NBA Summer League is ostensibly a basketball event. There is basketball being played on the court, but there are just as many games being played in quiet corners of the arenas, the concourse and hotel lobbies.
The entire NBA world is in Las Vegas. The main madness of the offseason is over. It’s a relaxed environment and NBA folks are ready to talk. They’ll talk about what they did, didn’t do, and what their hopes are for players and their teams. In exchange for anonymity, you can get some real good insight. Yes, most of it has an optimistic tone. But that’s summer in the NBA for you!
As I’ve done each year when returning from Las Vegas, I’m going to empty out my notebook. In each case, I’ll try to notate if the comment came from a front office executive, a coach or a scout. When it’s my own observation, I’ll start the note by saying so.
One note: None of these notes came from sessions where we had speakers at Sports Business Classroom. That intel is forever under lock and key. That’s because that gold is for SBC students’ ears only. If you want in on that, click the link above and start looking at getting ready to sign up for the next session!
First up, I’ll have some general NBA notes. Then, we’ll go through the Eastern Conference teams. Let’s start emptying the notebook!
Stars in trade rumors deep into the offseason
“This is how it is now, I think,” an Eastern Conference GM said. “It used to be by the time Summer League ended, you could go on vacation until training camp. Now, we’re going to have year-round news because the star guys put that kind of pressure on the team to keep improving.”
“Do I think the star guys like Giannis (Antetokounmpo) or LeBron (James) are going to go anywhere? Nope. Is it possible? Sure is. That’s why I can’t go to the beach and shut my phone off. You never know when a call could come. And imagine telling your owner that you missed out on a trading for one of those guys because you were asleep on the beach? I’d lose my job!” a Western Conference GM said.
“This is how it is now. Building a roster is a year-long job. You can’t finish up here in Las Vegas with camp guys and call it a summer. Probably good for you for content though, right?” an Eastern Conference front office executive said.
Second Apron
Observation: The dreaded second apron was a discussion point in almost every conversation. For some, it was a fear that the second apron was going to cause teams to cheap out. For others, the restrictions are necessary for survival of all 30 teams.
“The apron is tough. You have to be more mindful and preemptive than ever,” said an Eastern Conference GM.
“I think what we’re going to see is teams dip their toes into the tax, because that’s not as punitive,” one president of basketball operations said. “Then you’ll go to the first apron as you climb the playoff ladder. And if you’re a title contender, then you can go into the second apron for a year or two. But you have to be intentional about it.”
“Look, we’re probably never going to be a second apron team. It’s just now how we operate. But for a team like us, that can open up value trades or even signings, when the expensive teams start shedding salary. It’s a tremendous balancer for the league,” an Eastern Conference GM told me.
Major injuries, including the rash of torn Achilles’ tendons across the NBA
“I know you’ve talked about this before, and you’re spot-on: It has to start with the youth levels,” a head of sports science said. “By the time guys to get to the league, they’re already beat up. And these are 20-year-olds we’re talking about. We have to stop grinding them to dust before they even make it.”
“It’s something we’ve talked about as a team. We always have to build depth, because injuries are inevitable,” a Western Conference GM said, “But what’s different is that you have to multiple years of depth now. Because we’re all going to lose a guy for a year or so at some point.”
“You know how in baseball they say things like ‘It’s good that he got a Tommy John surgery out of the way early in his career’? I almost wonder if we’re going to hit that point in basketball. I hope not, but we have to start fixing this problem and it starts by not pushing these guys to play so much when they are children,” a head trainer said.
Atlanta Hawks
On Zaccharie Risacher: “A big part of the reason we were willing to add guys to push forward was the play of Zaccharie Risacher. From Christmas on, he was awesome. Go look up the stats and you’ll see how good he was after Christmas. (Note: Risacher averaged 13.9 points on 50/40/73 shooting splits over his final 45 games of his rookie season.) We know what Trae (Young) and Jalen (Johnson) are. Dyson (Daniels) is become a big-time player. But Zaccharie gave us the confidence to add to the roster,” a Hawks front office executive said.
On extending Dyson Daniels: “I think we can get a deal done with Dyson. Both sides want to. He’s been a perfect fit next to Trae (Young) because they complement each other well,” a Hawks front office executive said.”
On the draft and draft-night trade: “The draft was a homerun for us. We got that extra pick. (Note: this is the best of the Pelicans/Bucks 2026 first-round pick.) And we nailed our pick with Asa Newell. He’s something different from our other frontcourt guys. The goal for this year for him: Play really hard, run the floor and mix it up on defense. Keep it simple and build from there,” a Hawks coach said.
On the offseason moves: “We feel like we had one of the best offseasons in the entire league. I know that’s confident, but we got Kristaps (Porzingis) in a trade and signed Nickeil (Alexander-Walker) and Luke (Kennard). Who else added three players that good?” a Hawks front office executive said. “Those are big-time players who all fill needs for us. We’re going to be deep and really versatile next season. We won’t put any kind of expectations on our group, but we’re not putting any kind of artificial limits on them either.”
On Kobe Bufkin: “I’m a little worried about him. Athletically, he’s fine. He’s too quick and too strong for guys here (Las Vegas Summer League). But he’s got to shoot it better. And he has to stay healthy. Hopefully it will come together for him,” a Hawks scout said.
Boston Celtics
On the roster changes: “Still figuring it all out. As you’ve noted, we’re still above the second apron. We won’t finish there. It sucked to trade Jrue (Holiday) and KP (Kristaps Porzingis), because we loved those guys and they loved Boston,” a Celtics front office executive said. “But it was being brutally honest that we aren’t the same level of team without Jayson (Tatum). We’ll be good. We’ll be a playoff team, but…you know. It’ll come for every team that lands where we did. You can’t be over the second apron and not a title contender. It’s just poor management for both the short- and long-term. The frozen pick and pick dropping stuff is real.”
On Charles Bassey: “Considering he got added to our team so late, this was an awesome run for him. No idea if we’ll have roster space for him or not. But we’d love to keep working with Charles and see if we can make something work,” a Celtics front office executive said.
On Jordan Walsh: “This is sort of a make-or-break year for him. The minutes will be there, if he takes them. This summer was a good start,” a Celtics coach said.
On Hugo Gonzalez: “I don’t care about the shooting numbers. His legs were Jello. He was exhausted. But he competed. He wants to win. The shot looked good before his legs went. We’ll take it slow, but he’s going to get real minutes as a rookie,” a Celtics coach said.
On Baylor Scheierman: “Not worried at all about the shooting. He took more self-created shots out here (Las Vegas) than his entire rookie year. That won’t be his thing in the league…yet. We think he can get there. What was really exciting for us was his defense, his passing and his rebounding. That’s all the connective stuff we drafted him to do,” a Celtics coach said.
Brooklyn Nets
On drafting five rookies: “Kind of crazy, right? But the value to trade those picks against the players we could get just wasn’t there,” a Nets front office executive said. “Now, we have to be very intentional this year. Being as young as we are is pretty fragile. But we’re excited for the challenge.”
On Egor Demin: “Yeah, his role here (Summer League) was WAY different than what we’re going to ask him to do in the regular season. But that’s what this is for, right? We tasked him to shoot it from deep and to shoot it a lot. He did exactly as he was asked,” a Nets coach said. “We know about the playmaking. This was a chance to see if he could get his shot off against NBA-level defenders. He did and those shots went in a lot too. We couldn’t be happier with his work here (Summer League).”
On Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf: “A lot of people see them as being similar players, and that’s somewhat fair. But we think they can play together. Look at OKC and Indiana. They play a lot of ballhandlers and creators,” a Nets front office executive said. “We’re not too worried about the shooting here (Summer League). Both guys just finished up their seasons overseas. They were both pretty wiped out.”
On adding Michael Porter Jr. and Terance Mann: “We’re transitioning our roster, of course. We’re going to play a lot of young players. But we need some vets to balance that. And, of course, we need to score some points,” a Nets front office executive said. “Porter will help us a ton there. I’m not saying he’ll win the scoring title, but I think it could be close. And Terance will help with everything. He’s such a good connector. He’s going to help our young ballhandlers a ton with learning the NBA.”
On Cam Thomas: “We love Cam. We think he’s one of the best scoring guards in the league, and an underrated playmaker. We’ll see what happens, but our feelings about Cam as a player and person have never wavered. We love him,” a Nets coach said.
On re-signing Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams: “We want to be careful that we aren’t just casting off every guy who isn’t on a rookie deal. That’s not good for an organization to get that kind of rep,” a Nets front office executive said. “Those guys and their reps put their faith in us to use our flexibility this summer, while still taking care of them. We’ve still got some cap space, but there’s a clock on that. (Note: if a team has not reached the salary floor by the start of the regular season, a cap hold for the difference is put on the team’s cap sheet.) But we love both Day’Ron and Ziaire and everything they were for us last year and before. We’re young, obviously, but we want some young vets to show the new guys the way. Those two are a big part of that.”
Charlotte Hornets
On the draft: “We had the best draft in the league. Of course, 29 other teams will probably say the same thing,” a Hornets front office executive said. “But we’re fired up. We wanted guys who could complement LaMelo (Ball) and Brandon (Miller) and to help open up the floor for them. Kon (Knueppel) and Liam (McNeeley) can do that. But we didn’t want one-skill guys. We all saw Indiana and the Thunder, right? You have to be able to be versatile. We’re getting there. And we hit in the second round with Sion (James) and Ryan (Kalkbrenner) too. We considered both of them at 29, but knew that Liam wouldn’t come back around. So, we held our breath and still got both guys. Internally, we’ve said we feel like we have four first-rounders, because all four guys we got had first-round evaluations on our board.”
On a full roster: “Yeah. We’ve still got some work to do, for sure. That’s what the rest of this summer will be about. There are some difficult decisions coming, but that’s not bad thing, right? Better that than not having enough guys,” a Hornets front office executive said.
On frontcourt depth: “I get why you are asking. But we think we’ve got guys who can play. Mason (Plumlee) will help with his experience and his passing ability. We’ll have Grant (Williams) back and he’s a great connector. We love Moussa (Diabate). He plays with such great energy and he’s awesome on the glass. And Ryan (Kalkbrenner) has been awesome out here (Summer League). We think he’ll shoot it eventually too,” a Hornets coach said.
On LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller and their health: “Those guys are still our anchors, pillars, foundation, whatever you want to call it. But you are right, we have to get them on the floor. They played like 20 games together last year. That’s not going to cut it. We have to figure that out, and we’re confident we will. Our roster moves at the draft and beyond were about building around those two guys with complementary and connecting pieces to them,” a Hornets front office executive said.
Chicago Bulls
On a somewhat quiet offseason: “I won’t say it was by design. But we knew we weren’t likely to make any blockbuster moves either. But we’re happy with what we did and we’re still actively looking at other options too,” a Bulls front office executive said.
On Josh Giddey: “We want to get a deal done with Josh. He’s as important of a player as we have. We see him as a foundational player for us. I hope we can find a deal that makes sense for us and him and that we’ll be together for a long time,” a Bulls front office executive said.
On Matas Buzelis: “He’s going to be really, really good. He wants it so damn bad. This kid pushes himself so hard. And you see that on the floor too. But it’s the quiet moments when you see him work. He’s wildly intense about getting better and improving,” a Bulls coach said.
On the roster as a whole: “Last year, we played pretty fast. I think we can play even faster next season. Our roster is built for it. And you saw with Indiana and OKC in the Finals, that playing with pace is so important. We’re going to get after it on defense, force turnovers and then get out and run. That suits Matas (Buzelis) and Noa (Essengue) as our young forwards and all of our guards really well. We also think that Isaac (Okoro) will benefit in a more up-tempo style too. There’s untapped potential there,” a Bulls coach said.
On Coby White: “The contract is what it is. We probably can’t extend him, because the rules don’t allow for us to pay him enough,” a Bulls front office executive said. “But we want Coby to be a Bull for a long time. He knows how we feel about him.”
Cleveland Cavaliers
On the overall roster: “It’s hard being a second apron team, but we think we did well to add some talent,” a Cavs front office executive said. “Thrilled to bring Sam Merrill back. We value his shooting so much. Lonzo (Ball) is really going to help us. He gives us more size and defense in the backcourt, and his passing will be so great for all of our guys. Larry (Nance Jr.) is going to really help our frontcourt a lot. He can play either big spot and that’s huge in a rotation with Evan (Mobley) and Jarrett (Allen). We’re also excited about Tyrese Proctor too. We think he was a tremendous value pick in the second round.”
On Nae’Qwan Tomlin: “Really exciting, right? We saw some of this in the G League last year. He might be a rotation guy for us this year,” a Cleveland coach said.
On Jaylon Tyson’s development: “Right on schedule. This year, there’s a path to more minutes for Jaylon. Don’t be surprised if he’s in the rotation,” a Cavs scout said.”
Detroit Pistons
On the roster movement this offseason: “It’s no secret we had to pivot, right? But we feel really good about what we were able to do,” a Pistons front office executive said. “Caris LeVert is going to be huge for us, because he can score and he can be a primary playmaker too. Duncan Robinson’s shooting is something we had to have. We think we’ve got guys who can set him up even more than he was in Miami the last couple of years.”
On Ron Holland II: “Oh, man! Yes! Be honest with me: Did you see a better player out here (Las Vegas) than Ron?” a Pistons front office executive said. “If you say you did, you better be ready for an argument! Ron was so good. We said it when we drafted him that we felt like we got one of the best players in the draft. As a rookie, he just got better every single day. Now, he’s going to break out and have an incredible season. The jumper and the free throw shooting? Those are real. Big, big, BIG year coming for Ron.”
On extensions talks with Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey: “Those guys are key guys for us. We’re not the cap-space Pistons anymore. We’re the playoff-Pistons now. If want to keep being the playoff-Pistons, we need to be really smart from here on out,” a Pistons front office executive said. “That means finding the right deal for us and our players. But we love the way both Jalen and Jaden have developed. Look, if we have Jaden last year, we win our first playoff series in forever. We believe that 100%. We’re hopeful we can get extensions done with both of those guys to keep them in Detroit for a long time.”
Indiana Pacers
On losing Myles Turner: “It’s tough. Myles was so important to everything we’ve been over the last decade. But we have to be smart, both right now and the future,” a Pacers front office executive said. “We feel like we used our assets well to get center options in the building that can help us continue to be a really good team.”
On the center position: “We’re thrilled to bring back Isaiah (Jackson) and James (Wiseman). I mean, who the heck has two big guys tear Achilles’ in the span of a week? That was crazy,” a Pacers coach said. “Those guys were poised to have good years for us last year. Now, they’re set up to do the same this year. And adding Jay Huff was big-time. He’s an underrated floor spacer and rim protector. No one can replace Myles, but Jay is going to be a lot better than a lot of people realize.”
On playing without Tyrese Haliburton: “Yeah, we’ll see how that goes, unfortunately. Wish it wasn’t the case, but it is. That’s life in the NBA,” a Pacers scout said. “But we have really, really good guards. We think we have the best guard group in the entire NBA. Tyrese is the best point guard in the NBA, but Andrew (Nembhard), T.J. (McConnell), Benn (Bennedict Mathurin), and Kam (Jones) are pretty good. They’ll make it work.”
Miami Heat
On adding Norman Powell: “Huge. One of the best scoring guards we’ve had in the league over the last few years. He can get downhill off the bounce and he can play off guys as a shooter. He’s going to be awesome for us, because he’ll get a chance to do a lot of everything on offense,” a Heat coach said.
On re-signing Davion Mitchell: “The minute Davion arrived and we saw him on the floor, we knew he was going to be someone who stuck around. Sometimes when you make a trade, guys are kind of in and out and you keep shuffling,” a Heat front office executive said. “With Davion, we knew right away. He’s perfect with our guys and our mindset.”
On drafting Kasparas Jakucionis: “I’m not going to tell you where he was on our board, but it was a heck of a lot higher than where we picked him!” a Heat front office executive said. “The great thing about Kas is that he wasn’t very good in California. And he was mad about that. Here (Las Vegas) he was much better. That’s what will work for him in the NBA. He’s not going to settle for anything other than being great.”
On Kel’el Ware: “Big, big year coming for him. He’s another guy who won’t settle for anything other than being great,” a Heat front office executive said. “We’re looking forward to watching the leap he’s going to take as a second-year guy. Perfect fit with Bam (Adebayo) in our versatile frontcourt. Couldn’t be happier with how he’s coming along.”
Milwaukee Bucks
On a transitioning roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo: “I know you’re a Moneyball guy from your tweets. ‘Adapt or die’, right? When you have a player as good as Giannis, you have to be continually willing to do what it takes to win. That’s what we did,” a Bucks front office executive said.
On adding Myles Turner: “When we signed Brook (Lopez) forever ago, it was because we knew adding a floor space that could protect the rim next to Giannis would make us hard to deal with on both ends,” a Bucks coach said. “We’re doing the same with Myles. He’s not exactly the same as Brook, but we don’t have to completely change our identity with Myles either. That’s huge for continuity.”
On re-signing several key free agents: “We’re lucky to have had this group of free agents when we did. This was a complicated summer for us, because we had to create cap space and then re-sign a bunch of guys too. We’re thankful to have this particular group, with a bunch of great agents to work with, to get things done. They put their faith in us, and we hope that was rewarded,” a Bucks front office executive said.
On what happens next: “(laughs) I know you’re asking about Giannis. We have no indication that anything is really changing as far as our relationship with the player we think is the best in the world. We rebuilt on the fly, in a really challenging situation, but we think we did it as well as it could be done,” a Bucks front office executive said.
On the waive-and-stretch of Damian Lillard: “That was really, really hard. Dame is such a great player and we’re all thrilled that he landed back home in Portland,” a Bucks front office executive said. “It’s also hard to take that kind of cap hit in immovable salary for a long time. But when you have Giannis (Antetokounmpo), you have to be willing to do what it takes to win and maximize your time with him.”
New York Knicks
On the offseason moves: “We didn’t have a lot we could do, because of the apron. But we were able to land a really good big man in Guerschon (Yabusele) and an experienced backup guard in Jordan (Clarkson). We feel pretty good about getting those two guys,” a Knicks coach said.
On pushing for a Finals run: “We’re close. We were already right there. Now, we think we’re even close. This is a great group and the additions we made will push us even further,” a Knicks coach said.
On Mikal Bridges and an extension: “We hope to get something done. When you make the commitment to trade for a player like we did with Mikal, you do it with the intention of them being on the team for a long time,” a Knicks front office executive said.
On the team’s younger players: “This is a tough rotation to crack. We have a lot of NBA veterans who are going to play a lot. But Pacome (Dadiet) looked a lot more comfortable this year than last year. Tyler (Kolek) got some run last year and we’re comfortable with playing him more this year. Ariel (Hukporti) was forced to play at time last year and he’s more ready if that happens again this year. And Kevin (McCullar Jr.) and MarJon (Beauchamp) both looked awesome out here (Las Vegas). We’re still figuring out the rest of the roster, but we hope all of those guys factor in somehow,” a Knicks scout said.
Orlando Magic
On adding Desmond Bane: “Do you think people forgot that happened? (laughs) It was so long ago! But we’re so excited to have him on the team now. It’s no secret we needed more shooting. Desmond will give us that. And he’s a better passer and defender than people realize too. We think that he’s a perfect fit with Paolo (Banchero), Franz (Wagner) and Jalen (Suggs) as a core foursome,” a Magic front office executive said.
On pushing up against the aprons: “It’s a new world for us, for sure. But our leadership believes in this group and is willing to pay what it takes to compete for a championship. We told them that if we wait too long because of finances, that we might not get there. A window is open now, and we’re young enough to keep that window open for a while,” a Magic front office executive said.
On adding Tyus Jones: “We needed more surety at backup guard. We’ve had injuries in the past and been caught asking too much of our primary guys. With Tyus, we get a guy who we know we can comfortably ask to start without any drop off from the guy he’s filling for. That’s huge for us as coaches and for our players too,” a Magic coach said.
On the team’s rookies Jase Richardson and Noah Penda and second-year player Tristan da Silva: “Neither guy had a very long stint out here (Las Vegas), but both Jase and Noah showed they can play. Jase is so tough. We took some losses in the backcourt with guys moving on, but Jase is going to be fun to toss in the mix some this year,” a Magic coach said. “Noah is tough. He’s a competitor. We’ve got a really deep frontcourt. But he’s going to get better every single day just by competing against our veterans up front. And don’t forget Tristan da Silva. I know he feels like a vet, but he’s only going into his second year. He’s got everything you need in winning players.”
Philadelphia 76ers
On V.J. Edgecombe: “For where we landed in the draft, we got the best player available, and we don’t think it was all that close. V.J. is perfect with the guys we already have, because he can do different things than they do,” a Sixers front office executive said. “We couldn’t be more excited to have him joining our team.”
On Quentin Grimes: “We want Quentin back. We believe he wants to be back. We all saw how great he was after he got to us last year. Hopefully we can get something done,” a 76ers front office executive said.
On the team’s offseason acquisitions: “Because of our position with the aprons and Quentin (Grimes) as a free agent, we had to be work around the edges. We feel like we got great value in the draft and free agency. V.J. (Edgecombe) and Johni (Broome) were the best guys on our board when they got picked. Getting guys like Trendon (Watford), Jabari (Walker), Dominick (Barlow) and Hunter (Sallis) without having big money to throw around, that’s adding championship-level depth,” a Sixers coach said.
On re-signing Justin Edwards: “We felt like Justin was a steal when we got him last year. When things went the way they went for us, you look for bright spots. Justin was the brightest spot we had. Very excited to continue that partnership together for the long-term,” a Sixers front office executive said.
On the team’s injury status (Note: This was before the news of Paul George having surgery came out and before the longform article about Joel Embiid was published): “We’re very aware that some of our key guys have things they are working through. We have tried to build depth to work around that, while also having talent we can pivot to, if necessary,” a Sixers front office executive said. “It creates a tremendous challenge for our coaches, but we believe in their ability to figure it out. We said multiple times heading into the offseason that ‘We need to build two different teams.’ One of those teams is going to play one way when our vets are healthy. We think that’s at a championship level. The other team is going to play fast and to take advantage of our youth. That puts a lot on the coaching staff to be that kind of multiple-style team, but we think they’re the perfect staff to pull it off.”
Toronto Raptors
On a quieter offseason: “Somewhat by design, to be sure. We did our work last year, when we acquired and then extended Brandon (Ingram). That doesn’t mean we didn’t look at things this summer, but we felt good about the group we had going into the offseason, and nothing came our way to make us think about changing that in any kind of major way,” a Raptors front office executive said.
On Collin Murray-Boyles: “We love him. Loved him at school, loved him in the pre-draft process, love him at Summer League. He’s tough. He plays hard. He has a high level of accountability for himself and his teammates. We’re excited to see what that looks like with our veteran guys. We think that our group of forwards/wings are going to push each other every day. That’s how they’ll all get better,” a Raptors scout said.”
On the team’s standing in the Eastern Conference: “We think we can be really good. One thing we’ve talked about is not putting a ceiling on any one player or on our team as a whole. We’re going to compete every day and we’ll see where things fall out. We think that will be in a pretty good place,” a Raptors coach said.
Washington Wizards
On the team’s roster construction (Note: This was pre-buyouts for Marcus Smart and Blake Wesley.): “We’re very conscious about not going too young. We’ve known for a long time that we were going to have one of the youngest rosters in the NBA. But we know we need at least a couple of veterans around, or no one is there to guide the kids,” a Wizards front office executive said.
On the team’s young players: “(laughs) If we go through all of them, it’ll take the rest of the day! Let’s just say that we’re thrilled with every young guy we have. What’s important to us is that they all want to compete and to get better. We set a tone early on that if you don’t come into the gym to work, then don’t come into the gym at all. We’ve never had to challenge these guys to work. We challenge them in different ways, but they’ve all shown up to work every day,” a Wizards coach said.
On drafting Tre Johnson: “When you look at the other guys we’ve drafted, we didn’t have what Tre is going to bring us. We had defenders, we had playmakers, we had shooters. Tre is a pure scorer. He was born to get buckets. Tre is a guy who is going to play with great confidence from Day 1. Our other guys are confident too, but Tre is just different in his confidence as a scorer from a lot of young players. He’s going to be special,” a Wizards scout said.
On Khris Middleton and C.J. McCollum and Marcus Smart (Note: This was before the buyout for Marcus Smart): “The ‘adults in the room’, right? Khris was so good with our kids when he got here last year. They gravitated to him in a major way. Marcus too. C.J. will be the same way. We’re going to play our young guys a lot, but having guys like Khris, C.J. and Marcus to point them in the right direction is invaluable for our young team,” a Wizards front office executive said.