Hardy was ranked No. 19 on Dallas’ draft board, which convinced Mavs — who had dealt their picks in both rounds — to jump back into the draft. He averaged 17.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.2 APG for the Ignite.
The Mavericks gave up second-round picks in 2024 and 2028 to the Kings in order to draft Jaden Hardy at No. 37, but they had the G League Ignite guard rated much higher, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.
The Knicks are “gaining major momentum” in their pursuit of Mavericks free agent guard Jalen Brunson, league sources tell Marc Stein (Substack link).
As Stein notes, the Knicks began shedding 2022/23 salary on draft night when they agreed to send Kemba Walker ($9.2MM) to Detroit and moved off their first-round pick, removing a projected cap hold of $4.5MM from next season’s books. They don’t have enough cap room yet to make Brunson a competitive offer, but there’s a growing belief they’ll be able to get there, Stein writes.
Sources tell Stein that the Knicks appearing to be preparing an offer in the range of $100MM over four years for Brunson.
The Mavericks have long expressed confidence in their ability to re-sign Brunson, with president of basketball operations Nico Harrison repeating that refrain on draft night, telling reporters that the Knicks’ efforts to create cap room didn’t come as a surprise, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).
“Until he tells us that he doesn’t want to be here, we’re optimistic,” Harrison said.
However, according to Stein, the Mavs believed at the end of the season that a four-year offer in the range of $85-88MM would likely be enough to retain Brunson. That appears increasingly unlikely to be the case.
Dallas holds Brunson’s Bird rights and has the ability to offer any amount up to the maximum, plus a fifth year — the Knicks are limited to four years. But he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, so the Mavs won’t necessarily be able to retain him by matching or exceeding the Knicks’ offer.
Stein says there’s a growing belief among some people close to the situation that Brunson is interested in making the move to New York, where his former agent Leon Rose runs the Knicks’ front office and his father Rick Brunson was recently hired as an assistant coach.
According to Stein, the opportunity to take on a “new challenge and broadened responsibility” with the Knicks may appeal to the younger Brunson. Stein cites sources who say there’s “growing fear” within the Mavs’ organization about the point guard’s flight risk.
Rose virtually never holds media sessions and wouldn’t be able to publicly discuss Brunson anyway, but it’s worth noting that he put out an official statement on Friday discussing the Knicks’ draft-night moves — the phrase “increased financial flexibility” earned a prominent place in that statement explaining the team’s strategy (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).
After reporting on Thursday afternoon that Kevin Durant was weighing his future in Brooklyn, potentially opening the door for Kyrie Irving to leave the Nets this offseason, Shams Charania of The Athletic further addressed the situation during Thursday night’s draft.
“Kevin Durant, I’m told, is seriously mulling his future options with the franchise and there’s an expectation that that now opens up an opportunity for Kyrie Irving to now proceed to find a new home,” Charania said (video link via Stadium). “… Whether that’s an opt-in and trade, a sign-and-trade, an opt-out and sign as a free agent, Kyrie Irving, it appears, is going to find a new home. Kevin Durant has four years left on his contract with the Nets. His future right now is very much up in the air.”
Although Charania’s wording makes it sound as if Irving is more likely to depart Brooklyn than to return, Brian Lewis of The New York Post says Kyrie and the Nets are still believed to be seeking an agreement that will keep him with the team. According to Lewis, some people around the NBA believe the recent leaks are part of an “artfully crafted and well-coordinated bluff” from Irving’s camp.
Irving’s decision on his $36.9MM player option isn’t due until next Wednesday, so the two sides still have several days to try to find common ground. Kyrie is said to be looking for a long-term contract, while the Nets prefer a shorter-term deal. Team owner Joe Tsai has “fully supported” management’s stance against making a long-term commitment to Irving, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reported on Thursday that Irving has a list of at least six preferred destinations if he leaves the Nets, reiterated on ESPN’s Get Up on Friday (video link) that the Lakers appear to have the “most interest” in the seven-time All-Star.
However, given the Lakers’ lack of trade assets, Irving’s only real path to the team might be to opt out and sign for the $6.3MM taxpayer mid-level exception. Given that he and the Nets reached an impasse over how long his deal would be, it seems unlikely that he’d settle for a one-year deal and a $30MM pay cut.
According to Wojnarowski, a few of the other teams on Irving’s reported wish list – including the Mavericks, Clippers, and Sixers – are unlikely to have legitimate interest. The Knicks created some additional cap flexibility with their moves in Thursday’s draft, but are prioritizing free agent point guard Jalen Brunson over Irving, says Wojnarowski.
Still, despite an apparent lack of logical landing spots for Kyrie, Wojnarowski (video link) describes the Nets’ situation as “perilous” due to the ripple effect it could have on Irving’s good friend Durant. According to Woj, Durant isn’t a lock to request a trade if Irving leaves, but he’d want the Nets to show him that they could still build a championship-caliber roster around him.
“KD wanting to remain with the Nets is not necessarily contingent on if Kyrie Irving walks,” Wojnarowski said during a TV appearance, according to Lewis. “That, if he walks, he wants to see what the roster could still look like, how it could be reshaped, how it can still be a championship contender. (Durant is) starting that new four-year max deal. This isn’t the transfer portal. You don’t get to say where you’d like to go. So if he decided and wanted and asked for a trade — which I’m told he’s not told the Nets he’s going to do or is ready to do — he’s probably not going to have a lot of say in where he goes.
“So that has to be part of (Durant’s) thinking if he does ask out of Brooklyn,” Woj continued. “But right now, I still think there’s a pathway for the Nets, for Kyrie Irving, for Kevin Durant to find a way forward together. But it’s murky, and it’s uncertain. The future of this Nets organization very well is going to be determined here in the next several days to a week.”
The Mavericks will sign Michigan State’s Marcus Bingham to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
The seven-footer played four years for the Spartans and is an accomplished shot blocker, but didn’t become a full-time starter until his senior season. He averaged 2.2 rejections per game this year, along with 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds.
An Exhibit 10 deal is a one-year, minimum-salary contract that counts toward a team’s 20-man offseason roster limit, but doesn’t count against the cap unless the player makes the regular season roster. Although it’s not guaranteed, a player on an Exhibit 10 contract can earn a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived and then joins his team’s G League affiliate.
Bingham, 21, ranked 42nd on ESPN’s list of undrafted players. His contract can become official when the new league year begins next week.
JUNE 24: The trade is now official, the Mavericks announced in the early hours of Friday morning. Wood has officially landed in Dallas in exchange for Marjanovic, Brown, Burke, Chriss, and the draft rights to No. 26 overall pick Wendell Moore. Houston is flipping Moore to Minnesota in a separate deal.
JUNE 15: The Rockets are trading Christian Wood to the Mavericks in exchange for the No. 26 overall pick of the 2022 draft, Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
All five players are on expiring contracts in 2022/23, with the four Mavs players being sent out for salary-matching purposes. Wood will earn $14.3MM next season.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, the trade can’t be officially completed until draft night, which is June 23, because the Mavs owe a protected first-round pick to the Knicks in 2023. Six months after the trade is completed, Wood will be eligible to sign a contract extension worth up to $77MM over four years, says Marks.
Burke holds a $3.3MM player option for ’22/23 and will need to exercise the option in order for the trade to work, Marks notes (via Twitter), adding that rosters expanding to 20 in the offseason will allow the Rockets to take back four players in exchange for one. Burke will receive a trade bonus of $247,500 from Dallas as part of the deal, Marks relays in another tweet.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report indicated on Tuesday that the Mavericks were looking to trade their only draft pick, and they found a match in the rebuilding Rockets, who now control three first-round picks: Nos. 3, 17 and 26. The Rockets have multiple options to explore ahead of the draft. If they want to package Nos. 17 and 26 to move up a bit, they likely could.
The 26-year-old Wood is a very solid return for Dallas, even if he comes with some character concerns. The talented big man averaged 19.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 block in 109 games for Houston the past two seasons, posting a shooting line of .507/.384/.626.
The move definitely comes with risks for the Mavs, because Wood is a subpar defensive player and can be quite inconsistent, especially from an effort standpoint, from game-to-game. However, he’s on an expiring contract, which limits the risk, and is theoretically in a good situation with star Luka Doncic.
Mavs GM Nico Harrison said the team would be looking to acquire a quality big man who could provide rebounding and rim protection after the team lost in the Western Conference Finals. Wood fulfills the first criteria — he’s a good rebounder — but falls a bit short on the second, as he isn’t much of a deterrent at the basket.
According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), the Rockets wanted to move Wood in order to create more playing time for Alperen Sengun, who was a rookie this past season, and the No. 3 pick, who will likely be another big man. They’ll get a look at some veterans on expiring deals, but obviously the main appeal was the No. 26 pick and no long-term salary.
Chriss, who will make $2.19MM next season, underwent knee surgery on Wednesday and will be sidelined while rehabbing for the next couple months, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
11:45pm: The trade is now official, according to the Mavericks (Twitter link).
10:33pm: The Kings are trading the 37th overall pick to the Mavericks for two future second-round picks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
The Mavericks traded their own second-rounders in 2024 and 2028 to Sacramento, Marc Stein tweets.
Dallas selected G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy with the 37th pick. Prior to move, Dallas didn’t have a selection in this year’s draft after giving up the 26th pick to Houston in the still-unofficial Christian Wood deal.
Hardy averaged 17.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.2 APG for the Ignite. He slipped out of the first round and could wind up as a value pick for Dallas. He’ll add backcourt depth and scoring prowess, which could come in handy if unrestricted free agent Jalen Brunson doesn’t re-sign with the Mavs.
The Pistons, who already made news this week with their impending trade of Jerami Grant to Portland, could make another significant move this evening. They are holding ongoing conversations to acquire another lottery pick, with Memphis center Jalen Duren believed to be the target, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report tweets.
Detroit already holds the No. 5 selection in the draft. A report earlier today indicated Pistons GM Troy Weaver is a big fan of Duren.
Nets star Kevin Durant is monitoring Brooklyn’s situation and “considering options with his future,” sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). While Charania’s report is vague, it suggests Durant may not be completely satisfied with his current situation despite being under contract for the next four years.
The Nets’ negotiations with Kyrie Irving figure to be a crucial factor in Durant’s deliberations, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN detailed earlier this week. Irving and the Nets were said on Monday to be at an impasse in their contract talks, and Kyrie and KD are close, so their futures may be connected — if one leaves Brooklyn, the other would likely be more inclined to follow suit.
According to Charania, Durant’s deliberations open a path for Irving to look more seriously at finding a new home via opt-in and trade.
Meanwhile, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) that Irving has a list of teams he would like Brooklyn to consider in sign-and-trade scenarios if he and the Nets don’t reach a new agreement, including the Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Heat, Mavericks, and Sixers. Those are teams Irving is interested in, though not all of them would necessarily reciprocate that interest and make him a top priority, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).
Irving has a $36.9MM player option that he must make a decision on by next Wednesday. Picking up that option would mean he either returns to Brooklyn or relies on the Nets to trade him. Declining it would make him an unrestricted free agent, in which case he could either re-sign with the Nets or join a new team, possibly via sign-and-trade.
Teams that will be over the tax apron (projected to be approximately $155MM) for the 2022/23 season would be ineligible to acquire a player via sign-and-trade. Of the teams on Irving’s wish list, the Lakers, Clippers, and Mavericks are all on track to be well above the apron, while the Heat and Sixers also aren’t locks to stay below it. That would complicate sign-and-trade scenarios, so Irving’s best route to changing teams without taking a massive pay cut would be with an opt-in-and-trade.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (via Twitter), Irving’s current contract includes a 15% trade bonus, so if he were to exercise his player option and be traded without waiving that bonus, his salary for 2022/23 would increase to over $42MM, with the Nets responsible for paying the extra $5.5MM.
Irving is seeking a lucrative long-term contract this offseason, while the Nets have reportedly been pushing for a shorter-term deal. If the two sides can find common ground, Irving and Durant both seem like good bets to remain in Brooklyn, but the fact that both stars are now said to be considering their options isn’t great news for a Nets team that already had to trade away one superstar earlier this year when James Harden asked out.
A major swing occurred overnight in sportsbooks across the country, according to Matt Moore of Action Network, who tweets that every book with odds available for the No. 1 overall pick now lists Duke’s Paolo Banchero as the favorite to come off the board first.
It’s a fascinating turn of events with the draft just hours away, though it’s hard to ascertain what exactly it means. Do those oddsmakers know something about the Magic‘s plans that the general public doesn’t? Did some bettors swing the odds by placing significant wagers on Banchero, either because they have inside info or because they want to create more favorable odds for subsequent bets on Jabari Smith? Could a trade involving the top pick be in the works?
Most NBA reporters and draft experts have stated for weeks that it would be a surprise for anyone besides Smith to go to Orlando at No. 1. However, he’s far from the lock that recent first overall picks like Cade Cunningham and Zion Williamson have been. This 11th-hour swing in betting odds only adds more intrigue to the top of tonight’s draft.
Here’s more on the 2022 NBA draft:
Kyrie Irving has reportedly talked to LeBron James about a reunion in L.A., but it’s “a stretch” to say the Lakers are currently trying to acquire Irving, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column. There’s increased speculation this week that Irving and the Nets may not be able to work out a new contract, and the Lakers are believed to be one of his potential landing spots if he does leave Brooklyn.
However, Stein is skeptical of their chances considering their current financial situation. If Irving opts in to his $36.9MM salary for next season, the Lakers don’t have the necessary trade assets to pry him away from the Nets, Stein states. And if he opts out, L.A. can’t offer more than the taxpayer mid-level exception, which is projected at $6.39MM.
Stein expects Irving to remain in Brooklyn, saying it’s unlikely he’ll pass on such a lucrative player option. Stein also cites a leaguewide expectation that the Nets will work out at least a short-term deal with Irving to avoid causing any friction with Kevin Durant.
Stein shares information on a few more topics: