Folks, we’ve got a full plate of news in today’s edition of Heard ‘em Say, including fresh intel on how the Bucks are trying to whittle down their roster to 15, another draft-related horror story, and a Bucks fan favourite has started a podcast. Let’s rip into it!

Roster developments

On Wednesday, Jake Fischer reported on social media that Milwaukee is exploring trades to address its roster crunch, as I noted in The Feed. We now have more specifics on how the Bucks plan (or hope) to make those trades happen via another edition of The Stein Line.

Bucks, Lakers discuss Jericho Sims-Dalton Knecht swap

Per Fischer, the Bucks and Lakers have held “exploratory trade discussions” about a deal that would send former first-round pick Dalton Knecht to the Cream City, along with second-round draft capital, in exchange for Jericho Sims. However, Fischer also points out that he’d heard some pessemism that such a trade will actually eventuate.

The Lakers have had interest in Sims for a while now, which I mentioned in my Bucks trade value rankings for 2026-27, where I ranked the bouncy big 11th and said he could fetch an early-to-mid second-round pick. Apparently, he’s worth more than that.

Granted, Sims’ value is somewhat inflated because, well, the Lakers need a viable backup big. Milwaukee’s own Kevon Looney currently occupies that spot, and he isn’t exactly playable anymore. In short, Horst would have the upper hand in negotiations, which I can only assume is why the reported deal is Knecht plus picks.

Fischer notes that if no deal materialises, LA might have to waive the former Tennessee wing before Monday’s deadline. Knecht is guaranteed $4.2m for the 2026-27 season after the Lakers picked up his third-year team option, so they would have to absorb that money if they waived him instead of trading him.

Interestingly, Fischer also reports that Sims is a name to monitor for the Philadelphia 76ers after their original backup centre, Ariel Hukporti, tore his Achilles in the opening minutes of the preseason.

Bucks weigh deals involving Kevin Porter Jr. and Caris LeVert

The other Bucks-related tidbit from Fischer is that Milwaukee has weighed potential deals involving Caris LeVert and Kevin Porter Jr.—along with possible Sims trades—to avoid waiving contracted players. Crucially, Fischer states that the Bucks want to keep fan-favourite Pete Nance and know they risk losing him to another team if they waive him in hopes of re-signing him to their final two-way contract.

(Another) draft-related Horst horror story

Folks, we have another “close, but no cigar” story relating to Jon Horst’s drafting. Last year, I wrote about Washington Wizards wing Kyshawn George’s appearance on the Old Man And The Three podcast, where he revealed he was shocked the Bucks didn’t pick him at 23 in the 2024 NBA Draft after strong workouts and feedback.

Well, it appears the same thing happened (in that same draft!) with OKC Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell. Even more ironically, Mitchell appeared on the same podcast this year to detail his draft story and Milwaukee’s interest in him during the pre-draft process.

“My agents were like, ‘There’s a chance you get picked late first.’ Milwaukee had the 23rd pick. I went in there, they really liked me. My sister lived in Wisconsin, so I could see that connection. My whole family was like, ‘You might be in Milwaukee, and that would be great.’”

Instead, Milwaukee selected AJ Johnson, not Ajay Mitchell. However, Horst still had a chance to save himself: Mitchell wasn’t taken until pick 38, and the Bucks also had pick 33, but as we all know, they used it on Tyler Smith.

But wait, there’s more! In the same article above where I detail the Kyshawn George story, I also share a tidbit from Zach Lowe: the Bucks were basically deciding between Andrew Nembhard and MarJon Beauchamp for pick 24 in the 2022 draft. In the end, they went with Beauchamp, who quickly flamed out. Sigh.

I want to curl up into a ball.

Kyle Kuzma starts a podcast (just like everyone was asking for)

To top it all off, Kyle Kuzma has announced he is starting his own podcast, Read the Room, where he will “sit down with founders, investors, athletes, and creators to talk about the boldest moves, the pivots, and what they learned along the way.”

Do with that information what you will.

I had thought that both the Rockets and Thunder might not play their starters at all tonight. Both teams had a hefty number of “Game Time Decisions” and “Day To Day” players. It seemed like it might be a slightly nonsensical clash of deep benches, and guys who are likely headed to the GLeague.

This was not to be. We certainly saw some deep roster players in action tonight, but the first quarter, and much of the second was more or less starters and rotational players, minus a couple of absences. We didn’t see Steven Adams for the Rockets, nor Chet Holmgren or Jaylin The Other Williams for the Thunder.

The first quarter went the Rockets way, as neither team could really hit jumpers, but Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun could dunk the ball at the rim pretty easily. The R0ckets ended up winning the quarter 33-15. The beginning of this game, the Rockets offense was basically just dunks by Amen on cuts, and clever passes from Sengun. Nice to see that again.

The Thunder came back in the second quarter, winning it 32 to 21, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen The Main Williams got going a bit.

The third quarter saw a switch from starting players (Durant came out at the half in street clothes.) to rotational players, and the Rockets Bogdan Bogdanovich, Tari Eason, and Reed Sheppard all made shots, particularly BogBog, who was 5-8 from three, and looked to be moving very well.

We also saw minutes with Marcus Smart, but he wasn’t particularly effective tonight, going 0-3 and notching 2 assists to 2 turnovers. Fred VanVleet was the primary point, and in the distribution role he was again a sight for sore eyes, logging 8 assists and 0 turnovers. His shooting was not as good as the first game, as he went 3-13 overall. He needs to keep shooting, though, as he’s been away from basketball for a year, and we need to see if some consistency will return to his shooting.

We’re also going to have to see if the idea of Marcus Smart being the secondary point guard is a good one. There are other players who might do as well, and offer better shooting.

The fourth quarter was basically the deep benches, but the Rockets deep bench could hit 3pt shots, and the Thunder couldn’t. The Rockets put up 53 three pointers tonight, which is far beyond their average of 31.6 last season. We’ll see if that holds up in any way.

I’m not sure there are any particularly surprising takeaways from individual play, but there were some changes in approach from the Rockets we might hope to see continue.

The first is, not setting up in the same spot every time, and very few screens being called up anywhere, and certainly not as a reliable certainty. Last year screens mainly served to drag another defender into the area of the ballhandler, congesting their movement. Right now the Rockets are staying spread out. They don’t move, but they do actually space the court, forcing defenses from the paint.

The second is, the Rockets are attacking on offense early in the clock, with very little surveying and pounding the ball. Certainly some of this is attributable to Fred VanVleet, but the set up is simply different as well, from the past two seasons. I’m cautiously optimistic. Attacking a defense like the Thunder early is the way to go. The Thunder want to swarm and slap on defense, and the longer a team holds the ball, the worse it gets. They’re good at it. What they aren’t, in general, is big and powerful, or even especially quick. Decisive attacks that force reactions, and might lead to passes off cuts, like Sengun to Amen, are a way to break them down. Sure, it’s preseason, but that’s a good recipe no matter when.

Third, we’re seeing an actual fast break attack. Despite the Rockets size and athleticism, they were one of the lower ranked fast break teams in the league last season.

Finally, are they going to shoot more threes? They might well have better personnel to do it than anytime since The Harden Centuries.

Anyhow, preseason is now over, and the Rockets start the real season at home, against Dallas, on Wednesday the 21st. See you there.

Karl-Anthony Towns was facilitating like it was the 2026 playoffs. 

The All-Star center collected six assists and five points in the first 7 ½ minutes of Thursday’s 122-120 preseason finale victory over the Raptors, setting the tone for a stat-stuffing evening while using his height and vision to create from the top of the key. 

It was a flashback to the dominant postseason run from Towns, who unlocked a dominant Knicks offense by transforming into a triple-double threat midway the first round. 

Coach Mike Brown said he would revisit Towns as the hub this season and Thursday’s evidence was on display early. Towns, whose stagnant extension negotiations have hovered ominously over preseason, finished one assist shy of a triple-double with 15 rebounds and 13 points in 28 minutes. 

“Yeah, I feel good,” said Towns when asked about his rhythm. “I feel really, really good.” 

It represented KAT’s best performance of preseason, and also New York’s as a team as it finished 1-3. But the lone win arrived with a caveat. 

Towns was unstoppable unless guarded by Toronto’s top defender, Scottie Barnes, who drew the assignment in the third quarter and subsequently shut down KAT. 

It was the type of adjustment that is sure to define the start of the Knicks season. Towns as the hub was a new wrinkle in the playoffs, and the opponents are equipped with enough film to discover ways to counter. 

The Knicks start the real games against the Sixers on Tuesday’s Banner Night, when Towns as the hub will resurface as a strategy that the opponent will have to deal with. 

Thursday showed it can work again. 

“I thought today was a good dress rehearsal,” Towns said. “It was cool, it was very nice to get back out there and get back into our flow and be really good. Obviously we have a lot of things to work on. But it was a good way to end the preseason.” 

Josh Hart was the only starter who did not play in Thursday’s preseason finale. He had a sore right ankle but Brown said it shouldn’t impact Hart for the season opener Tuesday.

The Knicks’ regular-season roster is taking shape. The only remaining question is: will there be room for Bruce Brown?

Brown and James Wiseman have made it through preseason cuts. The Knicks clearly like both players. But New York only has room under the second apron in team salary to keep one player. In order to keep both Brown and Wiseman, the Knicks would need to trade a player on a standard contract without taking back salary.

My read heading into the weekend: Wiseman is a lock to make the roster. There is strong support to add Brown as well. The Knicks would need to make a trade by Monday afternoon if they want to keep Brown. I think they will explore all avenues to make that happen.

It's logical to assume that the Knicks will move third-year wing Pacome Dadiet. But I believe New York will explore other deals — including trades involving third-year guard Tyler Kolek — this weekend and Monday.

The Knicks will be asking teams to take on a player without sending back salary. To get a deal done, New York may need to attach its own second-round picks (New York will have at least 11 second-round picks in the next seven drafts).

Something worth noting here: multiple teams (Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers and others) are trying to attach second-round picks to work through a roster crunch. So the Knicks have competition in that regard. But given their plethora of second-rounders, they have the draft capital to get a deal done.

Here's what Knicks head coach Mike Brown likes about the veteran combo guard:

“Bruce has been through a lot with a lot of different teams at a pretty high level,” Brown said of the NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets. “His toughness, his experience, his feel, all those things — he's a winner. It seems like every place he's gone, he's won, but all those things can add a lot to the program, and then he's versatile both ends of the floor. He could play a few different positions offensively; he can guard a few different positions defensively. So a guy like that, especially a veteran winner, can be helpful to any team.”

Here’s what Brown likes about Wiseman:

“He's young, he's talented, you know, he's raw, still. I think he's still trying to establish a foothold in this league,” Brown said of the former No. 2 overall pick. “But with the God-given attributes he has, in terms of athleticism and length and quickness, [they] can bode well for him on both ends of the floor. And at 25 years old, he hasn't even reached his prime, especially knowing he hadn't played a ton of basketball; having a vertical threat at the rim will help [the Knicks], or could help everybody else play the game a little bit easier, whether it's driving the basketball or playing pick and roll.” 

The Lakers are down to one last preseason game which will be against the Denver Nuggets on Friday. The purple and gold will be back on their home floor for this one.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets

When: 7:30 p.m. PT, Oct 16

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch:  ESPN, Spectrum Sportsnet

Just like that, the Lakers are just one preseason game away from the real thing that is the regular season.

The preseason has provided plenty of early clues about what lies ahead for the Lakers this season. Clues like which lineups work and don’t, what some of the role players can bring to the table alongside Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves and even how the overall Lakers game experience — from the new PA announcer to broadcast — team — will look like this season.

But if there’s one thing that we haven’t seen yet in the last four games, it’s a complete Lakers team on the floor.

We saw perhaps the biggest signing of the offseason, Walker Kessler, finally take the floor in Tuesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas. Kessler, who had 16 minutes of burn, recorded 11 points and nine rebounds.

Besides Kessler’s sensational defense, the highlight was witnessing him already running plays with Reaves, who had himself a night with 28 points and seven assists.

The Lakers may have come up short after resting their key players in the second half but this one was still arguably their most entertaining preseason game yet. Now the question is, will the fun continue in Friday’s dress rehearsal against the Nuggets?

Hopefully we see even just a few minutes of Dončić, Kessler and Reaves together on the floor. If those three indeed suit up, it’ll be interesting to see who takes the last two slots in the starting five as well as head coach JJ Redick’s substitution patterns.

Speaking of Redick, yes, it may be preseason but it’s hard to imagine him not having a game plan against Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets. Note that this will also be the Nuggets’ last preseason game, so it’s fair to assume that they’ll treat this one like a dress rehearsal as well. All of Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon played minimal minutes in their previous game so they could possibly suit up and do the same on Friday.

It may be preseason, but it sure will be nice to see how these two projected playoff teams in the Western Conference match up. Remember, the purple and gold have won four of their last six matches against the Nuggets since Dončić arrived in Los Angeles. Facing a reenergized Nuggets team is a great test for the Lakers ahead of the season opener.

Let’s see if LA can get that win on Friday.

Notes and Updates

• Collin Sexton has yet to play in any preseason game as he continues to recover from a lower leg injury. There is optimism that he could play on opening night.

• One thing to look at for in Friday’s game is how the Lakers perform in the rebounding department, something they worked on in practice on Thursday.

• We have an exciting new feature in our app this season. It’s easier than ever to chat in our game threads. Each game, this post will become a live chat and will be easy to find at the top of the Lakers community page, so be sure to download the app and give it a try this preseason.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.