While Fears did match his summer league turnover average in Friday’s defeat, committing five, he was more productive in the assist category. The lottery pick dished out four assists in New Orleans’ summer finale, and he was also productive in the points, rebounds and steals categories. Once the regular season begins, Fears won’t be under similar pressure to balance getting his shots and setting up his teammates. Also, he’ll be playing with and against better players. Given Fears’ age, as he won’t turn 19 until October, it’s unsurprising that he was inconsistent in Las Vegas.

While the Jazz suffered another defeat in their final game of the summer, Williams’ production against the Bulls was positive. Coming off a disappointing rookie season, it’s unsurprising that the 2024 lottery pick would play in all five games in Las Vegas. Whether or not the final performances boost Williams’ confidence ahead of the 2025-26 season remains to be seen. However, given the number of young forwards on the Jazz roster, he won’t be worth the risk in most redraft leagues.

According to the Pelicans, Queen suffered a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist during the Pelicans’ July 15 loss to Portland. The procedure was successful, but the 12-week timeline means the first-round pick may not be ready to go when the 2025-26 season begins. At a minimum, Queen will miss most of training camp, if not all. Yves Missi was positioned to start the season at the Pelicans’ starting center; Friday’s news changes nothing. However, more minutes may be available to Kevon Looney and Karlo Matkovic early on.

The contract includes a player option in 2027. Lillard now will have a 2025-26 set salary of $70M between his Portland and Milwaukee deals, and a salary of $141M over the next two years, according to Charania. The 35-year-old point guard is heading back to where his career began when the Trail Blazers selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Lillard is unlikely to play much if at all this season as he recovers from Achilles surgery, but looks to finish his career right where he started it. The deal includes a no-trade clause.

Harper only appeared in two games after dealing with a groin injury, and he played a total of 42 minutes across his appearances. He clearly didn’t need to be out there, and the Spurs decided it wasn’t worth risking further injury. David Jones-Garcia should return to the starting lineup as he continued to make a case of Summer League MVP.

Beal will have a player option for the second season of his deal with the Clippers, so if he has a bounce-back year, he could certainly decline the option and sign a larger deal next summer, which makes this a great scenario for him. Beal should start at shooting guard, likely alongside James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, John Collins and Ivica Zubac, making this one of the best lineups in the league in 2021. How well will it work next season? That’s on coach Tyronn Lue to figure out. This is certainly a fun collection of talent. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kris Dunn will likely lose out on minutes with Beal in the mix.

The expectation is that LeBron will be with the Lakers for training camp. If you follow every single rumor that happens during the NBA offseason and read between the lines, you can see that LeBron has been pulling some stunts to create some drama. But if you look at the bigger picture, there isn’t really a move that makes sense for both the Lakers and another team that LeBron will also agree to, since he has a no-trade clause. The reality is that LeBron will be a Laker next year in what could be his final NBA season.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the procedure was done to clean up bone spurs in Lively’s right foot. The expectation is that he should be ready for the start of training camp in late September. Also, NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the handling of Lively’s injury led to a disagreement between members of the Mavericks’ medical staff. Four staff members, including director of athletic performance Keith Belton, were dismissed in May. With Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis recovering from knee and eye injuries, respectively, three of Dallas’ critical players are using the offseason to recover. In the case of Irving, he is not expected to be available until well into the 2025-26 season.

With the Jazz in the midst of a rebuild, there have been questions regarding Markkanen’s future with the franchise. However, while John Collins and Collin Sexton were traded this offseason and Jordan Clarkson’s contract was bought out, the team reportedly does not plan to move Markkanen. “It would be too much to describe Markkanen as untouchable, but the Jazz still project the All-Star forward as a key player in their future core,” MacMahon wrote. In addition to how he’s viewed within the franchise, Markkanen’s contract may deter some teams. Last August, he agreed to a five-year extension worth $238 million. Utah still needs some veterans to lead the way for their young roster, which is why Markkanen remains so valuable to the franchise.