Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Fischer’s Latest: Clippers, George, Warriors, Mavs, KCP, Klay, Nuggets, More

June 30th, 2024 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

As they navigate the challenges of the second tax apron for 2024/25 and beyond, the Clippers have been adamant to this point that they don’t want to complete a contract longer than three years for any players, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Barring a change of heart, that means Los Angeles will be unwilling to go higher than three years for its own star free agents, Paul George and James Harden.

While Harden seems likely to end up on a new three-year agreement with the Clippers, per Fischer, that three-year limit has been a point of contention in negotiations with George. Both the Sixers and Magic – who are set to meet with George late on Sunday night – are willing to offer the star forward a four-year, maximum-salary contract, Fischer confirms.

Outside of the Clippers, Sixers, and Magic, there’s another team “lingering on the periphery” of the George situation, according to Fischer, who says the Jazz‘s “dreamiest plot” for the offseason would be to use their trade assets to acquire an impact player on the trade market (they pursued Mikal Bridges before Brooklyn agreed to send him to New York) and to use their cap room to land George. However, as Fischer acknowledges, it’s extremely unlikely that George will decide to sign in Utah.

Here’s more from Fischer’s latest rumor round-up, with the official start of free agency just hours away:

The trade options the Warriors have considered – using Chris Paul and/or Andrew Wiggins as outgoing pieces – range from giving up draft picks in a deal for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram to acquiring a pick along with Bulls guard Zach LaVine, sources tell Fischer. If they don’t find a trade they like and lose Klay Thompson via free agency, the Warriors will have the full mid-level exception available. They’re considering possible targets using that MLE, says Fischer.
The Mavericks likely would have attempted to make a trade with the Nuggets to acquire Kentavious Caldwell-Pope if he had picked up his $15.4MM player option, Fischer reports. Now that Caldwell-Pope has opted for free agency, Thompson appears to be the free agent wing most likely to end up in Dallas, according to Fischer, who says Thompson also continues to be one of the Sixers‘ secondary targets if they miss out on George.
As for Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets are preparing to lose him, with the Sixers and Magic both holding “strong” interest in the veteran swingman, per Fischer. A deal with one of those cap-room teams in the range of $50MM over two years could be a possibility for KCP, Fischer adds.
Having traded away Reggie Jackson, the Nuggets are in the market for a backup point guard. Sources tell Fischer that Russell Westbrook would have been a target using the taxpayer mid-level exception if he had opted out of his contract with the Clippers. Fischer also mentioned Hornets guard Vasilije Micic as a Denver target, noting that Zeke Nnaji – who is on the trade block – could be sent out in a deal for Micic.
The Nuggets have also long had interest in big man Dario Saric, who could be a target in free agency, Fischer says.
While it won’t be one of their top short-term priorities as free agency begins, the Clippers are expected to eventually work out an extension with center Ivica Zubac, sources tell Yahoo Sports.

FA Rumors: Lakers, LeBron, Harden, Klay, George, Magic, DeRozan, More

June 30th, 2024 at 7:31am CST by Luke Adams

Having confirmed on Saturday that LeBron James would be open to accepting less than the maximum salary in certain scenarios, agent Rich Paul tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN that the idea would be for the Lakers to add an “impact player” using that extra flexibility.

James Harden, Klay Thompson, and Jonas Valanciunas are a few of the “impact” players who might fit that criteria, sources tell McMenamin. While it might be difficult to convince Harden or Thompson to settle for the mid-level (worth approximately $12.9MM), a sign-and-trade could also be a possibility to land that sort of player. Acquiring a player via sign-and-trade would hard-cap the Lakers at the first tax apron for 2024/25, but so would using more than the taxpayer portion ($5.2MM) of the mid-level exception.

If the Lakers aren’t able to add a player of that caliber, the plan would be for James to seek a max deal to return to the Lakers, Paul tells McMenamin. If LeBron does accept a pay cut, the most likely scenario would see him accept a two-year deal with a 2025/26 player option so that he’d have the ability to negotiate a raise a year from now, sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Elsewhere on the Lakers front, after tendering a qualifying offer to Max Christie to make him a restricted free agent, the team would like to retain the 21-year-old guard, envisioning him as a rotation player next season, sources tell Buha. However, if L.A. hard-caps itself by adding an impact player via sign-and-trade or the MLE, fitting a new deal for Christie under the first apron could be a challenge.

Here are a few more rumors from around the NBA ahead of the official start of free agency on Sunday evening:

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN referred to the Sixers this morning on SportsCenter as a “legitimate threat” to sign Paul George away from the Clippers (hat tip to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com), while Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story that Philadelphia has a “significant measure of renewed hope” in its ability to land the star forward.
Although the Magic are one of three teams to secure a meeting with George, the free agents connected most frequently to Orlando by league insiders are Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein and Nuggets wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, per Stein.
There’s a belief that DeMar DeRozan may wait to see what happens with George’s free agency before making a decision, according to Stein, since he’d have a better feel for his options outside the Bulls at that point. Multiple reports this offseason have suggested the Clippers could be a suitor for DeRozan (likely via sign-and-trade) if they lose George.
While the Lakers have emerged as a legitimate option for Klay Thompson, the Mavericks have made the veteran sharpshooter their top free agent priority, even ahead of starting small forward Derrick Jones, says Stein. Dallas hasn’t ruled out the possibility of signing both players – that would require a sign-and-trade for Thompson and an MLE deal for Jones – which would be the team’s true “Plan A,” Stein writes, adding that Naji Marshall continues to be mentioned as a likely Mavs target if they lose Jones.
The Clippers and Spurs are among the teams expected to have interest in Chris Paul if the veteran point guard ends up being waived by Golden State and becoming a free agent, reports Stein.

QO Decisions: Jazz, Okeke, Pacers, Krejci, Celtics, More

June 29th, 2024 at 8:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz declined to issue qualifying offers to guard Kira Lewis or center Micah Potter ahead of Saturday’s deadline, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter links). As a result, both players will be unrestricted free agents this summer rather than restricted.

Lewis, the 13th overall pick in the 2020 draft, didn’t establish himself as a rotation player during three-and-a-half seasons in New Orleans. He was traded from the Pelicans to the Pacers to the Raptors to the Jazz during the 2023/24 season, and played a limited role in Utah after arriving from Toronto as a salary-matching piece in the deal involving Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji. His qualifying offer would have been worth $7.74MM, so it comes as no surprise that it wasn’t tendered.

Potter also played sparingly for the Jazz last season while on a two-way contract, though he has shown some promise in the G League and is part of the U.S. Select Team that will scrimmage with Team USA ahead of the Olympics. His qualifying offer would’ve been for a partially guaranteed minimum-salary deal. According to Jones, a return to Utah is possible, though Potter may receive interest from other teams.

The only Jazz player eligible for restricted free agency who received a qualifying offer is guard Johnny Juzang, Jones reports (Twitter link). Since he has finished each of the past two seasons on a two-way contract with Utah, Juzang wasn’t eligible for another two-way qualifying offer, so his QO is for a partially guaranteed one-year minimum deal.

Here are more qualifying offer updates from around the NBA:

Former Magic first-round pick Chuma Okeke didn’t receive a qualifying offer that would’ve been worth about $7.4MM and will become an unrestricted free agent, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Okeke, 25, has played good defense since entering the league in 2020, but hasn’t contributed much offensively, averaging 6.3 points per game on .383/.318/.789 shooting in 189 career contests (20.3 MPG).
The Pacers have tendered qualifying offers to Obi Toppin ($7.74MM), Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way), and Quenton Jackson (two-way), according to a pair of stories from Tony East of SI.com. All three players will now be restricted free agents.
The Hawks have issued a two-way qualifying offer to guard Vit Krejci, making him a restricted free agent, a league source tells Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Krejci is a candidate to negotiate a standard contract with Atlanta after finishing the 2023/24 season as a rotation player. He could also sign an offer sheet with another team, but the Hawks would have the right to match it.
After declining Neemias Queta‘s team option for 2023/24, the Celtics tendered him a qualifying offer, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Two-way player Drew Peterson also got a qualifying offer from Boston, but JD Davison didn’t, Smith adds. Queta’s QO will be worth approximately $2.37MM, while Peterson’s will be for another two-way contract.
The following players also received two-way qualifying offers, according to Smith: Lakers big man Colin Castleton (Twitter link), Bulls forward Adama Sanogo (Twitter link), Spurs wing David Duke (Twitter link), and former Warriors guard Nico Mannion (Twitter link), whose RFA rights continue to held by Golden State as he continues his career overseas. San Antonio issued a $2.7MM qualifying offer to big man Sandro Mamukelashvili too, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith.
The Clippers opted not to extend qualifying offers to two-way players Xavier Moon and Moussa Diabate, according to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter links). The door isn’t closed on a new deal for either player, but it sounds like they’ll explore their options as unrestricted free agents, per Murray. The qualifying offers for Moon and Diabate would have been partially guaranteed minimum-salary offers, since they were ineligible for another two-way QO.
Neither Nate Hinton nor Jermaine Samuels received a two-way qualifying offer from the Rockets, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Both players will be unrestricted free agents.

Atlantic Notes: Stevens, Celtics, Sixers, George, Nets

June 29th, 2024 at 7:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Since the Celtics won the NBA title 12 days ago, team president Brad Stevens has watched other contenders make roster moves to try to catch up, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The battle to keep Boston from repeating next season will kick into high gear when free agency starts Sunday evening.

The Celtics won’t be very active because their status as a second-apron team places restrictions on what they’re permitted to do. The offseason focus will be on extensions for Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Sam Hauser and possibly re-signing one or more of their free agent big men. Stevens understood the limits his team would face when he traded for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday last offseason.

“You saw a couple of moves today where people are setting themselves up to sign the next contract or to do things they can to dance around that second apron,” he said. “Obviously, we’re projected to be a little bit above, but we projected to that last year when we made those trades and we knew what we were getting ourselves into. We just have to all navigate it. We all know the basketball penalties that are associated with it. We have to look at A) How are we going to be able to navigate that world from a financial standpoint, from a basketball standpoint, from a penalty standpoint, and B) Put the best roster together than you can.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Stevens also talked about the importance of hitting on draft choices for second-apron teams and expressed confidence that first-round pick Baylor Scheierman and second-rounder Anton Watson will both have a future with the Celtics, Washburn adds. “The draft is important, and if you have a chance to get a really good player, it could make a huge difference,” Stevens said. “We’re hopeful that these two guys come in with the right mindset. I have no doubt that they’ll have good careers and we look forward to playing a part in it.”
Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer examines the Sixers‘ chances of landing Paul George in free agency now that he has declined his $48.8MM option for next season. George will meet with Sixers officials Sunday night, but Pompey notes that the Magic are also a strong contender and there’s a chance he’ll remain with the Clippers if they add a fourth year to their current offer. Sources tell Pompey that George is expected to be involved in helping to recruit role players if he signs with Philadelphia.
With the Nets over the salary cap, their significant moves are likely to happen on the trade market, observes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Lewis points to Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith as players who would be better fits on contenders and states that the Cavaliers, Kings and Lakers have expressed interest in Johnson.

Paul George Declines Option, Will Take Free Agent Meetings

June 29th, 2024 at 6:15pm CST by Luke Adams

6:15pm: George intends to meet with the Clippers, Sixers, and Magic late on Sunday night and into Monday, according to reports from Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

3:43pm: Clippers star forward Paul George has decided to turn down his $48.8MM player option for the 2024/25 season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The move puts George on track to become an unrestricted free agent, and he intends to schedule meetings with the Clippers – who control his Bird rights – and other suitors with cap room beginning on Sunday evening, says Wojnarowski.

The decision also means that an opt-in-and-trade scenario is off the table for George, so over-the-cap teams who were hoping to acquire him – including the Warriors – will no longer have a realistic path to do so.

George turned 34 in May but has continued to produce like one of the NBA’s best wings in recent years. In 74 games in 2023/24, he averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in 33.8 minutes per game, posting a strong shooting line of .471/.413/.907.

The Clippers signed their other star forward – Kawhi Leonard – to a three-year, $152MM contract extension in January and have reportedly attempted to get George locked up to a similar deal, which is below his maximum in terms of both years (he can get up to four) and dollars. The Los Angeles native has been unwilling to sign what his hometown team has put on the table so far and – with the two sides apparently at a stalemate – will weigh his options on the open market.

The Sixers, who will have more than enough cap room to accommodate a maximum-salary contract, have long been viewed as the biggest threat to the Clippers for George. A report last week indicated that Philadelphia’s interest in pursuing George had “waned,” but Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) hears from sources that the 76ers are still expected to aggressively try to lure George away from the West Coast. The Magic are another team with significant cap room that has been mentioned as a potential suitor.

As our maximum-salary projections for 2024/25 show, rival suitors will be able to offer George up to a projected $212.2MM over four years, while the Clippers could bid up to about $221MM over those four years. Typically, Los Angeles would be able to offer a fifth year to a Bird-rights free agent, but that’s not an option for George due to the over-38 rule.

While a sign-and-trade deal sending George to a new team is technically possible, it likely won’t be a practical option for over-the-cap suitors. A team that takes back salary in exchange for a signed-and-traded player becomes hard-capped at the second tax apron, so acquiring upwards of $40MM in salaries for George probably won’t be viable for the Clippers.

Warriors Preparing To Lose Klay Thompson

June 29th, 2024 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

With Klay Thompson just 24 hours away from reaching unrestricted free agency, the Warriors are preparing to lose their longtime sharpshooter and four-time NBA champion, league sources tell Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

According to Charania and Slater, the Warriors and Thompson haven’t had much contact as of late and the team hasn’t made him a formal contract offer since the exclusive negotiating window opened after the NBA Finals.

The club has expressed interest in circling back to the five-time All-Star after addressing other business, including figuring out what to do with Chris Paul and his non-guaranteed $30MM expiring salary.

However, Thompson’s side believes Golden State’s interest in a reunion has been “disingenuous,” per The Athletic’s duo, who say he “never felt reciprocated love from management about his firm place in the franchise’s plans.”

As a result, the 34-year-old is determined to find a new home, league sources tell Charania and Slater, and both sides believe their 13-year run together is about to come to an end.

The Lakers, Clippers, and Mavericks are expected to be among Thompson’s top suitors, though all three teams project to be over the cap and would have to negotiate a sign-and-trade. Golden State has been open to the idea of accommodating such a deal in order to maximize Thompson’s earning potential, sources tell The Athletic.

Multiple clubs with cap room are expected to be in the mix too, per Charania and Slater. The Sixers and Magic are among the cap-space teams that have been linked to the longtime Warrior in recent days.

Marc Stein, who reported on Friday night that there’s “strong” mutual interest between Thompson and the Mavericks, tweets that LeBron James is hopeful the Lakers can make a bid to challenge Dallas for the veteran swingman. For his part, Thompson is intrigued by the Lakers possibility and plans to talking to both them and the Mavs, among other potential suitors, tweets Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.

Magic Decline $8MM Team Option On Moritz Wagner

June 29th, 2024 at 4:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic aren’t picking up their $8MM team option for Moritz Wagner for next season, but both sides have interest in negotiating a new contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The decision means the 27-year-old big man will become an unrestricted free agent Sunday afternoon and will be free to talk with anyone. Wagner has spent the past four seasons in Orlando and presumably enjoys playing alongside his brother, Franz Wagner, so the team should have an advantage in trying to re-sign him.

The Magic are expected to be major players on the free agent market, and the extra $8MM in cap room could turn out to be valuable. Orlando is projected to have upwards of $52MM to work with and is considered to be a suitor for Clippers forward Paul George, who is declining his $48.8MM option for next season.

One possibility for Wagner suggested by Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link) is for Orlando to use its $8MM room exception to give him the same salary as his option. The team would have to exhaust its cap space before that pathway becomes available.

Wagner played an important role off Orlando’s bench this season, averaging 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 80 games.

Magic To Decline Joe Ingles’ Team Option

June 29th, 2024 at 9:48am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Magic are declining Joe Ingles‘ team option for the 2024/25 season, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link). As a result of the move, the veteran wing will be an unrestricted free agent.

Ingles was set to make $11MM next season, but with his option declined, Orlando projects to have $44MM in cap space, which can increase to over $50MM if Moritz Wagner‘s team option is also declined, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Marks also notes Jonathan Isaac is on a $17.4MM non-guaranteed contract.

While Ingles is hitting the open market, Wojnarowski reports the two sides are expected to continue dialogue through free agency next week.

The 36-year-old Ingles signed with the Magic last season after playing for the Bucks the year before. In 68 games with Orlando, Ingles averaged 4.4 points but shot 43.5% on his 2.4 three-point attempts per game.

Ingles began his career in 2014 with Utah, where he spent eight seasons. In total, he holds career averages of 8.1 points on a 41.0% clip from deep.

QO Updates: Heat, Magic, Quinones, Lundy, Williams, Nuggets

June 28th, 2024 at 7:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have issued qualifying offers to two of their three two-way players, announcing in a press release that they’ve made forward Cole Swider and guard Alondes Williams restricted free agents. Miami’s other two-way player, forward Jamal Cain, isn’t mentioned in the announcement, with Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald tweeting that Cain isn’t expected to receive a qualifying offer.

Because Cain has finished each of the past two seasons on a two-way contract with the Heat, his qualifying offer would have been a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a small partial guarantee, whereas the QOs for Swider and Williams will be for one-year, two-way deals.

According to Chiang, the expectation is that Cain won’t be back with the Heat next season. Not getting a QO means he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

We have more qualifying offer news from around the NBA:

It appears that guard Trevelin Queen will be the only Magic two-way player to receive a qualifying offer this offseason. Orlando put out a press release (via Twitter) confirming that Queen has been given a QO, making him a restricted free agent. However, swingman Kevon Harris won’t get a QO and Admiral Schofield – who also wasn’t mentioned in the Magic’s announcement – has signed to play in France next season. Harris and Schofield both would’ve been eligible for minimum-salary qualifying offers, while Queen’s QO is for another two-way contract.
The Warriors aren’t tendering a qualifying offer to guard Lester Quinones, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Quinones will become an unrestricted free agent after averaging 4.4 points per game on .397/.364/.690 shooting in 37 appearances off the bench for Golden State.
The Hawks have made a qualifying offer to guard Seth Lundy, tweets Scotto. Lundy, who was on a two-way contract this past season, had a strong year in the G League, averaging 20.4 points per game and making 40.0% of his three-point attempts in 25 regular season and Showcase Cup contests for the College Park Skyhawks. His qualifying offer is the equivalent of another two-way deal.
The Rockets are issuing a two-way qualifying offer to shooting guard Jeenathan Williams, according to Scotto (Twitter link). Williams appeared in 22 games for Houston and 10 for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League in 2023/24.
Nuggets two-way players Collin Gillespie and Braxton Key aren’t expected to get qualifying offers from the team, so they’ll become unrestricted free agents when the new league year begins, sources tell Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link).

USA Basketball Announces 15-Man Select Team

June 28th, 2024 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has announced in a press release that a 15-man Select Team will train with the U.S. Olympic squad as it prepares for the upcoming Olympics. The Select Team, which is made up mostly of younger players and some who have previous Team USA experience, will work out with the men’s national team in Las Vegas from July 6-8.

The members of the Select Team are as follows:

Jalen Duren (Pistons)
Cooper Flagg (Duke)
Langston Galloway (free agent)
Nigel Hayes-Davis (Fenerbahce)
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Warriors)
Jaime Jaquez (Heat)
Brandon Miller (Hornets)
Trey Murphy (Pelicans)
Keegan Murray (Kings)
Brandin Podziemski (Warriors)
Micah Potter (Jazz/two-way FA)
Payton Pritchard (Celtics)
Jabari Smith Jr. (Rockets)
Jalen Suggs (Magic)
Amen Thompson (Rockets)

Perhaps the most notable name on the list is Flagg, who has committed to Duke and will begin his first college basketball season in the fall. He’s viewed as a strong candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

Duren, Galloway, Murphy, Murray, and Pritchard were part of the U.S. Select Team that trained with the national team ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

It’s possible some of these players will use their Select Team experience as a springboard to represent Team USA in international competitions down the road. Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, and Tyrese Haliburton are among the players on this year’s Olympic team that were members of a Select Team earlier in their respective careers.

The select team will be coached by Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, who will be joined by assistants Jim Boylen and Matt Painter. Boylen, a former Bulls head coach and current Pacers assistant, was Team USA’s head coach during the qualifying contests. Painter has been the longtime head coach at Purdue.