Chicago Bulls Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Mobley, Pacers, Bulls, Buzelis

July 11th, 2024 at 7:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Could Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension, sign a deal to secure his long-term future in Cleveland this summer? During an appearance on ESPN Cleveland (YouTube video link), Brian Windhorst of ESPN expressed optimism that an agreement will be reached sooner rather than later.

“I would expect the contract to be done somewhat soon,” Windhorst said. “I think the Cavs are willing to give him the max, and quite frankly, they don’t have a leg to stand on now that the guys around him in their draft class with comparable statistics and comparable futures have gotten the max.”

Across 50 healthy contests last season for the 48-34 Cavaliers, the 6’11” power forward averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 0.9 steals per game with a .580/.373/.719 shooting line. If he gets a maximum-salary extension, he would be the fourth player from the 2021 draft class to do so, joining Scottie Barnes, Franz Wagner, and Cade Cunningham.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Fresh off their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in a decade, the Pacers still have roster spots available, including all three of their two-way slots, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Three current Summer League players for Indiana are all in the mix for spots on the 18-man regular season squad. Swingman Kendall Brown is on a non-guaranteed contract, while guard Quenton Jackson and center Oscar Tshiebwe are both restricted free agents after serving on two-way contracts in 2023/24. Indiana also has a pair of unsigned second-round picks (Tristen Newton and Enrique Freeman) and has a decision to make on the fate of unrestricted free agent forward James Johnson, a veteran enforcer who is more of a locker-room presence than a rotation player at this stage of his career.
Although the Bulls have offloaded two of their veteran starters, six-time All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan and two-time All-Defensive Team guard Alex Caruso, in separate deals this summer, Chicago may need to make further roster moves to maximize their tanking opportunity, opines Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.
Rookie Bulls point forward Matas Buzelis, the No. 11 pick out of the G League Ignite in this year’s draft, is hoping to make a major two-way impact in his first NBA season, as he revealed during a new interview on NBC Sports Chicago’s “Bulls Talk” podcast. “My rookie year, I’m not going to have any plays ran for me,” Buzelis said (hat tip to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago for the transcription). “So I have to go play defense and be an energy guy and make open shots.”

L.A. Notes: Davis, Lakers, DeRozan, Batum, Clippers, Christie

July 9th, 2024 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

After LeBron James downplayed any concerns over what has been a quiet offseason so far for the Lakers, his star teammate Anthony Davis followed suit from Team USA’s training camp in Las Vegas, as Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times relays. Davis pointed out that injuries to presumptive rotation players like Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent had an impact on last year’s team and that having better health luck in 2024/25 could make a difference.

“We don’t know what we could have been if we had those guys, especially in the playoffs,” Davis said. “You know especially Vando because he’s a big part of what we do defensively. But, so we look at the lineup, and you know we come in ready to work.

“And last year is last year. We can’t say, ‘Oh this is the same team.’ It could be a different result. For us it’s about coming in with the mindset of getting to work and seeing how it plays out.”

Of the 15 players who finished last season on the Lakers’ roster, 13 remain under contract for the coming season. The only two newcomers to this point are the team’s two draft picks, Dalton Knecht and Bronny James.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles-based teams:

Although DeMar DeRozan was said to be on the short list of “impact” Lakers targets that LeBron James would have been willing to take a significant discount for, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium stated during an appearance on The Rally (Twitter video link) that it came down to the Kings and Heat for DeRozan. “I’m told the Lakers never went beyond expressing just simple interest in DeRozan,” Charania said. “There were no offers or tangible conversations with the Bulls on a sign-and-trade deal.”
Speaking to reporters after he agreed to re-sign with the Clippers, veteran forward Nicolas Batum indicated that he chose to reunite with his former team and former head coach (Tyronn Lue) after receiving interest from over half the league. “I had several options, a lot of options, I actually had 17,” Batum said (French link via BasketUSA.com).
The Clippers, who had the NBA’s oldest roster last season, haven’t exactly been a player development hub in recent years, according to Law Murray of The Athletic, who takes a look at how the team could change that going forward, starting with this year’s second-round pick Cam Christie.

DeRozan Trade Notes: Contract, Draft Picks, Spurs’ Moves, CP3

July 9th, 2024 at 7:35am CST by Luke Adams

DeMar DeRozan‘s new three-year contract with the Kings is worth $73.7MM, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who says the third year is partially guaranteed for $10MM.

If we assume the contract has a standard ascending structure with 5% annual raises, that would work out to about $48MM in guaranteed money for DeRozan across the first two seasons, with $58MM guaranteed in total.

Here’s more on the three-team sign-and-trade deal sending DeRozan to Sacramento that was officially finalized on Monday:

The two second-round picks the Kings sent to the Bulls in the trade are Sacramento’s own 2025 and 2028 second-rounders, per RealGM. The Kings have also traded away their own 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected) and recently dealt Portland’s 2025 second-rounder to Toronto, so they currently don’t control any selections in next year’s draft.
The fact that the Spurs only had to make one roster move (waiving Charles Bassey) to finalize the trade suggests that Harrison Barnes gave up his $3.7MM trade kicker in order to make the math work, as LJ Ellis of SpursTalk writes. Even with Barnes waiving that trade bonus, the numbers still don’t quite add up unless Chris Paul‘s cap hit comes in a little lower than the $11MM figure initially reported — Paul’s deal may include unlikely incentives that wouldn’t count against the cap but could push the value of his deal to $11MM (or higher), as cap expert Yossi Gozlan speculates (via Twitter).
Prior to completing the deal, the Spurs renounced their rights to a handful of free agents, including two players to whom they previously issued qualifying offers: Sandro Mamukelashvili and David Duke (Twitter link via Keith Smith of Spotrac). That doesn’t preclude bringing back either player, but Mamukelashvili and Duke are now unrestricted free agents, so San Antonio wouldn’t have the right to match an offer they get from another team.
The inclusion of RaiQuan Gray, who is on a two-way contract, was necessary in order for the Spurs and Bulls to “touch” in the three-team trade (ie. each club has to send or receive an asset from the other two teams in the deal). However, Gray – who was sent from San Antonio to Chicago – will be waived by the Bulls, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reported (via Twitter). The Spurs now have two open two-way slots, while Chicago will have one once Gray is officially cut.
Barnes, who had been a King since 2019, published a pair of tweets thanking the franchise, city, and fans for the experience. “To Kings fans and all of SAC, this city will always hold a special place in my heart,” Barnes wrote as part of a longer statement. “Thank you for embracing me and making this city feel like home. Your passion and love for the game are unmatched. Grateful for the memories we made together!”

Kings Officially Acquire DeRozan, Spurs Get Barnes In Three-Team Swap

July 8th, 2024 at 6:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The blockbuster three-team deal involving DeMar DeRozan and Harrison Barnes is official, according to a Spurs press release, Kings press release, and Bulls press release.

The Spurs acquired Barnes from the Kings. In addition, San Antonio received the right to swap first-round picks with the Kings in 2031 while sending two-way player RaiQuan Gray to Chicago.

Additionally, the Spurs are waiving Charles Bassey to complete the trade, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. However, San Antonio is exploring ways to bring Bassey back in the fold.

Sacramento acquired DeRozan from the Bulls while sending Chris Duarte, two second-round picks and cash considerations to Chicago, along with Barnes and the 2031 pick swap to San Antonio.

The Bulls will waive Gray, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets.

The deal is a sign-and-trade for DeRozan, who ranked sixth on our list of the top 50 free agents for this summer. His new contract is worth approximately $76MM over three years, according to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link), who adds that the first two seasons are fully guaranteed with a partial guarantee for the final year.

The contract includes $49MM in guaranteed money over the first two seasons, per Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter link). It also features bonuses for being named an All-Star, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The trade leaves the Kings hard-capped at the $178.1MM first apron, per cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Sacramento will also create a $5.9MM trade exception in the deal, Gozlan adds.

The 34-year-old DeRozan was extremely productive during his three seasons in Chicago, averaging 25.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game and finishing near the top in the Clutch Player of the Year balloting the past two seasons.

The six-time All-Star will now team with De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk and Keegan Murray on what should be one of the league’s most exciting offenses. The Kings will be counting on that group to lead them back to the playoffs after being eliminated in the play-in tournament last season.

Parting with DeRozan is the latest step in an offseason roster shakeup in Chicago, which has already traded Alex Caruso and lost Andre Drummond in free agency. The Bulls are shifting to a younger and less expensive roster in hopes of eventually rebuilding into a more competitive team.

Duarte, a 27-year-old swingman with three years of NBA experience, is the latest addition, but it’s uncertain how large his role will be. He appeared in 59 games with Sacramento last season, but averaged just 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per night.

Duarte is under contract for one more season at $5.9MM and is eligible for an extension through October 21. Chicago will create a significant trade exception in the deal $17.6MM trade exception in the deal, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Barnes joins Chris Paul as veteran offseason additions in San Antonio. The 32-year-old is extremely durable, playing in all 82 games the past two seasons. He can handle either forward spot and he figures to get plenty of open looks alongside Paul and Victor Wembanyama. Barnes averaged 12.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists last season with .474/.387/.801 shooting stats.

The Spurs will use their cap space to absorb Barnes’ $18MM salary for the upcoming season, Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps write in a full story on the trade. Barnes will make $19MM in 2025/26 before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Barnes’ contract includes a $3.7MM trade kicker that Sacramento will be responsible for, Marks adds (Twitter link), broken up into $1.85MM for each of the next two seasons. That number could be negotiated down, but only with Barnes’ consent.

Bulls Tried To Trade LaVine To Kings

July 7th, 2024 at 8:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls and Kings worked out a three-team deal in which DeMar DeRozan will head to Sacramento in a sign-and-trade. Chicago attempted to trade another starter to the Kings before the DeRozan deal materialized, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. The two teams held trade talks centered on Zach LaVine. The Bulls will continue their efforts to trade LaVine and they now have two second-round picks coming in the DeRozan deal to help facilitate a potential trade.

Kings To Acquire DeMar DeRozan In Three-Team Trade

July 6th, 2024 at 9:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

DeMar DeRozan is headed from the Bulls to the Kings in a three-team deal that also includes the Spurs, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). San Antonio will receive Harrison Barnes, while Chicago will get Chris Duarte, two second-round picks and cash. In addition, the Spurs will get an unprotected pick swap from Sacramento in 2031.

The deal is a sign-and-trade for DeRozan, who ranked sixth on our list of the top 50 free agents for this summer. His new contract will be worth approximately $76MM over three years, according to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link), who adds that the first two seasons are fully guaranteed with a partial guarantee for the final year.

The contract includes $49MM in guaranteed money over the first two seasons, per Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter link). It also features bonuses for being named an All-Star, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The trade leaves the Kings hard capped at the $178.1MM first apron, per cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). They’re about $5.8MM beneath the $170.8MM luxury tax with 12 players under contract. Gozlan points out that Sacramento can add two more players to its roster without going into tax territory, but using most of its remaining $12.8MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception will push the team over the threshold.

Sacramento will also create a $5.9MM trade exception in the deal, Gozlan adds.

The Kings were heavily pursing DeRozan, who traveled to Sacramento for a meeting today with team officials. The 34-year-old forward was extremely productive during his three seasons in Chicago, averaging 25.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists and finishing near the top in the Clutch Player of the Year balloting the past two seasons.

The six-time All-Star will now team with De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk and Keegan Murray on what should be one of the league’s most exciting offenses. The Kings will be counting on that group to lead them back to the playoffs after being eliminated in the play-in tournament last season.

Parting with DeRozan is the latest step in an offseason roster shakeup in Chicago, which has already traded Alex Caruso and lost Andre Drummond in free agency. The Bulls are shifting to a younger and less expensive roster in hopes of eventually rebuilding into a more competitive team.

Duarte, a 27-year-old swingman with three years of NBA experience, is the latest addition, but it’s uncertain how large his role will be. He appeared in 59 games with Sacramento last season, but averaged just 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per night. Duarte is under contract for one more season at $5.9MM and is eligible for an extension through October 21. Chicago will create a $17.6MM trade exception in the deal, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Barnes joins Chris Paul as veteran offseason additions in San Antonio. The 32-year-old is extremely durable, playing in all 82 games the past two seasons. He can handle either forward spot and he figures to get plenty of open looks alongside Paul and Victor Wembanyama. Barnes averaged 12.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists last season with .474/.387/.801 shooting stats.

The Spurs will use their cap space to absorb Barnes’ $18MM salary for the upcoming season, Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps write in a full story on the trade. Barnes will make $19MM in 2025/26 before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Barnes’s contract includes a $3.7MM trade kicker that Sacramento will be responsible for, Marks adds (Twitter link), broken up into $1.85MM for each of the next two seasons. That number could be negotiated down, but only with Barnes’ consent.

San Antonio will likely need to make one or two minor cost-cutting moves (they have Charles Bassey and Julian Champagnie on non-guaranteed contracts) in order to accommodate both Barnes and Paul.

Spurs Trade Graham, Second-Round Pick To Hornets; Graham Waived

July 6th, 2024 at 3:35pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

3:35pm: After officially waiving three players to create additional cap room, the Hornets have completed their trade for Graham and New Orleans’ 2025 second-round pick, per a team release. They sent out cash to San Antonio and immediately waived Graham, as expected.

2:26pm: The Hornets will receive New Orleans’ 2025 second-round pick in the deal, while the Spurs receive cash, sources tell Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).

12:41pm: The Spurs are trading Devonte’ Graham and a second-round draft pick to the Hornets, one of the veteran guard’s former teams, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Graham won’t be back in Charlotte for long, though. According to Wojnarowski, the Hornets plan to waive Graham, making him an unrestricted free agent. The guard’s $12.65MM is partially guaranteed for $2.85MM, so Charlotte will have to take his fully salary into its cap room but will only end up on the hook for $2.85MM.

The 6’1″ Kansas alum, 29, played sparingly with the Spurs last season, averaging just 5.0 points per game on a .352/.301/.813 shooting line. He appeared in just 23 contests, logging 13.6 minutes per night.

Graham kicked off his NBA career with the Hornets, for whom he played from 2018-21. He spent 2021/22 and part of ’22/23 with the Pelicans before being traded to San Antonio midway through that season. During his best year, 2019/20, Graham finished fifth in Most Improved Player voting, averaging 18.2 points, 7.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes (via Twitter), this deal will give San Antonio some additional cap relief — the team now projects to have up to about $19MM in cap space.

As Gozlan notes, the Spurs could theoretically take back the mid-sized contract of a veteran wing like Harrison Barnes or Kevin Huerter to help orchestrate a three-team sign-and-trade with the Bulls and Kings to send All-Star wing DeMar DeRozan to Sacramento. San Antonio likely has something specific up its sleeve that will require a bit of extra breathing room below the cap, since Graham’s $2.85MM partial guarantee was pretty minimal.

The Hornets are reportedly waiving Davis Bertans in order to open up the cap room necessary to take on Graham’s salary.

Patrick Williams Signs Five-Year Deal With Bulls

July 6th, 2024 at 2:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Bulls have officially re-signed Williams, the team confirmed today in a press release.

JUNE 29: Free agent forward Patrick Williams will re-sign with the Bulls for $90MM over five years, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The fifth season will be a player option, tweets Jamal Collier of ESPN.

Williams, 22, was expected to be a cornerstone of the franchise when Chicago selected him with the fourth pick in the 2020 draft. He hasn’t lived up to that billing due to injuries and inconsistent play, but executive Arturas Karnisovas decided to make keeping him a priority as part of his effort to build a younger and more athletic roster.

Williams received a $12.97MM qualifying offer this week, making him a restricted free agent. That means the Bulls could have matched any offer he received, but they opted to bypass that possibility by negotiating a new deal before free agency begins Sunday evening.

A stress reaction in Williams’ left foot cut short his season and forced him to undergo surgery in February. He averaged 10.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 43 games, but he wasn’t able to play after January 25.

A report this week indicated that the Bulls were optimistic about their chances of working out a new contract with Williams. The Thunder were believed to be among the teams that had interest in pursuing him.

Williams will get a healthy raise after earning $9.8MM this season in the final year of his rookie contract. When he and the Bulls discussed a possible rookie scale extension last fall, the forward turned down a four-year, $64MM offer and was believed to be seeking something closer to De’Andre Hunter‘s contract (four years, $90MM), per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. This new deal represents a compromise for the two sides.

DeMar DeRozan To Meet With Kings In Sacramento

July 6th, 2024 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent forward DeMar DeRozan and his representation are traveling to Sacramento to meet with the Kings, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter links).

It’s the latest signal that there’s serious mutual interest between DeRozan and the Kings, as multiple recent reports have indicated. James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link) says there’s “positive momentum” between the two sides, with the in-person meeting giving them a chance to potentially seal the deal.

The Kings don’t have the cap room necessary to sign DeRozan, who’s seeking a salary above the full mid-level exception ($12.9MM), but the Bulls are reportedly willing to work with Sacramento or another team on a sign-and-trade deal to get DeRozan a higher salary. Still, Chicago isn’t far below the luxury tax line and doesn’t want to take on much salary in the transaction, so the two teams need a third club to serve as a facilitator and take on a contract or two from the Kings.

Reporting earlier in the day indicated that San Antonio appear to be emerging as that facilitator, and the Spurs‘ trade agreement with the Hornets – in which they’ll move off of Devonte’ Graham‘s $2.85MM partial guarantee – is a signal that they’re opening up cap room for a specific move.

While Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter have been mentioned most frequently as trade candidates for the Kings, they’re not the only players who could serve as outgoing salary-matching pieces in a sign-and-trade for DeRozan. A package of Trey Lyles‘ and Chris Duarte‘s expiring contracts could theoretically work, for instance, if DeRozan’s starting salary is in the $20MM range. To accommodate a higher salary, at least one of Barnes or Huerter would likely need to be included.

Of course, even if the Kings, Bulls, and Spurs have an idea of what a three-team trade agreement would look like, Sacramento would still need to secure DeRozan’s commitment, which is presumably the goal of this weekend’s meeting.

Trade Rumors: DeRozan, Kings, Lakers, Grant, Cavs, Finney-Smith, Okoro, More

July 5th, 2024 at 11:05pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Kings are among the teams believed to have some interest in Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, there has been a growing sense entering the weekend that Sacramento is more focused on free agent forward DeMar DeRozan, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Earlier reporting from Adrian Wojnarowski named the Kings as a legitimate suitor for DeRozan, who would need to be acquired via sign-and-trade, with a third team likely taking on salary from Sacramento in the deal.

Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter link) confirms there’s “mutual interest” between DeRozan and the Kings, while James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link) confirms Sacramento has talked to the Bulls about a sign-and-trade and suggests that a third team has been “lined up.”

However, there continues to be competition from rival suitors for the 34-year-old’s services, Ham adds. As John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, it also won’t be easy to construct a three-team trade that gets DeRozan the type of salary he wants, ensures the Bulls don’t take back much money, and has the Kings sending out enough assets to Chicago and a third team to incentivize them to make the deal.

Although there are other teams who could open up a little cap room, Detroit and Utah are the only two teams with significant space still available, and the Pistons are rumored to be keeping their room open for trade opportunities, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Chicago and Sacramento have been talking to Detroit in relation to a possible DeRozan deal.

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

The Trail Blazers and Lakers have had conversations about Jerami Grant, but if the Blazers are going to send him to Los Angeles, they’d want both of the future first-round picks the Lakers can trade (2029 and 2031), along with matching salaries, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. The Lakers have been unwilling to meet that price and Portland isn’t in any rush to move its top forward, so the talks haven’t gotten far, Highkin writes, noting that – outside of Rui Hachimura – the Blazers wouldn’t have much interest in the players L.A. could put in a package for Grant.
After Zach Lowe reported earlier today that Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith is a possible trade target to watch for the Cavaliers, Scotto confirms that Cleveland likes Finney-Smith and has monitored him since Brooklyn acquired him in 2023. Scotto adds that Cavs restricted free agent Isaac Okoro is viewed as a potential sign-and-trade candidate (in general, not specifically for Finney-Smith).
Nuggets forward/center Zeke Nnaji and Sixers free agent KJ Martin are two trade candidates to keep an eye on, according to Scotto. Nnaji is beginning a four-year, $32MM contract after not playing a regular role in Denver last season, so his value on the market would be limited. As for Martin, his small cap hold could allow the Sixers to get creative by signing-and-trading him in order to take back more salary than they would be able to accommodate with the cap room they’ll have left over once their major signings are complete.
Speaking of the Sixers, they’re on track to add Paul George as a straight free agent signing rather than in a sign-and-trade, according to Marc Stein at Substack. That comes as no surprise, since acquiring George via sign-and-trade would hard-cap Philadelphia at the first tax apron, potentially limiting the team’s flexibility for the rest of 2024/25.