table for the 24-year-old, whose 2025/26 season came to an early end due to ankle surgery.

As a report from The Associated Press details, Alexander made contact with Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson during a drive to the basket and immediately began grabbing at his side or abdomen before falling to the floor in a great deal of pain. The Jazz have yet to provide any formal updates on Alexander’s status.

In other Jazz injury news, back spasms have been a recurring issue this month for second-year swingman Ace Bailey, notes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. After missing most of the Salt Lake City Summer League as a result of back spasms, Bailey sat out the first game of the Las Vegas Summer League last week and then left Sunday’s contest early.

“It’s a worry,” Jazz coach Steve Wojciechowski said after Sunday’s game. “He said he felt good this morning in shootaround, but (his back) was acting up during the game. He wasn’t moving great, so we decided (to) sit him.”

As Todd writes, it seems likely that the 19 minutes that Bailey played in the first game in Salt Lake City and his eight minutes on Sunday will make up the entirety of the 19-year-old’s 2026 Summer League run.

We have more from around the Northwest:

• Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, who missed the last four games of the Western Conference finals due to a calf strain, said during a recent appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter (Twitter video link) that he’s “close to being back to 100 (percent).”
• Alpha Diallo‘s new deal with the Nuggets will give him his first opportunity to play NBA basketball, but it won’t be a financial boon. According to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, Diallo is believe to be giving up about $2MM in net earning in 2026/27 by opting out of his deal with Dubai Basketball in order to sign a minimum-salary deal with Denver.
• In an interesting feature story, Quinn Postman of The Oregonian explores how former Texas forward Jayson Kent parlayed a local G League tryout into a two-way contract with the Trail Blazers. “He brings a world of intangibles,” Blazers summer league head coach Gilbert Abraham said of Kent. “He guards the ball. He’s a tremendous athlete, plays off closeouts exceptionally well, and he’s a super high character.”

Of course, the most notable of those transactions is the blockbuster trade between the Clippers and Raptors that will send Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and draft assets.

The reason for the delay in that case has been well-chronicled — if they were to complete the deal now, the Raptors would assume the risk of any punishment that Leonard himself (not the Clippers) faces as a result of the NBA’s investigation into possible salary cap circumvention related to the now-bankrupt green banking company Aspiration. So the Raptors are content to wait, but both sides have expressed confidence that the deal will still get done once the league wraps up its investigation.

That’s the only trade agreement that has yet to be finalized, but what about some of the signings that still haven’t gotten done days or weeks after being reported? Here’s a quick breakdown of those free agent contracts that have not yet been formally completed and announced:

Brooklyn Nets:

• Moritz Wagner (two years, $19MM)

The reported terms of Wagner’s contract suggest he’ll fit into the Nets‘ room exception, which can be worth up to $19.2MM over two seasons. So it makes sense for Brooklyn to hold off on that signing for now, since the team could still use nearly $14MM in cap room without Wagner on its books. Signing him into cap space would reduce that figure to below $5MM.

Denver Nuggets:

• Marvin Bagley III (one year, minimum salary)
• Alpha Diallo (one year, minimum salary)
• Tyus Jones (one year, minimum salary)

The Nuggets may be waiting on resolution with their restricted free agents – notably Peyton Watson – before formally completing these signings, since certain outcomes with Watson or Spencer Jones could result in a hard cap.

For example, let’s say Denver signs-and-trades Watson to a new team and takes back a player in return. Using Watson’s outgoing salary to take back incoming salary would hard-cap the Nuggets at the second tax apron. Depending on how much incoming salary is involved in that hypothetical transaction, Denver could end up moving so close to that hard cap that trading another player would be necessary in order to complete these minimum-salary signings and fill out the roster.

Golden State Warriors:

• De’Anthony Melton (two years, $11MM)

Based on the reported terms of his contract, Melton could be signed using either the bi-annual exception (worth up to $11.2MM over two years) or the taxpayer mid-level exception (up to $12.4MM over two years). The former would hard-cap the Warriors at the first tax apron, while the latter would hard-cap them at the second apron, so Melton’s signing will impact how much flexibility the team has to re-sign Draymond Green and fill out the rest of its roster.

I’d expect this transaction to happen sometime after LeBron James makes his decision, since signing Melton into the bi-annual exception would allow Golden State to use a portion of the non-taxpayer mid-level to give James more than the veteran’s minimum.

Los Angeles Lakers:

• Ziaire Williams (one year, minimum salary)

Williams’ agreement with the Lakers was reported less than 24 hours ago, so there’s nothing unusual about it not being done yet. It should happen soon.

Milwaukee Bucks:

• Gary Trent Jr. (four years, $64MM)

While some Bucks fans may be rooting for this deal to hit a snag and fall apart, it probably falls into the same category as Williams’ deal with the Lakers — it’s a recent agreement, so there’s nothing out of the ordinary about it not being finalized yet.

Phoenix Suns:

• Luke Kennard (two years, $12.4MM)

The Suns, who are hard-capped at the second tax apron, needed to complete their Miles Bridges trade with the Hornets in order to create enough breathing room below that threshold to fit Kennard’s first-year salary. The Bridges deal was completed on Monday, so Phoenix should be able to move forward and sign Kennard using the taxpayer mid-level exception at any time.

A number of two-way deals and Exhibit 10 agreements around the NBA have also been reported and not yet finalized, but those won’t affect teams’ cap situations, so the ones above are the ones we’re keeping the closest eye on.

Even after completing their reported deal with Gary Trent Jr., the Bucks should have $10MM+ in breathing room below the luxury tax line, which would give them enough room to give Watson a starting salary at or near his reported asking price of $25MM+ annually, as long as they send out enough salary.

Kyle Kuzma ($20.5MM), Caris LeVert ($14.8MM), and A.J. Green ($10MM) would be among Milwaukee’s potential trade candidates in that scenario, though it’s worth noting that the Nuggets likely aren’t eager to take back much – if any – salary in a Watson sign-and-trade. Doing so would hard-cap them at the second tax apron.

The Nuggets’ asking price for Watson is also said to be quite high, with one report indicating they’re seeking a similar return to what Utah got for Walker Kessler (two first-round picks and two swaps).

Here are a few more items of interest from Stein:

• Stein describes the league-wide reaction to Trent’s reported four-year, $64MM deal with the Bucks as “profound shock,” but he says it remains to be seen how the NBA will respond to it. As Stein points out, even if opposing executives around the league suspect the Bucks and Trent had a handshake deal in place a year ago, it’s unclear whether any other teams would actually complain to the league about a rival significantly overpaying a free agent.
• Sources with knowledge of the team’s thinking tell Stein that New Orleans was concerned that veteran center DeAndre Jordan would sign a one-year, minimum-salary contract with another team, which is why the Pelicans – not wanting to lose Jordan’s veteran leadership in their locker room – increased their offer to two guaranteed years.
• The Warriors were in “advanced” discussions with Willie Green and the Bucks had actually hired Joe Boylan before the Mavericks were able to lure both assistants to Dallas this offseason to be part of Dusty May‘s first NBA staff, Stein writes. Golden State eventually agreed to a deal with Frank Vogel to take the lead assistant role that initially looked like it would go to Green.