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Cavaliers Notes: Atkinson, Mobley, Allen, Garland

July 2nd, 2024 at 3:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kenny Atkinson was eager to pursue the Cavaliers‘ head coaching job after the team fired J.B. Bickerstaff in May, writes Tom Withers of The Associated Press. Atkinson recognizes that Cleveland has the potential to become a serious contender in the East after two straight playoff appearances, as he explained at Monday’s introductory press conference.

“The first thing I said (was), ‘I want this job, I’m going for it and I’m going to be aggressive,’” Atkinson told reporters. “I knew all the great things that were in place.”

This is the second head coaching job for Atkinson, who compiled a 118-190 record while overseeing a rebuilding project in Brooklyn before being let go in 2020. Since then, he spent one season as an assistant to Tyronn Lue with the Clippers and three years on Steve Kerr’s staff with the Warriors. He compared that experience to “getting your doctorate in basketball.”

“It’s a partnership,” Atkinson said. “Ty was great at it. Steve was a master at it. When you’re making big decisions, sure, you’re the ultimate decision-maker. But you have talked that through with your best players. In my experience, they might say: ‘No, why don’t we do this in the pick-and-roll? Why don’t we do this?’ So really, it’s a true partnership, and that means you better be a great listener when you do have those one-on-ones.”

There’s more from Cleveland:

  • Getting the chance to coach Evan Mobley was one of the things that attracted Atkinson to the job, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. In his discussions with Cavs’ management, Atkinson described his detailed plan to develop Mobley’s offensive skills in hopes of making him one of the league’s top five players. “I do think we can schematically get the ball in his hands more quite honestly,” Atkinson said. “It’s going to be in multiple ways. I think when you have a guy that versatile, it could be him in transition bringing the ball up, it could be him handling in a five out situation or him handling in pick and roll. I think there’s creative things we can do to help him.”
  • Appearing on ESPN Cleveland, Brian Windhorst (Twitter video link) says teams “definitely” have interest in trading for Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, but Atkinson wants to keep him. “I don’t think they’re trading him,” Windhorst said. Atkinson previously coached Allen during his time with the Nets.
  • Windhorst also expressed skepticism that the Cavaliers will look to move Darius Garland (Twitter video link), who has been the subject of trade speculation related to Donovan Mitchell‘s contract extension. “I don’t think the market is there for Darius Garland. … I think it’s a terrible time to trade Darius Garland,” said Windhorst, who added that he’s not convinced the point guard will even want a trade.
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Dalton Knecht Signs Rookie Scale Contract With Lakers

July 2nd, 2024 at 2:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

First-round pick Dalton Knecht has reached a contract agreement with the Lakers, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

L.A. was delighted to see the Tennessee sharpshooter slip to No. 17 in last week’s draft and reportedly has plans for him to be an immediate contributor. Although he’s old for a prospect at 23 and there are questions about his defense, his shooting is an obvious skill that should translate into the NBA.

Knecht played two years at Northern Colorado before transferring to Tennessee last summer. He was a consensus first-team All-American and was named SEC Player of the Year in his lone season with the Volunteers, averaging 21.7 points per game with .458/.397/.772 shooting stats.

Knecht’s four-year contract is expected to be worth about $18.5MM with a first-year salary of $3.8MM as our breakdown of this year’s rookie scale salaries shows. He’s now ineligible to be traded for 30 days.

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Magic Re-Sign Moritz Wagner

July 2nd, 2024 at 2:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Magic confirmed in a press release (Twitter link) that they’ve officially re-signed Wagner. The deal will feature a second-year team option, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

JULY 2: Moritz Wagner has agreed to re-sign with the Magic for $22MM over two years, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The 27-year-old center became an unrestricted free agent on Sunday after Orlando declined its $8MM team option for next season. The move was made to maximize cap space heading into free agency, but there were multiple reports that Wagner and the team were interested in a new deal.

Wagner appeared in 80 games last season, making just one start, and averaged 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 17.7 minutes per night. He shot a career-best 60.1% from the field and 33% from three-point range as Orlando reached the playoffs for the first time in four years.

Wagner was drafted by the Lakers with the 25th pick in 2018 and played for three teams in his first three seasons before signing with the Magic late in the 2020/21 campaign. He has become a valuable reserve on one of the best young teams in the East.

Orlando has been active since the start of free agency, re-signing Goga Bitadze and Gary Harris along with Wagner, and luring Kentavious Caldwell-Pope away from Denver. The Magic still have some leftover cap room, though recent reporting suggested they may be focused on re-signing Joe Ingles and renegotiating Jonathan Isaac‘s contract.

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A Closer Look At How Paul George Wound Up In Philadelphia

July 2nd, 2024 at 1:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bad weather caused a two-hour flight delay for Sixers owner Josh Harris and franchise legend Julius Erving as they headed to Los Angeles to meet with Paul George on Sunday, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. But they found a pleasant surprise when they arrived, as their No. 1 free agent target showed up wearing a T-shirt featuring another Sixers icon, Allen Iverson.

George’s other options were mostly exhausted by that point, so the late-night meeting was more or less a formality. The Clippers weren’t willing to give him the four-year contract he wanted, and the Magic, who were the other team George agreed to meet with, had already reached an agreement with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that limited their remaining cap space.

George happily accepted the four-year max offer, giving Sixers brass the player they had been hoping to acquire since James Harden demanded a trade last summer. Sources tell Shelburne that when Clippers executive Lawrence Frank originally called to ask about Harden, Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey asked for George in return. Frank wasn’t willing to consider it because L.A. was trying to compete for a title, but the team’s concerns about a long-term stay in the second apron eventually made George available in free agency.

Shelburne hears that after Kawhi Leonard agreed to a three-year, $150MM extension in January — after being eligible for four years at $221MM — there was pressure on George to accept a similar deal. At age 34, George was hoping to maximize what could be his final NBA contract, so he began to consider other options.

Sources tell Shelburne that the Clippers’ offers to George were for less guaranteed money than what Leonard received. She adds that George was aware that other teams were willing to give him a four-year max contract and he was disappointed by the Clippers’ resistance.

Shelburne confirms a weekend report that the Warriors made a serious effort to trade for George on Saturday as the deadline for picking up his $48.8MM option approached. Chris Paul‘s agreement to push back the guarantee date on his $30MM salary for next season was done in case Golden State needed to include all or part of that money in a deal with L.A.

Shelburne’s sources say there were talks at both the ownership and executive levels as the Warriors made numerous offers consisting of expiring contracts, young players and a 2027 first-round pick that would have been unprotected. The Clippers asked for Jonathan Kuminga to be included, but Shelburne hears that Golden State was unwilling to part with the talented young forward because they feared George’s interest in joining the Warriors would dip if they gave up too much to acquire him.

The trade ultimately died because of the Clippers’ reluctance to take back contracts that would push them into the second apron unless the talent level justified it.

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Kemba Walker Announces Retirement

July 2nd, 2024 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA guard Kemba Walker announced today (via Instagram) that he has decided to retire as a professional basketball player.

“I want to start this by thanking God for everything he has given me. Basketball has done more for me than I could’ve ever imagined, and I am super thankful for the amazing journey I’ve had,” Walker said in his announcement. “With that, I’m here to share that I am officially retiring from the game of basketball. This has all been a dream. When I look back, I still can’t believe the things I achieved in my career.

“… Basketball will forever be a part of my life so this isn’t goodbye,” he added. “I’m excited for what’s next.”

The ninth overall pick in the 2011 draft, Walker became the Hornets‘ full-time starting point guard in his second NBA season and maintained that role through the 2018/19 campaign, earning three All-Star berths and averaging 19.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 34.1 minutes per game across 605 total regular season games during his time in Charlotte.

Walker left the Hornets for the Celtics during the 2019 offseason and made another All-Star game during his first year in Boston. However, knee issues slowed him down well before the expiration of his four-year, maximum-salary contract with the Celtics. He was traded during the 2021 offseason to the Thunder, who bought him out.

Walker subsequently appeared in 37 games with his hometown Knicks in 2021/22 and nine contests with the Mavericks in ’22/23 before playing for AS Monaco in the EuroLeague in his final professional season in ’23/24.

Walker still holds numerous franchise records in Charlotte. He’s the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with over 12,000 points and has more made three-pointers (1,283) than any other player in team history.

The 34-year-old also won an NCAA title with UConn in 2011 and made an All-NBA third team during his last year as a Hornet in 2019.

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Magic Re-Sign Gary Harris On Two-Year Contract

July 2nd, 2024 at 1:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: Harris’ contract is official, the Magic announced today in a press release (Twitter link). The deal is worth $7.5MM annually, with a team option on year two, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

JULY 2: Harris’ deal will actually be worth $15MM over two years, a source tells Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

JULY 1: The Magic are re-signing veteran swingman Gary Harris on a two-year, $14MM contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Harris’ name had been bandied about as a reasonably-priced free agent option for numerous clubs but he opted for continuity. Harris is taking a pay cut — he made $13MM in each of the last two seasons.

Harris has spent the last three-and-a-half seasons with Orlando after playing six-and-a-half seasons with the Nuggets. The 29-year-old has been a starter most of his career but came off the bench in half of his 54 regular-season appearances last season. He averaged 6.9 points — his lowest output since his rookie season — along with 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24 minutes per game.

During his 570-game NBA career, Harris has averaged 11 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He’s a career 37% 3-point shooter.

He’ll likely slot in as the second-unit shooting guard behind Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Magic’s splashy free agent acquisition. KCP agreed to a three-year, $66MM deal to leave Denver.

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Latest On DeMar DeRozan

July 2nd, 2024 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s mutual interest between the Heat and free agent forward DeMar DeRozan, a pair of sources with knowledge of the situation tell Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

DeRozan is one of the top players left on the marketplace, having come in at No. 6 in our list of top 50 free agents. He led the NBA in total minutes played in 2023/24, averaging 24.0 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game with a shooting line of .480/.333/.853.

Despite the mutual interest, there’s not a clear path for Miami to offer DeRozan the sort of contract he’s seeking. As Jackson and Chiang write, the Heat are currently a first-apron team, so the best they could do would be the $5.2MM taxpayer mid-level exception. A sign-and-trade deal isn’t an impossibility, but it would require them to shed salary, since a team that acquires a player via sign-and-trade becomes hard-capped at the first apron, so it could get complicated.

DeRozan isn’t expected to return to the Bulls, but Jackson and Chiang hear that “several” teams remain in play for the six-time All-Star. One of those clubs is the Lakers, as we previously relayed. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed L.A.’s interest during a SportsCenter appearance on Tuesday (YouTube link), but reiterated that it won’t be easy for the Lakers and other over-the-cap suitors to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal.

“I think there’s interest in DeMar DeRozan, but the kind of contract that he might want just is not going to be available,” Wojnarowski said. “It’s not left out there in the marketplace. The Bulls are more than willing to work on a sign-and-trade agreement to get him the years and money that he might want, but with the new salary cap rules, those are much more difficult for teams to do.

“… In DeMar DeRozan’s case, and it may not be as appealing to him, but it may look like a one-year deal somewhere, let the market reset next year. Because if you do a sign-and-trade, it’s got to be at least three years and now you’re locked into a three-year deal at a number you may not like.”

DeRozan’s free agency this summer is somewhat reminiscent of his 2021 free agency. When he hit the market three years ago, teams like the Lakers and Clippers were viewed as suitors but didn’t have the financial means to make him a competitive offer. It briefly looked like he might accept a discount to return to his hometown, but he ultimately landed with the Bulls on a three-year, $82MM deal via sign-and-trade.

It seems less likely this time around that a suitor will emerge to make DeRozan a huge three-year offer. Still, it’s worth noting that settling for a one-year contract in the hopes of securing a larger payday next summer – as Woj suggests – would be risky move for a player who will turn 35 next month.

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Second-Round Pick Exception Details For 2024/25

July 2nd, 2024 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

As we outlined last summer when it was introduced as a new addition to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the second-round pick exception allows NBA teams to sign their second-round picks to standard contracts without requiring cap room or another exception (such as the mid-level) to do so.

Like the rookie scale exception, the second-round pick exception isn’t limited to a single use. It can be deployed as many times as needed in a given league year.

The second-round exception can be used to sign a player to either a three-year contract that includes a third-year team option or a four-year contract that features a fourth-year team option.

Teams made good use of the new exception right away last season. Of the 15 second-round picks in the 2023 draft who didn’t sign two-way contracts and who didn’t remain overseas for the year, 14 were signed using the second-round exception. The 15th, Tristan Vukcevic, didn’t sign until March, at which point the Wizards used a piece of the mid-level exception to give him a higher first-year salary than the second-round exception would’ve allowed for.

The values of the second-round pick exception change every year along with the NBA’s minimum salary scale, so with this year’s second-rounders starting to sign, it’s worth updating the numbers from the article we published a year ago to ensure they’re accurate for 2024/25.

Here are the details for ’24/25:

Three-year deal

  • The first year can be worth up to the minimum salary for a player with one year of NBA experience.
  • The second and third years are worth the second- and third-year minimum salaries for a rookie.
  • The third year is a team option.

As our chart of minimum salaries shows, in 2024/25, the maximum three-year salary for a contract with this structure would be about $6.1MM. Here’s the year-by-year breakdown (option year in italics):

Year Salary
2024/25 $1,862,265
2025/26 $1,955,377
2026/27 $2,296,271
Total $6,113,913

While the second- and third-year salaries will remain static in any three-year contract signed using the second-round exception, the first season can be as low as the rookie minimum ($1,157,153). For instance, Heat second-rounder Pelle Larsson reportedly signed a contract that begins at that number, so the overall value of his deal is about $5.4MM.

Four-year deal

  • The first year can be worth up to the minimum salary for a player with two years of NBA experience.
  • The second year can be worth up to the second-year minimum salary for a player with one year of experience.
  • The third and fourth years are worth the third- and fourth-year minimum salaries for a rookie.
  • The fourth year is a team option.

In 2024/25, the maximum four-year salary for a contract with this structure would be over $9MM. Here’s what it looks like from year to year (option year in italics):

Year Salary
2024/25 $2,087,519
2025/26 $2,191,897
2026/27 $2,296,271
2027/28 $2,486,995
Total $9,062,682

As with the first year of the three-year deal, the first two seasons of the four-year contract don’t necessarily have to start this high. They could be as low as $1,157,153 for year one and $1,955,377 for year two. That’s what Bronny James‘ contract with the Lakers will look like, for example, meaning his deal will be worth a total of about $7.9MM instead of $9MM+.

In any deal that uses this four-year contract structure, the salary increase between the first and second season can’t exceed 5% if the second season is above the minimum. For instance, a team wouldn’t be permitted to negotiate a contract that starts at the rookie minimum ($1,157,153) and jumps to $2,100,000 in year two.

Players who are signed using the second-round pick exception don’t count against a team’s cap between July 1 and July 30 of their first season.

That rule allows teams to preserve all the cap room they need until July 31 without having to worry about their second-rounders cutting into it, as well as positioning those players to sign their first NBA contracts before taking part in Summer League games.

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Celtics Re-Sign Neemias Queta To Three-Year Deal

July 2nd, 2024 at 11:22am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: The Celtics have officially re-signed Queta, according to a press release from the team.

JULY 2: Queta’s deal will be for three years, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac, who tweets that the Celtics are using the center’s Non-Bird rights to give him a deal longer than what the minimum salary exception allows.

JUNE 30: The defending champion Celtics continued to pursue roster stability, reaching a multiyear agreement with big man Neemias Queta, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Boston made Queta a restricted free agent on Saturday by extending a qualifying offer of approximately $2.37MM. That came after the club declined its team option on his contract.

Queta averaged a career highs of 5.5 points and 4.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per night with the Celtics across 28 contests, earning a promotion from his two-way contract to the 15-man roster.

He was not part of the club’s rotation during its title run, appearing for cameos in just three contests.

The Celtics also reached a one-year agreement with another of their backup big men, Luke Kornet. That depth should come in handy with starter Kristaps Porzingis sidelined 5-6 months after undergoing left leg surgery.

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