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Free Agent Notes: Cancar, Suns, Lowry, Sixers, Martin, Hield

July 4th, 2024 at 5:54pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Nuggets declined their team option on Vlatko Cancar for the 2024/25 season, multiple reports indicated that the two sides would likely work out a new minimum-salary deal that would both increase the forward’s salary (from the $2.35MM the option would have paid to $2.43MM) and reduce Denver’s cap hit (from $2.35MM to $2.09MM).

That deal hasn’t happened yet, but Cancar – who is representing Slovenia at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece after missing the 2023/24 season with a torn ACL – expressed a desire to return to Denver, per Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops.

“I’m still waiting on their decision, We’ll see,” Cancar said. “… I want to be back. My goal is to be back. Hopefully there’s room.”

As Harris Stavrou of SPORTS24 tweets, Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth was at the Olympic qualifiers on Thursday watching Cancar and the Slovenians secure a spot in the semifinals by defeating New Zealand. Nuggets scout Marty Pocius was also in attendance with Booth, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports.

Here are a few more notes on free agency:

Even after signing Monte Morris, the Suns are still believed to have interest in veteran point guard Kyle Lowry, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7. However, Gambadoro says Lowry may be a long shot for Phoenix since the team can only offer the veteran’s minimum to outside free agents. The Suns are also still working on a new deal for their own free agent Josh Okogie, Gambadoro adds.
The Sixers definitely have interest in free agent forward Caleb Martin, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link), but he may be out of range of what they can realistically offer him. Philadelphia is expected to continue to monitor Martin’s market, says Neubeck.
The Pistons and Lakers were among Buddy Hield‘s other free agent suitors before he decided to join the Warriors, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. According to Charania, the veteran sharpshooter chose Golden State “because of the opportunity to win.”

Stein’s Latest: Ingram, Bridges, Cavs, Mavs, Westbrook

July 4th, 2024 at 3:45pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans have “intensified” their efforts to trade Brandon Ingram in the past few days, league sources tell Marc Stein (Substack link).

Apparently the desire for a deal is mutual, as Ingram is disappointed that New Orleans has been unwilling to offer him a lucrative long-term extension. Stein hears that Ingram’s representatives have been looking at trade options.

Aside from moving Ingram, the Pels are focused on trying to sign Trey Murphy to a rookie scale extension, Stein writes. They’re also looking for depth up front after Jonas Valanciunas agreed to a three-year deal with Washington.

According to Stein, the Kings, who have explored trading for several forwards, are one potential suitor for Ingram.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest rumor round up:

The Cavaliers have been described as a “team to watch” in a possible sign-and-trade for Hornets forward Miles Bridges, though Stein isn’t sure how serious Cleveland’s interest is. Bridges is “known to be interested” in sign-and-trade scenarios, Stein adds.
The Mavericks are “sure to re-sign” free agent forward Markieff Morris, according to Stein, who says Dallas is also looking for minimum-salary backcourt depth. Morris hinted at returning to the Mavs on Wednesday.
Sources tell Stein the Mavericks offered Derrick Jones the same three-year, $27MM contract that Naji Marshall accepted, but evidently Jones was looking to maximize his earnings, which is why he agreed to a three-year, $30MM deal with the Clippers. Stein hears the Mavs weren’t sure how much money Jones would command and were wary of a bidding war, which is why they switched their attention to Marshall, a player they like.
According to Stein, the Nuggets continue to show the “most tangible” interest in Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, who is considered likely to be on another team to open the 2024/25 season.

Raptors Announce Several Signings, Including First-Rounder Walter

July 4th, 2024 at 2:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have announced a series of signings, confirming in a pair of press releases that they’ve signed second-round picks Jonathan Mogbo and Jamal Shead to standard contracts and undrafted free agent Branden Carlson to a two-way deal. Those agreements were all previously reported.

The team also announced that it has signed first-round pick Ja’Kobe Walter to his rookie scale contract.

The 6’5″ Walter was one of the top recruits in the nation heading into college. He made an immediate impact with the Bears as a freshman in 2023/24, starting all 35 games he played and averaging 14.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 37.6% from the field and 34.1% from three-point range. He was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and earned third-team all-conference honors.

As the No. 19 pick in the draft, Walter figures to earn about $3.47MM salary as a rookie and $16.79MM across the entirety of his four-year contract. Those numbers assume he signed for 120% of the rookie scale amount, which almost every player does.

With Walter, Mogbo, and Shead all signed, the Raptors are up to 13 players on guaranteed standard contracts, with Immanuel Quickley and Garrett Temple expected to fill the 14th and 15th roster spots once their deals are official.

The team’s other draftee, No. 57 pick Ulrich Chomche, is considered likely to end up on a two-way deal, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. However, the team is still waiting to officially acquire Chomche and can’t complete that signing yet.

Knicks Sign Tyler Kolek To Four-Year Contract

July 4th, 2024 at 2:19pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks have signed rookie guard Tyler Kolek to a four-year, $9.06MM contract, a league source tells Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The transaction was completed using the second-round pick exception. Kolek will earn the maximum possible salary over the first three years, which are guaranteed, per Katz. The fourth year is a team option.

New York acquired the rights to Kolek, the 34th overall pick in last month’s draft, by trading three future second-rounders to Portland.

A 23-year-old point guard, Kolek had an impressive senior season for Marquette in 2023/24, averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 7.7 APG and 1.2 SPG on .496/.388/.851 shooting in 31 games (33.0 MPG).

Sixers Sign Jared McCain To Rookie Scale Contract

July 4th, 2024 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have officially signed first-round pick Jared McCain to his first NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release.

The 16th overall pick last Wednesday, McCain declared for the draft as an early entrant following his freshman year at Duke. In 36 games (all starts), he averaged 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals in 31.6 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .462/.414/.885.

Assuming McCain signed for the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale amount for the No. 16 pick, he’ll earn about $4.02MM as a rookie and $19.45MM across a total of four seasons, assuming his third- and fourth-year options are eventually exercised.

Signing McCain before completing their other roster moves doesn’t affect Philadelphia’s cap room, since the team already had to account for a cap hold for the 6’3″ guard equivalent to 120% of his rookie scale amount.

Suns Sign Oso Ighodaro To Four-Year Contract

July 4th, 2024 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have signed second-round pick Oso Ighodaro to a four-year contract using the second-round exception, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who reports (via Twitter) that the deal is worth approximately $7.9MM.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the contract will be fully guaranteed for the first two seasons, with a partial guarantee in year three and a team option for year four. The $7.9MM total suggests it will be worth the minimum across all four seasons.

The No. 40 overall pick last week, Ighodaro was involved in a series of draft-night trades that ultimately saw him land in Phoenix. The Marquette forward, who spent four college seasons with the Golden Eagles, averaged 13.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.1 steals in 32.5 minutes per game in 2023/24, starting all 36 games he played and making 57.6% of his shot attempts from the floor.

While the Suns are on track to pay a significant luxury tax bill next year, Ighodaro’s contract will create some savings for the team, since he’ll only count for $1,157,153 for cap and tax purposes. A veteran’s minimum-salary contract in that roster spot would have come in at $2,087,519, increasing Phoenix’s tax bill by a few extra million dollars.

Warriors To Acquire Buddy Hield In Sign-And-Trade With Sixers

July 4th, 2024 at 1:55pm CST by Rory Maher

1:55pm: The Hield acquisition will indeed be part of a five-team mega-trade involving Golden State, Dallas, Charlotte, Minnesota and Philadelphia, sources tell Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

1:19pm: The Warriors are acquiring Buddy Hield in a sign-and-trade with the Sixers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).

Golden State will be sending Philadelphia a 2031 second-round pick (via Dallas) as part of the transaction, sources tell Charania (Twitter link).

The second-rounder being sent to the 76ers is being acquired as part of the Klay Thompson sign-and-trade with the Mavs. That suggests the series of moves could still be folded together into one multi-team mega-deal.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Hield will receive a four-year contract that will pay him a guaranteed $18MM over the first two seasons. The deal will reportedly feature an additional $3MM in guaranteed money, with a fourth-year player option that’s not fully guaranteed. It will start at $8.7MM in year one, per The Athletic, which suggests the total value will be over $37MM, assuming 5% annual raises.

Charania reported on Tuesday night that the Warriors were pursuing Hield, and now a sign-and-trade agreement has come to fruition.

In 2023/24, Hield appeared in a league-high 84 regular season games, exceeding the typical 82-game limit as a result of a midseason trade that sent him from Indiana to Philadelphia. He averaged 12.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 25.7 minutes per game for the Pacers and Sixers, with a .386 3PT%.

Hield, 31, has never been known for his defense, but he’s a top-tier floor spacer, with a career mark of 40.0% from long distance (on high volume). He ranked No. 24 on our list of 2024’s top 50 free agents.

The Warriors have been very busy this offseason, agreeing to sign De’Anthony Melton to a one-year deal and to acquire both Kyle Anderson and Hield in the wake of Thompson’s departure.

Hield is currently competing for his home country, the Bahamas, in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Spain. If the team wins the tournament (it has already advanced to the semifinal), the Bahamas would advance to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, which begin at the end of July.

Cap expert Yossi Gozlan projects the Warriors, who are hard-capped at the first tax apron, to be right near that salary threshold ($178.1MM) with 14 players under contract (Twitter link).

The Sixers won’t create a trade exception as part of the transaction, since they’re operating under the cap.

Knicks Sign First-Rounder Dadiet For Less Than Standard Rookie Scale Amount

July 4th, 2024 at 1:42pm CST by Luke Adams

1:42pm: Katz provides some additional details on Dadiet’s contract, tweeting that only the first year will be at 80% of the rookie scale amount, with years two through four jumping to 120%.

All told then, Dadiet’s deal will be worth $13,012,968 (instead of $13,917,008) over four years.

12:33pm: The Knicks have finalized a buyout with Ratiopharm Ulm, Pacome Dadiet‘s team in Germany, clearing the way for them to sign their first-round pick to his rookie scale contract, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Interestingly, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Knicks have signed Dadiet to a contract that will be worth 80% of the standard rookie scale amount for the No. 25 pick, instead of the usual 120%. That’s the minimum allowed for a first-round pick.

As our breakdown of rookie scale salaries shows, a “maximum” rookie scale contract for Dadiet would’ve started at $2,712,120. However, 80% of his rookie scale amount will work out to a first-year salary of $1,808,080. As Katz notes, that’ll give the team about $904K in extra spending flexibility below its second-apron hard cap for 2024/25.

An NBA team is permitted to pay up to $850K to a player’s international team as part of a buyout agreement in 2024/25 without that amount counting against its cap. The NBA club would be permitted to pay more than that, but any amount above $850K would count against the player’s cap hit. For instance, a $1MM buyout for a player who will earn a $2MM salary would result in a $2,150,000 cap hit.

League sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that the Knicks, not coincidentally, paid exactly $850K to Ratiopharm Ulm, meaning Dadiet’s cap hit will be equivalent to his salary and won’t include any portion of his buyout.

This is likely an arrangement the Knicks discussed with Dadiet and his representatives before selecting him rather than springing a lower offer on him after drafting him.

The 18-year-old French wing averaged 6.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game across 18 EuroCup appearances for Ulm last season.

Raptors Signing Jamal Shead To Three-Year Deal

July 4th, 2024 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors are signing second-round pick Jamal Shead to a three-year, $6.11MM contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). That’s the maximum amount permitted under the second-round pick exception for a three-year deal.

Shead, who turned 22 in June, spent all four of his college seasons at the University of Houston, serving as the Cougars’ starting point guard for the past three seasons. In 2023/24, he averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.2 steals in 31.1 minutes per game (37 contests).

Shead’s shooting line last season was a modest .409/.309/.779, which is about in line with his career college numbers. However, he’s considered a strong defender, having won this year’s Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Raptors selected Shead using the No. 45 pick they acquired in their trade with the Kings last week.

Reporting on draft night indicated that Shead received interest from more than a dozen teams hoping to sign him to a two-way contract, but was assured of getting a guaranteed salary from Toronto. His contract – which begins at $1.86MM – will be guaranteed for the first two seasons, per Charania, with a third-year team option. It’s the same deal that fellow second-rounder Jonathan Mogbo is signing with the Raptors.

Heat Sign Alec Burks To One-Year Deal

July 4th, 2024 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

July 4: Burks’ minimum-salary contract is now official, the Heat announced in a press release.

July 3: The Heat have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with free agent guard Alec Burks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). It’ll be a minimum-salary deal, confirms Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Burks, who will turn 33 later this month, is a 13-year veteran who has played for seven teams since entering the NBA in 2011, including both the Pistons and the Knicks in 2023/24.

The former 12th overall pick had a solid first half in Detroit, averaging 12.6 points per game with a .401 3PT% for the league’s worst teams. However, he struggled after being sent to New York in a deadline deal, scoring just 6.5 PPG and making 30.1% of his three-pointers in 23 regular season games down the stretch.

Burks has a solid track record as a scorer and shooter (.383 career 3PT%) and finished the year strong this spring, reclaiming a spot in a banged-up Knicks’ rotation during the Eastern Conference semifinals. In New York’s last five playoff games vs. the Pacers, he averaged 17.8 PPG on .510/.429/.844 shooting.

There should be minutes available in Miami for Burks, who will be tasked with helping to fill the holes created in the rotation if Caleb Martin and Haywood Highsmith don’t return to the team.

Burks projects to be the 13th player on a standard guaranteed contract with the Heat. That total doesn’t include Orlando Robinson, whose 2024/25 salary is non-guaranteed and whose hold on a 15-man roster spot appears tenuous.