Sacramento and veteran point guard Russell Westbrook have agreed to a free-agent contract, a source confirmed to NBC Sports California. ESPN’s Shams Charania was first to report the news.
NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that the contract is one year, worth $3.6 million.
Can confirm the Sacramento Kings have agreed to a deal with former MVP Russell Westbrook, per source. @ShamsCharania first.
As it's been well-reported, the two have been in communication all offseason. Kings players were informed earlier this week about the impending signing.
It was important for Westbrook, a Los Angeles County native, to stay close to home. He played in Los Angeles, with both the Lakers and Clippers, from 2021 to 2024 before spending last season with the Denver Nuggets.
Since Sacramento traded De’Aaron Fox last season, the team has been searching to fill the void at point guard. The Kings signed Dennis Schroder this offseason, but they clearly want to secure as much depth as possible.
Westbrook declined his $3.4 million option with the Nuggets and became a free agent after one season in Denver, where he averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds in 75 games. The single-season triple-double NBA record holder still has it, too, after recording the ninth-most in the league last season with four.
It remains to be seen what kind of role Westbrook will play with the Kings, especially after the signing of fellow veteran point guard Schroder, but the nine-time NBA All-Star certainly gives them valuable experience as they seek a playoff return.
Here are 10 players to keep an eye on this season:
Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
It’s the first full season with the Los Angeles Lakers for Doncic, who has officially taken over the franchise. Despite LeBron James still being his teammate, it’s clear that Doncic is both the future and the present for the Lakers. After dropping weight and signing a max extension over the offseason, all eyes should be on Doncic.
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Normally considered the 1B to Jayson Tatum’s 1A, the former Finals MVP will have to do it alone this year. Tatum is out with a torn Achilles, giving Brown his first chance to show what he can do as a No. 1 option. The Boston Celtics‘ championship roster has been completely slashed, but Brown remains the leading force.
Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
The No. 1 pick in the draft will always come with increased fanfare, but Flagg joins the Dallas Mavericks with heightened expectations. After trading away Doncic, Dallas struck gold in the lottery. Flagg is now on a ready-to-win roster, where he won’t be relied on as heavily as most top picks. How will he fit alongside Anthony Davis?
Jimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors
Similar to Doncic, Butler was traded in the middle of last season. He hit his stride immediately, as the Golden State Warriors went 23-7 with him in the lineup to close the regular season. Seeing Butler play next to Steph Curry, Draymond Green and newly-signed Al Horford for a full season could be special — if the aging veterans can stay healthy.
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Hopefully we can watch him play this season, right? The former league MVP suited up for just 19 games last year and 39 the year prior. Injuries have plagued the Philadelphia 76ers‘ center, but he seems to be OK entering the 2025-26 campaign. When he does play, Embiid is among the most skilled stars in the NBA.
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks were the darling of the offseason, adding Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard — and hoping Jalen Johnson returns from injury. One player that didn’t get a new deal from Young, who can opt out of his contract after this season. This team represents Young’s best chance to make a deep playoff run since the 2021 conference finals run, but all the pressure is on considering his uncertain future.
Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
We’ve been playing this game with Williamson since he was drafted first overall in 2019 — will he or won’t he stay healthy and in shape? Weight issues have hindered him throughout his career, and this could be his last chance to make it work in New Orleans. Still just 25 years old, Williamson has to prove he can make it through a full season.
Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
His significant other A’ja Wilson just won her third championship and fourth WNBA MVP for the Las Vegas Aces. What can Adebayo do to respond? The Miami Heat center is always one of the league’s best defenders, but his scoring has dipped in recent years. With Butler out of town, more of the offensive load should fall on Adebayo in a critical year for his career.
Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers
Like Brown, Nembhard is facing a season without his running mate. Tyrese Haliburton’s torn Achilles will put Nembhard into the lead guard role for the Indiana Pacers. Fresh off another impressive playoff run that led to an NBA Finals loss in Game 7, Nembhard now needs to carry his usual postseason production across an 82-game season.
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons were the surprise of the NBA last season, going from 14 wins to 44 wins and giving the New York Knicks a scare in the first round. Cunningham led the way, making his first All-Star Game and Third Team All-NBA. What does he have in store for 2025-26? The 6-foot-6 guard just turned 24 last month, so he presumably could continue to level up.
If the Warriors are to become a force in the Western Conference, they’re going to need Jonathan Kuminga. For at least as long as he’s on the roster.
Coach Steve Kerr, whose relationship with Kuminga has been a topic of debate for at least two years, has accepted that. The Warriors, the second-oldest team in the NBA, need Kuminga’s athleticism, his youthful vitality and his ability to create offense in isolation. The more he shines, the more they shine.
That’s how, in three months, we’ve gone from the Warriors and Kuminga each exploring outside options toward a divorce to Kerr raving about the 23-year-old forward and even approving of the explosive conduct that led to Kuminga’s ejection Tuesday night in a 118-111 preseason victory over the Trail Blazers.
“I love the way he played,” Kerr told reporters at Moda Center in Portland. “I love the fire, the passion. I don’t mind the objection at all; I kind of liked it, actually.
“I thought JK was terrific tonight.”
Prior to being ejected with .9 seconds left in the first half for belligerence in the face of referee Rodney Mott, Kuminga was doing a nice job of following the script the Warriors handed him as a rookie. He was running with velocity, rebounding with force, making smart and timely passes and generally providing the kind of offense no one else on the roster can deliver.
And while Kuminga has adventured into some missteps through four preseason games – with two starts, including Tuesday – there has been enough constructive hoops to encourage the Warriors and a fan base semi-divided over his merits.
He’s shooting 11-of-21 from the field, 3-of-9 from deep. Small sample size, but respectable enough. Where Kuminga is showing considerable advancement is with rebounding and passing. His 17 rebounds rank second on the team, behind only Trayce Jackson-Davis, and his 16 assists rank second on the team, behind only Brandin Podziemski.
To put a finer point on it, JK is flipping dimes at a slightly higher rate than Draymond Green and a much higher rate than Stephen Curry. His 17 rebounds have come in 74 minutes. Quinten Post, a 7-foot center, has 14 rebounds in 79 minutes.
Numbers like that might persuade Kerr to shrug off the brief tantrum that prompted the ejection.
“He kind of got right in Rodney’s face,” Kerr said. “You can’t do that. They’re going to eject you if you do that.
“But, like I said, I like the fire, and I like the energy that he played with. The emotion. I think JK’s having an excellent camp and I’m excited about how he looks.”
That’s the JK the Warriors have been seeking. The JK who inspires concern in opponents They can live with some of the ill-conceived turnovers if the other parts of his game are flourishing. Their roster is light on athleticism, and he’s the most athletic player. Their roster is heavy on high-IQ vets with tremendous aptitude for the game. He’s still on the learning curve but can offer lightning-bolt activity they can’t.
It’s profoundly evident that Kerr and his staff are trying to find the right balance of experience and youth to succeed. With four players – Jimmy Butler III, Al Horford, Curry and Green – age 35 or older, there will be considerable load management in the 82-game regular season. It’s essential that the veterans be competently supported by the 25-and-under group. That means, above all, Brandin Podziemski (22), Moses Moody (23) and Kuminga.
Kerr believes in Podziemski, so he’s assured to get meaningful minutes. Putting Moody in the starting lineup late last season yielded positive results and could happen again.
Kuminga, however, has been the wild card. In the lineup some nights, in and out of the rotation on a regular basis.
“He got fouled,” Kerr said, again referring to the ejection. “It was a frustration play. I have no problem with it. He deserved the foul (being called). He was getting fouled quite a bit. It was a physical game.
“But the way he ran on that play, the activity that he played with, the rebounding – he had six boards in one half, 17 minutes – that’s the JK who can really help our team.”
Kuminga is trending toward stability. Toward trustworthiness. The Warriors could use that, as could a few other teams. Whether they trade him before the Feb. 5 deadline for someone who is a “better fit” or consider him too valuable to move, they win.
Jason Kidd is an in-demand coach. In the past two years, when the Lakers and Knicks had job openings, they asked for permission to talk to Kidd, but were shot down.
This is on top of the extension Kidd received last season, and he reportedly had two years total left on his deal. This likely keeps Kidd under contract through the first few years of the Cooper Flagg era in Dallas.
In four seasons as the Dallas head coach, Kidd has won 55% of his regular-season games and led the team to the playoffs twice, including an NBA Finals run in 2024. He's a coach players want to play for, which is part of the reason both the Lakers and Knicks checked on his availability, but there is no way the Mavericks were letting him walk out the door.
This season, Kidd coaches an interesting Dallas team with a huge and active starting front line of Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II (with P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford off the bench) — this is a long and athletic roster with quality rim protectors. However, with Kyrie Irving out for the first part of the season (there is no timeline for his return from a torn ACL), Kidd will need to rely on D'Angelo Russell and Klay Thompson in the backcourt, which is not a great defensive unit.
The three-time national champion head coach of South Carolina was a candidate for the New York Knicks coaching job after Tom Thibodeau was fired in early June. She interviewed with the Knicks front office this summer, but New York decided to hire longtime NBA coach Mike Brown.
At SEC media days Tuesday, Staley was asked whether she expected a woman to be hired as an NBA head coach in her lifetime. She isn’t optimistic.
“I don’t,” Staley said. “And I hope I’m wrong.”
When interviewing for the Knicks position, Staley was appreciative that president Leon Rose and executive vice president William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley acknowledged the complications of hiring a female coach for the position. Unlike a traditional candidate, there would be heightened scrutiny for Staley and other women who find themselves in that position. An organization looking to make this type of hire needs to look at the process differently.
“It’s not just hiring the first female coach,” Staley said. “Because one, if I’m the Knicks coach and you have a five-game losing streak, it’s not going to be about the losing streak. It’s going to be about being a female coach. So you as an organization and a franchise, you have to be prepared about that and strong enough to endure those types of instances when you’re a female coach.”
Staley was also asked about her individual desire to be a trailblazer as a female head coach in men’s basketball spaces.
“Not really a whole lot,” Staley said. “I did the Knicks interview because I’ve known Leon Rose for 30 years. I have a connection to him and Worldwide Wes. I’ve known them all my life. It was a real interview, and I like to see what they’re talking about.”
In her response, Staley urged her colleagues to seek her advice when pursuing coaching opportunities in the NBA and men’s college basketball.
“If there’s somebody that’s interested in knowing and being the first female NBA coach, I got all the information,” Staley said. “Come see me because I’ll get you prepared for the interview. If there are NBA franchises that are interested in hiring a female, I’m here too because you have to be ready to take on that and all the things that come with it.”
Staley now turns her attention to her 18th season at South Carolina. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press preseason poll behind defending champion UConn. The program announced this week that All-America honorable mention Chloe Kitts will miss the entire season with a torn ACL.
The Sixers announced Tuesday night that they signed MarJon Beauchamp and waived Emoni Bates.
Beauchamp’s contract is an Exhibit 10 deal, a team source confirmed. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey first reported that news. Exhibit 10 signings are minimum-salary, non-guaranteed deals that can be converted into two-way or standard contracts before the regular season begins.
Beauchamp, 25, was last with the Blazers on an Exhibit 10 contract. He’s a 6-foot-7 wing with 135 career NBA appearances. In 10.9 minutes per game, Beauchamp has averaged 4.1 points and 1.9 rebounds.
After an unusual path to the NBA that included stints at Yakima Valley Community College and G League Ignite, Beauchamp went 24th overall to the Bucks in the 2022 draft. He had obvious defensive potential and appeared to have some decent role player traits — cutting, rebounding, effort on both ends — but has yet to translate that to much NBA success.
The other Sixers currently on Exhibit 10 contracts are Kennedy Chandler, Malcolm Hill and Saint Thomas. The Sixers’ preseason finale is Friday vs. the Timberwolves and their regular-season opener is next Wednesday against the Celtics.
Arkansas coach John Calipari, whose one-and-done era at Kentucky saw NBA talent come and go nearly every season, criticized what he is seeing in the name, image and likeness portal era, saying he will not become a “transactional” coach or he “won’t do this anymore." The 66-year-old Calipari said he welcomes some changes in college athletics more than others after three-plus decades of head coaching. “I want to help 25 to 30 more families,” Calipari said Tuesday at SEC basketball media days.
Just two days after suffering their first preseason loss in two years, the Warriors bounced back for a 118-111 win Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center.
The Warriors made twice as many threes as the Blazers, 18 to nine, but gave up 20 more points in the paint than they scored and had the same number of turnovers (26) as assists.
Steph Curry, to no surprise, was the best player on the floor, scoring a game-high 28 points in three quarters of work. He was a plus-13 with four 3-pointers, six rebounds and five assists. He brought plenty of showmanship to the Pacific Northwest one week before the real games begins.
The biggest surprise of the night was rookie Will Richard joining Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga and Al Horford in the starting lineup. Richard continued to impress, too, scoring 13 points with six rebounds as a plus-12 in 29 minutes. He went 4 of 7 from the field and 3 of 5 on threes.
Here are three takeaways from a Warriors win that moves them to 3-1 in the preseason.
Welcome To The Starting Five, Rook
Rest, injuries, and the desire to experiment have led coach Steve Kerr to use a different starting lineup in each of the Warriors’ first four preseason games. The biggest change Tuesday night in Portland was the addition of the Warriors’ rookie second-round draft pick.
“I feel like it’s a good night to have Will out there for ball handling, decision making and it’s a good night for him to have to guard different guys and play against a really athletic team,” Kerr told reporters in his pregame press conference. “It’ll give us a good look at him, and it gives him a chance to play with Steph and BP and Al and JK. It’ll be a good challenge for him, but a good opportunity too.”
The Warriors’ first two points of the game that weren’t from three Curry free throws came from a cutting Richard. Kuminga was backing down his defender when Richard darted into the paint and caught a pass for two points.
Richard’s first made outside jumper was with a little more than three minutes remaining in the second quarter. Standing wide-open on the left wing as Curry got into the paint, Richard didn’t hesitate when hit in the chest with a pass from the defense collapsing. Swish. Defense is Richard’s first trait, but that kind of confidence offensively will help him find minutes as a rookie.
He was easily the Warriors’ second-best player in the first half behind Curry, going into halftime with eight points, made both of his threes and was a plus-10, which tied him with Curry as the team leader. Richard then, in the second half, scored another five points and had four more rebounds.
Kuminga Ejected
In the final seconds of the first half, Kuminga was on the wrong end of the rare one-tech ejection. Kuminga went through contact for a layup down the middle of the paint and missed hard off the glass. As he crashed into the stanchion, Kuminga threw his hands up in frustration, looking for a foul call.
Though it wasn’t shown on the broadcast, Blazers commentators claimed Kuminga made contact with a referee’s face as he argued the no-call. Kuminga then immediately was ejected in a bizarre scene. He might have been playing his best half of the preseason, too.
Kuminga played 18 minutes and stuffed the stat sheet. He scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and made his only free throw, and also had six rebounds and four assists, both of which were team highs at the time. His impact was even better than his stats.
Throughout the preseason, Kuminga consistently has been setting up his teammates for easy looks. That trend continued Tuesday night, even when they didn’t convert. Kuminga now has four or more assists in three of the Warriors’ four preseason games.
Last season, Kuminga only registered four or more assists in eight games.
Steph’s Ready
After Deni Avdija made a three at the 8:19 mark of the third quarter to give the Blazers a 10-point lead, neither team scored until Curry went to the free-throw line with 6:56 left in the quarter. He split his free throws, but that was the start to a 13-0 run by the Warriors. Curry scored five points in that span, putting the Warriors up by three points.
The Blazers and Warriors then traded four straight threes, with the fourth being a 27-footer from Curry that again gave his team a three-point lead. About a minute and a half later, his night was over but Curry had already made a statement.
Curry’s 28 points in 26 minutes led both teams. The demon from long distance made three 3-pointers all within inches of each other on the right wing, and another from the left corner. His six rebounds were a team high when he took a seat, as were Curry’s five assists.
How Curry continuously went to the free-throw line stood out most. Curry only once attempted 13 or more free throws last season. He was 12 of 13 in three quarters Tuesday night.
Injured Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton wore a Chicago Cubs jersey to his team's preseason game Saturday and a Dodgers jersey to Monday's game. Each team was playing the Milwaukee Brewers in the MLB playoffs on those respective nights. (Andy Lyons, Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
On Saturday, the injured Indiana Pacers star sat on his team's bench during a preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder wearing a Chicago Cubs jersey. It just so happened that the Cubs were playing the Brewers that day in Game 5 of their National League Division Series.
Two days later, Haliburton arrived at the Pacers' preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs rocking a Dodgers jersey (reportedly that of L.A. superstar Shohei Ohtani). Again, certainly by pure coincidence, the two-time NBA All-Star was representing a team that was facing the Brewers in a high-stakes postseason game, this time Game 1 of the NL Championship Series.
The Brewers are playing for only the second World Series berth in team history, and a high-profile athlete who grew up less than two hours from Milwaukee in Oshkosh, Wis., is actively rooting against them.
The reason, it seems, is because of an alleged snub that took place in the summer of 2024. During an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" in April, Haliburton said he had been scheduled to throw out a ceremonial first pitch before a Brewers game last summer ... until he and the Pacers eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks during the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs.
"I was a Brewers fan," he said, "and then I was supposed to throw the first pitch last summer, and they X'ed that after the playoff series. So I said, 'You know what? I'm no longer a Brewers fan.'"
After that, Haliburton said, he became a "free agent" as a baseball fan.
Haliburton must have been thrilled with the result of Game 1 of the NLCS, a 2-1 Dodgers win, but he might want to track down jerseys for the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays just in case — the Brewers are still just four wins away from facing one of those teams in the World Series.
Lakers guard Marcus Smart said he'll play 20 to 25 minutes in his preseason debut on Tuesday night in Phoenix. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Marcus Smart estimated he’ll be limited to about 20 to 25 minutes in his Lakers preseason debut Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns as he returns from Achilles tendinopathy.
Speaking after the team’s shootaround Tuesday, the 31-year-old guard said the rash of Achilles injuries suffered by NBA stars recently — including three during the playoffs last season — made his initial diagnosis frightening, but he took a cautious approach with the Lakers staff to ensure he was ready for the season.
“It wasn't scary in the fact of understanding that tendinopathy, we all kind of have it playing over the time,” said Smart, who is entering his 12th NBA season. “Just making sure you do everything you need to do, to make sure that you can get back out here, or to be able to say, ‘No, I can't.’ So you got to test it, unfortunately, and you got to see where you’re at. So we've done all the tests on the court, off the court and we're feeling fast, feeling good so we want to give it a shot.”
Guard Luka Doncic is also expected to make his preseason debut after he was on a modified training schedule following a busy summer spent with the Slovenian national team. Coach JJ Redick said Monday after practice that Doncic and the team’s training staff had yet to determine a minutes restriction on Doncic, but expects that the five-time All-Star will see an increased workload by the time he suits up again for his second preseason game.
The Lakers will follow Tuesday’s game in Phoenix with a game against Doncic’s former team, the Dallas Mavericks, in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Because of the back-to-back schedule, it’s likely Doncic will play again Friday at Crypto.com Arena against the Sacramento Kings.
Since they are playing four games in six days, the Lakers ruled out guard Gabe Vincent, forwards Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt and center Jaxson Hayes for Tuesday’s preseason game.
Rookie guard Adou Thiero [knee] has progressed to on-court activities, the team announced Tuesday, after the second-round draft pick was battling swelling in a knee. He will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks.
Spoelstra, the longest-tenured active NBA head coach with one team (18th season with the Miami Heat), succeeds Steve Kerr, who led the U.S. to gold in 2024.
At the Paris Games, the Americans beat Serbia in the semifinals after trailing by 13 after three quarters. In the final, they doused a late France rally with Stephen Curry hitting four three-pointers in the last three minutes.
Spoelstra, 54, would be the second-youngest U.S. Olympic men's basketball head coach in the Dream Team era after Rudy Tomjanovich, who was 51 in 2000.
Spoelstra would also be the fifth consecutive Olympic head coach who was an assistant coach at a previous Olympics.
Coach
Olympic Assistant Year
Olympic Head Coach Year(s)
Erik Spoelstra
Paris 2024
Los Angeles 2028
Steve Kerr
Tokyo 2020
Paris 2024
Gregg Popovich
Athens 2004
Tokyo 2020
Mike Krzyzewski
Barcelona 1992
Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016
Larry Brown
Sydney 2000
Athens 2004
Rudy Tomjanovich
N/A
Sydney 2000
Lenny Wilkens
Barcelona 1992
Atlanta 1996
Chuck Daly
N/A
Barcelona 1992
Spoelstra played point guard for the University of Portland Pilots from 1988-92, then boxed shoes in a Nike warehouse before a German club signed him as a player-coach, according to Sports Illustrated.
After two seasons in Germany, he began his Miami Heat career in 1995 as a video coordinator.
He was the head coach of NBA champion teams in 2012 and 2013 and lost in the Finals in 2011, 2014, 2020 and 2023.
A recent poll of NBA general managers voted Spoelstra the “best coach in the NBA” as well as the best manager/motivator.
The next major international tournament is the FIBA World Cup in 2027 in Qatar.
The U.S. finished fourth and seventh at the last two World Cups in 2023 and 2019, fielding teams without NBA superstars.
The No. 6 ranked Duke Blue Devils have been picked to repeat as Atlantic Coast Conference champions despite losing Cooper Flagg and four other players to the NBA draft, while N.C. State senior forward Darrion Williams was pegged as the conference's Preseason Player of the Year. Duke received 34 of 49 first place votes from the panel of media voters. No. 11 Louisville, which lost to the Blue Devils in the 2025 ACC championship game following a stunning bounce back season under first-year coach Pat Kelsey, received the other 15 first-place votes and was selected to finish second.
Another year, another career milestone for Stephen Curry.
When the Warriors tip off the 2025-26 NBA season next Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers, Curry will become the 10th player in league history to play at least 17 seasons with one team, joining an esteemed list of fellow franchise icons.
Stephen Curry is set to become the 10th player ever to play 17 or more seasons with one team.
Of the other nine players, six played their entire NBA career with only one team:
For Curry, it has been a long but ultimately glorious road. Golden State selected the Davidson guard with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft in hopes that he could help turn a struggling organization around.
Curry, of course, has accomplished much more than that. He turned the Warriors into must-see television while winning two Most Valuable Player awards and delivering four NBA championships to a team that had not won one since 1975. As his 17th season begins, Curry is arguably the most popular figure in Bay Area sports history and is integral to Golden State’s status as the most valuable NBA franchise.
Even in an era when team mainstays are largely a thing of the past, perhaps it shouldn’t shock us that Curry and the Warriors have chosen to stick by each other’s side.
It doesn’t appear as though that will change anytime soon, either. Curry is signed through an 18th season in 2026-27 and has publicly acknowledged in the past his desire to remain with Golden State for the entirety of his career.
If things transpire the way Curry, the organization and its fans hope they do, the Warriors’ leader will join an even more exclusive club. Of the nine other players to tally 17 years with one franchise, only six did it while spending their entire career in one jersey.
What he does know is that he wants to play another six to eight NBA seasons, until age 36-38, and then finish his career in his home country of Greece. He said so on ANT1’s The 2night Show, a Tonight Show-style talk show in Greece (hat tip BasketNews.com and Bleacher Report).
"I don't want to live in the United States. As soon as I leave the NBA, I want to return to Greece. I could end my career here, whether this team is called Filathlitikos, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, or Aris, I'm talking about all the teams now."
Filathlitikos is the team Antetokounmpo played with before coming to the NBA. The other teams he listed are European powerhouses (ones that could be part of whatever the NBA Europe league ends up becoming in a couple of years).
We have seen European players head home to finish their careers before — Tony Kukoc from the Jordan-era Bulls, but more recently Serge Ibaka and Evan Fournier, among others — plus big-name NBA players such as Allen Iverson and Dominique Wilkins played there after the NBA. However, none of them were as internationally renowned as Antetokounmpo or would be the draws that he would be back in his home country.
This is years away, Antetokounmpo is 30 (he turns 31 in December) and said he would want to play in the NBA until age "36-38." That's another contract or two.
Which teams those final NBA contracts will be with will be the focus of a season of speculation coming up.
Mike Brown on Monday said the Knicks are facing an ‘extremely tough’ decision at the end of their roster. They have three veteran contributors vying for one open roster spot.
Here are few things to know about the extremely tough decision facing the Knicks:
VETS BATTLE
Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon, and Garrison Mathews are currently battling for one available roster spot. The Knicks have *14 players on standard deals. They can carry a maximum of 15 players on standard contracts. So they have enough room on the roster to keep one of the three veterans.
Also, due to CBA rules, the Knicks’ team salary cannot exceed $207.8 million. The Knicks only have enough money to keep one of Shamet, Brogdon or Matthews.
In order to keep two of the three veterans, the Knicks would need to trade one of their players currently signed to a traditional contract.
WHAT ABOUT THE TRADE
If the Knicks want to keep two of those three, trades involving Miles McBride, Pacome Dadiet, or Tyler Kolek are the most direct paths to do so.
If the Knicks traded one of those three players to a team with cap space (Utah, Brooklyn), the club would have enough room under the second apron to keep two of Shamet, Brogdon, and Mathews.
Before these players agreed to join the Knicks, the club told agents that there would be a true competition for the one open roster spot.
“That’s what they said,” Mathews said on Monday night. “It’s a tough roster; let’s see what happens.”
The Knicks also want to compete for an NBA championship this season. So every roster spot – and the decisions made around those spots – is crucial. Does New York value veterans over one of their young players like Dadiet (drafted with the 25th pick in 2024 NBA Draft) or Kolek (selected with the 34th overall pick in 2024)? If so, they will probably trade one of them to make room for two of Shamet, Brogdon or Mathews.
As noted Monday, the Knicks have had dialogue with opposing teams as this decision approaches.
New York would obviously need an incredibly high return to even consider moving McBride. McBride is one of their most important rotation players. He is also eligible for an extension at the end of the calendar year (Between Mitchell Robinson’s pending free agency and McBride’s pending extension, the Knicks will have to commit significant money to keep both players in the coming seasons).
Trading Kolek to a team with cap space would give the Knicks enough space to keep two veterans. But the Knicks would not have enough space to add a veteran during the season. Last season, they added PJ Tucker midseason, fitting the veteran just under the second apron. They would like the flexibility to do the same thing (adding a veteran during the season) in 2025-26.
New York Knicks guard Miles McBride (2) dribbles up court against Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (7) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
WHEN WILL WE FIND OUT?
You will know what the Knicks decide by 5pm on Saturday. That is the deadline to waive a player on a nonguaranteed deal without taking on any salary. So the Knicks will need to make a decision on Shamet, Brogdon, and Mathews by Saturday evening.
Regular season rosters then need to be set by Oct. 20.
The Knicks can choose to waive all three veterans and enter the season with 14 players on the roster. Teams can dip under the 14-player minimum for two consecutive weeks and 28 days in total.
But that seems unlikely. The Knicks, again, communicated that these veterans were competing for a spot. So the Knicks will probably keep at least one of the veteran players.
BROWN GIVING ASSISTANTS OPPORUNITY TO GROW
During timeouts, Brown has allowed multiple assistants to address the Knicks huddle. You’d expect Brendan O’Connor and Chris Jent to address the group. They are the defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively, for New York this season. But other coaches have had the chance to address the team in a huddle during the preseason. Brown sees it as an opportunity for his coaches to grow.
“I’ve done it quite a bit. Did it with Sacramento. Actually, I got it from Steve (Kerr). When I was with Steve in Golden State, I led the huddle multiple times in multiple games. Throughout the course of a game probably almost 90 percent of the time — I didn’t even tell him what I was about to tell the guys defensively. He had that much trust in me. And it helped me grow,” Brown said Monday. “It helped save (Kerr’s) voice and gave the players another voice to hear. So I did it in Sacramento. I liked it. I’m going to try it here. Our offensive coordinator is Chris Jent. Our defensive coordinator is Brendan O’Connor, BOC. All those guys as well as everybody else, they’ve done a fantastic job coaching, so to give them an opportunity during games is something that I’ll do.”
It was an interesting offseason for Dawn Staley.
