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Victor Oladipo Won’t Be In Camp With Thunder

September 27th, 2023 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Victor Oladipo, who was traded to the Thunder this offseason, won’t be in training camp with the team, general manager Sam Presti told reporters on Wednesday, per Brandon Rahbar of Daily Thunder (Twitter link). According to Rahbar, Presti said that the Thunder will soon have to make a decision on Oladipo’s contract.

“VO is great. He’s been through a lot,” Presti said. “He’ll be back this season at some point. But with our roster situation, we can’t prioritize that. But we’re big fans of Victor.”

Oklahoma City acquired Oladipo from the Heat in July along with a pair of second-round picks. It was a cost-cutting move for Miami after the 31-year-old picked up his $9.45MM player option for the 2023/24 season.

Oladipo has had his career derailed in recent years by a series of leg injuries. The latest one occurred in the spring, as he tore the patellar tendon in his left knee early in the postseason.

While Presti indicated today that he expects Oladipo to return to action at some point this season, he presumably won’t be ready for opening night. And even when he has been healthy enough to play in recent years, the two-time All-Star has struggled to regain his old form.

In his prime, Oladipo was a talented scorer and a lockdown perimeter defender. However, he hasn’t been able to stay on the court for a full season since 2017/18. Last year, in 42 games for the Heat, he averaged 10.7 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.7 rebounds in 26.3 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .397/.330/.747.

The Thunder have a roster crunch this fall, with 15 players on guaranteed contracts and three more (Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, and Jack White) who have a legitimate shot to make the club’s 15-man regular season roster. Oklahoma City will have to trade or waive at least three players before opening night, and Oladipo looks like a good bet to be one of the odd men out. If OKC is unable to find a taker for his expiring contract, he could be waived before the regular season begins.

Warriors, Rudy Gay Agree To One-Year Deal

September 27th, 2023 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors and free agent forward Rudy Gay are in agreement on a one-year contract, agent Sam Permut tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, Gay will compete in training camp for a spot on Golden State’s regular season roster.

Gay, 37, spent the last two seasons in Utah and exercised a player option to guarantee his $6.48MM salary for 2023/24. However, he was traded twice this offseason – first to Atlanta in the John Collins deal and then to Oklahoma City as part of a package for Patty Mills – and was subsequently waived by the Thunder, making him an unrestricted free agent in July.

A 17-year veteran who regularly averaged in the neighborhood of 20 points per game during stints in Memphis, Toronto, and Sacramento earlier in his career, Gay has seen his playing time and his production decline in recent seasons.

His 5.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 14.6 minutes per game in 56 appearances with the Jazz in 2022/23 were all career lows, as were his 38.0% field goal percentage and a 25.4% mark on three-point tries.

Still, Gay put up decent scoring numbers off the bench for several years prior to last season, so the Warriors – who were identified in July as one of several clubs to register interest in the forward and were rumored to be in the market for a wing – will take a flier on him this fall to see what he still has left in the tank.

Golden State currently has 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts and a pair on two-way deals, so the club could technically carry three additional players into the regular season — two on standard contracts and one on a two-way pact. However, Gay is ineligible to be a two-way player and it’s unclear whether the Warriors intend to fill all 15 of their standard roster slots. Leaving the 15th spot open would give the Dubs more in-season flexibility and would help reduce their end-of-season luxury tax bill.

If the Warriors only carry 14 players on standard contracts to open the season and don’t trade or waive anyone with a guaranteed salary, Gay would have to beat out fellow veteran wing Rodney McGruder and any other camp invitees for that final spot.

The full terms of Gay’s one-year deal aren’t yet known, but it will be worth the veteran’s minimum, which is all Golden State can offer. We’ll have to wait to see whether it includes any guaranteed money.

Pacers GM: Hield Extension Talks Stalled But No Trade Imminent

September 26th, 2023 at 5:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers are in no rush to deal Buddy Hield, according to general manager Chad Buchanan, even though extension talks have stalled, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star reports.

Hield has a base salary of $18.6MM with a cap hit of $19.3MM in the final year of his four-year contract. The news broke last week that the team was exploring trade possibilities after Hield was dissatisfied with Indiana’s extension offer. Buchanan believes extension talks will be rekindled at some point.

“Buddy is somebody that we love having on our team,” Buchanan said. “We want him on our team this year. The business of basketball comes into play at times. We’ve had talks with him about an extension. Those talks are at a halt, I’d say, right now, but that’s not to say that they’re done. We’d like to have Buddy with us.”

Buchanan also downplayed the notion that the team was shopping the sharpshooter wing.

“We have no intention of trying to move Buddy. But it’s also our job to listen if opportunities come to help us improve the team,” he said. “That’s what we have to do as a front office. Our intention is to have Buddy on the team this year and have him be a big part of our group.”

The GM also anticipates Hield will report to camp next week and won’t be distracted by the status of extension talks.

“I think Buddy is going to come in and be professional and be excited to be part of this team. He loves being part of this group,” Buchanan said. “He loves playing with coach Rick (Carlisle.) He and Tyrese (Haliburton) obviously have a connection together. He’s going to come in and play well and we’ll see what happens moving forward with him and the team.”

Hield will likely have to play a different role if he remains a Pacer. He was a starter for most of last season but the Pacers are intent on moving Bennedict Mathurin into the lineup. The Pacers also made a splashy free agent addition in Bruce Brown, who could cut into Hield’s minutes.

Matt Ryan Returns To Timberwolves On Two-Way Deal

September 26th, 2023 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

2:25pm: Ryan has officially re-signed with the Wolves on a two-way contract, per NBA.com’s transaction log. As we relayed in a separate story, Ryan’s roster spot for the regular season isn’t necessarily safe, as he’ll have to compete with Minnesota’s camp invitees to retain his two-way spot.

7:57am: After remaining on the restricted free agent market for nearly three months, swingman Matt Ryan is signing a two-way contract to return to the Timberwolves, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Ryan opened last season on a non-guaranteed contract with the Lakers, but was waived at the start of December and quickly caught on with the Timberwolves on a two-way deal, finishing the season in Minnesota.

He appeared in 35 total games for the two Western clubs in 2022/23, averaging 3.6 points in 9.1 minutes per game while making 38.1% of his three-point attempts.

Ryan’s ability to hit outside shots – he’s a career 40.1% three-point shooter in 37 G League regular season appearances – helped earn him a qualifying offer from the Timberwolves in June that made him a restricted free agent. He had the option of accepting that QO, equivalent to another one-year, two-way contract, or seeking out an offer sheet from a rival suitor, which Minnesota could have matched.

Given that he’s remaining with the Wolves, it appears Ryan was unable to find a viable offer from another team this summer. He was one of two restricted free agents still on the market, along with fellow two-way RFA Theo Maledon of the Hornets.

Once Ryan officially re-signs, Minnesota will have filled all three of their two-way slots. Luka Garza and Jaylen Clark are the other two Wolves on two-way deals.

Kelly Oubre Signs One-Year Contract With Sixers

September 26th, 2023 at 12:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 26: Oubre has officially signed with the Sixers, the team confirmed today in a press release. Philadelphia announced in the same release that it has waived Marcus Bagley. The corresponding move was necessary because the team had a full 21-man roster.

SEPTEMBER 18: Veteran forward Kelly Oubre is signing a one-year contract with the Sixers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Oubre was one of the last prominent free agents on the market. He struggled to find a contract to his liking in free agency despite averaging a career-best 20.3 points to go along with 5.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 48 appearances (32.3 MPG) last season with the Hornets.

He’s signing for the veteran’s minimum, Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports tweets. Having been in the league for eight seasons, Oubre is in line for a salary of $2,891,467.

Oubre spent the last two seasons in Charlotte and has also had stints with Washington, Phoenix and Golden State. In 527 career games, he has averaged 12.8 points in 25.8 minutes. The main drawback in his offensive game remains his spotty 3-point shooting (33.0% for his career, 31.9% last season).

The addition of Oubre will give the Sixers a full 21-man camp roster. If his deal is fully guaranteed, it would give Philadelphia 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts.

Given the uncertainty of James Harden‘s status, Oubre could be in line for major minutes. Philadelphia has a projected lineup of Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, P.J. Tucker and Joel Embiid. Their wing depth consists mainly of Furkan Korkmaz, Danuel House and De’Anthony Melton.

The Sixers were not among the teams rumored to be interested in Oubre. The Cavaliers, Mavericks and Heat were mentioned, but this could be an even better opportunity for him.

Celtics Sign Lamar Stevens To Non-Guaranteed Deal

September 26th, 2023 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 26: The Celtics have officially signed Stevens, per RealGM’s transaction log. He received a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract, Hoops Rumors has learned.

SEPTEMBER 22: The Celtics have reached an agreement with free agent forward Lamar Stevens, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Stevens spent the last three seasons in Cleveland after going undrafted out of Penn State in 2020. He appeared in 62 games last season, starting 25 of them and averaging 18.1 minutes per night. The 26-year-old recorded 5.3 PPG and 3.3 RPG on .448/.316/.702 shooting and was one of Cavaliers’ most reliable perimeter defenders.

After having his non-guaranteed team option picked up by the Cavs, Stevens was included as an outgoing piece in the three-team deal that sent Max Strus to Cleveland via sign-and-trade. He received a $400K partial guarantee and landed in San Antonio in that transaction, but was waived later in July by the Spurs before his $1.9MM+ salary for 2023/24 became fully guaranteed.

Stevens was said last week to be drawing interest from a handful of teams, including Houston, Miami, and Minnesota, but he ended up agreeing to sign with the Celtics after working out for the club in August.

The details of Stevens’ agreement with the Celtics aren’t yet known. Boston is currently carrying just 11 players on fully guaranteed salaries, with Dalano Banton, Svi Mykhailiuk, and Luke Kornet on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed minimum-salary deals. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Stevens signs a similar contract, perhaps with a partial guarantee in the ballpark of the ones Banton and Mykhailiuk received ($200K apiece).

Damian Lillard Rumors: Heat, Raptors, Bucks

September 26th, 2023 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

While the Trail Blazers and Heat could rekindle their Damian Lillard trade discussions at some point, each team has an understanding about where the other stands, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who says there’s a “fundamental disagreement” between the two clubs about what a fair deal for Lillard looks like.

As Chiang explains, the reason why there has only been limited communication between Portland and Miami in the last few weeks is because a deal sending Lillard to the Heat only seems possible if one of the two teams decides to deviate from its current plan — in other words, the Blazers would have to accept much less than they want to for Lillard, or the Heat would have to offer more than they currently intend to.

A league source who spoke last week to Portland’s front office was told by the Blazers that a trade sending Lillard to Miami is “unlikely,” according to Chiang. We may find out soon whether that’s true or if it’s simply posturing.

Here’s more on Lillard:

Amid rumors that the Raptors appear to be the frontrunners to land Lillard, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link) is the latest reporter to say that he’s hearing more chatter about Toronto than any other suitor as of late, though he remains wary of how seriously to take that chatter.
Whatever a Raptors offer for Lillard looks like, it won’t include 2022 Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, league sources tell Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. Toronto’s front office loves Barnes and hasn’t made him available via trade, according to Helin, who adds, “It’s not that Toronto took him off the table — Barnes was never in the same room as the table.”
In his latest update on Lillard, Marc J. Spears of ESPN identified the Bucks, Celtics, Sixers, and Bulls as teams besides Toronto and Miami that have shown interest in Lillard since he asked to be moved. While most of those clubs have been mentioned as potential suitors this offseason, we haven’t heard much about Milwaukee. Based on their current cap situation and trade restrictions, the Bucks would almost certainly have to include Jrue Holiday in any offer for Lillard.

Jrue Holiday Says He’d “Love To” Sign Extension With Bucks

September 26th, 2023 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

Bucks guard Jrue Holiday is very much open to the idea of signing a contract extension that would keep him in Milwaukee beyond his current deal, he tells Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“Would love to,” Holiday said. “Before I even won here, I think I said I’m a Buck for life and I mean that like deep in my heart. I don’t want to play for any other team. I think we have a chance to continue to do great things as the Bucks team and organization, so I want to be in Milwaukee.”

Holiday will earn a guaranteed base salary of nearly $35MM in 2023/24, with another $6MM+ available in incentives. He has a player option on his deal for the ’24/25 season, but could decline that option in order to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Holiday will become eligible to sign an extension on February 23, and there’s a belief among NBA observers that the way the Bucks handle that situation could have a ripple effect on Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s own future in Milwaukee. In order to keep both players, the Bucks will have to keep winning — Holiday says the team’s success in recent years has increased his confidence as a player.

“Being with the Bucks, having three of the best seasons I’ve had in my career, and not only that but having a winning record, being a top team or a top-three team, I don’t think I was ever on a top three-team until I came to the Bucks,” he told Owczarski. “Growing up in the ’90s and always hearing, ‘Yeah, you’re one of the greatest if you win,’ so I’m thinking like, yeah, I’m that dude – or one of them – because of how I won, because we have won, and also because we’re on a winning team. … I knew I was good, a good basketball player, but I didn’t really give myself that credit until I was on a team that won.”

Holiday is coming off another stellar year, having earned the second All-Star berth of his career – and the first in a decade – in 2022/23. He averaged 19.3 points, 7.4 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game in 67 appearances while claiming a spot on the All-Defensive First Team for a third time and winning his third Teammate of the Year award.

While Holiday would be eligible to receive a 40% raise (up to his maximum salary) on a new deal, the taxpaying Bucks will have to weigh how much they’re willing to offer the veteran guard, who will turn 34 next June and has generally been the third option on offense behind Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton since arriving in Milwaukee.

Latest On Raptors’ Interest In Damian Lillard

September 25th, 2023 at 9:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors are now the frontrunners to land Damian Lillard, two high-ranking executives told ESPN’s Marc Spears.

Reports of genuine interest by Toronto’s front office to land the perennial All-Star guard have surfaced in recent days. It’s almost been a foregone conclusion since Lillard requested a trade at the beginning of July that he would inevitably end up with the Heat, his preferred destination.

However, there haven’t been any substantial trade conversations between the Trail Blazers and Heat, according to Spears. Meanwhile, the Raptors have had recent conversations with the Blazers regarding Lillard, though there’s nothing imminent in terms a potential blockbuster deal.

That could change soon. Those same unnamed executives believe Lillard will be dealt before media day next Monday.

Toronto’s package could include some combination of Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes and/or OG Anunoby. The Blazers are also highly interested in the Raptors’ first-round pick, Gradey Dick. The Heat initially offered a trade package that included Tyler Herro and two first-round draft picks, according to Spears’ sources.

While the Raptors front office has long admired Lillard, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports isn’t quite sure if it will go all-in on a 33-year-old point guard with a four-year contract worth upwards of $216MM. Lewenberg doubts the Raptors would include Barnes in any deal and doesn’t see the 29-year-old Siakam as a fit for the Blazers.

He speculates a Lillard package from the Raptors could include Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., Dick, salary filler and multiple first-round picks. In that case, Toronto might need to lift the protections on the 2024 pick it sent to San Antonio in the deadline-day trade for Jakob Poeltl last February.

Whether Lillard would be happy to go north of the border is a major question mark. He believes he’d have a great shot at a ring by joining forces with Heat stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. The lack of a state tax in Florida, greater marketing potential and the Heat’s renowned culture also intrigue him, according to Spears.

Dunleavy Optimistic On Kerr, Thompson Extensions

September 25th, 2023 at 5:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says he’s not concerned about entering the final year of his contract and anticipates he’ll be with the organization for the long haul, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.

“I feel great about my position here and I want to be here … I’m not stressed about it at all,” Kerr said during a press conference on Monday. “I’m perfectly capable of coaching whether I have one year left or an extension. Makes no difference but I fully expect to be here.”

Shooting guard Klay Thompson is also in the final year of his contract. He’ll make $43.2MM during the upcoming season.

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. is optimistic he’ll be able to reach agreements with both Kerr and Thompson, Warriors on NBCS tweets.

“On both sides, there’s a desire to extend or be back, to make sure those guys are with the Golden State Warriors moving forward,” Dunleavy said. “Both sides feel that way and when you’re working off of that idea, you can come to a deal.”

Dunleavy, who also held a press conference, added that there’s “no specific timeline” to reach extension deals with Kerr and Thompson.

In a story written prior to the press conferences, Slater said it’s anticipated that negotiations with the head coach will be less complicated, since there are no luxury tax concerns with coaching salaries.

No official offers or counteroffers have been made from either side regarding an extension for Thompson, Slater reports. However, neither side is in a hurry to get something done. Slater anticipates that talks will heat up prior to the season.

Golden State is intent on not hitting the second tax apron next summer, which makes those negotiations trickier. In consultation with The Athletic’s cap expert Danny Leroux, Slater estimates that Thompson could be offered anywhere from around $42MM to approximately $51.9MM as a starting salary, but suggests the Warriors would be taking a risk if they go much above $42MM since they won’t know the actual cap increase until after the season.

If they don’t reach an extension agreement, they’d risk losing one of their longtime core pieces.