Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that they have made an offer to Russia for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. They have offered to trade convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout (according to the AP).
As of of now, Griner's trial is expected to end next week with a verdict and sentencing expected Friday (according to T.J. Quinn).
VACCINATIONS:
In a league memo the NBA said they will not have a vaccine mandate in place next season, but will strongly suggest all personnel be up to date with vaccinations, and periodic testing of unvaccinated players could be allowed pending talks with the NBPA (according to Vincent Goodwill).
Kyrie Irving wasn't the only one on the Nets who didn't want to get vaccinated (according to Brian Lewis).
TRANSACTIONS:
The Raptors and free agent Juancho Hernangomez are finalizing a 1 year deal (according to Woj).
The Rockets and free agent Bruno Fernando re-signed. It's an Exhibit 10 deal (according to Brett Siegel). He will compete for an empty two-way contract spot in training camp (according to Kelly Iko).
The Lakers and Jay Huff of their G-League affiliate the South Bay Lakers re-signed on an Exhibit 10 deal. He played for them in Summer League.
The Grizzlies and undrafted free agent Jacob Gilyard are expected to sign an Exhibit 10 deal. His agents are Keith Glass and Luke Glass. H/t Bobby Marks.
The Thunder and free agent Sacha Killeya-Jones agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal. His agent is Daniel Moldovan of Octagon Basketball. H/t Michael Scotto.
The Magic and undrafted free agent Drake Jeffries agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal (according to Mavs Draft).
The Hawks waived Sharife Cooper and his two-way contract. He cleared waivers (according to Michael Scotto).
The Clippers waived Jay Scrubb and his training camp deal.
Matteo Spagnolo will spend this season being stashed overseas. Italian team Dolomiti Energia Trento is a possible destination (according to Orazio Cauchi).
The Grizzlies did not extend a $1.58 million qualifying offer to Yves Pons. He signed a 2 year deal with French team ASVEL Villeurbanne.
The 76ers did not extend a $1.58 million qualifying offer to Myles Powell. He signed with the Bay Area Dragons of the East Asia Super League. It’s a 7-figure deal (according to Adam Zagoria). He said that he will return to the U.S. in February and hopes to sign with an NBA team ahead of the playoffs. His brother will be out of jail in 15 months and he wants to be home.
Free agent Andrew Nicholson signed with the Bay Area Dragons of the East Asia Super League.Cheick Diallo of the G-League team the Motor City Cruise agreed to a deal with Japanese team Kyoto Hannaryz for the 2022-23 season (according to Michael Scotto).
Free agent Jarrod Uthoff agreed to a deal with Japanese team Kyoto Hannaryz for the 2022-23 season (per Scotto).Free agent Aron Baynes signed with the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian NBL in a contract that includes an NBA out. His agent is Daniel Moldovan. H/t Brian Windhorst.
Free agent Ignas Brazdeikis signed a 1+1 year deal with Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas of the EuroLeague.
Free agent Kevin Pangos signed a 2 year deal with Italian team Olimipia Milan.
Free agent Cassius Winston is signing with German team Bayern Munich (according to Donatas Urbonas).
Free agent Marcus Georges-Hunt agreed to a deal with Kuwait Sport Club (according to Emiliano Carchia).
The WNBA team the Los Angeles Sparks and Liz Cambage agreed to a contract divorce. She quit the team and chemistry issues amongst Sparks players date back to late May (according to Khristina Williams of Girls Talk Sports TV).
Each of the 23 non-taxpaying NBA teams got a distribution of $10,456,987 (according to Jake Fischer).
Tremont Waters' deal with French team Metropolitans 92 is for 1 year.
RECRUITING:
2023 5 star PF Omaha Biliew, the #1 recruit in his class from Missouri, committed to Iowa State. He is their highest-ranked recruit in the modern recruiting era, and their first 5-star commit since the ESPN recruiting database began in 2007. H/t Jeff Borzello.
2022 SF Tyler Bey reclassified to 2023, where he is a 3 star, and committed to the OTE in a deal that will maintain his NCAA eligbility.
Michigan State 2023 commit 4 star PG Jeremy Fears Jr. is expected to sign with the OTE this week in a deal that will maintain his college eligibility (according to Travis Branham).
Illinois 2024 commit 3 star PG ZZ Clark committed to the OTE in a deal that will maintain his NCAA eligibility.
C Ugonna Kingsley is a 5 star in 2022 (according to Jamie Shaw). He said that he will commit on Monday. H/t Joe Tipton. However, the commitment date is not set in stone. He is considering Kentucky and Oklahoma (according to Adam Zagoria).
Ohio State assistant coach Jake Diebler did a good job connecting with 2023 4 star SF Scotty Middleton early in his official visit and building a comfort level (according to Shaw).
2023 4 star PG Josh Hubbard, the #1 recruit in his class from Mississippi, is down to 6 schools: Houston, USC, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Xavier, and Seton Hall. He will commit on September 22. H/t Joe Tipton. Rivals Future Cast says 100% Ole Miss (3 predictions).
2023 4 star SF Andrej Stojakovic will cut his list of schools to 6 on Friday at 3PM ET. H/t Tipton. 24/7 Crystal Ball says 100% UCLA (7 confidence - 4 predictions 7-8). He is the son of Peja Stojakovic.
2023 4 star SG Parker Friedrichsen said that he will probably cut his list to a top 4 or 5 in the next few weeks. H/t Sam Lance of ZAGSBLOG.
2023 4 star SG-SF Reid Ducharme is hearing the most from Syracuse, Penn State, and Xavier. He said that those are his top schools right now. He said that he wants to commit before he starts his high school season. H/t Dushawn London.
2023 4 star PG AJ Johnson has an unofficial list of 8 final schools, Arizona State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, LSU, NC State, Texas and USC, plus the G-League Ignite. He's unlikely to decide until the spring.
2023 3 star SG-PG Mike Williams said that he is looking to cut his list of options before the start of his high school season. H/t Brandon Jenkins.
2023 4 star SG Wesley Yates said that he will cut his list to 9 but he doesn't know when. Yates has an offer from the G-League Ignite. He said that he doesn't think the G-League is best for him because he's not the tallest player and he said that he feels like college will be the best route for him personally. H/t Jamie Shaw. Washington assistant coach Quincy Pondexter is his cousin.
2024 4 star PF Jarin Stevenson said that he feels prioritized the most by North Carolina, Virginia and NC State. H/t Travis Branham. 24/7 lists UNC as the favorites. Rivals Future Cast says 100% North Carolina (1 prediction).
TRADE RUMORS:
The Nets are looking to drive the trade market for Kevin Durant and avoid him skipping training camp (according to Jared Weiss).
When there was a rumor that Jaylen Brown said he would leave the Celtics in 2024 free agency, he was perplexed and denied the report behind closed doors (per Weiss). A couple of rival executives who spoke with Weiss said that they think the Celtics can offer the best player in a trade package for Kevin Durant in Jaylen Brown.
When Kevin Durant requested a trade, he thought there was an easy path to the Suns (according to Jake Fischer).
If Brooklyn trades Kevin Durant, they will likely aggressively ramp up their desire to trade Kyrie Irving (according to Marc Stein). The vibe is that the Nets don't want to run it back with Kyrie unless significant changes are made because last season was such a mess (according to Alex Schiffer).
While the Nets would be interested in Bam Adebayo in a Kevin Durant trade, the Heat have not included him in offers and appear disinclined to do so. Brooklyn has shown little interest in Miami's current offer so Miami plans to run it back next season (according to Barry Jackson).
The Lakers are looking to trade Talen Horton-Tucker to the Pacers for Buddy Hield (according to Stein).
CONTRACT EXTENSIONS:
Draymond Green wants and believes that he deserves a 4 year maximum contract extension worth $138.4 million from the Warriors - he becomes eligible August 3. It would total his deal at 5 years $164.2 million. However, all indications are that Golden State has no plans to offer him a max contract extension this offseason, as their current preference is to wait until next summer (according to Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson).
Draymond Green is said to be willing to explore his outside options to get the kind of contract he wants (per Slater and Thompson).
The Heat expressed interest in Draymond Green in February 2020 and he was aware (according to Greg Sylvander).
The Warriors and Andrew Wiggins have had some preliminary contract extension talks but nothing is imminent (according to Slater and Thompson).
COACHING:
The Thunder hired Chip Engelland as an assistant coach (according to Woj). His path crossed Sam Presti’s on the Spurs.
Chip Engelland left the Spurs because the two sides couldn't agree to a new contract. He has long been one of the NBA's highest-paid assistants and is considered the league's preeminent shooting teacher. In addition to Kawhi Leonard, Engelland was significantly credited with the shooting development of players like Tony Parker, Dejounte Murray, and Richard Jefferson (per Woj).
The Lakers and assistant coach Phil Handy, who had just 1 year left on his deal, agreed to a contract extension last week (according to Marc J. Spears).
Japanese team Kyoto Hannaryz hired Roy Rana as head coach.
Northwestern is hiring Missouri State special assistant to the head coach Chris Lowery as an assistant coach (according to Kevin Sweeney).
Dayton promoted Sean Damaska from video coordinator to director of basketball operations.
URI hired Christen Cunningham as director of player development.
AGENTS:
Jarred Vanderbilt signed on with Klutch Sports Group.
Frankie Ferrari signed on with BDA Sports International (according to Guido Guida).
Western Kentucky senior PF-C Jaylen Butz signed on with Players Group (according to Guida).
FRONT OFFICE:
The Thunder are hiring Vince Rozman, vice president of scouting for the 76ers, as vice president of identification and intelligence (according to Woj).
Joe Branch, assistant general manager for the Timberwolves, is close to joining agency BDA Sports and WME Sports (according to Marc Stein).
Heat president Pat Riley, 77, desperately wants to win one more NBA championship before retiring (according to Nick Freidell).
BUSINESS:
The Kings and rapper 50 Cent signed a multi-year partnership.
The Kings are in talks to purchase the Minor League Baseball team the Triple-A Sacramento Rivercats (according to Jason Anderson).
INJURIES:
E.J. Liddell had successful surgery Tuesday to reconstruct his torn right ACL. He remains out indefinitely.
Kendrick Nunn (knee) said that he feels great and feels 100%.
Manny Bates (shoulder) of Butler has been fully cleared for the team’s upcoming foreign tour to Italy and Greece.
FREE AGENCY:
An NBA GM who spoke with Sean Deveney said that he expects free agent Carmelo Anthony to re-sign with the Lakers.
The Lakers are looking to start whichever wing/guard can make threes and defend at the high point of attack at the highest level on the roster and the player who stands out in training camp and preseason will win the job (according to Jovan Buha).
OFFSEASON:
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant were working out together in Los Angeles (according to Jake Fischer).
Ayo Dosunmu is having a monster offseason (according to KC Johnson).
Giannis Antetokounmpo will also play for the Greek National Team in the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers (according to Eurohoops).
Follow me on Twitter @kylecohennba.
Love these, keep it up! Great job and great source of basketball news all in one place