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Warriors Sign Usman Garuba To Two-Way Contract

September 25th, 2023 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 25: Garuba’s two-way contract is now official, the Warriors announced on Monday (via Twitter).

SEPTEMBER 15: The Warriors have agreed to sign free agent center Usman Garuba to a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Golden State currently only has one player (Lester Quinones) on a two-way deal, leaving a pair of open slots, so no corresponding roster move will be necessary to create room for Garuba.

Garuba, 21, was the 23rd overall pick in the 2021 draft. He spent his first two years in the NBA with Houston, appearing in 99 total games for the Rockets and averaging 2.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per night.

Garuba was included earlier this offseason in the five-team trade that landed Dillon Brooks in Houston. He was sent to the Hawks in that deal as a salary-matching piece, then was flipped to Oklahoma City as part of a trade package for Patty Mills. Oklahoma City subsequently waived him last month, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Garuba, who was born in Madrid and began his professional career with Real Madrid in 2017, represented Spain in the World Cup following his release from the Thunder, and reports last week indicated that a reunion with Real Madrid might be in the works. However, it seems the youngster will make every effort to try to stick in the NBA before seriously considering a return to his home country.

He’ll join a Warriors team that could use some additional frontcourt depth — outside of Kevon Looney and Draymond Green, there aren’t any centers on the roster, though forwards like Dario Saric and Trayce Jackson-Davis could perhaps handle the role in certain five-man lineups. The Dubs are said to be considering a handful of free agent big men, including Dwight Howard.

Garuba’s two-way deal will pay him $559,782 and will make him eligible to appear in up to 50 regular season contests. However, if the Warriors are carrying fewer than 15 players on standard contracts, they’ll only be able to use their two-way players for up to 90 combined games, as we explain in our glossary entry.

No Traction For Mavs On Buddy Hield Trade

September 24th, 2023 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have interest in acquiring Pacers sharpshooter Buddy Hield, veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein confirmed in the latest edition of The Saturday Stein Line on 97.1 FM in Dallas (hat tip to Grant Afseth of SI.com). However, according to Stein, there’s “no traction between the teams at this point.”

Shams Charania of The Athletic previously identified the Mavericks as a potential suitor for Hield. In addition to confirming that interest, Stein points out that the 30-year-old maintains an offseason residence in Dallas, meaning that – in all likelihood – he “wouldn’t exactly protest” if he were traded to the Mavs.

Dallas also has a logical outgoing trade chip in Tim Hardaway Jr., whose $17.9MM cap hit could be used as a salary-matching piece for Hield’s $19.3MM expiring deal. But Stein doesn’t get the sense that Indiana would have much interest in acquiring Hardaway.

“My read at this juncture is that the Pacers are not inclined to make that sort of swap,” Stein said. “At least not now.”

Unlike Hield, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, Hardaway has a second guaranteed season left on his contract and will count for $16.2MM against the cap in 2024/25. If they’re not acquiring a player who can be part of their long-term core in a Hield deal, the Pacers would likely prefer to take back expiring salaries so as not to compromise their potential 2024 cap flexibility.

Still, if the Mavericks were willing to attach the right assets to Hardaway, Indiana would have to consider such a deal. So far this offseason though, Dallas has shown no inclination to move either Josh Green or Jaden Hardy, having kept both young players out of their Clint Capela trade talks with Atlanta. The Mavs’ ability to trade future draft assets is also pretty limited — they have just one movable first-round pick and three tradable second-rounders.

If Dallas were to offer a first-rounder without heavy protection, the Pacers would presumably become more open to the idea of a Hield/Hardaway swap. I’m skeptical the Mavs would be willing to pay that sort of price for a role player on an expiring contract – even one who shoots as well as Hield – but Stein does think the Pacers will be able to extract a solid return for the veteran wing.

“My instinct is that the Pacers actually do have a pretty good chance to manufacture a first-rounder from someone out there when they trade Hield,” he said.

Jazz, Bulls, Hornets, Nets Interested In Tyler Herro

September 22nd, 2023 at 9:44pm CST by Rory Maher

Add the Jazz to the list of teams that could be involved on the periphery of a Damian Lillard trade, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

In particular, if the Trail Blazers eventually trade Lillard to the Heat, the Jazz, Bulls, Hornets and Nets are all thought to be interested in acquiring Tyler Herro in a multi-team trade, sources tell Fischer. Portland is reportedly unenthusiastic about Herro, in part because the team already has a trio of young guards in Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons.

League personnel also expect the Blazers to ask the Heat for Jaime Jaquez in a possible deal, according to Fischer. A small forward out of UCLA, Jaquez was selected 18th overall by Miami in June’s draft.

Brooklyn has long been considered a team with a level of interest in Herro. The other three teams are new possible landing spots for the 23-year-old, however, from what we’ve seen reported in recent months.

Trade talks for Lillard have picked up steam ahead of training camp, though a deal isn’t considered imminent. The Bulls and Raptors are reportedly among Lillard’s other suitors, despite the veteran guard making it clear (via his agent) that he wants to land in Miami.

Multiple sources tell Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports that the Pacers are another team that could potentially help facilitate a Lillard trade, along with the Suns.

Indiana is looking to move Buddy Hield after extension talks fizzled. It’s unclear where Hield would be headed in that scenario — or if he’d even be involved. Dallas, Philadelphia and Milwaukee are rumored to be interested in the veteran sharpshooter.

Raptors Considered Legitimate Suitor For Damian Lillard

September 22nd, 2023 at 9:07pm CST by Rory Maher

The Heat have long been viewed as the frontrunner to land Damian Lillard, in large part because Miami is his preferred destination.

However, outside of the Heat, the Raptors are one of the top contenders – “if not the most viable threat” – to trade for the Trail Blazers star, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Fischer draws a comparison to the Donovan Mitchell deal last year, when the Knicks were long viewed as the favorite to land the All-NBA guard but the Cavaliers surprisingly traded for him instead.

A couple different reporters have cited the Raptors as a possible Lillard suitor, and Fischer suggests their interest is more than just cursory. Still, despite being involved in plenty of rumors over the past year, Toronto’s lack of actual moves has created skepticism around the league that the team will actually acquire Lillard, Fischer writes.

As for what Toronto would give up, OG Anunoby is a name worth watching, according to Fischer, but it’s unclear where the defensive stalwart would eventually land in a potential deal. Sources tell Fischer that Scottie Barnes is off limits and Pascal Siakam is unlikely to be involved, but first-rounder Gradey Dick could be included.

The Trail Blazers are focused on finding the “greatest possible return” for Lillard, sources tell Fischer, and have “strongly considered” the possibility of acquiring Suns center Deandre Ayton as part of a multi-team framework. Ayton’s potential involvement was first reported by John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 on Thursday night.

The Bulls are also interested in Lillard, Fischer confirms, but teams around the league — including Portland — aren’t excited about acquiring Zach LaVine, who has been available for a few months now, as Fischer has reported multiple times.

Windhorst Says Heat Aren’t “Desperate” For Damian Lillard

September 22nd, 2023 at 5:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Friday that trade talks for Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard have “intensified” but no deal is imminent. Wojnarowski also said the Heat — Lillard’s preferred landing spot — haven’t been involved in recent trade talks with Portland, though he did caution that could change at a moment’s notice.

In addition to confirming Wojnarowski’s report, his ESPN colleague Brian Windhorst says Miami hasn’t been acting like a team that’s prepared to go all-in to land Lillard.

“I don’t think the Heat are desperate at all to trade for Damian Lillard,” Windhorst said on NBA Today (YouTube link). “I think they want to trade for him, but I don’t think that it’s something that if they don’t get it done that it wrecks their season.

“They were in the Finals last year. They have young players that are getting better. They have assets that they can trade for other deals. And as we talked about earlier on the show, Dame Lillard isn’t potentially the only star player that could be on the market. Maybe not today, but certainly in the next six-to-12-to-18 months.

“I don’t think the Heat have ever approached it like it’s the be-all, end-all,” Windhorst added. “… Like Woj reported, and I have heard the same thing … I don’t think that the Heat and the Trail Blazers have been engaged in talks at all, on almost any level, for quite some time.

“That could change very quickly. Dame Lillard could be a member of the Heat in the short-term future. But I think that there has been a misjudgment in sort of the way it’s all viewed, that this is something that the Heat have absolutely got to get done, and I just don’t think they view it that way.”

For what it’s worth, when Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link) sent Windhorst’s explanation of the Heat’s thinking to an “involved source,” Jackson was told that it was “100 percent right.”

Woj: Lillard Talks Have Intensified But No Deal Imminent

September 22nd, 2023 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

After multiple reporters suggested on Thursday that the Trail Blazers appear to be increasing their efforts to try to trade Damian Lillard before training camp, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN agreed with that assessment on Friday, saying on NBA Today that Portland is “certainly behaving like a team that wants to get a deal done” before camps get underway (Twitter video link).

Still, according to Wojnarowski, the Blazers have yet to gain serious traction toward an agreement. They continue to have conversations with different clubs and explore various multi-team trade scenarios.

“Those talks have intensified, but still, there’s no trade imminent,” Wojnarowski said.“… You have Portland trying to not only talk to teams who have an interest in Lillard, but lots of teams who’d like to get in on a bigger deal. Can they pick up a couple draft picks to take on some money? Is there a need that they have that they can get in a three- or four-team trade? So Portland is exhausting all of those conversations this week.”

Interestingly, while Miami has been Lillard’s preferred destination and presumed landing spot since he initially requested a trade at the start of July, the Heat haven’t been involved in the Blazers’ conversations this week, according to Wojnarowski. However, he cautions that Miami’s apparent lack of involvement at this point doesn’t necessarily mean that Lillard will be traded elsewhere.

“So far, the one element that has not been a part of these talks are the Miami Heat,” Woj said. “But we know in trade talks and conversations, that could change in one moment with one call.”

The Trail Blazers, as they’ve been trying to do all summer, may simply be attempting to get a serious offer for Lillard from another team to put pressure on the Heat to make a more aggressive offer themselves. Or perhaps the Blazers already have a pretty good sense of what Miami’s best offer for Lillard would look like and are gauging what they could get from a third or fourth team for some of those Heat assets.

Warriors Not Expected To Add Veteran Center Before Camp

September 22nd, 2023 at 12:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite having scoured the free agent market in recent weeks, the Warriors aren’t expected to add a veteran center to their roster before training camp gets underway, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter video link).

Dwight Howard met with the Warriors this week and was believed to be receiving legitimate consideration from the team, which has also reportedly taken a look at vets such as Dewayne Dedmon, Derrick Favors, and Tony Bradley. However, Charania says Golden State has decided to put off a frontcourt addition for now and will maintain the flexibility to sign a big man later in camp or during the regular season.

The Warriors are carrying just 13 players on standard contracts and will need to add at least one more to meet the opening-night minimum of 14. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), the club is prioritizing an extra wing for that 14th slot.

Golden State’s roster is short on traditional centers, but the club has several players it believes can capably handle the position. Besides Kevon Looney and Draymond Green, players like Dario Saric, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Usman Garuba may see time at the five. Jackson-Davis has impressed the team since he was drafted in June, per Slater, who adds that Garuba is viewed by the organization as a player with real upside.

With the Warriors not planning to sign another center in the short term, Howard is expected to consider other options and see if there’s another NBA team interested in bringing him in, says Charania.

Blazers Looking To Complete Lillard Trade Before Training Camp

September 21st, 2023 at 8:53pm CST by Tristan Tucker

It has been over two months since Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard requested a trade from Portland to Miami. Now, Danny Marang of 1080 The Fan in Portland reports that there are ongoing discussions for a deal involving Lillard to be completed before training camp on October 2 (Twitter link).

Earlier on Thursday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst appeared on the Behind the Play podcast (YouTube link) and said the Blazers are trying to get a deal done, adding that in the last week or so, there’s been more movement from Portland.

“I don’t know what their offers are but I think they are making an attempt to resolve this before training camp,” Windhorst said. “They may get there or they may not. … I don’t see [Lillard] as someone who doesn’t report or doesn’t play. I would be very surprised if you didn’t see [Lillard] there and playing at his all.”

Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson corroborated Marang’s original tweet, writing that a “non-Heat person” spoke with Portland’s front office tonight and backed up Marang’s reporting (Twitter link). Jackson adds that this is the first time he’s gotten the sense that the Blazers would like to make a deal before camp “if they get what they’re looking for.”

This echoes earlier reporting on Thursday involving the potential inclusion of the Suns and/or Deandre Ayton in a deal. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM said he expected the Lillard trade to happen “very soon,” even as soon as the next 24 hours. Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports wrote that trade talks among interested teams are heating up. Bourguet added that conversations between the Heat, Trail Blazers and Suns, the latter of which has been described as a potential facilitator in such a trade, have increased over the last day or so.

While the Blazers could be looking to get a trade done, it isn’t clear which team they’re having the most talks with. Bourguet writes that Chicago, Toronto and Philadelphia could all be potential partners in a trade and that each is active on the market right now.

Lillard demanded a trade specifically to Miami, but for months it’s been reported that the Trail Blazers haven’t been interested in engaging with the Heat. While that certainly could have changed, it’s also possible that another team is nearing the finish line to acquire the seven-time All-Star.

According to Bourguet, the Heat are “desperate” to get a deal done for Lillard now. Miami has been contacting teams around the league to help facilitate a multi-team trade, reports Bourguet.

It’s important to note that even with all the reports suggesting the Trail Blazers are trying to get the trade done before camp, it’s still possible it doesn’t happen at that time, as Windhorst noted in his podcast appearance. If the Blazers still don’t like the offers available to them, they could hold Lillard into the season, as Jackson and Windhorst reported.

Suns To Explore Deandre Ayton, Jusuf Nurkic Swap?

September 21st, 2023 at 7:54pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Deandre Ayton‘s name hasn’t come up in rumored trade discussions nearly as much this summer as it did a year ago. In June, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reported that Ayton was “very unlikely” to be traded.

However, in a Twitter thread posted on Thursday (Twitter link), Gambadoro writes that while Phoenix hasn’t been actively seeking trades for Ayton, if Jusuf Nurkic were to be on the table as an available trade option, he’d be surprised if the Suns didn’t look into making such a swap.

Gambadoro goes on to tweet that such a move would be contingent on Damian Lillard being traded out of Portland, which Gambadoro expects will happen “very soon.” The Trail Blazers have shown no interest in trading for Ayton, Gambadoro writes, but that could change if or when Lillard is on the move.

On paper, such a trade would be surprising. While Ayton’s youth and upside could be appealing to the Trail Blazers, which Gambadoro notes, Nurkic is arguably a downgrade from Ayton. It would be peculiar for Phoenix, who is looking to contend in 2023/24, to soften its rotation, especially so close to the start of the season.

It’s also unclear how such a move would take place. A straight one-for-one deal for the two players is impossible, considering Ayton’s $32.5MM salary in ’23/24 and Nurkic’s $16.9MM salary. Because Portland is currently below the luxury tax but above the cap, they could not take in Ayton’s salary as is. The Suns and the Trail Blazers would need to salary match in a hypothetical trade. While a framework involving Nurkic, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson, for example, works, it would push the Blazers over the luxury tax, complicating matters.

It’s also important to note that the Suns and Trail Blazers cannot trade any of the free agents they signed this offseason until at least three months after they signed or December 15, whichever is later. Players like Keita Bates-Diop and Eric Gordon, for instance, are not eligible to be traded until December 15. Another list of players, such as Matisse Thybulle and Jerami Grant, are ineligible to be traded until January 15.

In a separate piece, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports wrote that the Suns are a “dark horse team” to help facilitate a potential Lillard trade. According to Bourguet, talks around the league for Lillard are heating up, which matches Gambadoro’s reporting, with teams like Miami, Philadelphia, Chicago and Toronto among the most active potential suitors.

Bourguet also addresses the difficulty in matching salaries between the two teams, but perhaps a multi-team trade involving Lillard is how Nurkic ends up in Phoenix and Ayton ends up in Portland.

For what it’s worth, Rose Garden Report’s Sean Highkin tweets that while he can’t speak to whether any deal is imminent, Portland has wanted to upgrade the center spot and had interest in Ayton in the past.

Ayton holds career averages of 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds, though his play in the postseason this year fell short of that mark, as he averaged 13.4 PPG and 9.7 RPG. Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, is still just 25 years old.

Nurkic, on the other hand, is 29 and averaged 13.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game last season. While their production isn’t necessarily far apart, Nurkic’s leg injury in 2019 seems to still be affecting his athleticism. Gambadoro reasons that even after the injury, Nurkic is a better defender than Ayton and could make more sense in head coach Frank Vogel‘s system.

Regardless of whether Nurkic winds up being moved for Ayton, his situation in Portland is certainly one to monitor. It’s possible Nurkic is included in a potential Lillard package, but if he’s not, it would be surprising if the Trail Blazers kept him around much longer than this season given their apparent commitment to a youth movement.

Connelly Says Wolves Want McDaniels “To Be Here As Long As Possible”

September 21st, 2023 at 3:56pm CST by Rory Maher

As a former first-round pick entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, Timberwolves wing Jaden McDaniels is eligible for a rookie scale extension until the day before the 2023/24 regular season starts.

Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said after last season ended that both Anthony Edwards and McDaniels would receive lucrative extension offers this offseason once they became eligible. Edwards signed a maximum-salary deal in July, but McDaniels has yet to ink his own new contract.

Speaking to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic on his podcast, Connelly was hopeful about coming to terms on an extension with the young forward, who turns 23 next week.

“We’d love to get something done,” Connelly told Krawcyznski. “We want Jaden to be here as long as possible. Oftentimes those back-and-forths pick up more as the season gets closer, but fingers crossed. In my experience in Denver and here, we like to reward people who earned it. Jaden is a huge part of what we’re doing now. He’s going to get better and better and better. Great kid. And we think his best basketball is in front of him.

“As I told Jaden and his representation, the cool thing about extension talks is they should be overwhelmingly positive. The fact that you want an extension speaks to the team’s excitement about his upside. Very few guys are fortunate to get extensions, so again we’re hopeful we can meet that point where we’re both happy with something moving forward. I think he’s going to have a good year and we hope he’s here for a long, long time.”

Players eligible for rookie scale extensions can sign new deals that run for up to five years, with those contracts taking effect beginning in ’24/25. If they don’t sign extensions this offseason, those players will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2024.

When we covered him as an extension candidate, we projected McDaniels could receive a deal in the range of $25MM annually — it will be interesting to see how much he actually makes if a deal comes to fruition.