The Houston Rockets will convert Bruno Fernando to a Two-Way contract.

Fernando was originally signed to an Exhibit 10 deal.

The Boston Celtics will not stand in the way of Ime Udoka becoming a coaching candidate with another team, sources tell ESPN.

Rival teams are trying to gather a preliminary understanding of the full explanation for Udoka's season long suspension in preparing for evaluating him for future coaching employment. 

Udoka had an improper workplace relationship with a woman, who he reportedly used crude language with prior to them becoming intimate. 

The Celtics promoted Joe Mazzulla to interim coach for the upcoming season.

According to the findings of an independent law firm, Ime Udoka used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship, which was an element that factored into his one-year suspension. 

The verbiage was especially concerning coming from a workplace superior, according to the findings. 

This reportedly contributes to a difficult pathway back to his reinstatement as head coach of the Boston Celtics in 2023.

The power dynamic associated with a superior's improper relationship with a staff member was the primary finding and policy violation cited in the law firm's report, which was commissioned by the Celtics and completed early last week.

A hearing for the domestic violence case against Miles Bridges was delayed this week for the fourth time and moved to October 7th.

The scheduled hearing is to determine whether there is enough evidence to take Bridges to trial.

Bridges was arrested on June 29th in Los Angeles and charged with beating his girlfriend in front of their two children. Police described the incident as “Intimate Partner Violence with Injury.”

Bridges pled not guilty to three felony charges: injuring a child’s parent; and two counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death. Bridges faces up to almost 12 years in prison if convicted of all three.

Bridges' accuser posted photos on social media of her injuries.

Bridges remains a restricted free agent after the Charlotte Hornets tendered him a $7.9 million qualifying offer.

Regardless of the legal process, Bridges is expected to receive a substantial NBA suspension. 

Kevin Durant expounded on his trade request from the Brooklyn Nets and his ultimate decision to remain with the franchise.

"I was upset and as a family, they understood that I was upset," said Durant via Brian Lewis of the New York Post. "And some of the stuff they agree with. And so we talked about and it was over a couple of months, couple of weeks…we worked it out from there, and I’m here now."

As much as Durant wanted out, he saw the Nets as continuing to be a good option.

"I felt like we had a good team," said Durant via Nick Friedell of ESPN. "I felt like this is the place I said I wanted to be. We started to set something up in the future to be a solid team. So to be honest I thought this was still a great option, too."

In Durant's comments to the media, he also alluded to how there were a lot of inaccuracies with the reporting.

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and draft expert Sam Vecenie of The Athletic and the Game Theory podcast (@Sam_Vecenie) go in-depth on the 2023 NBA Draft class.

They discuss Victor Wembanyama’s place among elite prospects over the years, how Scoot Henderson can supplant him as the #1 pick, other key players/teams to watch this season and much more.

Subscribe to RealGM Radio on Apple Podcasts or via the RSS feed. 

Bojan Bogdanovic has been seeking a contract extension, sources tell Marc Stein, which is believed to have cooled his trade market when the Utah Jazz looked to move him. Some teams were dissuaded from more strongly pursuing Bogdanovic.

The Detroit Pistons acquired Bogdanovic with what was a less than expected offer.

Bogdanovic is on a $19.3 million expiring contract.

The Pistons could flip Bogdanovic before the trade deadline, but they want to evaluate what they first in case they remain in play-in contention.

Blake Griffin has agreed a one-year, fully guaranteed deal with the Boston Celtics.

Griffin spent the past season and a half with the Brooklyn Nets.

Griffin will give Boston depth in the frontcourt following the injuries to Robert Williams III and Danilo Gallinari.

The Celtics now have 11 fully guaranteed contracts on their roster, though that number does not include Al Horford's mostly guaranteed deal.

Griffin averaged 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds across 56 games (24 starts) this past season for the Nets.

The Golden State Warriors will not play Klay Thompson in either of their two preseason games in Japan.

The Warriors held just three practices in San Francisco before their flight to Japan last Wednesday. 

"Just feel more comfortable giving him a little more of a ramp up," Steve Kerr said ahead of the Warriors' 96-87 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday. "He's just not quite ready to play at this point just based on where, you know, we're so early in camp. We just want to be safe and make sure he gets a good ramp up before he plays in games."

Thompson was under a strict restriction last season as he worked his way back from a torn ACL and Achilles. 

"Just coming off the two years with the injuries, this is really unique to play a game after 3½ practices so we're just being cautious and trying to do the smart thing," Kerr said.

The Brooklyn Nets have signed Kaiser Gates to a training camp deal. Brooklyn's roster is back to the offseason maximum of 20 players.

Gates spent the first three seasons of his professional career in the G League. He played for the Windy City Bulls, Maine Celtics and Long Island Nets. In 98 career G League games, Gates has averaged 12.1 points and 6.6 rebounds.

Gates is likely to play for Long Island this season, as an Affiliate Player.

Last season, Gates played in Israel for Hapoel Jerusalem. In 22 games, the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 4.5 points and 4.1 rebounds.