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Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 10/9/2025
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Luke Adams
2:00
Happy Thursday, everyone! Lots of early questions to get to, so let's jump right in (and keep the questions coming).
Pacers
2:01
How screwed are we with McConnell being out a month?
Luke Adams
2:02
Marginally more screwed than you already were. A best-case scenario without Haliburton would've been finishing a few games above .500. I think that's probably still the ceiling, but the floor is lower now, and a sub-.500 season seems likelier.
Chip
2:02
I know you have answered this before but what is the purpose to sign and then waive a player ? Thanks for the chats
Luke Adams
2:04
I wrote a full story on this, since it happens so much during the preseason: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2025/09/why-so-many-players-will-be-signed...

Essentially, there are two reasons why this happens:

  1. To secure a player's G League rights, if they weren't already controlled by a team.
  2. To make sure that a player who is going to join your G League team gets a bonus on top of his standard G League base salary. Since the bonus can be worth up to $85,300, while the NBAGL salary is about half that it's a major motivator to get a player to bypass a more lucrative non-NBA opportunity overseas to join your G League team instead.
It would probably be simpler if there was some other mechanism to give G League players that bonus -- it would certainly save us from writing up a ton of minor transactions news in September and October!
Peyton Watson
2:05
Do I sign an extension with the nuggets before the season starts or deal with RFA purgatory next off-season? What would an extension look like for me now compared to a RFA deal next off-season if I have similar stats and games played compared to last season?
Luke Adams
2:08
The Nuggets have historically handed out rookie scale extensions to most of their guys who become eligible (even players who don't necessarily deserve them, like Zeke Nnaji). But they have new decision makers at the top of the front office now, so maybe that philosophy changes this year.

With no real hints yet on how the Nuggets' new front office will operate, I'd lean toward Watson not getting an extension yet. But if he's willing to accept something in the range of $8-10MM per year, maybe Denver would view it as worthwhile.
2:09
With a really good year this season, I could see Watson getting a deal in the $15-20MM per year range from someone next summer, but $10MM annually seems more likely right now.
Qbert
2:09
Celtics, Pelicans, Nuggets, Kings, Cavs (likely earmarking for Malik Beasley) and Pistons all have an open roster spot on their 15 man standard contract roster. Do you feel those will be filled by guys battling in training camp or left vacated?
Luke Adams
2:11
Would be surprised if the Celtics, Nuggets, or Cavs start the season with a 15th man, since they're all in tax territory (especially Cleveland and Boston, who would be paying exponentially more to keep a 15th man beyond just his salary).

The Pelicans and Kings have room below the tax line, so I could see them keeping Jaden Springer and Terence Davis, respectively, on non-guaranteed deals to start the year. But neither team has an ownership group that loves to throw money around, so if those guys are just OK during the preseason and the rosters are relatively healthy, they could just start out with 14 too.
Edwill
2:12
Which players on the thunder do you think they won’t be able to keep in the future.
Luke Adams
2:14
Would be sorta surprised if Hartenstein has a long-term future in OKC unless he takes a significant pay cut. I could see Isaiah Joe being traded within the next year. They should be able to keep guys like Caruso, Dort, and Wiggins for at least the next couple years.
Zac
2:14
With Robert Williams not being ready to start the season, do you think he will ever regain form or is this his last chance at a regular NBA role?
Luke Adams
2:16
I don't imagine we'll ever see the guy who was playing 25-30 minutes per night in Boston and earning All-Defense votes. But I could see him sticking in the NBA as a 15 MPG type backup, sort of like the role Jonathan Isaac has played the last couple years after he missed a lot of time for health reasons from 2020-23.
Kevin in Houston
2:16
Who is Rockets fifth starter - not on opening night, but after the all-star break.  Reed Sheppard, DFS, Tari Eason, or player to be traded for later?
Luke Adams
2:18
Depends how well Amen Thompson takes to the lead ball-handler role. If he thrives, a player like Finney-Smith or Eason makes sense with that group. If they want an extra ball-handler to help out Thompson and Sheppard has a good first half, he's probably the better fit.

For some reason though, the one I'm highest on this season is Eason, so I'll pick him.
Guest
2:18
Do you know how the G-League International Draft works in terms of the order? How does the order get determined? It is it by random?
Luke Adams
2:19
I believe it's determined by a random drawing, assuming they haven't changed the format since they implemented it a few years ago.
Top 6 reg szn west?
2:20
  1. nugs
  2. okc
  3. spurs
  4. gsw
  5. lal
  6. houston
do you think there is any other team that can slide into the top six? If u say Mavs im uninstalling. like the trailblazers a lot after watching them play last night so I would bet that they could slide in if Houston loses kd. I hope twolves have a horrible season. I hate Randle and gobert.
Luke Adams
2:23
Awfully bullish on the Spurs! I'd feel a lot more confident about Minnesota being in that top six, despite your distaste for them. Or the Clippers.

OKC, Denver, Minnesota, Golden State, Houston, and the two L.A. teams feel like the clear top seven in the West to me, in some order, but I'd love to see an upstart like San Antonio, Portland, or Memphis sneak in there.
Larry Fish
2:23
who wins the starting C spot in Indy?
Luke Adams
2:25
I get the sense they want Isaiah Jackson to win it. He's the homegrown guy that they drafted four years ago, and he's put in a lot of work to make it back from his Achilles tear. If he looks solid in the preseason, it's his job to lose it.

Having said that, I really like the Jay Huff fit in Indy and wouldn't be shocked if he ends up starting by Christmas, if not earlier.
Kevin in Houston
2:25
Does JD Davison get converted to a regular contract by season's end by the Rockets?  Looks like a steal through 2 preseason games.
Luke Adams
2:29
Houston doesn't have the room under its hard cap to make that move at this point. Maybe Davison gets a promotion later in the season, but the Rockets will have to be careful about how they fill that 15th roster spot -- with barely any cap flexibility and VanVleet out for the season, their margin for error is slim.
Sac-Town Pete
2:29
how bad are the Kings going to be this year?
Luke Adams
2:30
I'm currently in the process of writing up our offseason recap on the Kings (it'll be up tomorrow) and I'm kinda surprised at how little the roster has changed, since I didn't love the group they finished last season with.

There's talent there, so it's not as if they'll be a 15-win team or anything, but the pieces just don't really fit together all that well. It feels like a roster that could undergo a significant overhaul either during the season or next summer.
Hubert Cumberdale
2:31
Will the Knicks be able to open up a roster spot for both Brogdon and Shamet? If so who gets traded/cut?
Luke Adams
2:33
Trading Dadiet into a team's cap room or cap exception seems like the most obvious move. McBride is too valuable to give up and Hukporti and Kolek don't make enough money (well, Kolek technically does, but trading him to keep both Brogdon and Shamet would leave the Knicks about $40K below their hard cap, which seems like an awfully risky way to play out the season).

The problem is that everyone knows they want to trade Dadiet, so the return is gonna be very minimal, since it's not like he showed much last year. If they can't even get a second-round pick for him, the Knicks will have to weigh whether it's worth giving up on him in order to keep one of those vets, or whether they should just stick with him a little while longer.
Kim
2:34
Hi there. If Yannis asks for a trade from Milwaukee, who has the picks and assets to obtain him, that also will be able to contend once they give up players?? Thanks!
Luke Adams
2:38
The Thunder and the Spurs are the first two that come to mind. Depending on how the Bucks approach that sort of trade, I'd also keep an eye on the teams that aren't necessarily loaded with draft picks but have multiple promising young players on their roster.

Like, the Hawks don't have a ton of draft assets available to move, but if they made an offer that included at least two of Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Dyson Daniels, along with what draft picks they do have, that could be interesting.

I'd need to do more of a deep dive to come up with a more complete list, but it probably wouldn't be a super-long list.
arc
2:38
Warriors need a back up PG until Melton is ready do you see them dropping Rowe from their 2 way spot and filling it with LJ Cryer who was impressive last night?
Luke Adams
2:41
Two-way changes at the end of the preseason are always a possibility. By my count, there were 12 conversions from Exhibit 10 deals to two-way contracts in the days leading up to opening night last year, and I bet we'll get a bunch again this fall.

Still, while a Cryer/Rowe swap is certainly possible for the Warriors, I'm skeptical that they'd lean too heavily on a rookie for that backup PG role. It's more likely that they'd ask guys like Podziemski, Butler, and GPII to do more ball-handling.
Norman Lamb
2:41
Is Russell Westbrook going to be left without a team to start the season? Could the Hawks be a fit for him? They don't really have a true backup PG behind Trae
Luke Adams
2:45
Atlanta is one of the only teams in the league that is in position to make a Westbrook addition to work from both a cap/roster perspective (they're below the tax and have guys competing in camp for roster spots) and from a depth chart perspective (as you say, there's no obvious backup PG on the roster).

Still, even for a team like that, it comes down to: "Is Westbrook the kind of backup PG we want?" He has such a unique, ball-dominant style that you almost have to fit your second unit around him, rather than just slotting him into a specific role that fits your team. I think that's why he still doesn't have a team and why I'm sort of skeptical Atlanta would sign him.
Buba
2:45
If you had to pick one of the Wizards young guys to have a breakout year, who would you pick?
Luke Adams
2:47
Great question. It's probably Bilal Coulibaly for me. He has two NBA seasons under his belt now and I really thought he was on the verge of a breakout last year before he sort of leveled off. Sarr is interesting too, but the calf injury seems like it'll cost him both camp and the preseason, which will be a setback.
Underrated star?
2:47
Last season Aaron Gordon became the first player in NBA to raise both his FT% and 3pt% by more than 10%. If his shooting stays at last seasons levels while being healthy all season and continuing to be one of the best defensive players in the West, does he make 1st team all-star?
Luke Adams
2:51
Gordon is awesome, but I have a hard time picturing him as an All-Star -- he just compile enough of the stats (points, rebounds, assists, etc.) that typically warrant All-Star attention.

The only scenario in which I could see it happening is if the Nuggets have an amazing first half despite Murray missing a little time. In that case, maybe the consensus is "They need to have multiple All-Stars and Gordon has been their second-best player." But it feels like a long shot.
Cooper Flagg
2:51
Would you be surprised if I made an All NBA team this season? Not to toot my own horn but I have looked very good so far in summer league and preseason
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