NBA Southwest

Steven Adams and the Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to a two-year, $25.2 million contract extension, his agent told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday.

Adams was set to enter the final year of his contract in 2022-23 worth $17.9 million. The extension ties him to Memphis for the next three years and $43.1 million.

Adams is entering his second season with the Grizzlies.

The 29-year-old put together a respectable 2021-22 campaign, averaging 6.9 points, 10 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 76 games while shooting 54.7 percent from the floor, helping the Grizzlies finish second in the Western Conference with a 56-26 record before they were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the West semifinals.

Adams was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the 2013 NBA draft out of Pitt. He spent seven seasons with the franchise, his best year coming during the 2018-19 campaign when he averaged 13.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 80 games while shooting 59.5 percent from the floor.

The Thunder traded Adams to the New Orleans Pelicans in a four-team trade ahead of the 2020-21 season. That deal also included the Milwaukee Bucks, who landed Jrue Holiday in the swap, and the Denver Nuggets.

In his lone season with the Pelicans, Adams averaged 7.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 58 games while shooting 61.4 percent from the floor.

Now entering his second season in Memphis, Adams will continue to serve as the team's starting center, joining a starting unit that includes Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Dillon Brooks and Brandon Clarke. His backups include Xavier Tillman and Santi Aldama.

Considering Adams is one of the oldest players on this young Grizzlies squad, it's no surprise Memphis wanted to lock him up for a few more seasons.

The Grizzlies are slated to open the 2022-23 campaign against the New York Knicks on Oct. 19.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Larry Nance Jr. reached an agreement Saturday on a two-year, $21.6 million contract extension.

Nance's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the new deal to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, who noted the extension will take effect after the final season of the power forward's four-year, $44.8 million contract, keeping him with the Pels through the 2024-25 NBA campaign.

New Orleans acquired Nance in February as part of a blockbuster trade with the Portland Trail Blazers that also landed star shooting guard CJ McCollum in NOLA.

The 29-year-old Cleveland native has averaged 8.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals across 396 NBA appearances since the Los Angeles Lakers selected him in the first round of the 2015 draft. He's also a career 52.9 percent shooter.

While Nance is mostly a complementary player, having a reliable reserve at the 4 is crucial for the Pelicans given the injury issues dealt with by franchise cornerstone Zion Williamson, who missed the entire 2021-22 season because of a foot injury.

The former University of Wyoming standout has been excited by Williamson's performance early in training camp as he prepares for a return to action.

"He looks like Z," Nance told reporters Wednesday. "Dude hasn't played basketball for 500-something days. It's not like none of us are expecting that right away but shoot, I got to be honest with you, dude looks good. It's going to take time for everybody to adjust to him. It's going to take him time to adjust to everybody, but it's hard not to be impressed."

Nance's role may be expanded early in the regular season if New Orleans decides to work Williamson back in gradually, but the veteran reserve will likely settle in around 15-20 minutes per contest when the team is at full strength.

As a whole, the Pelicans are positioned to take a significant step forward this season if their starting lineup of Williamson, McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas and Herbert Jones can stay healthy.

Nance, Devonte' Graham, Jose Alvarado and Jaxson Hayes lead the depth group.

The Pels are scheduled to tip off the regular season Oct. 19 when they visit the Barclays Center to take on Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets in a star-studded opener.

Despite losing Jalen Brunson to free agency and needing more shooting help around Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks don't appear to be in the mix for Jae Crowder.

Per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, the Mavs are "not interested" in acquiring the veteran forward from the Phoenix Suns.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Suns and Crowder "mutually agreed" he would not attend training camp.

The news came amid speculation that Crowder wanted a trade to another team. The 32-year-old was not shy about letting everyone know he was seeking a new home. He pinned an Instagram comment from a fan asking the Miami Heat to bring him back.

After the Suns' statement came out, Crowder posted a tweet that strongly indicated he wanted to be moved:

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium listed the Mavs, Heat, Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies as potential suitors for Crowder.

Coming off an appearance in the Western Conference Finals, the Mavericks had a fairly quiet offseason. Brunson opted to sign with the New York Knicks as a free agent. They did acquire Christian Wood from the Houston Rockets.

Wood and Crowder together would look better on the Mavs' depth chart, but it would also be pretty redundant. Wood, who will be used off the bench as the sixth man, is a better shooter than Crowder at this point in their careers. He has averaged 16.9 points with a 38.4 three-point percentage over the past three seasons.

Crowder is coming off a disappointing performance last season. He had his worst scoring average (9.4 points per game) since 2014-15 and worst three-point percentage (34.8) since 2019-20.

New Orleans Pelicans coach Willie Green said Zion Williamson "dominated" at the team's scrimmage on Tuesday and looked "amazing," per Andrew Lopez of ESPN.

The positive news comes after the forward missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a foot injury.

Williamson was cleared to play in May and is expected to be on the court with the team for the season opener on Oct. 19. Based on the early feedback, there should be high expectations for a player who earned an All-Star selection in his only full season in the NBA.

People on social media were talking about Williamson's apparent body transformation from last year, while the player said he is in better shape than ever.

"I feel like I'm at my best right now," he told reporters at Monday's media day. "Moving faster, jumping higher. I feel great."

The 22-year-old also showcased his speed in a clip from practice Tuesday:

It should be enough for NBA fans to get excited based on what we've seen from the 2019 No. 1 overall pick when on the court.

Williamson averaged 22.5 points per game as a rookie before exploding in 2020-21 with averages of 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He also shot 61.1 percent from the field as one of the most efficient high-scoring players in the league.

After signing a five-year, $193 million extension in the offseason, Williamson is seemingly ready to take the next step toward stardom.

The San Antonio Spurs will be without guard Keldon Johnson when training camp opens next week.

According to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, Johnson is also expected to miss at least the start of the Spurs' preseason schedule because of a dislocated right shoulder suffered during a recent scrimmage.

McDonald added that while the Spurs are likely to hold Johnson out for the entire preseason, the expectation is that he will be ready for the team's regular-season opener against the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 19.

San Antonio will open training camp on Tuesday and begin its preseason slate on Oct. 2 when it travels to Houston for a meeting with the Rockets.

After head coach Gregg Popovich led the Spurs to the playoffs in 22 consecutive seasons, they have now missed the playoffs in each of the past three years, and expectations are low coming off a 34-48 record in 2021-22.

San Antonio's only All-Star last season was guard Dejounte Murray, and he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks this offseason, leaving the Spurs without a surefire star.

The closest thing Popovich has to a star now is Johnson, as he is coming off a career year and finished second on the team in scoring last season behind Murray with 17.0 points per game.

In addition to setting a career mark in scoring, Johnson had career highs with 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 three-pointers made as well. He also shot 46.6 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from beyond the arc.

The Spurs selected Johnson with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft out of Kentucky, and it is fair to say that he has already outplayed his draft position, as he has improved significantly in each of his first three NBA seasons.

If Johnson takes another step forward in 2022-23, he may have a chance to compete for an All-Star spot and establish himself as the next star in a long line of big-time players who have played under Popovich.

Even if Johnson is healthy and productive, however, it is difficult to envision the Spurs being in the mix for a playoff spot in the deep and talented Western Conference.

The New Orleans Pelicans continued to lock up the core of their roster after agreeing to a contract extension with CJ McCollum on Saturday.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, McCollum and the Pelicans agreed to terms on a two-year, $64 million extension that will keep the shooting guard in the Big Easy through the 2025-26 season.

There had been rumblings that an extension was coming. ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted on the July 6 episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (h/t RealGM.com) that the Pelicans and McCollum were going to start contract talks soon.

The 2022-23 season is the second year of McCollum's three-year, $100 million extension he originally signed with the Portland Trail Blazers in July 2019.

New Orleans added McCollum in a midseason trade with the Blazers in February. The 31-year-old spent nine seasons in Portland after being drafted No. 10 overall in 2013.

The acquisition of McCollum helped spark the Pelicans to a 16-14 record over the final 30 games of the regular season. They made the play-in tournament, defeating the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers to earn the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.

The biggest question for the Pelicans coming into the offseason was about Zion Williamson's future. They quickly answered it by giving him the designated five-year rookie supermax extension worth up to $231 million.

Heading into the 2022-23 season, McCollum is going to be a crucial glue guy for the young Pelicans starters. He has more regular-season and playoff experience than the vast majority of players on the roster.

New Orleans' ceiling will be determined by how many games Williamson is able to play. A core of Williamson, McCollum, Brandon Ingram and Herbert Jones has tremendous potential, even in a deep Western Conference.

McCollum played some of the best basketball of his career after the trade. He averaged 24.3 points on 49.3 percent field-goal shooting (39.4 percent from three) and 5.8 assists per game in 26 starts.

Entering his fifth NBA season, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is already a perennial contender for league MVP, and he's expected to once again be in that conversation.

While speaking to Malika Andrews on Thursday's episode of NBA Today, Doncic was asked how important it is to him to win an MVP award.

"If I could be named MVP, it would be an enormous accomplishment, I would be so happy," Doncic said (2:52 mark). "But, you never know. I hope I'm in that conversation."

Doncic is coming off a strong showing in the FIBA EuroBasket 2022, but Slovenia was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Poland in a surprising upset. He averaged 26.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists in seven games during the tournament, including a 47-point outburst that is the second-highest total in the history of European championships.

While individual success is achievable, Doncic also told Andrews that he has big expectations for the Mavs as a team.

"My expectation is to make it to the [NBA] Finals, first of all," he said. "I know it's gonna be really, really hard, but we gotta believe, everybody's gotta believe it. And if the whole team believes, then it can probably happen, but it's gonna be really hard."

The 23-year-old is the most important player on the Mavericks. He led the team with averages of 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.2 steals last season, but he was also hobbled with injuries throughout the year. Doncic missed 17 games in the regular season and three more in the playoffs, and the team went 10-10 in his absence.

Dallas had a 52-30 record and made a surprising run to the Western Conference Finals last season, but the team is set to look different this year. The Mavs lost second-leading scorer Jalen Brunson after he signed with the New York Knicks as a free agent. They acquired promising 26-year-old power forward Christian Wood from the Houston Rockets, but it remains to be seen how he will mesh with a ball-dominant guard like Doncic.

The Mavericks are set to begin their season against the Phoenix Suns, who they defeated in seven games in the conference finals, on Oct. 19.

Although trading Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks in June cemented the San Antonio Spurs' rebuild, the franchise reportedly still intends to drive a hard bargain with its best assets.

LJ Ellis of SpursTalk reported Sunday that Jakob Poeltl and Josh Richardson "are the two Spurs players most commonly involved in trade talk" and that the price required to acquire them "remains high."

According to Ellis, the Spurs want a first-round pick for Richardson and two first-rounders for Poeltl.

The 29-year-old Richardson averaged 10.2 points and shot 41.5 percent from beyond the arc across his spells with the Spurs and Boston Celtics in 2021-22.

The 6'5" wing is on an expiring deal and will earn $12.2 million for the upcoming season. That might increase his value since there's no long-term financial risk in acquiring him.

A late first-round pick may be a reasonable demand for a player who can fit into the three-and-D archetype.

Ellis' newest reporting on Poeltl aligns with what Heavy's Steve Bulpett reported in July. Bulpett spoke to a general manager who said his impression is the Spurs "don't want to burn the thing to the ground and start from there." To that end, San Antonio isn't desperate to offload the veteran center.

Poeltl is also coming off a career year. The 26-year-old averaged 13.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, and he held opponents to 55.6 percent shooting inside six feet, 8.2 percentage points below their average, per NBA.com.

The 7'1" big man is a limited scorer, but his rim protection would be a prized commodity for a contender. Like Richardson, he's on an expiring deal, and his $9.4 million salary is a relatively modest sum.

With Poeltl, the Spurs are better positioned to demand a good return.

The San Antonio Spurs "shopped" veteran wing Doug McDermott over the summer but "only received lukewarm interest" on the market, according to LJ Ellis of SpursTalk.

Per Ellis: "Rival scouts insist that McDermott has a negative trade value due to the two years and $27.5 million he has remaining on his contract. However, the Spurs aren't interested in attaching an asset to McDermott in order to move him."

The 30-year-old remains a dangerous three-point threat, shooting 42.2 percent from beyond the arc last season and 40.9 percent for his career.

While he averaged 11.3 points per game for the Spurs in 51 starts last season—a grade 3 ankle sprain cut his season short in March—he doesn't offer much beyond that perimeter shooting.

That has apparently made the $13.75 million he'll earn in each of the next two seasons a tough sell on the trade market as the Spurs continue their rebuild.

Those efforts started in June when the team traded star guard Dejounte Murray and Jock Landale to the Atlanta Hawks for Danilo Gallinari, first-round picks in 2023, 2025 and 2027, and a first-round pick swap in 2026.

The team promptly cut Gallinari, who went on to sign with the Boston Celtics.

The belief was that the Spurs would use any remaining veterans as trade chips to add younger players and draft assets, as well as use their cap space to take on big contracts in trades—think Russell Westbrook—in exchange for assets.

According to Ellis, Jakob Poeltl and Josh Richardson are "the two Spurs players most commonly involved in trade talk," and the Spurs are seeking a first-round pick for Richardson and two first-rounders for Poeltl.

Additional trades are yet to take place, though, and it appears McDermott isn't moving the needle.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is looking to return to stardom after working with personal trainer Jasper Bibbs this summer.

"He's in fantastic shape," Bibbs told William Guillory of The Athletic. "He's been committed to putting in the work day in and day out. I'm really proud of what he's been able to accomplish. He's a better athlete now than he's ever been."

Williamson was always an elite athlete, helping him earn an All-Star selection in his first full season in the NBA. He averaged 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 2020-21 while shooting 61.1 percent from the field.

The problem has been durability—he missed all of 2021-22 with a foot injury and has played just 85 games in three seasons—and his weight at 284 pounds. His new contract with the Pelicans reportedly has a clause that provides incentives based on his weight and conditioning, per Rod Walker of NOLA.com.

There have also been plenty of weight jokes at his expense, which reportedly "bothers" Williamson, per Guillory.

It could be a different story this season.

"(His body composition) has improved at an extremely high level," Bibbs said. "That’s all I'll say."