John Hollinger has started circling a few of the league’s quiet difference-makers, and Hawks guard Dyson Daniels is near the top of that list. Hollinger, in The Athletic, highlighted 10 under-the-radar players who could end up swinging their teams’ seasons, and Daniels stands out because of the same thing that makes him hard to peg offensively: his shaky jump shot. Hollinger said he’ll be watching Daniels closely in 2026/27.
A few other names on that list could end up mattering just as much. Peyton Watson with the Cavaliers, Tobias Harris with the Spurs, Collin Murray-Boyles with the Raptors and Cason Wallace with the Thunder were all singled out by Hollinger as players who could be critical to their teams’ success.
Elsewhere, Ben Golliver of ESPN took a shot at the league-wide roster puzzle by identifying the biggest need for each of the NBA’s 30 teams. His answer for the defending champion Knicks was simple: backup center.
For the Wizards, who finished last season with the worst record in the league, Golliver said the issue is bigger than a single roster spot. He wrote that they need to find a “winning mentality.”
On the NBA Europe front, the league and FIBA issued a joint statement on Thursday saying they still plan to move ahead with NBA Europe, even if they do not have a deal with the EuroLeague. That drew criticism from George Aivazoglou, the NBA’s managing director for Europe and the Middle East, who pushed back on the EuroLeague’s structure during a Leaders Week London conference.
“ There’s cases where a team has won their domestic league, let’s say Spain, and they will never play the EuroLeague,” Aivazoglou said. “ There are other cases where sometimes teams play in the EuroLeague, but they have been relegated in their domestic leagues.”
He also said the goal of NBA Europe is not just to “retain hardcore European basketball fans” but to bring global attention to European basketball.
There was also movement on the contract front. Isaiah Hartenstein’s deal with the Thunder was the first mutual option in 25 years, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks previously pointed out.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line dug into why that clause has started to show up again after sitting in the background for so long, noting that three other players have received mutual options this offseason. Fischer reported that multiple agents now plan to push for mutual options going forward if they can’t secure player options for their clients.
In Other News...
Jalen Williams Gave Thunder Fans An Early Sign They Needed
Jalen Williams gave the Thunder a welcome preseason jolt in his first game action, flashing the kind of rhythm Oklahoma City has been waiting to see after a season interrupted by injuries. In 19 first-half minutes against Milwaukee, he was active from the start in a 128-126 loss, and the mix of scoring, playmaking and defensive activity fit neatly with the bigger picture the Thunder want to build around.
Mark Daigneault liked what he saw from Williams, especially the way he carried himself with confidence and aggression. Oklahoma City now has five days off before facing the Atlanta Hawks, which gives the team a little more time to let that encouraging opening stretch settle in while keeping an eye on whether Williams can keep that same energy going. [Read more 🡒]
Aday Mara Is Giving The Thunder A Reason To Rethink His Role
Aday Mara has already given Oklahoma City a small preseason puzzle to solve. In two games, the rookie has looked polished well beyond the usual early-October evaluation period, showing soft touch, good footwork, solid rebounding and the kind of passing that fits naturally with the Thunders style. Head coach Mark Daigneault has noticed the way Mara can do more than just finish plays, and that matters for a team that values versatility from every spot on the floor.
Bennett Stirtz has also added to the optimism around Oklahoma Citys rookie class, bringing scoring and defensive activity to the mix. But Mara is the one creating the more interesting conversation, because his playmaking hints at a role that could stretch beyond what people expected when camp opened. The Thunder do not have to decide anything right now, yet his early preseason work is starting to raise the question of how much more they might be able to get out of him. [Read more 🡒]
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Took OKCs Playoff Exit Harder Than Fans Knew
Shai Gilgeous-Alexanders response to Oklahoma Citys playoff exit apparently lingered well beyond the spring, according to trainer Nem Ilic, who said the Thunder guard took the Knicks championship run as a reminder of what was left on the table. The backdrop was OKCs loss in the Western Conference finals, a finish that clearly sat heavy enough to shape how Gilgeous-Alexander approached the months that followed.
Ilic said the offseason became a work period aimed at sharpening conditioning and making Gilgeous-Alexander more comfortable operating off the ball, a sign the Thunder star is still searching for ways to raise his ceiling. He offered a quick preview of that next step in his preseason debut, when he scored 17 points in 17 minutes, and the early return suggests the same frustration that followed the playoff exit may have fueled the work. [Read more 🡒]