Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

FA Rumors: DeRozan, Kings, Hield, Warriors, Martin, Heat, Hezonja

July 3rd, 2024 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

Assuming DeMar DeRozan doesn’t sign with a cap-room team, it will almost certainly require a sign-and-trade to land him, per Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (video link). As Haynes explains, DeRozan has no interest in settling for a mid-level offer.

“For the teams that might be calling or gauging interest in DeMar taking a full mid-level exception, which is around $13MM, I’m told that is not even being considered right now,” Haynes said on Tuesday.

The Bulls won’t bring back DeRozan, but they’re open to working with him on a sign-and-trade to help him get where he wants, Haynes confirms. Still, negotiating that sort of deal will be a challenge, given that some of the forward’s suitors (like Miami) aren’t in a great financial position to make a sign-and-trade. I’d also expect Chicago will be reluctant to take back much salary, since the team projects to be about $13MM below the luxury tax line, though that number is fluid and would move up or down if other moves are made.

Appearing on ESPN’s NBA Today on Tuesday (Twitter video link), Marc J. Spears of Andscape identified the Kings as one “dark horse” suitor to watch for DeRozan. Sacramento has reportedly made Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter, and draft capital available in trade talks (in general, not for DeRozan specifically) as the team looks to upgrade its roster around Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox. Previous reporting has indicated that the Bulls like Huerter.

Here are a few more free agency updates from around the NBA:

Buddy Hield doesn’t have an agreement in place with the Warriors yet, but the two sides are “tracking toward” a deal, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links), who says that a sign-and-trade would likely see the Sixers receive second-round draft capital in return. If Golden State doesn’t send out additional salary, the club would have to absorb both Hield and Kyle Anderson into a trade exception created by sending Klay Thompson to Dallas, or complete all three of those moves as one multi-team mega-deal in order to maximize Thompson’s outgoing salary as a matching piece (John Hollinger of The Athletic briefly explored this more complex possibility on Tuesday night).
While Caleb Martin‘s return to the Heat is still considered unlikely, it shouldn’t be entirely ruled out, according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang, who suggest in a pair of stories for The Miami Herald that the team’s interest in re-signing Martin hasn’t waned as long as the price is right. Jackson and Chiang also say that Miami remains in the mix to sign Haywood Highsmith, though his return is “far from guaranteed.”
The Heat had initial discussions with DeMar DeRozan on Tuesday and expect to follow up on Wednesday, but there have been no indications that the club will “move mountains” (ie. shed significant salary) in order to land him, Jackson tweets.
Although Real Madrid has officially announced its new five-year contract with Mario Hezonja, the veteran forward has an NBA-opt out until July 20 with a modest buyout figure and has received interest from “numerous” NBA teams, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The 29-year-old, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2015 draft, appeared in 330 NBA regular season games but has been out of the league since 2020.

Warriors Pursuing Buddy Hield Via Sign-And-Trade

July 2nd, 2024 at 11:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors are engaging in serious discussions about a sign-and-trade that would send sharpshooter Buddy Hield to Golden State, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that the Warriors and Sixers are working on the details of a potential deal.

While Golden State is parting ways this offseason with Klay Thompson, who ranks sixth all-time in made three-pointers (2,481), Hield isn’t far behind him on that all-time list, coming in at No. 22 with 1,924 three-pointers of his own. Over the course of his eight-year career, Hield has knocked down 40.0% of 7.6 three-point attempts per game.

In 2023/24, Hield appeared in a league-high 84 regular season games, exceeding the typical 82-game limit as a result of a midseason trade that sent him from Indiana to Philadelphia. He averaged 12.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 25.7 minutes per game for the Pacers and Sixers, with a .386 3PT%.

Hield’s elite shooting made him the No. 24 free agent on our top-50 list, though as I wrote within that article, his game doesn’t really stand out in many other areas. His value also took a bit of a hit this year, as he was essentially dumped for non-rotation players and a couple second-round picks by a Pacers team that eventually made it to the Eastern Conference finals, then barely saw the court in the Sixers’ first-round playoff series vs. New York.

Still, depending on the cost – in terms of both his salary and the piece(s) going to Philadelphia – that outside shot could make him a worthwhile investment for the Warriors.

It’s unclear if Golden State would be sending out any salary in the proposed sign-and-trade. There are ways for the team to pull it off with little to no outgoing money as long as Hield’s starting salary isn’t too high, but moving off an expiring contract – such as Gary Payton II and/or Kevon Looney – would give the Warriors more flexibility under their first-apron hard cap and could allow for a more lucrative contract for Hield. A third team might be required in that scenario if the Sixers aren’t interested in taking on salary from the Warriors. But to be clear, this is all hypothetical, since no other details on the talks have been reported so far.

Stotts, Stackhouse Expected To Join Warriors’ Staff

July 2nd, 2024 at 8:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors are planning to hire Terry Stotts as Steve Kerr‘s lead assistant coach, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Jerry Stackhouse is also expected to join the staff.

Stotts, 66, has a long career as an NBA head coach and assistant. Stotts was the Trail Blazers’ head coach from 2012-21 and was also head coach of Atlanta and Milwaukee. Stotts was hired as Adrian Griffin‘s lead assistant with the Bucks last offseason but abruptly left the organization before the regular season started when they clashed over scheme and philosophy.

Stotts will take the spot previously held by Kenny Atkinson, the Cavaliers’ new head coach. Stotts was also on Cleveland’s radar during its head coaching search.

Stackhouse, 49, interviewed for the Hornets coaching job that eventually went to Charles Lee. Stackhouse was hired as Vanderbilt’s head coach in 2019. The school parted ways with him after last season. The former All-Star guard was previously an assistant with the Raptors and Grizzlies and was also the head coach of the G League 905 Raptors.

Kyle Anderson Headed To Warriors Via Sign-And-Trade

July 2nd, 2024 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent forward Kyle Anderson is headed to the Warriors via a sign-and-trade transaction with the Timberwolves, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link). He’ll be signing a three-year, $27MM contract. The third year is non-guaranteed, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.

The Timberwolves will receive a future second-round pick swap and cash in the sign-and-trade, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).

Anderson will slot into the traded player exception created in the Klay Thompson three-team deal with Dallas and Charlotte. The acquisition will put the Warriors a projected $3.2MM below the $170.8MM luxury tax line with 13 players rostered, cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets. They’ll be hard-capped at the first tax apron ($178.1MM).

It had been speculated that Anderson, always a solid role player, would be difficult for Minnesota to retain due its salary-cap issues. The Timberwolves are a second-apron team, severely limiting their flexibility. They won’t be able to use the TPE generated by the Anderson sign-and-trade because of the restrictions for second-apron teams under the current CBA.

Rated No. 30 on our list of top 50 free agents, Anderson will jump right into the Warriors’ rotation. He appeared in 79 regular season games last season, including 10 starts, averaging 6.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per contest.

The 30-year-old is highly regarded for his defensive versatility, intangibles, and ability to serve as a secondary ball-handler, though he doesn’t provide much offensive punch. Anderson averaged double digits in points just once in a career that began in the 2014/15 season and is a 33.8% career 3-point shooter.

A Closer Look At How Paul George Wound Up In Philadelphia

July 2nd, 2024 at 1:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bad weather caused a two-hour flight delay for Sixers owner Josh Harris and franchise legend Julius Erving as they headed to Los Angeles to meet with Paul George on Sunday, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. But they found a pleasant surprise when they arrived, as their No. 1 free agent target showed up wearing a T-shirt featuring another Sixers icon, Allen Iverson.

George’s other options were mostly exhausted by that point, so the late-night meeting was more or less a formality. The Clippers weren’t willing to give him the four-year contract he wanted, and the Magic, who were the other team George agreed to meet with, had already reached an agreement with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that limited their remaining cap space.

George happily accepted the four-year max offer, giving Sixers brass the player they had been hoping to acquire since James Harden demanded a trade last summer. Sources tell Shelburne that when Clippers executive Lawrence Frank originally called to ask about Harden, Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey asked for George in return. Frank wasn’t willing to consider it because L.A. was trying to compete for a title, but the team’s concerns about a long-term stay in the second apron eventually made George available in free agency.

Shelburne hears that after Kawhi Leonard agreed to a three-year, $150MM extension in January — after being eligible for four years at $221MM — there was pressure on George to accept a similar deal. At age 34, George was hoping to maximize what could be his final NBA contract, so he began to consider other options.

Sources tell Shelburne that the Clippers’ offers to George were for less guaranteed money than what Leonard received. She adds that George was aware that other teams were willing to give him a four-year max contract and he was disappointed by the Clippers’ resistance.

Shelburne confirms a weekend report that the Warriors made a serious effort to trade for George on Saturday as the deadline for picking up his $48.8MM option approached. Chris Paul‘s agreement to push back the guarantee date on his $30MM salary for next season was done in case Golden State needed to include all or part of that money in a deal with L.A.

Shelburne’s sources say there were talks at both the ownership and executive levels as the Warriors made numerous offers consisting of expiring contracts, young players and a 2027 first-round pick that would have been unprotected. The Clippers asked for Jonathan Kuminga to be included, but Shelburne hears that Golden State was unwilling to part with the talented young forward because they feared George’s interest in joining the Warriors would dip if they gave up too much to acquire him.

The trade ultimately died because of the Clippers’ reluctance to take back contracts that would push them into the second apron unless the talent level justified it.

Warriors Confirm Thompson Is Leaving, Pledge To Retire His Jersey

July 1st, 2024 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors organization acknowledged in a press release on Monday that longtime shooting guard Klay Thompson will not return while promising to retire his jersey.

Thompson is headed to the Mavericks in a three-team sign-and-trade deal that will also include the Hornets.

Golden State’s statement reads, in part:

“We can’t overstate Klay Thompson’s incredible and legendary contributions with the Warriors during his 13 years with the team, highlighted by four NBA championships, six trips to the NBA Finals, five NBA All-Star Game appearances and several NBA records, including the most points ever scored in a quarter in NBA history (37) and the most 3-point field goals in a game (14). … Klay’s legacy will live on forever and we look forward to the day we can retire his #11 jersey at Chase Center, where he will join a host of Warriors immortals, including those who helped shape this recent dynasty—himself included.

“We thank Klay for his contributions and wish him the best as another chapter in his journey is written.”

The statement can be somewhat construed as an olive branch after extension talks fizzled and the relationship between the team and the five-time All-Star reportedly grew strained. That led to Saturday’s news that he intended to leave the Warriors for a new team.

Fischer’s Latest: Markkanen, Isaac, DeRozan, Lakers, D-Lo, Nets

July 1st, 2024 at 6:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz are “welcoming” inquiries on Lauri Markkanen, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who wonders if Utah’s offseason could play out like Brooklyn’s has. The Nets agreed to trade Mikal Bridges after efforts to pair him with an impact player came up short. Utah has also explored the trade market for a possible second star to complement Markkanen, talking to Brooklyn about Bridges (as previously reported) and to the Hawks about both Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, sources tell Fischer.

While it’s possible the Jazz will follow the Nets’ lead, selling off their lone star after failing to land another one, they don’t appear eager to part with Markkanen. According to Fischer, the Jazz have conveyed that they remain interested in renegotiating and extending Markkanen’s contract later this offseason and that listening to every offer for the star forward is just about due diligence.

As reported earlier today, both the Warriors and Spurs have interest in Markkanen, Fischer confirms, naming the Kings and Timberwolves as a couple more teams to watch. However, Sacramento’s reluctance to put Keegan Murray on the table in trade scenarios – which NBA personnel believe would be necessary to land Markkanen – may result in the Kings shifting their trade focus to Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, Fischer writes. As for the Wolves, they’re operating over the second apron and barely have any future draft capital available, so it’s hard to envision a way for them to make a serious play for Markkanen.

Here’s more from Fischer:

The Magic may not end up using all of their cap room on free agents or trades — according to Fischer (Twitter link), they’re working on possibly renegotiating and extending forward Jonathan Isaac‘s contract. A team with cap space can use it to give a player a raise on his current-year salary, then reduce his salary by up to 40% in the first year of an extension, so Orlando may be looking at essentially giving Isaac a bonus this season to get him a team-friendly deal beginning in 2025/26.
Although LeBron James has expressed a willingness to take a pay cut if it allows the Lakers to bring in an impact player, Fischer writes that the team seems to be running out of potential targets – and time – to make that happen. The Lakers “hold an affinity” for DeMar DeRozan, but they’d likely have to incorporate a third team to move off some salary, including perhaps D’Angelo Russell or Gabe Vincent, to have a shot at DeRozan, according to Fischer.
The Nets could be a trade destination for Russell. Sources tell Fischer that Brooklyn has been open to the idea of a reunion with Russell since February’s trade deadline.
If Klay Thompson had re-signed with the Warriors, the plan was to bring him off the bench next season behind second-year guard Brandin Podziemski, according to Fischer. Thompson appears likely to be a starter in Dallas.

Mavericks To Acquire Klay Thompson In Three-Team Sign-And-Trade

July 1st, 2024 at 6:49pm CST by Luke Adams

6:49pm: The Warriors will receive a pair of second-round picks from Dallas to complete the Thompson sign-and-trade, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

One of those picks will be the Mavs’ own 2031 second-rounder, Woj adds (via Twitter). The other will be the least favorable of the Sixers’ and Nuggets’ 2025 second-rounders, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. That 2025 pick belonged to the Hornets, so it appears one of the second-rounders Charlotte is sending to Dallas is immediately being rerouted to Golden State.

Combining all of today’s reporting, it sounds like the trade will break down as follows:

Mavericks to acquire Thompson (via sign-and-trade) and a future second-round pick (from Hornets).
Hornets to acquire Green (into cap room).
Warriors to acquire either the Nuggets’ or Sixers’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Hornets) and the Mavericks’ 2031 second-round pick, in addition to generating a trade exception worth about $16MM.

1:34pm: After spending his first 13 NBA seasons with the Warriors, Klay Thompson is reportedly headed to Dallas. Thompson intends to sign a three-year, $50MM contract with the Mavericks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

As Wojnarowski outlines, the plan is for the Mavs to acquire Thompson from Golden State in a three-team sign-and-trade, with swingman Josh Green heading from Dallas to the Hornets in the deal.

The Warriors and Mavericks are still working through the sign-and-trade details, according to reports from Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter links), who both say that the deal isn’t considered done from Golden State’s perspective.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports tweets that there’s a framework in place for a deal sending Green to Charlotte, while Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link) also hears that the Hornets are in agreement on their part of the deal.

As Marc Stein tweets, it sounds like Thompson, the Mavs, and the Hornets are all on board, with just the Warriors left to sign off. Golden State doesn’t want to take back salary in the transaction, Stein adds.

Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that the Hornets will be sending Dallas a pair of second-round picks for Green and that one of those second-rounders may be rerouted to Golden State.

The 11th pick of the 2011 draft, Thompson is one of the most accomplished shooters in league history, ranking sixth all-time in three-pointers made. The 34-year-old, who has knocked down 41.3% of his attempts from long distance over the course of his career, made five All-Star teams and won four championships with the Warriors.

While Thompson has remained an extremely productive rotation player, averaging 17.9 points per game with a .387 3PT% in 77 games (29.7 MPG) this past season, he has lost a step since suffering a torn ACL in 2019 and a torn Achilles in 2020. He was removed from the starting lineup in Golden State this season and his relationship with the franchise appeared to fray leading up to the expiration of his contract, resulting in Saturday’s news that he intended to leave the Warriors for a new team.

Thompson reportedly intended to talk to the Lakers, Clippers, and Sixers in addition to the Mavs when free agency opened on Sunday, with the Magic among the other teams said to have interest in the veteran sharpshooter. According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Thompson had four-years offers worth more overall money available, but the opportunity to win another championship and the difference in state taxes were among the factors that made him choose Dallas.

Thompson will give the Mavs another shooter on the wing alongside star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. So far this offseason, the team has essentially swapped out three wings – Tim Hardaway, Derrick Jones, and now Green – for three new ones: Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes.

Assuming the deal is completed as reported, the Mavs’ team salary will be a few million above the tax line and about $3MM below the first apron, which will be their hard cap, per cap experts Bobby Marks of ESPN and Yossi Gozlan (Twitter links).

The Hornets were interested in Green back at the trade deadline when they worked out a separate deal with Dallas involving P.J. Washington, notes Fischer (via Twitter). They’ll get their man now and – based on the details reported so far – figure to operate as an under-the-cap team in order to take the incoming salaries of both Green and Reggie Jackson, whom they’re acquiring in a trade with Denver.

The Warriors, meanwhile, will be in position to create a trade exception worth Thompson’s new salary if they don’t take back any contracts in the deal. With Thompson and Chris Paul off their books for 2024/25, the Dubs have some newfound financial flexibility and appear poised to use their full mid-level exception to sign free agent guard De’Anthony Melton.

Trade/FA Rumors: Markkanen, Westbrook, DeRozan, Achiuwa, Trent

July 1st, 2024 at 3:44pm CST by Rory Maher

Appearing on SportsCenter, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed a report from his ESPN colleague Brian Windhorst stating that the Warriors are among the teams with interest in trading for Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (YouTube link).

“Utah is not sure it wants to trade (Markkanen), but they have to listen; they’ve been listening,” Wojnarowski said. “And a lot of the teams that missed out on Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn have transferred over to try and see if they can land Lauri Markkanen from Utah. Golden State is one of those teams.”

Here are a few more trade and free agency rumors from around the NBA:

According to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link), three-time MVP Nikola Jokic has “pushed behind the scenes” for the Nuggets to trade for Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, himself a former NBA MVP. Wind hears Jokic has wanted to play with Westbrook for multiple seasons. Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated confirms (via Twitter) Wind’s reporting, adding that DeAndre Jordan has been supportive of the idea of adding Westbrook as well. According to Linn, the Clips are exploring “several” trade possibilities for Westbrook, and even if he isn’t traded to Denver directly, it’s possible he might eventually land with the Nuggets.
The Bulls and DeMar DeRozan appear destined to part ways, with a source telling Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times that the six-time All-Star will be landing elsewhere. According to Cowley, DeRozan made up his mind to leave once Chicago traded Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey. The Bulls have been targeting younger players in free agency, re-signing restricted free agent Patrick Williams and agreeing to a three-year deal with big man Jalen Smith.
While the Knicks chose not to tender a qualifying offer to forward/center Precious Achiuwa, they are still open to a potential reunion with the 24-year-old, a source tells Fred Katz of The Athletic. Ian Begley of SNY.tv hears (via Twitter) interest in a reunion is mutual, but the young big man is also drawing interest from “several” contenders, so he could have multiple options to choose from.
There hasn’t been much news related to Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr., a 25-year-old unrestricted free agent who earned $18.6MM last season. As Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes, GM Bobby Webster said before free agency opened that a return to Toronto was still possible, assuming the terms were agreeable for both sides. “You want to be strategic about what’s tradable, what’s not tradable,” Webster said of Trent. “We have some big contracts coming up in the future, so it’ll just have to be something that makes sense for everyone.”

Warriors Sign De’Anthony Melton To One-Year Contract

July 1st, 2024 at 2:04pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 8: Melton has officially signed his contract with the Warriors, the club confirmed today in a press release (Twitter link).

JULY 1: The Warriors are signing free agent guard De’Anthony Melton to a one-year, $12.8MM contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan observes (via Twitter), Golden State can complete the deal by using either the non-taxpayer mid-level exception or via sign-and-trade. Either scenario will hard-cap the Warriors at the first apron, which is set at $178.1MM in 2024/25.

$12,822,000 is the full value of the non-taxpayer MLE for next season.

According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Warriors have long been fans of Melton and believed he wasn’t optimally utilized when they faced Memphis in the playoffs a couple years ago.

A 6’2″ combo guard with a 6’8″ wingspan, Melton earned $8MM last season in the final campaign of a four-year, $35MM contract that declined over time. He’ll earn a raise next season with Golden State and an opportunity to boost his value ahead of 2025 free agency if he performs well with the Warriors.

Melton has been a valuable role player over the past four seasons, averaging 10.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.5 SPG while shooting 38.3% from three-point range in 240 regular season games over that span (24.5 MPG). The primary reason the 26-year-old only received a one-year deal is he was limited to just 38 games last season with the Sixers due to a back injury, making the signing somewhat risky for Golden State.

Still, if Melton is healthy, he could provide an infusion of youth, defense and athleticism to the Warriors. And his salary is large enough that even though they’ll only have his non-Bird rights a year from now, they could still make him a competitive offer in 2025 free agency, assuming things go well for both sides.

The 46th pick of the 2018 draft, Melton has played for Phoenix, Memphis and Philadelphia over the course of his six NBA seasons.