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Michael Scotto: Sources: The Orlando Magic will add DJ Bakker as an assistant coach. He was a Hornets assistant coach and head coach of the Greensboro Swarm in the G League. He’s been an assistant for the Bucks and Pistons. Bakker and Orlando Magic coach Sean Sweeney worked together in Detroit.
With Charlotte considering a starting-caliber center upgrade, other centers besides Sabonis are on their radar, including Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton, league sources told HoopsHype. In addition, it’s worth noting that the Nets have expressed interest in Hornets free agent guard Coby White in the past when he was on the Chicago Bulls, sources said. In other Hornets news, assistant coach Zach Peterson is a candidate to become the franchise’s next head coach of their G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. DJ Bakker, who’s been an assistant coach for the Hornets and head coach of the Swarm in the G League, is a candidate to join Sean Sweeney’s staff as an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic, league sources told HoopsHype.
The competitive landscape of the upcoming 2026-27 BKT EuroCup season shifted on Sunday as two prominent clubs finalized major roster moves, with ratiopharm Ulm picking up guard Jaylen Sims and Bahcesehir Koleji extending power forward Tyler Cavanaugh. Ulm’s acquisition of Sims, a recently crowned NBA G League champion, brings significant size and athleticism to their backcourt. The 27-year-old guard joins the German club following a stellar campaign with the Greensboro Swarm, where he averaged 16.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game to lead the team to a title.
It'll take plenty of work, but Thomas Scott is willing to put that work in. He has seen hard work all of his life watching his dad. It’s one of the things his father passed down to him. “I’ve always observed my dad being very disciplined and always moving as a professional,” he said. “Very punctual. Very consistent on a day-to-day basis. Somebody that knew how to lock in and stay very focused. He has a lot of personality off the court. But when it came down to working, his work ethic is unmatched.”
“Life has a way of doing that to you and taking you full circle,” Byron Scott said. “My son’s time in New Orleans is when he really started getting the bug about getting involved in basketball. One thing about him is he’s worked his (butt) for years to get in position to do something like this. I’m so proud and happy for him."
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Michael Scotto: The Chicago Bulls are adding Alex Kaufman as Windy City Bulls general manager and Jarrett Sutton as a scout, league sources told @hoopshype. Kaufman and Sutton worked with Bulls executive Bryson Graham for six years with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Johnson, meanwhile, joined the organization in 2016 as an assistant for San Antonio's G League affiliate team, the Austin Spurs, and was promoted in 2019 as an assistant on Popovich's bench. Although the dynamic of the relationship has changed somewhat due to their current roles, Johnson said the core of their bond remains unchanged. "The relationship has stayed the same in terms of feedback, discussion, challenging each other, me asking him a lot of questions, him giving me a lot of wisdom," Johnson said. "He's a pretty good resource for what I've been walking through since October and up until now. I cannot have created a better rhythm or build-out of him being a constant resource for me, but then also totally giving me the freedom and runway to try to roll this thing out in my own reflection as myself. That's pretty valuable. "To be honest, I don't know if anyone's ever had that opportunity that I've had this year. I don't take that for granted. It's not lost on me the impact he's had, while also empowering me to be myself. He, R.C., the whole family, people that have been in our organization for a long time, have really set an environment of how one operates and interacts with each other in our building and within our program. It allows people to hopefully feel valued and be themselves while also understanding how competitive and how hard we have to work to be where we want to be."
![“I thought I was gone [from the NBA] bro, I ain’t …](https://sportsdata.usatoday.com/gcdn/content-pipeline-sports-images/sports2/nba/players/1176070.png?format=png8&auto=webp&quality=85,75&width=140)
“I thought I was gone [from the NBA] bro, I ain’t going to lie to you,” Champagnie told reporters. “I was always told how small the window is to get your foot in the league and stay there and make a career for yourself. To get an opportunity only in the G League and getting waived with no warning, no nothing, no explanation or anything was tough. “It was tough for a 22-year-old kid who was just thinking of chasing my dreams and telling myself I can do this. I didn’t have any clue where I was going to end up. My agent told me it could be anywhere.”
Michael Scotto: Breaking: The Philadelphia 76ers are hiring Mike Gansey as president, sources told @hoopshype . Gansey was most recently general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He began working for the Cavs in 2012 and rose through the ranks, including winning G League Executive of the Year.
The Utah Jazz will name Shane Fenske as general manager of their G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, league sources told HoopsHype. Fenske is also Utah’s assistant general manager. Previously, the Yale graduate worked for the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers.
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USC forward Jacob Cofie is reportedly withdrawing from the 2026 NBA Draft with the intent to return to school. Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony reported the news on Tuesday night. Cofie had turned heads recently when he put on a show at the NBA G League Combine. That performance earned him an invite to the NBA Combine, where he continued to impress.
Now the hope is the same for his son, nicknamed Sky Khi, who measured in with a 35.5-inch max vertical and 30.5-inch no-step vertical at the G League combine in Chicago last week. Like father like son has been a Heat door of opportunity for years. Among those who have received. Heat tryouts over the years or have been given opportunities with the Heat’s G League affiliate have been Trey Mourning, the son of former Heat center and current team executive Alonzo Mourning; Anthony Mason Jr., the son of late former Heat forward Anthony Mason; Juwan Howard Jr., the son of former Heat forward and assistant coach Juwan Howard; and James Caron Butler, the son of current Heat assistant coach Caron Butler.
Madison Square Garden Sports has moved to split the New York Knicks and New York Rangers into two separate, publicly traded companies — a move analysts say could finally unlock billions in trapped franchise value tied up under James Dolan’s sprawling sports empire. MSG Sports said it confidentially filed an initial Form 10 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday as it advances a proposed tax-free spin-off that would separate the Knicks business from the Rangers business. The Knicks entity would include the NBA franchise and the Westchester Knicks G League affiliate, while the Rangers company would house the NHL club and the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Forbes valued the Knicks at $9.75 billion last year, while CNBC recently pegged the franchise above the $10 billion mark amid soaring NBA media-rights expectations. The Rangers, meanwhile, were valued by Forbes at $4 billion — making them the NHL’s second-most valuable franchise behind only the Toronto Maple Leafs. MSG Sports, however, currently carries a public market valuation of roughly $8.5 billion — far below the combined estimated private-market value of the Knicks and Rangers. Investors have long argued that Dolan’s complicated corporate structure obscured the true value of the teams.