- Wing Ochai Agbaji, chosen with the No. 14 pick, gives the Cavaliers another quality offensive option, coach J.B. Bickerstaff told The Athletic’s Kelsey Russo and other media members. “I thought he could be a weapon. He’s got a skill that no matter where you are in the NBA, you need it,” Bickerstaff said. “He has the ability to put the ball in the basket, and it’s not just the ability to stand in a spot and make a shot.”
The Wizards used their No. 10 overall pick on Thursday night to land one of the top guards in this year’s draft, selecting Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis. However, the Wizards remain in the market for veteran help at the point guard spot, and Grizzlies free agent Tyus Jones is among the players on their radar, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
As Scotto explains, Washington should have the flexibility to use the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception and could make a compelling bid for Jones. The club could potentially give him the opportunity to start, which Jones “ideally desires,” writes Scotto.
The Grizzlies hold Jones’ Bird rights, giving them the ability to make a strong offer to retain Jones. Memphis’ decision to trade De’Anthony Melton to Philadelphia perhaps signaled that re-signing Jones will be an offseason priority, though the team did draft a potential backup point guard in Kennedy Chandler on Thursday night.
Here’s more from Scotto:
- Rival NBA executives believe the Knicks are “all-in” for Jalen Brunson after making efforts to open up cap space on Thursday. Taj Gibson and his $5MM+ non-guaranteed salary will likely be waived to create more cap flexibility, says Scotto.
- The Knicks will have to open up more cap room to make a serious bid for Brunson, and Scotto reiterates that Cam Reddish and Alec Burks are possible trade candidates. Reddish was part of one of the offers New York sent to the Pistons for Jaden Ivey, according to Scotto, who says Burks has been offered to the Cavaliers and Pacers, among other teams.
- In considering potential landing spots for Suns RFA center Deandre Ayton, Scotto writes that people around the NBA have speculated about a possible sign-and-trade deal involving Pacers center Myles Turner — both players are represented by the same agent, Bill Duffy. Previous reports have indicated the Pacers spoke to the Suns prior to the trade deadline about Ayton.
- The Trail Blazers have been mentioned as a possible suitor for Ayton, but they remain intent on re-signing incumbent center Jusuf Nurkic, league sources tell Scotto.
- Although EuroLeague star Vasilije Micic is interested in coming to the NBA for the 2022/23 season, he wants to join a playoff contender and is interested in a salary worth close to the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, says Scotto. The Thunder may have to trade Micic’s draft rights for those goals to come to fruition.
- The Cavaliers passed on several younger talents to take four-year college player Ochai Agbaji, notes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. After reaching the play-in tournament this season, Cleveland was focused on finding someone who could contribute right away, and there’s hope that the Kansas sharpshooter will add another dimension to the offense. The Cavs were extremely interested in French star Ousmane Dieng, Fedor adds, and would have considered him at No. 14 if the Thunder hadn’t traded up to grab him with the 11th pick.
Italian wing Gabriele Procida, who was drafted 36th overall on Thursday night after spending last season with Fortitudo Bologna, is expected to be stashed overseas by the Pistons, reports James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While Procida is the highest of this year’s draft picks reported to be a likely draft-and-stash prospect, he’s hardly the only one. Here are a few more updates on 2022’s draft-and-stash candidates:
- After using the No. 39 pick to draft him on Thursday, the Cavaliers intend to keep 20-year-old center Khalifa Diop overseas for the 2022/23 season, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Senegalese big man won the EuroCup Rising Star award playing for Gran Canaria in Spain this past season.
- The Nuggets plan to stash center Ismael Kamagate in Europe next season, a source tells Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). The No. 46 pick on Thursday, Kamagate had an All-Star season playing for Paris in 2021/22.
- Italian shooting guard Matteo Spagnolo, drafted at No. 50 by the Timberwolves, will likely remain overseas next season, per president of basketball operations Tim Connelly (Twitter link via Dane Moore). Spagnolo is still just 19 years old.
- Crotian forward/center Karlo Matkovic, selected 52nd overall by the Pelicans, is expected to join New Orleans’ Summer League roster but will continue playing in Europe for another year or two, general manager Trajan Langdon told reporters, including Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).
- Wizards president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard said after the draft that No. 54 pick Yannick Nzosa will be a “stash guy” in the Spanish League next season, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
6:34pm: Multiple league sources have told Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) that the Clippers aren’t looking to trade Kennard.
This doesn’t necessarily mean Kennard is off-limits in trade conversations — it’s possible the Clippers are willing to discuss him but objected to the idea that he’s being “shopped.” It’s also possible he’ll simply remain in Los Angeles to start the 2022/23 season.
9:10am: The Clippers are shopping sharpshooter Luke Kennard in trade discussions and may attempt to move him later in the offseason if they don’t find a deal they like ahead of Thursday’s draft, reports Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
Acquired and extended by the Clippers during the 2020 offseason, Kennard has been a regular part of the team’s rotation over the last two years and made a league-best 44.9% of his three-point attempts in 2021/22. He averaged 11.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 70 games (27.4 MPG) this past season, while knocking down 2.7 threes per contest.
As valuable as Kennard is as a floor spacer, the Clippers will have a crowded rotation next season. Swingman Norman Powell, acquired at this year’s trade deadline, could cut into Kennard’s playing time, and if a fully healthy Kawhi Leonard is back in the lineup in 2022/23, that could result in fewer minutes for everyone else.
The Clippers also project to be far above the NBA’s projected tax line for next season, perhaps creating some incentive to move off a sizable multiyear contract like Kennard’s. The veteran wing, who will turn 26 on Friday, will earn approximately $30MM over the next two years, with a $15.4MM team option for 2024/25.
The Cavaliers and Clippers talked about Kennard last season before Cleveland landed Caris LeVert, according to Deveney, who suggests the Cavs could still be in the market for an outside shooter. The Bulls and Kings are among the other potential suitors for Kennard, sources tell Deveney.
- After acquiring a second-round pick from the Kings, the Cavaliers now control the Nos. 14, 39, 49 and 56 picks, giving them the flexibility to possibly trade for a late first-rounder with their three second-round selections if a prospect they like slides, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Cavs continue to field calls about the No. 14 pick and have also discussed the possibility of moving up in the lottery, Fedor reports.
3:13pm: The Kings have officially announced the trade, reports Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL (via Twitter).
11:59am: The Cavaliers will pick up a second-round draft choice in a trade with the Kings, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Cleveland will send the draft rights to Sasha Vezenkov to Sacramento in exchange for pick No. 49 in tonight’s draft.
The Cavs will also ship $1.75MM to the Kings in the deal, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).
Cleveland now has three second-round picks at 39, 49 and 56, along with a first-rounder at No. 14. The Kings are left with picks No. 4 and 37.
Vezenkov, a 26-year-old forward, was a first-team All-EuroLeague selection this season, Wojnarowski notes. He has played for Olympiacos in Greece for the last several seasons and averaged 13.8 PPG and 5.6 RPG on .547/.388/.840 shooting in 31 EuroLeague games (29.6 MPG) in 2022/23.
Vezenkov was drafted by the Nets with the 57th pick in 2017, and his NBA rights were sent to Cleveland in the 2021 James Harden trade.
Although the Wizards and the Knicks are the two teams that have most frequently discussed a possible Malcolm Brogdon trade with the Pacers, people around the league are skeptical that either team would include its 2022 lottery pick in a package for Brogdon, says Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
If those league officials are right, that means a Brogdon trade could end up looking more like Portland’s deal for Jerami Grant. The Trail Blazers are giving up future picks (and a swap of 2022 second-rounders) for Grant, but aren’t including this year’s No. 7 overall pick. The Wizards and Knicks pick 10th and 11th, respectively, and will likely attempt to keep those picks as they pursue Brogdon.
According to Fischer, the Wizards have been open to discussing Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in trade conversations, while the Knicks have explored trade options involving Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, Evan Fournier, Kemba Walker, and Cam Reddish.
Here are a few more rumors related to the point guard market:
- With the Wizards widely believed to be seeking a trade for a veteran point guard, one potential target worth keeping an eye on is Nuggets guard Monte Morris, according to Josh Robbins and David Aldridge of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- Responding to rumors about Dejounte Murray‘s possible availability, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets that the Cavaliers have had conversation with the Spurs about Murray dating back to the trade deadline in February.
- Besides Brogdon, Morris, and Murray, some other point guards believed to be available via trade this offseason include Mike Conley of the Jazz, Terry Rozier of the Hornets, Devonte’ Graham of the Pelicans, and D’Angelo Russell of the Timberwolves, according to Fischer.
The Cavaliers have exercised their team option on forward Dean Wade for the 2022/23 season, league sources tell Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The decision was an easy one for the Cavs, since Wade’s option is worth just $1,930,681 and remains non-guaranteed even now that it has been picked up. That means Cleveland could waive the 25-year-old later in the offseason without being on the hook for his 2022/23 salary.
However, Wade appears to have earned a spot in the Cavs’ plans for next season. He has been a regular rotation player for the team during the last two years, averaging 5.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.1 APG on .441/.363/.725 shooting in 114 games (19.2 MPG) during that stretch. While those numbers won’t earn him All-Star consideration, they’re solid for a reserve on a minimum-salary contract.
With Wade’s option exercised, the Cavs now have nine players on guaranteed salaries for next season and two (Wade and Lamar Stevens) on non-guaranteed deals. Even if the club brings back all 11 of those players and re-signs Collin Sexton, there will be multiple spots to fill on next year’s 15-man roster.
Our team option decision tracker can be found right here.
The rumors linking Jazz center Rudy Gobert to the Bulls have been overstated, league sources indicate to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. President of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has spoken multiple times since Chicago’s season ended about wanting to prioritize continuity, as well as his desire to see a healthy version of the current core. Johnson believes those comments were genuine.
In Johnson’s view, the safe bet is that the Bulls have a relatively quiet night on Thursday, keeping and using the No. 18 overall pick. If the team does make a trade, it’s likely to be a smaller-scale move than a Gobert blockbuster, perhaps involving Coby White, Johnson adds.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com confirms that the Cavaliers aren’t opposed to the idea of trading back in the draft from No. 14 or even trading out of the first round altogether. According to Fedor, Cleveland has received trade offers from multiple teams, but nothing is imminent and all possible scenarios are still at the discussion stage. Sources tell Fedor the Cavs would prefer to acquire a future first-round pick if they’re moving back in the draft, but would also be open to acquiring a win-now veteran if the fit is right. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype previously reported that the team was open to moving down this year to acquire a future first-rounder.
- Pistons general manager Troy Weaver told reporters this week that the front office is prioritizing long-term upside with the No. 5 overall pick, but he stressed that doesn’t mean the team favors 19-year-old prospects over 22-year-olds. “To me, upside is a growth mindset,” Weaver said, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. “I don’t subscribe to, ‘The guy is a 23-year-old and he can’t grow, doesn’t have upside.’ There’s some guys that are 19, 18 that limit themselves. I’ve seen a couple of young players and I said, ‘It’s going to be a while because he just doesn’t get it.'”
- James L. Edwards III of The Athletic rounded up several more of Weaver’s quotes from this week’s presser, along with his own thoughts on the GM’s comments.
- The Pacers were one of the few NBA teams to make public which prospects they were bringing in for pre-draft workouts, but they didn’t make an announcement about bringing in Iowa’s Keegan Murray, who had a workout, a lunch, and a meeting with team officials during his visit, per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter links). Indiana holds the No. 6 pick in Thursday’s draft.