JotCast | Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 11/4/2026

Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 11/4/2026

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Luke Adams

1:10

Even in the event that Porzingis' contract was voided, the short-term opportunities it creates for the Warriors would be minimal, since they're right near the second apron and have already used a portion of their MLE. Reducing their team salary by $20MM would get them out of apron territory, but they'd still be far above the cap. The only real benefit would be giving them a little more flexibility in trades (they could take back a bit more salary than they send out).

GrizzMan

1:10

Dis the grizzlies fumble with Walter Clayton? Could they have extracted some value from him?

Luke Adams

1:13

I was surprised at the time that the Grizzlies chose Kris Murray over Clayton, and nothing I've seen from either player so far this season makes me think I was wrong to be surprised. But in fairness to the Grizzlies, as long as their roster is healthy, they have a lot of solid options in their backcourt and probably wouldn't have been able to give Clayton the same kind of opportunity that he's gotten in Dallas, so it would have been hard for him to increase his value.

curious1

1:13

When was the last time we've seen a rookie class start off so strong? There seems to be some major studs out there right now.

Luke Adams

1:15

We heard pretty consistently leading up to the 2026 draft that it was a strong class and it's totally delivered so far. The most notable thing to me is that it often takes at least a couple months for rookies to get comfortable with the competition in the NBA and start making an impact, but there are already a ton of guys in this class playing rotation minutes and positively contributing. The race for the 10 All-Rookie spots is gonna be really competitive this year.

Wizfan

1:15

The Wizards are off to a solid start, thanks in part to Anthony Davis. Do you think this means he will sign an extension during the season? Or is he more likely to test free agency to get a max deal?

Luke Adams

1:20

I think when it was reported in the summer that the Wizards and AD were postponing extension talks until sometime during the season, the word was that they wanted to wait at least 20-25 games to reassess. So it feels a little early to jump to any conclusions -- given his injury history, let's first make sure that Davis can get to the 20- or 25-game mark healthy.

I do think if Davis stays healthy and the Wizards remain competitive, an in-season extension is a real possibility. Star players don't really want to test free agency anymore unless they absolutely have to, and locking in that money sooner rather than later is the safe play for someone like AD.

Would be very curious to see what that deal would look like. Davis doesn't have much incentive to do it without getting at least one more guaranteed year in 2028/29, but I'm not sure the Wizards would want to do more than that.

Kings

1:20

How would a team like the Kings even get off of Zach Lavine or Malik Monk's contract? Are buyouts coming?

Luke Adams

1:24

This specific trade doesn't really make sense because the Warriors don't need a guy like Monk, but the way for the Kings to move him would be to take on a contract like the Porzingis one in the hopes of getting a second-round pick or two along with it.

That would allow Sacramento clear Monk's money from the cap a year early while maybe getting a minor draft asset in the process, even if the player they get in the deal has no value on his own. I think it'll be hard for them to do much better than that.

As for LaVine, that's a really tricky one. Even if he's playing well, it's hard to move a player with a salary that high, expiring contract or not. I think a buyout is more likely than a trade there, but maybe a path will open up by the deadline with a trade partner that wants to move off a big salary of its own.

Desertdawg1

1:24

With the Suns getting off to a slow start, how far will the management go with a few of these players before they make a major trade.?

Luke Adams

1:25

The Suns re-signed or extended a lot of their guys in the past few months, and it seems like they plan to do the same with Miles Bridges at some point. I feel like they might be committed to this group for at least this season.

Jalen Green will be the prime trade candidate to watch next summer when he's on an expiring deal. I don't think he fits with the current roster.

Edwill

1:26

Do you think the grizzlies surprising start will keep continuing or will they fall back to the pack. I think they can compete for a play in spot.

Luke Adams

1:28

Yeah, contending for a play-in spot seems realistic. I still don't see them as a top-six team in the West but they're good enough to comfortably exceed their preseason over/under (29.5 wins) and maybe finish close to .500 if they stay relatively healthy.

MNisUnderrated

1:28

Why haven't the pacers signed a 10 day guy? That 6 man roster was a tough but spirited crew, but they could have used some help.

Luke Adams

1:31

10-day contracts can't be signed until January unless the team qualifies for a hardship exception (at least four players out with multi-week injuries).

The Pacers might soon meet that criteria if they don't already, but a team can only be granted a hardship exception if it already has a full 15-man standard roster, which they don't.

For what it's worth, as of tomorrow, Indiana will be able to squeeze a 15th man on a prorated minimum-salary contract below their hard cap. But it's TBD whether they'll add someone to fill that spot right away or try to stick it out with the current group (which should comfortably exceed six players tonight) for now.

Cream Abdul Jabba

1:32

The Pelicans higher ups must be insane for running this crew back. Why they haven't had a fire sale is beyond me.

Luke Adams

1:33

I still like a bunch of the players on their roster, but the way they've managed those guys is reminding me a little of the Karnisovas-era Bulls. I sort of wonder if in a year or two, we'll see guys like Herb Jones and Yves Missi traded and say, "Really? That's all they ended up getting for them? After holding out for so long?"

Victoria Beckham

1:33

Are the Warriors saving cap space every game they don't pay Porzingis? Your article says it works out to $218k per game.

Luke Adams

1:35

Porzingis' cap hit won't change during the season as a result of those fines. It stays at $20MM even though he's not being paid the full amount.

That lost salary would be retroactively removed from his cap number after the season if it's not recouped or they don't reach some sort of buyout agreement. Which would be good for the Warriors' tax bill but would have no real impact on their in-season roster options.

Bulls fan

1:36

I know that this is way way early, do you think Chicago may regret not drafting Acuff instead of Wilson?

Luke Adams

1:39

Like you say, way too early. If a re-draft were held today, they wouldn't change their pick. They didn't expect Wilson to be a star from day one and don't need him to be. What he becomes by year three or four is far more important, and his ceiling remains very high.

For what it's worth, I actually think his play has been pretty promising since that ugly season debut.

Philly Man

1:40

For Center depth, which Centers could Sixers sign later in December as a Free Agent Vet Minimum Contract other than Kevin Love or Tre Jemison and/or which Centers do you like Sixers to trade for starting by Dec.15th & up to the Trade Deadline out of Karlo Matcovic, Jericho Sims, Jay Huff, Jaxson Hayes, Charles Bassey, Robin Lopez, Jalen Smith, and WHO ELSE? as Sixers can trade a Combination of Salaries of Hukporti, Justin Edwards, Bona, Jabari Walker if they guarentee his contract & Draft Picks so basically what specific things do you think the Sixers can do & then will do regarding Center Depth but I don't want them to trade Simons at all because they need Simons for the Playoffs?

Luke Adams

1:45

The Sixers will probably be shopping on the trade market among a bunch of the same centers that the Knicks were looking at ahead of the season (Matkovic, Diabate, etc.).

Sims is sort of intriguing to me. I think the price would be very modest (maybe a single second-round pick) and he's the sort of athletic rim-runner who would be a nice fit on that roster. Huff is somewhat interesting too, especially if the Pacers underachieve and won't to reduce their tax bill or duck the tax. Minimum or near-minimum guys like that appeal more to me than the ones with higher salaries like Brook Lopez, Jalen Smith, and Jaxson Hayes because they'd just require one outgoing player.

As for stopgap options in free agency, Drew Eubanks would be another possibility if and when he gets healthy. Not sure what the timeline on his injury is.

Yang Gang

1:45

Yang Hansen seems like a bad fit. Curious why the Blazers felt the need to get him that early in the draft.

Luke Adams

1:46

Seemed like they fell in love with his tools and the idea of what he could become if he reached his ceiling, but his development hasn't gone as hoped so far.

chicago Mike

1:46

At this moment, who is the Rookie of the year?

Luke Adams

1:48

Think it'd probably come down to Lendeborg vs. Boozer at this point. Lendeborg has been the more efficient scorer but Boozer has been the more well-rounded contributor and has made more of an impact in terms of on/off numbers, so I'll give him the edge for now.

GrizzMan

1:48

O/U on Ty Jerome being traded at the deadline?

Luke Adams

1:51

Depends on how competitive the Grizzlies have been and whether his production stays anywhere near the level it's been at so far.

Paradoxically, it may actually be harder to trade him the better he's playing, since the structure of his contract will make it hard to give him a big raise with just his Early Bird rights next offseason.

I will say I think an in-season trade is less likely now than I did a month ago. The two sides seem like a really good fit, so the Grizzlies won't just want to sell him off to the highest bidder.

gary

1:52

When will the league impose a salary Cap? I suggest a floor and ceiling. If over lose 2 first round draft picks, unable to trade, and sign free agents including own players.

Luke Adams

1:52

MLBTR is down the hall and to your right. We've already got our cap and floor over here.

DalenTerryFan420

1:52

Will Dalen Terry be just what the thunder need? A guy who can guard at every level, great perimeter defense, and great offensive touches? What percent chance do you foresee them trading away Topic?

Luke Adams

1:54

I can't say I share your enthusiasm for Dalen Terry's potential impact in OKC. Think if he can occasionally give them 10-15 decent minutes off the bench, they'll consider that a win. I also wouldn't necessarily expect him to still be on the roster by mid-January. His contract is non-guaranteed and waiving it before the guarantee date will give the Thunder some extra flexibility with that 15th roster spot.

As for the odds of a Topic trade, they're much higher now that the Thunder have declined his option for 2027/28. If OKC makes an in-season trade, he seems most likely to be the outgoing player.

JOe

1:55

Embiid plus some picks for Sabontis. Who says no

Luke Adams

1:55

Philadelphia. Embiid is the better fit and the higher-upside player as long as he's healthy, and his long-term money isn't as big a concern now that they're legitimate contenders in the short term.

Victoria Beckham

1:55

Will teams be desperate to get out of the bottom 3 in the lottery? Will bad teams become buyers at the deadline to scrape a few more wins in March and April?

Luke Adams

1:57

I'm skeptical. It's not as if those bottom three teams don't get a lottery pick. They're still guaranteed to be in the top 12 and their chances of being in the top four or five won't fall off a cliff. I'm sure they'll keep rolling out competitive lineups in the hopes of moving up, but they're not going to give up future assets or change their team-building approach to make it happen.

AlsoWizFan

1:58

I'm guessing the chances of getting two Wiz Qs answered is slim, but should AD be traded - is there a team that wants him and has enough assets (they are willing to trade) to get him?

Luke Adams

1:59

I'd need to think about it more. Off the top of my head, he makes a lot of sense for the Warriors, though it doesn't seem like they want to trade Butler for him. The Raptors would be another clear fit, but they've have to overpay to get the Wizards to take Poeltl back.

2:00

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions, and apologies if I didn't get to yours. I'll be on vacation next week, so my next live chat will be on Wednesday, November 18, but Arthur Hill will continue to host his weekly chats for Front Office subscribers on Thursdays this week and next.

Have a great week, all!

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