Offseason Check-In

NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Golden State Warriors

August 15th, 2024 at 5:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Golden State Warriors.

Free agent signings

Buddy Hield: Four years, $37,756,096. Third year partially guaranteed ($3MM). Fourth-year player option (partially guaranteed for $3,136,364 if exercised). Signed using Bird rights and acquired via sign-and-trade from Sixers.
Kyle Anderson: Three years, $27,658,536. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using Bird rights and acquired via sign-and-trade from Timberwolves.
De’Anthony Melton: One year, $12,822,000. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
Jackson Rowe: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

Acquired Lindy Waters from the Thunder in exchange for the draft rights to Quinten Post (No. 52 pick).
Reacquired the draft rights to Quinten Post (No. 52 pick) from the Trail Blazers in exchange for cash.
Acquired Kyle Anderson (sign-and-trade) and Buddy Hield (sign-and-trade) in a six-team trade in exchange for Klay Thompson (sign-and-trade; to Mavericks), swap rights for the Warriors’ 2031 second-round pick (to Timberwolves), and cash (to Timberwolves)

Draft picks

2-52: Quinten Post
- Unsigned.

Two-way signings

Reece Beekman
Daeqwon Plowden

Departed/unsigned free agents

Usman Garuba (unsigned)
Jerome Robinson (Saint-Quentin)
Lester Quinones (unsigned)
Dario Saric (Nuggets)
Klay Thompson (Mavericks)

Other moves

Waived Chris Paul.

Salary cap situation

Operating over the cap ($140.6MM), over the luxury tax line ($170.8MM), and below the first tax apron ($178.1MM).
Carrying approximately $176.6MM in salary.
Hard-capped at $178,132,000.
Bi-annual exception available.
One traded player exception available (worth $2,019,706).

The offseason so far

It was the end of an era this summer in the Bay Area, as four-time champion Klay Thompson, decided to move on to a new team after spending his first 13 NBA seasons with the Warriors.

Seeing Thompson in a Mavericks uniform next season will be an adjustment — if there was one group of active core players who seemed destined to spend their entire careers with a single franchise, it was Thompson, Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green with the Warriors.

Still, it’s hard to say the move was particularly surprising, given how disgruntled Thompson seemed to be during his final season in Golden State as his role diminished, his production declined, and the Warriors’ extension offer(s) came in below what he believed his history with the organization warranted.

Thompson is still an effective offensive weapon (he averaged 17.9 PPG with a .387 3PT% last season), but his defense has fallen off since he tore his ACL and Achilles, and moving on from him and Chris Paul (whose $30MM non-guaranteed salary was waived) makes the Warriors’ roster younger, more flexible, and more affordable heading into the 2024/25 season.

After operating above the luxury tax line for years, the Warriors made a concerted effort to cut costs — ownership would likely still be willing to spend big bucks for a championship contender, but the club didn’t make it out of the first round of the play-in tournament this spring. It didn’t make sense to continue carrying such a significant payroll.

The move below the first tax apron allowed the Dubs to make the kinds of moves that had been off-limits for years, including using their full mid-level exception (on versatile guard De’Anthony Melton) and acquiring players via sign-and-trade (sharpshooter Buddy Hield and savvy veteran Kyle Anderson).

The newcomers won’t instantly return Golden State to title contention, but there’s optimism that their mix of skill sets and the ongoing development of young players like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, and Trayce Jackson-Davis can make the Warriors a deeper, more dangerous team than they were in 2023/24.

Up next

With 14 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals, the Warriors’ roster looks just about regular-season-ready. Adding a 15th man is unlikely due to the team’s proximity to its hard cap, and while Gui Santos and Lindy Waters aren’t necessarily locked in for the regular season due to their non-guaranteed salaries, there has been no indication Golden State will look to replace either player.

Still, there are issues to address before the season begins, starting with potential contract extensions. Kuminga and Moody are eligible for rookie scale extensions, while Curry could sign a one-year veteran extension worth approximately $62.6MM for 2026/27.

I wouldn’t necessarily expect Moody to get a new deal this summer or fall. His playing time has been inconsistent in his first three seasons, so the Warriors will be reluctant to pay him big money based on his career achievements so far, while Moody will be reluctant to lock in a long-term deal before he gets a chance to show what he can do with a more regular role.

Curry, on the other hand, seems more likely to get something done. The Over-38 rule prevents the Warriors from tacking on more than one year to the two left on his current deal, but I have to think they’d be willing to give him that one year if he wants it. Curry showed in the gold medal game at the Paris Olympics that we shouldn’t count on his performance falling off anytime soon.

Kuminga’s case is a trickier one. Based on his breakout performance during the second half of the 2023/24 season (he averaged 20.0 PPG and 5.4 RPG on .547/.377/.778 shooting during a 34-game stretch from January 12 to March 26 before injuring his knee), he’d be justified in seeking a massive payday.

I don’t expect the Warriors to give him the maximum-salary deal that his fellow 2021 draftees Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, and Franz Wagner received. The question is whether there’s an amount below the max that makes sense for both sides.

Given his limited track record, you may balk at the idea of a deal in the range of $150-175MM for Kuminga, but if he follows up last year’s breakout by taking another step forward, he could be worth even more than that in free agency next summer. As a point of comparison, Immanuel Quickley got $162.5MM in guaranteed money from Toronto last month as a restricted free agent. This will be a tricky negotiation, so it wouldn’t be a shock if Golden State takes its chances and postpones it until 2025.

In addition to sorting through possible extensions, the Warriors will have to resolve Quinten Post‘s situation. The No. 52 overall pick is one of the only unsigned players from this year’s draft class — a two-way deal would make sense, given his draft slot, but Golden State would have to waive someone (possibly Pat Spencer?) to create a two-way opening for Post.

The Warriors’ pursuit of Lauri Markkanen showed that the front office isn’t opposed to shaking up its roster before training camp, but with the Jazz forward no longer trade-eligible, I don’t see any trade candidates out there right now that make a ton of sense for Golden State. While general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. will probably keep an eye out for possible deals, I’d be a little surprised if he does anything significant by October.

NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Brooklyn Nets

August 14th, 2024 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent signings

Nic Claxton: Four years, $97,000,000. Includes $3,000,000 in incentives. Re-signed using Bird rights.
Shake Milton: Three years, $9,162,405. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Signed using Non-Bird rights and acquired via sign-and-trade from Knicks.
Keon Johnson: Two years, minimum salary ($4,512,814). First year partially guaranteed ($250,000). Second-year team option. Re-signed using minimum salary exception. Waived right to veto trade.
Trendon Watford: One year, $2,726,603. Accepted qualifying offer.

Trades

Reacquired their own 2026 first-round pick and control of their own 2025 first-round pick (negating the Rockets’ right to swap either their own 2025 first-rounder or the Thunder’s 2025 first-rounder for Brooklyn’s pick) from the Rockets in exchange for the Suns’ 2027 first-round pick, either the Mavericks’ or the Suns’ 2029 first-round pick (whichever is more favorable), swap rights for the Suns’ 2025 first-round pick, and swap rights for either the Mavericks’ or Suns’ 2029 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
Acquired 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, swap rights for the Knicks’ 2028 first-round pick, and the Nets’ own 2025 second-round pick from the Knicks in exchange for Mikal 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).
Acquired Ziaire Williams and the Mavericks’ 2030 second-round pick from the Grizzlies in exchange for Mamadi Diakite and the draft rights to Nemanja Dangubic.

Draft picks

None

Two-way signings

None

Departed/unsigned free agents

Jacob Gilyard (unsigned)
Dennis Smith Jr. (unsigned)
Lonnie Walker (unsigned)

Salary cap situation

Operating over the cap ($140.6MM) and below the luxury tax line ($170.8MM).
Carrying approximately $167.6MM in salary.
Hard-capped at $178,132,000.
Full mid-level, bi-annual exceptions available.
Five traded player exceptions available (largest worth $23,300,000).

The offseason so far

The Nets attempted to remain competitive after trading away James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving in 2022 and 2023, but after closing the 2022/23 season on a 13-17 run, then posting a 32-50 record in ’23/24, the club had no way to meaningfully improve this summer, with no picks in this year’s draft and no cap room available. Rather than risk getting stuck in the middle for the next several years, management decided to take a step back and go into full rebuilding mode.

That meant trading three-and-D standout Mikal Bridges, Brooklyn’s most valuable player. Perhaps even more importantly, it meant reacquiring control of the Nets’ own 2025 and 2026 draft picks — the club had previously traded swap rights in 2025 and its unprotected 2026 pick to Houston, but paid a steep price (two future Suns first-rounders and two swaps) to get them back.

Without control of those picks, bottoming out in the next year or two wouldn’t have benefited the Nets at all, but now the club is in position to secure a high lottery pick in a loaded 2025 draft.

Brooklyn did make one major investment this offseason, re-signing starting center Nic Claxton to a four-year, $97MM contract. Despite not being in win-now mode, retaining Claxton made sense for the Nets, who didn’t want to lose a promising young player for nothing and could probably trade the big man down the road for positive value. Claxton’s still just 25 years old though, so he could very well be part of the next contending team in Brooklyn.

Outside of locking up Claxton, the Nets’ offseason moves have either been minor transactions or have been focused on the future. In exchange for Bridges, Brooklyn received five first-round picks (four unprotected) and a pick swap from their cross-town rivals in New York, further replenishing a stash of draft assets that was depleted a few years ago when the Nets first traded for Harden. The Nets have loaded up since then by flipping Harden and moving Durant, Irving, and now Bridges.

While regaining control of their 2025 and 2026 first-round picks from Houston was more important, it’s worth noting that the Nets also reacquired their 2025 second-rounder from the Knicks in the Bridges deal. If Brooklyn is among the NBA’s worst teams in 2024/25, that could be a top-35 selection.

Up next

The Nets have reportedly reached Exhibit 10 agreements with a handful of free agents, most notably former lottery pick Killian Hayes. Villanova’s Mark Armstrong and Division II guard KJ Jones also reportedly agreed to sign with Brooklyn.

Even after those deals are officially finalized, the team will have a pair of openings on its 21-man offseason roster, but the squad already features 15 players on standard contracts, including 13 on guaranteed salaries. While Jalen Wilson and Keon Johnson don’t have full guarantees, they appear more likely than not to make the regular season roster, which may be essentially set.

That projected 15-man roster could still undergo some changes if the Nets make another trade or two before the regular season begins. There has been no indication that anything is close, but talks could pick up again as training camps near, and Brooklyn has no shortage of veteran trade candidates — Ben Simmons, Dennis Schröder, and Bojan Bogdanovic are all on expiring contracts and may not have long-term futures with the franchise, though wings Dorian Finney-Smith and Cameron Johnson would have more value on the trade market.

The Nets also have a pair of players eligible for rookie scale extensions, with former first-rounders Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe entering the final year of their rookie deals. I expect the front office to explore deals with both players. However, Brooklyn will be wary of overpaying either player ahead of restricted free agency, since Thomas has been a somewhat one-dimensional scorer (albeit a talented one) and Sharpe is a reserve who has never averaged more than 15.1 minutes per game in a season.

NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Denver Nuggets

August 13th, 2024 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent signings

Dario Saric: Two years, $10,594,400. Second-year player option. Signed using taxpayer mid-level exception.
Russell Westbrook: Two years, minimum salary ($6,772,731). Second-year player option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Vlatko Cancar: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
DeAndre Jordan: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
Gabe McGlothan: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Jaylin Williams: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Jahmir Young: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

Acquired the draft rights to DaRon Holmes (No. 22 pick) from the Suns in exchange for the draft rights to Ryan Dunn (No. 28 pick), the No. 56 pick in the 2024 draft, the Nuggets’ 2026 second-round pick, and the Nuggets’ 2031 second-round pick.
Acquired cash from the Hornets in a six-team trade in exchange for Reggie Jackson, the Nuggets’ 2025 second-round pick, the Nuggets’ 2029 second-round pick, and the Nuggets’ 2030 second-round pick.

Draft picks

1-22: DaRon Holmes
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $15,203,657).

Two-way signings

Departed/unsigned free agents

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Magic)
Collin Gillespie (Suns)
Justin Holiday (unsigned)
Jay Huff (Grizzlies)
Braxton Key (unsigned)

Salary cap situation

Operating over the cap ($140.6MM), over the luxury tax line ($170.8MM), and between the first tax apron ($178.1MM) and second tax apron ($188.9MM).
Carrying approximately $182.6MM in salary.
Hard-capped at $188,931,000.
No form of mid-level or bi-annual exception available.
One traded player exception available (worth $5,250,000).

The offseason so far

For a second consecutive offseason since winning a championship in June 2023, the Nuggets’ rotation took a major hit. After losing top reserves Bruce Brown and Jeff Green in free agency a year ago, Denver saw starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope depart for Orlando this time around.

While it would be easy to cite the new tax apron rules as the reason why they couldn’t retain Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets had the ability to outbid the Magic for him without derailing the rest of their summer plans if they’d been willing to commit to a significant luxury tax bill. This ownership group has typically been averse to operating too deep into the tax, however, even with three-time MVP Nikola Jokic in his prime and championship contention within reach.

Losing Caldwell-Pope allowed the Nuggets to free up their taxpayer mid-level exception, which they used to sign stretch forward/center Dario Saric. Saric is a solid role player who should play a role off the bench, but he won’t have the same kind of two-way impact that Caldwell-Pope has in recent years.

The Nuggets’ other major offseason addition was Russell Westbrook, who agreed to a two-year, minimum-salary deal (including a second-year player option) after being bought out by Utah. It remains to be seen how Westbrook will fit in Denver, but landing a former MVP and talented play-maker capable of breaking down defenses looks like a win for a team limited to minimum-salary offers.

Still, it’s fair to question the Nuggets’ offseason as a whole. Caldwell-Pope’s exit was a major blow, and the team’s work on the trade market raised eyebrows too — Denver surrendered a whopping six second-round picks in order to shed Reggie Jackson‘s expiring $5.25MM contract and to move up six spots in the first round to draft DaRon Holmes, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tear during his Summer League debut.

Even if Holmes had remained healthy, it’s unclear whether he would’ve been ready to play a major role as a rookie, so giving up all that future draft capital to select him and to move off a relatively small contract may not have been the best use of the Nuggets’ limited resources.

Denver also re-signed veteran center DeAndre Jordan, who played a limited role in 36 appearances last season, and forward Vlatko Cancar, who is coming off a torn ACL and didn’t play well for Slovenia in Olympic qualifiers this summer (he made just 3-of-19 shot attempts and was a -49 in three games). It’s possible the Nuggets will be able to get productive minutes from one or both big men, but expectations should be modest.

Up next

The Nuggets have 15 players on standard guaranteed contracts, three on two-way deals, and three more on Exhibit 10 pacts, so their roster looks set for the regular season.

The primary outstanding question in Denver this offseason is whether a lucrative new long-term contract for Jamal Murray will be finalized in the near future. A report in June indicated that Murray and the Nuggets were expected to come to terms on a four-year, maximum-salary extension that would begin in 2025/26 and would be worth nearly $208MM, based on the NBA’s latest cap projections.

Subsequent reporting indicating that the two sides would wait until after the Olympics to complete a new deal. Well, the Olympics are over, so are the Nuggets still planning to move forward on that maximum-salary extension? Presumably, we’ll get our answer soon.

That four-year extension is a worthwhile investment if Denver is getting the peak version of Murray, but he has battled injuries in recent years and certainly wasn’t at his best in the NBA playoffs (.402 FG%, .315 3PT%) or at the Olympics (.290 FG%, .143 3PT%).

I wouldn’t expect the Nuggets to get cold feet and back out of the deal completely, but with no formal agreement in place yet, maybe there’s some wiggle room for the team to protect itself a little with some injury language or a partially guaranteed final year. A fully guaranteed contract worth an average of $52MM annually for a player who has infamously never made an All-Star team would be risky and would create additional financial constraints for an organization already being affected by its high payroll.

NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Boston Celtics

August 12th, 2024 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent signings

Neemias Queta: Three years, minimum salary ($7,180,128). Second year partially guaranteed ($1,174,789). Third-year team option. Re-signed using Non-Bird rights.
Xavier Tillman: Two years, minimum salary ($4,784,366). Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
Luke Kornet: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
Tristan Enaruna: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Ron Harper Jr.: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

None

Draft picks

1-30: Baylor Scheierman
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $12,810,352).
2-54: Anton Watson
- Signed to two-way contract.

Two-way signings

JD Davison
Drew Peterson

Departed/unsigned free agents

Oshae Brissett (unsigned)
Svi Mykhailiuk (Jazz)

Other moves

Signed Jayson Tatum to a five-year, super-max contract extension that begins in 2025/26. The deal includes a fifth-year player option and has a projected value of $313,933,410.
Signed Derrick White to a four-year, $118,048,000 contract extension that begins in 2025/26. The deal includes $7,840,000 in incentives and a 15% trade kicker.
Exercised Sam Hauser‘s 2024/25 team option ($2,092,344); signed Hauser to a four-year, $45,000,000 contract extension that begins in 2025/26.

Salary cap situation

Operating over the cap ($140.6MM), over the luxury tax line ($170.8MM), and above the second tax apron ($188.9MM).
Carrying approximately $196.6MM in salary.
No hard cap.
No form of mid-level or bi-annual exception available.
Two traded player exceptions frozen/unavailable (largest worth $2,019,706).

The offseason so far

The Celtics dominated the 2024/25 campaign, posting the NBA’s best regular season record (64-18) and net rating (+11.7) by a wide margin, then losing just three playoff games (no more than one in any series) en route to a league-record 18th championship.

It’s no surprise then that the front office’s strategy this offseason was simply to keep this group intact, especially since the team’s position relative to the tax aprons made it difficult to bring in outside help.

Of the seven Celtics players who reached free agency this offseason, five are back under contract with the team — big men Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman, and Neemias Queta each returned on minimum-salary contracts, while Drew Peterson and JD Davison signed new two-way deals.

Little-used wing Svi Mykhailiuk is the only free agent to join a new team (Utah), while another reserve wing, Oshae Brissett, is the only one who remains unsigned. The Celtics still have one open 15-man roster spot, so it’s not out of the question that Brissett returns, but it looks like the team will be happy adding a pair of draft picks (Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson) to the back of the roster and entering the fall with that last spot still open.

Besides re-signing most of their own free agents, the Celtics agreed to long-term extensions with All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum, All-Defensive guard Derrick White, and sharpshooting reserve Sam Hauser. With the exception of 38-year-old big man Al Horford, the Celtics’ top eight rotation players are now under contract for multiple seasons, with five of them locked up for at least the next four years.

It hasn’t been a perfect offseason in Boston. Top assistant Charles Lee left Joe Mazzulla‘s staff to take the head coaching job in Charlotte, and the Celtics’ majority ownership group put control of the franchise up for sale, raising some questions about the long-term feasibility of maintaining one of the NBA’s most expensive rosters, which will only get pricier in 2025/26 as many of those aforementioned extensions take effect.

For now though, the outlook in Boston remains overwhelming positive, with the Celtics poised to enter the 2024/25 season as the favorites to repeat.

Up next

It’s possible the Celtics’ offseason business is over. The team has 14 players on standard guaranteed contracts and three on two-way deals, so the roster is regular-season-ready.

The only remaining extension-eligible player is fourth-year guard Jaden Springer, who probably hasn’t shown enough to warrant a long-term investment at this point. He logged just 7.6 minutes per game across 17 regular season appearances with the Celtics after being acquired from Philadelphia at the 2024 trade deadline, and only saw garbage-time action in four playoff contests.

With two open spot on Boston’s 21-man offseason roster, the team will probably bring in a couple more camp invitees on Exhibit 10 contracts. And maybe those players will even get the opportunity to compete for one of the two-way spots currently held by Davison or Peterson (I wouldn’t expect Watson, who holds the third two-way, to be cut before his rookie season).

But for the most part, a quiet fall should be in store for the Celtics, who will be eager to get their title defense underway this October.

NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Dallas Mavericks

August 10th, 2024 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent signings

Klay Thompson: Three years, $50,000,000. Includes 15% trade kicker. Signed using Bird rights and acquired via sign-and-trade from Warriors.
Naji Marshall: Three years, $27,000,000. Includes 5% trade kicker. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
Spencer Dinwiddie: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Jazian Gortman: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Emanuel Miller: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Jamarion Sharp: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

Acquired the draft rights to Melvin Ajinca (No. 51 pick) from the Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Ariel Hukporti (No. 58 pick), the draft rights to Petteri Koponen, and cash ($1MM).
Acquired Quentin Grimes from the Pistons in exchange for Tim Hardaway Jr., the Raptors’ 2025 second-round pick, the Heat’s 2028 second-round pick, and either the Clippers’ or Hornets’ 2028 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
Acquired Klay Thompson (sign-and-trade) and either the Nuggets’ or Sixers’ second-round pick (whichever is more favorable in a six-team trade in exchange for Josh Green (to Hornets) and the Mavericks’ 2031 second-round pick (to Sixers).

Draft picks

2-51: Melvin Ajinca
- Signed with ASVEL in France.

Two-way signings

Kessler Edwards
Brandon Williams

Departed/unsigned free agents

Greg Brown (unsigned)
Derrick Jones (Clippers)
Markieff Morris (unsigned)

Other moves

Waived Alex Fudge.

Salary cap situation

Operating over the cap ($140.6MM) and above the luxury tax line ($170.8MM).
Carrying approximately $176.1MM in salary.
Hard-capped at $178,132,000.
Approximately $4.25MM of mid-level exception available; full bi-annual exception ($4.67MM) available.
Two traded player exceptions available (largest worth $16,193,183).

The offseason so far

The vibes were good in Dallas after the Mavericks made an unexpected run to the NBA Finals this spring, with general manager Nico Harrison suggesting after the team’s loss to Boston that his plan was to simply keep the core intact and to find a way to re-sign starting small forward Derrick Jones.

The Mavs’ ability to give Jones a raise on his previous minimum-salary contract was limited because they only held his Non-Bird rights, but Harrison vowed that bringing back the talented defensive swingman was “priority 1A and 1B” for the organization.

When Dallas struck a deal to send Tim Hardaway Jr. and some future second-round picks to Detroit in exchange for Quentin Grimes, the team’s intentions looked pretty clear — having created nearly $12MM in extra cap flexibility as a result of that move, the Mavs gained the ability to use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to re-sign Jones.

That didn’t happen though. Instead, Jones opted to sign a three-year, $30MM contract with the Clippers, prompting the Mavs to pivot to another free agent, Naji Marshall. Dallas used a portion of its MLE to bring in Marshall – a three-and-D forward – on a three-year, $27MM deal.

That signing hard-capped the Mavs at the first tax apron for the rest of the 2024/25 league year, but the front office wasn’t done wheeling and dealing yet. The club reached an agreement with the Warriors and Hornets on a three-team trade that would send Josh Green to Charlotte and Klay Thompson to Dallas on a three-year, $50MM contract. The move was eventually combined with a handful of other transactions and completed as a six-team deal.

When the dust settled, the Mavs had essentially replaced three wings – Jones, Hardaway, and Green – with three new ones in Thompson, Marshall, and Grimes. Thompson isn’t the perennial All-Star he once was, and Grimes is coming off a disappointing, injury-plagued season, but between Thompson’s shooting ability and Marshall’s and Grimes’ three-and-D skill sets, Dallas has a good chance to come out ahead in the series of wing swaps, strengthening a roster that just won the West.

The Mavs also brought back Spencer Dinwiddie, who had a down year with the Nets and Lakers in 2023/24, but thrived in Dallas during the one-year period from the 2022 trade deadline (when he was acquired in the deal sending Kristaps Porzingis to Washington) to the 2023 deadline (when he was sent out as part of the package for Kyrie Irving). A potential bargain on a minimum-salary deal, Dinwiddie will provide additional depth behind the star-studded backcourt of Irving and Luka Doncic.

Up next

The Mavericks have 15 players on standard contracts, but they’ll likely make a change to their 15th spot at some point before training camp. Reports throughout the summer have indicated that veteran forward Markieff Morris is expected to return to Dallas on a new deal.

A.J. Lawson, who is on a non-guaranteed contract, would almost certainly be waived if Morris officially re-signs, since he’s the clear 15th man and the Mavs don’t have enough flexibility below their hard cap to eat a guaranteed salary.

Dallas also still has a two-way slot available alongside Brandon Williams and Kessler Edwards. It’s unclear if the Mavs have anyone specific in mind for that opening or if the team’s current Exhibit 10 players (Jazian Gortman, Emanuel Miller, and Jamarion Sharp) might get a chance to compete for that last two-way deal.

The Mavs have several players who are either already extension-eligible or will become eligible for new deals prior to opening night, though it’s possible none of them will sign contracts before the regular season tips off.

Maxi Kleber and P.J. Washington each have one more guaranteed season on their respective contracts after 2024/25, so there’s no urgency to work something out this year. Still, I’d expect Dallas to at least explore a long-term deal for Washington, who played very well in a significant role after being acquired from Charlotte in February.

Grimes, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension, has yet to suit up for the Mavs and will likely need to prove 2023/24 was an aberration before the team is willing to invest long-term in him. Doncic could technically sign an extension now, but despite meeting the performance criteria for a super-max contract, he needs to have one more year of experience under his belt to actually sign that super-max, so he’ll wait until 2025.

Third-year guard Jaden Hardy is an interesting extension candidate, but unlike the four aforementioned players, he’ll remain eligible for the entire 2024/25 season, not just until October 21, so the Mavs could postpone their decision on him until the winter or the spring.

NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Atlanta Hawks

August 9th, 2024 at 8:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent signings

Cody Zeller: Three years, $11,025,000. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Signed using Non-Bird rights and acquired via sign-and-trade from Pelicans.
Vit Krejci: Four years, $10,185,213. Second year partially guaranteed ($1.5MM). Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Re-signed using Non-Bird rights.

Trades

Acquired the draft rights to Nikola Djurisic (No. 43 pick) from the Heat in a three-team trade in exchange for the draft rights to AJ Griffin (to Rockets) and cash (to Heat).
Acquired Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, E.J. Liddell, Cody Zeller (sign-and-trade), the Lakers’ 2025 first-round pick, and either the Pelicans’ or Bucks’ 2027 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable; top-four protected) from the Pelicans in exchange for Dejounte Murray.
Acquired David Roddy from the Suns in exchange for E.J. Liddell.

Draft picks

1-1: Zaccharie Risacher
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $57,027,436).
2-43: Nikola Djurisic
- Unsigned.

Two-way signings

Departed/unsigned free agents

Saddiq Bey (Wizards)
Trent Forrest (Baskonia)
Wesley Matthews (unsigned)
Dylan Windler (unsigned)

Other moves

Exercised Garrison Mathews‘ 2024/25 team option ($2,230,253).
Waived Bruno Fernando.

Salary cap situation

Operating over the cap ($140.6MM) and below the luxury tax line ($170.8MM).
Carrying approximately $169.5MM in salary.
Hard-capped at $178,132,000.
Full mid-level, bi-annual exceptions available.
Two traded player exceptions available (largest worth $25,266,266).

The offseason so far

The Hawks’ offseason began with a bang, as the team unexpectedly landed the No. 1 overall pick in the draft lottery, moving up nine spots from No. 10 in the pre-lottery odds.

In another year (say, 2023), that stroke of luck might’ve fundamentally changed the direction of the franchise. However, the 2024 draft class didn’t feature a generational prospect – or even a clear-cut top option – so moving up to first overall didn’t really alter Atlanta’s offseason goals. The team still had a backcourt situation to address, with either Dejounte Murray or Trae Young considered likely to be traded

It was ultimately Murray who was on the move, sent to the Pelicans in exchange for a package that included a promising young guard (Dyson Daniels), a useful role player (Larry Nance Jr.), a couple salary-matching pieces, and some draft assets.

While Atlanta made two more minor deals this summer, trade candidates like Young, Clint Capela, and De’Andre Hunter remain on the roster, with little indication that the club is aggressively looking to move any of them. And it was a quiet summer in free agency for the Hawks, whose only signings were Cody Zeller (part of the Murray deal via sign-and-trade) and Vit Krejci (who got a promotion after finishing last season on a two-way deal).

The Hawks now appear caught somewhere in between contending and rebuilding. With Young, Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and rising star Jalen Johnson on the roster, Atlanta isn’t about to bottom out, but there’s not enough talent spread throughout the rest of the roster to make the team a legit threat to win the Eastern Conference. The development of No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher will also require some patience, as he’s unlikely to become a high-level rotation player right away.

The Hawks’ roster underwent some changes this summer, but it still feels like more could be coming, either in the fall or at the 2025 trade deadline.

Up next

With Murray gone, I wouldn’t expect Young to go anywhere this summer or fall, but his situation will be worth monitoring going forward if the Hawks remain stuck in the middle. Capela is the more likely trade candidate in the short term, given that he’s entering a contract year and the club has his potential long-term replacement (23-year-old Onyeka Okongwu) under team control through 2028.

The Hawks currently have 15 players on guaranteed standard deals and are operating just under the tax line, so if they do make a deal, they won’t want to take on any extra salary. It wouldn’t be a surprise if this is the group they take into the regular season.

Even if that’s the case, there’s one more major contract situation to address: Johnson is eligible for a rookie scale extension up until October 21, the day before the regular season begins. And after a breakout year in which he averaged 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 33.7 minutes per game across 56 contests, he’ll have some leverage in those negotiations.

On the latest episode of Yahoo Sports’ No Cap Room podcast (YouTube link), Jake Fischer indicated that the fourth-year forward is hoping for a maximum-salary deal and that his agency – Klutch Sports – will likely open negotiations with Atlanta by asking for that amount, if that hasn’t happened already.

“The Hawks made basically everyone available for trade since February besides him,” Fischer said. “So of course you’re going to be thinking, ‘Well, pay me that way.'”

Still, as Fischer points out, Johnson has had some injury issues and played an extremely limited role prior to the 2023/24 season, so the Hawks won’t just hand him a maximum-salary contract. If that’s his demand, he’ll likely reach restricted free agency in 2025 and have to show in ’24/25 that he’s worth that sort of investment. If he’s willing to compromise with the club, perhaps the two sides will work something out by this year’s Oct. 21 deadline.

No. 43 overall pick Nikola Djurisic‘s situation is also worth keeping an eye on. He’s one of the last remaining unsigned 2024 draftees, but he’s recovering from foot surgery and will miss the start of the season, while Atlanta doesn’t currently have a 15-man or two-way roster spot available.

It’d be easy enough for the Hawks to open up a two-way spot if that’s the plan for Djurisic, but he looks like a candidate to become a draft-and-stash prospect. That would mean spending the 2024/25 season either playing overseas or as a member of the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ G League affiliate.