Former G League Ignite and Westchester Knicks guard/forward Dink Pate is headed back to the G League, giving up his effort to spend the 2026/27 season playing for Providence, according to Kevin McNamara of KevinMcSports.com.

Pate, who signed an Exhibit 10 contract with New York last fall after going undrafted in 2025, committed to Providence in the spring after reportedly turning down 10-day and two-way contract offers last season. However, his fight to secure NCAA eligibility still hadn’t been resolved, so he has decided to withdraw from school in order ahead of a deadline to secure a G League spot, McNamara explains, noting that Pate may sign an Exhibit 10 contract within the next day or two to line up a bonus on top of his NBAGL salary.

While it’s possible Pate would have eventually been ruled eligible to play for Providence, that wasn’t a lock, and he didn’t want to risk being denied after G League teams had set their rosters for the upcoming season, McNamara writes.

We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• In addition to formally confirming that Jason Kidd has been hired as an in-studio and game analyst, ESPN announced on Thursday that former NBA guard Jeremy Lin has joined the network’s team of commentators. According to ESPN, Lin will serve as a game analyst in addition to making appearances on NBA Today.
• Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic and David Purdum of ESPN have shared updates on the various sports gambling cases tied to the NBA, with Vorkunov reporting that three of the remaining five defendants tied to the Malik Beasley/Ed Davis case are expected to plead guilty, though that group doesn’t include Beasley himself. Purdum’s report indicates that Shane Hennen, a Las Vegas sports bettor who was indicted in three separate cases, has pleaded guilty to sports bribery, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy charges related to wire fraud and money laundering in two of those cases, including one involving Terry Rozier.
• In a series of articles previewing the 2026/27 NBA season, ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill identifies 10 people will define the season, ESPN’s Zach Kram ranks all 30 NBA teams based on how desperate they are to win right now, and Chris Mannix of SI.com solicits feedback on all 30 clubs from rival scouts. Meanwhile, Bobby Marks of ESPN breaks down the biggest contract extension decisions to watch in advance of Monday’s deadline.