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Lakers Officially Acquire Anthony Davis In Three-Team Trade

July 6th, 2019 at 9:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers, Pelicans, and Wizards have officially completed the three-team trade that makes Anthony Davis a Laker. All three teams issued press releases tonight to announce the deal. The structure of the trade is as follows:

Lakers acquire Anthony Davis.
Pelicans acquire Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, the draft rights to De’Andre Hunter (No. 4 pick), the Lakers’ 2021 first-round pick (9-30 protected; unprotected in 2022), the Lakers’ 2024 first-round pick (unprotected), the right to swap 2023 first-round picks with the Lakers, and cash ($1.1MM; from Wizards).
- Note: The Pelicans will also have the option to defer the 2024 first-round pick to 2025.
Wizards acquire Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones, and the Lakers’ 2022 second-round pick.

The long-awaited deal was held up slightly today as the Lakers officially finalized a series of signings using their cap room. In order to maximize its cap space, the club had to sign free agents first before acquiring Davis. Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Quinn Cook, and JaVale McGee all signed their contracts with the Lakers since the July moratorium ended this afternoon.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, will now flip the rights to Hunter to the Hawks in a separate deal, putting the No. 4 pick on track to join his new team for Summer League action. Once the deal is done, Atlanta will also be able to complete its trade with the Sixers involving Bruno Fernando and Jordan Bone, then Philadelphia will be able to flip Bone to the Pistons.

For more details on one of the summer’s biggest trades, be sure to check out our previous stories on the Lakers/Pelicans aspect of the deal, as well as the Lakers/Wizards part of the swap.

Hawks Acquire Allen Crabbe In Trade With Nets

July 6th, 2019 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: A month after it was agreed upon, the Nets have officially traded Crabbe to the Hawks along with the No. 17 pick (Nickeil Alexander-Walker) and a lottery-protected first-round pick in exchange for Prince and the Hawks’ 2021 second-rounder, according to press releases from both teams.

Brooklyn will, of course, use its cap room to sign Irving and Durant.

JUNE 6: The Nets and Hawks have agreed to a trade that will send Allen Crabbe, the No. 17 pick in the 2019 draft, and a lottery-protected 2020 first-round pick to Atlanta in exchange for Taurean Prince and a 2021 second-round pick, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

The move will allow the Nets to clear more than $17MM from their books for the 2019/20 season by swapping Crabbe’s expiring $18.5MM deal for Prince’s ($3.48MM) and clearing the cap hold for the No. 17 pick. That will put Brooklyn on track to enter the offseason with more than $47MM in cap space. The Nets will now have a clearer path to creating two maximum-salary cap slots if they’re willing to renounce D’Angelo Russell‘s cap hold.

[RELATED: Latest On D’Angelo Russell]

The fact that the Nets were willing to agree to move Crabbe so early in the offseason signals that they have big plans for that extra cap room, which is particularly intriguing given the recent rumors linking Kyrie Irving to Brooklyn. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Irving is “serious” about the Nets, and Brooklyn is looking to beat out the Knicks and the rest of the NBA for top free agents this summer.

If Russell is renounced, the Nets would have enough cap space for Irving and another maximum-salary free agent, unless that player has 10+ years of NBA experience (like Kevin Durant). In that scenario, the club would have to make one more modest cost-cutting move.

Besides creating extra cap flexibility, the Nets also pick up a solid young wing with three-and-D potential in Prince. The 25-year-old has averaged 13.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 2.4 APG with a .431/.387/.834 shooting line in 137 games (29.3 MPG) over the last two seasons in Atlanta. He’s extension-eligible this offseason and will be a restricted free agent in 2020 if he doesn’t get a new deal.

From the Hawks’ perspective, acquiring Crabbe in exchange for Prince and their 2021 second-round pick will allow them to pick up two extra first-round selections, which could be used to add two more young prospects to their core or could be dangled in subsequent trade discussions.

Atlanta is now armed with three top-20 picks in the 2019 draft (Nos. 8, 10, and 17). There have been rumors that the Hawks have explored the idea of packaging their two top-10 picks to move up — adding the No. 17 selection to the mix should give the club more leverage in those discussions.

Meanwhile, the on-court impact of swapping out Prince for Crabbe shouldn’t be significant, as they play fairly similar roles. While Crabbe’s lucrative contract isn’t team-friendly, he has still been a very good three-point shooter in recent years, posting a .396 3PT% since signing his four-year deal in 2016, and his deal will expire after the 2019/20 season.

The Hawks’ cap room for 2019 will be cut nearly in half by the deal, but the team still projects to have about $23-25MM in space.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN.com observes (via Twitter), the two teams won’t be able to complete the trade until July, since the Hawks won’t have the cap room necessary to absorb Crabbe’s contract until the new league year begins.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Davis Deal Could Be Delayed If Leonard Remains Undecided

July 5th, 2019 at 10:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Anthony Davis trade could be delayed if Kawhi Leonard doesn’t choose a team by noon ET on Saturday, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk and Bobby Marks report.

The complex, four-way series of deals involving the Lakers, Pelicans, Hawks and Wizards can become official Saturday. The Lakers would lose their ability to give Leonard a max contract if any of the other teams involved decline to delay the trade. However, those teams are expected to cooperate, according to Marks.

The Lakers and Pelicans agreed on the initial trade in which Los Angeles sent Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks to New Orleans for Davis. Los Angeles opened up a $32MM salary slot by agreeing to ship Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones and a 2022 second-round pick to Washington, which sent cash to New Orleans. Davis also agreed to waive his $4MM trade kicker.

New Orleans and Atlanta made a big draft-night swap as an offshoot of the Davis trade. New Orleans agreed to move the No. 4 overall pick, forward De’Andre Hunter, they received from the Lakers as well as a late second-rounder along with Solomon Hill‘s contract to the Hawks for two first-rounders, center Jaxson Hayes and guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, an early second-round pick and a first-rounder next year.

Without the delay, the Lakers could only offer Leonard a four-year, $127MM contract — $11MM less than the max over the life of the deal.

Leonard’s indecision also may cause some other delays.

The Pelicans won’t be able to sign free agent guard J.J. Redick until the Hill trade is finished. Hill is ticketed to the Grizzlies in another trade once the Davis deal is completed. The rookies involved in those proposed transactions, as well as the three young players headed to the Wizards, aren’t allowed to play summer league ball until everything is finalized.

Hawks, Cavs, Nuggets Quiet So Far In Free Agency

July 5th, 2019 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

As our 2019 NBA Free Agent Tracker shows, 27 of the league’s 30 teams have reached an agreement on a standard NBA contract with at least one player. Not every one of those clubs has made a huge splash, but they’ve been involved in free agency to some extent.

That leaves just three teams that have stayed out of the proceedings so far: Atlanta, Cleveland, and Denver. Two of those teams (the Hawks and Cavaliers) have at least signed an undrafted rookie to a two-way contract, but none have reached an agreement to add an NBA free agent on a standard deal.

The Hawks‘ inactivity on the free agent market so far is unsurprising. When he looked ahead to the free agent period more than two months ago, general manager Travis Schlenk predicted that the team would be patient, waiting to see which players slipped through the cracks after the first wave of signings.

Atlanta has used some its cap room to absorb salary (Allen Crabbe), but still has up to about $14MM in space available, per Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights. Given Schlenk’s fondness for taking on unwanted contracts, we’ll see if he goes that route to use the rest of the Hawks’ space, or if the team has its eye on any remaining free agents. For what it’s worth, the deal that will send Miles Plumlee and Solomon Hill to Memphs for Chandler Parsons will open up an extra roster spot for Atlanta.

As for the Cavaliers, their cap situation makes it difficult for them to be too aggressive in free agency. Even if they waive J.R. Smith‘s non-guaranteed contract, they’re still right up against the tax line. A couple years ago, that wouldn’t have stopped them from adding another free agent or two, but ownership won’t want to risk repeater-tax penalties for the current roster.

If the Cavs waive and stretch a veteran, their mid-level exception could be in play, but for now I don’t expect them to be throwing any money at free agents.

Finally, the Nuggets essentially made their big free agency move when they decided to exercise Paul Millsap‘s $30MM+ team option for 2019/20. Denver still has enough wiggle room below the luxury-tax line to use its mid-level exception, though Trey Lyles remains a wild card. Lyles is a restricted free agent with a $4.5MM qualifying offer, and the Nuggets may ultimately have to choose between retaining him and using their full mid-level, assuming they want to stay below the tax.

Still, the Nuggets should have enough room to add a lower-cost free agent or two if they want to. A Denver Post report last weekend suggested the team would be on the lookout for a combo guard, a wing defender, and/or another big man.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hawks Sign Cam Reddish, Charlie Brown

July 1st, 2019 at 7:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks signed the No. 10 overall pick, Duke forward Cam Reddish, to a rookie contract, according to a team press release.

The 6’8” Reddish averaged 13.5 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 36 games in his lone year with the Blue Devils.

Reddish can receive a first-year max of $4.246MM under the rookie scale. He can make $4.458MM and $4.67MM during the next two seasons.

Atlanta also officially signed undrafted forward Charlie Brown Jr. to a two-way contract, according to another team press release. The 6’7” St. Joseph product was the Atlantic 10’s leading scorer last season at 19.0 PPG and also grabbed 6.2 RPG.

Brown’s agreement with the Hawks was reported shortly after the draft.

Kings Plan To Make Offer To Al Horford

June 30th, 2019 at 12:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:18pm: Horford has “very real interest” in joining the Sixers if they can make it possible, Amick tweets. Philadelphia is reportedly willing to facilitate a sign-and-trade for Jimmy Butler, but has Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick to address as well. The Kings have a better chance at signing Hawks center Dewayne Dedmon, Amick adds, and are among the teams willing to take on Clint Capela if the Rockets trade for Butler (Twitter link). Houston has found multiple teams interested in Capela and will send him to the highest bidder.

11:58pm: The Kings are ready to pounce on Al Horford with a significant offer once free agency begins, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. Sacramento has the cap room to offer the rumored four-year deal in excess of $100MM, and a source tells Stein that the organization “definitely” has strong interest in Horford.

That report is confirmed by James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link), who adds that the Kings consider Horford a “major target.” However, a source tells Sam Amick of The Athletic that team officials expect him to sign with someone else (Twitter link).

Sacramento is looking for an upgrade at center over Willie Cauley-Stein, and Horford definitely qualifies. He has put up solid numbers for more than a decade in both Atlanta and Boston, earning five All-Star appearances, and is the mobile, floor-stretching style of big man that the Kings want to add.

Horford had been considered likely to stay with the Celtics, either by opting into a $30.1MM salary for next season or negotiating a longer deal with the team. However, he surprised the league two weeks ago by opting out and indicating that another team waiting with a massive contract.

Malcolm Brogdon Gets Qualifying Offer From Bucks

June 29th, 2019 at 11:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks took the decision down to the wire, but they have extended a qualifying offer to Malcolm Brogdon that makes him a restricted free agent, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Brogdon’s offer is $3,021,354, according to Basketball Insiders, and that will also count as his cap hold.

The 2017 Rookie of the Year has been limited by injuries the past two seasons. He put up a 15.6/4.5/3.2 line in 64 games before suffering a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot in March. Brogdon has earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s most efficient shooters, averaging 51% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and a league-best 93% from the foul line this year.

The Bucks may be reluctant to match a huge offer for Brogdon when they have other free agent concerns in Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. The Suns, Bulls, Mavericks and Pacers have been mentioned among interested teams, but there are lingering concerns about the long-term condition of his foot.

There are a few more decisions on qualifying offers to catch up on:

The Nuggets extended a QO to two-way player Brandon Goodwin, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. The point guard got into 16 NBA games during his rookie season.
The Hawks opted not to give a QO to Justin Anderson, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Journal Constitution (Twitter link). Anderson appeared in 48 games for Atlanta after being acquired in a trade with the Sixers last summer.
Jerian Grant will also be an unrestricted free agent after the Magic passed on a QO, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. Acquired from the Bulls during the offseason, Grant appeared in 60 games for Orlando.
The Clippers didn’t extend a QO to G League Rookie of the Year Angel Delgado, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
Rockets two-way players Trevon Duval and Vince Edwards didn’t receive qualifying offers, and neither did Warriors two-way player Marcus Derrickson, according to Keith Smith. However, Damion Lee – Golden State’s other two-way player – received a QO (Twitter links).

Dewayne Dedmon Drawing Interest From Kings

June 29th, 2019 at 9:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings are interested in free agent center Dewayne Dedmon, a source tells James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).

Sacramento is looking for an upgrade from Willie Cauley-Stein, who is on the market as a restricted free agent. The Kings issued a qualifying offer to Cauley-Stein on Friday, but that can be withdrawn if they find a better option.

Dedmon, who will turn 30 in August, has spent the past two seasons in Atlanta and is coming off a career-best year. He averaged 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds in 64 games.

A report earlier this week indicated that several teams are considering mid-level offers for Dedmon.

Allen Crabbe Arrested For DUI

June 27th, 2019 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Allen Crabbe, who will be a member of the Hawks once their trade with Brooklyn becomes official in July, was arrested in Los Angeles on a DUI charge on Wednesday, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since the trade hasn’t technically been finalized, the Hawks can’t yet comment on Crabbe’s arrest.

Lowe: Dewayne Dedmon Drawing Heavy Interest

June 25th, 2019 at 8:19am CST by Luke Adams

Hawks center Dewayne Dedmon has been receiving plenty of interest from teams as a mid-level target, according to Lowe, who refers to Dedmon as “sneakily the most coveted under-the-radar free agent in the league.”

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