Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Trade Rumors: Harden, Lewis, Morris, Wright, Capela, Nowell

June 29th, 2023 at 6:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Although he’s said to be “very positive” about the Sixers‘ direction, James Harden‘s preference is that Philadelphia trade him, according to Mark Medina of Sportsnaut (Twitter links). For their part, the 76ers are listening to offers, but will only move forward on a trade if it’s “really good” and keeps them in title contention, Medina says, adding that the club is comfortable hanging onto Harden if such a deal doesn’t materialize.

The Clippers and Knicks were the first two potential trade partners reported to be eyeing Harden, but Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) hears that New York’s interest is “far from uniform throughout the organization.”

Begley believes the Clippers’ interest is stronger than the Knicks’, and it sounds like Steve Popper of Newsday agrees — he suggests (via Twitter) that New York’s preference may be to get involved as a third team alongside L.A. in the hopes of landing Paul George. I’m skeptical the Clippers would be enthusiastic about moving PG13 as part of a deal for Harden, but George’s name has come up in a few trade rumors so far this offseason.

During a television appearance (Twitter video link via Evan Sidery), Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN referred to the Clippers as Harden’s “most prominent” suitor, though he stressed that Los Angeles won’t want to give up any of its “good young players” in a deal for the Sixers guard and would prefer to build a package out of expiring contracts and perhaps a draft pick.

Here are a few more trade-related rumors and notes from around the NBA:

The Pelicans are exploring the trade market for a potential deal involving Kira Lewis, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who tweets that a trade could provide the former 13th overall pick with an opportunity to play more for a new team. Lewis has appeared in just 103 games for the Pelicans across three seasons, including 25 in 2022/23. An ACL tear in December 2021 limited his availability over the last two seasons, but he hasn’t been a major part of New Orleans’ rotation even when healthy. The club also reportedly made him available in trade discussions at February’s deadline.
With the Wizards believed to be seeking draft assets for guards Monte Morris and Delon Wright, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype spoke to rival executives who believe Washington could get at least one second-round pick – and maybe two – for each player.
Although Hawks star Trae Young likes playing with big man Clint Capela, the team has been open to discussing Capela in trade talks this offseason in part because it wants to open up more playing time for Onyeka Okongwu, says Scotto.
The Timberwolves are open to sign-and-trade scenarios involving guard Jaylen Nowell, league sources tell HoopsHype. Scotto doesn’t say anything about the Wolves working to re-sign Nowell, so it sounds like he won’t be a top priority for the team.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker To Become Unrestricted Free Agent

June 29th, 2023 at 3:59pm CST by Rory Maher

The Timberwolves have decided against issuing a qualifying offer to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, making the former first-round pick an unrestricted free agent, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

However, according to Scotto, the Wolves are still hopeful Alexander-Walker is open to reunion after they acquired him in February via trade. Minnesota could have made him a restricted free agent and had the right of first refusal had the team extended the $7,073,602 QO, but instead he’ll hit the open market.

The 17th pick of the 2019 draft, Alexander-Walker spent his first two-plus seasons with the Pelicans before being moved at the 2022 trade deadline. He was technically a Trail Blazer for one day before being re-routed to Utah, where he spent a year prior to being sent to Minnesota four months ago.

In 59 games (15.0 MPG) with the Jazz and Wolves in 2022/23, Alexander-Walker averaged 5.9 PPG, 1.8 APG and 1.7 RPG on .444/.384/.667 shooting. He also chipped in 8.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 1.4 APG on .429/.400/.667 shooting in five playoff games (29.6 MPG).

While those numbers don’t necessarily jump off the page, he made major strides defensively last season, playing a critical role down the stretch for the Wolves as a perimeter stopper. That role increased due to late-season injuries to key rotation players like Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, and to a lesser extent Kyle Anderson, who sustained an eye injury in Minnesota’s first-round loss to the Nuggets.

Still just 24 years old, the Canadian guard/forward will be an interesting player to monitor when free agency kicks off tomorrow. Alexander-Walker should have plenty of suitors given his blend of skills, particularly defensively.

Wolves Notes: Prince, Free Agency, Reid, Miller, Edwards

June 29th, 2023 at 9:39am CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves waived Taurean Prince on Wednesday to avoid guaranteeing his $7,455,000 salary for the upcoming season, but there’s a chance he could be re-signed, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

The decision was purely financial, Krawczynski adds, with president of basketball operations Tim Connelly needing to create some flexibility ahead of looming extensions for Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels. Minnesota may be interested in bringing back Prince at a lower cost, depending on what happens early in free agency, sources tell Krawczynski.

The 29-year-old power forward has been a dependable part of the Wolves’ rotation during his two seasons with the team. He averaged 9.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per night last season, and Krawczynski notes that Minnesota was 7-13 during a 20-game stretch he missed due to an injured shoulder.

The Wolves attempted to trade Prince’s contract before the salary guarantee date, Krawczynski adds. They talked to the Wizards about veteran point guards Monte Morris and Delon Wright, but weren’t able to make any progress toward a deal, sources tell Krawczynski.

There’s more from Minnesota:

With Prince’s salary off the books, the Wolves are now about $15.5MM under the tax line with four open roster spots. They’ll be able to use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception when free agency begins Friday, and Krawczynski identifies a few names they might target. Among them are Eric Gordon, Bruce Brown, Dennis Schröder, Jevon Carter, Max Strus and Donte DiVincenzo, although all will have numerous suitors with similar financial resources.
In a separate story, Krawczynski discusses the implications of Naz Reid‘s new contract with Danny Leroux of The Athletic. The Wolves gave Reid a three-year extension at $42MM to keep him off the free agent market, but it will lead to some difficult decisions moving forward. Leroux points out that the new deals with Edwards and McDaniels, combined with the existing contracts for Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, will be enough to push Minnesota close to the tax line starting in 2024/25.
It appears Connelly is willing to give the Gobert experiment another year or two to succeed while stocking the roster with inexpensive young talent, writes Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune. One of those pieces is second-round pick Leonard Miller, who was acquired from the Spurs in a draft night trade. “I don’t really know what position Leonard is,” Connelly said. “He grew up as a forward, so I think he can — I know he can — guard three positions. Then, offensively, I’ll let coach (Chris) Finch determine where he can best be deployed. What’s neat about the flexibility of our bigs is that while Rudy is a pure (center), we have some other guys who can play both (forward and center). Offensively, we have a bunch of guys that their skill set allows them to do things all over the court than, generally, most bigs can.”
Edwards has signed with WME Sports ahead of his extension talks, the agency announced (via Twitter).
In case you missed it, we took a deep dive into McDaniels’ case for a rookie scale extension.

Wolves’ Garza, Ryan Among Players Receiving Two-Way QOs

June 29th, 2023 at 6:48am CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves forward Luka Garza and wing Matt Ryan are among several players on two-way contracts who received qualifying offers on Wednesday, according to the official transaction log at RealGM.com.

Besides Garza and Ryan, the following two-way players were issued qualifying offers, making them restricted free agents:

Isaiah Mobley (Cavaliers)
Jared Rhoden (Pistons)
Nico Mannion (Warriors)
Lester Quinones (Warriors)
A.J. Green (Bucks)

The default qualifying offer for a player on a two-way contract is another one-year, two-way deal, with a small partial guarantee.

A player who has four years of experience or who has spent the last two seasons on a two-way contract with the same time becomes eligible for a QO equivalent to a standard, minimum-salary deal. However, none of these seven players fit that bill.

These two-way restricted free agents will have the option of accepting their qualifying offers or trying to negotiate new contracts. They’re all technically eligible to sign offer sheets with new teams, which their current clubs would have the ability to match. However, that outcome has been a rarity for players coming off two-way deals.

While Garza, Ryan, Mobley, Rhoden, Quinones, and Green all finished the 2022/23 season under contract with their respective teams, Mannion has been out of the NBA since 2021 and recently signed with Baskonia in Spain. Having issued him a qualifying offer in each of the last three seasons, Golden State continues to retain Mannion’s RFA rights in the event that he eventually returns stateside.

According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Warriors aren’t expected to tender qualifying offers to Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome (two-way). The team still has some level of interest in re-signing one or both players, but that interest may hinge on how the free agent market plays out, Slater explains.

Extension Candidate: Jaden McDaniels

June 29th, 2023 at 6:12am CST by Rory Maher

This is the first installment in our 2023 series examining players who are prime candidates for contract extensions. This series will explore the player’s strengths and weaknesses, and will evaluate what a fair deal between the player and his team might look like (McDaniels will be extension-eligible when the new league year kicks in at midnight ET on Friday night).

Rundown

The 28th overall pick of the 2020 draft after one up-and-down college season at Washington, Jaden McDaniels became a rotation player almost immediately as a rookie for the Timberwolves, appearing in 63 games (27 starts) with averages of 6.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 1.0 BPG on .447/.364/.600 shooting in 24.0 MPG.

His second NBA season saw signs of progress in some ways, but regression in others. That isn’t meant to be a criticism – it’s simply a reality for most young players.

For example, his offensive role increased in 2021/22, with McDaniels averaging 9.2 points and 4.2 boards in 70 games (31 starts, 25.8 MPG). He also bolstered his two-point (54.4% to 57.9%) and free throw percentages (60.0% to 80.3%). However, his three-point percentage dropped to 31.7%, which leveled out his efficiency gains in other areas, and his foul rate increased.

Minnesota was bullish on the young forward’s upside, so the team kept him out of the Rudy Gobert trade, reportedly giving up a couple extra first-round picks instead. While that deal certainly was not favorable for the Wolves overall (to put it mildly), retaining McDaniels is at least looking like the correct decision.

Former first round-picks who have both of their team options exercised become eligible for rookie scale extensions in the offseason after their third year, as is the case here. So ‘22/23 was an important season for McDaniels, particularly from a financial perspective.

He responded with a career year, averaging 12.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.9 SPG and 1.0 BPG on .517/.398/.736 shooting in 79 games, all starts (30.6 MPG). He also posted a career-best 58.8% two-point percentage, with a major leap in his scoring efficiency (61.1% True Shooting percentage, vs. 55.2% and 55.3% in his previous two seasons).

Unfortunately, in the last game of the regular season with the Wolves vying for the postseason during the best individual stretch of basketball of his pro career, he punched a curtain that he didn’t realize had a cement wall behind it and broke his right hand. The fact that both McDaniels and Naz Reid (who just signed a three-year, $42MM extension) were injured for the play-in and playoffs right when they were peaking is an overlooked and promising aspect of the Wolves’ offseason, as there is reason to believe they’ll keep improving.

Strengths

At 6’9” with a 6’11” wingspan, McDaniels has elite length for a small forward. He’s a smooth, graceful athlete who is fast in the open court and quick on his feet in tight spaces, which is rare for a player his size.

He uses those tools to navigate screens, contest shots and cover ground on the less glamorous end of the court. McDaniels is one of top perimeter defenders in the NBA, as he received the 12th-most votes of any player for the ‘22/23 All-Defensive Teams, just missing out on the honor (I will never understand why there are two only two All-D teams and three All-NBA teams – more defensive players deserve to be recognized).

Despite having a thin frame, McDaniels is tenacious defensively and plays with an edge on both ends when he’s at his best. He doesn’t shy away from contact, especially if he has momentum.

McDaniels is an extremely versatile defender, with the ability to guard four positions – even five at times. He has strong instincts and is almost always tasked with defending the opposing teams’ best perimeter player. He’s elite on the ball, with excellent lateral footwork and recovering ability. McDaniels’ height allows him to see over the top of screens, and his length allows him to play a few feet off some of the point guards he’s tasked with defending, giving him extra space to maneuver. He’s also a strong weak-side rim protector and reacts well in “help the helper” scenarios.

McDaniels is a versatile offensive player, and a big part of his success in ‘22/23 wasn’t what you’d expect for someone who gets the generic “3-and-D” label – he actually attempted more twos and fewer threes.

I think the Wolves were placing McDaniels in a box a bit early in his career as far as only spotting up for threes at times. He showed throughout last season that he’s more effective – and keeps defenders more off balance – when he’s able to use other parts of his game as well.

Being a plus leaper with plus size makes him a natural lob threat. He has good timing when cutting to the basket, and is a good finisher at the rim. He can pump-fake and drive, handle the ball with both hands, initiate a fast break, run a bit of pick and roll, has a mid-range pull-up jumper, and shot nearly 40% from deep. McDaniels is more skilled than his scoring average might lead you to believe.

Granted, McDaniels’ offensive role was fairly modest for much of last season — he averaged just 8.6 shot attempts per game (55 games) leading up to the trade deadline. That number rose to 10.5 per game (23 healthy games) after the Wolves traded D’Angelo Russell (a score-first guard) for Mike Conley (a pass-first point guard) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in February.

Another big benefit for McDaniels is that he won’t turn 23 until the end of September, which means there’s theoretically plenty more time for improvement. He was a top-10 recruit entering college, so it’s not a new thing that he’s viewed as having considerable upside.

Weaknesses

While McDaniels is an all-around very strong defender, he’s a subpar rebounder for his position, pulling down just 3.9 boards in 30.6 minutes per game. His other weakness on that end is that he can be foul prone, which can be frustrating when paired with Karl-Anthony Towns’ own undisciplined fouls. That has been an issue in each of his three seasons.

A lack of weight and strength, combined with a high center of gravity, means McDaniels can be bullied off his spots at times. That works against him on both ends of the court, even if his speed and agility help make up for it to an extent. He’s definitely no pushover and doesn’t back down, but if you get into his chest, you can move him.

The 22-year-old’s decision-making can be a little dicey on both ends of the court. He’ll get caught in the air sometimes when going up for a shot, for example, and bites on occasional pump fakes. Cutting down on bad fouls would be a boon for his game. He doesn’t have great feel as a passer.

McDaniels doesn’t always take advantage of mismatches. He’s capable of driving past slower players and shooting over smaller ones, but sometimes he can be passive.

It’s hard to know how legitimate his three-point shooting was in ‘22/23 because his percentages have been all over the place in his career despite fairly consistent attempts. Having a more balanced shot distribution was a positive for his game overall, no doubt, but I’m curious to see if he’ll keep making outside shots at a high level long term.

I could easily see McDaniels becoming a player who scores in the high teens offensively. I’m not sure he can get to 20-plus, though it’s certainly possible if things break the right way. He’s a good ball-handler for his size, but not a great one, and his shot comes and goes.

Conclusion

McDaniels is a young, talented two-way player who brings versatility all over the court. If you were building a wing player from scratch to play defense, he isn’t far off from what you’d be looking for. He has also been pretty durable thus far.

There’s no question that he is highly valued by both the Wolves and all the other 29 teams in the league. He might not be a household name, but he’s going to get a major payday. The question is, how much?

The sample size of McDaniels being a significant contributor to winning is one season. He was very good in that one season, but it’s still only one season. He’s going to get paid based on what he could become just as much as who he currently is. There’s always some risk in that proposition.

McDaniels’ floor in an extension is probably four years, $90MM. That’s what Mikal Bridges got a few years ago and what De’Andre Hunter received before last season started. I thought Hunter got overpaid based on his past results and injury problems, and I would take McDaniels over him in a trade without hesitation.

It’s actually challenging to find a player who compares to McDaniels because he’s only 22, is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league at 6’9”, is a plus athlete, and has an interesting blend of offensive skills. He can’t create his own shot like the former No. 1 overall pick can, but I can see a little bit of Andrew Wiggins in his game. People thought Wiggins was underpaid when he got a four-year, $109MM extension last year.

Something in the middle of those two figures sounds about right to me for McDaniels. If he gets a four-year deal, I think he’s probably in line for around $100MM. The new CBA allows for five-year, non-max rookie scale extensions, and if he wants the extra year of security, I could see him getting about $125MM. $25MM annually is a lot for a role player, but he has a chance to be a special one and was already very good last season.

Raptors Notes: VanVleet, Poeltl, Siakam, Anunoby, Wieskamp

June 28th, 2023 at 5:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

In a look at where the Raptors stand heading into free agency, Eric Koreen of The Athletic expects the team to re-sign both Fred VanVleet and Jakob Poeltl, although it will be expensive to do so. Koreen projects a four-year, $130MM contract for VanVleet and a three-year, $63MM deal for Poeltl. That would give Toronto $164.8MM committed to 12 players for the upcoming season, leaving no way to fill out the roster without exceeding the projected luxury-tax threshold of $165MM.

The Rockets may be ready to offer VanVleet a maximum-salary contract, but they reportedly want to limit it to two years. Toronto’s willingness to commit to a longer deal could be enough to convince him to stay, although Koreen also explores sign-and-trade possibilities with the Bulls, Timberwolves and Nets.

The Thunder and Spurs appear to be the best options for Poeltl, Koreen states, although he’s not sure if either franchise will offer a big-money deal to a center with limited shooting range. Koreen also cites the Bucks, Bulls, Lakers and Mavericks as teams that might pursue a sign-and-trade.

There’s more on the Raptors:

Draft night was probably the best time to work out a trade involving Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby, Koreen adds. A recent report that Siakam may not be open to re-signing with any team that trades for him should cool off his market, but Koreen expects Toronto to still get offers for Anunoby. He also believes it’s likely that both players will start next season with the Raptors, but they probably won’t agree to extensions this summer.
Anunoby has selected CAA Basketball as his new representative, the agency announced (via Twitter). If Anunoby doesn’t sign an extension, he could become a free agent in 2024 by turning down a $19.9MM player option.
Joe Wieskamp and the Raptors have reached an agreement to extend the guarantee date for next season’s contract to July 18, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. The front office wants to see how he performs during Summer League before committing to another season, adds Murphy, who believes Wieskamp may get a small partial guarantee on the deal for agreeing to the change.

Timberwolves Waive Taurean Prince

June 28th, 2023 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

5:01pm: The Timberwolves have officially waived Prince, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

4:08pm: The Timberwolves have decided not to guarantee Taurean Prince‘s $7,455,000 salary for the 2023/24 season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Because Prince has a non-guaranteed contract rather than an option, he’ll have to be waived, meaning Minnesota won’t retain any form of Bird rights on him. While Prince could technically be claimed by a team with cap room or a trade exception big enough to cover his salary, he’ll likely pass through waivers and become an unrestricted free agent.

The Wolves’ decision is a little surprising, given that Prince has been a reliable rotation piece in Minnesota for the last two years. In 123 games since the start of the 2021/22 season, he has averaged 8.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 19.3 minutes per night, with a solid shooting line of .460/.378/.799.

Still, if the Wolves hope to re-sign restricted free agent Nickeil Alexander-Walker and use a significant portion of their mid-level exception, it would have been virtually impossible to retain Prince and avoid becoming a taxpayer. Waiving him will give the team more wiggle room to negotiate with Alexander-Walker and use the MLE without surpassing the luxury tax threshold.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), Minnesota now projects to be about $15.6MM below the tax line with four roster spots to fill, so the club still isn’t in position to use its full $12.4MM mid-level without further cost-cutting.

Prince, 29, figures to appeal to teams looking for depth on the wing this summer. A decision on his 2023/24 salary was due today, as our list of early guarantee dates shows.

Timberwolves Sign Naz Reid To Three-Year Extension

June 28th, 2023 at 11:07am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JUNE 28: Reid’s three-year extension with the Timberwolves is official, the team confirmed in a press release.

JUNE 25: Days before he was slated to hit unrestricted free agency, Timberwolves center Naz Reid has agreed to sign a three-year, $42MM contract extension to stay in Minnesota, his agents Jeff Schwartz and Sean Kennedy inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Reid’s new deal will include a player option for 2025/26.

As Woj notes, Reid enjoyed a well-timed breakout season in 2022/23 as the Timberwolves’ third big man, averaging career bests of 11.5 PPG (on .537/.346/.677 shooting splits) and 4.9 RPG. He also chipped in 1.1 APG, 0.8 BPG, and 0.6 SPG across his 68 contests with the team.

The 23-year-old first joined Minnesota on a two-way contract after going undrafted out of LSU in 2019, and by his second season in 2020/21 had carved out a major rotation role with the team.

Reid’s reported new contract represents a massive pay upgrade for the 6’9″ reserve. The $1.9MM minimum salary he earned in 2022/23 had been his prior pay peak.

Based on Reid’s previous contract, the most Minnesota could offer in an extension prior to free agency was a starting salary of $12.95MM, which is 120% of this season’s estimated average salary. It appears the Wolves offered that full amount, so his deal will be worth just shy of $14MM in year two, with an option worth just over $15MM in year three.

According to Matt Williams of ESPN (Twitter link), Reid averaged 0.78 points per minute following the 2023 All-Star break, more than any other NBA center aside from MVP Joel Embiid.

Before Minnesota offloaded significant assets to Utah in a trade for former All-Star big man Rudy Gobert last summer, Reid had looked like he might be in line to form the team’s frontcourt of the future alongside maximum-salaried power forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Reid had emerged as one of the premium big man prospects heading into free agency this summer, potentially capable of earning more money and a starting gig on another team given his upside, so it’s fascinating to see him opting to stick with his current team and role.

Fischer’s Latest: Jazz, Cavs, Wolves, DiVincenzo, Gallinari, More

June 27th, 2023 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz‘s trade for John Collins and the Timberwolves‘ extension agreement with Naz Reid are two transactions that could have a ripple effect on other offseason activity, Jake Fischer writes in his latest story for Yahoo Sports.

As Fischer explains, the Jazz were expected to be a player for forwards in free agency, with Celtics RFA Grant Williams among Utah’s rumored targets. The Jazz still project to have cap room available, especially if Jordan Clarkson doesn’t remain with the team, but after adding Collins to a frontcourt that now features Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, and lottery pick Taylor Hendricks, it’s hard to see them spending big on another forward or center, Fischer observes.

As for Reid, the Cavaliers were among the teams that hoped to take a run at him in free agency, sources tell Fischer. It’s unclear whether Cleveland – which should have the full mid-level exception available – will pivot to pursuing another significant frontcourt addition to complement Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley or whether the club specifically valued Reid highly, Fischer writes.

Meanwhile, opposing executives are curious about how the Timberwolves’ new deal with Reid might affect the rest of their roster. In particular, Fischer says, rival teams are wondering if Minnesota might waive veteran wing Taurean Prince, whose $7.5MM salary for 2023/24 is non-guaranteed.

With Prince on the books, the Wolves likely won’t have access to the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, and they’re believe to be in the market for a combo guard with size using that MLE, according to Fischer, who names Bruce Brown and Donte DiVincenzo as two possible targets.

Here’s more of Fischer’s latest reporting:

Minnesota is hardly the only team with interest in DiVincenzo. There has been “growing noise” among league personnel about the possibility of DiVincenzo joining the Knicks and teaming up with fellow Villanova alums Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, says Fischer.
Teams with cap room, including the Pacers, Magic, and Pistons, are believed to be eyeing players like Grant Williams (RFA) and Max Strus, according to Fischer, though he has heard the same rumblings that Marc Stein has about Detroit potentially using its room to make a room at Cameron Johnson. If the Nets bring back Johnson, rival executives are prepared for Brooklyn to make a cost-cutting trade to help accommodate Johnson’s increased salary.
The Wizards are considered likely to reach a buyout agreement with Danilo Gallinari, freeing up the veteran forward to pursue a deal with a team closer to contention, Fischer reports. Gallinari would be ineligible to re-sign with the Celtics in that scenario.
The Rockets are considering high-salary, short-term deals in order to land their preferred targets in free agency, per Fischer, who suggests it might take a maximum-salary offer to lure Fred VanVleet away from the Raptors. VanVleet is rumored to be one of Houston’s top priorities in free agency.
In case you missed it, we passed along more of Fischer’s latest tidbits in a pair of stories earlier today.

Stein’s Latest: Reid, Spurs, Pistons, Johnson, Rose, Porzingis, Jazz

June 26th, 2023 at 8:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs were among the teams who were interested in signing Timberwolves big man Naz Reid before he agreed to a three-year, $42MM extension, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article.

San Antonio was seeking a veteran center to ease the burden on No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama during his rookie season. However, the Spurs may have only planned to offer Reid a one-year deal.

The Mavericks were among the teams with the full $12.4MM mid-level exception available who were known to have interest in Reid, Stein adds.

Here are some more tidbits from Stein:

The Pistons’ interest in Nets restricted free agent Cameron Johnson, which has previously been reported by Stein, is genuine, he reiterates. There’s rising belief around the league that he’s their No. 1 free agent target, even though the Nets have the right to match. Detroit is projected to have over $30MM in cap space.
The Suns, Bucks and Bulls have been mentioned as potential landing spots for Derrick Rose, according to Stein. The Knicks declined to pick up their $15.6MM option on Rose for next season. However, Rose’s time in New York isn’t necessarily over — the Knicks may re-sign him at a lower number if his other options don’t pan out, Stein says.
If Kristaps Porzingis had chosen to decline his player option, the Jazz were prepared to make offer for more money than the Celtics can give him via a two-year, $77MM extension, per Stein. They were also interested in being the third party to facilitate the trade between the Wizards and Celtics. Boston was Porzingis’ preferred destination, however.