Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 10/28/2026
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Luke Adams
1:00
Good afternoon, all! Thanks for all your early questions. Keep 'em coming and we'll get underway momentarily. I'm just putting the finishing touches on a story on Tyrese Haliburton.
1:04
OK, let's get going here.
Wolvesfan
1:04
Can you explain the supermax situation involving Anthony Edwards? It’s my understanding that he is ineligible for a supermax deal this offseason because of the 65-game rule. If Anthony makes an all-NBA team in 2027-28, is he eligible to receive a supermax deal in the 2028 offseason?
Luke Adams
1:08
Yep, assuming the two-month timeline for Edwards' knee surgery is accurate, he'll have no chance of getting to 65 games, which means no All-NBA and no super-max eligibility during the 2027 offseason.

Edwards will have seven years of NBA experience at the end of this season, and a player can continue to qualify for the super-max (ie. a starting salary worth up to 35% of the cap instead of 30%) until he has up to nine years of service. So if Edwards makes the All-NBA team in 2028, he'd become super-max eligible that offseason. And if he misses out again next year, he'd have one more chance in 2029.

Still, it's a pretty unfortunate turn of events for Ant and the Wolves, given that he would've already qualified for the super-max if he had been able to play a few more games last season. Now he'll miss out for a second straight year.
While it's probably worse news for Edwards, who is looking to maximize his earnings, it's not great for the Wolves either, given that the ability to offer that super-max is the best leverage they have to ensure they keep him long-term.
Holden Twodees
1:09
Who are some reliable free agent wings that haven't signed to a team and aren't overseas right now?
Luke Adams
1:12
Well, keeping mind that "reliable" is a relative term here (obviously the most reliable guys are already on rosters), here are a few I'd single out:

  • Bruce Brown
  • Haywood Highsmith
  • Gary Harris
  • Caleb Houstan
  • Pat Connaughton
  • Ochai Agbaji
  • Blake Wesley
  • Jeremy Sochan

Not exactly a murderer's row, but I think Brown and Highsmith, at least, could help a team in the short term, assuming they're healthy.
Bob
1:12
Is Kessler acquisition going to cost Pelinka his job?
Luke Adams
1:14
I've said in past chats that the success of Pelinka's offseason moves will go a long way toward determining his job security and his future, so it's certainly possible that giving up all those assets to sign Kessler to a lucrative contract will backfire on him.

Having said that, I'd say it's going pretty well so far, despite a little inconsistency in the early going. Kessler's net rating through four games (+20.1) is the best of any Laker.
Edwill
1:15
Do you think teams should be careful with there two way players. You don’t want to use the games played  limit so quickly. Also do you think in the future they should increase the amount of games a two way player can play in.
Luke Adams
1:17
I don't think most teams are planning too meticulously with their two-way guys -- if they need them now, they'll use them now and figure out later what to do when they hit those limits.

But teams carrying only 14 players will be a little more careful (they're only allowed 90 total two-way games, as opposed to 150) and teams that haven't been hit by the injury bug yet and don't really need the depth probably won't want to burn many games early.

I think 50 is a good number. Raising that number wouldn't be fair to the two-way players who reach that limit and have earned promotions. And based on where it's at now, most teams can survive until about the trade deadline, then decide at that point whether or not to promote guys.
Kwahi
1:18
Are you surprised that Kwahi is hurt?  Why did the Raptors give him an extension?  They knew they were trading for a headache.
Luke Adams
1:20
I think the Raptors fully anticipated they'd have to manage these sorts of little issues throughout the season and are prepared to deal with them.

For what it's worth (and maybe I'll be proven wrong), this doesn't even sound like a real "injury" -- just some wear and tear after ramping up to full-speed game minutes for the first time in a while. I doubt he'll miss more than a couple weeks unless there's some sort of setback or the Raptors are being really cautious.
Thomas
1:20
Can the pacers get a hardship exemption? Haliburton now out for some time, TJ, Furphy, Nembhard, Zubac
Luke Adams
1:21
No, a team has to have a full 15-man roster before it can be granted a hardship exception. The Pacers can't sign a 15th man yet because of their hard cap, though that'll change at some point relatively soon (would have to double-check the exact date but I think it's around Nov. 5).
Myles turner
1:21
my trade rumours are still continuing but will something actually happen with the raptors or anybody? (My bad accidentally typed enter fast on the last one)
Luke Adams
1:22
Would guess teams like the Raptors and Warriors will be interested, if the Bucks are willing to take on an unwanted contract (Poeltl or Porzingis). But I don't think Milwaukee will be in any rush to make a move in the short term. Turner is coming off a down year and if he plays well over the next couple months he can restore his value ahead of the trade deadline.
Drwhowhatwhere
1:22
What's the likelihood of a Zack Levine trade to OKC
Luke Adams
1:23
Almost zero. If OKC makes a trade, it won't be for someone making $49MM.
xdrta
1:23
Do you think the Warriors have any viable options to  unload Porzingis or get out of his  contract somehow?
Luke Adams
1:25
This early in the season? Probably nothing they'd be willing to do. Teams just aren't looking to make deals this soon. But the contract is team-friendly enough that they should be able to do something with it before the trade deadline, especially if they're willing to attach a first-round pick or multiple seconds.
Adam Silver's Kalshi Account
1:26
Can the wolves sign a 15th player at any time? Or is there a specific date they'll look towards?
Luke Adams
1:27
They can do so anytime. They're in the tax, so any player they sign would cost them more than just his salary. But they're about $4.5MM away from their hard cap (at the second apron), so a minimum-salary player would comfortably fit.
Shocker
1:27
Any guesses on how the Cleveland backup PG battle shakes out?
Luke Adams
1:28
Have to give Meleek Thomas the edge for minutes after his performance on Monday, but I'm a Craig Porter fan too and I think all three guys could get their chances over the course of the season.
Bruces dad
1:29
Where will Bruce Brown end up?
Luke Adams
1:29
He seems like a good fit for a lot of teams, especially given the wave of injuries around the league. I wouldn't mind seeing him fill the 15th roster spot in OKC or Minnesota.
CAHILL201
1:29
How much can the warriors get on a disable player exception for KP?
Luke Adams
1:32
A disabled player exception would be worth half his salary, so $10MM. But...

  1. It would require a physician to determine he'll likely be out through at least June 15, which could be trickier with an illness than an injury.
  2. They'd lose the exception if they traded him.
  3. The exception doesn't give them the ability to surpass their hard cap at the second apron, and right now they're extremely close to that hard cap.
Mike
1:32
Please provideth your 3 most appealing rookie big men this year - in terms of minutes on the floor / role / stat production etc
Luke Adams
1:34
Assuming we're counting fours as "big men" and not just talking about centers here, I think it's gotta be Yaxel, Boozer, and Caleb Wilson. Trevon Brazile in Denver also looks pretty promising -- he's going to play more than I expected.

If we're talking centers, I'd have to think a little bit longer. Not sure how many will get consistent minutes besides Aday Mara.
Guest
1:34
what's the deal with Gary Trent.  Obviously still have the ongoing issue with the investigation, but the bigger issue as a bucks fan is that we gave him a 4 yr/$64m contract i think it was and don't want to play him.
Luke Adams
1:38
We haven't really talked about it much because the Bucks aren't expected to be a playoff team and Trent isn't an impact player, but that whole situation is extremely weird. The contract was a blatant overpay, and if they felt like he actually deserved it, I have no idea why they wouldn't be playing him now.

It's almost making me go into conspiracy theory mode and think stuff like "Are they sitting him because they expect the contract to be voided and don't want to risk him getting injured before then??" To be clear, I don't really believe that. But it's just such an odd situation that it's really hard to figure out what the Bucks are thinking.

I'm definitely looking forward to the results of that investigation. I hope one day we get a full behind-the-scenes account of how that deal came about.
Holden Twodees
1:38
Would a team sign Otega Oweh to a 2 year-two way contract, or is he just out of luck?
Luke Adams
1:40
I don't think a team would use a two-way slot on a second-round pick who can't play all season. My guess is that he spends this year around the Thunder as he recovers from the Achilles tear and they re-sign him to a new two-way deal during the 2027 offseason.
Unclemike1526
1:41
Now that my worst fears are being realized and the Bulls are playing Leonard Miller at the 5 and watching him get beat up are the Bulls going to attempt to move some pieces for a 5? Okoro, Collins, or something. I mean Claxton isn't really going to change that dynamic as much as everybody thinks right? I would hate to see a promising young player get injured playing out of position like Dosunmu and Caruso did. And what would a Miller extension look like assuming they don't get him killed? Thanks Luke
Luke Adams
1:44
Claxton should be back before teams are ready to make trades, so we'll see how much he helps before the Bulls go shopping for anyone else.

If the Bulls want reinforcements in the short term, there's nothing stopping them from signing a free agent though. They're one of the only teams carrying an open 15-man roster spot that has no tax-related reasons to keep that spot open -- I'm not sure why they haven't filled it already, even just with a temporary solution on a non-guaranteed deal.

It's not like there's a difference-making center out there in free agency, but bringing in a Jemison or Plumlee or Biyombo type (or a younger player with some upside if they prefer that to a veteran stopgap) could help avoid the wear and tear on guys like Miller.
1:46
As for a Miller extension, I don't think the cost would be high. The three cheapest extensions signed since July were for Jordan Walsh (three years, $15.75MM), Jamal Shead (three years, $24MM), and Oso Ighodaro (three years, $29MM). He's probably in that range, maybe closer to Walsh and Shead than Ighodaro.
Doctor on call
1:47
We are just about a week into the season and already there are star players already being unavailable for weeks at a time - what are these players doing or not doing that could be the causes -
Luke Adams
1:51
As someone with no medical expertise whatsoever, I'd only be guessing. But my unfounded theories:

  1. While you can scrimmage all offseason, nothing really replicates the speed and intensity of an actual NBA game, so getting back up to that level after an offseason layoff could be one reason for the increase in recent injuries.
  2. In general, the game is played at a faster speed and with more athleticism than ever, and when you're playing that fast, one wrong step is more likely to result in a bad injury than when you or I are playing at, uh, let's say "half-speed" in a pick-up game.
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