Category: NBA

Similar to what the Phoenix Suns did with point guard David Stockton, the Los Angeles Lakers signed forward Anton Watson to a training camp deal on Thursday, Sept. 17, but later waived the former Gonzaga Bulldog on Friday, Sept. 18. He will most likely join the G League’s Coachella Valley Lakers.

Over the course of seven games with the Lakers in the California Classic in San Francisco, California, and NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Nevada, Watson averaged 7.6 points on a shooting split of 34.0 field goal percentage/19.2 three-point percentage/100 free throw percentage, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists across 20.7 minutes per contest.

The Spokane, Washington native was drafted with the No. 54 overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. In March of 2025, Watson was claimed off waivers by the New York Knicks on a two-way contract. In nine appearances for New York, he averaged 0.9 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.2 assists per game.

After the conclusion of the 2025 season, Watson was signed by Los Angeles in September of 2025.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho

If any Gonzaga Bulldog deserves this opportunity in the NBA, it’s forward/center Graham Ike, after going undrafted in the 2026 NBA Draft and grinding on an Exhibit 10 contract over the summer.

According to Luca Evans of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Golden State Warriors have signed the former big man on campus to their third and final two-way contract. The agreement is expected to be a two-year deal. Ike will split his time with the big club and their G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.

Across nine contests in the month of July, his strong post presence, toughness, and leadership value helped push Golden State to an NBA Summer League title in Las Vegas, Nevada. For the duration of the California Classic at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, plus his time spent in Sin City, Ike averaged 10.0 points on a shooting split of 48.4 field goal percentage/25.0 three-point percentage/78.9 free throw percentage, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 21.2 minutes per game.

The Warriors’ training camp in the Bay Area will begin on Sept. 29.

As of right now, 11 Gonzaga alums will be in the NBA at the start of the 2026-27 season.

In hopes of making an opening-day roster, shooting guard Malachi Smith signed a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 training camp contract with the Toronto Raptors through the work of his agent, Michael Lelchitski of SIG Sports. He was previously waived by the Brooklyn Nets after spending the tail end of the 2025-26 campaign with the organization.

Forward/center Drew Timme, who was on a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers this past season, wasn’t picked for the open roster spot before the 2026 NBA Playoffs. He’s still searching for his next professional destination as Los Angeles has all three of their two-way spots filled.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho

First and foremost, I want to start today’s session by saying that I like the acquisition of Duop Reath. It shows that Brian Gregory consistently looks for ways to create competition throughout the roster, and that’s a good thing. Iron sharpens iron, as they say in blacksmith houses.

I like that Reath brings the archetype of a stretch five, something the Suns don’t necessarily have right now, although I believe Khaman Maluach can eventually develop into that kind of player. I also like the potential mentorship aspect with Maluach. Both are Sudanese and have taken their own journeys to reach the NBA. And guess what? Maluach’s developmental timeline got bumped up pretty significantly following the injury to Mark Williams. That comes with added responsibility. Having somebody around, even at the front end of this journey, who can provide some mentorship is an astute way to utilize the roster while helping the young kid navigate what’s ahead.

All of that is good. But everybody needs to drink some settle-down juice when it comes to Duop Reath.

We have to remember who and what he is as a player. He’s 30 years old, so developmentally, his best years are most likely behind him. And truth be told, he really has one transferable NBA skill that everyone seems to be salivating over. He can shoot.

When I say everyone, I’m talking about what I’m seeing on social media. We’re essentially getting tribute videos breaking down the 23 total three-pointers he made last season. People are excited because he chose Phoenix over the Knicks.

We gotta stop this. We can’t fall in love with players simply because they bat their eyes at us. We did that with Bradley Beal, remember? How did that work out? Simply because somebody chooses Phoenix doesn’t mean they instantly need to become a fan favorite or somebody we have undying loyalty to. Of course Reath chose Phoenix. Phoenix has the lower ceiling of those two teams. There’s more opportunity for him here, so why wouldn’t he choose us?

At the end of the day, he’s being brought in to generate competition at the back of the roster. Best-case scenario, he makes the roster. That most likely means the Suns move off either Haywood Highsmith or Jamaree Bouyea, and I’d much rather have either of them. Middle case scenario: Reath takes a two-way contract. That would most likely mean CJ Huntley or Koby Brea is no longer occupying one of those spots. Again, I’d rather have the younger players with more developmental upside. Worst-case scenario, Reath doesn’t make the team. He’s this year’s Jared Butler, the player brought in during training camp who the fan base latches onto before he ultimately fades into the abyss, never to be seen again.

So again, I like the idea of Duop Reath with the Phoenix Suns. What I don’t understand is losing our minds over an unbelievably one-dimensional player. He isn’t a good rebounder for a big. He’s undersized. He can’t defend the perimeter particularly well. He’s average at defending the interior. He isn’t a playmaker or distributor. He can stroke a few three-pointers. That has value. It doesn’t mean we have to be obtuse about everything else. We can recognize what the Suns are trying to accomplish by bringing Reath in. We can respect the process and appreciate the competition it creates. We don’t need to fall in love with him simply because he chose us.

Maybe he shoots his way onto the roster and becomes useful when Phoenix needs to stretch the floor. Maybe his presence helps Maluach navigate an unexpectedly accelerated developmental timeline. Or maybe we forget he was ever here by Christmas. All of those outcomes are possible. Appreciate what Reath could provide, but save the love affair for someone who actually earns it.

Steve Kerr has seen and heard it all. 

That includes the white-knuckled chants calling for him to be fired or retire. 

So, how should Warriors fans feel about Kerr’s decision to return as Golden State’s coach?

They should be thanking their lucky stars. 

We all know that Kerr helped transform the Warriors into the league’s modern day dynasty, winning four championships over eight years from 2015-2022. 

But let’s take a second to think about what that entailed. 

He was smart enough to allow Curry to shoot from anywhere, which forever changed the game of basketball. 

He was genuine enough to gain the respect of Draymond Green, who trusted him so much that they could share heated words and then Kerr could turn around and guide Green during his most vulnerable moments. 

He was skilled enough to unlock the team’s role players, including helping Andre Iguodala become the 2015 Finals MVP.

Has Kerr had missteps? Absolutely. Was the denigration of his relationship with Jonathan Kuminga unfortunate? Sure, and he’s the first to admit that. Have some of his lineup changes been questionable? Absolutely. 

But overall, Kerr is one of the best coaches the NBA has seen. 

He’s smart. He has a special way of getting through to players. And he’s deeply competitive. 

Kerr’s superpower is he can relate to anyone on the roster, players one through 15. He knows what it takes to be a role player after winning five championships alongside such names as Michael Jordan, David Robinson and Tim Duncan. 

He learned how to sacrifice. And he learned how to stand up for himself. (Remember when he shoved Jordan in the chest during a very intense scrimmage and then took a punch from the megastar?)

The Warriors quickly transformed into a dynasty after Kerr took over the helm in May 2014, winning their first championship in 2015. The following season, they finished with the best record in NBA history, winning 73 games before blowing a 3-1 series lead in the Finals against the Cavaliers. 

The Warriors remained atop the league for years, something that’s stunningly difficult. The proof? Over the last eight seasons, there have been eight different NBA champions. 

Over the last four years, things have changed for the Warriors. 

Since winning their last title in 2022, they haven’t gotten past the second round of the playoffs. In two of those seasons, they missed the postseason altogether. 

When Kerr’s contract expired after last season, he spent a lot of time reflecting on whether returning was right for the Warriors and him. 

But ultimately, he decided he still genuinely loved coaching. The team’s brass wanted him back. And he knew this was his last chance to work with Curry, who turns 39 next season, and Green, who turns 37, both of whom wanted Kerr to return to the helm. 

Kerr, who’s introspective and self-deprecating, acknowledged a lot of things need to improve next season, including his coaching. He said he rewatched every turnover the Warriors committed. He wants to revisit the fundamentals. He wants to impart mental sharpness. 

Saying those things in front of reporters was notable. In a league where coaches are scapegoats, he’s not afraid to take responsibility. To admit weakness. To recalibrate. 

So, both Kerr and the Warriors are going into next season with a new mentality. 

Kerr wants to help Curry and Green ride off into the sunsets of their careers with dignity, while also trying to see how far they can take this. 

They know they’re not going to be champions next season, barring something extraordinary happening ahead of the trade deadline. But they’re deeply competitive, and there’s something beautiful about them beginning their dynastic run together and closing that chapter alongside one another. Still fighting. Still championing each other. 

Kerr did some soul-searching. He decided he wasn’t done. He tapped into his fire again. His why. 

We’re lucky we get to witness Kerr, Curry and Green again. They’ve been together for 12 seasons. That’s unheard of in the modern NBA, where loyalty has become as valued as snail mail. 

Curry is the greatest shooter ever. Green is a Hall of Fame defender. And Kerr has been the fearless captain of the ship, patching up more holes than we’ll ever know. 

For at least two more seasons, we’ll get to witness Kerr’s basketball intellect, his humor and his leadership.

And it’s something we should be grateful for. 

Only one more Off-Season Report left! Don’t tell us about this being a quiet off-season! It hasn’t been easy finding a lot to write home about! There was big news like Mikel Brown Jr.‘s debut and Egor Demin’s growth. The arrival of Julius Randle is intriguing. He does have a habit of exploding when joining a new team after all. Sean Marks & co. also made some moves like re-signing Day’Ron Sharpe and Josh Minott to more than reasonable deals.

But for the most part it was stay-the-course, show resolve, call for patience, build for that “sustainable” future. You know: the tank may be over but the rebuild continues. They added another first rounder in another salary dump. They still have 13 firsts in the next seven drafts, most in the league. The 18-man roster continues to be development-centric with nine players 22 or younger and 14 under 25, retaining their position as the NBA’s youngest team in a generation. Winning may be the goal now but hoping to contend for anything other than a play-in spot seems like folly … despite what Michael Porter Jr. has said.

And ICYMI, the Knicks threw themselves a parade that attracted two million people! So there’s that.

All that said, we’ll know more over the next two weeks or so about the internal view of the team. We’ll get state-of-the-team assessments from Sean Marks and Jordi Fernandez a week from Monday at Media Day. Players will be available too of course. No word yet on how much of it will be televised on YES and the Nets website. Then, from September 29 through October 5, there will be daily practices at the facility as well the Nets Fan Fest — apparently the Practice-in-the-Park replacement — in Crown Heights on October 4. Fernandez will be available to the media (including ND) at the end of each practice to provide updates. The preseason opener is October 6 in Charlotte. Two days later, the Nets will be at home vs. the 76ers for their only home game this preseason.

A positive at least for now: we know of no injuries or health issues … although the Nets have a history of not publicizing them till the last minute. We learned about Demin’s plantar fascia issue (which had put him in a wheelchair!) at last year’s Media Day, months after it had been diagnosed and treated. Similarly Nolan Traore’s ankle scope was only revealed the day before the Nets flew out to Sacramento for Summer League. Same with Grant Nelson’s patella tendinitis.

The only contract situation outstanding remains MPJ’s extension. Nothing new that we know of there. Just a lot of speculation. Porter seems quite happy with the organization otherwise, promoting the improvements made by the young players and offering his enthusiasm and optimistic assessment of how he and Randle can work together.

A different kind of preview

In the meantime, we’ll be “treated” to preseason previews that no doubt will be continue to be mostly negative. It remains the narrative with just a little relief. If you’re looking for one preview that we thought captured things without being overly pollyannish or gloomy was the No Ceilings preview which is the most recent, having been published Saturday.

No Ceilings’ Tyler Rucker and Tyler Metcalf say Nets fans should be excited about team, particularly its future, while admitting the team has a “long way to go” before they contend. Sounds fair.

Metcalf starts off the preview with a comment that reflects what a lot of fans think: “I don’t even know where to start with this team (pause.) They are so weird.”

“I love Mikel Brown Jr. I love that they swung on him in the first round,” he continued. “I think they got a couple of really intriguing forwards in the draft in Joshua Jefferson and Tyler Bilodeau. I think Egor Demin is in for a massive second year. I loved the style they played last year with the quick decision-making, ball movement, player movement … and then there’s Julius Randle. When he’s good, he’s really good. Then there’s the other part.”

Rucker generally agrees.

“I’m sort of intrigued with …” he started off, with his own pause, his face just a tad contorted. “The team is weird enough that I like sort of like it. You know what I’m trying to say. I’m like, they’re sort of finding the path.”

Much of the positive elements of the preview are based on their excitement about the two 20-year-olds and their belief that Randle and Porter Jr., while flawed are “bucket-getters.”

“It starts with Mikel and Egor. I think Nets fans should be optimistically excited with this team. They’ve got two young pieces that they can build around,” said Rucker before defending Randle and Porter Jr. to Metcalf. “Say what you want Randle and Michael Porter Jr. They’re going to produce. You know they’re going to have games.”

Metcalf grudgingly agrees re Randle, saying “you know he’s going to get his on that Brooklyn team. He’s getting his numbers” and Rucker arguing that maybe the two players will love it in Brooklyn. (Both have certainly said so publicly.)

Metcalf also talked about the possibilities of Demin, Brown Jr. and Porter Jr. working together.

“I think Egor is going to be in for a big year. I love, theoretically, just what the trio and the floor spacing and the decision-making and scoring versatility of what he, Mikel and Michael Porter Jr. could look like together. I think those three on the court with their shooting, with their decision-making, and with their off-ball movement could be really, really fun ” he added.

He is not so sure how Randle fits. While conceding the veteran’s skills, Metcalf also wondered about the 6’9” forward’s offensive game.

“We talked about the Nets last year played such a fun style and really moved the ball. That’s not what Julius Randle really does. He’s a good passer, really skilled for his position, but it’s grab, pound, pound, pound, throw your body into someone, throw your body into someone, then make a decision. There’s very little quick decision-making. So I’m curious to see how works.“

Rucker, however, offered the other side of Randle’s game: he knows how to score.

“Randle’s going to be toughness. and he’s almost been what, nearly 20 points a game since 2019! That’s amazing.” (Editor’s note: The actual number is 21.7 points a game since 2018-19: 11,965 points in 551 games over eight seasons.)

Rucker addresses one big criticism of the last two years, that other than Demin, the 2025 Draft class aka the Flatbush 5, has underperformed, including during this year’s Summer League. Still he thinks that some of the criticism is unwarranted or premature.

“If Egor is awesome, I feel like we’re gonna to ignore the rest of the picks,” he argued. “almost. almost.”

Metcalf takes a similar tack.

“If you get one of those guys to hit at a super high level, especially the first one who’s a top 10 pick, then the rest is gravy … ‘We got one!’… and realistically, how many picks in the twenties actually hit?” said Metcalf of the Nets other picks taken at Nos. 19, 22, 26 and 27. “Typically, you’re either taking a seasoned upper classman to fill a very specific need or you’re taking a big homerun swing and they swung.”

Rucker thinks that it’s too early to give up on what else they got.

“Ben Saraf, I think, is going to be a good backup. Nolan Traore, we didn’t see at Summer League, but we saw him walking and I turned to you and said, ‘Traore looks like he gained two inches of height.’ He looked gigantic. So we’ll wait and see, but I’m with you.

“I like (Noah) Clowney, (Day’Ron) Sharpe and you get Joshua Jefferson and what are you going to get from Danny Wolf this year? I don’t know, but I really like Tyler Bilodeau in the second round. I thought that was a really sneaky add for them. He looked good in Summer League.”

Rucker summed up his thoughts this way:

“Am I saying the Nets are going to make the playoffs? NO! Am I saying this could be a year step forward? Sure for the Nets development? Absolutely!”

Rucker also left Nets fans with a wondrous best case scenario.

“This could be one of those funny teams that … there’s always one team that starts red hot, that’s we’re like ‘where did this come from?!?’ They’re 8-2 to start the year and all of sudden, we’re like, Oh! Okay! There it is!”

To which Metcalf adds, “they’re already done that.” Indeed, this is the 25th anniversary of Jason Kidd joining the Nets. Despite Kidd’s record of achievement prior to his arrival in New Jersey, virtually no one picked the Nets to even make the playoffs. They started 7-2 in 2001-02 and look where they wound up.

Tyler Bilodeau’s unlikely round trip

It was interesting to hear Rucker praise the Nets for taking Tyler Bilodeau at No. 43 in the second round. The 6’9” UCLA sharpshooter was not high on any draftnik’s big board until last June when ESPN pegged him in at No. 60 in their last two mock drafts.

We’ve written about Bilodeau’s possibilities, but also admitted that when he was selected, all of us who followed the draft reacted with one variation or another of “who dat??” when Mark Tatum called his name midway through the second round. Metcalf was correct in that he played well (enough) in the Summer League. And he had the highest 3-point percentage —46.0% — of any player in the Draft.

But what interested us this weekend when doing some research on the Nets draft history was the route he — or should we say the pick used to take him — traveled. It’s an example of how picks, particularly second rounders, wander… in this case four times in eight years.

The story starts in June 2018 when the Nets and Hawks were talking about a trade — a salary dump to be specific. Brooklyn sent Jeremy Lin; a Nets second rounder in 2025; the right to swap second rounders with the Hawks in 2023 in return for the draft rights to injured 21-year-old French guard Isaia Cordiner and Portland’s second rounder in 2020, which is protected top 55. The deal freed up $12.5 million in cap space which when added to the $10.5 million the Nets already had, giving Marks enough to make other moves in the third year of his first rebuild. Move No. 1.

This was the trade that Joe Tsai mentioned in his interview for David M. Rubenstein’s for his book, “In the Owners Box.” the one the Nets owner feared would cause millions if not tens of millions of basketball fans in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. to “hate me forever.”

Then, in January 2022, the Hawks made a deal with the Knicks centered on Kevin Knox for Cam Reddish. Talk about a trade that no one won! Atlanta traded Reddish, Solomon Hill and the Nets’ 2025 second round pick for Knox and draft pick — a first round pick protected top 18 in 2022, top 16 in 2023, top 14 in 2024 or if not transferred, seconds in 2026 and 2027. Move No. 2.

The Knicks held on to it until June 2024 and the Mikal Bridges trade. Sean Marks took advantage of Leon Rose’s desire to add Mikel Bridges by asking not just for the five first rounders — four Knicks and one Bucks — but also his 2025 second rounder back. Done deal. Move No. 3

A year later, the Nets still controlled the pick and four firsts. Then, the day before the 2025 Draft, Brooklyn became part of a three-team deal — for them a salary dump — with the Hawks and Boston Celtics who needed help to complete a deal centered on Kristaps Porzingis and Georges Niang. In return for that help, the Nets acquired Atlanta’s first rounder, at No. 22, which became Drake Powell, and Terance Mann. Did the Nets want to develop five firsts AND a second? Nope.

So they shopped their wayward second, sending it to the Phoenix Suns and winding up with a 2026 second from the Los Angeles Clippers and a 2030 second from the Celtics in return. Move No. 4. That 2026 Clipper pick became Bilodeau. (What happened to the Nets 2025 pick? The Suns traded it to the Lakers and it became Adou Thiero.)

Other than a nerdy trip through eight years of draft boards, what is the value of this exercise? For one thing, it shows that second round picks have worth and the Nets lead the league in seconds with 19. Also, it shows that Bilodeau should be counted as part of the Nets haul for Bridges, not that it means much after that parade.

So let’s hope that Rucker was right in calling Bilodeau a steal. It’s taken enough time for him to get here.

Final Note

Another sign that the off-season is ending is what you just read. As we noted, not much out there. We are still waiting for the final Exhibit 10’s to get done. We’d expect that’ll happen this week.

But rather than dwelling on that, we’d like to point to something that Joe Tsai told David Rubenstein for his book on billionaires buying sports teams. Not what he said about his concerns over the 2018 Jeremy Lin trade nor how he set up a Twitter account to have direct access to fans now how Supreme Court Justice Brett Cavanaugh had a “decent game” when the two played pick-up with Yale Law students. Nope. it was what he said about his priority in running the Nets.

“We need to win a championship,” Tsai told Rubenstein. “We need to prove ourselves.”

You’re on the clock, Joe.

The Lakers season is around the corner and Luka Dončić is returning to Los Angeles. 

Dončić, who led the league in scoring last season (33.5 points) and was third in assists (8.3) is expected to leave Europe for Los Angeles on Sunday ahead of Media Day on September 28, according to Sportklub. 

On Sunday, the Lakers superstar took to Instagram with a heartbreaking post. He posted images of his two daughters (Gabriela, who was born November 2023, and Olivia, who was born last December) in Slovenia spending time with him, while recognizing he had to leave them at home for the time being while he returns to America.

Dončić finished fourth in MVP voting last season and helped the Lakers finish fourth in the Western Conference with a record of 53-29. He had a stunning March in which he averaged 37.5 points, 8 rebounds and 7.4 assists, carrying the Lakers to a 15-2 record over that period, before he suffered a strained hamstring on April 2 that sidelined him for the entire postseason.

Dončić, who said doctors told him he’d have to miss eight weeks with the injury, is expected to be healthy when training camp opens September 29. 

Dončić had input on the Lakers’ roster moves this offseason, including re-signing Austin Reaves (four years, $180 million) and adding center Walker Kessler (four years, $130 million). 

The Lakers completely overhauled their roster, including adding Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Kevon Looney, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams and Cameron Carr. 

For the first time in his career, Dončić hosted a minicamp in Slovenia last month to help build team chemistry. He paid for the team to come out to his home country for four days, where the Lakers played basketball, golf and did sightseeing activities. 

Since the Mavericks stunningly traded Dončić  to the Lakers in February 2025, they were eliminated by the Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, followed by being swept by the Thunder last season. 

Dončić, who has never won a championship over his eight-season career, will try to lead the Lakers to their first title since 2020.

Warriors reportedly signing NBA Summer League standout to final two-way spot originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors reportedly are filling their third and final two-way spot on their roster, and it’s going to a potentially surprising player.

Golden State is signing big man Graham Ike to a two-year, two-way contract, ClutchPoints’ Kenzo Fukuda reported Sunday, citing a source.

Ike went undrafted out of Gonzaga earlier this year before signing with the Warriors for to play in the NBA Summer League — where Golden State won the championship. Across six games in Las Vegas, Ike averaged 10.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in 22.1 minutes, while shooting 46.7 percent from the field.

In five college seasons at Wyoming and Gonzaga, the 6-foot-9 Ike posted 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game across 146 appearances. He led the West Coast Conference in 2025-26 with a 56.3 field-goal percentage and was named to the AP All-America third team.

The 24-year-old claims the Warriors’ final two-way spot ahead of the team’s 2026 second-round draft pick Lajae Jones, who appears set to spend the upcoming season with G League Santa Cruz. LJ Cryer and Malevy Leons are the other two-way players for Golden State entering training camp.

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Los Angeles Lakers superstar guard Luka Dončić is heading back to America after spending much of the offseason in his home country of Slovenia.

This means that Dončić has to leave his two daughters (Gabriela, who was born November 2023, and Olivia, who was born last December) in Slovenia, with his ex-fiancée, Anamarie Goltes.

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Dončić is clearly upset about parting ways with his two daughters, which he revealed with a heartbreaking Instagram post on Sunday.

The post showed several photos of the Lakers star interacting with his two daughters. It was captioned (in translated English), “G+O, no matter where in the world your daddy is. No day passes when you wouldn’t be in my heart. Wherever I go, you are always with me. I love you! ”.

Dončić has had a tumultuous past year or so regarding his family. Goltes was seeking child support from the Lakers superstar for the couple’s two kids earlier this year, after news broke that the two had broken up.

Goltes submitted a request to dismiss her petition for child support back in August. But she still lives in Slovenia and shares custody, which is clearly hitting Dončić hard.

Perhaps the Lakers star can use this as motivation once Los Angeles’ regular season begins.

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Every day, we’ll take a closer look at another member of the 2026-27 Phoenix Suns, examining what they bring to the roster and what their role could mean for the season ahead as we count down to training camp and the preseason.

Jordan Goodwin

Guard/Forward, 6’3”, 215 pounds, 28, 6th season

The 2025-2026 Phoenix Suns season was defined by surprises. Few expected them to make the playoffs, not many saw Dillon Brooks averaging a career high in points per game, and after getting an invite to training camp, few were prognosticating Jordan Goodwin would become a reliable rotation for Jordan Ott and his staff. His second stint on the Suns, the three-year $19 million deal he inked this summer puts him in Phoenix for the foreseeable future.

Averaging career-highs in nearly every statistical category, the coaching staff trusted Goodwin to start in Game 1 of the playoffs and when the team clinched their playoff birth against the Golden State Warriors, he had 17 points, four threes and nine boards.

Building on the best season of his career and locked into a longterm deal, he’s set help anchor the team’s defensive rotations, recreate the gritty identity many teams viewed the Suns as from a season ago and play wherever he’s needed on a given night.

Last Season

It was not a guarantee Goodwin would make the team’s roster last season. Signed in late August, he beat out Jared Butler for one of the team’s final roster spots.

Mostly playing a reserve role for the Suns last season, Goodwin was a key part of the team’s rotation. With his improved shooting and ability to guard multiple positions despite being undersized, the coaching staff trusted him late in games to make big plays, which was best on display in the team’s miraculous comeback against the Minnesota Timberwolves when the team rallied from eight down in the final 50 seconds to win.

While he missed a brief stretch in late February and early March after suffering a calf strain in the team’s double overtime thriller against the Orlando Magic, Goodwin remained mostly healthy throughout the regular season, playing in 70 games. At the end of the season, he started a few games after Collin Gillespie started to struggle and the team was struggling. He started in both play-in games and in Game 1 of the playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder but was sidelined the rest of the series after going down early in the contest with calf soreness.

His best game of the year? His career-high 26-point contest against the Thunder back in January when the Suns rallied from down double digits to defeat the defending champs.

Contract and Roster Context

Goodwin inked a three-year $19 million deal with a player option for the final season to return to Phoenix in June. The contract increases in value by year and starts at 3.55% of the cap up to 3.72%, an important metric to be paying attention to in the second apron era of the NBA salary cap. The deal is the largest and longest of the veteran’s six-year career.

He can’t be traded until January 15th, 2027.

What He Brings

Toughness.

Jordan Goodwin is the Suns version of the Thunder’s Alex Caruso or the New York Knicks’ Josh Hart. No task is too small for him, and he’s comfortable playing any position from shooting guard to power forward. He helps keep Devin Booker and Jalen Green fresh on offense by taking on the other team’s best perimeter scorers and is able to battle inside to secure offensive rebounds at an elite rate for players his size. He ranked 42nd in the entire NBA in total offensive boards. Amen Thompson and Dyson Daniels were the only guards ahead of him.

Another reason Goodwin has become so valuable to the team? He’s finally hitting threes consistently. Knocking down more than 37% of his triples on nearly 4.5 attempts per game. When he shot 5.6 triples per game in February, the most attempts per game he shot in any month of the season, he hit the deep ball at a 40% clip. His ability to space the floor is what makes him more valuable to the team than he was in his first stint on the Suns when he hit just 29% of his threes.

What Needs to Improve

It would be in the Suns’ best interest if Goodwin could become a consistent ball handler and playmaker. With Grayson Allen now in Charlotte, the team lacks any strong ball handlers off the bench outside of Collin Gillespie. After bringing in sharpshooter Luke Kennard this offseason, the main objective of the team’s second unit should be to get as many threes up as possible.

Goodwin started his career playing point guard, and he’s listed as one on Basketball-Reference, but in most lineups he played in last season, he was not the team’s primary ball handler. When he was with the Washington Wizards and in his first stint with the Suns, he had point guard responsibilities, but his second stint in Phoenix has had him playing mostly the two-four spots. It’s definitely something he is capable of.

Prediction

I expect a similar year from Goodwin a season ago, but with increased volume. Last year, he averaged 22:27 minutes per game; I expect that number to jump up to closer to 25-27 minutes per game. The team knows what they have in him, and their trust in him clearly increased as the season went on.

Look for a small statistical increase and a larger impact on both ends.

Stat Prediction: 74 Games, 9.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.3 APG, 43/39/71 shooting

Final Word

Jordan Goodwin is an important part of the brand of basketball that the Phoenix Suns are trying to build. He’s someone a lot of the league had doubted (even the Suns did) and proved people wrong. Now there’s no proving people wrong; he’s gotten paid. The team clearly believes in him. With higher expectations and a contract after a career year, it’s time for his impact to increase.

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Been moving back to Mexico since I departed from Spain on Wednesday morning. Yeah, that’s more than half a week, but that’s also what happens when you arrive and your place isn’t ready to live in, you have to split time between there and a shared AirBnB place, you have to spend a night in each of the four rooms it has, and finally, on Sunday morning, you move into your original place, only to find out the refrigerator has some issues and you can’t put food in it. Let’s go!

• Josh Hart says the Knicks have officially moved on from celebrating last season’s championship and are fully focused on defending it.

“This year was amazing. But I think all of us, the thing that makes us special is right now we’re looking forward. I think all of us are kind of tired of hearing the congratulations, and we’re ready to get to work. We’re ready to put the work in, grow, build and see where we are at the end of the year.”

• Jalen Brunson had a hilarious reaction after seeing Josh Hart receive his own Yankees bobblehead. “Oh f–k no,” Brunson joked.
• The Knicks have officially turned their final roster spot into a training camp competition. After signing John Konchar and Drew Eubanks, New York also added Bruce Brown, Ochai Agbaji and James Wiseman on non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contracts.
• The Knicks have paused single-game ticket sales after discovering an internal pricing mistake that led to unexpectedly expensive face-value tickets, including more than $1,000 for Opening Night.
• Former Knicks lottery pick Mike Sweetney has died at age 43. Sweetney was selected ninth overall in the 2003 NBA Draft out of Georgetown and appeared in 119 games for the Knicks.
• Mitchell Robinson revealed he missed his introductory press conference with the Celtics because his younger brother had been hit by a car earlier that morning. Robinson later asked fans to pray for his brother, saying, “Yesterday, around 6 a.m., he was hit by a car.”
• The Athletic included Jalen Brunson among the active players it considers absolute locks to have their jersey retired.

“The Knicks won a championship, and Brunson was their best player. Case closed.”

• SB Nation projects the Celtics to finish first in the Eastern Conference regular season but still considers the Knicks the team to beat when the playoffs begin.
• Jayson Tatum addressed the offseason trade that sent longtime teammate Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia, saying there is no bad blood between them.

The season starts in a month! And with that in mind, we’re slowly going to turn our NBA brains back on and write more things. To get us started, I asked the staff what one thing they’re looking forward to about the season. And it doesn’t have to be centered on the Mavericks.

David: I am ecstatic to see what Cooper Flagg does this season. We all remember the jump Luka Doncic took in year two, and I think we expect a similar leap from Flagg. He may not get to the 28+ points night Doncic did, but his impact in other areas could make it feel like we are watching the same level of player. I want him playmaking, leaning in to his downhill physicality, defending the other team’s best player, and taking every shot the defense gives him without hesitation. There are a lot of questions around Dallas’ roster, but the only thing I care about is Flagg.

Tyler: After the somewhat outside-the-box hire of Dusty May, I’m really looking forward to seeing how different this team operates this season. I think my expectations are for a much more aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball. Whether or not that actually translates to wins, I have no earthly idea. But I will be awfully disappointed if they are a slog to watch like last season.

Michael: This season might be the first since the early 2000’s where I’m looking forward to being surprised by the team and the prospect of what it may become. Even in the Luka Doncic era, it felt a little different – perhaps because he crossed over with Dirk Nowitzki for a moment. Here we have an entirely new coaching staff, a front office of basketball professionals (per se) for the first time in two-and-a-half decades, and a core of young players waiting to show what they will become.

So for me, I’m looking forward to a truly new era in Mavs’ basketball taking shape right in front of us, and I’m excited to see what these players will bring and how they will develop beyond just this season.

Brent: The Mavs have made it clear by hiring Gina Miller that they care about communication and tacitly appear to acknowledge the massive failings of the previous era on that front. When you are needlessly adversarial with the media, as Harrison and Kidd often were, you come across as brutish or petulant or above being questioned.

And yet it is the media’s job to question you constantly it’s going to happen before and after every game. The Uriji/Schmitz/May media interaction-while admittedly still in its honeymoon phase-doesn’t have even a width of that old stink.

And setting aside writing about the Mavericks for just a moment, my appetite as a fan to consume those interviews goes way up when the tone is not downright

Joe: What I’m looking forward to Mavs-wise is if this team and franchise truly pick a direction and to see how they manage that with limited assets? Will they commit to the Cooper Flagg era and try and reload their utility belt of assets to start building around coop or are they trying to maximize this roster because of their lack of assets and limitations in roster building?

Non-Mavs-wise, I am looking forward to the season-long crap shoot that will be the 76ers. I already have tickets to the Presidents’ Day game here in Dallas. I’m so curious to see what this looks like. It’s like you’re taking the KD Nets and multiplying it by 10. The true super team with a floor lower than maybe any super team ever.

Sudarshan: I’m looking forward to a relatively drama-less season. Our past few offseasons have been so chaotic because we were run by toddlers high on a sugar rush. It’ll be nice to have a simple, yet unsuccessful season with adults at the helm now.

The 26-27 season is about clearing all major deadwood and setting the platform once more that we can build around Flagg, Morez, Larry, and even possibly Lively.

In broad league terms, I’m looking forward to seeing how the revised lottery rules change the way teams approach tanking, the play-in and contention. If it blows up in Adam Silver’s face, then all the better.

Matt M.: What fresh Hell awaits this team? As long as I get to watch Cooper Flagg take what I think will be a massive leap in Year 2, I can compartmentalize mostly anything, I think.

I don’t know if I’m as high on Morez Johnson and Sergio de Larrea as some on staff are, but I’m confident that Flagg and whatever incremental improvement in the roster has taken place will net Mavericks fans a watchable product, maybe even at times a team you could call “plucky” or heaven forbid “fun.” Remember fun?

For some reason I want to think Marcus Sasser could be something. If nothing else, he’ll definitely get a chance in Dallas to prove it.

League-wide I’m anxious to see if the basement dwellers are forced to become somewhat watchable as well. I’m eager to see if the changes to the lottery system will make more games watchable.

Bryan: I am pumped for Kyrie/Flagg hoops! With the moves made between the season’s end and the initial free agency surge, it’s clear that the Mavericks are banking on heavy (if staggered) doses of Kyrie and Cooper handling primary on-ball duties for the team.

There is still a trade or two just beyond the horizon with Gafford almost assuredly living out of a suitcase for the next 5 months in anticipation of his next NBA destination, but the team as constructed is weird. Fun weird. Oh, how I’ve missed fun weird. I openly embrace fun weird and welcome all its head-scratching quirks and eccentricities as opposed to the mud-tracking, joy-extinguishing swamp that was the last season and a half of Mavericks basketball.

Give me tall ball with shooting. Give me Kyrie/Sasser/Larry three-guard lineups. Give me Morez on the wing for a couple of plays.

Let’s get weird. 

Philadelphia may have just had the most star-studded offseason since Miami welcomed their big three 16 years ago. The common thread there is LeBron James, who is somehow still doing it nearly two decades after making his first decision. The 76ers, who have an extremely talented young backcourt, added two NBA Finals MVPs to their former regular-season MVP to create the most formidable lineup they have had in this decade. 

When you make moves like those, it is championship or bust. There is no margin for error, and there are no excuses to be made. With as much star power in the starting lineup as the 76ers have, there is pressure to win every night. Even before they signed LeBron James, it would have already been an immensely important year in Philly. But the self-proclaimed best player of all time comes with a set of expectations that no other player in history has. This is the most consequential year in franchise history.

Philadelphia 76ers: Over/Under 50.5 wins (-110/-120)

Last Season: 45-37, lost E. Conf Semis

Key Additions: LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Anfernee Simons, Labaron Philon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Key Losses: Paul George, Quentin Grimes, Andre Drummond

The 76ers have not made the conference finals since 2001. It is safe to say that if that trend continues this season, it will be a massive failure. They have to win, and win a lot. The books certainly think they will, as they are tied with Boston for the second-highest win total in the Eastern Conference (behind New York, 51.5). My first instinct is that this team will suffer from Joel Embiid and LeBron James’ health and the overwhelming nature with which the crowd agreed that they won the Brown trade. But even if Embiid and James play 50 or so games, Brown just won 56 last year with a lesser roster on his old team. I want to fade the public and take the under on this team’s win total badly, but the talent of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecomb mixed with the experience of their frontcourt, coach, and bench makes it impossible to say they will win fewer than 51 games. 

Prediction: Over 50.5 wins (-110)

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