Pacers May Offer Bruce Brown More Than $20MM Per Year

The Pacers may be prepared to offer Nuggets free agent Bruce Brown a contract worth more than $20MM per season, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Brown has become one of the hottest names on the free agent market, and several teams are hoping to land him with the $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Brown has reportedly scheduled meetings with five teams — the Knicks, Rockets, Mavericks and Lakers as well as Indiana. The Cavaliers and Timberwolves also consider Brown their top target, according to Fischer.

The Pacers have roughly $30MM in cap room, so signing Brown would account for most of that and would take them out of the running for other free agents, such as Heat shooting guard Max Strus.

Returning to Denver is also in play for Brown, according to Fischer, although the Nuggets can only pay him $7.8MM next season. Brown would be eligible to earn more than $50MM over four years from Denver next summer, which is still well short of the Pacers’ reported offer.

2023 NBA Free Agency Primer

The NBA’s 2023 free agency period officially begins on Friday at 5:00 pm central time. At that point, we can expect news of contract agreements to start pouring in, continuing well into the night.

By our count, 38 free agents agreed to deals on day one of free agency in 2022, with seven more players reaching agreements on extensions — we’ll see if that number is matched or exceeded later today.

Here are a few links to prepare you for one of the most exciting days on the NBA calendar:

Rockets Rumors: Free Agents, Martin, Clarkson, Capela

Rockets officials hope to meet with several of their top targets in Los Angeles when free agency begins in a few hours, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Sources tell Iko that Houston has already set up meetings with Dillon Brooks and Brook Lopez and will try to arrange sessions with Fred VanVleet, Kyrie Irving, Bruce Brown, Dwight PowellJakob Poeltl and possibly Kyle Kuzma.

Brown is of particular interest because the Rockets would be willing to go above the $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign him, according to Iko’s sources. Head coach Ime Udoka was an assistant in Brooklyn when Brown played there and they have maintained a good relationship, Iko adds.

With more than $60MM in cap space, Houston officials are confident about signing their main targets, according to Iko, although some may prefer teams with more recent success. He confirms that the Rockets are hoping to avoid long-term contracts and will compensate by offering players more money up front than they’re likely to get elsewhere. Shooting, defense and rim protection will be the main focus, Iko states.

There’s more on the Rockets, all courtesy of Iko:

  • Houston is hoping to land a veteran point guard in free agency, but there’s a back-up plan if they can’t sign VanVleet, Irving or someone of that stature. Sources tell Iko that the Rockets would pursue someone like Brown, a strong perimeter defender who can handle the ball, and give Jalen Green and first-round pick Amen Thompson a greater share of the playmaking duties.
  • Iko hears that a Kenyon Martin Jr. trade is increasingly likely, as talks with other teams have increased throughout the week. Martin may not have a place on the revamped roster, and the team could add cap room by unloading his $1.93MM contract for next season.
  • Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson and Hawks center Clint Capela are two names to watch if the Rockets opt to use their cap space through trades rather than free agency. Iko notes that Utah executive Danny Ainge is reported to have interest in acquiring Martin and suggests that Houston might be willing to include second-year point guard TyTy Washington and maybe a second-round pick in a potential deal. Iko points out that Clarkson is eligible for an extension after picking up his $14.26MM option for next season and says the Rockets may offer something along the lines of $32MM over two years. Iko adds that Capela could be available straight up for Martin as Atlanta tries to shed salary.

Trail Blazers Waiving Trendon Watford

The Trail Blazers are waiving forward Trendon Watford, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Watford’s non-guaranteed minimum salary ($1,836,096) for 2023/24 would have become fully guaranteed if he had remained under contract beyond Friday. By cutting him, Portland won’t be on the hook for that money and will create a little extra roster flexibility entering free agency.

[RELATED: Early NBA Salary Guarantee Dates For 2023/24]

It’s a somewhat surprising move, given that Watford is just 22 years old and is coming off a pretty good season in Portland. He averaged 7.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists with a shooting line of .560/.391/.720 in 62 appearances (19.1 MPG) in 2022/23.

Watford will become an unrestricted free agent if he passes through waivers, but given his age, his modest salary, and his solid track record, he’s a candidate to be claimed.

Although he’s on a minimum-salary contract, Watford’s deal initially covered four years, which means it can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception. A team with interest in claiming the former LSU standout would need to have the cap room or a trade exception necessary to cover his $1.84MM salary.

If Watford is claimed, his 2023/24 salary would become guaranteed and his new club would hold a minimum-salary team option for ’24/25.

Latest On Gabe Vincent, Max Strus

Free agent guard Gabe Vincent isn’t satisfied with the Heat‘s contract offer and will likely leave the team unless it improves, sources tell Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Jackson and Chiang report that Miami proposed a deal worth slightly more than the three-year, $20.6MM contract Caleb Martin signed last summer. Vincent was reportedly expecting a lot more after taking over as the Heat’s starting point guard and helping them reach the NBA Finals. Team president Pat Riley traveled to Los Angeles this week to meet with Vincent and urge him to re-sign, according to the authors.

Backcourt partner Max Strus seems certain to get a better deal that what the Heat can offer, according to Jackson and Chiang, who report that a three-team sign-and-trade swap has been discussed that would send Strus to the Cavaliers. They don’t identify who else would be involved, but Miami would receive a trade exception and a second-round pick in return. The Pacers, Pistons and Magic have also been identified as potential destinations for Strus.

Re-signing Vincent or Strus would be expensive for the Heat, who already have $179.3MM committed for next season, which is above the projected $165MM luxury tax line. The authors note that giving either player a new deal starting at $12MM would add more than $30MM to the team’s tax bill.

Marc Stein confirms in his latest Substack column that Cleveland is a legitimate threat to add Strus. Stein, who reported this week that Indiana was considering a three-year, $48MM offer for the 27-year-old shooting guard, has since been told that there are multiple suitors for Strus and that Indiana may not be his most likely destination. Cleveland is working to upgrade its outside shooting, Stein adds.

The Raptors could be an option for Vincent if Fred VanVleet signs with the Rockets, suggests Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Sources tell Grange that Vincent isn’t expected to return to the Heat and that an offer worth the full $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception should be enough to land him.

Stein’s Latest: Mavs, D. Powell, VanVleet, Schröder, D. Hall

The Mavericks “fully intend” to re-sign center Dwight Powell in free agency, Marc Stein reports in his latest rumor round-up at Substack. According to Stein, the Cavaliers and Rockets are also expected to show interest in Powell once he hits the open market, but the Mavs value him both on and off the court and are confident about their chances to retain him.

With Powell, Richaun Holmes, and lottery pick Dereck Lively II expected to be in the mix at center in Dallas, it didn’t make sense for Andre Drummond to turn down his player option with the Bulls in the hopes of signing with the Mavericks, Stein explains, following up on a previous rumor. If the Mavs had been able to trade Holmes, it might’ve been a different story, but Drummond opted for the guaranteed money and a clearer path to rotation minutes in Chicago.

Here’s more from Stein:

  • Fred VanVleet‘s current plan is to meet with both the Raptors and Rockets in person in Los Angeles when free agency opens on Friday, Stein tweets, reiterating in today’s article that Houston looks like a serious threat to sign the point guard away from Toronto.
  • The Lakers are “eager” to bring back point guard Dennis Schröder and would like to give him a raise, but will have a limited ability to do so with his Non-Bird rights. Echoing ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Stein says there’s a scenario in which Los Angeles commits a portion of its mid-level exception to Schröder and uses the rest on another player.
  • Former NBA big man Donta Hall, who is in the midst of a multiyear contract with AS Monaco in Europe, has an NBA opt-out in his deal and is attracting some interest from teams stateside, according to Stein, who names the Grizzlies and Trail Blazers as a couple of the clubs eyeing Hall.
  • One Western Conference front office executive was surprised by how many potential free agents exercised their player options. “I’ve never seen this many good players opt in,” the executive told Stein.

And-Ones: J. Van Gundy, J. Rose, Two-Way Rules, Free Agents

The NBA broadcasts on ESPN and ABC will look a little different next season, according to Andrew Marchand and Ryan Glasspiegel, who report in a pair of stories for The New York Post that the network is letting go of game analyst Jeff Van Gundy and studio analyst Jalen Rose as part of a series of layoffs.

According to The Post’s reporting, ESPN is letting go of about 20 on-air personalities in a cost-cutting move. Van Gundy and Rose had both been earning millions per year in their roles on the network’s marquee broadcasts. Rose was generally on the panel for pregame and halftime shows, while Van Gundy was part of ESPN’s and ABC’s top TV broadcast team alongside play-by-play man Mike Breen and fellow analyst Mark Jackson.

According to The New York Post, JJ Redick, Doris Burke, and Richard Jefferson are among the top candidates to replace Van Gundy on the top ESPN/ABC broadcast team.

Here are a few more odds and ends ahead of a busy NBA weekend:

  • The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement includes a rule change that will be informally known as the “Harry Giles III rule,” writes Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. As Haynes explains, the tweak will allow a player to sign a two-way contract if he has four years of NBA service but missed an entire season during those four years due to an injury. Previously, players with four years of NBA service were ineligible to sign two-way deals even if they hadn’t actually played in NBA games during each of those four seasons (a player earns a year of service if he’s on a standard or two-way contract for at least one day during the regular season). Giles is among the players who fits this bill, having missed his entire rookie season in 2017/18.
  • In an Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks takes a shot at projecting the starting salaries for all of this year’s free agents, from Kyrie Irving ($38-40MM) and Fred VanVleet ($30-35MM) all the way down to the probable minimum-salary recipients.
  • Chris Herring of SI.com identifies nine players who could benefit most from a change of scenery this summer, in his view. Herring’s list includes some unsurprising picks like Damian Lillard and Deandre Ayton, as well as some outside-the-box choices such as Jarrett Allen.

Bruce Brown Plans Meetings With Five Teams

Nuggets free agent Bruce Brown will meet with the Knicks, Rockets, Pacers, Mavericks and Lakers when free agency begins later today, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

Indiana was identified Thursday as a team to watch in the race for Brown. The Pacers have upwards of $30MM in cap room and can offer Brown more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Houston is the only other team among those five that can exceed the MLE for the versatile guard, but the Rockets reportedly are focused on other targets.

The Lakers remain confident about their chances to land Brown with the MLE, but there are also indications that he may be open to a return to Denver, even though the Nuggets are limited to a $7.8MM offer with his non-Bird rights.

Warriors Rumors: Green, DiVincenzo, Kuminga, Poole, Paul, Thompson

The Warriors are optimistic about re-signing Draymond Green and have been discussing a three-year deal with his representatives, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Slater says trading for Chris Paul was a win-now move that the team wouldn’t have made without a level of confidence that Green will return. He projects a new contract for Green starting close to the range of the $27.6MM player option that he declined, but adds that every $1MM the Warriors can save is important because of their inflated tax bill.

There may not have been a realistic market for Green in free agency, Scotto adds. The Kings were floated as a possibility because their head coach is former Warriors assistant Mike Brown, but Scotto points out that they’re hoping to sign Kyle Kuzma and had to work out a new deal with Harrison Barnes. The Pistons and Grizzlies were also mentioned, but Slater states that Memphis dropped out of consideration with the Marcus Smart trade.

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • Donte DiVincenzo is expected to sign elsewhere and may be able to land a non-taxpayer MLE, which would be more than twice what Golden State can offer him, according to Scotto. Sources tell C.J. Holmes of The San Franciso Chronicle that the Knicks have emerged as the favorite to land DiVincenzo, who prefers to play on the East Coast and is hoping to receive a contract starting at $9-12MM. However, Scotto isn’t convinced that DiVincenzo would be a good fit in New York considering the number of guards already on the roster.
  • The Pacers were among the teams that inquired on Jonathan Kuminga, offering mainly draft assets in return, sources tell Scotto. Slater also cites interest from the Raptors and says Golden State began asking about OG Anunoby before the trade deadline. However, Slater doesn’t believe the Warriors have been shopping Kuminga, saying the organization still has confidence in him and he’ll likely be on the team when next season begins.
  • The decision to part with Jordan Poole in the trade for Paul was necessary to unload his contract, but coach Steve Kerr welcomed the chance to move on from a player who was fourth in the league in turnovers last season and often took poor shots, Slater states. Slater envisions Paul as the leader of the second unit, helping to develop young players such as Kuminga and Moses Moody.
  • Getting rid of Poole’s contract increases the chances for a Klay Thompson extension, according to Slater. Paul’s $30MM salary for 2024/25 is non-guaranteed, so more long-term money is available for Thompson. Slater doesn’t believe the Warriors have started negotiating a salary with Thompson yet, but he expects the veteran guard will have to accept a reduction from his current $43MM.

Top 50 NBA Free Agents Of 2023

The NBA’s 2023 free agent period will tip off at 5:00 pm Central time on Friday, June 30. And while a handful of opt-ins (James Harden and Josh Hart) and extensions (Nikola Vucevic, Harrison Barnes, and Naz Reid) in recent days have taken some notable names off the market, there are still dozens of available players whose decisions will reshape NBA rosters this summer.

Listed below are our top 50 free agents for the 2023/24 NBA season.

Our rankings take into account both a player’s short-term and long-term value, and are essentially a reflection of what sort of contract we expect them to sign. If we were to consider solely a player’s worth for the 2023/24 season, veterans like Brook Lopez and Eric Gordon would place higher, while younger free agents with upside, such as Ayo Dosunmu or Paul Reed, would be ranked lower — or perhaps not at all.

In addition to the players listed below, there are plenty of other free agents available this summer. You can check out our breakdowns of free agents by position/type and by team for the full picture.

Here are our top 50 free agents of 2023:


1. Kyrie Irving, G, Mavericks
There are red flags galore for Irving, whose availability has been compromised in recent years by both health issues and personal decisions. However, his career résumé on the court – including eight All-Star nods, a championship, and a scoring average of 27.1 PPG on .491/.395/.914 shooting over the last four seasons – is strong enough to earn him the top spot on this list. At age 31, Irving still has some prime years left, and as long as he’s available, there’s no reason to believe he won’t be among the NBA’s best scorers going forward. His reputation and his apparent lack of viable suitors may limit his leverage in negotiations with the Mavericks, but he’s one of the only players in this market capable of landing a deal worth $40MM+ per year.

2. Fred VanVleet, G, Raptors
VanVleet is coming off a down season, having made a career-worst 34.2% of his three-point attempts in 2022/23 as his defense also took a step back. But he’s still just 29 years old, so potential suitors may chalk his off year up to nagging injuries and bad luck rather than assuming it’s the beginning of a downward trend. VanVleet’s inability to finish around the rim is a concern, but when he’s at his best, he’s an excellent shooter (he had a .382 career 3PT% entering last season) who plays dogged defense and sets up his teammates (7.2 APG in 2022/23). He turned down an option worth nearly $23MM and could exceed $30MM on a multiyear deal.

3. Jerami Grant, F, Trail Blazers
A big, versatile forward who can guard multiple positions on defense, Grant is also coming off the best offensive season of his career. In averaging 20.3 points per game and knocking down 40.1% of his threes, Grant combined the scoring prowess of his two seasons in Detroit with the shooting efficiency of his Oklahoma City and Denver years. He reportedly turned down a four-year extension worth nearly $113MM, which suggests he’s confident he can get either more money or a fifth year – or maybe both – as a free agent. There’s an expectation that he’ll be back with the Trail Blazers as long as they don’t pivot to a rebuild.

4. Khris Middleton, F, Bucks
One of the NBA’s most underappreciated players for years, Middleton averaged at least 20 points in four of five seasons and made three All-Star teams from 2017-22. Unfortunately, his contract year was a forgettable one, with Middleton limited to 33 games due to injuries as his scoring rate (15.1 PPG) and shooting percentages (.436 FG%, .315 3PT%) dipped significantly. The 31-year-old looked more like himself in five playoff games (23.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 6.2 APG, .465/.406/.867 shooting) and felt confident enough about his earning potential this summer to decline a player option worth more than $40MM. I don’t expect him to match that starting salary on a new deal, but if he ends up signing a long-term contract, the total value should be in the nine digits.

5. Cameron Johnson, F, Nets (RFA)
With rumors percolating that the Pistons are seriously considering a bid for Johnson, the Nets forward could be the beneficiary of a bidding war that pushes his next contract well beyond the four-year, $90MM deal that his teammate and “twin” Mikal Bridges received. At 27, Johnson is older than most players coming off a rookie scale contracts, but he has continued to improve in each of his four seasons in the league, increasing his scoring average every year and evolving into one of the NBA’s most reliable shooters (41.6% on threes over the last two seasons).

6. Draymond Green, F/C, Warriors
Green’s upcoming free agency reminds me a little of Al Horford hitting the market in 2019. Like the current iteration of Green, 2019 Horford was considered a major defensive asset but didn’t score much and had just turned 33. Four years ago, the Sixers swooped in with a four-year, $97MM offer to lure Horford away from the division-rival Celtics. Is there a team out there planning a similarly aggressive push for Green? For what it’s worth, Horford later admitted that he probably should’ve just re-signed in Boston, where he was most comfortable and where he eventually returned. I expect Green to avoid that same mistake and simply re-up with the Warriors.

7. Jakob Poeltl, C, Raptors
In a subpar free agent market for centers, Poeltl stands out as the top target for any team seeking a traditional big man. He doesn’t shoot three-pointers and isn’t as switchable as you’d want a modern center to be, but Poeltl is a talented rim protector and a solid pick-and-roll partner who can score around the basket — he’s also just 27 years old. It will likely take a long-term commitment of over $20MM annually to have a chance to pry him away from the Raptors, who gave up a first-round pick for him at February’s trade deadline.

8. Miles Bridges, F, Hornets (RFA)
It’s impossible to know exactly how the Hornets and the rest of the NBA will value Bridges, who sat out the entire 2022/23 season after facing a felony domestic violence charge. He agreed to a plea deal and was subsequently suspended by the NBA, who will require him to sit out the first 10 games of next season. Prior to that incident, Bridges was viewed as one of the top free agents of the 2022 class, having averaged 20.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 3.8 APG on 49.1% shooting in 80 games (35.5 MPG) in 2021/22. As valuable as Bridges can be on the court, the repugnant behavior he was accused of away from it should give suitors pause about inviting him to represent their franchise. A return to Charlotte is the most likely path for the RFA forward.

9. D’Angelo Russell, G, Lakers
Russell’s poor showing in the playoffs left a sour taste and has resulted in several rounds of rumors this offseason about possible point guard alternatives for the Lakers. But Russell’s value shouldn’t be understated. He was an extremely productive offensive player during the 2022/23 regular season, averaging 17.8 PPG and 6.2 APG with a .469/.396/.829 shooting line. The Lakers had a plus-12.2 net rating during D-Lo’s 526 minutes of action down the stretch, easily the best mark of anyone on the roster for the season. Russell, who is still just 27 years old, almost certainly won’t match the $31MM+ he earned in 2022/23, but given the price tags for starting point guards around the NBA, it’s hard to imagine him signing for less than about $20MM per year.

10. Kyle Kuzma, F, Wizards
Kuzma decided early in the 2022/23 season that he’d be declining his $13MM player option in order to seek a bigger payday in free agency. Given that he averaged a career-high 21.2 PPG to go along with 7.2 RPG and 3.7 APG, that was probably the right call. But with the Wizards in the process of rebuilding, Kuzma’s best bet for a big raise may be off the board. There are other teams with cap room and a need for a forward – the Pacers are one – so Kuzma should still do fine on the open market, but it no longer looks like Washington will be eager to overpay him to stick around.

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