“I wouldn’t say I’ve showcased everything I’ve got [yet],” Daniels added to ClutchPoints. “I think I’ve got so much more in me to improve on, but the defensive side of the game, it was something I’ve always had and I think it really just started to pop this year with my minutes increasing, the role increasing, and just getting a fresh start in Atlanta. “I was able to come here and play alongside Trae Young. He made my life a lot easier and our games kind of really complement each other. Him on the offensive end, me on the defensive end helping him out, so I think for me, it’s just about coming into Atlanta with the right mindset, ready to kind of turn the page. I wasn’t happy with how my two years went in New Orleans, so I was happy with how this year went, but I feel like I could win Most Improved Player again. It’ll be another goal of mine going into year.”
Source: Clutch Points
Source: Clutch Points
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Breaking: Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero has agreed to a five-year maximum rookie contract extension that could reach $287 million, Mike Miller of LIFT Sports Management tells ESPN. Deal includes a player option; the first for a rookie max since 2021 (Luka Doncic, Trae Young). pic.x.com/bwnCrJbnmu – 6:21 PM
Breaking: Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero has agreed to a five-year maximum rookie contract extension that could reach $287 million, Mike Miller of LIFT Sports Management tells ESPN. Deal includes a player option; the first for a rookie max since 2021 (Luka Doncic, Trae Young). pic.x.com/bwnCrJbnmu – 6:21 PM
More on this storyline
The deal also has a player option for Banchero in 2030-31 — the first time a rookie max extension has had a player option since 2021, when Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) and Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks) completed their rookie max contracts. -via ESPN / July 7, 2025
“The Trae Young thing was fascinating, because there were some people who, around the edges, were hoping that a Trae Young for Zach LaVine-type trade might happen with Atlanta. And the Kings had no interest in that, largely because they’re not looking to have the head of the snake be that weak defensively.” -via YouTube / July 2, 2025
This marks the second consecutive strong offseason for Atlanta, whose direction crystallized around Young with these moves. But will they keep him long term? Starting on July 6, Young is eligible for a four-year, $229 million extension that would take him into his 30s. He is entering the last guaranteed year of his contract, with a player option for the 2026-27 season. Considering how well Daniels, Risacher and Johnson play off a primary creator, this version of the Hawks will need a point guard to be the focal point of everything. Young led the NBA with 11.6 assists per game, but also embraced playing off the ball more than ever so the team could play more decisively uptempo in transition. Few players in the league are a better fit. -via New York Times / July 1, 2025
The pair share banter on Stellar’s set (Giddey calls Daniels his “little brother”) as they star in their first joint fashion shoot. Says Giddey, “We grew up playing against each other … [Dyson] was a Bendigo boy, from the country, and I was Melbourne, in the city, we crossed paths a lot. “When we were 16, 17, we both moved to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. And then our paths have been aligned from juniors to the AIS to the NBA. We’re still very close.” Adds Daniels: “We kind of went through every phase of life together. We’ve grown up together. I became really close with [Josh’s] family.” -via Cairns Post / June 20, 2025
Josh Giddey, who plays for the Chicago Bulls, and Dyson Daniels (of the Atlanta Hawks) have courted attention on the world’s biggest basketball stage. Speaking to Stellar from Beverly Hills, Melbourne-born Giddey – who is expected to earn a new mega contract this off-season – admits: “I would love to be unknown sometimes”. “I am not complaining; there are definitely good things to come with it,” Giddey tells Stellar in an exclusive interview. “But everything you do is magnified and you always have a spotlight on you following you around. I guess it comes with being an NBA player – there are definitely times where I’d like to be a regular guy and blend in.” -via Cairns Post / June 20, 2025
Daniels, who was raised in the country Victorian town of Bendigo and has been playing basketball since the age of five, made his NBA debut with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2022, before being traded to Atlanta last year. “I saw it as a fresh start,” Daniels, 22, tells Stellar. “I wasn’t happy with how I performed in my first year in the NBA. It wasn’t what I was capable of doing.” -via Cairns Post / June 20, 2025