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Free Agency Rumors: Paul, Caruso, Birch, Green, Heat

August 4th, 2021 at 1:37pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Pelicans offered Chris Paul a $100MM contract early in free agency, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on today’s episode of The Hoop Collective podcast. Windhorst believes the Pelicans’ offer helped convince the Suns to add a fourth year to their offer — that fourth year is not guaranteed, but it’s not clear if New Orleans’ offer would have been fully guaranteed either.

According to Windhorst, after new Pelicans head coach Willie Green tried to help recruit him, Paul entertained the idea for some time before ultimately committing to the Suns.

On the same episode of The Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne stated that Alex Caruso was willing to go back to the Lakers for three years and $30MM, but that the Lakers weren’t willing to higher than about $7MM per year for the veteran guard. Concerns about an exorbitant luxury-tax penalty factored into that decision, per Shelburne.

We have more free agency rumors:

  • Khem Birch could be nearing a return to the Raptors, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Grange reports that there’s “growing momentum” toward the two sides reaching a deal. The 28-year-old center was extremely productive in his 19 games for the Raptors after coming over in a trade, and has turned himself into a solid starting center over the last couple seasons.
  • Add the Cavaliers to the list of teams interested in Danny Green, reports ESPN’s Jordan Schultz. Schultz also confirms, in a follow-up tweet, that the Lakers remain interested in a reunion with Green, which Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports previously reported. It doesn’t appear the Lakers will be able to offer Green more than the veteran’s minimum though.
  • Following their deal with Victor Oladipo, the Heat remain interested in a low-cost veteran guard who will be healthy at the start of the season, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), who names Lou Williams as a player who would “welcome” interest from the team.
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Bulls Sign Tony Bradley

August 4th, 2021 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 12: The Bulls have officially signed Bradley, per RealGM’s transactions log.

AUGUST 4: The Bulls have reached an agreement to sign free agent center Tony Bradley, according to multiple reports.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links), who first reported the agreement, says it’s a two-year deal, with a player option on year two. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), it’ll be a minimum-salary contract.

Bradley, 23, was the 28th pick in the 2017 draft and spent his first three NBA seasons as a reserve big man in Utah, playing limited minutes. After being traded multiple times, he spent the 2020/21 season with Philadelphia and Oklahoma City, averaging 7.1 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 42 games (16.3 MPG) for the Sixers and Thunder.

The Thunder had the option of making Bradley a restricted free agent by extending him a qualifying offer, but chose not to do so. Given that the former UNC standout has agreed to a minimum-salary deal as an unrestricted free agent, it appears Oklahoma City made the right call — his qualifying offer would have been worth about $5.3MM.

While he’s not as flashy as the Bulls’ other free agent additions, including Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso, Bradley will provide the club with some depth at center behind starter Nikola Vucevic.

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Free Agency Rumors: D. Green, Hart, Cavs, Caruso, DeRozan

August 3rd, 2021 at 10:13pm CST by Eli Cohen

Free agent swingman Danny Green has been in contact with the Sixers multiple times over the past two days, according to Harrison Sanford, co-host of Green’s The Green Room podcast (Twitter link).

Sandford said that as of this afternoon, the two sides were nowhere close to a deal, and that the Bucks, Celtics, Bulls and Pelicans have all reached out as well. He adds in a separate tweet that Green has pre-existing relationships with both Ime Udoka of the Celtics and Mike Budenholzer of the Bucks from his time with the Spurs.

We have more free agency rumors:

  • The Cavaliers have had some discussions about the possibility of a sign-and-trade for Pelicans restricted free agent forward Josh Hart, sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Without a sign-and-trade agreement, Cleveland would be limited to offering Hart the full mid-level exception, which New Orleans would presumably match.
  • Alex Caruso agreed to sign with the Bulls for four years, $37MM, and according to Zach Lowe of ESPN (hat tip to RealGM), the Lakers‘ offer to keep him was nowhere close to what was offered by Chicago. Ramona Shelburne added that – before Caruso agreed to his deal with the Bulls – the Timberwolves inquired about acquiring him in a sign-and-trade that would have included Marc Gasol, but didn’t have any luck.
  • According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link), Bulls general manager Marc Eversley was crucial in securing a commitment from DeMar DeRozan, as the two had a long-standing relationship from when Eversley was the assistant general manager for the Raptors. The Bulls’ GM flew to Los Angeles to meet with DeRozan in person and had a “fruitful” two-hour meeting, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link).
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Eastern Notes: Bulls, Dinwiddie, Nets, Celtics, Cavs, Pistons

August 3rd, 2021 at 8:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The first-round pick the Bulls will send to the Spurs in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade will be top-10 protected in the first year and top-eight protected in the second and third years if it doesn’t convey immediately, reports John Hollinger of The Athletic.

That pick will tentatively be the Bulls’ 2025 first-rounder, but that’s conditional on Chicago sending its 2023 pick to Orlando. If the 2023 first-rounder falls in its protected range (top four) and the Bulls keep it, the Bulls would have to wait until at least 2026 to send a first-rounder to the Spurs in order to avoid running afoul of the Stepien rule, which prohibits teams from trading back-to-back future first-round picks.

Here’s more from around the East:

  • In an in-depth look at the challenges facing the Wizards in their efforts to acquire Spencer Dinwiddie via sign-and-trade, Danny Leroux and Fred Katz of The Athletic cite sources who say the Nets are seeking a significant asset (besides a trade exception) from Washington in any agreement.
  • The Celtics are taking a conservative approach to free agency this year in part because they want to maintain a salary structure that allows them to be players for a major free agent in 2022, as Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald explains (via Twitter).
  • The Cavaliers continue to scour the market for shooting help, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who says Doug McDermott was the team’s top target entering free agency. McDermott, who agreed to a three-year deal with San Antonio, was one of a number of players on Cleveland’s wish list that opted to go elsewhere.
  • Pistons head coach Dwane Casey envisions Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes sharing the play-making responsibilities for the team in 2021/22, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. “Both of ’em are 1A and 1B,” Casey said of his two young guards. ” Either one can bring it up. Either one can initiate offense. Either one can run pick and roll. What we want to work to is position-less basketball.”
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Free Agency Roundup: Rose, Bjelica, Suns, Vanderbilt, Niang, Schroder

August 3rd, 2021 at 6:12pm CST by Eli Cohen

Derrick Rose had received interest from the Pelicans, Wizards, Bulls, and Heat before re-signing with the Knicks, write Jeff Zillgitt and Mark Medina of USA Today. The USA Today adds that Kyle Lowry signing with the Heat helped usher Rose back to the Knicks and coach Tom Thibodeau. Rose agreed to a three-year, $43MM deal on Monday.

In the same piece, Zillgitt and Medina write that five other teams considered signing Nemanja Bjelica with their mid-level exception, but Bjelica prioritized signing with the Warriors instead. Bjelica agreed to a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum earlier today.

We have more free agency rumors:

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Bulls To Acquire DeMar DeRozan From Spurs Via Sign-And-Trade

August 3rd, 2021 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent wing DeMar DeRozan is expected to sign a three-year, $85MM contract with the Bulls, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

According to Charania, the Bulls and Spurs are finalizing a sign-and-trade deal that will send DeRozan to Chicago in exchange for Thaddeus Young, a future first-round pick, and two second-round picks. Al-Farouq Aminu will go to San Antonio in the deal too, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski also provides the details on the draft picks headed to the Spurs, reporting (via Twitter) that the future first-round pick will convey in 2025 at the earliest, since the Bulls owe their 2023 first-rounder to Orlando. The second-rounders Chicago is sending to San Antonio are the Lakers’ 2022 pick and the Bulls’ own 2025 pick, Woj adds.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links), who first reported DeRozan was nearing a deal with Chicago, says his three-year deal will be fully guaranteed.

It’s a fascinating turn of events for the Bulls and for DeRozan, who had reportedly been planning to meet with the Clippers despite their limited cap flexibility. Because acquiring a player via sign-and-trade hard-caps a team at the tax apron, a sign-and-trade for DeRozan likely wasn’t an option for the Clippers, who project to be taxpayers.

However, the Bulls, who had already agreed to acquire Lonzo Ball via sign-and-trade and had two sizeable – and expendable – expiring contracts belonging to Young and Aminu, were in a far better position to make DeRozan an aggressive offer. And they did just that, agreeing to a deal that will add DeRozan to a core that now includes Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and Ball.

While DeRozan’s lack of a three-point shot (he has made 35 in the last three seasons) is an oddity for a wing in the modern NBA, his mid-range game is deadly and he has become a legitimately dangerous play-maker, averaging a career-best 6.9 assists per game in 2020/21. Opponents will have a tough time stopping lineups featuring him, LaVine, and Vucevic, though it won’t be the most stout group defensively.

Based on their reported moves, the Bulls still have about $19.5MM in breathing room below the tax and $26MM below the hard cap, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who notes (via Twitter) that the team still holds Lauri Markkanen‘s Bird rights.

The Spurs, who have free agent deals in place with Zach Collins and Doug McDermott, still have about $6MM in projected cap space to work with, Marks adds.

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DeMar DeRozan Plans To Meet With Clippers

August 3rd, 2021 at 2:30pm CST by JD Shaw

Free agent shooting guard DeMar DeRozan plans to meet with the Clippers on Tuesday, according to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

DeRozan, a native of Compton, California, is also receiving interest from the Bulls, Haynes confirms. Any agreement between DeRozan and Chicago would likely feature a sign-and-trade, one that could land sharpshooting big man Lauri Markkanen in San Antonio.

As Haynes notes, the Clippers don’t have the cap space to sign DeRozan outright, meaning they would need to be creative in landing his services. The team only has a $5.9MM mid-level exception and probably can’t realistically acquire DeRozan via sign-and-trade since it would create a hard cap on the team’s spending.

DeRozan remains one of the league’s most accomplished scorers and top players still available in free agency. He held per-game averages of 21.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and a career-high 6.9 assists last season, also shooting 49.5% from the floor.

The downside to signing DeRozan, of course, is his three-point shooting. He’s only made 35 threes in his last three seasons, though he remains a lethal mid-range scorer who can finish through traffic and create looks for teammates. He’ll be entering his 13th season.

Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard is likely to miss part of next season rehabbing a partially torn ACL, making DeRozan more appealing for Los Angeles as it looks to return to the playoffs in the spring.

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Free Agency Rumors: DeRozan, Bulls, Wizards, McLaughlin, Rose, Heat

August 3rd, 2021 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

A sign-and-trade deal that sends DeMar DeRozan to the Bulls remains a possibility for the veteran free agent wing, league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link). Chicago has previously been mentioned as a possible suitor for DeRozan, and Stein’s report suggests the team remains interested even after reaching agreements with Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso.

A Monday report from Brian Windhorst of ESPN suggested that a double sign-and-trade sending DeRozan to the Bulls and Lauri Markkanen to the Spurs could be one possibility that the two sides would explore. Chicago also expiring contracts belonging to Thaddeus Young ($14.19MM) and Al-Farouq Aminu ($10.18MM), both of which would theoretically make for good salary-matching pieces.

Here are a few more rumors related to free agency:

  • As Spencer Dinwiddie and the Wizards continue to work toward a possible agreement that would land the point guard in D.C., Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report says (via Twitter) that Washington has begun exploring the possibility of trading Chandler Hutchison and a second-round pick as part of a potential sign-and-trade deal for Dinwiddie.
  • Jordan McLaughlin and his camp are optimistic about reaching a new multiyear contract agreement with the Timberwolves, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (Twitter link). McLaughlin, a restricted free agent, met face-to-face with the Wolves when free agency opened on Monday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
  • The Knicks are expected to re-sign Derrick Rose using his Early Bird rights, which means they can keep his smaller cap hold on their books for now and then eventually go over the cap to complete his deal, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday. Popper estimates that New York could still have upwards of $9MM in cap room to work with, or even more if the team waives Luca Vildoza‘s non-guaranteed salary.
  • The Heat had interest in Rudy Gay, but weren’t going to match Utah’s two-year, $12MM offer, preferring to commit most of their mid-level to a strong defensive player in P.J. Tucker, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
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Trade Rumors: Dinwiddie, Hornets, Ingles, T. Young

August 3rd, 2021 at 1:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

Spencer Dinwiddie is close to a deal with the Wizards, but it may take some complex maneuvering to get him there, Fred Katz writes in The Athletic’s free agency recap. The two sides are reportedly hammering out a three-year contract worth $60MM, but Washington is over the cap, so a sign-and-trade will have to be arranged involving the Nets and maybe more teams.

Katz points out that Brooklyn is already over the luxury tax threshold for next season and isn’t interested in adding salary. He suggests the teams may try to tie this deal to the trade sending Russell Westbrook to the Lakers. Katz is confident that Dinwiddie will eventually join the Wizards, but it won’t be easy to work through the details.

In the same piece, Alex Schiffer notes that Brooklyn has been trying to unload DeAndre Jordan‘s contract, which is worth nearly $20MM over the next two years. John Hollinger says the Lakers could send Kyle Kuzma directly to the Nets instead of the Wizards, which would enable Brooklyn to include Jordan and avoid a huge rise in its tax bill.

There’s more on potential trades to watch for:

  • The Hornets are one of the few teams that still has flexibility after an active first night of free agency, Hollinger adds. A sign-and-trade of Devonte’ Graham allows Charlotte to have $15MM in cap room or to expand the deal and bring another player, possibly Lauri Markkanen. Hollinger states that the Hornets still need one more guard and another big man.
  • The Warriors would be interested in trading for Joe Ingles if the Jazz make him available, sources tell Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Ingles will turn 34 soon, but his passing and shooting would be valuable in Golden State’s system, though Thompson cautions that actually acquiring him would be tricky from a cap perspective. The Warriors still have hope of signing longtime Spurs guard Patty Mills, Thompson adds.
  • Several contending teams and younger teams are interested in getting Thaddeus Young from the Bulls, tweets Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago is hoping to resolve the situation with Markkanen before making a decision on Young.
  • There’s still a chance the Raptors could keep Goran Dragic– who is being acquired from the Heat in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade – rather than flipping him to another team, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet (Twitter link).
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Free Agency Notes: Fournier, Knicks, Dinwiddie, Wolves, Markkanen

August 3rd, 2021 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran swingman Evan Fournier agreed to a four-year deal with the Knicks on the first day of free agency on Monday, but that hadn’t necessarily been his plan entering the summer. Fournier tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe that he had initially hoped to stick with the Celtics.

“That was my priority going into the summer,” Fournier said. “Because I knew the place. I talked to (Celtics president of basketball operations) Brad (Stevens) and we couldn’t get a deal done, obviously. But I had my options. It wasn’t necessarily Boston only, but I was more inclined to sign there because they traded for me and I felt good while I was there. That’s the thing with free agency. It can go both ways.”

While working out a new deal with Boston was his top priority entering free agency, Fournier is happy to land with the Knicks.

“New York has been on my radar for a while now,” he said. “I’ve always said the Knicks are the Knicks. And I’m honestly extremely happy I’ll be there next year.”

Here are a few more notes related to free agency:

  • Although the Knicks are short on cap space, they’re still exploring the possibility of adding another point guard either in a trade or using their $4.9MM room exception, sources tell Marc Berman of The New York Post.
  • The Knicks never made a formal contract offer to free agent point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who was believed to be one of their potential targets, tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Dinwiddie appears likely to end up with Washington.
  • The Timberwolves have been in contact with Bulls restricted free agent forward Lauri Markkanen, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Minnesota doesn’t have a ton of cap flexibility, so figuring out a way to land Markkanen would be a challenge.
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