RealGM Basketball Wiretap

30 June 2025

• Nicolas Batum, Clippers Agree To Two-Year, $11.5M Deal

  Nicolas Batum and the Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to a two-year, $11.5 million contract. The deal includes a team option and a trade kicker. Batum re-signed with the Clippers last offseason after he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of their James Harden trade.

  Batum avearged 4.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 17.5 minutes across 78 games. Batum, who turns 37 in December, is represented by Bouna Ndiaye.

• James Harden Declines Option, Signs Two-Year, $81.5M Contract With Clippers

  James Harden has declined his player option and has agreed to sign a new two-year, $81.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers. Harden was traded to the Clippers during the 2023-24 season and re-signed on a two-year, $70 million contract.

  Harden and the Clippers have a mutual option for Year 2 with a partial guarantee should the team decline it. Harden now aligns with the final season of Kawhi Leonard's contract, which runs through 2026-27.

  Harden averaged 22.8 points on 41/35/87 shooting splits, 5.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists across 79 games on his way to an All-NBA Third Team selection as the Clippers exceeded expectations last season. The Clippers reshaped their roster last offseason around Harden, Leonard and Ivica Zubac after losing Paul George in free agency. The Clippers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in seven games by the Denver Nuggets.

  The Clippers acquired Harden via trade with the Philadelphia 76ers in October 2023 in exchange for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 pick swap and an additional first-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

• Chris Paul Considering Return To Suns, Clippers

  Chris Paul could return to the Phoenix Suns or Los Angeles Clippers this offseason. Paul spent last season with the San Antonio Spurs where he played in all 82 games. Paul reportedly would like to return closer to the Los Angeles area this offseason.

  The possibility of Paul returning to the Suns will increase if Tyus Jones departs in free agency. Paul was traded by the Suns to the Washington Wizards as part of the Bradley Beal trade in 2023.

  If Paul were to sign with the Clippers, he would be reunited with James Harden whom he had a messy exit with in 2019 from the Houston Rockets.

  Paul turned 40 in May.

• Nicolas Batum Declining $4.9M Player Option With Clippers

  LA Clippers forward Nicolas Batum is declining his $4.9 million player option for the 2025-26 season. Batum will now be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

  Batum and the Clippers have interest in signing a new contract. LA can give Batum a modest bump in salary to $5.6 million using his non-Bird rights. The Clippers could also use a portion of their Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception to give Batum a larger first-year salary.

  The 17-year veteran appeared in 78 games for LA last season. Batum averaged 4.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game in the regular season. In the playoffs, Batum averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game. He also shot 39.4% on three-pointers during the Clippers first round loss to the Denver Nuggets.

• 2025 NBA Draft Second Round Results: Rasheer Fleming Goes No. 31 To Suns

  The Phoenix Suns acquired the No. 31 overall pick and selected Rasheer Fleming out of Saint Joseph's to begin the second round of the 2025 NBA draft.

  2025 NBA Draft, Round 1 Results
  31. Phoenix Suns: Rasheer Fleming, F, Saint Joseph's
  32. Orlando Magic: Noah Penda, F, France
  33. Charlotte Hornets: Sion James, SF, Duke
  34. Charlotte Hornets: Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton
  35. Philadelphia 76ers: Johni Broome, C, Auburn
  36. Los Angeles Lakers: Adou Thiero, PF, Arkansas
  37. Detroit Pistons: Chaz Lanier, SG, Tennessee
  38. Indiana Pacers: Kam Jones, PG/SG, Marquette
  39. Toronto Raptors: Alijah Martin, SG, Florida
  40. New Orleans Pelicans: Micah Peavy, SG/SF, Georgetown
  41. Phoenix Suns: Koby Brea, SG/SF, Kentucky
  42. Sacramento Kings: Maxime Raynaud, C, Stanford
  43. Washington Wizards: Jamir Watkins, SG/SF, Florida State
  44. Oklahoma City Thunder: Brooks Barnhizer, SF, Northwestern
  45. Minnesota Timberwolves: Rocco Zikarsky, C, Brisbane
  46. Boston Celtics: Amari Williams, C, Kentucky
  47. Milwaukee Bucks: Bogoljub Markovic, PF/C, Mega Superbet
  48. Memphis Grizzlies: Javon Small, PG, West Virginia
  49. Cleveland Cavaliers: Tyrese Proctor, G, Duke
  50. LA Clippers: Kobe Sanders, SG/SF, Nevada
  51. New York Knicks: Mohamed Diawara, F, France
  52. Golden State Warriors: Alex Toohey, SF/PF, Sydney
  53. Utah Jazz: John Tonje, SF, Wisconsin
  54. Indiana Pacers: Taelon Peter, G, Liberty
  55. Chicago Bulls: Lachlan Olbrich, PF/C, Illawarra
  56. Golden State Warriors: Will Richard, SG, Florida
  57. Boston Celtics: Max Shulga, G, VCU
  58. Cleveland Cavaliers: Saliou Niang, SG/SF, Trento
  59. Houston Rockets: Jahmai Mashack, G, Tennessee

• 2025 NBA Draft First Round: Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe Picked Top-3

  The Dallas Mavericks have opened up the 2025 NBA draft by selecting Cooper Flagg out of Duke with the first overall pick. Flagg will wear No. 32 for the Mavericks after wearing No. 2 at Duke The Mavericks won the lottery with just a 1.8 percent change, which is the fourth lowest in NBA history.

  The San Antonio Spurs selected Dylan Harper out of Rutgers with the No. 2 pick. San Antonio has the two most recent Rookies of the Year in Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle.

  The Philadelphia 76ers then selected V.J. Edgecombe out of Baylor at No. 3 followed by Kon Knueppel to the Charlotte Hornets at No. 4.

  The first real surprise of the draft came when the Utah Jazz selected Ace Bailey. Bailey had an unorthodox lead up to the draft in which he didn't work out for any teams. Bailey had hoped to be selected by the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans or Brooklyn Nets.

  2025 NBA Draft, Round 1 Results
  1. Dallas Mavericks: Cooper Flagg, SF/PF, Duke
  2. San Antonio Spurs: Dylan Harper, PG, Rutgers
  3. Philadelphia 76ers: V.J. Edgecombe, SG, Baylor
  4. Charlotte Hornets: Kon Knueppel, SF, Duke
  5. Utah Jazz: Ace Bailey, SF, Rutgers
  6. Washington Wizards: Tre Johnson, SG, Texas
  7. New Orleans Pelicans: Jeremiah Fears, PG, Oklahoma
  8. Brooklyn Nets: Egor Demin, PG, BYU
  9. Toronto Raptors: Collin Murray-Boyles, PF/C, South Carolina
  10. Phoenix Suns (via PHX/BKN/HOU): Khaman Maluach, C, Duke
  11. Memphis Grizzlies (via POR): Cedric Coward, SF, Washington State
  12. Chicago Bulls: Noa Essengue, PF, Ratiopharm Ulm
  13. New Orleans Pelicans (via SAC/ATL): Derik Queen, C, Maryland
  14. San Antonio Spurs: (via ATL): Carter Bryant, SF, Arizona
  15. Oklahoma City Thunder (via MIA/LAC): Thomas Sorber, C, Georgetown
  16. Portland Trail Blazers (via ORL/MEM): Yang Hansen, C, China
  17. Minnesota Timberwolves (via DET/NYK): Joan Beringer, C, Cedevita Olimpija
  18. Utah Jazz (via MEM/WAS): Walter Clayton Jr., PG, Florida
  19. Brooklyn Nets (via MIL/NYK): Nolan Traore, PG, Saint-Quentin
  20. Miami Heat (via GSW): Kasparas Jakucionis, PG, Illinois
  21. Washington Wizards (via MIN/UTA): Will Riley, SF, Illinois
  22. Brooklyn Nets (via LAL/NOP/ATL): Drake Powell, SG/SF, North Carolina
  23. Atlanta Hawks (via IND/NOP): Asa Newell, PF/C, Georgia
  24. Sacramento Kings (via LAC/OKC): Nique Clifford, SG, Colorado State
  25. Orlando Magic (via DEN): Jase Richardson, PG/SG, Michigan State
  26. Brooklyn Nets (via NYK): Ben Saraf, PG/SG, Ratiopharm Ulm
  27. Brooklyn Nets (via HOU): Danny Wolf, PF, Michigan
  28. Boston Celtics: Hugo Gonzalez, SG/SF, Real Madrid
  29. Charlotte Hornets (via CLE/UTA/PHX): Liam McNeeley, SG/SF, UConn
  30. LA Clippers (via OKC): Yanic Konan Niederhauser, C, Penn State

• Monte McNair Hired By Clippers In Advisor Role

  The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to hire Monte McNair in an advisor role. McNair and the Kings parted ways at the end of the 2024-25 season. McNair had been with the Kings since 2020 and signed an extension in January 2023 on his way to being named NBA Executive of the Year.

  McNair previously worked for the Houston Rockets and grew up in the Los Angeles area.

• Clippers Emerge As Possible Kevin Durant Trade Destination

  The LA Clippers have emerged this week as a potential wildcard trade suitor for Kevin Durant, sources tell ESPN. Zach Lowe of The Ringer also suggested the Clippers as a team who could acquire Durant.

  The Clippers have enough contracts available to acquire Durant, though their future draft capital is limited. Durant would join Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. Durant previously played with Harden as members of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Brooklyn Nets. Durant and Leonard were linked to possibly playing together during the 2019 offseason when both were free agents. The Clippers allowed Paul George to leave in free agency in 2024 amid second apron team-building concerns.

  As of Friday, the Houston Rockets, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves were considered the teams with the most serious interest in trading for Durant.

• James Harden 'Trending' Towards Declining Player Option, Interested In Staying With Clippers

  James Harden is "trending" towards declining his player option worth $35.6 million this offseason, league sources told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

  Both Harden and the Clippers are looking to continue their partnership.

  There is belief that Harden's next contract could keep him with the team through the 2026-27 season.

  The Clippers are looking to maintain cap space for the 2027 offseason, with Ivica Zubac the only guaranteed deal for the 2027-28 season.

  Norm Powell is also extension eligible this offseason, though the Clippers are in no hurry to get a new deal done.

  The Clippers are looking to add a backup point guard and a center who can protect the paint this offseason.

• Nicolas Batum Likely To Retire After Next Season

  LA Clippers forward Nicolas Batum is planning for the upcoming season to be his final one. Batum has a $4.9 million player option for next season that he's expected to pick up. Following that, the veteran forward is likely calling it a career.

  "There's a very, very good chance that the next season will be my last," Batum said.

  Batum appeared in 78 games for the Clippers last year in his 17th NBA season. Batum averaged 4.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game. The veteran forward saw his role increase in playoffs, as LA fell in seven games to the Denver Nuggets in the first round.