NBA Notes: Kristaps Porzingis, Hawks, 76ers, Quentin Grimes, Jeff Dowtin

After dealing with a lingering illness throughout the NBA postseason, Kristaps Porzingis says he’s finally healthy and eager to get back on the floor.

Now with the Hawks following a summer trade from Boston, the veteran forward/center told Latvia’s Sports Studija he feels fully recovered and ready to play for his national team in EuroBasket before joining Atlanta for training camp.

“I feel fantastic, to be honest,” Porzingis said, via BasketNews. “Something was lingering during the playoffs—I had fatigue, dizziness, even moments where I felt like I might faint. It wasn’t great. But in June, I fully rested and lowered the intensity. All of that has gone away.”

Porzingis, 29, averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 42 games with the Celtics last season, shooting an efficient .483 from the field and .412 from three.

He’ll enter the 2025–26 campaign on an expiring $30.7 million contract and is expected to play a major role in a revamped Hawks rotation that also includes new additions Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard.

“I think expectations are high,” Porzingis said. “Atlanta’s been on the edge of the playoffs the last few years. It’s a great situation for me to come in and contribute—maybe even better than Boston, where it was championship or bust.”

What’s Grimes Worth? NBA Execs Weigh In

Restricted free agent Quentin Grimes remains unsigned, and The Athletic’s Fred Katz surveyed 16 front office decision-makers to get a sense of what kind of contract the 25-year-old might command.

The consensus? Somewhere in the $12–16.7 million range annually. Most executives saw three years as the ideal term, with several open to a four-year commitment. Only one was willing to go as low as $10 million annually, while a pair of outliers went as high as $18 million or more.

“There are not many Swiss Army knife wings out there that score it as efficiently, defend, pass or rebound like he does,” one exec said. “He might not be elite at any one thing, but (he’s) very good at a lot of them.”

Grimes averaged 11.2 points and 3.5 rebounds last season, finishing strong for a Sixers team that was short on healthy bodies down the stretch. One evaluator said a three-year, $40 million deal would be reasonable, while another pointed to veteran wing Gary Trent Jr., who recently signed for just above the minimum, as a cautionary comparison.

Another exec’s blunt proposal: “I would present him with two options—you can have a three-year, $48 million deal or a four-year, $60 million. … You say to him, ‘Do you want money or do you want longevity?’ And if he says both, you say, ‘We can’t offer both.’”

Dowtin Weighing Offers from EuroLeague Powers

After a career-best season on a two-way contract with the 76ers, free agent guard Jeff Dowtin Jr. is drawing serious interest from European clubs, per Sportando and Israel Hayom.

The 28-year-old is reportedly in discussions with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Partizan Belgrade, and Fenerbahce. Maccabi is currently considered the favorite.

Dowtin averaged 7.0 points and shot 40% from three in 41 appearances for Philadelphia last season. With his two-way eligibility now expired and no guaranteed NBA deal in place, a jump to the EuroLeague appears increasingly likely.

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