2023 June | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Beal, Graham, Blazers, Clarkson

June 29th, 2023 at 11:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Suns guard Bradley Beal spoke with gathered journalists for an extended introductory press conference, flanked by head coach Frank Vogel and general manager James Jones, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“I don’t look at the NBA like, ‘Oh, it’s my team,’ ‘Oh, it’s your team,'” Beal said when asked about how the Suns will determinine a hierarchy on offense. “It’s everybody. We all got to compete. We all got to do this thing together and make it happen.”

“But understand that this is ‘Book Nation,'” Beal continued, a reference to All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker. “I understand that this is his stomping grounds, this is his arena, and I’m excited for that. I’m excited to be able to play with two Hall of Famers. I’ve never done that. They’ll push me in ways I’ve never been pushed. Hopefully, I can do the same.”

There’s more out of the Western Conference:

After cutting a deal with prosecutors, Spurs guard Devonte’ Graham has pleaded guilty to his 2022 misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired, reports TMZ Sports. Graham, whose sentencing is scheduled for July, may face a suspension from the NBA following the resolution of his legal case.
The Trail Blazers, still hoping to thread the needle between their present and future, are hoping incumbent All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard will be satisfied with a solid roster-building summer and will not ask for a trade out of town, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Fischer likens Portland’s plan to the approach Brooklyn took with Kevin Durant last summer, though Durant had requested a trade at that time, while Lillard hasn’t done so. The Blazers added rookie point guard Scoot Henderson with the third overall pick in this year’s draft, and are hoping that some tactical personnel moves will convince Lillard to stick around.
With Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson having now picked up his $14MM player option, there are still a variety of routes forward for Utah and the 2021 Sixth Man of the Year, per Tony Jones of The Athletic. As Jones notes, Clarkson could now either sign a longer-term extension, play out the final year of his deal as the Jazz’s probable starting shooting guard, or the team could coordinate a trade to offload him and free up more minutes and touches for his potential long-term successor, Collin Sexton.

Options Declined For Blazers’ Knox, Thunder’s Waters, Wolves’ Knight

June 29th, 2023 at 11:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers forward Kevin Knox, Thunder wing Lindy Waters, and Timberwolves big man Nathan Knight have all had their team options for the 2023/24 season declined by their respective clubs, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link) reported the three option decisions.

The deadline to exercise a player or team option for ’23/24 was Thursday at 4:00 pm Central time, so the fact that there had been no word on these three options was a strong indication that they weren’t picked up. They were the last three we were waiting for confirmation on — the rest of this year’s team and player option decision had been made.

Knox’s team option with the Trail Blazers would have been worth $3MM. The former No. 9 overall pick finished the 2022/23 season in Portland after being traded from Detroit at February’s deadline. In 63 total appearances for the Pistons and Blazers, he averaged 6.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per night.

Knox will become an unrestricted free agent after having his option turned down. Waters and Knight, who would’ve earned $1.93MM apiece if their options had been exercised, were eligible for qualifying offers to make them restricted free agents, but there’s no indication that either player received one. We’ll be able to confirm that on Friday before free agency officially opens.

Waters averaged 5.2 PPG on .393/.358/.800 shooting in 41 games (13.0 MPG) for the Thunder, while Knight registered 3.7 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 38 contests (7.7 MPG) for Minnesota.

Kings Sign Harrison Barnes To Three-Year Extension

June 29th, 2023 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

10:00pm: The extension is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

7:11pm: The Kings will keep veteran forward Harrison Barnes off the free agent market, having reached an agreement on a three-year, $54MM contract extension, agent Jeff Schwartz tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The deal will include a 10% trade kicker, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Barnes has been a full-time starter for the Kings since they acquired him from Dallas at the 2019 trade deadline. The 31-year-old has appeared in 317 games since then, averaging 15.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 2.3 APG with a .472/.387/.827 shooting line in 34.0 minutes per contest.

Barnes signed a four-year, $94MM contract as a free agent in 2016 and got $85MM for four years in 2019. Given his age and the fact that so few teams had cap room this summer, it makes sense that he’d have to settle for a slightly lesser annual salary.

However, it’s also not a surprise that he’ll receive well above the mid-level, since his performance hasn’t noticeably dropped off in recent years. Barnes had a disappointing playoff showing vs. Golden State, but was as solid as ever during the 2022/23 regular season, with averages of 15.0 PPG and 4.5 RPG on .473/.374/.847 shooting. He was also one of just 10 NBA players not to miss a single game this year.

The Pacers were reportedly among the teams believed to have interest in Barnes, but he’ll officially sign a new deal with Sacramento before reaching free agency, since he remained extension-eligible until June 30.

Barnes’ new contract will cut into the Kings’ projected cap room, but the team should still have approximately $18MM in space, according to Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

As Gozlan observes, Sacramento could use that room to give Domantas Sabonis a raise via a contract renegotiation-and-extension while still having enough left to go after another rotation player in free agency. The club would also have the room exception – projected to get a bump to $7.7MM – once it uses up its cap room.

The Kings would also have the ability to operate as an over-the-cap team, which would allow them to access their full $12.4MM mid-level exception and $4.5MM bi-annual exception, but would remove the option of a Sabonis renegotiation.

Eastern Notes: Simmons, Porzingis, Hawks, Fernando, Sixers

June 29th, 2023 at 9:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nets guard Ben Simmons will not partake in this year’s World Cup, Basketball Australia has announced in an official statement (Twitter link).

According to Basketball Australia, Brooklyn and Simmons have opted to withhold the former No. 1 overall pick so that he can continue to rehabilitate his ailing back ahead of the 2023/24 NBA season. Net Income of Nets Daily writes that the club is hopeful Simmons will be recovered by the start of September, just in time for training camp.

The former All-Star appeared in just 42 games for Brooklyn in 2022/23 after returning from back surgery, averaging 6.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.3 SPG and 0.6 BPG in 26.3 MPG.

There’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

New Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis is excited about his new opportunity to play for a perennial Eastern Conference contender, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Porzingis explained his decision to opt into his $36MM option for next season, which helped enable his trade from the Wizards. “[It was] an opportunity to play for a really good team already and be able to add to that,” Porzingis said. “And hopefully to help these guys, make their life easier, and being on a high-level organization like Boston, historic franchise, iconic franchise, it made it extremely easy for me to make that decision.”
The Hawks have made some changes to their front office personnel, Atlanta has announced in a press release. Longtime league agent Chris Emens is joining the team as an executive advisor. The Hawks are also adding Blake Johnson as the club’s director of player engagement. Atlanta also revealed that a variety of executives have been promoted to new positions: vice president of player personnel Dotun Akinwale Jr.; senior vice president of salary cap administration Michelle Leftwich; vice president of basketball operations Grant Liffmann; senior vice president of team operations Dan Martinez; vice president of player personnel and basketball intelligence Tori Miller; principal advisor to the governor Nick Ressler; and vice president of cap strategy/player personnel Ryan Silverstein.
The Hawks have pushed back reserve center Bruno Fernando‘s salary guarantee deadline from June 29 to July 10, reports Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Upon being shipped to Atlanta in February from Houston, the 6’9″ big man appeared in just eight contests for the team, averaging 3.4 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 5.1 MPG. Fernando will receive his full $2.58MM salary for 2023/24 if he remains under contract through July 10.
Assistant coaches Fabulous Flournoy and Toure’ Murry are joining new Sixers head coach Nick Nurse‘s bench, a team source has informed Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The addition of another assistant, Doug West, had previously been reported.

Scotto’s Latest: DiVincenzo, VanVleet, Poeltl, Lakers, Niang, Gallinari, More

June 29th, 2023 at 8:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Donte DiVincenzo is expected to be a popular target on the free agent market, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who identifies the Knicks, Timberwolves, Pistons, Pelicans, Rockets, Magic, and Bulls as teams that have interest in the veteran swingman. After settling for a $4.5MM salary in his last foray into free agency a year ago, DiVincenzo could get offers in the neighborhood of the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($12.4MM) this time around, says Scotto.

Here are a few more highlights from Scotto’s latest round-up of news and rumors from around the NBA:

The Raptors are hoping to re-sign Fred VanVleet on a three-year deal in the range of $90-100MM, says Scotto. The team is also looking to bring back center Jakob Poeltl, but may face serious competition from the Rockets on both players. Although Brook Lopez has been considered Houston’s primary target at center, there’s a belief that Lopez would prefer to return to the Bucks as long as their offer is in the same ballpark as Houston’s, Scotto explains. That could prompt Houston to pivot to Poeltl, who is also expected to receive from the Spurs, as previously reported.
While the Lakers would like to re-sign Dennis Schröder, they’re keeping an eye on several other free agent point guards, including Shake Milton, Cory Joseph, and Jevon Carter, says Scotto. In addition to the Bucks and Lakers, Carter is expected to receive interest from the Timberwolves and Suns, among others, Scotto adds.
Scotto is the second reporter to link Georges Niang to the Cavaliers today, noting that Cleveland offered a pair of second-round picks for him at the trade deadline. The Sixers, Bulls, and Spurs are a few of the other clubs expected to express interest in Niang, league sources tell HoopsHype.
Despite a report indicating that the Wizards are likely to buy out Danilo Gallinari, the two sides haven’t had any discussions about that possibility yet, per Scotto, who writes that the veteran forward is comfortable with the idea of opening the season in D.C.
According to Scotto, former NBA wing Glenn Robinson III is attempting a comeback, having signed with agent Keith Kreiter and scheduled workouts with a handful of NBA teams in Las Vegas last month. A career 37.3% three-point shooter, Robinson has been out of the league for the last two seasons.
Vin Bhavnani and Mike Batiste are expected to join the Raptors as assistants on Darko Rajakovic‘s new coaching staff, Scotto reports. Bhavnani is a former Thunder assistant, while Batiste was on Stephen Silas‘ staff in Houston last season.

Nets To Make David Duke Jr. Unrestricted Free Agent

June 29th, 2023 at 7:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nets combo guard David Duke Jr.. is not going to receive a qualifying offer from Brooklyn and will thus enter unrestricted free agency, reports Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link).

Nets shooting guard Dru Smith, inked to a two-way contract last season, was also not given a qualifying offer by Brooklyn, Lewis adds. He, too, will become an unrestricted free agent.

The 23-year-old Duke first joined Brooklyn on a two-way deal after going undrafted out of Providence in 2021. He returned to the Nets on another two-way contract for the 2022/23 season, but saw his agreement converted to a standard roster deal this past April, ending the year on the club’s 15-man roster.

Across 23 games for Brooklyn in 2023/24, Duke averaged 3.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG and 0.9 APG. In 22 games for Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, Duke averaged 22.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.9 SPG.

Smith, 25, barely played for the Nets during his inaugural NBA season. In 10 games for Brooklyn, he averaged just 3.3 PPG, 1.7 RPG and 1.5 RPG across 9.1 MPG. Smith played 14 contests for the Long Island Nets, starting just three. He averaged 14.1 PPG on .500/.426/.667 shooting splits, along with 5.4 RPG.

Raptors To Make Dalano Banton Unrestricted Free Agent

June 29th, 2023 at 6:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Raptors are not extending a qualifying offer to reserve point guard Dalano Banton, making him an unrestricted free agent this summer, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links).

Toronto’s decision on the qualifying offer doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of a new deal with Banton, Murphy notes. However, the Raptors are declining his qualifying offer because it would be worth more than a two-year veteran’s minimum deal.

During his second NBA season, the 23-year-old out of Nebraska saw limited run with the Raptors. He averaged 4.6 PPG, 1.5 RPG and 1.2 APG in 9.0 MPG across 31 contests with the club.

Toronto is, however, extending qualifying offers to the team’s two two-way signings from 2022/23, point guard Jeff Dowtin and power forward Ron Harper Jr., Murphy reports.

While Murphy believes Dowtin could possibly return to the Raptors next season, either on a standard or two-way deal, he believes Harper may have to compete for a spot this summer.

In 25 games with the Raptors proper, Dowtin averaged 2.4 PPG, 1.2 APG and 0.9 RPG. In 19 games for Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate, the Raptors 905, the 6’3″ guard out of Rhode Island averaged a more robust 16.9 PPG on .502/.413/.771 shooting splits, plus 6.1 APG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.7 SPG.

Harper similarly appeared sparingly with Toronto’s NBA franchise, averaging 2.2 RPG in just nine games. Like, Dowtin, the 6’6″ forward also enjoyed a strong showing for the Raptors 905. He logged 16.7 PPG on .501/.366/.776, while also chipping in 5.1 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.2 BPG and 1.0 SPG.

Kyrie Irving Expected To Meet With Suns?

June 29th, 2023 at 6:32pm CST by Luke Adams

6:32pm: John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 disputes Haynes’ report, tweeting that the idea of the Suns meeting with Irving is “absurd” and won’t happen.

12:02pm: After ESPN reported on Wednesday that Kyrie Irving plans to meet with teams when he becomes a free agent on Friday, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report provides more details on Irving’s plans, writing that the star point guard is expected to meet with the Suns in addition to the Mavericks and possibly other teams.

Those meetings will likely take place in Los Angeles, according to Haynes, who hears from sources that the Rockets could seek an audience with Irving as well.

It’s easy to see why Irving would want to set up meetings with potential suitors, even if a return to Dallas appears to be the most likely result of his free agency. The Mavericks may not feel compelled to offer as many years or dollars as Kyrie would like if they believe they’re bidding against themselves.

Still, it’s hard to see how the Suns could emerge as a legitimate threat for Irving unless he’s willing to take a massive pay cut. With Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton owed a combined $163MM in 2023/24, Phoenix’s team salary projects to be above the second tax apron ($182.5MM), which would prevent the club from acquiring a player via sign-and-trade.

Even moving Ayton wouldn’t put the Suns in position to make a competitive sign-and-trade offer from Irving, since a hard cap would limit team salary to about $172MM. Durant, Beal, and Booker will earn a combined $130MM, which would leave just $42MM for Irving and at least 10 other players.

Irving could theoretically sign in Phoenix for the veteran’s minimum, of course, but that’s a highly unlikely outcome for a player whose exit from Brooklyn this past season was reportedly related to the Nets’ reluctance to offer him a big-money, long-term extension.

The Rockets are in better position to make Irving a significant offer, but have been linked more frequently in recent days to another free agent point guard, Fred VanVleet.

According to Haynes, the Mavericks are hoping to get a commitment from Irving early in free agency this weekend, so he can help the team recruit other free agent targets.

Free Agent Rumors: Brown, Mavs, Lakers, Gordon, Yurtseven, Kuzma, Barnes

June 29th, 2023 at 6:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Unrestricted free agent Nuggets forward Bruce Brown plans to meet with the Mavericks at the start of free agency on Friday, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).

Many teams appear primed to pursue Brown, according to MacMahon (Twitter link), who anticipates his market to be around the $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, if not higher. The Lakers are one suitor said to be confident about their chances. MacMahon adds that Brown may be open to taking a discount to return to the champs, who only have his Non-Bird rights available, which would cap them at a $7.8MM offer for next season.

The 6’4″ vet proved invaluable as a versatile, defense-first sixth man during Denver’s 16-4 run to the title this spring. Across 20 playoff games off the bench, he averaged 12.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 SPG and 0.5 BPG.

Here are more of the latest free agent rumors from around the league:

After opting not to retain shooting guard Malik Beasley and center Mohamed Bamba, the Lakers now project to remain well below the $172MM tax apron for 2023/24, which will enable them to use the full $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN, suggesting that Brown and Brook Lopez will be among Los Angeles’ targets. According to McMenamin (via Twitter), the Lakers may also consider adding more than one player with its mid-level exception money. In that scenario, point guard Dennis Schröder and shooting guard Eric Gordon could be targets, sources tell McMemamin.
Gordon is looking to land with a contender that will have a defined rotation gig for his services, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Beyond the Lakers, sources tell The Athletic that the Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Bucks, Suns, and Trail Blazers have some interest.
After declining to tender a qualifying offer to center Omer Yurtseven, the Heat don’t appear to be focused on trying to re-sign him to a minimum-salary deal, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). “We’re grateful we got a chance to be there,” agent Keith Glass said, per Jackson. “We’ll try to find a place that values him and helps him reach his potential.”
Free agent power forward Kyle Kuzma appears more likely to end up with the Rockets than the Kings, but Sacramento shouldn’t be ruled out entirely as a Kuzma landing spot, per James Ham of Kings Beat. Sources inform Ham that the Kings’ own incumbent free agent starting power forward, Harrison Barnes, is hoping to earn a deal that pays him $20MM annually.

Trade Rumors: Harden, Lewis, Morris, Wright, Capela, Nowell

June 29th, 2023 at 6:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Although he’s said to be “very positive” about the Sixers‘ direction, James Harden‘s preference is that Philadelphia trade him, according to Mark Medina of Sportsnaut (Twitter links). For their part, the 76ers are listening to offers, but will only move forward on a trade if it’s “really good” and keeps them in title contention, Medina says, adding that the club is comfortable hanging onto Harden if such a deal doesn’t materialize.

The Clippers and Knicks were the first two potential trade partners reported to be eyeing Harden, but Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) hears that New York’s interest is “far from uniform throughout the organization.”

Begley believes the Clippers’ interest is stronger than the Knicks’, and it sounds like Steve Popper of Newsday agrees — he suggests (via Twitter) that New York’s preference may be to get involved as a third team alongside L.A. in the hopes of landing Paul George. I’m skeptical the Clippers would be enthusiastic about moving PG13 as part of a deal for Harden, but George’s name has come up in a few trade rumors so far this offseason.

During a television appearance (Twitter video link via Evan Sidery), Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN referred to the Clippers as Harden’s “most prominent” suitor, though he stressed that Los Angeles won’t want to give up any of its “good young players” in a deal for the Sixers guard and would prefer to build a package out of expiring contracts and perhaps a draft pick.

Here are a few more trade-related rumors and notes from around the NBA:

The Pelicans are exploring the trade market for a potential deal involving Kira Lewis, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who tweets that a trade could provide the former 13th overall pick with an opportunity to play more for a new team. Lewis has appeared in just 103 games for the Pelicans across three seasons, including 25 in 2022/23. An ACL tear in December 2021 limited his availability over the last two seasons, but he hasn’t been a major part of New Orleans’ rotation even when healthy. The club also reportedly made him available in trade discussions at February’s deadline.
With the Wizards believed to be seeking draft assets for guards Monte Morris and Delon Wright, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype spoke to rival executives who believe Washington could get at least one second-round pick – and maybe two – for each player.
Although Hawks star Trae Young likes playing with big man Clint Capela, the team has been open to discussing Capela in trade talks this offseason in part because it wants to open up more playing time for Onyeka Okongwu, says Scotto.
The Timberwolves are open to sign-and-trade scenarios involving guard Jaylen Nowell, league sources tell HoopsHype. Scotto doesn’t say anything about the Wolves working to re-sign Nowell, so it sounds like he won’t be a top priority for the team.

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