NBA Player News

Jackson-Davis had his $2.4 million team option exercised Monday, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

With Sandro Mamukelashvili hitting free agency, Jackson-Davis could be in the mix for some backup center minutes going forward. During the 2025-26 regular season, he made 17 appearances with Toronto and averaged 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per contest.

The Nets exercised Smith's team option Monday, Michael Scotto of USA Today reports.

The option is worth $2.15 million, but it is not guaranteed money. During the 2025-26 regular season, Smith averaged 8.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

Atwell signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Bulls on Monday, according to Jake Weingarten of Stock Risers.

Atwell will compete for a roster spot at Chicago's training camp. During his senior season as Texas Tech, he averaged 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.8 three-pointers on 45.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Ayton exercised his $8.1 million player option Monday, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

This isn't a huge surprise, but it doesn't mean the Lakers won't try to flip him later on. During his debut season with the Lakers, he made 72 regular-season appearances with averages of 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks on 67.1 percent shooting from the field. As things stand heading into free agency, Ayton is penciled in as the starting center.

Sharpe (thumb) will sign a two-year, $20 million deal with the Nets, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

The Nets will quickly lock up their new starting center after previously trading away Nic Claxton. Sharpe is coming off a career-best season in 2025-26, posting regular-season averages of 8.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals. He could offer a lot of appeal in fantasy formats depending on how the rest of the offseason shapes up.

Minott (ankle) will sign a two-year, $9 million deal to stay with the Nets, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

The deal will include a team option for the second season. Prior to this transaction, Minott had his 2026-27 team option declined to clear the way for this new contract. Minott is likely to compete for rotation minutes at forward next season after a career-best campaign.

The Nuggets tendered a qualifying offer to Jones on Monday, Keith Smith of Spotrac.com reports.

After a quiet rookie season, Jones was thrust into extended action last year due to numerous injuries in Denver. He averaged 22.1 minutes across 64 regular-season appearances, including 37 starts. He shot 50.4 percent from the floor, including 39.6 percent from deep on 2.3 attempts per game.

The Nuggets tendered a qualifying offer to Watson (hamstring) on Monday, Keith Smith of Spotrac.com reports.

With tons of injuries in Denver last season, Watson broke out, averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.9 steals per game on 49/41/73 shooting splits. However, the injury bug also hit Watson, who missed 31 of the Nuggets' final 36 games, including every postseason contest. Given his strong performance, Watson is set for a major raise, assuming he's fully healthy during free agency.

Mamukelashvili declined his $2.8 million player option for 2026-27, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

This was a widely expected transaction, with Mamukelashvili putting together a career season in 2025-26. Across 80 regular-season contests, he produced averages of 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists on 52.3 percent shooting from the field. He's expected to have a strong market heading into free agency.

Green will decline his $27.7 million player option, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

Green is now scheduled to become a free agent. There will almost certainly be mutual interest in a return, but this gives the Warriors flexibility to pursue LeBron James in free agency and Anthony Davis via trade. Green, who is 36 years old, holds career regular-season averages of 8.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.3 steals.