Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 9/16/2026
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Luke Adams
1:01
Thanks for the early questions, guys! We'll get started in a couple minutes.
Ernst Andric
1:02
Pels fan here. I have the inner conviction that somehow Jalen Duren will end up a Pelican (for better or worse). I can see it before the season with help from the Bucks or next season once Jordan Poole contract is off the books. How unrealistic is this ?
Luke Adams
1:04
Hmm, I guess never say never, but I don't really see it for a couple reasons.

For one, I think Duren will end up signing a long-term contract with the Pistons, and I doubt he'll get traded during the first year or two of that deal. On top of that, the Pelicans' front office seems pretty all-in on Derik Queen, and unless he really improves his outside shot, I don't see him and Duren as a good frontcourt fit. Would create major spacing problems.
JazzFan
1:04
Will Keyonte George sign an extension before the deadline? If so, is he getting $35 million a season?
Luke Adams
1:06
If he does sign an extension before the season, I don't think he's getting $35MM per year.

My sense there is that unless they can lock him up on a really team-friendly rate, the Jazz would probably rather evaluate his fit alongside Peterson in 2026/27 and then take their chances in restricted free agency. If he's willing to do 4/$100MM or something, then sure, go ahead and pull the trigger now, but I imagine his asking price will be far higher than that.
Knicks
1:06
If the Knicks trade pacome does that allow them to sign three of the exhibit 9 players without going into the second apron?
Luke Adams
1:09
Not quite. Once they add a 14th man on a minimum-salary deal, the Knicks will be under the second apron by about $824K.

A minimum-salary cap hit is worth about $2.45MM, and Dadiet is only making about $500K above that ($2.98MM), so swapping him out for a min-salary guy wouldn't create significant savings.

Having said that, I feel like it's constantly worth reiterating that the Knicks aren't hard-capped at the second apron, even though they're constantly treated like they are -- I saw a ton of reporters today talking about how unless they make a trade, the Knicks "can't" carry 15 players. They can if they want to!
LAL
1:10
What's next in roster?  Cut Knecht as no trade valuation at all
Luke Adams
1:11
I do think Knecht is probably the odd man out if the Lakers have to waive someone in the coming weeks but I think they're probably still scouring the trade market.

I get the sense that they've love to make a consolidation trade along the lines of Hardy + Knecht + a couple second-round picks for a wing who could play rotation minutes. So far though, that sort of deal hasn't been out there.
Sam
1:12
Who did you personally think was the second-best defender in the league this past season? And which players do you think will be in contention for that title this season?
Luke Adams
1:15
It's such a tricky thing to evaluate. I don't really think Holmgren was the second-best defender in the league last season but he's a very good defensive player who played alongside a lot of other very good defensive players, and since he's considered the "anchor" of that defense, he was the one rewarded for it.

I thought Ausar Thompson was a better individual defender than guys like Holmgren or Gobert, but a player who protects the rim typically provides more overall defensive value than someone who spends more time at the perimeter since they have more opportunities to affect a possession.

I'll take Ausar as last season's second-best defender. I like Scottie Barnes and OG Anunoby a lot too.
Jarace Walker
1:16
How's my future look in Indy? Essentially considering we're over tax and I'm a big-ish contract. Additionally with the rumors of Trey Murphy the 3rd joining Indy
Luke Adams
1:18
Yeah, I think you're the obvious odd man out if the Pacers want to duck the tax. They're currently over the tax line by $5.9MM and your $8.5MM deal is the only expiring one on the roster bigger than that.

It's not a great spot to be in. All you can do is hope that you're still given a fair chance to earn a regular rotation role and that you're able to take advantage of that and make yourself someone they don't want to move. But for now, I definitely consider you to be Indiana's top in-season trade candidate.
Trajan Langdon
1:18
If you're Trajan, what do you do, at this point? Accept to sign-and-trade Duren to, say, the Kings, for a Sabonis rental and perhaps a first round pick, and then spend the next two years of his contract trying to either foster the center of the future or find a way to find it in free agency... or maybe negotiate with Duren, settle for something like 5x200, and have Duren possibly disgruntled ("he's being disrespected), creating possible salary cap bottlenecks down the line, and most likely being his usual useless self in the playoffs?
Luke Adams
1:23
I've said a couple times during the offseason that I thought something in the neighborhood of Alperen Sengun's five-year, $185MM deal was reasonable for Duren. If the Pistons have really gone up to $190MM for five years, I think that's perfectly fair and I'd be hesitant to go much higher.

I know we're hearing a lot of bluster now about Duren maybe accepting the qualifying offer and wanting to go to Sacramento and being upset about how the negotiations are going, but I'm not sure how seriously I'd take that stuff. It comes off as his reps just making as much noise as they can to get the Pistons' offer as high as possible before Oct. 1.

My expectation is that the two sides will reach a long-term deal within the next couple weeks, Duren will say the right things at media day, and this talk about him being disgruntled or wanting to leave Detroit will die off shortly after that.
1:24
Maybe I'm wrong and he's legitimately dissatisfied, but this just feels to me like an RFA's agents trying to find whatever leverage they can.
GrizzMan
1:24
Could you see Ty Jerome moved to a contender after the ASB?
Luke Adams
1:26
Probably not that late in the season, given that the trade deadline falls before the All-Star break! But yeah, I could see Jerome as an in-season trade chip for sure. They've traded JJJ and Morant since he arrived, so it's not really the same team he signed up to join last summer, and he's the sort of affordable veteran rotation player that would fit a lot of playoff teams.

Doubt the Grizzlies would get a first-round pick or anything for him though, and he might end up playing a pretty significant role in a Morant-less backcourt, so we'll see if it actually makes sense for them to move him.
Isaiah Crawford
1:26
How's my role looking for the future on the rockets considering they have a 2 mil ish contract for 4 yrs? Depth piece or rotational peice  soon?
Luke Adams
1:29
I wouldn't go penciling in your name for a rotation role quite yet, considering none of that four-year contract is guaranteed so far. You still need to make sure you beat out guys like Julian Phillips and Oscar Tshiebwe for a regular season roster spot.

I do think you should have a leg up there, but unless the Rockets are hit with some injuries, you might be playing more minutes in the G League this fall than the NBA. You're just a depth piece for now, with some potential upside for more than that if you impress in the preseason.
Curry for the win
1:30
What could Golden State do next off-season if both Green and Curry take less money and the team has say 70 million in cap room with Butler's contract rolling off?
Luke Adams
1:35
They could probably create something like 50 different plans for that cap room right now and see 40 of them come off the board over the course of the season based on various extension and trade decisions.

Like, is there technically a chance that the Nuggets have a miserable season and Nikola Jokic decides he wants to test the free agent market next offseason? I suppose, but you definitely don't want to put all your eggs in that basket if you're the Warriors.

They should at least have a good sense after October 19 about which players from the 2023 draft class will reach restricted free agency next summer, and they could use that cap room to make an aggressive play for one of them. Otherwise, I'd probably focus on trades and/or signings of youngish veterans, sort of like the Lakers did this summer with Kessler, Grimes, Mamu, Sexton, etc.
GrizzMan
1:36
Give me a surprise in-season move the Grizzlies will make. I assume they’ll be under .500 around the trade deadline, how can they improve at that point?
Luke Adams
1:40
This season will probably be too early for them to be on the other end of the type of pre-agency trade the Jazz made for Jaren Jackson last February. I feel like they'll still be operating more as sellers than buyers.

So here's a random idea (to be clear, this is pure speculation): Let's say Paul George is battling injuries again in Boston this season and the Celtics want to make a win-now move to support a roster that's otherwise playing well. Maybe the Grizzlies agree to take on George's contract in exchange for Jerami Grant, Isaiah Stewart, and Ty Jerome and get a bunch of draft assets from the Celtics in the process.
1:41
Apologies, guys, I'm going to have to step away a little early today.

Thanks for all your questions and we'll do this again next Wednesday afternoon -- that'll be our last one before training camps get underway. The season's almost here!
Have a great week.
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