The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to sign TyTy Washington Jr. to a Two-Way deal.
Washington was the 29th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft and appeared in 31 games with the Houston Rockets as a rookie. Washington averaged 4.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 14.0 minutes.
The Rockets traded Washington to create cap space and was waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder this month.
Jonas Valanciunas is interested in signing a new contract extension with the New Orleans Pelicans. Valanciunas is eligible for a new extension after signing a two-year extension $33.1 million extension in 2021. Valanciunas will be a free agent in 2024 if he doesn’t sign an extension.
The Pelicans were at the top of the Western Conference early in the season before Zion Williamson’s injury.
“It was a great feeling being the No. 1 seed [in December]. That’s a big accomplishment,” Valanciunas said. “I want to come back to that. And I want to stay longer there. I like the New Orleans group. I’m ready to go and do it.”
Valanciunas is represented by Mitch Nathan and Drew Morrison.
Ben Simmons believes he will have a bounce back season after missing the entire 21-22 season and only playing in 42 games last season.
“I’m excited because I know I can do it,” Simmons told Marc J. Spears of ESPN Andscape on Aug. 25. “So, that’s the exciting part for me. [Last Thursday] night, I’m like, ‘Yo, let’s get back in the gym.’ I’m excited. I get to do something I love to do at a high level. Regardless of what people say, I’m a three-time All-Star, All-NBA player, [All-] Defensive Team. I’ve done things. I’m not somebody that hasn’t done anything.
“But at the end of the day, that’s what you want to do. You want to go out and compete against the best in the world and be one of the best.”
Simmons has been working out five days a week for at least five hours per day to get his body ready.
“For me to come back and dominate people will be great,” Simmons said. “I don’t intend to come back the same player I was last [season], because that’s not even close to where I am. I get excited because I’m like, ‘Damn, I would [expletive] on the player I was last year.’ But I know where I was at last year, so it’s easy to say that. But it’s just fun to go and do the thing that you love when you’re out there. That’s really it for me. I don’t really ask for too much.
“Sometimes I think about [my recent struggles]. I’m like, ‘Damn, that’s a lot.’ Sometimes I sit down and break it down. ‘That was exhausting that I was having to deal with all that.’ But I feel like there are different situations you can handle, and this is a good test for me. How much worse can it get?”
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment is exploring renovations to Ball Arena, home of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche since 1999.
KSE is conducting “market due diligence to evaluate opportunities to enhance the fan experience,” according to a news release.
For the latest market evaluations regarding Ball Arena, Stan Kroenke has hired a third-party advisory firm for a planning process that has already included tours of recently renovated NBA and NHL arenas.
Derrick Jones Jr. considered signing with the Miami Heat before eventually agreeing to a one-year deal at the minimum with the Dallas Mavericks.
Jones spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Heat before joining the Portland Trail Blazers in 2020. Jones spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Bulls.
In a recent appearance on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast “Gil’s Arena”, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry discussed his career. One part of the conversation was about how long Curry hopes to play, and if he’d play as long as LeBron James has.
“It’s somewhere in that range, but I never imagined myself being the forty-plus dude trying to hold on for dear life”, said Curry. “But who knows what my body will look like or feel like at that point? I got three years left on my deal, including at least that, and then kind of figure it out from there.”
Curry also said he takes pride in playing for one franchise for his entire career.
“I am blessed to know and hope that no matter how many years I do play, playing for one franchise and being a part of that group of the legends that have accomplished that feat and won at the highest level and all that. I don’t ever take that for granted either,” Curry said. “You got the Kobe (Bryant)’s, the Magic (Johnson)’s, Dirk (Nowitzki), Tim Duncan, those guys helped establish a culture, won, did it with a lot of different roster combinations and different parts in their career.”
