Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 10/7/2026
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Luke Adams
1:01
Thanks to everyone who submitted questions early! Let's jump in.
ACL
1:01
With Ariel Hukporti out for the season, the already shakey center depth is low. What our their realistic options besides having LeBron and Bona as C until they can trade away or sign someone to a lower deal in December?
Wannes
1:01
I feel Philly should salary dump Hukporti before the season starts: it might be cheaper to do it while roster spots are not an issue and it gives them more flexibility to find a replacement given their hard cap.
Luke Adams
1:06
I do like the idea of trying to salary-dump Hukporti. If they could move him without taking back any money, it would put them about $5.2MM below the first-apron hard cap, which would be enough to add two players on minimum-salary contracts.

Of course, there are some potential complications. For one, getting off Hukporti's contract will take at least a second-round pick. Do the Sixers want to pay that price before getting a better sense of how guys like Barlow, Walker, Wade, etc. can handle the small-ball center role? Plus, the free agent market has been picked pretty clean. Even if some camp invitees shake free in the next couple weeks, I don't think Nick Nurse is gonna be all that excited about the prospect of adding a Drew Eubanks or a Tony Bradley.

The ideal outcome might be to trade Hukporti and draft assets for a low-cost center like a Moussa Cisse or Karlo Matkovic. But potential trade partners will likely drive a hard bargain rather than helping out a possible title contender -- just ask the Knicks.
Wannes
1:06
Forgot they cannot trade Hukporti yet...
Luke Adams
1:07
And this is the other issue. He's not trade-eligible until Dec. 15 anyway! So I think there's probably no rush for the Sixers to do something except maybe find a two-way eligible center to fill their third two-way slot. Oscar Tshiebwe is one interesting option if he doesn't end up making the Rockets' roster.
Tao of Hoop
1:07
The blazers look really lopsided with no backup forwards on guaranteed deals.  Are they really expecting Potter and Sochan to provide significant minutes, or Carlson to slide down to play back up four?  Do they see Jrue Holiday as the backup small forward?  What exactly is the plan here?
Luke Adams
1:10
I do expect them to use a lot of three-guard and two-big lineups when one of Avdija or Camara is off the floor. Sochan isn't even a lock to make the roster, given that he's on a training camp contract, but I feel like they need him for depth purposes.

But yeah, guys like Morant and Lillard can't really slide up to the three, but they do have other guards who could do it if needed. Holiday is one. Krejci is another. And Sidy Cissoko is fine at the three and maybe even the four in a pinch.

If it doesn't seem to be working, it's an area they could try to address in-season, since they'll have some roster flexibility with the back-end spots.
Harmon Ripkowski
1:11
I'm surprised Payne and Olynyk aren't in the NBA this year. Are you?
Luke Adams
1:14
Payne isn't a huge shock. He was playing in Europe at the start of last season and was waived by the Sixers before the end of the season.

I did think we'd see Olynyk on a roster this season. I'm not sure if his deal with BC Roma has any sort of mid-season exit clause, but if he doesn't finish the season in Italy, I could definitely see him eventually filling the 15th spot on the Spurs' roster. He traveled to France with them for workouts over the summer -- seems like he's still part of the culture there. There just isn't room for him below the tax right now.
Nurse Joy
1:15
It feels like more and more players are getting hurt and sidelined than ever before. Is it the sign of a more aggressive league, a season that's too long, or more expectations on bodies?
Luke Adams
1:19
I'm obviously no medical expert, but I've never really been sold on the idea that a too-long season can be blamed for the NBA's injury issues. I mean, obviously, a longer season is going to result in more overall injuries because there are more opportunities for them to happen. That's just a volume thing. But like... Hukporti's Achilles tear in the preseason opener has nothing to do with the season length.

I have no easy answer or solution, but I do think the speed and explosiveness of today's game is a contributing factor. These guys are routinely doing things that most human bodies probably aren't meant to do.
Raz1374
1:20
Pacers have 14 guys on contracts and Furphy won’t play until January. Tyreses unlikely to play heavy minutes and maybe not back to backs right away. Sounds like we may be seeing a lot of the two-way guys early? And do you think teams going with 14 man core rosters and solid two-way players is the trend going forward given max salary rates and slow growing cap?
Luke Adams
1:22
Yeah, I do think a lot of teams are going in that direction. The Pacers' three two-way players are all guys they could realistically expect to contribute this season. The Sixers are another team with 15-man roster limitations whose experienced two-way players (Caleb Love, Rayan Rupert) will probably be active quite a bit in the first half.

This is anecdotal, but it felt like last season - more than ever - I had to keep an eye on certain players' or teams' two-way limits in Dec/Jan/Feb and be aware that those teams would need to make roster moves to accommodate certain guys. I expect that to be pretty common going forward.
Chris Finch
1:23
I was pleasantly surprised in a very small sample size how much I liked Cody Williams on the wolves. Played solid defense against the Bucks starters. I was hearing from Jazz fans that he was the worst of the worst. Could the Jazz tanking horrendously for his entire tenture be a reflection of that? Or is it too soon to tell?
Luke Adams
1:25
For what it's worth, I don't think defense was ever the issue for Williams. The Jazz were a really bad defensive team, but that wasn't on him. It was his offense that was lagging behind in his first two seasons. He looked like he'd be a three-and-D guy coming out of the draft, but he's shot just 23.7% on threes so far. If he can improve on that end, he could definitely end up being a useful reserve.
Sam
1:25
We spend a lot of time fixated on off-court drama and business in the NBA. So, for this upcoming season, what are some purely on-court storylines that you find intriguing or think are being overlooked?
Luke Adams
1:29
I always like to see how the teams that make major additions or overhaul their rosters come out of the gates, since it's never as smooth as the offseason hype suggests it will be. So I'll be keeping a close eye on teams like the Lakers, Heat, and Sixers this fall, as well as the LaMelo/Ant backcourt in Minnesota and the Morant/Lillard/Jrue/Scoot backcourt in Portland.

I'm also just very curious to see how the new anti-tanking rules affect games on a night to night basis. Some teams started tanking pretty early last season and I think it really affected how we viewed certain teams. Like, as much as they enjoyed their 28-10 finish or whatever it was, I'm sure the Hornets recognized that their second half wouldn't have been nearly so successful if they hadn't played so many teams trying to lose.
steve
1:29
cam thomas expect to get an offert, a contract at same point or is out of the league? recent news or rumors?
Luke Adams
1:32
I feel like if he was going to start the season on an NBA roster, he'd be under contract by now. There has been basically no chatter about him in recent months. The most recent item on our Cam Thomas player page is from early May.

I'm interested to see whether he'd be open to playing in the G League if an NBA opportunity doesn't materialize or if he'd go overseas. He could probably average 30+ PPG in the G League, but NBA teams will want to see him do more than just score.
Trog
1:33
Who joins Flagg and Irving in the Mavs starting lineup? Risacher is getting local buzz so far with improved strength and agility.
Luke Adams
1:36
Plenty of good candidates there. I'd probably go with Max Christie, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford, but I could see the case for certain other guys (Risacher and Naji Marshall), and once they're healthy, Dereck Lively and Santi Aldama could be in the conversation.
Victoria Beckham
1:36
Will Bilal Coulibaly get an extension this month? He hasn't pulled up trees in DC; the Wiz can probably sign him to a team-friendly contract if they believe in his potential.
Luke Adams
1:39
I'm not necessarily counting on a new deal for Coulibaly. I do agree that it'd make sense for the Wizards to lock in something team-friendly if he's open to it and they're bullish on his upside, but I'm not sure what exactly "team-friendly" looks like. The Heat thought they were locking Nikola Jovic into a team-friendly deal last year and his four-year, $62MM+ extension ended up having negative value before it even started.

If the Wizards want to go much lower than that for Coulibaly, he might be better off betting on himself.
GabeOfThrones
1:39
Should the Knicks have moved Towns this offseason? Obviously it would have been extremely unpopular with fans after the title, but there’s a possibility he leaves for nothing next offseason. If he picks up his option, the same issue could arise the following offseason. Or should Dolan just pony up?
Luke Adams
1:41
Dolan should probably just pony up, but I felt the same way about the Knicks re-signing Mitchell Robinson. They could've brought back their entire championship team if Dolan were willing to spend.

I will say that I don't think Towns going into the year without an extension is a worst-case scenario for the Knicks. His value is at a high right now, post-championship, and he'll stay extension-eligible all season. It's possible the Knicks' front office thinks they could get a better price if they wait.
Prjeudjdidjdjdnjdjdiedj
1:41
Is there a chance we see two ways for pacers get converted rather than someone like James Johnson, brown was amazing along with slawson, only not mentioning smith since he looks terrible for the nba game with no shooting, size, physicality, etc
Luke Adams
1:43
I think that's very possible, especially if Brown or Slawson emerges as a rotation player early. If James Johnson signs with the team during the first half, he'll probably get a non-guaranteed deal and will be waived before the league-wide salary guarantee date in January. Then the Pacers will see after the trade deadline whether or not they have room to bring him back for the rest of the season.
Bea Hive
1:43
Should the Sixers look into Kalkbrenner? Hornets took a Center in the first round and looks like he may be pushed down the depth chart.
Luke Adams
1:44
Worth a call, certainly. But I don't really think the Hornets will be looking to move on from Kalkbrenner. I bet he starts the season above Steinbach on the depth chart.
Presented by Prize Picks
1:45
Who is the number 1 person practically guaranteed to get traded this season?
Luke Adams
1:48
Ooh, good question. Domantas Sabonis is a tempting answer, but it's hard to assume that anyone with that big a cap hit will definitely be traded, especially midseason when salary-matching can be trickier.

There are certain guys who I don't expect will finish the season with their current teams, like Zach LaVine or Kyle Kuzma. But they could end up being bought out instead of traded.

The right answer here is probably some back-of-bench reserve on a team with championship aspirations whose salary could come in handy in a minor deal, like a Pacome Dadiet or a Jaden Hardy.
Mavsfan
1:48
Are we really getting another year of Dwight Powell? I guess we really did win that Rondo trade
Luke Adams
1:50
I'm still not sure whose roster spot Powell is taking. For now, I'd assume he'd be the odd man out, but we'll see. I'm sure the Mavs would rather keep him than Caleb Martin, but I think it'd be hard to justify waiving Martin when he's still got two guaranteed years left.
Giddey up
1:50
What does our cap space look like next season?  do we have enough to go after a star?
Luke Adams
1:54
Lots of team options on the Bulls' books for 2027/28, so they have the ability to create maximum-salary cap room if they want to. Not many stars make it to free agency these days, so I'd assume Chicago will end up using its cap room in other ways (kind of like the front office did this past offseason) but I suppose the star route is a possibility if the right opportunity emerges.
Hot Seat
1:54
Which coach’s seat is the hottest going into the season?
Luke Adams
1:56
Think it'll be a big year for Kenny Atkinson (Cavs), David Adelman (Nuggets), Ime Udoka (Rockets), Nick Nurse (Sixers), Micah Nori (Trail Blazers), and Brian Keefe (Wizards), among others.

Doug Christie might be my pick for the one whose seat is hottest, since he's entering the final guaranteed year of his contract and hasn't had great results so far. Of course, the expectations are so low in Sacramento this season that maybe the Kings won't feel compelled to make a change before the offseason even if the team struggles.
Uncle Bobbo
1:57
does a full season of Van Vleet health put the rockets in the OKC/SA category, or are they firmly in the top of the second tier teams in the west?
Luke Adams
1:59
Are those my only two options?

(I actually like the Rockets' roster quite a bit and would probably put them third in the West if they're fully healthy, but you'll probably find plenty of people who would put them behind Denver, the Lakers, or Minnesota in that second tier, even with VanVleet back. I think they'd have some trouble with a healthy Nuggets team.)
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