RealGM Basketball Wiretap

31 October 2025

• Wizards Hire Former ESPN Executive Editor Cristina Daglas

  The Washington Wizards have hired Cristina Daglas as head of research and identity. Daglas was previously executive editor of ESPN.

  The position will be similar to the one held by former Sports Illustrated writer Lee Jenkins with the Los Angeles Clippers, which he has had since 2018.

  Michael Winger, who now runs with the Wizards, was also involved in the hiring of Jenkins.

  "Monumental Basketball is a growing and innovative organization, committed to optimizing player performance and enhancing our fans' connectivity to and joy from the teams," Winger said in a statement. "Understanding and communicating our basketball identity is an important endeavor to drive that performance, connectivity, and joy. Cristina's role is to lead the group responsible for capturing our story, enhancing our organizational appeal, and sharing our identity with everyone interested. Her background in journalism and supervising some of the most important sports stories of the last decade make her uniquely qualified for this role."

  Daglas exited ESPN earlier this year after she was placed on administrative leave when multiple employees filed HR complaints, which were never disclosed publicly.

• Wizards Exercising 26-27 Rookie Scale Options For Six Players

  The Washington Wizards are picking up the 2026-27 rookie scale team options for a group of six players. The Wizards are picking up the options for Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, AJ Johnson, Alex Sarr and Cam Whitmore.

  These are the fourth-year options for Coulibaly and Whitmore. Carrington, George, Johnson and Sarr are having their third-year options exercised.

  This group of six, along with 2025 first-round picks Tre Johnson and Will Riley, form Washington's young core. The Wizards drafted Carrington, Coulibaly, George and Sarr. They acquired Johnson at least year's trade deadline and traded for Whitmore this past offseason.

• Wizards Plan To Waive Dillon Jones

  The Washington Wizards are planning to waive guard Dillon Jones. Washington had acquired Jones from the Oklahoma City Thunder this offseason.

  The Wizards were set to waive at least one player with a fully guaranteed contract to get into regular roster compliance by Monday's deadline. Unless he's claimed off waivers, Jones will count for $2.7 million in dead money on Washington's cap sheet for the 2026-27 season.

• Wizards Waive Kadary Richmond, Alondes Williams

  The Washington Wizards have waived Kadary Richmond and Alondes Williams. Both players were signed to Exhibit 10 contracts. Richmond and Williams are expected to join the Capital City Go-Go for the upcoming G League season.

  The Wizards roster now stands at 19 players. Washington will need to waive one more player from a standard contract head of Monday's deadline to cut down to 15 players on standard contracts.

• NBA Team Valuations Reach $5.51 Billion Average, Up 20 Percent From 2024

  The average NBA team is now worth $5.51 billion, up 20 percent year-over-year and 113 percent since 2022, according to Sportico's calculations. The collective value of all 30 franchises reached $165 billion, driven by a landmark $76 billion media rights agreement and strategic arena investments.

  Rick Welts, newly appointed Dallas Mavericks CEO, called the current moment unprecedented for league growth.

  "Never had a moment like this where you could be as optimistic as I am," Welts said in a video interview. "A lot of people are in this league, from an international perspective, from a media perspective, and I really feel like we have the best ahead of us."

  The Golden State Warriors maintained their five-year reign as the NBA's most valuable franchise at $11.33 billion, second globally only to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys at $12.8 billion. The Los Angeles Lakers jumped to second place at $10 billion after Mark Walter's pending acquisition at 16 times revenue, surpassing the New York Knicks at $9.85 billion. The average value-to-revenue multiple for the NBA is 13.5, ahead of the WNBA at 12.0, the NFL at 10.3 and MLS at 9.4.

  The Warriors' dominance stems from arena ownership, sponsorship revenue nearly double any other team, and their WNBA affiliate, the Golden State Valkyries, valued at $500 million. The Valkyries made history as the first expansion team to qualify for the playoffs in their inaugural season.

  The new media contract with Amazon, ESPN/ABC and NBC raises each team's annual television revenue from $103 million to $143 million, with seven-percent annual increases through 2036. The "get-in" price for franchise ownership-represented by the Memphis Grizzlies at $4 billion-has jumped 2.5 times since 2022, when it stood at $1.63 billion.

  Recent high-profile sales drove valuations across the board. The Boston Celtics sold for $6.1 billion in March, while the Lakers' pending deal at $10 billion set a new record for control sales in sports history. The Portland Trail Blazers agreement at $4.25 billion followed in August.

  The NBA is pursuing expansion in Europe in partnership with FIBA, potentially launching 16 teams with a fall 2027 tipoff. The league also plans to develop a Basketball Africa League with 12 teams and dedicated home arenas. Welts emphasized international opportunities as transformational for league economics.

  "The international opportunity is multiple of what the domestic U.S. sports market is," Welts said. "The technology will allow anybody, anywhere in the world to consume any NBA game."

  New arenas are under construction in Oklahoma City ($900 million, opening 2028) and Philadelphia (2030), with the Dallas Mavericks scouting sites following 24 years at the shared American Airlines Center.

  2025 NBA Team Valuations

  Rank	Team	2025 Valuation	1-Year Change
  1	Golden State Warriors	$11.33B	+24%
  2	Los Angeles Lakers	$10B	+24%
  3	New York Knicks	$9.85B	+19%
  4	Los Angeles Clippers	$6.72B	+18%
  5	Boston Celtics	$6.35B	+12%
  6	Brooklyn Nets	$6.22B	+9%
  7	Chicago Bulls	$6.12B	+10%
  8	Miami Heat	$6.03B	+21%
  9	Philadelphia 76ers	$5.61B	+23%
  10	Houston Rockets	$5.53B	+16%
  11	Dallas Mavericks	$5.24B	+17%
  12	Toronto Raptors	$5.22B	+12%
  13	Phoenix Suns	$5.09B	+18%
  14	Atlanta Hawks	$5.02B	+23%
  15	Sacramento Kings	$5B	+22%
  16	Cleveland Cavaliers	$4.86B	+23%
  17	Denver Nuggets	$4.8B	+18%
  18	Washington Wizards	$4.78B	+20%
  19	Indiana Pacers	$4.76B	+27%
  20	Milwaukee Bucks	$4.54B	+16%
  21	San Antonio Spurs	$4.5B	+19%
  22	Oklahoma City Thunder	$4.34B	+22%
  23	Utah Jazz	$4.27B	+16%
  24	Portland Trail Blazers	$4.25B	+18%
  25	Minnesota Timberwolves	$4.24B	+29%
  26	Orlando Magic	$4.21B	+22%
  27	Detroit Pistons	$4.17B	+21%
  28	Charlotte Hornets	$4.13B	+22%
  29	New Orleans Pelicans	$4.02B	+30%
  30	Memphis Grizzlies	$4B	+31%

• Wizards Waive Leaky Black, Skal Labissiere

  The Washington Wizards waived forward Leaky Black and center Skal Labissiere. Both players had been signed to non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract. Black and Labissiere are both expected to join the Capital City Go-Go for the upcoming G League season.

  The Wizards signed Kadary Richmond and Alondes Williams to replace Black and Labissiere on the roster. Washington will waive both Richmond and Williams before the end of the preseason, and both are expected to also play for the Go-Go this season.

  Washington will also need to waive or trade at least one player with a fully guaranteed contract. The Wizards are currently carrying 16 players on fully guaranteed deals, which is one more than is allowed for the regular season.

• Wizards Sign Kadary Richmond, Alondes Williams To Camp Contracts

  The Washington Wizards have signed wing Kadary Richmond and guard Alondes Williams to camp contracts. Richmond and Williams both signed non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deals. Both players are expected to join the Capital City Go-Go for the G League season after being waived by the Wizards later in the preseason.

  Richmond went undrafted out of St. John's at the 2025 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-6 wing averaged 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.0 steals as a senior for the Red Storm.

  Williams has played for the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons over the past three NBA seasons. The 6-foot-4 guard split last season between the Motor City Cruise and Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League. In 45 total games, Williams averaged 18.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

• Wizards Sign Skal Labissiere To Exhibit 10 Deal, Waive Akoldah Gak

  The Washington Wizards signed Skal Labissiere to an Exhibit 10 contract, the team announced on Monday.

  Labissiere averaged 16.1 points and 7.9 rebounds for the Stockton Kings last season.

  The team also announced that they waived Akdolah Gak.

  Gak is expected to join the Capital City Go-Go.

• Wizards Sign Leaky Black To Exhibit 10 Contract, Waive Jonathan Pierre

  The Washington Wizards signed Leaky Black to an Exhibit 10 deal, the team reported on Thursday.

  Black averaged 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds for the Capital City Go-Go last year.

  The Wizards also waived Jonathan Pierre, who is likely to join the Go-Go.

  The team now have a full 21-player preseason roster.

• Wizards Sign Akoldah Gak To Camp Deal

  The Washington Wizards have signed forward Akoldah Gak to an Exhibit 10 contract. Gak is expected to join the Capital City Go-Go of the G League after the preseason.

  In 12 games with the Go-Go last season, the 6-foot-11 Australia native averaged 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game.