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Trade Rumors: Harden, Bulls, Zubac, Brogdon, Osman, Morris

June 30th, 2023 at 2:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

There’s no urgency for the Sixers to complete a James Harden trade, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Friday in an appearance on “Get Up” (video link). Even though Harden has asked to be dealt and seems to prefer the Clippers, Wojnarowski notes that the track record of president of basketball operations Daryl Morey suggests he’ll explore all available possibilities before committing to a deal.

“You may let free agency settle,” Wojnarowski said, “see where players land, see where needs arise for different teams that might not be interested today but could be in a few days. I don’t anticipate necessarily that this is going to be quick because it doesn’t have to.”

Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times also hears that a Harden trade may not happen right away. He cites league sources who said they’ll be watching how patient the Sixers decide to be and what they’ll be seeking in return. Greif names Terance Mann as a player the Clippers might be reluctant to include in a Harden deal.

There are more trade rumors to pass along:

  • The Bulls may be an option for Harden, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Chicago has already explored trade scenarios regarding Zach LaVine and might be willing to part with DeMar DeRozan to acquire Harden. Fischer also cautions that Morey has a lot of options to consider before deciding how to handle Harden’s trade request.
  • The Clippers, who would like to re-sign Mason Plumlee have let teams know that Ivica Zubac is available in a trade, Fischer adds. L.A. may also have interest in acquiring P.J. Tucker in a Harden deal, as Fischer notes that the Clippers previously reached out to him when he was a free agent.
  • The Clippers pulled out of an original version of the three-team Kristaps Porzingis trade because of medical concerns regarding Malcolm Brogdon, but they recently contacted the Celtics about Brogdon again, according to Fischer. L.A. was also willing to offer Norman Powell to the Wizards for Chris Paul before the Warriors landed him in exchange for Jordan Poole, Fischer states.
  • Fischer hears that the Cavaliers are engaged in trade talks regarding Cedi Osman and offered him to the Nets in a deal for Dorian Finney-Smith or Royce O’Neale.
  • Numerous teams have reached out to the Wizards about point guard Monte Morris, Fischer adds. The Timberwolves, Bulls, Pelicans, Jazz and Nets are all considered possibilities for Morris, and Fischer believes the Heat could be added to the list if they lose Gabe Vincent in free agency.
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2023 NBA Qualifying Offer Recap

June 30th, 2023 at 7:06am CST by Luke Adams

Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. In order for a team to make a player a restricted free agent, it must extend a qualifying offer to him. The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s previous contract status.

A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s current team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then has the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club. If a player doesn’t receive a qualifying offer, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and is free to sign with any team — his previous club is given no formal opportunity to match.

You can read more about qualifying offers here.

Listed below are the details on which players did and didn’t receive qualifying offers this summer. Our list is based on various reports and team announcements leading up to the June 29 deadline, along with confirmation from RealGM’s official NBA transactions log.

It’s possible that one or two qualifying offers slipped through the cracks and will be reported later today before free agency officially gets underway — if so, we’ll update this list.

For now though, this is what the qualifying offer landscape looks like. The players who received QOs will be restricted free agents, while the players who didn’t will be unrestricted. We’ve updated our free agents lists by position and by team to reflect the changes.

Received qualifying offers:

Players on standard contracts:

Note: Qualifying offers marked with an asterisk (*) are based on a projected $136,021,000 salary cap and would increase or decrease if the cap comes in higher or lower than that.

Players on two-way contracts:

Note: Qualifying offers for two-way players are one-year, two-way contracts with a $50K guarantee unless otherwise indicated.

Did not receive qualifying offers:

Players on standard contracts:

Players on two-way contracts:

Note: Some of the players listed below may not have been eligible for a qualifying offer due to the limited time they spent on a two-way contract.

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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.
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Celtics Notes: Bates-Diop, Green, Azubuike, Madar, G. Williams

June 29th, 2023 at 2:44pm CST by Rory Maher

Keita Bates-Diop and Javonte Green could be a couple of relatively low-cost options for the Celtics in free agency, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.

Bates-Diop posted career highs in several categories with San Antonio in 2022/23, including points (9.7), assists (1.5), three-point percentage (39.4%), free throw percentage (79.3%), games played (67), starts (42) and minutes per game (21.7).

However, a league source tells Deveney that the Spurs might just re-sign Bates-Diop or possibly look to sign-and-trade the 27-year-old combo forward.

As for Green, he started his NBA career with the Celtics and “would welcome” a return to Boston, a source tells Deveney.

Although he’s undersized for a forward at 6’4″, Green is an explosive athlete and a tenacious defender. He played well for the Bulls the past few seasons, but unfortunately he struggled to return from knee surgery during ’22/23, which leaves his future up in the air.

Here’s more on the Celtics:

  • Free agent center Udoka Azubuike, a former first-round pick who spent the past three seasons with the Jazz, will be suiting up for Boston’s summer league squad, a team source tells Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Azubuike dealt with major ankle injuries during his tenure with Utah, but Weiss believes he could be a candidate for a two-way deal if he can improve in a couple areas.
  • Draft-and-stash prospect Yam Madar, an Israeli guard who has been playing overseas since he was a second-round pick in 2020, could be another option for a two-way contract, multiple league sources tell Weiss.
  • The Celtics are still actively involved in trade talks to improve their roster, Weiss adds.
  • A rival front office executive is skeptical Grant Williams will get more than the full mid-level exception in free agency, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “There are definitely teams that like him, but I think no matter how it plays out and where he winds up, he’s probably going to come in for about mid-level exception money, around $12 million a year,” the executive said. “I don’t think he’s a cap-room offer — a guy you use room under the cap to sign. He’s more of an exception slot guy. I’m not sure you want to burn cap room on Grant Williams.” The Celtics recently issued Williams a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent, but it will be tricky to keep him around if they want to avoid the second tax apron after trading for Kristaps Porzingis. Still, Williams recently said he was open to returning — assuming it works out financially for both sides.
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Celtics Tender Qualifying Offer To Grant Williams

June 29th, 2023 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have submitted a qualifying offer to Grant Williams, officially making him a restricted free agent, reports Jared Weiss of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Williams’ QO, which is essentially a one-year contract offer, is worth $8,486,620. Williams will have the option of accepting that offer, which would put him on track for unrestricted free agency in 2024. However, it’s more likely he’ll negotiate a longer-term contract, either with the Celtics or another team.

As long as the QO remains on the table, the Celtics will have the right to match any offer sheet Williams signs with a rival suitor. One recent report indicated that Boston and Williams plan to negotiate with one another in hopes of reaching a deal, but will be prepared to explore sign-and-trade opportunities if they can’t find common ground.

The Celtics’ acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis is expected to reduce the odds of a return to Boston for Williams, since there will be fewer minutes to go around in the frontcourt and a new deal for Williams would likely push the team’s salary well beyond the restrictive second tax apron.

Williams and the Celtics reportedly explored a four-year extension worth in the neighborhood of $50MM last fall, but the 24-year-old decided to forgo a new deal at that time and take his chances in restricted free agency.

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Hawks Acquire No. 39 Pick Mouhamed Gueye From Celtics

June 28th, 2023 at 6:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JUNE 28: The trade is now official, according to press releases from the Celtics and Hawks.

JUNE 23: The Hawks are sending their 2027 second-round pick to Boston in exchange for the rights to Gueye, the Celtics announced in a press release.

JUNE 22: The Hawks are acquiring No. 39 pick Mouhamed Gueye in a trade, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The 39th pick was originally held by Charlotte but was sent to Boston in an earlier deal, so the Celtics are the team sending it to Atlanta. According to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link), the Celtics are receiving a future second-round pick in the deal.

Gueye, a 6’11” power forward out of Washington State, was an All-Pac-12 First Team selection during his second and final NCAA season. Across 33 contests in 2022/23, he averaged 14.3 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.8 BPG for the Cougars.

Who exactly will flank Gueye in Atlanta’s frontcourt this year remains a bit open-ended, as incumbent starting center Clint Capela and power forward John Collins have been involved in trade rumors so far this offseason. The Hawks also reportedly made progress on a trade that would have sent starting small forward De’Andre Hunter to the Pacers before talks broke down and the deal was scuttled.

Boston did ultimately still have a selection in the second round, nabbing the rights to the No. 38 pick, Arkansas swingman Jordan Walsh, via a deal with the Kings.

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Celtics Trade No. 34 Pick Colby Jones To Kings

June 28th, 2023 at 6:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

JUNE 28: The trade has been finalized, the Kings announced (via Twitter).

JUNE 23: The future second-round pick the Celtics are acquiring from the Kings will be Dallas’ 2024 second-rounder, according to a press release.

JUNE 22: The Celtics continue to acquire future assets while moving down in the draft. Their latest deal sends Xavier guard Colby Jones, selected at No. 34, to the Kings in exchange for the 38th pick and a future second-rounder, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Viewed as a 3-and-D wing, Jones shot 37.8% from three-point range for the Musketeers during his junior season. He also averaged 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 36 games.

Boston acquired a first-round pick from the Grizzlies in the Kristaps Porzingis trade that was agreed upon late Wednesday night. The Celtics traded down to No. 31 in a deal with the Pistons, and then sent that pick to the Hornets in exchange for the 34th and 39th selections.

Boston used its picks to take Arkansas forward Jordan Walsh at No. 38 and Washington State forward Mouhamed Gueye at No. 39. Gueye was subsequently dealt to Atlanta.

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Hornets Acquire No. 31 Pick James Nnaji

June 28th, 2023 at 6:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JUNE 28: The trade is now official, according to the Hornets (Twitter link).

JUNE 22: Having already traded down from No. 25 to No. 31, the Celtics are moving down again, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), who reports that Boston is sending the first pick of the second round to the Hornets in exchange for Nos. 34 and 39.

Charlotte is using the No. 31 pick to draft Nigerian center James Nnaji, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Across 27 games of Liga ACB play with FC Barcelona during the 2022/23 season,  the 6’11” big man averaged just 4.9 PPG on 67.1% field goal shooting, along with 3.0 RPG and 0.7 BPG.

Clearly a longer-term project, the 18-year-old must have impressed Charlotte scouts with his athleticism and size. He boasts a 7’5″ wingspan. The Hornets have enjoyed an active draft thus far, headlined by the selection of Alabama small forward Brandon Miller with the second pick this season.

The Celtics, meanwhile, subsequently flipped the No. 34 selection to the Kings and then moved the No. 39 selection to the Hawks for future draft equity. Boston did acquire one rookie in the second round, Arkansas forward Jordan Walsh, with the No. 38 pick acquired in a deal with the Kings.

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Pistons’ Draft-Night Trade For Marcus Sasser Finalized

June 28th, 2023 at 4:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JUNE 28: The trade is now official, according to a tweet from the Pistons.

JUNE 23: The Celtics will receive the following future second-round picks from the Pistons as part of this trade, per a press release:

  • The most favorable of the Pistons’, Warriors’, and Wizards’ 2025 second-rounders.
  • The most favorable of the Timberwolves’, Pelicans’, Knicks’, and Trail Blazers’ 2026 second-round picks.

JUNE 22: The Celtics and Pistons are swapping draft picks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Detroit is moving up from No. 31 to No. 25 and selecting Houston guard Marcus Sasser.

Technically, the No. 25 pick is still held by the Grizzlies, but it’s being sent to Boston as part of the three-team Marcus Smart trade that was agreed to on Wednesday night. The Celtics will reroute it to the Pistons.

In return, Boston is set to receive both the first pick in the second round and multiple future second-round selections from Detroit, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). This could be a tactical money-saving move for the Celtics, in the short term.

Sasser, a 6’1″ combo guard, will join a talented young backcourt in Detroit. He will be fighting for bench minutes behind backcourt starters Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, two recent top-five lottery picks.

During his four-year NCAA career with the Cougars, Sasser was a two-time All-AAC selection and a consensus 2023 First Team All-American. In 2022/23, the 22-year-old averaged 16.8 PPG on .438/.384/.848 shooting splits. He also chipped in 3.1 APG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.6 SPG across 36 contests, all starts.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

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Free Agent Rumors: G. Williams, LeVert, Harden, VanVleet, Barnes

June 28th, 2023 at 8:28am CST by Luke Adams

Even after the acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis, the door hasn’t been closed on a possible new contract for the Celtics and restricted free agent forward Grant Williams, sources tell Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com.

According to Bulpett, the Celtics and Williams have a good relationship and are interested in beginning negotiations with one another to see if a deal is financially feasible. If those discussions aren’t fruitful, the two sides could pivot to exploring sign-and-trade scenarios that would land Williams elsewhere and get Boston some sort of asset, even if it’s only a trade exception.

For his part, Williams said on Tuesday that he “absolutely” would be interested in re-signing with the Celtics while also acknowledging that the team’s payroll and the realities of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement could make it challenging, per Jay King of The Athletic.

“Cap-wise, with the new CBA, I think all these teams, as we see, are trying to get the trades in and the contracts done prior to the CBA truly being enacted,” Williams said. “So you’re going to see a lot of all-in pushes. So if the Celtics decide to do that, I think that’s kind of how it will work out (with him re-signing in free agency). If not, it helps them financially a little bit, but it definitely changes the numbers as you look around.”

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

  • The Cavaliers will likely offer free agent swingman Caris LeVert a deal in the range of $15-18MM per year, sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). As Fedor explains, the Cavs’ goal is to find the sweet spot where they’ll be able to outbid rival mid-level offers for LeVert while leaving themselves with enough breathing room below the tax line to use their own full mid-level exception.
  • Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up on Wednesday, Brian Windhorst reiterated that James Harden seems more likely to sign with the Sixers than the Rockets as a free agent, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. “(The Rockets) are out there aggressively chasing other free agents,” Windhorst said. “They are not acting as if they think they are getting James Harden.”
  • Despite reports that Fred VanVleet will be a top target for the Rockets in free agency, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link) has spoken to several people around the league who are skeptical that the point guard will end up in Houston. The Raptors remain confident that they’ll be able to re-sign VanVleet, according to Lewenberg (Twitter link), who says the team’s plan is retain both VanVleet and Jakob Poeltl.
  • After reporting earlier this week that the Kings‘ contract extension talks with Harrison Barnes had “gone quiet,”  James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link) hears from a league source that the two sides have reopened those discussions. Barnes is eligible for an extension until June 30. If he doesn’t have a new deal in place by then, the veteran forward would become an unrestricted free agent.
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