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FA Rumors: KCP, Pacers, Mid-Level Usage, Suns, Gillespie, Bullock

June 30th, 2024 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

While teams with cap room have been mentioned most frequently as the top suitors for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link) has continually heard the Pacers mentioned as a team to watch for the veteran swingman.

A previous report suggested that a cap-room club like the Sixers or Magic could make an oversized short-term offer (e.g. two years, $50MM) for Caldwell-Pope, but Singer says he’s heard KCP would prefer a longer-term deal.

As John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, if the Nuggets are willing to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal, a package along the lines of Aaron Nesmith and Jarace Walker might work financially, based on Caldwell-Pope’s projected salary range. However, a sign-and-trade involving Caldwell-Pope would hard-cap the Pacers at the first tax apron and the Nuggets at the second apron, so some financial creativity could be required, especially on Denver’s end.

Here are a few more free agency rumors and notes from around the NBA:

  • Within his latest round-up of rumors, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports says not many teams around the NBA are expected to use the full mid-level exception to sign a player, since it can now be used as a de facto trade exception, so there’s some value in retaining a portion of it. Of course, even last season, before the mid-level could be used to accommodate trades, only one team used the entire amount on a single player (Toronto on Dennis Schröder).
  • The Suns have been linked to a ton of potential minimum-salary point guards, according to Fischer, who names Kyle Lowry and Monte Morris as two of the players viewed as possible targets for Phoenix. There has even been some chatter about the possibility of a reunion with Chris Paul if he’s waived by Golden State, Fischer adds.
  • After being made an unrestricted free agent by Denver, guard Collin Gillespie is expected to receive interest from the Hawks, Hornets, Suns, and Timberwolves, sources tell Fischer. Gillespie may have to accept a two-way contract and compete for a standard roster spot, Fischer adds. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and SKOR North (Twitter link) confirms Minnesota’s interest in Gillespie but says the team doesn’t seem likely to land him.
  • Veteran wing Reggie Bullock is unlikely to re-sign with the Rockets, sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Iko, multiple teams have interest in Bullock, who figures to be a minimum-salary target.
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Option/QO Notes: Green, Watanabe, Bertans, Barlow, Kings, More

June 30th, 2024 at 6:50am CST by Luke Adams

Saturday represented the deadline for teams and players to exercise 2024/25 contract options and for teams to issue qualifying offers to players eligible for free agency. While there was a flurry of news about those options and QO decisions yesterday, a few players still slipped through the cracks.

We’ll start with Rockets forward Jeff Green. Reporting last week indicated that Houston planned to exercise his $8MM team option for 2024/25 and the team did just that, per RealGM’s transaction log. Green’s salary technically remains non-guaranteed until July 11 even now that his option has been picked up, but the expectation is that he’ll be retained — his expiring deal could be a useful salary-matching piece in a trade, and he also played rotation minutes for Houston last season, averaging 16.8 MPG in 78 appearances.

While there was no official confirmation on Saturday (as far as we could tell), Grizzlies forward Yuta Watanabe had long been expected to decline his $2.65MM player option for the 2024/25 season, since he’s on track to return to his home country of Japan and play for the Chiba Jets. There’s no indication that those plans have changed or that he picked up his option, so we’re assuming it was declined and that he’ll be off the board for NBA teams this offseason.

Finally, Davis Bertans‘ option with the Hornets was technically an early termination option rather than a player option, meaning that instead of needing to actively exercise it if he wanted to opt in, he needed to do nothing to opt in. He did just that, and will remain under contract with Charlotte for the time being, rather than becoming a free agent. However, his $16MM option salary is only partially guaranteed for $5.25MM, so he’s not assured of having the rest of that salary guaranteed, especially if the Hornets are looking to maximize their cap flexibility this offseason.

Here are a few more updates left over from a busy Saturday:

  • Dominick Barlow, a 21-year-old forward who has spent the past two seasons with the Spurs, didn’t receive a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). San Antonio isn’t necessarily planning to part ways with Barlow, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News, who tweets that the Spurs still have interest in discussing a new deal. However, he’ll have interest from other teams as well, says Wojnarowski.
  • The Kings didn’t tender qualifying offers to their three players eligible for restricted free agency (Kessler Edwards, Jordan Ford, or Jalen Slawson), confirms Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter link). All three players will be unrestricted free agents.
  • According to RealGM, players who did receive qualifying offers that weren’t previously reported (that we saw) include no-brainers like Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley, as well as Mavericks two-way player Brandon Williams.
  • We’ve previously published trackers for this year’s team option decisions and player option decisions, which are now fully up to date. We’ll be posting a full qualifying offer recap later this morning.
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Hawks, Bruno Fernando Agree To Push Back Guarantee Date

June 29th, 2024 at 9:36pm CST by Luke Adams

For a second straight year, the Hawks and Bruno Fernando have reached an agreement to push back his salary guarantee date, reports Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

In 2023, Atlanta moved Fernando’s salary guarantee deadline from June 29 to July 10, then ultimately kept him on the roster, guaranteeing his full $2.58MM salary for ’23/24. The guarantee date for his $2.72MM salary for ’24/25 has been pushed from June 29 into next month, Williams says, though there are no specific details yet on the new date.

Fernando is one of several players around the league who had a June 28 or June 29 salary guarantee date on his contract for 2024/25. Here are updates on a few of the others:

  • T.J. McConnell‘s $9.3MM salary for 2024/25, which had been partially guaranteed for $5MM, became fully guaranteed when the Pacers guard remained under contract through Friday, as Tony East of SI.com tweets. Given McConnell’s on-court value to Indiana, he was obviously never in danger of being waived.
  • That’s also true of Lauri Markkanen, whose contract with the Jazz featured a salary guarantee deadline on Friday. We can safely assume the team didn’t make any effort to push that date back, so the star forward’s $18MM salary for next season is now guaranteed.
  • Dante Exum remains in the Mavericks‘ plans going forward, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who notes (via Twitter) that the guard’s $3.15MM salary for 2024/25 became guaranteed when he wasn’t waived on Friday. Exum had a very successful return to the NBA last season after two years in Europe, averaging 7.8 PPG, 2.9 APG, and 2.7 RPG with a .533/.491/.779 shooting line in 55 games (19.8 MPG) for Dallas.
  • Josh Minott‘s $2.02MM salary with the Timberwolves for 2024/25 is now guaranteed, tweets Dane Moore of Blue Wire Podcasts. Minott’s cap hit is a little less than that of a two-year veteran’s minimum, so in addition to having the opportunity to continue developing the 2022 second-round pick, Minnesota will save a little money by carrying him in place of a minimum-salary signing.
  • Reporting last week suggested that the Rockets planned to keep center Jock Landale through his guarantee date on Saturday, and there have been no indications since then that the plan has changed or that his deadline has been pushed back, so we’re assuming his $8MM salary for 2024/25 is now fully guaranteed. Landale, who had an inconsistent role last season, could be used as a salary-matching piece in a Houston trade at some point during the coming league year.
  • Our early salary guarantee date tracker has been updated to reflect all of these updates.
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QO Decisions: Jazz, Okeke, Pacers, Krejci, Celtics, More

June 29th, 2024 at 8:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz declined to issue qualifying offers to guard Kira Lewis or center Micah Potter ahead of Saturday’s deadline, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter links). As a result, both players will be unrestricted free agents this summer rather than restricted.

Lewis, the 13th overall pick in the 2020 draft, didn’t establish himself as a rotation player during three-and-a-half seasons in New Orleans. He was traded from the Pelicans to the Pacers to the Raptors to the Jazz during the 2023/24 season, and played a limited role in Utah after arriving from Toronto as a salary-matching piece in the deal involving Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji. His qualifying offer would have been worth $7.74MM, so it comes as no surprise that it wasn’t tendered.

Potter also played sparingly for the Jazz last season while on a two-way contract, though he has shown some promise in the G League and is part of the U.S. Select Team that will scrimmage with Team USA ahead of the Olympics. His qualifying offer would’ve been for a partially guaranteed minimum-salary deal. According to Jones, a return to Utah is possible, though Potter may receive interest from other teams.

The only Jazz player eligible for restricted free agency who received a qualifying offer is guard Johnny Juzang, Jones reports (Twitter link). Since he has finished each of the past two seasons on a two-way contract with Utah, Juzang wasn’t eligible for another two-way qualifying offer, so his QO is for a partially guaranteed one-year minimum deal.

Here are more qualifying offer updates from around the NBA:

  • Former Magic first-round pick Chuma Okeke didn’t receive a qualifying offer that would’ve been worth about $7.4MM and will become an unrestricted free agent, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Okeke, 25, has played good defense since entering the league in 2020, but hasn’t contributed much offensively, averaging 6.3 points per game on .383/.318/.789 shooting in 189 career contests (20.3 MPG).
  • The Pacers have tendered qualifying offers to Obi Toppin ($7.74MM), Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way), and Quenton Jackson (two-way), according to a pair of stories from Tony East of SI.com. All three players will now be restricted free agents.
  • The Hawks have issued a two-way qualifying offer to guard Vit Krejci, making him a restricted free agent, a league source tells Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Krejci is a candidate to negotiate a standard contract with Atlanta after finishing the 2023/24 season as a rotation player. He could also sign an offer sheet with another team, but the Hawks would have the right to match it.
  • After declining Neemias Queta‘s team option for 2023/24, the Celtics tendered him a qualifying offer, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Two-way player Drew Peterson also got a qualifying offer from Boston, but JD Davison didn’t, Smith adds. Queta’s QO will be worth approximately $2.37MM, while Peterson’s will be for another two-way contract.
  • The following players also received two-way qualifying offers, according to Smith: Lakers big man Colin Castleton (Twitter link), Bulls forward Adama Sanogo (Twitter link), Spurs wing David Duke (Twitter link), and former Warriors guard Nico Mannion (Twitter link), whose RFA rights continue to held by Golden State as he continues his career overseas. San Antonio issued a $2.7MM qualifying offer to big man Sandro Mamukelashvili too, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith.
  • The Clippers opted not to extend qualifying offers to two-way players Xavier Moon and Moussa Diabate, according to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter links). The door isn’t closed on a new deal for either player, but it sounds like they’ll explore their options as unrestricted free agents, per Murray. The qualifying offers for Moon and Diabate would have been partially guaranteed minimum-salary offers, since they were ineligible for another two-way QO.
  • Neither Nate Hinton nor Jermaine Samuels received a two-way qualifying offer from the Rockets, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Both players will be unrestricted free agents.
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Rockets Picking Up Jae’Sean Tate’s 2024/25 Team Option

June 29th, 2024 at 10:27am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Rockets are exercising forward Jae’Sean Tate‘s team option for next season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Tate’s option will pay him a base salary of approximately $7.07MM in 2024/25, with $500K in likely incentives bringing his cap hit to $7.57MM.

Tate’s been productive since joining the Rockets in ’20/21, averaging 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 244 games (151 starts) with the franchise. However, his minutes have decreased in each of the subsequent three seasons since he made the All-Rookie Second Team in ’20/21. Last season, he logged just 15.9 minutes per game in his 65 appearances (nine starts).

While the Rockets could just keep Tate as a serviceable and proven backup option, his expiring contract could also come in handy in trade negotiations. Houston is reportedly looking to add star-power to its roster, so being able to use Tate’s $7.6MM salary for matching purposes this offseason or ahead of the deadline makes sense.

The Rockets are also expected to exercise Jeff Green‘s $8MM team option and guarantee Jock Landale‘s $8MM salary for the same reason, as previously reported.

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QO Updates: Heat, Magic, Quinones, Lundy, Williams, Nuggets

June 28th, 2024 at 7:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have issued qualifying offers to two of their three two-way players, announcing in a press release that they’ve made forward Cole Swider and guard Alondes Williams restricted free agents. Miami’s other two-way player, forward Jamal Cain, isn’t mentioned in the announcement, with Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald tweeting that Cain isn’t expected to receive a qualifying offer.

Because Cain has finished each of the past two seasons on a two-way contract with the Heat, his qualifying offer would have been a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a small partial guarantee, whereas the QOs for Swider and Williams will be for one-year, two-way deals.

According to Chiang, the expectation is that Cain won’t be back with the Heat next season. Not getting a QO means he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

We have more qualifying offer news from around the NBA:

  • It appears that guard Trevelin Queen will be the only Magic two-way player to receive a qualifying offer this offseason. Orlando put out a press release (via Twitter) confirming that Queen has been given a QO, making him a restricted free agent. However, swingman Kevon Harris won’t get a QO and Admiral Schofield – who also wasn’t mentioned in the Magic’s announcement – has signed to play in France next season. Harris and Schofield both would’ve been eligible for minimum-salary qualifying offers, while Queen’s QO is for another two-way contract.
  • The Warriors aren’t tendering a qualifying offer to guard Lester Quinones, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Quinones will become an unrestricted free agent after averaging 4.4 points per game on .397/.364/.690 shooting in 37 appearances off the bench for Golden State.
  • The Hawks have made a qualifying offer to guard Seth Lundy, tweets Scotto. Lundy, who was on a two-way contract this past season, had a strong year in the G League, averaging 20.4 points per game and making 40.0% of his three-point attempts in 25 regular season and Showcase Cup contests for the College Park Skyhawks. His qualifying offer is the equivalent of another two-way deal.
  • The Rockets are issuing a two-way qualifying offer to shooting guard Jeenathan Williams, according to Scotto (Twitter link). Williams appeared in 22 games for Houston and 10 for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League in 2023/24.
  • Nuggets two-way players Collin Gillespie and Braxton Key aren’t expected to get qualifying offers from the team, so they’ll become unrestricted free agents when the new league year begins, sources tell Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link).
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Southwest Notes: Rockets, Mavs, Thompson, Pelicans, Cissoko

June 28th, 2024 at 2:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets will have enough cap flexibility to use the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception this offseason, but Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) is skeptical that they’ll do so. As Feigen explains, Houston will have nearly all of last year’s rotation players back, with No. 3 pick Reed Sheppard joining the mix and Steven Adams and Tari Eason returning from injuries, so there may not be a role available for a mid-level signee.

Since the mid-level exception can be used for the first time in 2024/25 as a de facto trade exception, Feigen expects Houston to be fine with the idea of hanging onto it into the regular season in case it comes in handy on the trade market.

Within that same story, Feigen also briefly touches on the contract situations for Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, who will both be eligible for rookie scale extensions beginning in July. While the Rockets are expected to explore deals with both players, they’re unlikely to offer either Sengun or Green a maximum-salary contract, says Feigen.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Marc Stein adds another team to the list of possible Klay Thompson suitors, reporting on Substack that the Mavericks will explore the feasibility of adding the veteran Warriors sharpshooter. Dallas will have a little flexibility below the first tax apron after agreeing to send Tim Hardaway to Detroit, but won’t have cap room, so a sign-and-trade deal looks like the only way the Mavs would have any chance at Thompson.
  • Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin vowed in April that the front office would operate with a sense of “urgency” to upgrade the roster this offseason. He reiterated that message this week, as Christian Clark of NOLA.com relays. “We need to be aggressive,” Griffin said. “I think it’s really a positive thing for our organization that we’ve won more games three years in a row. We’ve built what we’ve built in terms of players wanting to stay here. That’s tremendous. That’s not why we are doing this. We are doing this to win.”
  • Spurs forward Sidy Cissoko underwent an arthroscopic clean-up procedure on his right knee last month, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required), who says Cissoko’s participation in Summer League could be limited as a result. While the Spurs are hopeful that the 2023 second-rounder will be able to suit up at the Las Vegas Summer League, he won’t play in the California Classic Summer League that tips off on July 6, per Orsborn.
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USA Basketball Announces 15-Man Select Team

June 28th, 2024 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has announced in a press release that a 15-man Select Team will train with the U.S. Olympic squad as it prepares for the upcoming Olympics. The Select Team, which is made up mostly of younger players and some who have previous Team USA experience, will work out with the men’s national team in Las Vegas from July 6-8.

The members of the Select Team are as follows:

Perhaps the most notable name on the list is Flagg, who has committed to Duke and will begin his first college basketball season in the fall. He’s viewed as a strong candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

Duren, Galloway, Murphy, Murray, and Pritchard were part of the U.S. Select Team that trained with the national team ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

It’s possible some of these players will use their Select Team experience as a springboard to represent Team USA in international competitions down the road. Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, and Tyrese Haliburton are among the players on this year’s Olympic team that were members of a Select Team earlier in their respective careers.

The select team will be coached by Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, who will be joined by assistants Jim Boylen and Matt Painter. Boylen, a former Bulls head coach and current Pacers assistant, was Team USA’s head coach during the qualifying contests. Painter has been the longtime head coach at Purdue.

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Trade Rumors: Wiggins, Warriors, Rockets, Ingram, Kings, Jazz

June 28th, 2024 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

Andrew Wiggins is no longer in the mix for the Canadian national team this summer, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto (Twitter link), who says the Warriors are “playing hardball” with a player they are “looking to move.”

Wiggins was insured and medically cleared by Canada Basketball, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, but it sounds like the Warriors don’t want to risk his health during trade negotiations after he dealt with an ankle issue last season. While Grange says the veteran forward isn’t thrilled about the decision, Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link) refers to it as a mutual one.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Wiggins is one of several Warriors veterans who is considered a potential outgoing piece if Golden State makes a major deal. Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II fall into that category, as does Chris Paul, whose $30MM salary remains non-guaranteed for the time being. The Warriors’ decision on Paul’s non-guaranteed salary is due on Friday, but it’s possible the team will give him a partial guarantee in exchange for pushing back that deadline, says Fischer.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

  • While some trade rumors earlier this week linked Kevin Durant to Houston, the Rockets are more interested in pursuing younger trade targets whose timeline matches up better with their core, according to Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Amick and Slater name Suns guard Devin Booker, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, and Pelicans forward Zion Williamson as some players who would fit that bill for Houston, acknowledging that there’s no indication any of those players will be available this summer.
  • Exploring potential trade partners for the Pelicans and forward Brandon Ingram, Fischer mentions the Kings, Sixers, Hawks, and Cavaliers as possibilities. However, he says that Atlanta and New Orleans haven’t had substantive discussions since talking about Dejounte Murray in February, while Cleveland remains reluctant to part with any of its four core players, including potential Pels target Jarrett Allen. It’s also unclear how high Ingram ranks on Philadelphia’s list of possible targets, Fischer adds. Sacramento, meanwhile, has been in the market for help on the wing this offseason, though Fischer doesn’t explicitly say the Kings have talked to New Orleans about Ingram.
  • Although rival teams are expected to continue calling to register interest in Lauri Markkanen, the Jazz‘s goal continues to be extending the veteran forward and acquiring another star to complement him, Fischer writes. Adrian Wojnarowski expressed a similar sentiment during ESPN’s draft broadcast this week. Utah talked to the Hawks about Murray in February and also expressed interest in Mikal Bridges before Brooklyn agreed to send him to New York, says Fischer.
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Southwest Notes: Missi, Sheppard, Edey, Ajinca

June 27th, 2024 at 10:37pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With incumbent starter Jonas Valanciunas on the cusp of unrestricted free agency and a possible departure, the Pelicans may have added a major insurance policy by drafting former Baylor center Yves Missi, writes William Guillory of The Athletic.

“The defensive versatility of (Missi) is something we were really excited about. He’s not just a rim protector. He has the ability to be a multiple-coverage big,” team president David Griffin said. “When you look at an athlete with his size and the way he tested for us here. The things he’s capable of physically are very rare.” 

Guillory cautions that Missi is liable to run into foul trouble and may not be ready to immediately contribute, with general manager Bryson Graham referring to the big man as “developmental.” However, Graham also likened Missi to Dereck Lively II, who played a major role as a rookie for the Western Conference champions in Dallas.

“He has such a good feel for finding space. He’s able to set screens and play in the dunker (spot),” Graham said. “It’s a lot like a Dereck Lively-type. I think his feel for the game is very advanced. (Having) somebody like that next to (Zion Williamson), it’s going to unlock him.”

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

  • Had former Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard been selected by the Hawks or Wizards with the first or second pick in the draft on Wednesday, the Rockets had a plan to trade down. When he fell to Houston with the third pick, Houston stayed put, enticed by the 20-year-old’s long range shooting acumen. During a conversation with The Athletic’s Kelly Iko, the 6’2″ guard revealed exactly what Rockets brass wants him to contribute from the jump. “The biggest thing right away is the shooting, just coming in and being able to knock down shots,” Sheppard said. “But at the same time, coming in and doing what you do daily. Playing basketball the right way. Having a high IQ. Just doing the right basketball play.”
  • Despite rumors that his team was trying to move up to select Donovan Clingan, Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman suggested in comments to reporters on Wednesday that Memphis had been targeting All-American former Purdue center Zach Edey with the No. 9 pick all along, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “Let’s just say this is exactly what we were hoping would happen,” Kleiman said. “When we talk about the DNA of this team and what we are trying to build out, Zach Edey to a T is that definition.”
  • The Mavericks only added one new player near the end of this year’s draft, 6’8″ small forward Melvin Ajinca. Dallas traded its own No. 58 pick and cash considerations to the Knicks in order to acquire the French swingman at No. 51. Despite the fact that 50 players were selected before Ajinca, general manager Nico Harrison is excited by the 20-year-old’s ceiling, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. “He’s really young and he has huge upside,” Harrison said. “We just like the way he plays. He has a chance to be really good.”
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