- 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.
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).
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.”
The Cavaliers have officially signed No. 3 overall pick Evan Mobley, per a team press release.
The former Trojan averaged 16.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.4 APG and 2.9 BPG in his lone season at USC, showcasing impressive versatility on both ends of the floor. His combination of ball handling and passing ability, flashes of shooting potential, and general defensive dominance firmed up his status as a top-three pick early in the year.
The Cavaliers, after agreeing to sign Jarrett Allen to a five-year, $100MM contract, are locking in their long-term core around Mobley, Allen, Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro and Collin Sexton.
Mobley’s rookie contract is expected to start at around $8.075MM in year one, and the deal is expected to pay him upwards of $36.6MM through its duration.
AUGUST 3: The Timberwolves and Cavaliers have officially announced the trade in a pair of press releases.
The timing is curious, since the free agency moratorium is underway and trades can’t be formally completed during that time. However, the NBA’s official transactions log suggests the deal was finalized on Monday, presumably before the new league year began.
The announcement comes on the heels of Rubio racking up 38 points for the Spanish national team in a losing effort against Team USA on Tuesday.
JULY 29: The Timberwolves have agreed to trade Ricky Rubio to the Cavaliers in exchange for Taurean Prince, a 2022 second-round pick, and cash, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Wojnarowski’s original report stated that the second-round pick and cash were going from Minnesota to Cleveland, but according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Wolves are actually acquiring those assets along with Prince.
Subsequent reporting confirms as much — Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report tweets that the Cavs are sending $2.5MM to Minnesota as part of the deal, while Wojnarowski tweets that the pick changing hands is the Wizards’ 2022 second-rounder, which had been controlled by Cleveland.
It’s an interesting deal for the Cavaliers, who already have Darius Garland running the point and Collin Sexton acting as a secondary ball-handler. Giving up assets for Rubio doesn’t necessarily mean the Cavs have to move on from one of those players (likely Sexton), since the team needs depth at the point and was seeking a reliable veteran, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Still, that added depth would make it easier for Cleveland to move Sexton, who has been the subject of some trade rumors this month.
Rubio, who is currently representing Spain at the Tokyo Olympics, averaged a career-low 8.6 PPG for Minnesota in 2020/21 and shot just .388/.308/.867 in 68 games (26.1 MPG). However, the 30-year-old remains an effective play-maker (6.4 APG) and received praise for his leadership of the young Wolves.
The Timberwolves will create some extra financial flexibility below the luxury tax line as a result of this deal, as Rubio is on a $17.8MM expiring contract, while Prince is making $13MM in the last year of his contract. The team now projects to be about $5.4MM below the tax, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
It’s unclear if Minnesota intends to keep Prince, but the team was lacking in reliable forward depth this past season, so the former Baylor standout could help out there. He’s a career 37.0% three-point shooter and knocked down 40.0% of his attempts from beyond the arc for Brooklyn and Cleveland in 2020/21.
- Along with the pending acquisition of Ricky Rubio, the Cavaliers could look to add another veteran or two in free agency, particularly on the wing, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic writes. Doug McDermott and Reggie Bullock are two names to watch with Cleveland dangling all or part of its mid-level exception for their services. The Rubio deal with the Timberwolves can become official on Friday.
The Cavaliers are preparing to give restricted free agent Jarrett Allen a five-year offer worth approximately $100MM, Marc Stein of Substack tweets.
Cleveland traded for Allen in the multi-team James Harden blockbuster this past season with the intent of retaining Allen for years to come. The Cavaliers drafted USC big man Evan Mobley with the No. 3 overall pick on Thursday and want to pair him up with Allen to form their long-term frontcourt duo.
The Cavaliers reportedly view the Raptors as their main threat to re-signing Allen but it’s widely speculated that Cleveland would match any offer sheet. The five-year offer would be a preemptive strike by Cleveland’s front office to lock up Allen.
Allen averaged 13.2 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 1.4 BPG across 51 contests after the Cavs acquired him.
Trade speculation involving the Warriors‘ top assets – including James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and possibly future first-round picks – has died down a little since the draft came and went without a deal, with team owner Joe Lacob publicly stating a major deal this offseason is unlikely.
A source within the organization tells Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area that there’s only one player the Warriors would be willing to make all those aforementioned assets available for, and that player hasn’t been made available via trade.
While the player wasn’t specifically named, Andrews writes that it’s hard not to assume it’s a reference to Bradley Beal, whom Golden State’s stars would reportedly love to add to the roster. However, Beal continues to give no indications that he wants the Wizards to move him.
Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:
- In addition to shopping Ben Simmons, the Sixers have made Tobias Harris available, according to veteran NBA reporter Mitch Lawrence of SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link), who says the Rockets turned down a potential deal for Harris.
- The Thunder are a possible candidate to take on DeAndre Jordan in a trade with the Nets, says Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. It’s not clear if Oklahoma City would become involved in a multi-team trade to make that happen or if it’d be a straight salary-dump deal.
- Fischer also reports in the same story that a trade involving Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton appears unlikely at this point.
- The Timberwolves “had eyes” for Kyle Kuzma before the Lakers reached a deal to send him to the Wizards, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who says Minnesota could pursue Kuzma again if Washington makes him available. Fischer adds that the Wolves are open to flipping Taurean Prince after acquiring him from Cleveland.
The Pelicans are viewed as the most likely of Kyle Lowry‘s prospective suitors to guarantee a third year in their offer to the veteran point guard, sources tell Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. However, it’s the Heat that are considered the current frontrunners to land Lowry.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirms as much in his latest report, suggesting that the Heat are ready and willing to attach assets to Goran Dragic to entice the Raptors to accept a sign-and-trade offer, with Precious Achiuwa and draft picks among the pieces that could be in play. According to Wojnarowski, the Pelicans and Mavericks – rumored to be two of Lowry’s most aggressive suitors – are beginning to consider other options as they look for a starting point guard.
Here are a few more updates on free agents, with the start of the 2021 free agent period less than 24 hours away:
- Lakers free agent guard Alex Caruso is expected to meet with several teams when free agency begins on Monday, a source tells Jovan Buha of The Athletic. There’s an expectation that Caruso will have multiple options in the range of the full mid-level exception (approximately $9.5MM).
- Caruso was viewed as one of the Cavaliers‘ top targets when they were expecting to use their mid-level exception on a point guard, but now the team is focused on adding a wing or two with that MLE, says Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Fedor names Doug McDermott, Alec Burks, Reggie Bullock, Kent Bazemore, Denzel Valentine, Garrett Temple, Torrey Craig, Furkan Korkmaz, and Bryn Forbes as viable options for the Cavs.
- Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca hears from league sources that Raptors RFA wing Gary Trent Jr. may be looking for a contract in the range of $50MM+ over three years.
- Anthony Slater of The Athletic confirms there’s mutual interest between Nicolas Batum and the Warriors and that the two sides will likely be in touch early in the free agency process. An earlier Sunday report identified Golden State as a probable Batum suitor.
- The Pelicans are viewed as a possible landing spot for free agent guard Avery Bradley, whom the Rockets are hoping to sign-and-trade, writes J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star.
The Cavaliers will not issue a qualifying offer to reserve center Isaiah Hartenstein ahead of the 2021/22 season, making him an unrestricted free agent, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).
Hartenstein averaged 8.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 1.2 BPG across 17.9 MPG for a dismal 22-50 Cavaliers club last year. Cleveland’s frontcourt has undergone a major upgrade already during the offseason, as the Cavaliers drafted promising USC big man Evan Mobley with the third pick in the 2021 draft on Thursday. The Cavaliers are also expected to hold on to incumbent starting center Jarrett Allen, a restricted free agent this summer.
Mobley seems destined to start at power forward or center, but whether Allen or current starting power forward Larry Nance Jr. is the odd man out will ultimately be determined by head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Given that big man Kevin Love, a probable reserve, has two years and $60.2MM left on his exorbitant deal with the club and will be hard to trade this season, moving on from Hartenstein this summer makes sense from a minutes perspective.
Hartenstein, 23, was first selected by the Rockets in the 2017 NBA draft after a promising 2016/17 stint with Lithuanian pro club Žalgiris. After being waived by Houston in the 2020 offseason, the 7’0″ German then joined the Nuggets as a potential backup for eventual MVP Nikola Jokic ahead of the 2020/21 season. Hartenstein and two future Cleveland second-rounders were ultimately traded to Cleveland for an upgrade at the reserve center position in JaVale McGee.
Hartenstein declined a minimum-salary player option earlier this offseason.