- Following a report of a “handshake deal” with the Mavericks, along with attending Lakers games during the postseason, Kyrie Irving indicated on Instagram he’ll control the narrative of his free agency (hat tip to RealGM). “If you hear something about my career, it’s going to happen direct like this,” Irving said. “I am an independent agency. It’s just me.”
If the Lakers opt to pursue Kyrie Irving in free agency, the Mavericks wouldn’t be interested in taking back free agent guard D’Angelo Russell as the primary player in a sign-and-trade deal, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack column.
There hasn’t been any concrete information that trying to sign Irving is part of the Lakers’ offseason plans, Stein adds, but there’s plenty of speculation that LeBron James would like to reunite with his former Cavaliers teammate. L.A. was heavily rumored as a possible destination for Irving when he considered opting out of his contract last summer and again when he asked the Nets for a trade in February.
James’ retirement talk after being swept by Denver is widely seen as a message to the Lakers’ front office that a roster upgrade is needed, but Stein isn’t convinced that they’ll be active on the free agent market. He states that the team’s preferred plan is to reach new deals with two of its own free agents, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. It’s less certain that L.A. wants to keep Russell after his disastrous performance in the Western Conference Finals, Stein adds.
The Mavericks appear committed to keeping Irving after paying a high price to acquire him from Brooklyn, according to Stein. A report last weekend indicated that a “handshake deal” may already be in place for Irving to remain in Dallas.
Stein passes along more inside information:
- Teams around the league are expecting new Wizards president Michael Winger to be aggressive in trying to reshape the roster this summer, but Bradley Beal‘s no-trade clause may complicate his plans. Stein points out that Beal has four seasons left on his five-year, $251MM contract and can’t be sent to any other team unless he agrees to the deal. Stein also wonders how the front office change will affect Kristaps Porzingis, who reportedly began extension talks in March.
- Kevin Ollie and Charles Lee were set for second interviews this week for the Pistons‘ head coaching vacancy, but Stein hears that the team hasn’t given up on its pursuit of Monty Williams. The former Suns head coach reportedly turned down a “big-money” offer from Detroit, but some members of the organization are hoping he might reconsider.
- A source tells Stein that Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez is a legitimate candidate to become the Raptors‘ new head coach.
Former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is considering his options after reportedly taking his name out of the Bucks’ coaching search, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Nurse had interviews this week with the Sixers and Suns, and sources tell Pompey that he’s reviewing the jobs to determine which would be the best fit. A source refused to confirm to Pompey that Philadelphia has made a formal offer.
Pompey points out that Nurse has a long-time working relationship with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, whom he worked with in Houston as head coach of the Rockets’ G League affiliate. Nurse built a reputation for developing talent during that time, winning two G League titles and sending 23 players to the NBA, Pompey adds.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Before announcing his retirement this week, Carmelo Anthony received interest from a “high-level” European team, Marc Stein writes in a Substack column. However, Anthony decided he didn’t want to play in another league after spending 19 years in the NBA.
- Nine teams finished the season in tax territory, Eric Pincus notes in his updated luxury tax tracker on Sports Business Classroom. The Clippers had the highest team salary at $191,189,228 and will be assessed a $140,302,811 tax bill, per Pincus’ projections. The largest tax payment is $163,153,075 for the Warriors, who had $188,371,492 in salary. The Celtics, Nets, Mavericks, Nuggets, Lakers, Bucks and Suns are the other taxpaying teams. The other 21 franchises will receive about $15MM each through the tax, Pincus tweets.
- NBA fans are anticipating an active summer trade market, but it could be limited by teams that have reduced their options due to past moves, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger notes that nine teams already owe unprotected future first-round picks, and others have lightly protected first-rounders on the move. Some executives at the draft combine suggested to Hollinger that front offices may become less likely to give up multiple first-rounders in the future, even when star players become available. Hollinger identifies the Hawks, Nets, Mavericks, Warriors, Clippers, Heat, Bucks, Timberwolves and Suns as teams that could be considered “stuck.”
Two of the biggest winners on draft lottery night last week were the Hornets and Pacers. Charlotte moved up two spots from the pre-lottery standings to claim the No. 2 overall pick. The Pacers, meanwhile, stayed put in the lottery, but because San Antonio leapfrogged Houston in the first round, Indiana moved up 18 spots from No. 50 to No. 32 in the second round due to a convoluted set of trade criteria.
The Hornets and Pacers have something else in common: Charlotte and Indiana are the only teams that control more than three picks in the 2023 NBA draft. In fact, the two clubs own five selections apiece, accounting for 10 of the 58 total picks in this year’s event.
Nine additional teams each have three 2023 picks, joining the Hornets and Pacers to control nearly two-thirds of the draft — those 11 teams hold 37 of this year’s 58 picks, leaving the other 19 clubs to divvy up the remaining 21 selections.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, three teams don’t own any 2023 draft picks. The Bulls, Knicks, and Sixers will sit out this year’s event unless they acquire a pick via trade.
To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2023 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 58 selections by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…
Teams with more than two picks:
- Charlotte Hornets (5): 2, 27, 34, 39, 41
- Indiana Pacers (5): 7, 26, 29, 32, 55
- San Antonio Spurs (3): 1, 33, 44
- Portland Trail Blazers (3): 3, 23, 43
- Orlando Magic (3): 6, 11, 36
- Washington Wizards (3): 8, 42, 57
- Utah Jazz (3): 9, 16, 28
- Oklahoma City Thunder (3): 12, 37, 50
- Brooklyn Nets (3): 21, 22, 51
- Sacramento Kings (3): 24, 38, 54
- Memphis Grizzlies (3): 25, 45, 56
Teams with two picks:
- Houston Rockets: 4, 20
- Detroit Pistons: 5, 31
- Atlanta Hawks: 15, 46
- Los Angeles Lakers: 17, 47
- Los Angeles Clippers: 30, 48
Teams with one pick:
- Dallas Mavericks: 10
- Toronto Raptors: 13
- New Orleans Pelicans: 14
- Miami Heat: 18
- Golden State Warriors: 19
- Boston Celtics: 35
- Denver Nuggets: 40
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 49
- Phoenix Suns: 52
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 53
- Milwaukee Bucks: 58
Teams with no picks:
- Chicago Bulls
- New York Knicks
- Philadelphia 76ers
Following a series of cryptic social media posts from Ja Morant, police in Tennessee visited the home of the Grizzlies star to check on him, a spokesperson for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office tells TMZ Sports.
Morant had published Instagram stories telling his mother, father, and daughter that he loved them, followed by one that was simply captioned, “Bye.” He deleted them a short time later.
The police spokesperson tells TMZ Sports that Morant is “fine” and that he told the officers who came to his home that he’s simply taking a break from social media.
Morant has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities by the Grizzlies after an Instagram Live video appeared to show him brandishing a gun. The NBA’s investigation into that video is ongoing — given that Morant was suspended during the season for a similar incident, there’s an expectation that he’ll be facing another suspension at the start of the 2023/24 season.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Tim Cato of The Athletic breaks down some reasons why the Mavericks should trade the No. 10 overall pick and some reasons why they’ll consider keeping it. In Cato’s view, Dallas is more likely to move the pick than to hang onto it, but it remains to be seen how valuable a trade asset it will be — there may be some higher lottery picks available on the trade market, and the first- and second-tier prospects in this year’s draft class will likely be gone by No. 10.
- While much of the focus in Houston is on the No. 4 overall pick, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) notes that the Rockets also control the No. 20 selection and considers which prospects could be on the team’s radar at that spot. Indiana’s Jalen Hood-Schifino and Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh are among the prospects in that range who get a look from Feigen.
- Asked on his podcast about the possibility of reuniting with James Harden in Houston, where he spent five seasons earlier in his NBA career, free-agent-to-be Patrick Beverley expressed enthusiasm about the idea of joining the Rockets and called Ime Udoka a “great” coach (Twitter video link via Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston).
Representatives of rival teams at last week’s NBA Draft Combine expect Kyrie Irving to re-sign with the Mavericks this summer, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Dallas missed the playoffs after acquiring Irving from Brooklyn in a February trade and he often appeared to be an awkward fit alongside Luka Doncic, but sources tell Pincus that the Mavs didn’t trade for Irving as a short-term experiment.
“I hear they had a handshake deal before the trade,” one of Pincus’ sources said. “And Kyrie wouldn’t have said yes to anything less than the max.”
Irving will be eligible for a new five-year contract in Dallas that could be worth $272MM, Pincus adds. Although he was an All-Star this season for the 10th time in his career, off-court incidents in Brooklyn — and Boston and Cleveland before that — may limit the number of teams interested in signing him.
“I’m not sure what the market is for Kyrie, but no one with cap room is giving it to Kyrie,” another source told Pincus. “He comes with too much drama.”
Pincus talked to an agent who expects Irving to receive a four-year deal with a player option on the final season. It would be worth about $201MM in guaranteed money and would line up with Doncic, who can opt out of his current contract in 2026.
In an appearance Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up,” Brian Windhorst suggested that the Lakers shouldn’t be dismissed as a possible Irving suitor (video link). L.A. was reportedly interested in Irving when he considered opting out of his contract last summer and again when he submitted a trade request to the Nets in February.
Windhorst admits the Lakers would have to give up most of the assets they just acquired in order to sign Irving outright, but he says the landscape could be more favorable if Dallas would agree to a sign-and-trade. Regardless, Windhorst added that it helps Irving’s negotiating position if he can convince the Mavericks that L.A. is interested.
Pincus also talked with several sources who expect Dallas to be a potential landing spot for Suns center Deandre Ayton, who shares an agent with Doncic.
“The Suns need depth,” a source told Pincus. “I can see them getting Tim Hardaway Jr., JaVale (McGee) back, Josh Green and No. 10 (draft pick). Phoenix would probably flip the pick to another team for depth, or maybe it’d be a big multi-team deal.”
Pincus lists Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans, Reggie Bullock and Jaden Hardy as other players who might be moved in a hypothetical Ayton trade, but he notes that Kleber is among Doncic’s best friends on the team, which gives Dallas incentive to keep him.
After going 24-58 in 2017/18 and landing the No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 draft, the Mavericks traded up two slots to select Luka Doncic. The move paid immediate dividends, with the Slovenian winning Rookie of the Year in ’18/19 and Dallas increasing its win total by nine games (33-49).
That steady upward trajectory continued in Doncic’s second through fourth seasons, with the Mavs improving in each regular season from 2020-22. The same was true of the playoffs, with Dallas losing in the first round to the Clippers in six and then seven games, and then making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals a year ago, falling to the eventual champion Warriors.
Doncic’s offensive brilliance was on full display again in 2022/23, with the 24-year-old posting career highs in points per game (32.4), field goal percentage (49.6%) and true percentage (60.9%) while cutting down on turnovers (3.6 vs. 4.5 in ’21/22). He also averaged 8.6 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.4 steals in 66 games (36.2 minutes) en route to a fourth consecutive All-NBA First Team honor.
However, basketball is a team game, and Doncic played a role in the team’s significant defensive regression. While the Mavs improved on offense, going from 14th to sixth, they slid all the way down to 25th defensively after ranking seventh last season. After going 52-30 with a plus-3.5 net rating in ’21/22, the Mavs went 38-44 with a minus-0.2 net rating this season and missed the play-in tournament completely.
The Mavericks’ Offseason Plan:
Dallas was highly criticized throughout the season for opting against re-signing Jalen Brunson, who has publicly said he would have agreed to an extension ($55.6MM over four years) in ’21/22 had the Mavs offered it prior to or early in the season. Instead, he signed with the Knicks for $104MM over four years, and it’s looking like a terrific value deal considering his excellent play during the regular season and postseason with New York.
The only other significant roster tweak the Mavs made last summer was trading their first-round pick (26th overall) and four smallish expiring contracts for Christian Wood. The 27-year-old big man never seemed to ingratiate himself with the coaching staff though, likely due to his defensive struggles. Multiple reports have indicated (and GM Nico Harrison suggested) that the Mavs are unlikely re-sign the impending free agent.
Wood’s lack of defensive awareness is not a new problem, so I’m not sure why Dallas thought he’d suddenly get better there. Regardless, it certainly sounds like the talented scorer will be on a new team next season after averaging 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks on .515/.376/.772 shooting in 67 games with the Mavs (17 starts, 25.6 minutes).
Dallas’ free agent role player group features Dwight Powell, Justin Holiday, Theo Pinson, Frank Ntilikina and Markieff Morris. Powell probably has the best chance to return as the longest-tenured member of the team, but only if he’s willing to accept a substantial pay cut after earning $11MM in 2022/23 — his play has declined in recent seasons.
The biggest offseason question surrounding the Mavs relates to their trade deadline acquisition of Kyrie Irving, who is also a free agent. The move was made to kick-start their season in an effort to make the playoffs, but that’s not how things turned out — Dallas was 30-26 and clinging to the No. 5 seed prior to Irving’s first game, and went 8-18 the rest of the way.
I’m certainly not blaming that on Irving. The Mavs were 8-12 when he played, which isn’t great, but they were much, much better when he was on the court (plus-5.8) than when he was off (minus-8.3). His individual numbers (27.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.3 steals on .510/.392/.947 shooting in 20 games) were stellar, and by all accounts he didn’t cause any disruptions in the locker room.
Still, the fact that Dallas was 5-11 with both Irving and Doncic in the lineup was problematic, and shows the difficulty of constructing a roster around two dominant offensive players who can be borderline liabilities at times on the other end. The fact that they traded away their best defensive player (Dorian Finney-Smith) to acquire Irving didn’t help matters.
Harrison, head coach Jason Kidd, and owner Mark Cuban have all publicly stated they want to re-sign Irving. They also said they wanted to bring back Brunson last year (Cuban talked about having his Bird rights and being able to offer more money than a rival team), so those comments offer no guarantees. Whether they should retain Irving is a different question.
True, they gave up a lot to get him, and they don’t have an easy way to replace his salary slot. Losing him for nothing isn’t an option they can seriously consider. But do they really want to give him a five-year max contract worth a projected $272MM? I’d be shocked if they actually offer that, and would consider it organizational malpractice.
Based purely on his on-court value, there’s no question that Irving is a max player…when he actually plays. The problem is, he has only appeared in 70-plus games in three of his 12 seasons, missing extended time due to injuries and various off-court issues. The unwanted attention he brings off the court can’t be overlooked, nor can his mercurial, unpredictable nature.
He reportedly requested a trade from the Nets in part because they refused to offer him a full max extension. So even if the Mavs offer a three- or four-year max deal (which would align with Doncic’s contract), would he accept it? Who knows.
Let’s say he does accept a slightly shorter-term max deal. That would start at a projected $46.9MM next season, and the Mavs already have $103.6MM committed to eight players — $108.6MM if they guarantee the rest of Reggie Bullock‘s salary, which seems likely if he isn’t traded. Even filling out the rest of the roster with minimum-salary contracts would push Dallas perilously close to the luxury tax apron in that scenario, and would remove the option of using the full mid-level and bi-annual exceptions.
The Mavs would have to make a pretty significant cost-cutting move just to regain full access to those exceptions. But doing that would mean parting with one or more of their assets, and that cupboard is already scarce after the Kristaps Porzingis and Irving trades. Further depleting that pool would lessen the odds of improving the roster, and they’re desperately trying to win as soon as possible.
They control their own 2023 lottery pick (No. 10 overall) after tanking the last few games of ’22/23, but the only other first-rounder they can unconditionally trade right now is ’27, because their other picks are encumbered (they still owe the Knicks a top-10 protected first). Rival teams would be interested in Josh Green (who’s eligible for a rookie scale extension) and Jaden Hardy, but they’re the most interesting young players on the roster outside of Doncic.
Tim Hardaway Jr. has long been rumored as a trade candidate, but his contract ($34MM through ’24/25) has neutral value at best. Dallas would definitely have to give up assets to move off the $33MM it owes Davis Bertans over the next two seasons. Ditto, to a lesser extent, for JaVale McGee ($11.7MM through ’24/25). Maxi Kleber ($11MM each of the next three seasons) probably has positive value, although he didn’t quite look right after returning from a torn hamstring, and he’s also arguably the best defender left on the roster.
The Mavs will certainly be aggressive in trying to improve their defense and rebounding, which ranked last in the league. Another losing campaign runs the risk of Doncic requesting a trade, because the disappointing season clearly did not sit well with the young star. But it won’t be easy to build a contender with their limited available assets and some of the bad contracts already on the books.
Salary Cap Situation
Guaranteed Salary
Luka Doncic ($40,064,220)- Tim Hardaway Jr. ($17,897,728)
- Davis Bertans ($17,000,000)
- Maxi Kleber ($11,000,000)
- JaVale McGee ($5,734,280)
- Reggie Bullock ($5,451,200)
- Note: Partial guarantee. Rest of salary noted below.
- Josh Green ($4,765,339)
- Jaden Hardy ($1,719,864)
- A.J. Lawson (two-way)
- Total: $103,632,631
Dead/Retained Salary
- None
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Reggie Bullock ($5,038,400)
- Note: Partial guarantee. Bullock’s salary would become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before June 28.
- Total: $5,038,400
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Two-Way Free Agents
Draft Picks
- No. 10 overall ($5,212,800)
- Total: $5,212,800
Extension-Eligible Players
- Davis Bertans (veteran)
- Reggie Bullock (veteran)
- Tim Hardaway Jr. (veteran)
- Kyrie Irving (veteran)
- Dwight Powell (veteran)
- Christian Wood (veteran)
- Josh Green (rookie scale)
Note: These are players who are either already eligible for an extension or will become eligible before the 2023/24 season begins. Irving, Powell, and Wood are only eligible until June 30.
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Kyrie Irving ($46,900,000 cap hold): Bird rights
- Christian Wood ($21,476,189 cap hold): Bird rights
- Dwight Powell ($16,620,188 cap hold): Bird rights
- Nicolo Melli ($5,066,667 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Justin Holiday ($1,989,698 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Markieff Morris ($1,989,698 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Frank Ntilikina ($1,989,698 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Theo Pinson ($1,989,698 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Moses Wright ($1,774,999 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $99,796,835
Note: The cap holds for Melli and Wright remain on the Mavericks’ books from prior seasons because they haven’t been renounced. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $12,220,600
- Bi-annual exception: $4,448,000
- Trade exception: $958,529
- Note: Expires on June 26.
Note: The Mavericks would lose access to the full mid-level exception and the bi-annual exception if their team salary surpasses the tax apron.
Hall of Fame big man Tim Duncan joined the Spurs‘ coaching staff in 2019/20 at Gregg Popovich‘s request. As Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack article, one season was enough to convince Duncan that a full-time coaching gig wasn’t for him.
However, when the Spurs are in San Antonio, there’s an expectation that Duncan will “regularly visit” their practice facility to mentor projected No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama, reports Stein.
Duncan, of course, was the Spurs’ last No. 1 pick (back in 1997), and you could say they had some success with the U.S. Virgin Islands native. He was named to 15 All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive teams, and won two regular season MVPs and three NBA Finals MVPs en route to five championships in his 19 seasons.
Here’s more from Stein:
- The Mavericks were able to keep their first-round pick after it landed No. 10 overall (it would have been sent to the Knicks had it landed No. 11 or later). It has been reported multiple times that they’re expected to gauge the value of the pick in an effort to improve the roster. Stein’s sources say the Mavs have been posturing like they plan to explore their options for the prospects who might be available at that slot before deciding whether or not to trade it. Still, rival teams expect Dallas to try to package the pick (perhaps with some combination of Tim Hardaway Jr., Davis Bertans, JaVale McGee) in a win-now move.
- The Suns are expected to “aggressively” explore the trade market for center Deandre Ayton this summer, and the former top pick has been linked to the Mavericks. However, Dallas’ interest in Ayton has been “overstated,” according to Stein, who suggests the team might not view his contract favorably. Stein reports that there are some Ayton fans within the Mavs, but he doesn’t “get any sense” the 24-year-old is atop the their trade wish list.
- ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported a few days ago that one topic of discussion during the annual GM meetings was the possibility of turning the NBA draft into a two-day event. While some viewed that as a potential money-grab for the league, Stein hears only one team broached the subject and the idea was meant to benefit front offices around the league — presumably to give everyone more time to make trades and other roster decisions in an event that can feel rushed, especially the second round. The idea hasn’t gained much traction yet, says Stein.
Rival NBA executives anticipate that both the Rockets (No. 4) and Mavericks (No. 10) will dangle their first-round picks in trade talks, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports within a post-lottery mock draft. Both clubs have playoff aspirations in 2023/24 after missing out this season.
Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News explores what a Mavericks trade involving the No. 10 pick might look like, speculating that Suns center Deandre Ayton and Raptors forwards OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam may be targets. While those players make some sense from Dallas’ perspective, I’d expect Toronto to seek a more substantial return for either of their forwards, while Phoenix likely won’t be prioritizing draft assets in an Ayton trade.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Which player might the Rockets select at No. 4 if they end up keeping their lottery pick? Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) explores whether Villanova wing Cam Whitmore might be the choice, noting that adding the 18-year-old would make a young Houston roster even younger. Whitmore said at this week’s combine that he can envision himself playing alongside Rockets guards Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. “They’re athletic-type guards who can score offensively and are the type of people who can get guys involved, guards who can rotate one through five,” Whitmore said. “I think it’s a great fit with athletic-type young guys who can get the job done.”
- In a column for The San Antonio Express-News, Mike Finger digs into the comparisons between former Spurs big man Tim Duncan and the team’s next franchise player, Victor Wembanyama. As Finger observes, even though Wembanyama has the potential to match what Duncan did on the court, it will be impossible in the social media era for him to stay out of the spotlight to the extent that Duncan and the Spurs did in the early 2000s.
- Christian Clark of NOLA.com identifies five prospects who could be fits for the Pelicans with the No. 14 pick in the draft, including Kansas wing Gradey Dick, Duke big man Dereck Lively II, and Central Florida forward Taylor Hendricks.
- The Mavericks are ready to make a “meaningful overhaul” to their roster after missing the playoffs, team sources tell Fred Katz and Tim Cato of The Athletic. Dallas was relieved to keep its first-round pick, which will be 10th overall, in Tuesday’s lottery. The pick remains top-10 protected for the next two years, leaving Dallas with only its 2027 first-rounder to use as a trade asset. The Mavericks were one number away from moving up to fourth in the draft, according to Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News.