Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette will have a spot on the Warriors‘ Summer League roster next month, assistant GM Larry Harris tells Joe, Lo and Dibs of 95.7 The Game (Twitter link). Fredette technically remains under contract with the Suns and has a team option for the 2019/20 season. If he has already committed to Golden State for Summer League play though, that’s a strong indication that Phoenix won’t be exercising that option.
The Knicks will do their homework on Kevin Durant before committing to a max offer, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. The team will request access to Durant’s medical records and will evaluate his long-term chances for a full recovery from the ruptured Achilles he suffered in the NBA Finals.
New York’s front office recognizes that Durant will be 32 by the time he can play again in 2020/21 and may be dealing with a “load management” situation that will limit both the number of games he can play and his minutes in each one.
Sources tell Berman that the Knicks believe they’re still in the running for Kawhi Leonard, even though he seems more likely to stay in Toronto or go to one of the Los Angeles teams, and Kyrie Irving, who is rumored to be headed to Brooklyn.
There’s more from New York City:
- After agreeing to sign UCLA forward Kris Wilkes to a two-way contract, GM Scott Perry said the team never expected him to be available, Berman relays in a separate story. Wilkes was projected as a second-round pick after leading the Bruins in scoring at 17.4 points per game. “Kind of surprised (Wilkes) didn’t get drafted, similar to Allonzo Trier last year,’’ Perry said. “Winning player, can score, 6-8, highly rated player coming out of high school. Exciting to add him to our mix and see how we can develop him.”
- The Knicks were convinced about taking R.J. Barrett with the No. 3 pick, even though they worked out Darius Garland and Coby White shortly before the draft, relays Ian Begley of SNY.TV. Perry explained that the team was taking advantage of having the players in town. “You want to get a chance to see as many prospects as you can,” he said. “Learn more about them, learn their stories. Also further evaluate, you dot your final I’s and crossing the final T’s. So that’s what went into our thinking.”
- Tyler Cavanaugh, who spent this season on a two-way contract with the Jazz, will join the Knicks’ Summer League team, tweets Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. The 25-year-old power forward got into just 11 NBA games during the year, spending most of his time in the G League. He played 39 games for the Hawks in 2017/18, starting on a two-way deal before earning a standard contract.
Kyrie Irving or D’Angelo Russell? The Lakers may wind up chasing whichever free agent point guard doesn’t sign with the Nets, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Rumors have had Irving headed to Brooklyn for a few weeks, but there were rumblings recently that the Nets’ front office isn’t sold on Irving without Kevin Durant.
If Brooklyn adds Irving, that means Russell, a restricted free agent, will likely be renounced. If Irving goes elsewhere, the Nets are expected to work out a new deal with Russell. Either way, that puts a talented guard on the market for the Lakers, who are looking for someone to pair in a Big Three with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Russell had a checkered history during the two years he spent in L.A., but Nick Young is gone, along with the other former teammates he feuded with.
Irving has championship experience and has played with LeBron before. However, at 27, he’s four year’s older than Russell and probably much more expensive. He won’t take less than a max deal, while Pincus suggests the Lakers may be able to land Russell for about $80MM over four seasons.
There’s also a sense that Irving is more difficult to handle, with a rival executive telling Pincus, “They’re both divas, but Irving takes it to another level. Russell may be high-maintenance, but he’s no Kyrie.”
There’s more from L.A.:
- The Lakers are trying to convince the Hawks to become part of the Davis trade, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said on Sports Center (video clip tweeted by Lakers Outsider). Lakers GM Rob Pelinka wants to open more cap room by sending Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones to Atlanta in a three-team deal. The Hawks agreed to a trade with New Orleans for the No. 4 pick on draft night, so it’s possible those moves will turn into a single transaction.
- L.A. sent $2.2MM to the Magic for the rights to the rights to the 46th pick, McMenamin tweets. They used that selection to take Iowa State’s Talen Horton-Tucker.
- The Lakers received permission from the Warriors today to talk to assistant coach Ron Adams, according to Ohm Youngmisuk and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. There’s no indication that Adams is interested in leaving Golden State, but L.A. could change his mind by making a large offer.
The latest 2020 mock draft has Memphis freshman center James Wiseman going to the Knicks with the No. 1 pick. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has Georgia guard Anthony Edwards going to the Cavaliers at No. 2 and North Carolina guard Cole Anthony heading to the Suns at No. 3.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Top pick Zion Williamson and his former college teammate R.J. Barrett could face each other in the Las Vegas summer league opener, the Associated Press reports. The Pelicans’ summer squad will face the Knicks on July 5.
- Dewayne Dedmon, Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gay are among the underrated free agents heading to the market, Ameer Tyree of the Sporting News writes.
- Former NBA guard Leandro Barbosa will return to the Brazilian league and re-sign with Minas Storm, Sportando reports.
- Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco has agreed to become the head coach of the Bahamas Basketball Federation’s national team, according to a report from ESPN’s Marc Spears. The Bahamas did not qualify for the FIBA World Cup this summer but it does have some NBA talent, including Deandre Ayton and Buddy Hield.
- The Warriors, Nets, Knicks, and Clippers will all be “significant considerations” for Kevin Durant in free agency this summer, according to Wojnarowski. “One thing I’m told is he is really focused on making his decision independently of anyone else and that includes Kyrie Irving,” Woj said of Durant, per RealGM. “He’s at a point in his career where he’s going to decide really essentially on a four-year deal elsewhere or a five-year deal with Golden State, where he’s going to spend the rest of his prime.”
JUNE 21: The trade is now official, per an NBA press release.
JUNE 20: The Jazz purchased the 58th pick from the Warriors and used it to select Yale guard Miye Oni, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Oni was named Ivy League Player of the Year for 2019 after averaging 17.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He left the Elis after his junior season and is the first Ivy League player to be drafted since 1995.
Oni is one of three second-round picks for Utah, which also selected Jarrell Brantley at No. 50 and Justin Wright-Foreman at No. 53.
11:13pm: The trade is now official. The Warriors gave New Orleans second-round picks in 2021 and 2023 and cash, Mark Medina of the San Jose Mercury News tweets.
10:43pm: The Warriors acquired the rights to the No. 39 pick from the Pelicans and selected Alen Smailagic, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The Pelicans received two future second-rounders and cash in the trade, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets.
This was an unusual case of Golden State gaining the rights to a player it had on its G League team last season.
The Serbian power forward played for Santa Cruz but wasn’t draft-eligible until this year. He was shut down early in the pre-draft process and stashed in Serbia from the rest of the NBA. He averaged 9.1 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 17.4 MPG over 47 G League appearances, mostly off the bench.
There’s an “ongoing flurry” of trade talks involving draft picks in the 20-23 range, league sources tell Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link). According to Fischer, teams like the Warriors, Nets, Kings, Mavericks, and Spurs have expressed interest in moving up into that range of the draft.
The Celtics hold the 20th and 22nd overall picks, and are unlikely to use all three of their first-rounders (they also have No. 14), so it makes sense that they’d be listening to inquiries. The Thunder are picking at No. 21 and have reportedly explored moving their pick in an effort to reduce team salary. The Grizzlies are acquiring No. 23 overall in the Mike Conley trade and are said to be listening to offers for the selection, which is their second of the first round.
Here are a few more draft-related notes and rumors:
- The Knicks are interested in buying another second-round pick, league sources tell Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link). New York, which currently holds the No. 55 overall pick to go along with No. 3, hasn’t sent out any cash in trades so far this season, so the team has flexibility to make a move.
- League sources tell Fischer and Jeremy Woo of SI.com (Twitter links) that the Celtics brought in six players for last-minute workouts on Wednesday: Darius Bazley, Jalen Lecque, Tremont Waters, Jordan Bone, Chris Clemons, and Jared Harper. It was the second workout with Boston for all six prospects.
- People around the NBA are wondering how early the Warriors would be willing to draft Serbian power forward Alen Smailagic, tweets Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com. Smailagic played in the G League for Santa Cruz in 2018/19 but wasn’t draft-eligible until this year. He was shut down early in the pre-draft process and was “hidden” in Serbia from the rest of the NBA, according to Givony, who wonders if Golden State would use its newly-acquired No. 41 pick on Smailagic.
- There are about 35 players whom various sources feel confident will be first-round picks, tweets Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. In other words, it’s tough to determine exactly which players will come off the board in the back half of the first round tonight.
The Warriors are considering a “delayed sign-and-trade” arrangement with Kevin Durant that would let him maximize his earnings and allow him to be traded once his ruptured Achilles is fully healed, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said this morning on “Get Up!” (video link)
Durant can lock in a five-year, $220MM contract by re-signing with Golden State, about $57MM more that he would earn in a four-year deal with anyone else.
“Let him rehab and then work with him to be traded,” Windhorst explained. “Potentially to New York, potentially to somewhere else. Be their way to sort of take care of him monetarily after what he just went through and also protect the franchise to get some assets. If that happens, the Knicks would be in tremendous position to get back into it because they’re going to have these young assets plus cap space.”
Windhorst called it “a last-ditch” effort on the Warriors’ part to avoid losing Durant in free agency with no return. He admits it would take a strong level of trust on Durant’s part to agree to such a deal, but adds that the Warriors have promised to help facilitate a trade to wherever he wants to go.
12:01pm: The Hawks have announced the deal, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Journal-Constitution.
8:18am: The Warriors have obtained the 41st pick in tonight’s draft from the Hawks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Golden State paid $1.3MM for the pick and included a 2024 second-rounder in the deal.
It’s the second trade in two days for Atlanta, which sent the 44th selection to the Heat on Wednesday. GM Travis Schlenk said earlier this week that he wanted to unload some of the team’s three second-rounders in exchange for future assets.
The Hawks still have four selections tonight, holding picks No. 8, 10 and 17 in the first round, along with the 35th pick. The Warriors are slotted at No. 28, 41 and 58. The three picks will cost Golden State a total of about $3.8MM against the cap and will provide a low-cost way to fill out the roster, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).