NBA Player News

Sharpe (knee) agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal to return to the Nets on Monday, ESPN's Shams Charania reports.

The Nets did not extend a $5.98 million qualifying offer to Sharpe, but they acted quickly to ensure that he returns to the franchise. Sharpe is coming off a career-best campaign with regular-season averages of 7.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks across 18.2 minutes per game in 50 appearances. He'll likely win the backup job behind Nic Claxton in 2025-26, though he does have competition from rookie Danny Wolf.

Ayton (calf) is finalizing a contract buyout with the Trail Blazers on Sunday, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

Ayton being bought out of his contract makes him a free agent once he clears waivers, and he will likely garner interest from around the league as one of the best centers on the market. The 26-year-old big man played in just 40 games last season and did not make an appearance following the All-Star break due to a calf injury, averaging 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocks in 30.2 minutes per contest.

The Pacers extended a qualifying offer to Jackson (Achilles) for 2025-26 on Sunday, Tony East of WTHR Channel 13 Indianapolis reports.

Jackson is now set to enter restricted free agency this offseason after spending the past four years in Indiana. The big man suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in November and missed the remainder of the 2024-25 season. He appeared in just five regular-season outings (one start) last year, averaging 7.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks across 16.8 minutes per game.

The Magic intend to decline Wagner's (knee) team option, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

The move was expected, as Wagner is set to miss a good chunk of the 2025-26 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee in December. The Magic will retain his Bird Rights, so a new contract could be signed between the two sides, though the annual value could be lower than the $11 million Wagner was set to receive had Orlando exercised the option instead. Prior to his injury, Wagner was averaging 12.9 points on 56.2 percent shooting, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.8 steals over 18.8 minutes per game across 30 regular-season games (one start).

The Knicks exercised their $1.96 million team option in Hukporti's contract for 2025-26 on Sunday, Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reports.

Hukporti will return to New York for a second season after appearing in 25 regular-season games (one start) last year, during which he averaged 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds across 8.7 minutes per game. The 23-year-old isn't guaranteed significant playing time in 2025-26, though he could see a boost in minutes if Precious Achiuwa departs in free agency.

The Nets did not extend a $5.98 million qualifying offer to Sharpe (knee), who will now enter unrestricted free agency, Michael Scotto of USA Today reports.

Sharpe is now set to explore other opportunities coming off a career-best year. The 23-year-old center averaged 7.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks across 18.2 minutes per game in 50 regular-season outings (two starts) last season.

The Pacers exercised their $2.94 million team option in Bradley's contract Sunday, Michael Scotto of USA Today reports.

Bradley will return to Indiana for a second season after signing two 10-day pacts followed by a one-year deal with the club in March 2025. The 27-year-old center appeared in 14 regular-season games for the Pacers last season, averaging 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds across 8.1 minutes per contest.

The Hornets traded Nurkic to the Jazz on Sunday in exchange for Collin Sexton and a 2031 second-round pick, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

The veteran big man is set to join his third team in two years and is in line to back up Walker Kessler in Utah. Nurkic spent time with Phoenix and Charlotte last season, averaging 8.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists across 20.8 minutes per game in 51 regular-season appearances (32 starts). Nurkic has one year remaining on his current contract and is slated to make $19 million in 2025-26.

The Nuggets released Hall on Saturday, Tony Jones of The Athletic reports.

Hall will have to explore other opportunities after being released by Denver. The 23-year-old big man signed a two-way contract with the Nuggets last July and appeared in 19 regular-season outings in the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 1.7 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 0.2 blocks across 3.5 minutes per game.

The Timberwolves will sign Reid to a new five-year deal, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

Reid is coming off another stellar season for Minnesota, as his numbers improved across the board during the 2024-25 campaign. The LSU product missed only two games during the regular season and put up career-high totals in points (14.2), rebounds (6.0) and assists (2.3) per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from deep.