NBA News and Rumor Roundup 9/18/2024
The Isaac Okoro domino falls, the expansion FAQ, and quite a few workouts.
Aaaaaand we’re back!
With just 34 days until the true beginning of the regular season, not too much has happened in the past week — at least, nothing league-shattering. However, we do have quite a bit to talk about on various fronts, such as Isaac Okoro’s new Cavaliers deal, some fresh news on the NBA expansion front, and a lot of players working out with teams prior to training camp.
All of that comes together for a nice little roundup, plus a bit of a hodge podge of reports toward the end, which includes Trae Young getting a backhand slap from Adidas — more on that later.
Before we dive into that, though, I do want to give a shoutout to my friends over at
. This isn’t a sponsored segment, but the folks over at GITG101 are putting on a course on October 1st that will meet every week over Zoom until the 22nd. As a multi-time participant in their courses, I couldn’t recommend it enough if you’re looking to work in basketball. The GITG101 team often brings in former and current NBA employees, NCAA coaches, and many more speakers to learn from in the process. If you want to join it, you can find out more about it here.Now, without further ado, let’s get right into this week’s roundup!
Isaac Okoro, Off The Table
After months of waiting on Cavs’ forward Isaac Okoro to resolve the matter of his restricted free agency, it’s finally come to a close. The result? A 3-year, $38 million deal to return to Cleveland, and the Cavs likely couldn’t be happier with it.
Okoro is just 23 years old and has consistently been a solid contributor for Cleveland since being drafted in 2020, though he hasn’t quite had a breakout year during his 4 seasons in the league. The most tantalizing part about his game is easily evident when you watch him; he’s a great two-way player with the ability to knock down threes, making him one of the more prototypical wings the league has to offer.
The best part about his three-point shot has been his ability to improve upon it in every season he’s been in the league, going from an abysmal 29% downtown shot in his rookie year to an above-average 39% in the 2023-24 season:
Most of Okoro’s value comes from his defense, however. According to Dunks and Threes’ EPM metric, he’s in the 85th percentile in overall defensive contribution, while the NBA’s tracking data says that the 6’5” wing is in the 90th percentile for pick-and-roll defense. He does well as an isolation defender, too, and is one of the better guys at not fouling on opponents’ stop-and-pop jumpers:
There are a lot of things left to be desired with Okoro, especially on the offensive end. While he’s an above-average catch-and-shoot guy, he hit under 17% of his pull-up jumpers last season, which is downright abysmal. He ranked in the very mediocre 29th percentile in isolation offense last season, shot under 50% on drives, and took, uh, zero mid-range shots according to the NBA’s tracking data. So outside of his defensive prowess and catch-and-shoot game, there isn’t too much else to write home about.
Now, Okoro is back with the Cavs in a likely bench role to help this team get over the hump. The roster has largely gone unchanged, so it will be interesting to see how they plan on doing better than last year, especially considering the perceived dangers of the Donovan Mitchell/Darius Garland fit at times.
Still, the team should be thrilled with Okoro’s new contract. Jaden McDaniels, who is similar to Okoro in style yet somewhat better, got a whopping 5-year, $131 million contract — an average value of $26.2 million per year. With Okoro getting just $12.6 per year for a similar role with less oomph, it’s a pretty solid deal, especially in an environment where NBA contracts are inflating at an extremely rapid rate.
Much More Expansion News
After last week’s reports from Adam Silver himself that the decision on NBA expansion would be sorted out during this season, we have more news on that front via ESPN.
According to ESPN, the two frontrunner locations, as we expected, are Seattle and Las Vegas. Though they do report that Mexico City could be in the mix, I’d be surprised to see the NBA pass up on one of the two above cities. From there, things get more complicated.
In terms of the potential owners of the Seattle (presumed SuperSonics) franchise, most signs are pointing toward the current Seattle Kraken NHL team owners, Samantha Holloway and her father David Bonderman. Why is that, you may ask? Well, once again, per ESPN:
“The Kraken are on track to formally make that announcement of a parent company along the lines of Vulcan Sports (owner of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks) in the near future. Additionally, they've utilized longtime NBA executive and Seattle native Rick Welts as an advisor, per sources. Most recently president of the Golden State Warriors, Welts began his Hall of Fame career with the Sonics, starting as a ballboy.”
- ESPN
In other words, it seems highly likely that Holloway and company make the winning bid for the team, though there will inevitably be talk surrounding billionaires like Jeff Bezos given his deep-rooted connection to Seattle as a city.
On the Vegas front, there seem to be a lot more options from an ownership perspective. LeBron James’ name has been thrown around a lot due to both his musings about a franchise in Vegas and his network of investors like John Henry and Gerry Cardinale, connections to Saudi Arabia’s massive pool of funds, and even sports giant Fenway Sports. With ESPN predicting a 2027-28 launch for the presumed Vegas and Seattle franchises, LeBron’s contract would be up and he would also likely be retired, paving the way for him to own a team.
However, there are many other potential fits, such as Oak View Group (which has land reserved in the Vegas area for a potential franchise) and Red Bull, the energy drink turned sports megacorporation. Former Bucks owner Marc Lasry is reportedly putting a bid together — and the bid should be substantial since the value of each franchise could be upward of $5 billion. Additionally, an arena has been proposed by real estate group LVXP, but there’s no concrete timing on anything thus far due to the overall unknowns surrounding the potential franchise.
If I had to predict when the NBA would announce both franchises, I’d say it would be around the All-Star Game in February. The game is on the West Coast in San Francisco, would fit the “this season” timeline for a decision set by Adam Silver, and would have a lot of viewers by default. That’s pure speculation from me, but it makes sense from a logical perspective.
It’s All Working Out
With training camp starting soon, you’re beginning to see players who have been on the fringes of the league for whatever reason work out for various teams. And, so far, it’s been an interesting bunch of workoutees (not a word, but we’ll take it).
The Kings, for one, have worked out two veterans (and one non-veteran) that could help them in their chase for a playoff run this year. In just the past week, the team has worked out NBA journeyman Jae Crowder as well as the NBA’s king of the bubble TJ Warren. Crowder, who is currently a free agent, is getting older at 34 years of age but still provides good shooting from beyond the arc — at least when he’s on the floor. He’s dealt with injuries, disputes, and various other things that have kept him from playing more than 50 games in both of the past two seasons, despite being a relatively solid shooter and help defender. Yet, it seems like it would be difficult to slot him in with the Kings, considering they already have DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, Jalen McDaniels, and Trey Lyles at the forward position. Still, Crowder could get a veteran minimum contract should the Kings like how he performs and fits in the Mike Brown system.
TJ Warren is also an interesting forward to workout with a potentially higher ceiling. Warren looked like a superstar back in the COVID-19 bubble but injuries have largely derailed him. He’s barely played in the past few seasons, but when he has, it hasn’t been as pretty as he would hope. After failing to average over 10 points per game since 2020-21, it’s unlikely the Kings bring him on as a contributor, though he may be a great locker room guy.
The last Kings workout player is Nassir Little, who is just 23 years old and has shown some potential as a rotation player for both the Trail Blazers and the Suns in previous years. He’s a jump-out-the-gym kind of guy with some latent defensive and catch-and-shoot potential, though his shooting splits aren’t the best. I’d think the Kings would be willing to take a swing at him, but we’ll see what happens. Little has also worked out for the Celtics, Heat, and Warriors, so the chances of him signing a contract somewhere are quite high.
Outside of the Kings, there haven’t been too many workouts over the past 7 days, at least not publically. Both Marcus Morris and Landry Shamet have been given Exhibit 9 contracts (essentially training camp deals) with the Knicks, however, which could be an interesting play to bolster the team’s depth — so we’ll count them as “workouts” for the sake of extending this section.
Other News, Rumors, and Fun Facts
Well, well, well. As is tradition, this year’s presumed NBA City Edition jerseys have leaked for each team and they’re, uh, not great. The only “great” ones are Cleveland, Raptors, Pistons, Magic, and Suns, while the other solid ones are just alterations of previous designs (Utah, San Antonio, Charlotte, Atlanta, Minnesota, etc). And, boy, does that Celtics jersey give off AAU vibes — and, as a Houston resident, I’m ashamed. Alas, this is a subjective matter, so check them all out below:
Per an interview with Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen, Rockets volume-shooting guard Jalen Green would “for sure” like a long-term extension with Houston, but insists he’s focused on the upcoming season instead. Green (along with star Alperen Sengun) has been up for extension for the entire offseason yet has gotten zero public offers from the team. It’s increasingly likely that Houston will wait for next offseason when Green is a restricted free agent, therefore giving them some leverage if he performs poorly. He’s been extremely streaky at times, but he’s also putting up 40-point nights on occasion, so this upcoming season could be a chance for him to prove he can contribute to winning.
Per Marc Spears, former San Antonio Spur and NBA veteran Gorgui Deng has been selected to become the assistant general manager of the Spurs’ G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs. He may be a guy to watch for when it comes to NBA executive circles, as we’ve seen former NBA vets such as Landry Fields become key executives for their former teams.
In a report that you don’t often see in the NBA sneaker world, Trae Young is getting slapped in the face by Adidas. For the past 3 years, Young has had a signature sneaker with the company that, obviously hasn’t sold as well as Adidas would like. Why do I know that? Well, his next shoe, the Trae Young 4, is reported to be his last signature sneaker with the brand. Could this mean Young is done with Adidasa entirely? Maybe, but it’s not a foregone conclusion. Regardless, Adidas seems to be focused on Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, and, most importantly, Anthony Edwards’ shoes at the moment.
According to multiple reports, the Lakers have signed former Raptor Christian Koloko to a two-way deal. Koloko had a short stint with the Raptors before being ruled out with a blood clot condition, so it’s nice to see him get another chance while (presumably) healthy. He’s got a massive 7’5” wingspan and, predictably, is a very good defender around the rim. The Lakers will likely give him a chance to fight with Jaxson Hayes for the bench big spot.
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, it is expected that Knicks star Julius Randle will go into the season without an extension. He still has a player option for 2025-26, so this isn’t code red for Knicks fans, though it will put some on edge a bit. Randle will be turning 32 when he hits unrestricted free agency, so it’s likely the franchise wants to see how gracefully (or not so gracefully) he ages before making one last long-term commitment.
It’s over: Boban Marjanovic is no longer in the NBA. The fan-favorite big man has reached an agreement with EuroLeague squad Fenerbahce, which is in Turkey. So long, Boban — may your tiny hands take you to new heights.
Two college favorites, Terquavion Smith and the ever-big DJ Burns, are heading overseas. Smith played for a short stint with the 76ers after going undrafted out of Arkansas but is now signing a deal with a Chinese team, the Jiangsu Dragons. Burns, on the other hand, is heading to South Korea to play for the Skygunners in Goyang. While I’ve never been a massive fan of Smith’s game, I am a known Burns guy — expect me to trickle in some random Korea-Mode Burns highlights over the next year.
According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Warriors have not made any progress on extensions for Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. Both youngins’ have appeared to be a part of the future for the Warriors for years now, but Kuminga is inarguably the more valuable asset. Both players go into restricted free agency, which could create an opportunity in which another team overpays for either to get the Warriors to match it — keep tabs on this as the season continues.
In an interesting development, The Athletic has moved Fred Katz, who was mainly a Knicks writer, to the full-scale NBA beat, while the New York Times-owned outlet is shifting James Edwards III from Pistons coverage to the Knicks as well. While Katz undoubtedly deserves the role, this could mean a reduced amount of local coverage across the board, with no Pistons replacement announced as of yet. That would be consistent with The New York Times’ apparent strategy for the outlet but could be a shame for those who cherish their local team coverage.
On this day in NBA history (in 2007!) we’re going for a crazy deep cut. The Charlotte Bobcats — which are still likely to be the worst NBA franchise in history — paid a wildlife breeder in Montana $50,000 to grab the www.bobcats.com web address. The breeder, Barbara Roe, was contacted by the team in 2004 but (rightfully) haggled with their very low initial bid of a couple of thousand dollars. The URL now leads to the current Charlotte Hornets’ website, as you might expect. This is the hard-hitting NBA coverage we need in today’s media landscape.
My Favorite Reads This Week
Nolan Traore is one of my favorite prospects for the 2025 draft, international or not, so I was happy to see my guys
and write about his rise up draft boards and what makes him so special. You can go find that article right here.If you’re looking for a good explanation as to why the NBA’s expansion rumors have taken so long and what that means for the rest of the league, I highly suggest you go check out
’s article on the matter. He covers the financial aspect, the geographical factors, and more — you can find that one here.Since I did a long-shots article this past weekend (with part 2 on the way), it’s fitting that I include
’s recent list of candidates for the MVP award this year. His picks vary from the obvious (Luka Doncic) to the not-to-obvious (Paolo Banchero) — you can read that right here.I mentioned Jonathan Kuminga earlier and the back-and-forth between him and the Warriors in terms of contracts, so I feel obligated to link
’s article on him here. Mike calls Kuminga a “human onomatopoeia” with his booming game, but questions whether or not he can improve his playmaking and become a more well-rounded player. You can find his piece here.- , one of the best scouts in the game not currently with an NBA team, just wrote a piece on how Pistons beleaguered young guard Jaden Ivey — who has all the potential to be great but is, uh, in Detroit — can take the leap this next season. I don’t mention the Pistons a lot around these parts, so I suggest you go read it — here it is!
That’s it for this week’s roundup! More content is on the way for this weekend, including a continuation of last week’s long-shots piece. Stay tuned!
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