Draymond Green suffered a sprained left ankle during a pickup game at Chase Center earlier this week, sources confirmed to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Green is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks, he told Marc Spears of Andscape.

The injury is not a high ankle sprain. 

The Warriors open up the preseason next Saturday against the Lakers.

The San Antonio Spurs and Reggie Bullock agreed to a contract buyout, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Bullock, who is set to become a free agent, was traded to the Spurs in a three-team deal involving Grant Williams. 

Trade discussions between Jon Horst and Joe Cronin involving Damian Lillard began in early July, reported Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Horst was adamant about keeping the discussions a secret as he didn't want the Blazers to use Jrue Holiday as leverage in other negotiations.

The Blazers, who were looking to acquire Deandre Ayton even before trading Lillard, kept the Suns and team CEO Josh Bartelstein in the dark about their negotiations with the Bucks.

Cronin told Bartelstein the general salary and position of the player the Suns would be acquiring in a potential three-team deal involving Ayton and Jusuf Nurkic. 

The Suns, who were looking for one more piece alongside Nassir Little, Keon Johnson, and Nurkic, deduced they would be receiving either Grayson Allen or Victor Oladipo before Cronin confirmed that the Bucks were the third mystery team.

The NBA is hiring Albert Sanders as an executive vice president and head of referee operations.

Sanders was previously Google's director of government affairs and public policy.

Sanders will direct the NBA's officiating program and work to recruit, hire, supervise, and evaluate all referees.

"I'm excited for the opportunity to use my experience in strategic oversight and planning to further enhance the NBA's officiating program. It will be a privilege to work with such a talented group at a world-class organization that values innovation, creativity and integrity," said Sanders.

Sanders will work with senior vice president of referee development and training Monty McCutchen.

The Houston Rockets signed Joshua Obiesie to an Exhibit 10 contract before waiving him.

Obiesie is likely to join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League this season. 

The Toronto Raptors signed-and-waived Darryl Morsell.

Morsell will rejoin the Raptors 905 this upcoming season.

The Sacramento Kings signed James Akinjo to a training camp deal, sources told Keith Smith of Spotrac.

Akinjo appeared in 20 games last season for the Westchester Knicks.

The Kings are also expected to add Jeremy Lamb and Jaylen Nowell ahead of training camp, according to James Ham of ESPN 1320. 

Kai Jones will stay away from the Charlotte Hornets indefinitely, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Jones will miss training camp due to personal reasons and there is no timetable for his return.

The Hornets remain in constant communication with Jones. 

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux), Rob Mahoney of The Ringer (@RobMahoney) and Matt Moore of The Action Network (@HPBasketball) go in-depth on the NBA’s Southwest Division.

They discuss how the Rockets, Pelicans, Spurs, Mavericks and Grizzlies fared in the off-season, including which teams improved and what moves stood out. The three also predict the season to come, including projected finish, breakout players and rookies they are most excited to see.

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Jayson Tatum had his left, non-shooting, wrist heavily wrapped for a large chunk of last season. There was a thought Tatum might need offseason surgery on the wrist, but according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the Celtics star opted against surgery.

“(Tatum) went into the offseason thinking he might need surgery on his non-shooting wrist," Shelburne said. "(He) went to a bunch of specialists and essentially decided 'I'm not going to get surgery. I don't need it.'”

Shelburne added that Tatum said he feels really good heading into the season.