2026 NBA Season

[ultrloa]

What can you say about this news?

The Denver Nuggets reportedly aren't interested in paying forward Aaron Gordon a maximum contract value of four years and $150 million during extension negotiations.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on Friday's episode of The Hoop Collective that the Nuggets are "hopeful" to sign Gordon to a new deal below the $150 million that he's eligible to receive (h/t RealGM).

Gordon still has two years remaining on his current contract, which includes a $22.8 million player option for the 2025-26 season.

A potential four-year, $150 million contract would be worth $37.5 million per year. If the maximum extension is signed and kicks in after his current deal, Gordon's average annual salary would become the ninth-highest among power forwards in the NBA during the 2026-27 season

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10139947-nba-rumors-aaron-gordon-wont-get-150m-max-contract-offer-from-nugget

So it means that the Nuggets wanted to retain him, however, they don't want to give him the possible max contract. And so if this is the case then we might see another part of the core team of Nuggets who win their NBA ring might not be with team. He have seen, KCP is the latest of the Nuggets that decided to move out, so maybe Gordon will be the next one.

In any case, still plenty of time for him to show his worth in this coming season. Worse case scenario is that if the Nuggets won't make it to the finals, just maybe they will lose another great player in their team. Gordon has evolved into a high flyer to a veteran and a great defender and then he can still score if needed specially in clutch. Two years still though in his contract and by that time, maybe it's a different Nugget team or Gordon started to decline as well.

Oh seems Nuggets doesn't really have plan to pay huge for those players who help them win a championship. If Gordon will be out in their rotation then provably that there chance to get another championship will became more lessen.

To bad for them and provably that there would be a lot more teams willing to give what Gordon ask. He's strong and performing well and for sure if he will be out on Nuggets this team will end up in half rebuilding mode. Gordon should perform good this season and stay away from injuries since if he could able to do that, maybe Nuggets will think twice not to give him what he deserve or he will get a lot of offers from other team.

[passwordnow]

So it means that the Nuggets wanted to retain him, however, they don't want to give him the possible max contract. And so if this is the case then we might see another part of the core team of Nuggets who win their NBA ring might not be with team. He have seen, KCP is the latest of the Nuggets that decided to move out, so maybe Gordon will be the next one.

I won't be surprised if that happens, Aaron Gordon is one of the pillars of the team that's able to help them get their first chip. They should spoil him with the max contract that they can give to him because he deserves that. It's obviously that he's one of the biggest help in the team. Maybe they're all going to invest more with Jamal and Jokic which doesn't look fair when he's one of the big three in the time. But anyway, maybe he's foreseen this already and have got some plans already on how he's going to adjust if some teams need a big man like him, he's very athletic and efficient under the rim.

There is no discussion yet for a superstar in the making, Dalton Knecht. He's made 35 points and turned the game aganst the Phoenix Suns and got that win. It's lovely to hear it from the commentators: "Knecht, connects!".

You know you’re a bad man when Snoop Dogg gives you a nickname. Congrats to Dalton “Westside” Knecht on his performance yesterday. He brought home a win, secured overtime, put up huge numbers, lots of highlights, and he made Bronny James look terrible. Lakers fans everywhere already falling in love with this kid.

Did he? Haha!
And speaking of Bronny, he made a good number with their match a while ago. Way to go Bronny!

[btc_angela]

So it means that the Nuggets wanted to retain him, however, they don't want to give him the possible max contract.

Yeah, exactly. They’re probably just trying to stay flexible so they can make sure to lock in their top guys like Jokic and Murray with the max contracts they deserve. No doubt, Gordon has made the Nuggets better, but the contract they’re offering seems a bit too high for someone who isn’t the team’s main star. He’s already won a championship with them, so hopefully, he won’t get too greedy and just take the deal to stay with the team and win more titles, and , at his age, it’s unlikely he’ll get a better offer elsewhere than what he’s getting now.

Probably we can compare it Klay Thompson's case, although he got offered by the Warriors as reported during the start of the season, he declined the offered because he doesn't like he and most likely he is also looking for a max contract.

And so after the seasons it, and as we have seen in Klay's last game or throughout, it is a different Klay and so they offered him again way below his expectations. In this case, if the Nuggets is going to offer, could be not max contract as well with Gordon because they have other priorities like Jokic and Murray.

[Botnake]

In this case, if the Nuggets is going to offer, could be not max contract as well with Gordon because they have other priorities like Jokic and Murray.

Gordon has to realize that the Nuggets already had Jokic and Murray leading the way before he arrived. In fact, during his first season with them, he had his struggles but was given the chance to grow his game. There’s no denying that his presence has really strengthened their defense, but he can't demand a max contract if it means jeopardizing the team's future. No matter how you look at it, the team has its priorities: Jokic is number 1, and Murray is second.

[Fredomago]

In this case, if the Nuggets is going to offer, could be not max contract as well with Gordon because they have other priorities like Jokic and Murray.

Gordon has to realize that the Nuggets already had Jokic and Murray leading the way before he arrived. In fact, during his first season with them, he had his struggles but was given the chance to grow his game. There’s no denying that his presence has really strengthened their defense, but he can't demand a max contract if it means jeopardizing the team's future. No matter how you look at it, the team has its priorities: Jokic is number 1, and Murray is second.

Agree to that, else he wanted to maximize his opportunity to make more money before his retirement then he can go and find another option but in terms of aiming for another chance to win another ring, he needs to consider whatever the offer that Nuggets can give him, though still too early to discuss this matter and there's an upcoming season to see if he will be more healthy to bargain his next option.

Still a good part of the core that might be given a consideration in case that he'll be able to help and the team manage to win another title.

[Webetcoins]

Gordon may not really deserve nearly 40 million dollars a year though, so there is a rightful reason for not offering him maximum contract. I do agree them putting that money up for future success reasons, but 40 million-ish type of money for Aaron Gordon makes no sense to me, he doesn't deserve that much.

About 30 million would be ideal sweet spot for both sides, a bit less than 30 would be amazing for the team. He is making about 20 million dollars right now, and asking for more, at his age, is a lot to ask for just because the team is doing great. We all know the team isn't doing great because of Gordon, if they lose Gordon then for 20-30 million range they could get someone else.

But Gordon knows they can't get that from free agency and would need a trade. I believe him getting 20-25 range would be the best case scenario for the team as well. There is no room for emotional reactions in business, look at Klay Thompson, dude was amazing for many years and was one of the biggest parts of Warriors having these rings, the moment he became bad, they just let him go.

[OgNasty]

The Celtics waiving Lonnie Walker already is a bit of a surprise. I wonder what’s going on there. Just a couple of weeks ago everyone was praising Boston for making such a great pickup and now they’re letting him walk away. Given his skill set, I think something out of the ordinary must be going on with Lonnie Walker.

[beerlover]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10139947-nba-rumors-aaron-gordon-wont-get-150m-max-contract-offer-from-nugget

So it means that the Nuggets wanted to retain him, however, they don't want to give him the possible max contract. And so if this is the case then we might see another part of the core team of Nuggets who win their NBA ring might not be with team. He have seen, KCP is the latest of the Nuggets that decided to move out, so maybe Gordon will be the next one.

In any case, still plenty of time for him to show his worth in this coming season. Worse case scenario is that if the Nuggets won't make it to the finals, just maybe they will lose another great player in their team. Gordon has evolved into a high flyer to a veteran and a great defender and then he can still score if needed specially in clutch. Two years still though in his contract and by that time, maybe it's a different Nugget team or Gordon started to decline as well.

When a team is doing good, having trouble within based on finances never makes sense to me. They already won something together, and they could potentially win again, they should be keeping the team together. Money is not really worth ruining this type of team, because in the end we are talking about a team that will have a higher value the more rings they win together. Look at Warriors, that team was bought out by some rich dude, and because of their rings, they are now worth a lot more, even new stadium has a value for it.

This is why I honestly believe the best thing they could do about this would be just focusing on what they could use this money for, and if they do spend maximum contract on Gordon then they are going to end up getting that back somehow, all because of value going up. This is one of the most expensive investments one can make, but think of it like any other business, and if you are spending 100 million extra between contract and the tax etc, but the team is gaining more than 100 million in value, then it's a good deal.

[OgNasty]

Shams is reporting that Yuki Kawamura has earned himself a contract with the Grizzlies.  I love to see this.  He has been balling out in the preseason so far and leaving us with a ton of highlights.  I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in the league this year when competition heats up a bit.

“The Memphis Grizzlies are signing Japanese guard Yuki Kawamura to a two-way NBA contract, sources tell ESPN. The 5-foot-8 Kawamura averaged 3.4 points, 4.2 assists and 15.1 minutes in preseason, leading Grizzlies with 21 total assists, and earned a roster spot.”

[wheelz1200]

I just read a statistic that said the NBA MVP award hasn’t been won by an American born player in over 6 years and that seemed kind of wild to me. This would have been unheard to think about in the days of Michael Jordan. You can literally see the rest of the world catching up when it comes to basketball skills.

This is true.
 
I remember that it is because of these three - Jokic, Giannis and Embiid. 3 MVP awards for Jokic, 2 for Giannis and one for Joel, and this has started since 2019.

Maybe an American is going to be the next one but who could that be?

Has to be someone like ant.  Would be crazy if SGA won it this year with another international player from yet another differemt country.  If the projections go the way they are with wemby he might push in a couple of years yearly for it.  NBa is still dominated by US born players but the gap is closing every year.  Like the way baseball did in the MLB.

[jossiel]

I just read a statistic that said the NBA MVP award hasn’t been won by an American born player in over 6 years and that seemed kind of wild to me. This would have been unheard to think about in the days of Michael Jordan. You can literally see the rest of the world catching up when it comes to basketball skills.

This is true.
 
I remember that it is because of these three - Jokic, Giannis and Embiid. 3 MVP awards for Jokic, 2 for Giannis and one for Joel, and this has started since 2019.

Maybe an American is going to be the next one but who could that be?

Has to be someone like ant.  Would be crazy if SGA won it this year with another international player from yet another differemt country.  If the projections go the way they are with wemby he might push in a couple of years yearly for it.  NBa is still dominated by US born players but the gap is closing every year.  Like the way baseball did in the MLB.

Yeah, Ant is a candidate for it and IIRC last season SGA was on the line for the MVP but he's a Canadian though.

If it becomes Wemby for this year, then another year of having an MVP that's not an American but we'll see, it seems that season is really buffed for most teams.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Yeah, Ant is a candidate for it and IIRC last season SGA was on the line for the MVP but he's a Canadian though.

If it becomes Wemby for this year, then another year of having an MVP that's not an American but we'll see, it seems that season is really buffed for most teams.

Well becoming MVP also gets a bit harder since last season since you have to play at least 65 games to be eligible for any award. That means not a lot of sitting out for rest and injury.
That opens the door for the younger generation actually since they don't have to watch out for their bodies as much as the veteran players. Players like Wemby, Any, Luka, SGA, Jason Tatum and so on, who are the faces of the league have an advantage there.
I like Luka now, only problem is he is sharing the floor with Kyrie, so his numbers are not as dominant as in the time without him. But if the Mavs gets a good season I wouldn't be surprised if he is one of the MVP frontrunners this season. I mean it surely is time for him!

[danherbias07]

Bronny James had himself a game today.  Finally he got to silence some haters.  He put up 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a block.  He had some decent highlights too.  A pretty slick layup between two defenders (while he had two open guys on the wings) and he also caught an alley oop.  I still don't see him getting a lot of minutes during the year if he even stays on the squad, but it's nice to know he is capable of putting in some good NBA minutes for the Lakers.  Hopefully he keeps getting better as he gets more comfortable out there.

Hopefully, and since his father is there I don't think he will be lazy to train so the chances of getting better in the NBA is there and he can learn a lot of wise techniques from the veterans of the Lakers team.
Even Magic Johnson has something to say about his performance.
https://x.com/MagicJohnson/status/1847800729525784853

I believe after a lot of hard work this season, he’ll definitely be in the Lakers’ rotation and playing heavy minutes.

I believe so too. I hate that the media keeps on focusing on what is happening to him, his performance, and his failures but they will just have to let the guy do his work and very soon he might become one of the stars of the NBA. He is young and definitely have a lot of room for improvement and considering he is in a good team right now, there will be more good things that will happen and maybe soon he will get those minutes that the fans wanted.

Preseason is over, this is where it will all get serious.

[Baofeng]

Shams is reporting that Yuki Kawamura has earned himself a contract with the Grizzlies.  I love to see this.  He has been balling out in the preseason so far and leaving us with a ton of highlights.  I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in the league this year when competition heats up a bit.

“The Memphis Grizzlies are signing Japanese guard Yuki Kawamura to a two-way NBA contract, sources tell ESPN. The 5-foot-8 Kawamura averaged 3.4 points, 4.2 assists and 15.1 minutes in preseason, leading Grizzlies with 21 total assists, and earned a roster spot.”

Yeah, it's a two way contract, so at least he will be in the roster and be eligible to play in at least 50 games. So he might be a good reserved in the guard position and who knows, maybe given time to play his first NBA game. And the most important thing is that he will be paid, albeit it's going to be a flat rate that is equal to half of the league’s minimum salary.

So those who are sign in this kind of contract is,

a. Quincy Olivari - who had a good pre-season game with the Lakers
b. Marc McClung - back to back Slam Dunk champion.

But Landry Shamet and former No. 7 pick Killian Hayes has been waived because of injuries.

[LogitechMouse]

---
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10139947-nba-rumors-aaron-gordon-wont-get-150m-max-contract-offer-from-nugget

So it means that the Nuggets wanted to retain him, however, they don't want to give him the possible max contract. And so if this is the case then we might see another part of the core team of Nuggets who win their NBA ring might not be with team. He have seen, KCP is the latest of the Nuggets that decided to move out, so maybe Gordon will be the next one.

In any case, still plenty of time for him to show his worth in this coming season. Worse case scenario is that if the Nuggets won't make it to the finals, just maybe they will lose another great player in their team. Gordon has evolved into a high flyer to a veteran and a great defender and then he can still score if needed specially in clutch. Two years still though in his contract and by that time, maybe it's a different Nugget team or Gordon started to decline as well.

The best example for this one is Jalen Brunson. He accepted a pay cut of around $110 Million more or less just to have some cap space to acquire more and better players. I hope more players will be like him especially now that the new CBA rule is really a problem especially for those who are paying more than what's intended.

In one of the interviews, Gordon said that he will do everything just to give Westbrook a ring. Well, both of them have 2 years left on their contract still, but if he wants to fulfill it then doing it in Denver is his best option unless the team decided to trade Westbrook. As for the max contract, I'm expecting something positive like accepting a pay cut just to stay with the team because I don't want him to not be with them especially, we've seen how important his role is for the team. Now if he will try to find another team just because he wants the max then that's where the problem starts for the team because Jokic and Murray will be lacking reliable role players.

Well, I believe that he will accept a pay cut if he believes that the team can still win one more title.

[blockman]

Yuki Kawamura signed a two-way deal with the Memphis Grizzlies.
(https://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/grizzlies-promote-yuki-kawamura-to-two-way-contract)
Congrats to him, proud asian. LOL.
It's because that our countrymen(Kai Sotto) that used to be his teammate in the BLeague in Japan was also a great tandem of his.

[jossiel]

Yeah, Ant is a candidate for it and IIRC last season SGA was on the line for the MVP but he's a Canadian though.

If it becomes Wemby for this year, then another year of having an MVP that's not an American but we'll see, it seems that season is really buffed for most teams.

Well becoming MVP also gets a bit harder since last season since you have to play at least 65 games to be eligible for any award. That means not a lot of sitting out for rest and injury.
That opens the door for the younger generation actually since they don't have to watch out for their bodies as much as the veteran players. Players like Wemby, Any, Luka, SGA, Jason Tatum and so on, who are the faces of the league have an advantage there.
I like Luka now, only problem is he is sharing the floor with Kyrie, so his numbers are not as dominant as in the time without him. But if the Mavs gets a good season I wouldn't be surprised if he is one of the MVP frontrunners this season. I mean it surely is time for him!

You're right about these young ones, they're more likely to get it this time than the veterans but still, everyone can be a candidate for this season for most team's superstars.

I also like Luka and now that you've mentioned him with Kyrie. Don't forget that they've got Klay Thompson as well where scoring will also be shared to him.

During the playoffs up to the conference finals and the finals, Luka was impressive.

[OgNasty]

I just read that Bronny's 17 point performance the other day was the highest scoring outing in the preseason by a 55th+ pick in the last 15 years.  Maybe not the most impressive stat, but it shows that Bronny might actually deserve to be where he's at.  We'll see when the season starts I guess, but for going as far down as he did in the draft he has changed the conversation with that 17 point performance.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

I just read that Bronny's 17 point performance the other day was the highest scoring outing in the preseason by a 55th+ pick in the last 15 years.  Maybe not the most impressive stat, but it shows that Bronny might actually deserve to be where he's at.  We'll see when the season starts I guess, but for going as far down as he did in the draft he has changed the conversation with that 17 point performance.

Funny how the media is coming up with yet more "statistics" to make Bronny look good.
And well, 1 thing though. Normally a number 55 pick doesn't start in a preseason game and logs 35 minutes of playing time, even in the last game. He played the 2nd most minutes of all Lakers in this one.
It's not THAT hard to get 17 points in 35min as a starter, especially in a blowout that is even less serious than a regular preseason game, and mostly against the bench of the opposing team. LA just played an 8 man rotation so between 8 players to get shots you have to make something with 35min on the field. By the way, they lost by almost 60 points.  

Anyway, I don't think that this performance changes anything about his perception. Even in his best game he just shot 7/17 with 1/5 from 3, not really impressive.

[Dave1]

I just read that Bronny's 17 point performance the other day was the highest scoring outing in the preseason by a 55th+ pick in the last 15 years.  Maybe not the most impressive stat, but it shows that Bronny might actually deserve to be where he's at.  We'll see when the season starts I guess, but for going as far down as he did in the draft he has changed the conversation with that 17 point performance.

Lol, this just another statistics for him, he really need to show us something if he really wanted to carved his name as not only the some of Lebron James. So I'm not buying that 17 points, sorry. Not a hater, but media has to find a way to sensationalized what Bronny will do. What's next? the most turn-over or the most 3 point shoot made by a 55th pick?

And if we look at the numbers, how about Tom Brady 100th++ pick but then becomes the GOAT?