- Reporters around the NBA are still trying to pin down the mystery team that appears to be on track to sign Al Horford to a lucrative four-year contract. Marc Stein of The New York Times thought it might be the Pelicans, but says he has been “strongly advised” that that’s not the case (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) doesn’t believe the Mavericks are seriously in the mix for Horford, despite reports that suggested otherwise.
Not long after it was reported that the Pelicans opted not to extend a qualifying offer to Cheick Diallo, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium is now reporting that New Orleans will also decline to tender a QO to swingman Stanley Johnson. As a result, Johnson will become an UFA when free agency begins on June 30.
As Charania notes, the Pelicans will now have somewhere in the vicinity of $28MM in cap space this summer after renouncing Johnson’s cap hold. Johnson, who failed to meet starter criteria this past season, only had a QO worth $4,485,665, but as a former first-round pick, his cap hold would have cost the Pelicans $11,821,206 (i.e. 300% of his 2018/19 salary) in valuable cap space.
Johnson, 23, was drafted 8th overall by Detroit back in 2015 but has largely under performed his draft position during his first four seasons in the league. Expected to come in and fill a role as a 3-and-D guy, Johnson has only converted on 29.3% of his career three-point attempts. The Pistons traded him to New Orleans last season, where he only averaged 13.7 minutes per contest in 18 games with the Pelicans.
The Pelicans will not make a qualifying offer to forward Cheick Diallo, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. As a result, the 22-year-old Malian will become an unrestricted free agent on June 30.
While Diallo projects as a promising young player, the move is not entirely surprising, as the Pelicans have the opportunity to be active in free agency after trading away Anthony Davis. Even though it’s a relatively modest amount, clearing Diallo’s $1.93MM cap hold from their books creates more cap room for the team to pursue top free agents.
Additionally, the Pelicans just drafted Zion Williamson with the No. 1 overall pick and he projects to play the same position as Diallo.
Diallo, a former McDonald’s All-American, was drafted 33rd overall in 2016 by the Clippers, but was acquired by New Orleans on draft night. In three seasons, he’s averaged 12.6 minutes, 5.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest while appearing in 133 games.
League sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic that Chris Paul never demanded a trade from the Rockets, but suggested at season’s end that he’d understand if the club decided to go in a different direction. According to Charania, Houston told Paul it remained committed to him, and he has reciprocated that commitment.
While Paul and James Harden haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, Charania hears that the two Rockets guards have been communicating since the season ended and had a positive conversation on Father’s Day.
Even if the Rockets wanted to move Paul, there would likely be no market for him, as the Rockets discovered when they quietly gauged his value in recent weeks, Charania writes.
Charania’s latest round-up at The Athletic includes several other noteworthy tidbits on 2019’s upcoming free agent period, so let’s pass along some highlights…
- The Warriors and Klay Thompson will meet in Los Angeles at the start of free agency, per Charania. While Charania – like ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski – has heard that Thompson could speak to the Clippers if talks with Golden State break down, the Warriors and Thompson’s camp expect a quick agreement if the team puts a five-year, maximum-salary offer on the table.
- After Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer named the Clippers as a possible suitor for Tobias Harris, Charania says the same thing, noting that the two sides still have a good relationship. Charania also adds the Pelicans – who now have significant cap room – to the list of teams expected to express interest in Harris.
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who didn’t receive a qualifying offer from Brooklyn, is expected to draw interest from the Suns, Timberwolves, and Rockets as an unrestricted free agent, reports Charania.
- The Bulls, Knicks, and Nets are viewed as potential suitors for Julius Randle, sources tell Charania.
- Teams in need of some help at the point guard spot – including the Suns, Bulls, Wizards, and Kings – have shown interest in Cory Joseph, says Charania.
- If the Knicks miss out on their top free agent targets, they’ll plan on trying to sign “high-level rotation players” to one- or two-year deals, according to Charania, who suggests that Celtics RFA-to-be Terry Rozier may be one target.
- The Warriors sent an even $1MM and their own 2021 and 2023 unprotected second-round picks to the Pelicans in order to acquire the rights to No. 39 pick Alen Smailagic, Pincus tweets.
- Zion Williamson is a match made in heaven for the Pelicans, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. New Orleans drafted Williamson No. 1 overall and plans to add him to a young core that includes Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram and others.
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.
Undrafted University of Connecticut point guard Jalen Adams will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pelicans, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.
Adams averaged 16.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 3.4 APG during his senior year, which was limited to 26 games due to a knee injury. He posted averages of 18.1/4.2/4.7 in the same categories as a junior. The 6’3” Adams started 99 of 124 career games with the Huskies.
He made the rounds prior to the draft, working out for a number of teams. He’ll look to earn a roster spot with New Orleans during camp.
- The Pelicans’ top executive, David Griffin, is trying his best to keep the pressure off top pick Zion Williamson. He said on Friday to ESPN”s Malika Andrews and other media members that Williamson doesn’t have the burden of “saving this franchise.” Griffin added that Williamson is not yet the face of the franchise. “This is Jrue Holiday‘s team,” Griffin said. “Zion is going to be learning how to win at a really high level. At some point, if there is a time that the baton gets passed in terms of who is expected to carry us to win games, it will. That is not now.”