Miami is thin along the frontline. Bam Adebayo is an All-NBA level player at the four or five, but has asked to play more four over the course of the regular season to avoid some of the wear and tear of going against bigger centers nightly. The Heat's center rotation beyond Adebayo is promising sophomore Kel'el Ware and two-way player Vlad Goldin. Miami will play Nikola Jovic and Keshad Johnson this season, but both are fours, not fives.
Achiuwa and guard Goran Dragic were dealt to the Toronto Raptors in the 2021 offseason in the deal that brought in guard Kyle Lowry. Achiuwa since moved on to the New York Knicks, who opted to allow him to move on as a free agent this offseason.
Achiuwa was a solid rotation big for the Knicks last season, averaging 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds a game while shooting 50.2% from the floor. He played more early in the season, but when Mitchel Robinson got healthy, it was Achiuwa whose minutes went to the elite defender.
The Heat have also been in contact with another former player of theirs, center Thomas Bryant, who played last season for Indiana but now remains a free agent.
While Miami has a roster spot, they are just $1.8 million below the luxury tax line — not enough to sign a player to a veteran minimum contract — and don't want to cross that threshold for this roster. That means if the Heat are going to sign Achiuwa, Bryant or anyone else they need to make a roster move. Winderman suggests that the team could buy out the contract of guard Terry Rozier, whom they spent the summer trying to trade (his contract is guaranteed for $24.9 million of the $26.6 million he is owed). The Heat are not under a time crunch to make that move, they can waive Rozier up to Jan. 10, it just depends on how much they like Achiuwa and how much they want him (or another player) on the roster to start the season.
Responding to a 911 call of shots fired, police arrived at the apartment building in Jackson Township, NJ, at 11 a.m. and discovered Reid, 28, dead from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
Shaquille Green, 29, was seen fleeing the scene, according to the prosecutor's office, and was later arrested and has been charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon, all in connection with Reid's death. Green and Reid had a "dating relationship," according to the prosecutor's office.
Toraya was the oldest of three, with Naz in the middle, and there is a younger sister, Jakahya.
Naz Reid is a fan favorite in Minnesota, the 2024 Sixth Man of the Year, who has been a versatile and critical part of the team's back-to-back runs to the Western Conference Finals, but also has been very active in the community. This summer he signed a five-year, $125 million contract to stay with the franchise.
Growing up in the Bay Area during the early-to-mid 2010s, there only was one NBA team that young hoopers rooted for.
Right?
For Houston Rockets star forward Amen Thompson, who was born in Oakland in 2003 and lived in San Leandro until around 2016, he, surprisingly, did not grow up a fan of the dynastic Warriors, as he explained as a guest, alongside his twin brother, Ausar, on the latest episode of “The Young Man and The Three.”
“No, no.” Amen and Ausar said in unison when asked by Tommy Alter if they grew up Golden State fans.
“I was a LeBron [James] fan, not going to lie,” Amen said. “I actually liked the Warriors until they had to start playing LeBron, and then I’m like, ‘OK, now I hate the Warriors.’
Unfortunately for Amen and Ausar, they had to watch the Warriors win three of four titles against James in four consecutive Warriors-Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals series from 2015-2018.
Despite not rooting for their hometown NBA team, the twins did support other Bay Area teams.
“In every other sport besides basketball growing up, I had my team, though,” Ausar said. “Because basketball, I think I cared about it more, so I saw a player I liked I’m like ‘This is my player.’ But I was a Raiders fan my whole life. I’m not an A’s fan anymore, because everybody keeps leaving. Now I’m a Giants fan, but I was a Raiders and A’s fan my whole life.”
As heartbreaking as the Warriors’ championship wins over James and the Cavaliers might have been for the twins, Amen couldn’t escape Golden State’s playoff wrath, when his Rockets lost to the Warriors in the seven-game, first-round 2025 NBA playoffs series.
Now teammates with former Warriors superstar Kevin Durant, who helped deliver Golden State two championships during its dynastic run, on the Rockets, Amen hopes he can help start a dynasty of his own in Houston.
Calendar year 2026 is not a leap year, but the Boston Celtics sure hope it is.
For the first time in Joe Mazzulla’s brief tenure as head coach, there is a real chance to lean heavily into the development of Boston’s youngest players through NBA game reps. The departure of core members from Boston’s title team, combined with Jayson Tatum’s rehab from Achilles surgery, could open the door to increased opportunity for players that haven’t yet gotten a chance to fully show what they can do at the NBA level.
To kick off Week 2 of our Ramp to Camp series, we asked our panel to pick which of Boston’s youngest players is most likely to make a leap this season.
Panelists were encouraged to focus on the roster players currently aged 25 or under — a group that features Hugo Gonzalez (19), Jordan Walsh (21), Josh Minott (22), and Baylor Scheierman (24). We loosened the criteria a bit to include 26-year-old trio of Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, and Xavier Tillman, and it should be noted that Anfernee Simons is still only 26, too.
Given Queta’s strong performance at EuroBasket, culminating with him basically keeping Portugal competitive for three quarters against tournament favorite Germany, we thought our panel might tilt in the big man’s direction. Our behind-the-scenes experts actually leaned heavily in a different direction.
Still, everything is lined up for Queta to thrive this season. After giving the Celtics small doses of key minutes, including as a two-way player early in the 2023-24 title season, Queta is going to see his playing time spike, especially after the rest of Boston’s center stable basically departed this offseason in Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet and (eventually) Al Horford.
Queta should be oozing confidence after his EuroBasket showing. He averaged 15.5 points, 8 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 1.0 steals over 24 minutes per game in six appearances. He jousted with Porzingis, Alperen Sengun, old friend Daniel Theis and (in a very small dose) three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic.
The Celtics have thrown Queta to the wolves at various times over his two seasons in Boston. Now, he must show the sort of progress that would give the team confidence to heap starter minutes his way.
We’re intrigued to see if a couple of former Wolves can push him, too. Garza needs to show he can hold up defensively in big minutes, while we’ve already noted in this series how high we are on Minott blossoming here, potentially as a small-ball big.
We’ll also make a brief pitch here for Jordan Walsh, who felt like he might be ready to kick down the playing-time door coming out of camp last year, but never quite harnessed that momentum. We liked Walsh’s mindset during his recent appearance on the Celtics Talk Podcast, and we think that if he plays with the sort of confidence and fire we saw in his most recent Summer League stint, then he’s got a real chance to make a leap.
Our panel sure seems to think another recent Boston draftee is going to push him for minutes at that wing position.
Darren Hartwell, Managing Editor
Baylor Scheierman.
Increased minutes are a great cure for streaky shooting, and I can definitely see Scheierman finding his groove with a more consistent role. But I’m most intrigued by Scheierman’s passing ability after watching him drop some impressive dimes in Summer League. Let Baylor cook on the second unit.
Michael Hurley, Web Producer
First of all, this forced me to realize that Payton Pritchard is 27 years old. That feels wrong. I demand a recount! But I think the answer has to be Neemias Queta by necessity.
He’s going to be playing a lot more than 14 minutes per night, and while the Celtics may not need a double-double out of him every night, they’re going to need him to take a massive step forward in just about every area. I don’t know how he’ll do, but he definitely has the greatest opportunity on the team.
Sean McGuire, Web Producer
Baylor Scheierman.
The 2024 first-round pick should carve out a bigger role if he can play hard and limit lapses on defense. Because while Scheierman’s 3-point shot has been streaky, his playmaking is a legitimate strength.
That would be a welcome addition to the second unit with Pritchard likely to elevate with the starters.
Josh Canu, Media Editor
Baylor Scheierman.
I expect big opportunities and minutes for the sophomore out of Creighton in his second NBA season. He will have a chance to grab one of the biggest bench roles on this team.
His defense is my biggest concern as he fights for minutes, but if he continues to improve on that end of the floor he will have a chance to showcase his play-making and shooting potential.
Max Lederman, Content Producer
Despite minimal minutes as a rookie last season, Baylor Scheierman’s feel for the game was on display every time he was on the court.
There should be plenty of opportunity to play this season, so look for him to shine.
Kevin Miller, VP, Content
I would take Josh Minott for this one.
He seems like a guy where production will follow with increased minutes. He’ll likely need to earn trust early in the season, but he could be a factor if he does.
Adam Hart, EP, Content Strategy
The science is clear: It won’t be Hugo Gonzalez because Joe Mazzulla doesn’t like rookies (according to Baylor Scheierman). So it’s Scheierman as leap-season candidate.
He’s deceptively quick, gliding around the floor. He shoots lefty, which gives him an advantage. Most importantly: He’s competitive. That’ll play.
The NBA comes home to NBC and Peacock on Oct. 21 — and our starting lineup of analysts can hang with anyone: Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Reggie Miller, Grant Hill and Jamal Crawford.
In a clever new promo for the Oct. 21 NBA season opener on NBC and Peacock — on the night Oklahoma City will raise its first banner — Thunder stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren get their introductions interupped by the NBC crew (including lead play-by-play guy Mike Tirico).
The NBA season tips off on Oct. 21 on NBC and Peacock with a must-watch double header.
First, the Oklahoma City Thunder get their championship rings from Adam Silver and then raise their championship banner — right in front of Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets. It was a cold twist by the league schedulers to make Durant — arguably the greatest player ever to wear a Thunder jersey, but a guy who was unable to lift them to a title — the Thunder's foil for this game. This is also a showdown of two contenders and the top two seeds in the Western Conference last year (and they very well could finish 1-2 again this season).
In the second game of the night, the stars come out: Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors travel down the coast to take on LeBron James, Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers. This will be the 53rd time LeBron and Curry have faced off, and that includes some of the most memorable games of the last decade, including some NBA Finals showdowns. That said, more eyes may be on Luka Doncic, the Lakers' future and a player who went viral this summer after getting in the best shape of his career — consider it a break-up revenge body with the Mavericks after they questioned his commitment and conditioning on the way out the door last February — and has shown it off at EuroBasket, where he leads the tournament in scoring and has Slovenia into the quarterfinals.
It's a strong lineup of games — and NBC has the Hall of Fame lineup of analysts to break it all down.
If the vote were to take place today, Luka Doncic would win EuroBasket MVP.
"Skinny" Doncic — who looks to be in the best shape of his career, a revenge body after Dallas dumped him — has dominated this tournament and on Sunday scored 42 with 10 boards to lift Slovenia past Italy and into the quarterfinals with a knockout round win.
Italy was led by the Heat's Simone Fontecchio, who scored 22 points in the loss.
Slovenia's win sets up a showdown Tuesday with defending World Cup champion Germany, led by Orlando's Franz Wagner and Sacramento's Dennis Schroder.
In other action Sunday at EuroBasket in the Round of 16 elimination games:
• The second leading scorer at EuroBasket is Giannis Antetokounmpo and thanks to a 37-and-10 game from him on Sunday against Israel, Greece also is on to the quarterfinals with a win.
Israel got 22 points from the Trail Blazers' Deni Avdija, who had a fantastic EuroBasket.
• Georgia got 24 points each from former Net and Bull Tornike Shengelia as well as former Butler standout Kamar Baldwin to pull off the upset against France. Orlando big man Goga Bitadze made some key defensive plays.
The French got a dozen points from the Knicks' Guerschon Yabusele, but the Paris Olympics silver medal team was shorthanded in this tournament without Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert.
• Former Raptor Jordan Lloyd scored 24 to help lift Poland to the quarterfinals with a win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Jusuf Nurkic had 20 points and seven boards for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the loss.
Jordan Clarkson was finally a free agent after agreeing to a buyout with the rebuilding Utah Jazz. The veteran guard had numerous potential landing spots but chose New York — a decision he made while at Wimbledon to watch Carlos Alcaraz, he told Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, during a rain-soaked public taping of The Roommates Podcast in Central Park (as relayed by The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy).
It all started with a call from Clarkson's agent Rich Paul.
"Where you wanna go?" Paul asked.
"I said, 'I wanna come to New York,'" Clarkson recalled Saturday night. Paul then reached out to the Knicks to relay Clarkson's interest.
"It all happened in two minutes," Clarkson said. "Then I was a Knick."
Clarkson said the reason he wanted to come to the Knicks was the chance to play at Madison Square Garden and "Feeling the energy from the fans."
Clarkson fills a desperate need for the Knicks. New York was dead last in the league in bench scoring last season at 21.7 points a game (part of that was then coach Tom Thibodeau leaning so hard into his starters). New coach Mike Brown will increase bench minutes and will give Clarkson the green light to light up the scoreboard. The former Sixth Man of the Year is going to be asked to reprise his role as a high-level bench scorer.
Carmelo Anthony could have been elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame many times over. He could have been voted in for his college career, leading Syracuse to a national title. He could have been selected based on his NBA play: 10th all-time in points scored (28,289), six-time All-NBA, 10-time All-Star and a member of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team. He could have been invited in for being a three-time Olympic gold medalist with USA Basketball.
Now, Anthony is officially in the Hall of Fame.
Allen Iverson & Dwyane Wade welcome @carmeloanthony to the Hall of Fame
Carmelo gave an emotional, touching speech for his induction, at one point getting emotional about his father. However, the part we're going to remember is how smoothly he handled it when the dogs offstage started barking — this is why he's going to be great as a studio analyst when the NBA returns to NBC and Peacock this fall.
Howard has long been a lock to make the Hall of Fame. He was the best defender of his generation, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, an eight-time All-NBA player, and an eight-time All-Star who won an NBA ring in the bubble with the Lakers and averaged 15.7 points and 11.8 rebounds a game.
Dwight Howard: Champion. Defensive anchor. 8x All-Star. And now: Hall of Famer. pic.twitter.com/3yNX0w3Aux
Serbia was the pre-tournament betting favorite to win EuroBasket, and with good reason. Led by the best player on the planet in Nikola Jokic, Serbia was the bronze medal winner at the Paris Olympics a year ago (and pushed the USA hard in the medal round), and it was the silver medalists at the last FIBA World Cup. It felt like their turn.
Serbia is out at EuroBasket in the round of 16, eliminated by Lauri Markkanen and Finland.
Lauri Markkanen shines, Finland advances to the EuroBasket quarterfinals!
Miro Little, who plays his college ball for UC Santa Barbara, had 13 points for Finland in the win, as did Elias Valtonen, who had a clutch 3-pointer over Jokic late. Jokic did his part for Serbia, scoring 33 points with eight rebounds in the game, but Serbia missed the steady hand of Bogdan Bogdanovic (out with a hamstring injury).
• In a Balkan showdown, Lithuania beat Latvia despite 34 points and 19 rebounds from Kristaps Porzingis. Hawks fans should be optimistic about Porzingis' performance in this tournament, and it's not just the points.
• Germany pulled away in the second half and handled Portugal to pick up the 85-58 win. Franz Wagner led a deep and balanced German side with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Celtics center Neemias Queta, about to be thrust into a larger role with the team, looked ready for the part with his play for Portugal at EuroBasket, including having 18 points and 11 rebounds in this game.
As expected, the NBA has hired an outside law firm to investigate whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the salary cap with a "no-show" endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard by one of the team's sponsors.
The NBA has hired the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, reports Joe Vardon, Sam Amick and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. This is the same law firm that investigated the Donald Sterling situation with the Clippers (which ultimately led to the sale to current owner Steve Ballmer) and investigated reports of a misogynistic workplace under former Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver, who was ultimately suspended by the league for a year and sold the team.
This case, if proven to the satisfaction of the other owners (who will vote on any potential punishment), would not lead to as severe an outcome as the sale of the team (circumventing the salary cap is serious for the NBA, but not on the level of racism and misogyny). However, the list of penalties prescribed in the NBA CBA includes fines up to $7.5 million, the forfeiture of draft picks, and potentially the voiding of the player's contract.
This case resolves around an endorsement deal with a Clippers sponsor unearthed by the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast. The timeline breaks down like this: In September 2021, Ballmer made a $50 million investment in Aspiration, a "green bank" company claiming it was planting trees to gain carbon emissions credits it could pass on to its clients. Later that month, Leonard signed a four-year, $176 million max contract extension with the Clippers. At the Clippers' media day at the end of that same month, Ballmer announced a $300 million partnership and sponsorship with Aspiration that was in part an effort to make the then-under-construction Intuit Dome "green." Not long after, Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration. None of that is out of the ordinary (star players signing separate endorsement contracts with team sponsors, with a clause the sponsorship ends if they are traded/leave the team, are relatively common).
Two things make this story take a turn. The big one is that Leonard did nothing for Aspiration, the endorsement was what several Aspiration employees told Torre was a "no-show" job. Leonard never made any public appearances for the company, did not appear in its marketing, nor did he post anything on social media about Aspiration. He got $28 million for doing nothing (Leonards LLC formed for this endorsement is one of the creditors in Aspiration's bankruptcy, as are the Clippers). The other twist is that Aspiration turned out to be a fraudulent company, one that is under federal investigation, filed for bankruptcy, and its CEO pled guilty to defrauding investors of $248 million.
Steve Ballmer and the Clippers have vehemently denied the allegations and said they did nothing wrong. Ballmer said in an interview with ESPN that he was “duped” by Aspiration and its CEO, as were many other wealthy investors and celebrities. The Clippers said this in a statement:
"Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap. The notion that Steve invested in Aspiration in order to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard is absurd. Steve invested because Aspiration's co-founders presented themselves as committed to doing right by their customers while protecting the environment... Neither Steve nor the Clippers had knowledge of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government initiated its investigation. Aspiration was a team sponsor for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons before defaulting on its contract."
Now it comes down to the Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz investigation and what they find — with the investigation being run by a law firm and reporting to a lawyer himself in NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, the bar for direct, hard evidence will be high. However, there is a flood of circumstantial evidence, and the Clippers or Leonard explaining away a no-show contract will be difficult.
Ultimately, it is the other owners who will decide the punishment for the Clippers and Ballmer, and they want to see this report. The other owners will not want slap on the wrist punishment (like the Knicks got with for tampering with Jalen Brunson) that will signal it is okay to circumvent the cap, but how hard they want to come down on one of their own in a case where he claims plausible deniablity is another question (those owners can think "there but for the grace of God go I"). A lot will come down to what this investigation finds.
Thomas Sorber, the No. 15 pick of the Oklahoma City Thunder in last June's NBA Draft, will miss his entire rookie season after tearing his ACL and needing to undergo surgery, the team announced.
Sorber suffered the injury during a workout in Oklahoma City. He did not play at Summer League this year because he was still recovering from a foot injury that ended his season at Georgetown early.
Sorber averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a game for the Hoyas during his one season in college. The 6'10" big man would have had a limited role this season on a stacked Oklahoma City team, but this is still a setback in the development of a guy the Thunder are going to lean on for frontcourt minutes in the future.
This is the third time in four years that Oklahoma City's top pick is going to miss his rookie season due to a significant injury. Chet Holmgren missed his rookie season, 2022-23, with a foot injury. Last season, Nikola Topic missed the entire year with an ACL tear similar to Sorbert. Topic recovered and showed some promise playing for the Thunder at Summer League this year.
The two recently met for the first time in person, and they shared a wholesome exchange shared to social media Saturday.
“I like you. We’d never met before last weekend,” Barkley told Kittle, sitting next to his wife Claire in what appears to be a video call. “And you remind me of me when I played basketball. When I watch you play football, I’m like, ‘That dude loves playing football.’ “
“I do,” Kittle replied with a massive grin on his face.
Barkley played in the NBA for 16 seasons on three teams. He was an 11-time NBA All-Star, 11-time All-NBA member and one-time league MVP.
He followed up his already impressive playing career with a jump as one of the most admired and beloved basketball analysts, most notably on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” alongside Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Ernie Johnson Jr.
Barkley’s humor and wit have made him one of the best at what he does, and just as he described Kittle on the gridiron, you can see through the TV screen just how much Barkley loves his job now and loved his job when he was on the court.
“The one thing I wanted people to understand [was], man, I loved playing basketball,” Barkley said. “I felt I was so lucky and blessed to do something so stupid for a living. We’re not like teachers. We’re not firemen. We’re not policemen. We’re not somebody in the armed service. I said, dude, we hit the lottery of life. And all you got to do is go out there and bust your hump.
“And when I finally got a chance to meet you last week, I’m like, hey man, I really wanted to meet you this weekend because when I watch you play football, I know you love your job.”
For those watching, it’s quite obvious to see Kittle loves what he does.
And he might love it a whole lot more if the 49ers can bounce back from a down 2024 season and continue their Quest for Six in 2025.
Dylan Harper's NBA career is starting off with a speed bump.
The No. 2 pick in last June's NBA draft underwent surgery Friday to repair a partial tear of the collateral ligament in his left thumb, the team announced. Recovery likely will keep Harper out for all of training camp and the start of the season — his return would be around Halloween, according to the injury database of Jeff Stotts at In Street Clothes.
Dylan Harper Injury Update: According to @ShamsCharania the rookie guard underwent surgery to repair a partially torn ligament in his thumb. This is most commonly the ulnar collateral ligament and average time lost following surgery is 54.3 days.
Harper, the son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, was a standout at Rutgers last season where the New Jersey native averaged 19.9 points a game. The Spurs took him with the No. 2 pick in the draft last June, just behind Cooper Flagg but ahead of VJ Edgecombe.
A groin injury kept Harper out at the start of NBA Summer League, but when he did get on the court, he impressed with his athleticism, which included some highlight plays — and not just on the offensive end.
On offense in Las Vegas, Harper more than passed the eye test. He demonstrated impressive control of his pace, using it to get into the lane, and once there, he showed he could finish at the rim with either hand, plus he had a nice little floater. Harper averaged 16 points a game at Summer League, but shot just 35.7%. There is work to do.
Chicago's stumbling point is simple: Just more than a year ago, the Bulls gave an unproven Patrick Williams a five-year, $90 million contract ($18 million a season), based on his potential (the front office really believes in him). So what is a proven scorer and shot creator like Josh Giddey worth to them?
About $22 million a year, ESPN’s Bobby Marks reports. He said Chicago has an offer of four years, $88 million is on the table for Giddey — not that much more than Williams and well below the closer to $30 million a season Giddey is reportedly looking to make. That $88 million number is up slightly but largely in line with previous reporting of the Bulls offering around $20 million a season for the 6'8" point guard.
Giddey has yet to accept the Bulls' offer, with an Oct. 1 deadline looming in the distance for him to pick up the one-year, $11.1 million qualifying offer, play out this season in Chicago, and become a free agent next summer (the path Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas has already taken).
Giddey believes he should be paid in the Derrick White and Tyler Herro range of around $30 million a season. His case is based on how he played after the All-Star break last season, when he averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists a game for a Bulls team that went 17-10 in that stretch. The Bulls may not be as convinced by that stretch of play, and in the bigger picture, they are trying to clean up their books and gain flexibility. While Giddey knows how to run their offense, he is not a great defender and needs to show his hot shooting from 3-point range after the All-Star break last season (45.7%) was not a fluke (he is a career 33% shooter from deep).
The other question Giddey and his representatives need to ask themselves: Will the money he wants be available next summer? While there are expected to be up to 10 NBA teams with considerable cap space, are they going to want to spend a lot of that on Giddey? His perception in league circles is that of a good player but not a contending team franchise cornerstone, more of an 82-game player than a 16-game player. If Giddey were to take the qualifying offer, he would have a season to prove his doubters wrong with his play.
Most likely, both Giddey and the Bulls will compromise as we get closer to training camp. Neither side wants to go the qualifying offer route, but the Bulls have all the leverage in these talks while Giddey just has the one card to play. The closer we get to Oct. 1 without a deal, the more realistic that option becomes.