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Spurs Inquired On Young Point Guards Before Signing CP3

July 24th, 2024 at 11:06am CST by Luke Adams

Before they signed future Hall of Famer Chris Paul to a one-year contract, the Spurs made several calls to teams around the NBA to inquire about the availability of younger point guards who have yet to enter their prime years, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Darius Garland of the Cavaliers and Andrew Nembhard of the Pacers were among the players the Spurs called about, Fischer reports. Cleveland has shown no interest in moving Garland and the Pacers presumably weren’t keen on trading Nembhard either — he has agreed to a three-year contract extension with Indiana that will make him ineligible to be dealt for six months.

Fischer also mentions Hawks star Trae Young and Josh Giddey – who was sent from the Thunder to the Bulls last month – as players who had San Antonio among their preferred destinations in the event of a trade. However, Young and Giddey now appear on track to open the 2024/25 season in Atlanta and Chicago, respectively, and Fischer doesn’t specify to what level the Spurs reciprocated either player’s interest.

While Paul will be Victor Wembanyama‘s primary pick-and-roll partner for the 2024/25 season, the Spurs figure to remain on the lookout for a player who can ideally fill that role for the next decade, Fischer writes.

No. 4 overall pick Stephon Castle is one candidate — he considers himself a point guard and San Antonio targeted the former UConn star for much of the pre-draft process, sources tell Yahoo Sports. However, as Fischer observes, Castle showed with the Huskies that he can thrive alongside another point guard, so even if they’re bullish on his NBA upside, the Spurs may not be prepared yet to pencil in the 19-year-old as the long-term answer at the position.

In addition to Paul and Castle, the Spurs also still have Tre Jones in the point guard mix. Jones is in the final year of his current contract and will reach unrestricted free agency next summer.

Sam Hauser Signs Four-Year Extension With Celtics

July 23rd, 2024 at 3:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 23: The Celtics have officially signed Hauser to his extension, the team confirmed in a press release.

“You can count on Sam. He comes to work every single day with the right mindset and attitude,” president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in a statement. “His shooting gets most of the attention – but his feel for the game, defensive versatility, and his consistency as a teammate have allowed him to impact our team in the biggest of moments. We are excited Sam has decided to extend his contract with the Celtics.”

JULY 21: The Celtics have reached an agreement with Sam Hauser on a four-year, $45MM contract extension, agent Jason Glushon tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

It’s a significant raise for the 26-year-old forward, who will make a little more than $2MM for the upcoming season. Boston picked up its team option on Hauser’s contract in late June with the intention of signing him to an extension.

There are no options in the final year so the deal is fully guaranteed, a league source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).

Hauser is coming off a career-best season in which he played an important role off the bench in the Celtics’ run to an NBA title. He appeared in 79 games, making 13 starts and averaging 9.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per night, with a .446/.424/.895 shooting line.

Hauser has become one of the NBA’s top three-point shooters since joining the Celtics on a two-way deal after going undrafted out of Virginia in 2021. He spent most of his first season in the G League, then signed a standard contract in the summer of 2022.

Hauser’s extension is the third of the summer for Boston, which also reached long-term deals with Jayson Tatum and Derrick White. In addition, the team has signed Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to extensions within the past year.

In a full story on the extension, Wojnarowski notes that the Celtics now have a projected $225MM payroll for the 2025/26 season, which would result in a $210MM tax penalty and create the largest combined salary/tax bill in league history. They are also in position to exceed the second apron for each of the next two seasons, which will prevent them from being able to trade their first-round picks for 2032 and 2033.

The franchise could be in new hands by then, as the majority ownership group announced earlier this month that it plans to sell its shares in the team.

Reggie Jackson To Join Sixers After Being Waived By Hornets

July 23rd, 2024 at 9:33am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets are waiving veteran point guard Reggie Jackson, league sources tell Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Boone had previously reported that the move was expected, and it’s now official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), Jackson intends to sign with the Sixers once he clears waivers.

Prior to Wojnarowski’s report, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer had tweeted that the 76ers would have interest in Jackson, who played with Paul George in Los Angeles from 2020-23.

A 13-year NBA veteran, Jackson spent the 2023/24 season in Denver, backing up Jamal Murray at the point. He averaged 10.2 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game, posting a .431/.359/.806 shooting line in 82 outings (23 starts).

Jackson exercised a $5.25MM player option in June, but the Nuggets wanted to go in a different direction with their backup point guard spot and traded the 34-year-old to Charlotte along with multiple second-round picks in a salary-dump deal. Denver is poised to sign Russell Westbrook to fill the backcourt hole created by that deal.

The Hornets, meanwhile, made their trade with Denver in order to acquire those future second-round picks rather than Jackson, who wasn’t in their plans for 2024/25. It’s the second time in the last two years that Charlotte has traded for Jackson and waived him shortly thereafter — it also happened in February 2023, when the Clippers sent him to the Hornets in a deal for Mason Plumlee. Jackson was cut three few days later and caught on with Denver on the buyout market at that time.

Waiving Jackson will create an opening on Charlotte’s 15-man roster, leaving the team with 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts and one (Taj Gibson) on a partially guaranteed deal.

The Sixers, meanwhile, figure to bring Jackson aboard on a minimum-salary contract, since that’s all they can offer to free agents after having used up their cap space and their room exception. The veteran guard will be the 13th man on Philadelphia’s standard roster, providing additional depth in a backcourt that includes rising star Tyrese Maxey, veterans Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon, and rookie Jared McCain.

A minimum deal for Jackson will pay him about $3.3MM while counting against the 76ers’ cap for just $2.09MM.

Nets’ Jalen Wilson Named Summer League MVP

July 22nd, 2024 at 6:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nets forward Jalen Wilson has been named the Most Valuable Player of the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League, the league’s communications department tweets.

Wilson averaged 21.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.6 steals while shooting 47.3% from the field and 55.0% from 3-point range in five games in Vegas.

His performances should solidify his spot on the team’s roster this upcoming season. The 23-year-old has a $1.89MM minimum-salary contract for 2024/25 that is currently just partially guaranteed for $75K. It increases to a partial guarantee of $325K if he makes the opening night roster.

Oddly, Wilson was only named to the All-Summer League Second Team. The First Team included the Grizzlies‘ GG Jackson II and Scotty Pippen Jr,, the Clippers‘ Jordan Miller, the Rockets‘ Reed Sheppard and the Heat‘s Kel’el Ware.

The Grizzlies and Heat reached the Summer League championship game. Sheppard, the No. 3 pick in last month’s draft, averaged 20.0 points, 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals in four Las Vegas outings.

Along with Wilson, the Second Team included the Wizards‘ Carlton Carrington, the Trail Blazers‘ Donovan Clingan, the Heat‘s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the Pacers‘ Jarace Walker (Twitter links).

Cavaliers Sign Evan Mobley To Five-Year Max Extension

July 22nd, 2024 at 6:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 22: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.

“We are thrilled to sign Evan to a long-term extension, solidifying his place as a cornerstone of our franchise,” team president Koby Altman said. “Evan has quickly established himself as one of the premier defensive players in the league, and we’ve only scratched the surface of his overall potential. Since drafting him, he only knows winning basketball and has proven to be pivotal to our team’s success. His exceptional work ethic, versatility, and commitment to excellence both on and off the court truly embody what it means to be a Cleveland Cavalier.

“We believe Evan’s best basketball is still ahead of him, and we couldn’t be more excited to continue building something special together for many years to come.”

JULY 20: Evan Mobley has agreed to a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension with the Cavaliers, agents Joe Smith and Thad Foucher of Wasserman Basketball tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The deal includes $224MM in guaranteed money and contains Rose rule language that gives it the potential to be worth up to $269MM, Wojnarowski adds.

The extension will begin with a projected $38,661,750 salary for the 2025/26 season, according to Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Mobley’s salary will increase to $41,754,690, $44,847,630, $47,940,570 and $51,033,510 over the following four years while his percentage of the cap declines from 25% at the start to 22.5% in 2029/30.

Gozlan notes that the Cavaliers project to be over the tax threshold for 2025/26, but aren’t currently in danger of crossing into second apron territory.

Mobley has become one of the franchise cornerstones in Cleveland since being selected with the third pick in the 2021 draft. Although injuries limited him to 50 games last season, he scored 15.7 PPG and set career highs by averaging 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 58% from the field and 37.3% from three-point range.

Mobley will earn $11.2MM for the upcoming season in the final year of his rookie deal.

It’s the second significant signing of the summer for the Cavs, who inked Donovan Mitchell to a three-year extension earlier this month. Cleveland now has about $125MM committed to Mobley, Mitchell and Darius Garland for the 2025/26 season, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Mobley becomes the fourth member of the 2021 draft class to receive a max extension, following Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Orlando’s Franz Wagner. Teams can sign their 2021 first-round picks to extensions until the day before the start of the regular season. The full list of players eligible for rookie scale deals can be found here.

TNT Sports Submits Matching Paperwork To NBA

July 22nd, 2024 at 3:09pm CST by Luke Adams

TNT Sports issued a statement today confirming that it is making an effort to retain its NBA rights beyond the 2024/25 season by exercising its matching rights (Twitter link). A previous report indicated that Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT’s parent company) intended to match the media rights package that Amazon had negotiated with the league.

“We’re proud of how we have delivered for basketball fans by providing best-in-class coverage throughout our four-decade partnership with the NBA,” TNT’s statement reads. “In an effort to continue our long-standing partnership, during both exclusive and non-exclusive negotiation periods, we acted in good faith to present strong bids that were fair to both parties.

“Regrettably, the league notified us of its intention to accept other offers for the games in our current rights package, leaving us to proceed under the matching rights provision, which is an integral part of our current agreement and the rights we have paid for under it.

“We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them. This will allow fans to keep enjoying our unparalleled coverage, including the best live game productions in the industry and our iconic studio shows and talent, while building on our proven 40-year commitment for many more years.

“Our matching paperwork was submitted to the league today. We look forward to the NBA executing our new contract.”

Despite the confident tone of TNT’s statement, this process won’t be as simple as an NBA team matching an offer sheet on a restricted free agent in order to retain the player.

The league is expected to argue that Warner Bros. Discovery can’t simply match Amazon’s offer due to the differences in the two companies’ distribution methods. Amazon is a streaming giant, whereas TNT is a cable network. While WBD does have a streaming service of its own, that service (Max) reportedly has about half of the subscribers that Amazon Prime Video does.

Amazon’s package of games also isn’t the same as the one TNT is losing. It reportedly includes playoff contests, including one conference final every other year. It also features the in-season tournament (NBA Cup), as well as regular season games on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. It’s reportedly worth $1.8 billion annually.

There has been speculation that TNT’s decision to match could lead to a lawsuit, a financial settlement for WBD, or possibly a newly negotiated fourth broadcast package.

Amazon is one of the three broadcast partners with whom the NBA negotiated a new media rights deal. The other two are Disney (ESPN/ABC) and NBC. The new deals will begin at the start of the 2025/26 season.

Raptors Buy Out Sasha Vezenkov, Waive Javon Freeman-Liberty

July 22nd, 2024 at 2:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have cut a pair of players from their offseason roster, announcing today that forward Sasha Vezenkov and guard Javon Freeman-Liberty have been placed on waivers.

Vezenkov is the more notable name of the two. The 2023 EuroLeague MVP signed a three-year contract with the Kings last summer, but had an underwhelming NBA rookie season, logging just 12.2 minutes per game in 42 appearances off the bench. He averaged 5.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game with a shooting line of .440/.375/.800.

Vezenkov, who will turn 29 next month, was traded from Sacramento to Toronto in June along with Davion Mitchell in a deal that created additional cap flexibility for the Kings.

Around the time of that trade, reports surfaced indicating that the 6’8″ forward had reached a lucrative long-term agreement to return to Olympiacos, his former team in Greece. However, he remained under contract with the Raptors on a deal that included a guaranteed $6,658,536 salary for 2024/25 (plus a team option for ’25/26).

The Raptors’ release of Vezenkov creates a path for him to rejoin Olympiacos once he clears waivers and also generates significant cap savings for the team. According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Vezenkov gave up his entire $6,658,536 salary for ’24/25 in a buyout agreement in order to facilitate his exit, leaving no dead money on Toronto’s books.

As for Freeman-Liberty, the former DePaul standout spent most of last season on a two-way contract with the Raptors before being promoted to the standard roster on March 1. He appeared in 22 games at the NBA level as a rookie, averaging 7.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.8 APG in 18.3 MPG.

Freeman-Liberty’s minimum-salary contract for 2024/25 contained only a small partial guarantee, which would have increased from $100K to $150K if he had remained on the roster through July 23. Toronto will carry $100K in dead money after waiving the 24-year-old.

The Raptors now have 14 players on standard guaranteed contracts and about $11MM in breathing room below the luxury tax line, according to Murphy (Twitter link). Toronto’s newfound financial flexibility gives the front office the ability to spend more than the veteran’s minimum to fill the 15th roster spot or potentially to take on unwanted salary in a trade.

Mavericks, Spencer Dinwiddie Agree To One-Year Deal

July 22nd, 2024 at 12:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran point guard Spencer Dinwiddie is returning to Dallas, having agreed to a one-year contract with the Mavericks, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Dinwiddie, 31, was previously a Maverick from 2022-23 for almost exactly one year. He was traded from Washington to Dallas at the trade deadline in February 2022 as part of the return for Kristaps Porzingis, then was sent to Brooklyn at the 2023 deadline as part of the package for Kyrie Irving.

Dinwiddie played well during his first stint in Dallas, averaging 17.1 points, 4.9 assists, and 3.1 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game across 76 outings (60 starts). He posted a shooting line of .466/.404/.788 during that time — those field goal and three-point percentages are well above his career marks.

The veteran guard was less effective in 2023/24 across 76 appearances (52 starts) for the Nets and Lakers, posting averages of 10.5 PPG, 4.7 APG, and 2.7 RPG in 28.3 MPG while shooting .392/.337/.805.

The hope is that a return to Dallas will help fuel a bounce-back season for Dinwiddie, who still has a home in Texas and whose partner is from the state, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). As Lewis observes, the move also reunites Dinwiddie with Irving — the two guards played together in Brooklyn from 2019-21.

The Mavericks’ interest in Dinwiddie was reported earlier this month by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and was reiterated over the weekend by Marc Stein.

The terms of the Mavs’ agreement with Dinwiddie have yet to be reported. While Dallas could technically offer more than the veteran’s minimum using the mid-level or bi-annual exception, the team doesn’t have a ton of wiggle room below the first tax apron, so a minimum-salary deal seems more likely.

Assuming Dinwiddie’s salary is fully guaranteed, he’d be the 14th Maverick on a guaranteed contract for 2024/25. A.J. Lawson, the 15th man, has a non-guaranteed deal and would need to be waived in order to make room for the club to re-sign veteran forward Markieff Morris, whose return is considered likely.

LeBron James To Carry U.S. Flag In Olympics Opening Ceremony

July 22nd, 2024 at 7:56am CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James has been selected to carry the U.S. flag during Friday’s opening ceremony for the Olympics, writes Brian Windhorst 0f ESPN. The Lakers star was chosen in a vote by his fellow Olympians, making him the first male basketball player to ever receive the honor. He will be joined by a female athlete who will be voted on Tuesday.

“It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together,” James said. “For a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only myself, but to my family, all the kids in my hometown, my teammates, fellow Olympians and so many people across the country with big aspirations. Sports have the power to bring us all together, and I’m proud to be a part of this important moment.”

James and his teammates are currently in London, where they will play their last pre-Olympic exhibition game later today against Germany. Team USA is 4-0 so far, but is coming off a narrow win over South Sudan on Saturday.

James was nominated to be the flag bearer by Stephen Curry, who submitted a video on his behalf, along with USA Basketball. This is the fourth Olympics for James, who won gold medals in 2008 and 2012 and a bronze in 2004.

“We are thrilled to announce LeBron James as one of two flag bearers who will lead Team USA in the Opening Ceremony, and officially open the Paris 2024 Games,” U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said in a statement. “Being selected by your teammates to carry the flag is a tremendous honor — and a testament to LeBron’s passion for Team USA and his dedication to his sport. We will watch with great pride as the flag bearers lead our athletes who are about to embark on a remarkable journey together.”

Dawn Staley in 2004 and Sue Bird in 2020 are the only other American basketball players to ever carry the flag in the Olympics.

Friday’s ceremony will start at 12:30 p.m. Central time (7:30 p.m. in Paris) and will be shown live on NBC.

Bucks Sign Gary Trent Jr.

July 20th, 2024 at 8:15pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 20: The signing is official, the Bucks announced (via Twitter).

JULY 16: Free agent swingman Gary Trent Jr. has agreed to sign a one-year contract with the Bucks, agents Rich Paul and Lucas Newton tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Shams Charania had reported on Monday that Milwaukee was among the contending teams pursuing Trent.

While Wojnarowski doesn’t specify the financial terms, Milwaukee is currently operating over the second tax apron and can only offer a minimum-salary contract to an outside free agent like Trent, so it seems safe to assume the deal won’t be worth more than that.

Trent is a talented scorer and shooter who averaged 16.4 points per game during his three-and-a-half seasons in Toronto and has made 38.6% of his career three-point attempts. He’s not much of a play-maker and is inconsistent defensively, but he’s opportunistic on that end of the court, having averaged 1.5 steals per contest across his past three seasons.

A 25-year-old player with that sort of résumé isn’t typically available for the veteran’s minimum, and reporting as recently as least week indicated Trent was reluctant to settle for an offer in that range, so it represents a coup for the Bucks to get him at that price.

Milwaukee had been in the market for help at shooting guard after losing starter Malik Beasley to Detroit earlier this month. According to Wojnarowski, the Bucks recruited Trent “hard” during his free agency.

Trent earned $18.5MM in 2023/24 and had reportedly hoped to earn a raise as an unrestricted free agent. While the Raptors are said to have a discussed the possibility of a deal in the $15MM range, they never formally put that offer on the table and essentially moved on from Trent in late June after drafting Ja’Kobe Walter, exercising Bruce Brown‘s team option, and taking on salary in a trade with Sacramento, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca tweets.

Once they officially finalize their deal with Trent, the Bucks will have 15 players on standard contracts, including 14 on fully guaranteed salaries and Andre Jackson on a partially guaranteed deal.

The move to Milwaukee will reunite Trent with Bucks point guard Damian Lillard — the two were teammates in Portland from 2018-21.