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Pacers Notes: Nembhard, Siakam, Johnson

July 29th, 2024 at 6:53pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard could have waited longer before agreeing to his three-year extension worth about $59MM, Dustin Dopirak of IndyStar writes in a subscriber-only piece. In two years, Nembhard could have tested the market as an unrestricted free agent and seen if teams would have paid him to be a lead guard. However, Dopirak explains that the deal make sense for both sides.

Nembhard’s $2MM salary for 2024/25 is set to be the second-lowest on the team next season, only ahead of second-round rookie Johnny Furphy. By signing an extension now, Nembhard ensured he won’t have to earn a minimum salary in 2025/26 too, since his new deal replaced his team option for that year. His stock is also the highest it’s ever been after he averaged 14.9 points and 5.5 assists en route to a Pacers conference finals appearance.

Additionally, if staying with this group was an important factor for Nembhard, it made sense to sign now before Indiana gets too expensive. Myles Turner and T.J. McConnell are both set to become free agents next season and Bennedict Mathurin is soon to be extension-eligible.

As for the Pacers, locking up Nembhard to a deal worth just under $20MM per year could be a savvy move if the team believes in his postseason production. He looked like a legitimate lead guard in the last two games of the Celtics series, averaging 28.0 points. Immanuel Quickley could be a reference point for what Nembhard may have been able to get if the Pacers had held off, since he became a feature guard recently and earned a deal worth about $175MM. In other words, it made sense to sign Nembhard to a deal that runs through 2028 to prevent other teams from outbidding them in a couple years.

We have more from the Pacers:

  • Nembhard’s agent Todd Ramasar expects the guard to have a big summer for Team Canada in the Olympics after signing his extension, Mark Medina of Sportskeeda relays in an exclusive interview. Ramasar raved about the Pacers’ care for Nembhard through his career in the interview and stated that the trust they’ve shown in him is what led to the extension getting done now. “I think it’s good for both sides,” Ramasar said. “I think in a year or two that people are going to say it’s a bargain for the Pacers and maybe even after next season. … It takes pressure off him so he can focus purely on his game and help contribute to winning basketball with the Pacers.“
  • Ramasar is also Pascal Siakam‘s agent, and he said the two-time All-Star feels at peace this offseason after spending the last year worrying about his contract extension, according to Medina. Siakam signed a four-year extension worth $189.5MM. “There’s just a focus [on basketball this offseason],” Ramasar said. “There are no distractions.“
  • James Johnson‘s $3.3MM minimum-salary contract with the Pacers is partially guaranteed for $750K, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link). The full amount would become guaranteed if he remains under contract through January 7. Johnson has served as a locker-room presence for a young Indy team over the past two seasons, appearing in 27 games for the organization.
  • It’s somewhat possible that Johnson doesn’t make the opening-day roster if the Pacers decide they want to keep reigning G League Rookie of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe and sign 2024 second-rounder Enrique Freeman. Indiana only has one open two-way roster spot and no standard 15-man spots available. However, Johnson, Kendall Brown, and James Wiseman don’t have fully guaranteed salaries.
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Team USA Notes: Ceiling, Serbia Win Takeaways, Embiid, Holiday, White

July 29th, 2024 at 5:34pm CST by Tristan Tucker

On paper, the U.S. Olympic men’s team looks like one of the best collections of talent since 1992, The Athletic’s Joe Vardon writes while pondering the team’s upside.

“I don’t know if Magic, Michael and Larry, if they coined that [nickname] themselves and walked around calling themselves the Dream Team or if that was the nickname that fans and media gave them, [but] I feel like we’re going to have the same vibe,” Stephen Curry said of how this year’s team compares to the Dream Team.

The Americans certainly looked the part in their blowout win over Serbia on Sunday, but it wasn’t smooth sailing up to that point. The U.S. almost lost to Germany and South Sudan in consecutive exhibition games. As Vardon writes, it’s a testament to how the talent around the world has grown. When the 1992 team competed, only nine other players outside of the U.S. team were in the NBA. This year, an Olympic-record 47 athletes are in the NBA and 35 more have at least some league experience.

“It’s the strongest field ever,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “The game gets better and better globally, more and more NBA players, but also teams are more and more comfortable playing against us, and so we know that every game’s going to be difficult and we have to prepare for that and be ready because these teams are coming after us.”

While the Americans look like the favorite for the gold medal, Vardon cautions that it’s far from a guarantee. In a similar piece, The Ringer’s Michael Pina writes that Team USA’s low three-point rate is seemingly one of the team’s only weaknesses.

We have more from the U.S. Olympic team:

  • Kevin Durant‘s near-perfect game against Serbia highlighted their 110-84 win. LeBron James‘ 23-point, nine-assist and seven-rebound game showed that the U.S. team should continue to rely on its older guys, Jason Jones of The Athletic writes in a takeaways piece from the first game. Jones also contemplates whether Joel Embiid should continue to start, writing that Kerr may simply just like the effective frontcourt pairing of Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis off the bench. Jones also observes Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton picking up DNPs in the first game and ponders if Kerr’s rotation choices will be consistent or fluctuate on a matchup basis.
  • Embiid had a rough showing in his first official Team USA outing, Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. He finished with four points and two rebounds in just over 11 minutes and didn’t seem 100%. His decision to play for Team USA over France earned him boos from the crowd in Paris and Sielski wonders — even if he was hampered with an injury or illness — if adapting his game benefits either him or his team. Embiid is one of the best players in the world but he has always been the featured player on his teams and may be taking more of a backseat on the Olympic squad, Sielski writes.
  • Jrue Holiday and Derrick White played similar roles in the team’s first game as they do for the reigning-champion Celtics, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes. Both players complement star-filled rosters on either team and often take the task of guarding the opposing team’s best player. “It makes it easy for me and Jrue,” White said. “We just try to go out there and do what we do and try to help us impact winning whenever we can. I know we’ve got a lot of talented guys on the team.”
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Spurs Sign Harrison Ingram To Two-Way Deal

July 29th, 2024 at 3:21pm CST by Rory Maher

The Spurs have signed forward Harrison Ingram to a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release.

Ingram, 21, was the 48th overall pick of last month’s draft. He had been one of several second-round picks who had yet to sign an NBA deal, though a two-way contract was always considered the likely outcome for him.

A native of Dallas, Texas, Ingram spent his first two college seasons at Stanford. He transferred to North Carolina for his junior year, averaging 12.2 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.2 APG and 1.4 SPG in 37 games last season for the Tar Heels (32.8 MPG). He posted a shooting slash line of .430/.385/.612 in those contests.

Ingram suited up for San Antonio’s Summer League squads in California and Las Vegas, averaging 10.0 PPG and 6.6 RPG in seven total appearances (27.8 MPG). His shooting line was .382/.406/.385, per RealGM.

As our tracker shows, Ingram will fill the Spurs’ third and final two-way spot. Guards Jamaree Bouyea and David Duke Jr. are San Antonio’s other players on two-way contracts.

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Coaches, Scouts, Execs Weigh In On NBA Offseason Moves

July 29th, 2024 at 3:05pm CST by Rory Maher

While there are still some noteworthy free agents who have yet to find new teams, we’re currently in a relatively slow period for NBA transactions, as most teams have a pretty good idea of what their rosters will look like ahead of the 2024/25 season.

With that in mind, Tim Bontemps of ESPN (subscription required) recently spoke to 18 NBA coaches, scouts and executives to solicit their (anonymous) opinions on the biggest moves made so far in the 2024 offseason.

Here are some highlights from Bontemps’ survey, which is worth reading in full for those who subscribe to ESPN+:

Which team had the best offseason?

Sixers (8 votes), Knicks (5), Thunder (3), Celtics.

“They took themselves to the next level,” an East executive said of the 76ers. “We’ll see if it’s good enough, but you went from Point A to Point B.”

Which team had the worst offseason?

Nuggets (6 votes), Bulls (5), Clippers (4), Lakers (1), Knicks (1), Pistons (1).

As Bontemps writes, Denver (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), Chicago (Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan) and the Clippers (Paul George) received the majority of the votes for losing key players in free agency and/or trades.

Interestingly, while Philadelphia signing George to a four-year, maximum-salary contract received the most votes (six) for the best offseason move, it also tied for the most votes (three) for worst move. A total of 10 different answers were given for worst move, including the Bulls and Kings receiving three votes apiece for their parts in the DeRozan sign-and-trade.

As for the most surprising move, the Knicks’ blockbuster trade with the Nets for Mikal Bridges received the most votes (five) in Bontemps’ survey, followed by George leaving Los Angeles (three) and the swap of Caruso for Josh Giddey (two). Eight other moves each received one vote.

Bontemps also asked questions about the top offseason trend, the effectiveness of the new CBA, and whether there will be an increase in tanking ahead of the 2025 draft.

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Spurs, Nathan Mensah Agree To Training Camp Contract

July 29th, 2024 at 1:09pm CST by Rory Maher

The Spurs plan to sign free agent big man Nathan Mensah to a training camp contract, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).

Mensah, 26, went undrafted last year after spending five college seasons at San Diego State. He joined the Hornets last fall, initially signing an Exhibit 10 deal ahead of training camp before being waived prior to the 2023/24 season.

Mensah opened his first professional season playing for Charlotte’s NBA G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, averaging 10.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 14 Showcase Cup games last fall (29.3 minutes per contest).

Amid multiple frontcourt injuries, the Hornets promoted Mensah to a two-way contract in December. He averaged 1.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 25 NBA games (12.6 minutes) before he was cut in early March. He returned to the Swarm to conclude his rookie campaign.

A 6’8″ center from Ghana who possesses a 7’4″ wingspan, Mensah caught on with the Spurs for Summer League action in California and Las Vegas. Evidently he impressed the club, as he’ll reportedly be signing with San Antonio for training camp.

While the terms of the contract were not disclosed, camp deals like Mensah’s often contain Exhibit 10 language to give players an opportunity to earn a bonus if they’re waived before the season begins and then spend at least 60 days with a team’s NBAGL affiliate. In Mensah’s case, that would be the Austin Spurs.

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NBA Players Who Can Veto Trades In 2024/25

July 29th, 2024 at 12:02pm CST by Luke Adams

No-trade clauses are rare in the NBA, since a player must meet a specific set of criteria in order to qualify for one. And even those players who become eligible may not have the leverage to demand a no-trade clause, which significantly limits a team’s flexibility in future trade negotiations.

To be eligible to negotiate a no-trade clause, a player must have at least eight years of NBA experience and has to have spent at least four years (not necessarily the most recent four years) with his current team. He also must be signing a free agent contract, rather than an extension.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: No-Trade Clause]

For the first time in seven seasons, multiple players will have no-trade clauses in their contracts during the 2024/25 league year. In addition to Bradley Beal, who got his no-trade clause when he signed his current contract in 2022, LeBron James negotiated a no-trade clause into his new deal with the Lakers.

The last time more than one player had an actual no-trade clause in his contract was in ’17/18, when three players – James (as a Cavalier), Dirk Nowitzki, and Carmelo Anthony – had them.

Although Beal and James are the only players who have explicit no-trade clauses in their current deals, there are several others who will have implicit no-trade clauses in 2024/25, giving them the ability to veto trades during the current league year.

A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year deal with an option year – is given no-trade protection, unless he agrees to give up that protection when he inks his deal. That group doesn’t include players on two-way contracts, but it does include players who accept standard (non two-way) one-year qualifying offers.

A player who signs an offer sheet and has that offer matched by his previous team also has the ability to veto a trade for a full calendar year.

With those criteria in mind, here are the players who must give their consent if their teams want to trade them during the ’24/25 league year:

Players with a no-trade clause:

Players whose offer sheets were matched:

  • None

Players re-signing for one year (or two years, with a second-year player/team option):

Note: Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on non-guaranteed contracts.

If any player who re-signed for one year approves a trade during the 2024/25 league year, he’ll have Non-Bird rights at season’s end instead of Early Bird or full Bird rights.

Any player who approves a trade will retain his veto ability on his new team, and would have to consent to any subsequent deal during the 2024/25 season.

The following players were re-signed to one-year contracts (or two-year deals with an option year), but have agreed to forfeit their right to veto a trade in 2024/25:

Giving up the right to veto a trade was introduced as an option in the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

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Suns Trade David Roddy To Hawks For E.J. Liddell

July 29th, 2024 at 11:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 29: The trade is now official, according to a press release from the Suns. As we detailed in separate stories, Phoenix isn’t expected to retain Liddell into the regular season, since the team has 16 players on guaranteed contracts after signing Tyus Jones.

JULY 26: The Suns and Hawks have agreed to a minor trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Phoenix is sending forward David Roddy to Atlanta in exchange for forward E.J. Liddell.

It’s a cost-saving move for Phoenix, which is above the second tax apron and cannot take in more salary than it ships out in a trade.

Liddell has a $2.1MM contract and a $2.3MM team option for 2025/26. Roddy has a $2.8MM salary and a $4.8MM team option for 2025/26. Atlanta has until October 31st to exercise its ’25/26 option on Roddy, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link).

Roddy was shipped from Memphis to Phoenix in a three-team deal at last season’s trade deadline. The 23rd overall pick of the 2022 draft will be entering his third season. He started 13 of 48 games for the banged-up Grizzlies last season, averaging 8.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23.7 minutes per contest. He saw less action in a Suns uniform, appearing in 17 games off the bench and averaging just 3.7 minutes in those outings.

It remains to be seen how Roddy slots in to the Hawks’ plans, since they have a number of options at both forward spots. It stands to reason they value him over Liddell, since they’ll add some salary in this transaction. Indeed, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution (Twitter link) reports via a source that the Hawks view Roddy as a better roster fit than Liddell.

Liddell, a 2022 second-rounder out of Ohio State, has only been under contract with Atlanta since July 6. He was thrown into the Dejounte Murray blockbuster with New Orleans for salary-matching purposesl

Liddell had his rookie season delayed by a devastating right knee injury in July 2022. Last season, he appeared in just eight games off the bench for New Orleans. He played 26 games for the Birmingham Squadron in the G League, averaging 17.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per contest.

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Matthew Hurt Signs With Australian Team

July 29th, 2024 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent forward Matthew Hurt, who appeared in eight games last season with the Grizzlies, has signed a one-year contract with the South East Melbourne Phoenix of Australia’s National Basketball League, sources tell Olgun Uluc of ESPN (Twitter link).

Hurt, 24, went undrafted in 2021 after playing his college ball at Duke and has played almost exclusively for the Memphis Hustle in the G League since then. In 2023/24, the 6’9″ forward averaged 19.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 32.6 minutes per game across 28 NBAGL outings for Memphis’ G League team, posting an excellent shooting line of .507/.400/.786.

Hurt’s strong play for the Hustle earned him a pair of 10-day contracts with the Grizzlies in January and February. He saw a little playing time for the injury-plagued club, but struggled to make an impact at the NBA level, recording 4.0 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 14.1 MPG on .353/.250/1.000 shooting. The Grizzlies didn’t re-sign him after his second 10-day contract expired in March.

Hurt is the third former NBA player who has joined the Phoenix since the 2024 offseason began. The club also added guard Derrick Walton, who played for the Heat, Clippers, and Pistons from 2017-22, and former Spurs and Raptors forward Joe Wieskamp.

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Tyus Jones Signs With Suns

July 29th, 2024 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 29: Jones’ deal with the Suns is official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

JULY 27: Free agent point guard Tyus Jones has agreed to sign with the Suns, agent Kevin Bradbury tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Wojnarowski, Jones will sign a one-year, minimum-salary contract.

Jones confirmed his decision in a statement to ESPN, as Wojnarowski relays (via Twitter).

“The chance to play for the Phoenix Suns made the most sense on a lot of levels to me and my family – beginning with the way (Suns owner) Mat Ishbia and the front office recruited me to how coach (Mike Budenholzer) showed me how I can significantly impact a team that has a real opportunity to challenge for an NBA title as their starting point guard,” Jones said.

“My agent (Bradbury) walked me and my family through multiple free agent offers and sign-and-trade proposals at a number of different financial levels but the Suns’ opportunity is where I can best maximize my value for a return to free agency next year as well as give myself a chance to be part of what I think will be a special team and season.”

A nine-year veteran, Jones was long considered one of the NBA’s top backup point guards while playing in Minnesota and Memphis. He got the chance with the Wizards in 2023/24 to become a full-time starter and made good on that opportunity by establishing new career highs in field goal percentage (48.9%), three-point percentage (41.4%), points per game (12.0), and assists per game (7.3) while continuing to take excellent care of the ball (he has never averaged more than 1.0 turnover per game).

We ranked Jones 15th overall on our list of top 50 free agents entering the offseason, but it quickly became clear that there wouldn’t be an opportunity for him to be the starting point guard on a contending team while earning a salary in the neighborhood of the $14MM he made last year in D.C.

Jones’ statement to Wojnarowski, which mentions that he expects to start in Phoenix, suggests that he’ll at least meet two of those three criteria. While he’s accepting a major pay cut, he’s in position to play a significant role on a team that has championship aspirations.

[RELATED: Tyus Jones Expected To Start At Point Guard For Suns]

The Suns’ three stars – Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal – are all relatively ball-dominant, but none of them are true point guards, so the team entered the offseason seeking a veteran who could organize the offense. Prior to signing Jones, Phoenix – which could only offer minimum-salary contracts while operating above the second tax apron – also added point guard Monte Morris on a one-year deal.

Jones will earn $3,003,427 on his minimum-salary contract, while the Suns will carry a cap hit of $2,087,519. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who confirmed earlier today that the Suns were eyeing Jones, tweets that the 28-year-old chose Phoenix over the Hawks and Grizzlies.

The expectation is that, after trading David Roddy for E.J. Liddell, the Suns will waive Liddell in order to create room on the projected 15-man roster for Jones. As Bobby Marks of ESPN points out (via Twitter), Phoenix is saving about $727K in the Roddy/Liddell swap and would remove another $1.41MM from its cap if Liddell is waived using the stretch provision.

Those two moves would essentially cancel out the impact of Jones’ deal on the Suns’ 2024/25 cap, providing crucial savings for a team whose salary is so far over the luxury tax line.

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Kerr: Tatum Will Play On Wednesday For Team USA

July 29th, 2024 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, an All-NBA first-teamer for each of the past three seasons, was a surprise DNP-CD in Team USA’s pool-play victory over Serbia on Sunday, joining Tyrese Haliburton as the only two players on the 12-man roster who didn’t see the court.

Keeping Tatum on the bench isn’t the plan going forward, however, according to head coach Steve Kerr, who told reporters on Monday that the Celtics star will be part of the rotation on Wednesday vs. South Sudan.

“Jayson will play (on Wednesday),” Kerr said, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “I’m not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn’t. But we’re going to need him, and part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens.”

A few factors contributed to Tatum’s DNP-CD on Sunday. Kevin Durant returned from his calf strain and looked like the best player on the court for much of his 16:44 of action. Kerr also leaned heavily on his big men against a strong Serbian frontcourt led by Nikola Jokic, with Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, and Joel Embiid all seeing playing time. Additionally, Derrick White, viewed as the 12th man on the roster, saw nearly 16 minutes of action in order to match up defensively with Serbia’s talented backcourt.

“The hardest part of this job is you’re sitting at least a couple of guys who are world-class, some of the very best players on Earth,” Kerr said. “On one hand, it makes no sense at all. On the other, I’m asking these guys to just commit to winning one game and then move on to the next one. I have to do the same thing. And so I felt like (Sunday) night those were the combinations that made the most sense.”

As Windhorst points out, Tatum should be a better fit against a South Sudan roster that features more athleticism and spreads the floor with three-point shooters.

“With South Sudan, it’s more about the speed, and speed is a killer,” Kerr said. “You have to be prepared for everything, and that means we need everybody.”

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