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Etienne Catalan: Bennedict Mathurin ( @BennMathurin ) will wear No. 24 for the #Pelicans. Number last worn by Jordan Hawkins in 2026. #NBA
The Draymond Green Show: Draymond reflects on the negotiations when he almost left the Warriors and went to the Grizzlies "In negotiations, you wanna have another team, you have to sometimes make it real to the team that, 'hey you got something else'... I called the Warriors and said 'Yo I'm gonna go to the Grizzlies, can y'all do all y'all can do to work that sign-and-trade and make it work for me?' and to the Warriors credit, they then went into negotiations with the Grizzlies and I will say, they moved the goalposts on the Grizzlies a bit, but once they moved the goalposts, it also was clear to me like 'they really want me here' and at that rate it's like 'let's go, let's get this done." 📺 Watch on YouTube | 🎧 Listen everywhere podcasts are available - follow the link in bio
On August 17, 2026, the Clippers appeared to double down on this theory by issuing a carefully worded public statement in defense of the team’s actions, asserting that “[m]aking introductions between players and team partners is both an ordinary practice by NBA teams and a common request of players and representatives.” To the extent these independent contentions were intended to imply that NBA rules permit teams, at the request of players, to initiate off-court income opportunities for players, that implication is incorrect. In any case, as set forth further below, the Clippers’ misconduct here extended far beyond simply initiating these opportunities. Let me add some insider color on this. I can’t vouch for anyone else’s experience, but in seven years with the Memphis Grizzlies, this “ordinary practice” happened with me zero times … probably because, as the report notes, it’s illegal, and everyone knows this. Teams are periodically reminded about that by the league in case they forgot. There was one time in my tenure that the topic even came up, and it was immediately communicated to the person who asked it would be blatant cap circumvention that would put us at risk of getting “Joe Smithed” by the league office.
Taj Gibson has been waived by the New Orleans Pelicans. Gibson was acquired by the Pelicans on Tuesday from the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the Jordan Hawkins trade.
Jon Krawczynski: "I was told Mike really wanted to at least spend one year playing for a flagship franchise. This is nothing against the Grizzlies or the Jazz or the Timberwolves, but none of those teams are in royalty with the NBA. The Boston Celtics are historic. They have a history and a gravitas about them that Conley wanted to experience what it was like playing for that kind of a franchise with that kind of a fan base with that kind of a lore about them."
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Yossi Gozlan: AJ Johnson comes up just short of a straight up salary match for Jordan Hawkins. To avoid absorbing Hawkins with their $29 million trade exception, they include Taj Gibson. Johnson, like most players traded in early July, just had his trade aggregation restriction expire. Taj Gibson has a $3.8 million salary that is non-guaranteed. His guarantee will increase from $0 to at least $149k to fulfill the salary match for Hawkins. The Grizzlies can then absorb Micah Peavy with one of their smaller exceptions.
Keith Smith: Trade Mechanics: 🏀Taj Gibson will have $200K of his contract guaranteed. That way he and AJ Johnson's contracts match salary for Jordan Hawkins. 🏀MEM will bring Micah Peavy in via the $4.3M Ja Morant TPE.
Marc Stein: Reported July 23 below that New Orleans was working to trade Jordan Hawkins to Memphis. Now that AJ Johnson’s contract can be aggregated that trade finally happens today and will provide the Pels nearly $6 million in savings to proceed with the addition of Bennedict Mathurin.
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NBA Trade Machine: Over the past 24 hours, Jordan Poole featured in 12.7% of trades built on HoopsMatic. Within his trades, he landed most often in Memphis (25.9%), Charlotte (24.7%), and Portland (17.6%). Most often, he was traded for Jerami Grant (25.9%), Jrue Holiday (17.6%), and Naz Reid (17.6%).
The search was conducted by Farhan Zaidi, special advisor to Sparks owner Mark Walter. This is the third executive hire the Sparks have made out of the NBA in the past year. They hired assistant general managers Zach Knowlton and Nate Nielsen from the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively, before the 2026 season. Andonian has been with the 76ers for two seasons after seven years with the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies. She also consulted with the basketball program at Duke while getting her MBA.
In fact, the Pacers haven’t been a tax paying team since the 2004-05 season. In the two decades since, the franchise has always finished with a team salary below the luxury tax line and received a distribution of money from the league’s taxpaying teams. Since 2005, the only NBA teams to never cross the luxury tax threshold are the Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, and Sacramento Kings. Reporting suggested that the Pacers may have been willing to do so in the 2025-26 season after their run to the NBA Finals, but Tyrese Haliburton’s injury changed everything before Myles Turner left in free agency.
