The NBA will retire the late Bill Russell's #6 league-wide. He becomes the 1st player in NBA history to have his jersey retired across the league. Players who currently wear #6 will be allowed to keep doing so but it will not be issued again.
All NBA players will wear a patch on the right shoulder of their jerseys during the 2022-23 season and every arena's court will display a clover-shaped logo with #6.
TRANSACTIONS:
The Kings and free agent Kent Bazemore agreed to a 1 year deal (according to Shams). He was a strong veteran voice for them behind the scenes during the 2019-20 season (according to James Ham). He is also reunited with Mike Brown.
The Kings and Quinn Cook of their G-League affiliate the Stockton Kings agreed to a 1 year deal (according to Marc J. Spears). He will compete for a roster spot (according to James Ham).
The Grizzlies and free agent Dakota Mathias agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal to re-sign (according to Michael Scotto). He played for them in Summer League and played 6 games for them this past season.
The Wizards and undrafted free agent Makur Maker agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal (according to Shams). He worked out for them pre-draft.
The Jazz and Paris Bass of the G-League team the South Bay Lakers agreed to a 1 year deal. H/t Chris Haynes. It's an Exhibit 10 deal and he will compete for a roster spot in training camp (according to Tony Jones).
The Magic and free agent Simi Shittu agreed to a deal. H/t Chris Haynes.
The Hawks and free agent Trent Forrest signed a two-way contract.
TRADE RUMORS:
In a meeting with Nets owner Joe Tsai last Saturday in London, Kevin Durant informed him that he does not have faith in the team's direction and he had a clear message - keep KD or keep GM Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash. Brooklyn has direct knowledge of the reasons behind Durant's trade request and understand that he will continue to be resolute in his stance (according to Shams). Joe Tsai responds:
Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.The perception that Kevin Durant picked Steve Nash as the Nets' head coach is inaccurate (according to Ian Begley).
Kevin Durant holding out of Nets' training camp if they don't trade him isn't off the table (according to Kristian Winfield).
After Kevin Durant's initial trade request, the Nets had trade talks with almost every team in the league. The Celtics, Raptors, and Heat remain the most significant candidates (per Shams).
The Nets initially asked the Celtics for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for Kevin Durant when their trade talks started (according to Adam Himmelsbach).
Kevin Durant sees the Celtics as a desired landing spot. He would like to play with Marcus Smart if he is traded to Boston. Ime Udoka had no problem holding Nets stars accountable during his time as an assistant coach there (per Begley).
High-ranking members of the 76ers have felt strongly about trading for Kevin Durant, and he also sees them as a welcome landing spot (per Begley).
Privately, Joe Tsai and the Nets have made it clear that they will take every last asset from a team that trades for Kevin Durant (per Shams).
Barring a change of heart, the expectation is that the Heat will not budge on their stance of keeping Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler off limits in trade talks for Kevin Durant (according to Anthony Chiang).
The Heat remain open to trading for Jae Crowder (according to Chiang and Barry Jackson).
BUSINESS:
While contract extension dialogue was broached, the majority of LeBron James' hour-long meeting with the Lakers last Thursday was about expressing concerns and hearing out strategies and opinions to assure last season's failure won't be repeated (according to Chris Haynes).
Rob Pelinka explained that patience will be key in any potential roster moves the team makes. Both LeBron James and the Lakers appear to be collaborating on a common vision of seeing how the roster plays out before any drastic moves are sought (per Haynes).
Rob Pelinka made it clear to LeBron James that he wants him to retire a Laker and promised to provide him with every resource possible to compete for a championship each year he's with the team (per Haynes).
LeBron James drilled home the importance of consistent competitiveness and cohesion. Darvin Ham agreed. The meeting was productive and informative (per Haynes).
Darvin Ham said he will have the offense run through Anthony Davis and stick with it. LeBron James concurred. The team has been encouraged with Davis' offseason progression and believe he'll be in optimal shape to avoid serious injuries and carry a bigger load (per Haynes).
The Lakers are hopeful for Russell Westbrook to have a corner-3 shooting percentage bump this season (per Haynes).
LeBron James is finalizing a destination to host the Lakers' annual mini-camp before training camp, with San Diego the likely spot over Las Vegas. He's hoping to build a better rapport with his teammates entering the season (per Haynes).
Amica Mutual Insurance Co. is expected to take over the naming rights of the Dunkin' Donuts Center (according to Eli Sherman and Ted Nesi of WPRI).
RECRUITING:
Australian SG Mojave King (2002) signed with the G-League Ignite. His agent is Daniel Moldovan. H/t Jonathan Givony.
2023 4 star PF Tafara Gapare committed to UMass and reclassified to 2022. H/t Joe Tipton.
2023 4 star SG RJ Jones, the #1 recruit in his class from Texas, committed to Kansas State. H/t Brandon Jenkins.
2023 4 star SF Scotty Middleton committed to Ohio State. H/t Joe Tipton.
2023 4 star SF Jamie Kaiser committed to Maryland. H/t Brandon Jenkins.
2023 4 star SF-PF Coen Carr committed to Michigan State. H/t Joe Tipton.
2023 4 star PG Trey Green committed to Xavier. H/t Tipton.
2023 3 star PF Collin Murray-Boyle committed to South Carolina. H/t Travis Branham. He is from SC.
2023 3 star SF Arden Conyers committed to South Carolina. H/t Eric Bossi. He is from SC.
2023 3 star SF Jordan Burks committed to Ole Miss. H/t Joe Tipton.
2023 3 star PF Kayden Fish committed to Iowa State. H/t Eric Bossi.
2023 3 star PF-SF Darrion Baker committed to Akron. H/t Scott Burgess of Prep Hoops.
2023 3 star SF Eli Rice committed to Nebraska. H/t Travis Branham.
2023 3 star PG Cian Medley announced that he committed to Saint Louis.
2023 4 star PF-C JP Estrella will announce his college decision on September 2nd. H/t Joe Tipton. Estrella said that Iowa, Marquette, Syracuse, and Tennessee are in the mix. H/t Brandon Jenkins. 24/7 lists Iowa, Syracuse, and Tennessee as the favorites. Their Crystal Ball says 100% Iowa (5 confidence - 1 prediction).
2023 4 star PF TJ Power, the #1 recruit in his class from Massachusetts, is down to 5 schools: Boston College, Duke, Iowa, North Carolina, and Virginia. He is now aiming for a mid-to-late September decision, subject to change. H/t Tipton.
2023 3 star SF Macaleb Rich announced via Twitter that he cut his list to 5: Kansas State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Eastern Michigan, and UIC. He will commit on his birthday, September 26th. H/t Jamie Shaw.
2023 3 star SF-PF Keanu Dawes is down to 6 schools: BYU, Oklahoma State, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M, and Utah. He is planning to sign in the spring. H/ Brandon Jenkins.
2024 4 star PG-SG Jamari Phillips is down to 6 schools: UCLA, Gonzaga, Texas Tech, Kansas, Oregon, and Louisville. His dream school growing up was UCLA. H/t Joe Tipton. 24/7 lists UCLA as the favorites.
Kentucky has begun to regain traction with 2023 5 star C Aaron Bradshaw (according to Travis Branham).
Tennessee, USC, and NC State have been gaining a lot of traction with 2023 3 star PG-SG Silas Demary Jr. (according to Branham).
2024 4 star PF Tyler McKinley, the #1 recruit in his class from Ohio, said that he's talking to UCLA, Ohio State, Xavier, Cincinnati, and Virginia Tech. H/t Jamie Shaw.
2024 4 star SF Isaiah Evans said that he hears the most from Tennessee, Georgetown, and Arkansas. H/t Shaw.
FRONT OFFICE:
The Mavericks are hiring Matt Riccardi, the Nets' director of scouting, in a senior front office role (according to Marc Stein). He grew up in the Dallas area. He played a huge role in finding diamond in the rough players, including Spencer Dinwiddie (according to Chris Milholen).
South Carolina State fired AD Stacy Danley.
COACHING:
Tyrone Corbin will be the Hornets' lead assistant coach (according to Rod Boone).
The Hornets hired Rex Walters as an assistant coach.
The Hornets hired Bruce Kreutzer, a Magic assistant coach, as an assistant coach. He was an assistant for Charlotte from 2015-2018.
The Hornets hired Brian O'Connor, director of video operations for Georgetown, as an assistant coach. He was a basketball operations intern for Charlotte in 2016-17.
The Hornets retained assistant coaches Marlon Garnett, Jay Hernandez, Nick Friedman and Norman Richardson.The Mavericks are hiring Marko Milic to join its coaching staff in player development (according to Marc Stein). He was Slovenia's 1st NBA player. He knows Luka Doncic well and played with Jason Kidd on the Suns.
Michigan State and head coach Tom Izzo signed a new five-year rollover contract worth $5.92 million per year.
Memphis is hiring Andy Borman, executive director of the NY Rens EYBL program, as an assistant coach (according to Jon Rothstein). He's a good hire for recruiting (according to John Martin). I played for him in AAU and thought he was a great coach. He is Coach K's nephew.
Memphis hired Faragi Phillips, director of player personnel for VCU, as an assistant coach.
Larry Brown's status as a Memphis assistant coach moving forward is TBD (per Rothstein).Assistant coach Martin Bahar and graduate assistant Jose Martinez were San Diego's only staff members for about 3 months and signed 12 new players, but neither were retained. Bahar was informed in early July after turning down other opportunities (according to Jeff Goodman).
San Diego head coach Steve Lavin hired his brother-in-law, John Moore, for his coaching staff (per Goodman).
San Diego hired Tyus Edney, director of engagement as UCLA, for its coaching staff (per Goodman).San Diego hired Patrick Sandle for its coaching staff (per Goodman).
San Diego hired Jack Doran for its coaching staff (per Goodman).
San Diego hired Ryan Devlin for its coaching staff (per Goodman).Loyola Chicago hired Cincinnati graduate assistant Kyle Washington as video coordinator.
INJURIES/ILLNESS:
There's confidence in Lonzo Ball (meniscus surgery)'s camp that he will be ready for the start of the season (according to Jamal Collier).
Ebrima Dibba of South Carolina suffered an Achilles injury in summer workouts and is out for the season.
The NBA informed teams via memo last Monday that, as it stands, non-vaccinated NBA players without a valid medical reason will remain ineligible to play in Toronto for the 2022-23 season (according to Jake Fischer).
OVERSEAS TRANSACTIONS:
Free agent Craig Randall II signed with the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian NBL.
Free agent Sam Dekker signed a 1 year deal with British team London Lions.
Free agent Doron Lamb signed a 1 year deal with Italian team Scatafi Basket.
Free agent Jarell Eddie signed with the Turkish team Konyaspor for the 2022-23 season.
Free agent Cat Barber signed with the Ukrainian team BC Budivelnyk for the 2022-23 season.
Southern Mississippi senior SF Mark Jaakson signed with Estonian team Parnu Sadam and signed on with Stayline (according to Guido Guida).
SEASON:
FGCU President Mike Martin told the school's student paper that he believes that the automatic bid process for the NCAA Tournament will go away.
The Heat will play a regular season game in Mexico City for the 2nd time in 5 years (according to Ira Winderman).
TRANSFERS:
Justin Powell of Washington State, a two-time transfer, has received a waiver from the NCAA to be eligible for the 2022-23 season (according to Jon Rothstein).
Matt Cross of UMass, a two-time transfer, has received a waiver from the NCAA to be eligible for the 2022-23 season (according to Rothstein).
AGENTS:
Patrick McCaw of the G-League team the Delaware Blue Coats signed on with agent Jordan Cornish of Beyond Athlete Managememnt (according to Guido Guida).
Marcus Burk of the G-League team the Grand Rapids Gold signed on with agent Ivan Zoroski of Triple Double Sports Management (according to Guida).
Washington 2022 commit 3 star PG Keyon Menifield signed on with Young Money APAA Sports for NIL (according to Guida).
CONTRACT DETAILS:
James Harden's 2 year deal (2nd year player option) to re-sign with the 76ers is worth $68.64 million and has a 15% trade kicker (according to Michael Scotto).
Update: Mike Muscala's deal to re-sign with the Thunder is 2 years $7 million, 2nd year team option (according to Scotto).
Gorgui Dieng's 1 year deal with the Spurs is for the minimum and is fully guaranteed (according to Keith Smith).
Follow me on Twitter @kylecohennba.