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Klay Thompson Sign-And-Trade Completed As Six-Team Deal

July 6th, 2024 at 9:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks announced on Saturday that they’ve acquired longtime Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson via sign-and-trade in the first six-team deal in NBA history (Twitter link).

“We’re thrilled to have Klay join us in Dallas,” Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison said in a statement. “As one of the league’s greatest shooters who competes on both ends, we feel Klay is a perfect fit for our team. He adds a strong, experienced veteran voice that will help us continue to build on the success we’ve seen in recent years. Klay’s championship experience, clutch performances and calm demeanor under pressure exemplify what it takes to win in the NBA at the highest level. He will help us continue to grow towards our goal of winning another championship.”

The Hornets, Timberwolves, Sixers, and Nuggets are also involved in the trade, with separate agreements involving Kyle Anderson (Minnesota to Golden State), Buddy Hield (Philadelphia to Golden State), and Reggie Jackson (Denver to Charlotte) all folded into a single mega-deal.

As best we can tell, the terms are as follows:

Mavericks acquire Thompson (sign-and-trade) and a 2025 second-round pick.
Warriors acquire Anderson (sign-and-trade) and Hield (sign-and-trade).
Hornets acquire Josh Green, Jackson, the Nuggets’ 2029 second-round pick, and the Nuggets’ 2030 second-round pick.
Timberwolves acquire a 2025 second-round pick, a 2031 second-round pick swap (from Warriors), and cash (from Warriors).
Sixers acquire the Mavericks’ 2031 second-round pick.
Nuggets acquire cash (from Hornets).

There’s at least one minor adjustment from the original agreements. Because the Warriors benefit most from turning multiple deals into a single trade (they can use Thompson’s outgoing salary to salary-match for both Anderson and Hield, allowing them to give the two players a higher combined salary than what Thompson’s will make), they’re no longer receiving a second-round pick from the Hornets. It appears that pick is being rerouted to the Wolves, who needed to send or receive an asset from another team besides Golden State.

We don’t yet know the exact details of the 2025 second-rounders being acquired by Dallas and Minnesota, but it looks like one of them is the 2025 Nuggets pick that Charlotte initially agreed to acquire as part of the Jackson trade and one of them is the 2025 Sixers pick that Charlotte already controlled. The Hornets were always going to send out two second-round picks for Green — they’re just going to Dallas and Minnesota now, instead of Dallas and Golden State.

There may be more moving pieces here though, since none of the announcements from the six teams involved have shared the full details, so we’ll keep an eye out for updates.

For more details on all these trades, be sure to check out our original stories:

Mavericks to acquire Klay Thompson (story)
Warriors to acquire Kyle Anderson (story)
Warriors to acquire Buddy Hield (story)
Hornets to acquire Reggie Jackson (story)

Nets, Knicks Officially Complete Mikal Bridges Trade

July 6th, 2024 at 8:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have officially acquired star forward Mikal Bridges from the Nets, the teams announced today in a pair of press releases.

“We are thrilled to add a player of Mikal’s caliber to the Knicks family. His ability to score, shoot and defend at an elite level will add to a team that continues to grow,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “Not only does he demonstrate excellence on the court but Mikal’s strength of character, diligence and dedication to the game of basketball are vital to the culture we continue to build in New York.”

The two clubs reached an initial agreement on June 25, then finalized an expanded version of the deal on Thursday to allow the Knicks to avoid becoming hard-capped at the first tax apron ($178.1MM). New York will instead be hard-capped at the second apron ($188.9MM).

The final terms are as follows:

Knicks acquire Bridges, Keita Bates-Diop, the draft rights to Juan Pablo Vaulet, and either the Pistons’, Bucks’, or Magic’s 2026 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
Nets acquire Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton (sign-and-trade), Mamadi Diakite, the Knicks’ 2025 first-round pick, the Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (top-four protected), the Knicks’ 2027 first-round pick, the Knicks’ 2029 first-round pick, the Knicks’ 2031 first-round pick, the right to swap a 2028 first-round pick for the Knicks’ 2028 first-round pick, and the Nets’ 2025 second-round pick.

The addition of Vaulet’s rights is new, and we now have the details on the draft pick headed to New York in the deal, but otherwise these are the terms that had been previously reported.

Milton’s new three-year contract is worth $9.16MM in total, with a $2.86MM guaranteed salary in year one, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. Brooklyn will be hard-capped at the first apron in 2024/25 as a result of acquiring him via sign-and-trade.

The Nets almost certainly used existing traded player exceptions to take on their incoming players, which means they’ll generate a sizable new TPE worth Bridges’ outgoing salary ($23.3MM). They’ll have one year to use it.

For more details on one of the summer’s biggest trades, be sure to check out our original stories on the agreement.

Hawks Trade Dejounte Murray To Pelicans

July 6th, 2024 at 6:37pm CST by Tristan Tucker

JULY 6: The trade sending Murray to the Pelicans is now official, according to press releases from both teams.

“Dejounte is among the best two-way guards in the NBA and adds another dimension to our team, and we could not be more excited to welcome him and his family to New Orleans,” Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin said within New Orleans’ announcement.

Cody Zeller was signed-and-traded to Atlanta as part of the deal for salary-matching purposes. His exact contract details have yet to be reported, but ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) says the veteran center will earn in excess of $3MM in 2024/25. The contract must be for at least three years, though only the first season needs to be guaranteed.

Zeller’s inclusion means Murray can earn his full $12MM trade bonus.

The 2027 pick going to Atlanta, which will be the least favorable of the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ first-rounders, is top-four protected.

JUNE 28: The Hawks are trading guard Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

In exchange for Murray, the Pelicans are sending forward Larry Nance Jr., 2022 No. 8 overall pick Dyson Daniels, and two first-round picks to Atlanta, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter links). Forward E.J. Liddell will also head to the Hawks in the deal, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), the picks the Pelicans are sending the Hawks in the deal are the Lakers’ 2025 first-round selection and a 2027 first-rounder, which will be the least favorable of the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ picks.

The Hawks originally acquired Murray from the Spurs in 2022 to pair him with star guard Trae Young. Atlanta sacrificed several draft assets – including its own unprotected 2025 and 2027 first-round picks and an unprotected 2026 first-round swap – to give Young a running mate in the backcourt, but the duo never really thrived as hoped.

While Murray was individually solid — averaging 21.5 points per game across 152 appearances with Atlanta over two seasons — the Hawks floundered as a team. Atlanta went 77-87 in Murray’s two years with the team and made the playoffs just once, losing in the first round to Boston in 2023. The Hawks were eliminated in the first play-in game this spring.

With the Hawks struggling at the midpoint of the 2023/24 season, Murray’s name began to come up in trade conversations ahead of the deadline. The Lakers were among the potential destinations mentioned most frequently, but the Hawks opted to not move him at that time.

For the Pelicans, this trade signals they’re looking to continue to climb the Western Conference standings after making the playoffs this season. Murray will provide added offense for a team that went 2-14 in close games last season, and Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link) says New Orleans believes he and CJ McCollum can coexist. McCollum thrived in an off-ball role last season, Clark notes.

As Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link), the Pelicans are still trying to come to terms on a middle ground with Brandon Ingram on a contract extension. Ingram’s name has frequently come up in trade rumors this offseason, with the expectation being that he’ll end up on the trade block if he and New Orleans don’t agree to an extension. Multiple reports have indicated that the Pelicans don’t intend to offer the forward another maximum-salary deal as he enters the final year of his current max contract.

Once this deal for Murray is completed, the Pelicans will find themselves just $4.7MM under the luxury tax line for 11 players, tweets cap expert Yossi Gozlan. They’ve never paid the luxury tax before and will need frontcourt depth, with just Zion Williamson, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and rookie Yves Missi as options for those spots, so it’s safe to assume more moves are coming, including possibly something involving Ingram.

As for the Hawks, trading Murray is a clear signal they’re willing to hear offers on most of their players. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported this morning that everyone on the roster except for Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher are on the table. That list of trade candidates – which features veterans like Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter – could also include Young, though there was an expectation that Atlanta would likely just trade one of him or Murray — not necessarily both.

Young, like Murray, has been brought up in trade rumors since the start of the offseason and it sounds like the Hawks have at least entertained offers for their three-time All-Star. We’ll likely get more clarity on both Ingram and Young’s situations with the Pelicans and Hawks in the coming days.

Assuming New Orleans and Atlanta complete this deal as reported, with no pieces added and no other teams involved, the Pelicans will be hard-capped at the $178.7MM first apron for the 2024/25, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, since they’re taking back more salary than they’re sending out.

The Pelicans and Hawks will also have to take into account Murray’s trade bonus, which had been the largest in the NBA — it’s worth over $12MM, tweets Marks. It will be spread out across three seasons, starting in 2024/25, increasing the guard’s cap hits by approximately $4MM per season. So instead of counting for $25.27MM toward the cap in 2024/25, he’ll have a cap hit of $29.27MM. The trade bonus bump isn’t applied to his player option year in 2027/28.

While the Pelicans must take on Murray’s larger cap hits, the Hawks will be responsible for paying the bonus, Marks notes. There’s also a possibility that Murray will agree to waive some or all of his trade bonus, which would make salary-matching simpler. If he gets his full bonus, the Pelicans will likely need to add more salary for matching purposes.

After sending AJ Griffin to Houston, the Hawks will save some more money in this deal as they acquire Nance’s expiring $11.21MM deal, Daniels’ rookie scale contract ($6.06MM in 2024/25), and Liddell’s minimum-salary pact ($2.12MM). According to Marks (Twitter link), the team’s salary now projects to be about $5.5MM below the luxury tax line with 14 players under contract.

Atlanta will hold team options on both Daniels and Liddell for the 2025/26 season.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Sixers Sign Caleb Martin, Waive Paul Reed

July 6th, 2024 at 6:28pm CST by Tristan Tucker

7:28pm: Martin has officially signed with the Sixers, the team confirmed in a press release.

“Caleb is a battle-tested performer who has elevated his game when his teams have needed it most,” president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “We’re excited for him to bring his skillset and mentality to the 76ers.”

The Sixers also confirmed in a separate release that they’ve waived Reed.

11:45am: Martin’s deal with the Sixers is indeed guaranteed for roughly $32MM and can reach up to $40MM with bonuses, Scotto clarifies (Twitter link).

9:23am: Free agent forward Caleb Martin is planning to sign with the Sixers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). In order to help make space for the veteran forward, the 76ers are planning to waive Paul Reed‘s non-guaranteed contract, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).

In a follow-up story, Wojnarowski writes that Martin will sign a four-year contract that includes more than $32MM in guaranteed money. Meanwhile, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports Martin’s deal is worth $40MM over four years (Twitter link). We’ll see where the final numbers come in, but it’s possible both reports are accurate — for instance, there might be $32MM+ in guarantees, with additional incentives that could push the overall value higher.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype adds that Martin’s fourth year will be a player option (Twitter link).

Martin, who will bring extensive playoff experience to Philadelphia, could easily fit the roster off the bench or in the starting lineup at power forward. Over the past three seasons with Miami, Martin has averaged 9.6 points and 4.4 rebounds across 195 games (84 starts).

He was especially critical to the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals in 2022/23, when he averaged 19.3 points on 60.2% shooting from the field and 48.9% from deep in the seven-game Eastern Conference Finals against Boston. He nearly came away with the Conference Finals MVP award for that performance.

As Wojnarowski observes, Martin’s 13.6 points per game against the Celtics for his career (playoffs and regular season) are his most against any Eastern Conference opponent. As the Sixers continue to revamp their roster around superstar Joel Embiid, they’re adding a player who has given the reigning NBA champs problems throughout his career.

Philadelphia’s interest in Martin has been reported multiple times since free agency began. However, those reports suggested he was seeking more than what the Sixers were capable of offering.

The Heat also had interest in bringing back the 28-year-old forward, proposing a four-year extension on top of his $7.1MM player option before he decided to turn down that option. According to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald (Twitter link), Miami’s original offer would have been for four years and about $58MM, beginning in 2025/26, for a total of $65MM-ish over five years. However, once Martin declined his option, the Heat could no longer make that offer (they were limited to 8% raises in a free agent contract, rather than the bigger second-year jump they could have included in an extension).

Meanwhile, the Sixers are moving on from Reed, their former No. 58 overall draft pick in 2020. Reed has evolved into a serviceable backup in the frontcourt over the past few seasons. In ’23/24, he averaged 7.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 1.0 blocks, appearing in all 82 of Philadelphia’s regular season games.

However, his $7.7MM contract for next season was fully non-guaranteed, so he was always viewed as a candidate to be traded or released as the 76ers looked to maximize their cap room.

Spurs Trade Graham, Second-Round Pick To Hornets; Graham Waived

July 6th, 2024 at 3:35pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

3:35pm: After officially waiving three players to create additional cap room, the Hornets have completed their trade for Graham and New Orleans’ 2025 second-round pick, per a team release. They sent out cash to San Antonio and immediately waived Graham, as expected.

2:26pm: The Hornets will receive New Orleans’ 2025 second-round pick in the deal, while the Spurs receive cash, sources tell Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).

12:41pm: The Spurs are trading Devonte’ Graham and a second-round draft pick to the Hornets, one of the veteran guard’s former teams, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Graham won’t be back in Charlotte for long, though. According to Wojnarowski, the Hornets plan to waive Graham, making him an unrestricted free agent. The guard’s $12.65MM is partially guaranteed for $2.85MM, so Charlotte will have to take his fully salary into its cap room but will only end up on the hook for $2.85MM.

The 6’1″ Kansas alum, 29, played sparingly with the Spurs last season, averaging just 5.0 points per game on a .352/.301/.813 shooting line. He appeared in just 23 contests, logging 13.6 minutes per night.

Graham kicked off his NBA career with the Hornets, for whom he played from 2018-21. He spent 2021/22 and part of ’22/23 with the Pelicans before being traded to San Antonio midway through that season. During his best year, 2019/20, Graham finished fifth in Most Improved Player voting, averaging 18.2 points, 7.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes (via Twitter), this deal will give San Antonio some additional cap relief — the team now projects to have up to about $19MM in cap space.

As Gozlan notes, the Spurs could theoretically take back the mid-sized contract of a veteran wing like Harrison Barnes or Kevin Huerter to help orchestrate a three-team sign-and-trade with the Bulls and Kings to send All-Star wing DeMar DeRozan to Sacramento. San Antonio likely has something specific up its sleeve that will require a bit of extra breathing room below the cap, since Graham’s $2.85MM partial guarantee was pretty minimal.

The Hornets are reportedly waiving Davis Bertans in order to open up the cap room necessary to take on Graham’s salary.

Wizards Acquire Jonas Valanciunas In Sign-And-Trade

July 6th, 2024 at 3:25pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: The Wizards have officially added Valanciunas, completing the signing via sign-and-trade, the team announced today in a press release.

Washington was able to take on Valanciunas using a $9.8MM trade exception created in last July’s Monte Morris trade, preserving its full $12.9MM mid-level exception.

In exchange for accommodating the Wizards, the Pelicans received the Bulls’ top-50 protected 2027 pick. That pick may not actually convey, but New Orleans will also create a trade exception of its own equivalent to Valanciunas’ outgoing salary, which will be around $9.9MM, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link).

Valanciunas’ contract will be fully guaranteed for the first two years and non-guaranteed in year three, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

JUNE 30: The Wizards have found a new starting center, having agreed to terms with Jonas Valanciunas on a three-year, $30MM contract, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, it’s a straight three-year deal, with no player or team option (Twitter link).

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports linked Valanciunas to the rebuilding Wizards just before free agency opened. The Lakers were reportedly among the other suitors for the 32-year-old.

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets, Washington has a couple options to complete the move. The most straightforward way would be to use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. However, the Wizards also have a trade exception that could be used to acquire Valanciunas via sign-and-trade, which could be help the Pelicans — Valanciunas’ former club — find a starting center to replace the veteran big man if the deal is expanded. Either scenario would see the Wizards hard-capped at the first tax apron.

One of the NBA’s best rebounders on a per-minute basis, Valanciunas is a throwback center who primarily operates out of the low post, relying on size and strength rather than agility and athleticism. He has been quite durable over the course of his 12-year career, including playing all 82 games for New Orleans in 2023/24.

Overall, Valanciunas averaged 12.2 PPG, 8.8 RPG and 2.1 APG on .559/.308/.785 shooting in 23.5 MPG last season.

While he has his limitations, primarily on defense, Valanciunas will provide veteran leadership, professionalism, toughness, and production in the middle for a young Wizards team that added its presumptive center of the future (Alex Sarr) on Wednesday with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.

Pascal Siakam Signs Sign Four-Year Max Deal With Pacers

July 6th, 2024 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Siakam has officially re-signed with the Pacers, according to the NBA’s transaction log. Assuming Siakam got the full max, as expected, the deal is worth approximately $188.95MM over four years.

JUNE 19: Siakam intends to sign a four-year, maximum-salary contract with the Pacers after the July moratorium ends, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). As outlined below, a four-year max deal would be worth $189.5MM based on the most recent cap projections.

JUNE 18: The Pacers and star forward Pascal Siakam are nearing an agreement on a long-term contract, reports Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).

The No. 3 free agent on our top-50 list, Siakam was traded from Toronto to Indiana in January after spending the first seven-and-a-half seasons of his NBA career in Toronto, where he earned two All-Star berths, two All-NBA nods, a Most Improved Player award, and a championship.

In his first 41 regular season games as a Pacer, the 30-year-old averaged 21.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 31.8 minutes per game with a shooting line of .549/.386/.699. Siakam was Indiana’s leading scorer in both the regular season and the playoffs — he averaged 21.6 PPG on 54.1% shooting in the postseason and helped lead his new club to series victories over Milwaukee and New York, resulting in the franchise’s first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals in 10 years.

The expectation is that Siakam, who is coming off a four-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension, will once again get the max or something very close to it on his new deal with the Pacers, though no terms have been reported yet. A max contract for Siakam projects to be worth approximately $189.5MM over four years or $245.3MM over five.

The NBA and NBPA agreed to a rule change that goes into effect this offseason, allowing teams to begin negotiating with their own free agents on the day after the end of the NBA Finals instead of on June 30.

Technically, the Pacers were allowed to talk to Siakam even before Tuesday, since he has been extension-eligible since arriving in Indiana. However, a player’s years and dollars in an extension are capped for six months after a trade, so Siakam will likely end up becoming a free agent and then signing a new contract instead of extending his current deal. That means that even if he and Indiana reach an agreement shortly, it’s unlikely to become official until July 6, after the moratorium ends.

With a new deal for Siakam on the books and Tyrese Haliburton‘s own five-year, maximum-salary extension taking effect in 2024/25, the Pacers won’t have any cap room available this offseason, barring cost-cutting moves. They’ll have some breathing room below the luxury tax line for now, but will have a few more contract decisions to make after they work out a deal with Siakam — Obi Toppin will be eligible for restricted free agency, Jalen Smith holds a $5.4MM player option that he may decline, and T.J. McConnell will be extension-eligible beginning in July.

Wizards Waive Landry Shamet

July 6th, 2024 at 2:12pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

2:12pm: The Wizards have officially requested waivers on Shamet, the team confirmed in a press release. He’ll clear waivers on Monday, assuming he goes unclaimed.

1:12pm: The Wizards will cut shooting guard Landry Shamet, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

The 6’4″ vet had a $11MM non-guaranteed salary for next season. With that off the table, he’s on track to become an unrestricted free agent, assuming he clears waivers.

Shamet had initially signed a four-season, $42.5MM extension with the Suns in 2021, but only the first two years of that deal were fully guaranteed.

The well-traveled guard was an All-Rookie Teamer in 2018/19 after being selected by the Sixers with the No. 26 pick out of Wichita State.

Beyond the Sixers, Suns, and Wizards, Shamet has also suited up for the Clippers and Nets. Across 46 healthy games with the Wizards last season, he averaged 7.1 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.5 steals in 15.8 minutes per night off the bench.

As a 38.4% long-range sniper on 4.9 three-point attempts per game, Shamet should generate interest once he clears waivers. He is now one of the top veteran free agent backcourt options available on the open market.

Magic’s Franz Wagner Signs Five-Year Max Extension

July 6th, 2024 at 1:52pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: Wagner’s maximum-salary extension is now official, according to a press release from the Magic (Twitter link).

JULY 5: The Magic are signing Franz Wagner to a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (via Twitter). It will be the biggest contract in franchise history.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirms that Wagner’s extension, which will begin in 2025/26, contains Rose rule language. Wagner would need to win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or make an All-NBA team in 2024/25 in order to earn a starting salary worth 30% of the ’25/26 salary cap instead of 25%.

Assuming the salary cap rises by 10% in ’25/26, Wagner will earn at least $224MM from 2025-30, with the potential to make about $269MM. ESPN’s Bobby Marks has a year-by-year breakdown of the projected extension (Twitter link).

The No. 8 overall pick of the 2021 draft after two college seasons at Michigan, Wagner has started every game in which he’s appeared for Orlando over his first three NBA seasons. The 22-year-old German posted career highs in several statistics in 2023/24, including points (19.7), rebounds (5.3), assists (3.7) and steals per game (1.1).

In addition to his two-way versatility, the 6’10” forward has been quite durable to this point in his career, only missing 15 of a possible 246 regular season games. Wagner won a gold medal with Germany at last summer’s World Cup and was on the team’s preliminary roster ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, which open in late July. He called the chance to play in the Olympics “a dream come true.”

Wagner is the second player to agree to a rookie scale extension this summer, joining Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, who will also be signing a five-year max deal featuring Rose rule language. Pistons guard Cade Cunningham is also expected to sign a max extension, but the deal has yet to be finalized.

Wagner will earn just over $7MM next season in the final campaign of his rookie scale contract.

DeMar DeRozan To Meet With Kings In Sacramento

July 6th, 2024 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent forward DeMar DeRozan and his representation are traveling to Sacramento to meet with the Kings, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter links).

It’s the latest signal that there’s serious mutual interest between DeRozan and the Kings, as multiple recent reports have indicated. James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link) says there’s “positive momentum” between the two sides, with the in-person meeting giving them a chance to potentially seal the deal.

The Kings don’t have the cap room necessary to sign DeRozan, who’s seeking a salary above the full mid-level exception ($12.9MM), but the Bulls are reportedly willing to work with Sacramento or another team on a sign-and-trade deal to get DeRozan a higher salary. Still, Chicago isn’t far below the luxury tax line and doesn’t want to take on much salary in the transaction, so the two teams need a third club to serve as a facilitator and take on a contract or two from the Kings.

Reporting earlier in the day indicated that San Antonio appear to be emerging as that facilitator, and the Spurs‘ trade agreement with the Hornets – in which they’ll move off of Devonte’ Graham‘s $2.85MM partial guarantee – is a signal that they’re opening up cap room for a specific move.

While Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter have been mentioned most frequently as trade candidates for the Kings, they’re not the only players who could serve as outgoing salary-matching pieces in a sign-and-trade for DeRozan. A package of Trey Lyles‘ and Chris Duarte‘s expiring contracts could theoretically work, for instance, if DeRozan’s starting salary is in the $20MM range. To accommodate a higher salary, at least one of Barnes or Huerter would likely need to be included.

Of course, even if the Kings, Bulls, and Spurs have an idea of what a three-team trade agreement would look like, Sacramento would still need to secure DeRozan’s commitment, which is presumably the goal of this weekend’s meeting.

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