- Warriors swingman Damion Lee will likely have a greater role than a typical two-way player, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes. Beyond D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson‘s replacement as he mends from an ACL tear, the Warriors have an unimposing group of wings that include Jordan Poole, Eric Paschall, Jacob Evans, Alfonzo McKinnie, Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks. That puts Lee in position to fill a role as a floor spacer, Slater notes. Lee agreed to a two-way deal on Sunday.
- Money was a major factor in Russell’s free agent decision, as his former Nets teammate and new Lakers forward Jared Dudley told Ethan Strauss of The Athletic. Russell received four years and approximately $117MM in a sign-and-trade that raised some eyebrows since he’ll have to move to shooting guard with the Warriors. “D’Angelo wanted to get the max. So I’m not surprised,” Dudley said. “He would’ve gone to, you know, Saudi Arabia, if he could have gotten the max there. I’m not surprised he took that.”
- Salary cap expert David Kelly, who serves as general counsel for the Warriors, shares his perspective on an eventful offseason with Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Klay Thompson had assured Golden State officials that he was staying, which eliminated one worry when they got official notice that Kevin Durant was leaving for the Nets. The focus immediately shifted to Russell, whom the team had targeted as a potential option several months before. Kelly had to work through a complex series of maneuvers before a sign-and-trade with Brooklyn could be legally completed.
As if the Pacific Division wasn’t already exciting enough after a summer that saw Kevin Durant leave and Anthony Davis, Paul George, and 2019 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard arrive to join LeBron James and Stephen Curry, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr added some fuel to the divisional fire today when he criticized Davis’ public trade demand out of New Orleans.
Appearing on NBC Sports’ Warriors Insider Podcast (h/t to ESPN), Kerr said there is a troubling trend in the NBA right now wherein players who are healthy and still have a couple of years left on their deal (e.g. Davis) publicly request a trade. Kerr said that situations like that are both a “real problem” and “bad for the league.”
“I’m talking more about the Anthony Davis situation… where a guy is perfectly healthy and has a couple years left on his deal and says, ‘I want to leave.’ That’s a real problem that the league has to address and that the players have to be careful with.”
“When you sign on that dotted line, you owe your effort and your play to that team, to that city, to the fans… (and) if you sign the contract, then you should be bound to that contract… (Now) If you come to an agreement with the team that, ‘Hey, it’s probably best for us to part ways,’ that’s one thing, (b)ut the Davis stuff was really kind of groundbreaking — and hopefully not a trend, because it’s bad for the league.”
There’s more out of the Pacific Division this evening:
- The Suns have been searching for a point guard to help lead them back up from the bottom of the Western Conference standings for years now, and the three qualities that veteran Ricky Rubio possesses that makes Phoenix think he’s the guy are playmaking, defense, and leadership, writes Cody Cunningham of Suns.com.
- Lindsey Harding, recently hired as an assistant coach for the Kings under head coach Luke Walton, says that fear of the unknown is more of a factor than a lack of respect for women coaches when it comes to the absence of a female head coach in the NBA today (per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN).
- New Lakers head coach Frank Vogel plans to incorporate a similar style of play incorporated by Walton, telling Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated that he will continue preaching pace, attacking the basket, and shooting a lot of free throws. But more importantly, Vogel’s goal will be to put shooters at all four positions around James, including center, a la Brook Lopez surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.
JULY 23: The Warriors have signed Bowman to a two-way contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle had previously reported that Bowman would get a two-way deal.
JUNE 21: Undrafted Boston College point guard Ky Bowman will sign a one-year contract with the Warriors, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets.
It’s uncertain if the contract will be an Exhibit 10 deal, though that’s what many undrafted players receive.
Bowman, who exited college after his junior year, didn’t get picked despite averaging 19.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.0 APG and 1.4 SPG for the Eagles last season. Bowman had some big scoring outputs last season, including outings in which he poured in 44, 38 and 37 points.
He could be a developmental player for Golden State, which will be seeking guard depth. Second-unit stalwart Shaun Livingston has talked of retirement.
The Clippers were the other finalist for Bowman, who could have been drafted if he had been willing to commit to a two-way deal, according to Schultz. Bowman also tested the draft waters after his sophomore season.
After being acquired in a trade earlier this month, two-way player Julian Washburn has now been waived by the Warriors. Golden State confirmed the move today in a press release.
Washburn, 27, played for the Grizzlies on a two-way contract last season, appearing in limited minutes over the course of 18 games for the club after signing in January. The 6’8″ forward appeared in a total of 38 G League contests for the Austin Spurs and Memphis Hustle, recording 11.7 PPG and 5.3 RPG with a shooting line of .477/.406/.743.
Washburn’s two-way deal featured a second year, but the Grizzlies agreed to sign John Konchar to fill their second two-way slot alongside Yuta Watanabe.
[RELATED: 2019/20 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker]
Rather than simply waiving Washburn, Memphis had him the outgoing piece in the trade that sent Andre Iguodala, a first-round pick, and cash to the Grizzlies. While the Warriors briefly held onto Washburn, it seems the team would rather fill that two-way slot with another player.
The Lakers are unlikely to sign shooting guard J.R. Smith once he clears waivers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The Cavaliers cut Smith loose on Monday after failing to find a trade partner. The lack of interest shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the Lakers have signed shooting guards Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Troy Daniels in free agency.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been fined $50K by the league for leaking information from the Board of Governors meeting, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reports. Cuban revealed the vote to allow coaches to challenge an official’s ruling next season.
- The league has also fined Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta $25K for making public comments about the Russell Westbrook–Chris Paul swap before it was officially completed, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.
- Troy Daniels chose the Lakers over the Warriors and Thunder, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets. Daniels was wooed by Anthony Davis during the decision-making process. Daniels signed a one-year, minimum salary contract.
- Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, the 21st player selected in the draft, has been named the Las Vegas Summer League MVP, David Cobb of the Memphis Commercial Appeal relays. Clarke averaged 14.7 PPG and 9.8 RPG in 22.0 MPG over six games.
While there has been heavy speculation that D’Angelo Russell will have a short run with the Warriors, GM Bob Myers insists he didn’t agree to a sign-and-trade with the Nets simply to flip him, ESPN’s Nick Friedell writes. Myers admits he’s not sure how Russell fits into the team’s long-term plans, particularly once Klay Thompson returns from knee surgery. But he wants to see how Russell, who entered the summer as a restricted free agent, will mesh with Stephen Curry in the backcourt.
“We didn’t sign him with the intention of just trading him,” Myers said. “We haven’t even seen him play in our uniform yet. And a lot of people have us already trading him. That’s not how we’re viewing it. Let’s just see what we have. Let’s see what he is. Let’s see how he fits.”
Russell signed a four-year, $117MM contract.
We have more on the Warriors:
- Myers said the organization did its best to convince Kevin Durant to stay put but the All-Star forward was looking for a change, Friedell reports in the same story. “He just felt like it was something inside of him, in his heart, that he wanted to try something different,” Myers said. “Nothing wrong with that. I have a peace about it personally. I hope our fans can, too.”
- Damion Lee is a candidate for the Warriors’ second two-way contract, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. A decision will be made in the next few days. The shooting guard appeared in 39 games with Golden State last season, averaging 4.9 PPG in 11.7 MPG. Lee was one of the team’s two-way players and received a qualifying offer in June, making him a restricted free agent. Small forward Julian Washburn currently has the other two-year deal.
- Assistant coach Ron Adams will travel less next season and the staff will have reconfigured roles, Slater reports in another tweet. Adams, who recently turned down an offer to join the Lakers’ staff, will prioritize player development for an increasingly younger team.
JULY 15: Fredette has officially signed with Panathinaikos, the Greek team announced today in a press release. Fredette published an Instagram post confirming his move to Greece and thanking fans for their support.
JULY 10: According to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops, sharpshooting guard Jimmer Fredette has reached a two-year deal with Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and EuroLeague.
As Varlas notes, this will be the first European team Fredette plays for in his professional career. He also played in China from 2016 to 2019, becoming somewhat of a Chinese sensation before signing a two-year contract with the Suns back in March. The second year had a team option, which Phoenix declined back in June.
After his option was declined, Fredette briefly played with the Warriors’ summer league team, but left the team early so as not to get injured while he contemplated his overseas options in response to several foreign teams contacting his representatives about his availability.
A six-year NBA veteran, Fredette holds career averages of 6.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 13.3 minutes per game after being drafted No. 10 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. His best season was probably as a rookie, when he averaged a career-high 7.6 PPG and 18.6 MPG.
The Cavaliers aren’t making an effort to deal Kevin Love, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. On the surface, Love appears to be a prime trade candidate. He’s nearly 31 on a rebuilding team, is coming off toe surgery that limited him to 22 games last season and has a four-year, $120MM extension that’s about to kick in.
However, Cleveland doesn’t view Love’s contract as burdensome. A five-time All-Star, he’s easily the team’s best player if he can stay healthy and provides a positive role model for a young roster. New coach John Beilein wants to keep Love around because he’ll take pressure off his teammates to develop quickly.
Cavs management will listen to offers for Love, but it would take a formidable deal to move him anytime soon. Fedor sees the Heat as a possibility because they are searching for a second star to team with Jimmy Butler and have both young players such as Tyler Herro, Meyers Leonard, Bam Adebayo and Justise Winslow who would interest Cleveland, plus big contracts in James Johnson, Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters to help match Love’s $28.9MM salary. Fedor expects the front office to hold onto Love for a while and reassess its options closer to the trade deadline.
There’s more out of Cleveland, all courtesy of Fedor:
- Tomorrow is the new guarantee date for J.R. Smith, but it can be pushed back to August 1 if the Cavs can’t work out a trade. The original date had been June 30, but Smith agreed to an extension last month in exchange for an increase in guaranteed money from $3.9MM to $4.37MM. Smith’s trade value can be counted at the full $15.68MM because he signed his contract before that rule was changed, but Cleveland hasn’t been able to find any takers for the 33-year-old guard. Management has been surprised by the lack of interest in Smith, Fedor adds, believing its offers in salary-dump situations were better than the ones that were accepted. The Cavs have also been “shocked” by some of the bad contracts teams are trying to get them to take.
- The Cavaliers tried to obtain Andre Iguodala from the Warriors, and sources tell Fedor they asked for less than the future first-rounder and cash that Memphis received for taking on Iguodala’s $17.1MM contract. However, Golden State wanted to create a large trade exception and saw that as more valuable than the cap relief Smith would have provided. Cleveland was also involved in talks to facilitate the Butler trade by taking Maurice Harkless from the Trail Blazers, but he wound up with the Clippers, who received a 2023 first-rounder from Miami.
- Former Duke big man Marques Bolden is receiving strong consideration for a two-way contract. The Cavaliers believe he never got a full chance to display his talents in college and can develop into an effective NBA center. “In college you don’t have space,” said Summer League head coach Antonio Lang. “Here you have space and he can create space if he continues to roll hard. Everything you look for in a big he has, he just has to be more efficient with his footwork and learn the game more. That comes with practice and time. He’s more suited for the NBA game.”
Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry is confident he’ll mesh his skills with D’Angelo Russell, who was acquired from the Nets in a sign-and-trade, according to an ESPN report.
“The chemistry will develop quickly. We’ll be really purposeful about that and trying to set the tone for how we’re going to play this year,” Curry said.
He’s also looking forward to being in an underdog role for a change with Kevin Durant signing with Brooklyn and Klay Thompson expected to miss a large chunk of the season.
“I’m excited, to be honest with you,” he said. “Five straight years in the Finals and we’ve accomplished a lot, and three championships. There’s a lot to be proud of. But everybody wants a new challenge in terms of how do you get back to that level.”
We have more on the Warriors:
- The Warriors are likely to offer Shaun Livingston a role in the organization if he opts to retire, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. The veteran guard was waived this week before his $7.7MM salary for next season became fully guaranteed.
- Willie Cauley-Stein was courted by Curry, Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr and that made his free agency decision easier, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic relays. Cauley-Stein accepted a salary slightly above the veteran’s minimum in order to join a perennial winner after the Kings rescinded his qualifying offer. “It honestly just came down to situation. I know I had said something about getting paid at the beginning of the year,” he said. “But by the end of it, it was no longer about getting paid. It was about staying secure and building off that security.”
- Guard Quinn Cook harbors no ill will toward the organization, though he was surprised it pulled his qualifying offer in order to clear cap space, as he told Mark Medina of the San Jose Mercury News. Cook wound up signing a two-year, $6MM deal with the Lakers. “It was tough for me with how everything went down, but no hard feelings,” Cook said. “We’re family forever and champions forever.”