The NBA is creeping back into view, and the first real headlines are already landing. The Clippers are reshuffling leadership after their league punishment, the Pistons and Jalen Duren are still stuck on a contract standoff, and Atlanta’s frontcourt took a painful hit before camp even opened.
The Clippers’ answer to their year-long suspension situation is John S. Gibson, a Los Angeles-based attorney who will serve as interim Chief Executive Officer and Governor. He is stepping into the roles previously held by Steve Ballmer and Gillian Zucker, both suspended by the NBA for a year after circumventing the salary cap to get Kawhi Leonard more money.
“I am honored to take on this responsibility and grateful for the opportunity to serve an organization I have supported for many years,” Gibson said in a statement. “The Clippers have talented players, coaches, and staff, an extraordinary home in Intuit Dome, and passionate Clipper Nation fans who, like me, care deeply about this team. My focus will be on supporting our people, providing steady leadership, and helping the organization continue moving forward.”
Gibson, a partner at DLA Piper in Los Angeles, has long been around the franchise as a season-ticket holder. He also represented the Clippers during the Donald Sterling ownership court battle. This is a caretaker setup, not a dramatic reset, with Gibson expected to help steady the business side and lay out best-practice guidelines while the suspension runs its course.
The team also confirmed what had been expected on the basketball side: general manager Trent Redden will handle basketball operations for six months until Lawrence Frank’s suspension ends.
In Detroit, the clock is ticking toward training camp and the Pistons still have not bridged the gap with Jalen Duren. The sides are talking, but they remain far apart, and ESPN’s Shams Charania said on NBA Today that “it’s highly up in the air and questionable as to whether (Duren) will be reporting and showing up to media day in just seven days.” Charania also reported the Pistons’ latest offer is five years, $200 million.
That number makes this feel like more than a simple fight over dollars. Charania pointed out that a year ago the Pistons came to Duren with a hard $20 million average annual offer and told him to take it or leave it.
He turned it down, then proved he was worth more. The bigger question now is how much more, especially after a rough playoff run.
There’s also the human side of it: how Duren feels the organization has handled him. The money matters, but this has clearly become about respect too.
And with a $9.6 million qualifying offer sitting there, the real question is whether he could actually walk away from the bigger deal.
Atlanta’s news was a gut punch. Henri Veesaar, who just came off a breakout season at North Carolina with 17 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, tore his ACL in a workout on Sept. 15 and will miss the entire upcoming season.
The Hawks announced he’ll have surgery next month. Veesaar had been viewed as a first-round talent before sliding to No. 52 last June because his agents steered him toward a team where he could land a standard NBA contract.
Atlanta gave him four years and $9.6 million, with the first two years guaranteed.
That injury stings for the player and for the Hawks’ depth chart. Mouhamed Gueye is already out at the start of the season after fracturing his foot and needing surgery.
Dallas, meanwhile, looks set to bring back a familiar face. Reserve center Dwight Powell, who has spent the last 12 seasons with the Mavericks, is expected to sign with the team again, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
The deal is expected to be non-guaranteed, giving Dallas flexibility if something unexpected happens. Powell was with a group of Mavericks players in Santa Monica last week for workouts organized by Kyrie Irving.
At 35, Powell is no longer a major on-court piece. He averaged 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 63 games last season.
But on a young team, that kind of veteran presence still carries weight. He knows the job, he works, and he sets a tone.
And if you only read one thing today, make it Pistons executive vice president of basketball operations Michael Blackstone speaking with Hunter Patterson of The Athletic about his battle with Stage 4 lung cancer. Blackstone was diagnosed in 2023 and said he’s speaking publicly now to push people to get checked when something feels off.
“The reason I’m talking about it now versus the past three years is because time is basically all I have now, right? Time is what matters...
“If I didn’t pay attention to the discomfort I was having and ask a very innocent question, I wouldn’t be here right now. It was already Stage 4 when we found it; it had already gone too far.”
In Other News...
Ausar Thompson Now Faces A Pistons Question Fans Can't Ignore
Ausar Thompson is suddenly carrying a price tag that invites immediate comparison with some of the leagues more established wings. Detroit locked him in for the long term, and the size of the commitment says plenty about how the Pistons view his upside, his fit and the role they expect him to grow into as the roster keeps taking shape around him.
The problem, at least for anyone looking at the deal through a hard-nosed basketball lens, is that Thompson is being paid like a proven difference-maker before he has fully shown he can be one. The contract lands in the neighborhood of what Mikal Bridges is making with the Knicks, which is exactly the kind of comparison that puts Thompsons current offensive output and lack of playoff rsum under a brighter light as Detroit waits to see whether the ceiling eventually matches the investment. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Still Have A Jalen Duren Problem As Camp Nears
As media day approaches, Jalen Durens contract situation is still hanging over the Pistons, turning what should be a straightforward preseason storyline into one of the teams more delicate business issues. The restricted free agent and Detroit remain in negotiations, but there is still no agreement in place, and the longer it drags on, the more it shapes the backdrop for camp.
Detroit has tried to close the gap, and the talks have also been colored by comparisons to deals other players have landed around the league. Even so, Durens side has not been ready to move, leaving the Pistons with a problem that has no easy outside solution and a stalemate that could linger right up until the team has to get back to basketball. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Duren Standoff Just Became A Serious Pistons Problem
With training camp approaching, the Pistons have tried to get ahead of the Jalen Duren conversation by raising their contract offer to five years and $200 million. It is a clear show of commitment to one of the teams young frontcourt pieces, and it signals how determined Detroit is to keep building around talent it believes can be part of the long-term core.
Still, Duren has not signed, and the lack of resolution is starting to hang over the situation in a bigger way. For a team trying to stabilize its roster and establish continuity, the possibility that Duren may want a different arrangement, or even a path out of Detroit, makes this more than a routine negotiation. [Read more 🡒]