Everyone misrepresents the Desmond Bane Grizzlies-Magic trade as 4 first round picks (+a swap) for Desmond Bane. Maybe two of those were for Bane, but unloading KCP and Cole Anthony's contracts were worth a couple of first rounders. Grizzlies have now bought out both guys. Anthony was $12.9 mm. KCP was $21.6 mm.

Bucks picked up Anthony last summer after being waived. He played a little, but they dealt him to the Suns who waived him.

KCP will be 34 this upcoming season. Maybe hit a few 3 pointers, but he's washed.

They have 19 or 20 guys on main roster and their two-ways are currently filled.

Soon to be available, I'm guessing D'Angelo Russell and probably AJ Johnson.
Taj Gibson, Kris Murray or Taylor Hendricks.

Just guys that could be a 15th man on the roster, but make no difference to a team.

I would actually love to get Taylor Hendricks and see what he can do. Maybe I am too attached to a guy I liked in the draft process but I have felt like he is one of those guys that has just been in awful places for development and needs a change of scenery.

I feel the same way about Jarace Walker, who again, I liked a lot in the draft process.

The Denver Nuggets are matching the Oklahoma City Thunder's two-year, $12 million offer sheet on Spencer Jones, retaining the key forward in restricted free agency, sources tell ESPN. Nuggets valued keeping their homegrown player whom they landed on an undrafted deal in 2024.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 27, 2026

The Nuggets have reportedly offered Peyton Watson a 5-year, $70M deal, per @Tjonesonthenba. pic.twitter.com/ZcmtgElyYm

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 28, 2026

What is Denver trying to pull off here

Deluxe said:

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The Nuggets have reportedly offered Peyton Watson a 5-year, $70M deal, per @Tjonesonthenba. pic.twitter.com/ZcmtgElyYm

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 28, 2026

What is Denver trying to pull off here

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No one offered him a contact and now no one really can offer him a contact.

A few teams have good exceptions, but would require an agreement with Denver and Denver can't S&T him out when they are above the 2nd apron.

Teams with Trade Exception over $18M:

Boston, Milwaukee, Memphis, Charlotte.

Milwaukee doesn't want to burn assets in a trade, Boston is 1.7M from tax and are trying to reset repeater, Charlotte has plenty of space, but likely doesn't want to burn the 40M exception on Watson in a gap year for the team and Memphis is rebuilding and has Coward and Wells.

For the MLE, Detroit makes sense, but it depends what happens with Duren. They have 54M in 1st apron space, but 15M is less than Watson wants. If they could do Duren for high 30s and watson for the MLE, it's a pretty good off-season, but Watson wants more and I think Denver just matches.

I think that Duren, Kuminga, and Watson all overplayed their hand and we are on the River and none of them got their draw.

The way the NBA is trending, it seems like it's going to be increasingly common for solid/good role players to overplay their hands in free agency. At least until the next CBA goes into effect.

Agree with all that

Free agent guard Cam Thomas has agreed to a two-year, $17 million deal with the Miami Heat, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Major scoring boost for the Heat backcourt. pic.twitter.com/oLODIr33ox

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharansia) July 28, 2026

Wild. He's a losing player

Forward Peyton Watson has agreed to a 4-year, $100 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. The former Denver Nuggets wing lands a long-term contract after both sides reached agreement on Tuesday, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/LJMLO1uDUQ

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharansia) July 28, 2026

At least Denver kept that Spencer guy

No chance they match that right?

Draymond Green has agreed to return to the Golden State Warriors on a one-year, $27.7 million deal, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. The contract is the same Green opted out of to give the Warriors flexibility to pursue LeBron James, but the sides land his return Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/Hyf1xruzrx

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 28, 2026

Deluxe said:

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No chance they match that right?

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I don't think so. They would be above half a billion in salary+tax

I bet they match and then try to work a trade. I'd be really surprised if they couldn't at least bring back one first for him as long as there are at least a couple of suitors trying to acquire him.

Hell, as a Spurs fan I'd send them Champ and Keldon and some 2nds for Cam Johnson and Peyton Watson. Saves them 15 million and then they can further maneuver and try to shed more salary while picking up assets.

I bet pretty much any team would kick the tires on picking up a guy with 20/5/5 potential on a 4/100 contract. That's really good value for that kind of production.

The Philadelphia 76ers are trading C/F Johni Broome and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for cash considerations, sources tell ESPN. The deal allows the 76ers to stay under both first and second aprons while signing LeBron James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 28, 2026

Even fewer options at center

AggieEP said:

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I bet they match and then try to work a trade. I'd be really surprised if they couldn't at least bring back one first for him as long as there are at least a couple of suitors trying to acquire him.

Hell, as a Spurs fan I'd send them Champ and Keldon and some 2nds for Cam Johnson and Peyton Watson. Saves them 15 million and then they can further maneuver and try to shed more salary while picking up assets.

I bet pretty much any team would kick the tires on picking up a guy with 20/5/5 potential on a 4/100 contract. That's really good value for that kind of production.

---

Us trading with Denver would be ridiculously hard. We have 10.4M below the hard cap at the 1st apron. So we can't absorb more than 10.4M.

Also, Julian is Poison Pilled, making any trade with him this season really difficult.

We could do Keldon for Cam and that saves them 5M and puts us into the luxury tax. That gives them some more space, but they are about 2M over the 2nd apron with just 11 players so they have to cut a ton of salary to fill up the roster and stay under the 2nd apron.

They cannot trade PWat for a player if they are over the 2nd apron.

Guitarsoup said:

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Forward Peyton Watson has agreed to a 4-year, $100 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. The former Denver Nuggets wing lands a long-term contract after both sides reached agreement on Tuesday, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/LJMLO1uDUQ

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharansia) July 28, 2026

At least Denver kept that Spencer guy

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Reminds me of when Jerami Grant signed with the atrocious Detroit Pistons a few years ago.

More money and more scoring and minutes. Also, he left Denver.

Guitarsoup said:

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Forward Peyton Watson has agreed to a 4-year, $100 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. The former Denver Nuggets wing lands a long-term contract after both sides reached agreement on Tuesday, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/LJMLO1uDUQ

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharansia) July 28, 2026

At least Denver kept that Spencer guy

---

By the way, interesting spelling on Shams last name.

Iowaggie said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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Forward Peyton Watson has agreed to a 4-year, $100 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. The former Denver Nuggets wing lands a long-term contract after both sides reached agreement on Tuesday, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/LJMLO1uDUQ

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharansia) July 28, 2026

At least Denver kept that Spencer guy

---

By the way, interesting spelling on Shams last name.

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Yeah, looks like I got Centel'ed. I should have known because no team has enough money to offer 25M. Milwaukee only can as part of a S&T, which Denver and Milwaukee can't do right now.

Trae Young says the NCAA required him to retake the ACT after accusing him of cheating until he scored 42 points against Oregon

“I almost didn’t get to play my freshman year in college. I took my ACT my freshman year of high school, got a 29 on it, and hadn’t taken it since. Did… pic.twitter.com/CGb16DjKzr

— dank (@cptdankkk) July 31, 2026

A 29 ACT as a freshmen in HS? He absolutely cheated

That's the most bizarre story I've ever heard.

First he admits to cheating on his ACT, likely had someone take it for him when he was a freshman in HS. Rookie mistake to let the ringer score so high.

Then he's apparently so dumb that 4 years later he's not capable of getting a 26 on it so he's got a bunch of tutors working with him. Meanwhile the university enrolls him in blowoff classes.

Then, according to him the NCAA just drops the whole thing when they saw he was a star?

No wonder this kid is a losing basketball player, no one has ever made him be accountable to even the bare minimum standards and expected him to be anything more than a halfwit dumbass.

Isn't a 26 still in the 80 - 85th percentile? After this contract his career earnings will be nearly half a billion, not including endorsements. Sounds like a pretty successful guy to me.

There's a few items fishy in that story. The beginning sounds similar to the Derrick Rose story. In that case, the NCAA sent a notice to his house in regards to his ACT, arriving just before the start of the season. His mom kept it there, thinking the U of Memphis also received notice which they did not receive any notice from the NCAA until May, 2008, more than a month after Rose and Calipari lost in the NCAA tournament. At that point, the NCAA invalidated the test score, and Rose had nothing to gain by working with the NCAA, so the whole season vanished into the unknown.

Westbrook calls it.

Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end.

You had to be there. And now it’s over. pic.twitter.com/6YoOW8WyIV

— Russell Westbrook (@russwest44) August 12, 2026

Charlotte Hornets go local with their broadcast.


Which means this deal with DAZN did not get done.

“In addition, multiple NBA sources told SBJ that DAZN is close to acquiring full exclusive local broadcast rights next season for the T’Wolves, Cavaliers, Pacers, Spurs and Grizzlies, as well as DTC-only arrangements with the Magic and possibly the Hornets.” https://t.co/8QR6N8ub08

— Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) July 29, 2026

Apparently, NBA working to get the President's Day games a pretty meaningful date for games.

Schedule dropped.

Knicks, Spurs, Sixers, and Lakers have 34 nationally televised games.

Number of National TV games for 2026-27 NBA season (ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock, & Amazon):

ATL: 10
BOS: 27
BKN: 2
CHA: 6
CHI: 3
CLE: 17
DAL: 21
DEN: 28
DET: 19
GSW: 28
HOU: 21
IND: 11
LAC: 8
LAL: 34
MEM: 2
MIA: 25
MIL: 2
MIN: 27
NOP: 2
NYK: 34
OKC: 30
ORL: 8
PHI: 34
PHX: 9
POR: 11…

— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) August 13, 2026

(from LevAkabas)

The Kings have been eliminated from playoff contention pic.twitter.com/wDtEkbPPSP

— Underdog (@Underdog) August 13, 2026

The Memphis Grizzlies will NOT pay out the final year of Brandon Clarke’s $12.5 Million contract to his estate and that money will not count against the salary cap

“Clarke earned his full $12.5 million from the 2025–26 season, but the final year of his salary won’t be paid out… pic.twitter.com/vTVc7GnviL

— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) August 14, 2026

It's really been misleading to say that, and every NBA team would have done the same. His contract is voided by death, especially since he was committing a crime.


However, the Grizzlies had a life insurance policy on him, and that pays the family $12.5 mm.

So they are getting that money, but it isn't counting against the salary cap.

He will have really earned $25 mm over the last two years of the deal. He played 2 games, was arrested for drug possession and after leading the police on a high speed chase, and then died OD'ing on cocaine and heroin.



When the twitter patrol comments that "this is why players don't want to come to Memphis", it's like, are you serious? They could have paid his family $50 mm and wouldn't get a free agent to go there unless it was OJ Mayo, Roy Tarpley, or Michael Ray Richardson.

NBA sources confirm that Brandon Clarke’s contract was completely protected for death. The $12.5M is expected to be paid in full through life insurance.

An erroneous report said that the Clarke estate will not be paid out his $12.5M following his death in May. But the deal was… pic.twitter.com/qq99zEjjbv

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) August 14, 2026

Iowaggie said:

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It's really been misleading to say that, and every NBA team would have done the same. His contract is voided by death, especially since he was committing a crime.


However, the Grizzlies had a life insurance policy on him, and that pays the family $12.5 mm.

So they are getting that money, but it isn't counting against the salary cap.

He will have really earned $25 mm over the last two years of the deal. He played 2 games, was arrested for drug possession and after leading the police on a high speed chase, and then died OD'ing on cocaine and heroin.



When the twitter patrol comments that "this is why players don't want to come to Memphis", it's like, are you serious? They could have paid his family $50 mm and wouldn't get a free agent to go there unless it was OJ Mayo, Roy Tarpley, or Michael Ray Richardson.

NBA sources confirm that Brandon Clarke’s contract was completely protected for death. The $12.5M is expected to be paid in full through life insurance.

An erroneous report said that the Clarke estate will not be paid out his $12.5M following his death in May. But the deal was… pic.twitter.com/qq99zEjjbv

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) August 14, 2026

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That's interesting.

When Reggie Lewis died, the league made the Celtics count his salary against the cap for the following two years while they paid out the estate.

Glad they changed that

So I'm checking Wikipedia on this topic (so we all know it has to be true). Since 2000, these are the players who died while on a roster.

3 in the year 2000.

Malik Sealy was killed by a drunk driver.

Bobby Phills (Hornets) - Also a car accident
Conrad McRae - heart failure (orlando magic camp, never an NBA player)

2005: Jason Collier (Hawks) - Heart failure


Then from 2016-18

Bryce Dejean-Jones (Pelicans) - Walked into the wrong apartment in Dallas and was shot.


Eddie Griffin (T'Wolves) - Car/Train accident



And most deaths fall in those 3-4 categories (Car accident, heart failure of some type and then drugs or gunshots, some of those suicidal), but there were a few that stood out.


Heino Veskila (Estonia and EuroBasket in the late 1930s) - Death by Execution by the Nazis
Slobodan Popovi - just says groin injury complication...tried to research it.
Nilay Aydoan (Turkey) - She died during an earthquake.

However in researching Slobodan Popovi, there was a basketball player named Slobodan Jankovic who moved from Serbia/Yoguslavia during the war to Greece for a safer life. While playing for Greece team, he picks up a 5th foul on an offensive foul in which he scored. He was so mad that he head butt the basketball support, and falls to ground, bloodied, but also having cracked a vertebrae in his back, never to walk again.

El Cheapo got his deal (apparently, but not approved by both sides)

Portland has approved $120M in public funding for Moda Center renovations.

Combined with $101M from Multnomah County and $365M from the state, roughly $586M of the $600M total is now publicly funded, meaning owner Tom Dundon could get a renovated arena without spending a dime.

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) August 14, 2026

I had no clue there was a page just on pro basketball player deaths.

How about Slobodan Popovi. "groin injury complication"

The OD sounds way better