- Nuggets coach Michael Malone is thrilled with the acquisition of forward Jerami Grant from the Thunder, as he told Alex Labidou of the team’s website. He believes Grant will mesh well with franchise player Nikola Jokic and significantly improve the team’s defense. “Watching film, he’s guarded Damian Lillard, James Harden, Anthony Davis, the guy can guard anybody,” Malone said. “I think that versatility is exciting.”
4:33pm: The Nuggets have officially announced the trade, making it official.
12:26pm: The first-round pick going to the Thunder for Grant will be top-10 protected for the next three drafts, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link), who adds that it would convert into two second-rounders in the very unlikely event it doesn’t convey by 2022.
9:37am: The Nuggets and Thunder have agreed to a trade that will send forward Jerami Grant to Denver, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). League sources tell Wojnarowski that Oklahoma City will receive a 2020 first-round pick in exchange for Grant.
Grant, 25, enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2018/19 as the Thunder’s starting power forward, averaging 13.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 1.3 BPG with a shooting line of .497/.392/.710. He has one guaranteed year left on his contract, plus a player option for 2020/21.
After surrendering their 2019 first-round pick to shed salary and get out of the tax, the Nuggets will give up next year’s pick in order to add a quality veteran contributor to their frontcourt, which had been their biggest area of need. Denver had been quiet this past week in free agency, with $121MM+ in guaranteed money already on the club’s books.
The Nuggets will retain their mid-level exception, since Grant will be absorbed using one of the team’s sizable trade exceptions from last summer’s salary dumps. However, team salary is now above $130MM and inching close to the tax line, so I wouldn’t expect Denver to make any major signings. The acquisition of Grant may also make RFA power forward Trey Lyles expendable.
The trade will be a cost-cutting move for the Thunder, who are retooling their roster after agreeing to trade Paul George to the Clippers. Wojnarowski projects that sending Grant to Denver will save OKC approximately $39MM in salary and luxury-tax penalties, despite the fact that Grant is only earning about $9.35MM in 2019/20.
Those savings are fluid and will depend on subsequent roster moves made by the Thunder, but that $39MM estimate is a reflection of how punitive the repeater taxpayer penalties would be for the franchise this season. OKC remains above the $132.63MM tax threshold for now, but not by much — the club could conceivably get below that line with another move.
In addition to saving money, the Thunder will generate a trade exception worth Grant’s salary ($9.35MM) and will acquire their sixth future first-round pick of the week, having secured five first-rounders in the George trade. That PG13 deal also landed Oklahoma City its new starting power forward, as Danilo Gallinari projects to take Grant’s place in the club’s starting lineup.
Of course, with George and Grant headed for new homes, trade rumors surrounding Russell Westbrook figure to multiply. We rounded up the latest updates and speculation about a possible Westbrook trade on Sunday.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Nuggets are withdrawing their qualifying offer to free agent forward Trey Lyles, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move will allow Lyles to become an unrestricted free agent.
The timing of the decision makes sense, as word broke this morning that the Nuggets would acquire Jerami Grant in a trade with the Thunder. Grant figures to play most of the power forward minutes that Lyles would have seen if he had returned to Denver. Instead, the 6’10” Canadian will likely sign with another team that might be positioned to give him a larger role.
The 12th overall pick in the 2015 draft, Lyles had his best year as a Nugget in 2017/18, when he averaged 9.9 PPG and 4.8 RPG with a .491/.381/.706 shooting line in 73 games (19.1 MPG). However, he took a step backward this past season, as those numbers slipped to 8.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG and .418/.255/.698 shooting.
Despite his struggles in 2018/19, the Nuggets issued Lyles a qualifying offer worth about $4.49MM this summer, which made him a restricted free agent and gave Denver the right of first refusal if he had signed an offer sheet with a rival suitor. Having decided not to accept that one-year qualifying offer, the former Kentucky Wildcat will now get the opportunity to try to top it on the open market.
The Heat and Pistons are expected to be the top contenders to land Russell Westbrook if the Thunder decide to trade him, according to Sam Amick and Brett Dawson of The Athletic.
Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti will meet this week with Westbrook and his agent, Thad Foucher, to plot out the future for the former MVP. All three were blindsided by Paul George‘s trade request, which was the result of Kawhi Leonard‘s successful lobbying effort to join him on the Clippers.
The Thunder are motivated to move Westbrook, not only because he’s the lone star left in OKC and will make $171MM over the next four years, but also because he plays the same position as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the centerpiece of their return in the George deal.
Miami would like to pair Westbrook with Jimmy Butler and could offer a package built around Goran Dragic, who has one year left on his contract at $19.2MM, and Dion Waiters, who is owed a combined $24.7MM over the next two seasons. Detroit’s offer might include Andre Drummond ($27MM in 2019/20 with a $28.75MM player option the following season), Reggie Jackson (one year left at $18MM) and Tony Snell ($11.39MM next season followed by a $12.18MM player option).
Some executives believe the Rockets could get involved as well, given GM Daryl Morey’s penchant for star chasing. However, pairing Westbrook with James Harden and Chris Paul, two other guards who like to control the ball, may prove awkward, and matching salary wouldn’t be easy. Houston would almost certainly have to part with Clint Capela ($14.9MM next season), Eric Gordon ($14MM), and P.J. Tucker ($8.35MM) in any deal if Paul isn’t included.
Sources with knowledge of Houston’s thinking confirmed to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com that the Rockets have interest in Westbrook. However, one team source described a potential deal as a “long shot,” says MacMahon.
There’s more today on the Westbrook front:
- The Knicks have been mentioned as a possible suitor for Westbrook, but will have to wait until December to make a move, notes Marc Berman of The New York Post. New York no longer has the cap room to absorb Westbrook’s $37.5MM salary for next season after reaching deals with six free agents, and those new players can’t be traded before December 15. If the opportunity is still there, Elfrid Payton, Reggie Bullock, Bobby Portis, Wayne Ellington and Taj Gibson will all have expiring contracts that could interest the Thunder as they try to reduce a league-high tax bill. The Knicks can also offer the 2021 and 2023 first-rounders they acquired from Dallas in the Kristaps Porzingis deal, Berman adds.
- Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated mentions the Timberwolves, Celtics and Magic as other possibilities. A swap with Minnesota would be easy if OKC would accept Andrew Wiggins in return, he states, while the Celtics could offer Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown or wait a year and trade newly acquired Kemba Walker. Orlando has been seeking a point guard for years and has a lot of wings and big men to offer.
- The Bulls, Mavericks, Nuggets, Bucks, Spurs and Raptors all have the assets to get involved as well, according to Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com.
As our 2019 NBA Free Agent Tracker shows, 27 of the league’s 30 teams have reached an agreement on a standard NBA contract with at least one player. Not every one of those clubs has made a huge splash, but they’ve been involved in free agency to some extent.
That leaves just three teams that have stayed out of the proceedings so far: Atlanta, Cleveland, and Denver. Two of those teams (the Hawks and Cavaliers) have at least signed an undrafted rookie to a two-way contract, but none have reached an agreement to add an NBA free agent on a standard deal.
The Hawks‘ inactivity on the free agent market so far is unsurprising. When he looked ahead to the free agent period more than two months ago, general manager Travis Schlenk predicted that the team would be patient, waiting to see which players slipped through the cracks after the first wave of signings.
Atlanta has used some its cap room to absorb salary (Allen Crabbe), but still has up to about $14MM in space available, per Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights. Given Schlenk’s fondness for taking on unwanted contracts, we’ll see if he goes that route to use the rest of the Hawks’ space, or if the team has its eye on any remaining free agents. For what it’s worth, the deal that will send Miles Plumlee and Solomon Hill to Memphs for Chandler Parsons will open up an extra roster spot for Atlanta.
As for the Cavaliers, their cap situation makes it difficult for them to be too aggressive in free agency. Even if they waive J.R. Smith‘s non-guaranteed contract, they’re still right up against the tax line. A couple years ago, that wouldn’t have stopped them from adding another free agent or two, but ownership won’t want to risk repeater-tax penalties for the current roster.
If the Cavs waive and stretch a veteran, their mid-level exception could be in play, but for now I don’t expect them to be throwing any money at free agents.
Finally, the Nuggets essentially made their big free agency move when they decided to exercise Paul Millsap‘s $30MM+ team option for 2019/20. Denver still has enough wiggle room below the luxury-tax line to use its mid-level exception, though Trey Lyles remains a wild card. Lyles is a restricted free agent with a $4.5MM qualifying offer, and the Nuggets may ultimately have to choose between retaining him and using their full mid-level, assuming they want to stay below the tax.
Still, the Nuggets should have enough room to add a lower-cost free agent or two if they want to. A Denver Post report last weekend suggested the team would be on the lookout for a combo guard, a wing defender, and/or another big man.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nuggets fans excited to see Michael Porter Jr.‘s long-awaited professional debut in Las Vegas Summer League play may have to wait until the fall to last year’s first-round pick take the court.
A league source tells Mike Singer of The Denver Post that Porter suffered a left knee sprain during a scrimmage on Wednesday night and is unlikely to play in Summer League.
As Singer explains, the knee injury isn’t expected to be a long-term issue, but the Nuggets want to play it safe with the young forward, who was selected 14th overall in 2018. After missing all of his rookie season last year while recovering from back surgery, Porter looked “excellent” in recent weeks during five-on-five scrimmages, writes Singer.
It’s an unfortunate development for those of us who were looking to see how Porter looked this month in Las Vegas. Top 2019 draft picks like Ja Morant (Grizzlies) and Darius Garland (Cavaliers) are also considered unlikely to take the court in Vegas as they continue to get healthy.
The Sixers have begun contract extension talks with Ben Simmons and his agent Rich Paul, Adrian Wojnarowski of the ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Sham Charania of The Athletic tweets that the Nuggets have starting discussing an extension with Jamal Murray and his agent, Mike George of One Legacy.
Players from the 2016 draft class who remain on their original rookie deal are eligible to sign extensions this summer. Simmons was the No. 1 overall pick from the draft and Murray was the No. 7 overall selection.
Assuming a projected salary cap of $117MM for the 2020/21 season, the total max value of an extension for either player is approximately $170MM over five seasons.
Each player had arguably had their most successful campaign in 2018/19. Both the Nuggets and Sixers made it to the Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs, each falling in heartbreaking fashion.
According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, the quietness surrounding the free agency destination of Bucks’ All-Star forward Khris Middleton is because interested front offices are universally presuming that Middleton is going back to Milwaukee on a “monster” five-year deal.
Middleton, 27, is eligible to sign a five-year, $189.904MM maximum-salary contract with the Bucks, while rival suitors can only (relatively speaking, of course) offer up to $140.791MM over four years.
Echoing Stein’s sentiment from rival front offices, Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box reports that Middleton is expected to re-sign with Milwaukee, adding that Brook Lopez and George Hill are also considered good bets to return.
- Per Marc J. Spears of ESPN, unrestricted free agent center Enes Kanter is expected to have a phone call with the Blazers and Celtics when free agency tips off tonight at 5:00pm CST.
- Spears is also reporting that UFA guard Garrett Temple is getting interest from the Nets, Nuggets, Jazz, and Rockets.
- During their meeting this evening, Jimmy Butler is expected to tell the Heat that he wishes to play in Miami, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. It’s unclear whether Butler actually wants to play for the Heat of if he’s simply using this as a negotiating tactic to entice the 76ers to offer him a 5-year maximum-salary contract.
- Per Harrison D. Sanford of The Green Room with Danny Green, free agent guard Danny Green is expecting to hear from the Raptors, Lakers, Sixers, Bulls, Mavericks, Rockets, and Knicks.
The Bucks took the decision down to the wire, but they have extended a qualifying offer to Malcolm Brogdon that makes him a restricted free agent, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Brogdon’s offer is $3,021,354, according to Basketball Insiders, and that will also count as his cap hold.
The 2017 Rookie of the Year has been limited by injuries the past two seasons. He put up a 15.6/4.5/3.2 line in 64 games before suffering a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot in March. Brogdon has earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s most efficient shooters, averaging 51% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and a league-best 93% from the foul line this year.
The Bucks may be reluctant to match a huge offer for Brogdon when they have other free agent concerns in Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. The Suns, Bulls, Mavericks and Pacers have been mentioned among interested teams, but there are lingering concerns about the long-term condition of his foot.
There are a few more decisions on qualifying offers to catch up on:
- The Nuggets extended a QO to two-way player Brandon Goodwin, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. The point guard got into 16 NBA games during his rookie season.
- The Hawks opted not to give a QO to Justin Anderson, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Journal Constitution (Twitter link). Anderson appeared in 48 games for Atlanta after being acquired in a trade with the Sixers last summer.
- Jerian Grant will also be an unrestricted free agent after the Magic passed on a QO, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. Acquired from the Bulls during the offseason, Grant appeared in 60 games for Orlando.
- The Clippers didn’t extend a QO to G League Rookie of the Year Angel Delgado, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
- Rockets two-way players Trevon Duval and Vince Edwards didn’t receive qualifying offers, and neither did Warriors two-way player Marcus Derrickson, according to Keith Smith. However, Damion Lee – Golden State’s other two-way player – received a QO (Twitter links).
The Nuggets remain busy ahead of free agency. Denver exercised the $30.35MM team option on Paul Millsap earlier today and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that the team will extend a qualifying offer to Trey Lyles.
Lyles’ qualifying offer comes in at approximately $4.46MM. After exercising Millsap’s option, the team won’t sniff any available cap space, though they still have to be wary about staying below the tax line.
Lyles came to the Nuggets during the 2017 draft as part of a trade that allowed the Jazz to move up to No. 13 overall. Utah selected Donovan Mitchell with the pick and Denver came away with Tyler Lydon at No. 24.
During his two years in Denver, Lyles played 137 games, starting four contests. His showcased solid three-point shooting to begin his career, though he hasn’t matched or surpassed his career-high 38.3% from behind the arc since his rookie season.