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Western Notes: Boston Jr., Holmes, Grizzlies Draft, Pelicans, Collier

June 29th, 2024 at 9:22am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Clippers are not issuing a qualifying offer to 22-year-old wing Brandon Boston Jr., Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link). That means Boston will become an unrestricted free agent.

Boston was the No. 51 overall pick in the 2021 draft, spending each of his first three seasons in the league with the Clippers. He played well in limited action, averaging 6.2 points in just 12.9 minutes across 105 appearances with Los Angeles from 2021-24. Per 36 minutes, his career averages jump to 17.4 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Still, Boston never broke through into the main rotation with the Clippers. There’s a chance he remains in Los Angeles on a new deal, but if not, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a younger team take a flier on him.

The No. 4 ranked prospect in the 2020 recruiting class, Boston played one season at Kentucky in 2020/21, averaging 11.5 points in 25 games.

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It’s easy to envision how rookie DaRon Holmes II can fit on the Nuggets, with his rim protection and ability to stretch the floor standing out as key elements of his game, The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando writes. Holmes will man the second unit for now, giving the team a breath of fresh air there, but he might be a starter down the line. “I definitely see [playing the four] in the future, especially the way the game is now,” Holmes said. “You look at the Grizzlies. They just got Zach Edey. They’re probably gonna play him and [Jaren Jackson Jr.] together. I think that’s perfectly fine for me. Small-ball five will be good at times. I don’t think that will be an all-time thing for me. I’m probably not gonna start at the five if I’m gonna be a starter [someday].”
The Grizzlies draft selections were all highly coveted by the franchise, Damichael Cole of Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. Outside of No. 9 overall pick Edey, Memphis selected Jaylen Wells and acquired Cam Spencer in the second round. “To come out of day two of the draft with both of them joining us, that’s an outcome that we thought was zero chance of,” general manager Zach Kleiman said.
At the end of the season, Pelicans general manager David Griffin said changes would be necessary so the team could keep up with the rest of the West. Trading for Dejounte Murray shows Griffin is backing up those words, William Guillory of The Athletic writes, but there’s more work to be done. The roster is unbalanced, with a lack of frontcourt depth standing out as an issue. Guillory writes that trading Brandon Ingram or CJ McCollum in a deal for a starting center would be a sensible move, with Ingram the likelier option due to his trade value and contract status. Some trade options could include Deandre Ayton, Brook Lopez and Mitchell Robinson, though it’s hard to gauge whether opposing teams would have interest in extending Ingram.
The Jazz played the waiting game in the draft after considering options to trade up, and USC guard Isaiah Collier fell into their lap at pick No. 29, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. “As the draft started to fall, there was a very high percentage chance on our probability markers that the guys that we liked were going to be there [at 29],” general manager Justin Zanik said. “So we are absolutely thrilled that Isaiah was available for us to take.”

Eastern Notes: Holland, Pistons, Clowney, Whitehead, Raptors

June 29th, 2024 at 8:11am CST by Tristan Tucker

The first draft selection of the Trajan Langdon era is a heat check, Detroit Free Press’s Omari Sankofa II writes. Taking Ron Holland at No. 5 overall came as something of a surprise to many, especially because the Pistons didn’t hold a pre-draft interview or workout with the G League Ignite alum.

“He’s got one of the biggest upsides in the draft,” Langdon said. “Everybody knows the shooting is an issue, but for a lot of the players that have high upside in this draft, shooting was an issue. We hired Fred Vinson for a reason, so we can take chances like this on young players when shooting is the piece.

“If his shot hits, he’s going to be a really, really good player. The kid works, the kid competes, he has a great size for his position. I just think everything that we looked at across the board, he just checked a lot of boxes except for shooting. It’s really hard to find a player that age, compete level, to have the productivity in the G League he had at 18 years old.”

The reason Holland didn’t end up visiting the Pistons, Sankofa notes, could have been that several agents didn’t want to bring their players to Detroit for workouts. That may not have been the case with Holland specifically; but in any case, the Pistons did their homework on the talented forward, which included speaking with teammates like former NBA and Ignite veteran John Jenkins.

“He did say, ‘Look, I understand what my role is. I understand who I am as a player. I want to come to whatever team that drafts me and I want to help them win,’ ” Landgon said. “The people that he compared himself to — Jaden McDaniels, Jaylen Brown, Mikal Bridges — those guys came in as defenders first and then they figured out their offensive games. He knows who he is, which I think is huge to have that kind of awareness at 18, 19 years old. We’re incredibly excited about having him.”

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The Pistons will likely prioritize bringing back Simone Fontecchio in free agency, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes, but he might be the only player they re-sign. Beyond Fontecchio, Detroit seems likely to use its cap space to pursue outside free agents, with the team’s biggest needs including shooting, frontcourt rim protection and high-IQ players. Edwards lists Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Naji Marshall, Gary Harris, Isaiah Hartenstein and Tobias Harris as his top five targets, with a dream scenario being to bring in all those players, to trade Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren for solid packages and to retain Fontecchio.
Because the team didn’t own a first-round pick this season, Nets second-year players Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead (the Nos. 21 and 22 picks in 2023, respectively) are poised to be in the spotlight for a rebuilding Brooklyn squad. Zach Braziller of the New York Post further explores what the future holds for both players, with Clowney set to build on a promising rookie season. Whitehead only played two games last season after a shin injury, but the team is hoping he’ll be ready for summer league.
The Raptors might be positioned to battle for a spot in the play-in tournament next season, Sportsnet.ca’s Michael Grange writes. After bringing in the likes of Ja’Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo and Davion Mitchell, the Raptors have a solid blend of experience and youth. Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley are among Toronto’s players likely to continue building on solid career trajectories, giving the team a leg up on tanking teams but putting them firmly behind the top contenders in the conference, Grange adds.

Nets Agree To Exhibit 10 Deals With KJ Jones, Mark Armstrong

June 29th, 2024 at 7:41am CST by Luke Adams

June 29: Armstrong is joining the Nets on an Exhibit 10 deal, Adam Zagoria of NJ.com reports (Twitter link). The Nets currently have just one player signed to a two-way contract for next season (Jaylen Martin), so it’s feasible that Armstrong winds up competing for one of those two-way slots. Armstrong is a former four-star prospect with USA Basketball experience.

June 27: The Nets have reached an agreement on an Exhibit 10 contract with high-scoring Division II guard KJ Jones, according to Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com (Twitter link).

Jones, who played his college ball at Emmanuel University in Georgia, has averaged 26.2 points per game in back-to-back seasons and scored more than 3,600 total points over the course of his five-year collegiate career. He posted a shooting line of .482/.371/.868 across those five seasons, also logging career averages of 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per contest.

As Chepkevich notes, Jones was the only Division II prospect to receive an invitation to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this spring.

Villanova’s Mark Armstrong may also be joining the Nets’ offseason roster, with Jake Weingarten of StockRisers.com tweeting that Brooklyn has reached a deal with the former Villanova standout. However, there are no additional details on that agreement (ie. whether it’s for a two-way contract, an Exhibit 10 deal, etc.), so it’s possible Armstrong is just joining the team for Summer League for now.

The former Wildcats guard registered averages of 8.4 PPG, 2.4 APG, and 2.3 RPG on .417/.282/.776 shooting as a sophomore in 2023/24 before declaring for the draft as an early entrant.

Lakers’ Jaxson Hayes Picking Up 2024/25 Player Option

June 29th, 2024 at 1:17am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers big man Jaxson Hayes is exercising his minimum-salary ($2.46MM) player option for the 2024/25 season, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The eighth overall pick in the 2019 draft, Hayes spent his first four NBA seasons in New Orleans before signing with Los Angeles last summer. Although he appeared in 70 games for his new team, the fifth-year center played a limited role in the Lakers’ frontcourt, averaging a career-low 12.5 minutes per game. He contributed 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest in that modest role.

As Charania points out, if he remains on the Lakers’ roster through the offseason, Hayes will get the opportunity to reunite with J.J. Redick, L.A.’s new head coach and Hayes’ former teammate in New Orleans.

The Lakers entered the offseason with five veterans holding player options. Big man Christian Wood picked up his $3.04MM option in May, while Russell ($18.69MM) and Hayes ($2.46MM) are said to be opting in too. Cam Reddish ($2.46MM) and, of course, LeBron James ($51.42MM) still have decisions to finalize before Saturday’s deadline.

Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell Exercising 2024/25 Player Option

June 29th, 2024 at 1:03am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell intends to exercise the player option on his contract for the 2024/25 season, he tells Jordan Richard of Swish Cultures (Twitter link). Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) confirms the news, as does ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link).

“I love what (new Lakers head coach) J.J. (Redick) is about and I really see myself thriving under his guidance to help win at a high level,” Russell told McMenamin.

The move will guarantee Russell’s $18,692,307 salary for next season. Rather than becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer, the 28-year-old will postpone his free agency until 2025, remaining on the two-year, $36MM deal he signed with the Lakers last July.

Russell is coming off one of the best seasons of his NBA career. He averaged 18.0 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.1 rebounds in 32.7 minutes per game across 76 regular season outings (69 starts), posting a shooting line .456/.415/.828.

However, for a second straight spring, he struggled vs. Denver in the postseason. His 2024 playoff averages dipped to 14.2 PPG, 4.2 APG, and 2.8 RPG on .384/.318/.500 shooting. A year earlier, he shot just 32.3% (13.3% on threes) in the Western Conference finals vs. the Nuggets and was removed from the starting five.

Russell’s player option decision was considered one that could go either way, since opting out would’ve given him more control over his future. Opting in will lock in his ’24/25 salary, but it doesn’t necessarily ensure he’ll remain in Los Angeles, since he looks like a prime trade candidate for a Lakers team seeking roster upgrades.

Russell ($18.7MM), Rui Hachimura ($17MM), and Gabe Vincent ($11MM) have been viewed as a few possible outgoing salary-matching pieces in the event L.A. takes a swing on the trade market for another impact player to complement star forwards LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Of those three players, only Russell is on an expiring contract — Hachimura and Vincent each have guaranteed salaries for 2025/26.

The Lakers are expected to be “aggressive in pursuing Russell-centric trades,” team and league sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic. If Russell does remain with the Lakers, he’d be in position to reclaim his starting point guard role next season, but Buha says the team considers the Russell/Austin Reaves backcourt duo to have a “clear ceiling” and prefers to keep Reaves, who is younger, a better defender, and on a more team-friendly contract.

Southeast Notes: Atlanta, Young, Butler, Ware, Hornets

June 28th, 2024 at 10:29pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Hawks‘ trade of Dejounte Murray will make the roster cheaper, more coherent, and a better fit around star guard Trae Young, The Athletic’s John Hollinger writes. However, it’s not clear whether Young remains in the franchise’s long-term plans.

While the roster might fit better together now, the Hawks have gone 161-157 over the past four seasons and don’t necessarily appear any closer to being a contender in the Eastern Conference. However, due to the original acquisition of Murray, the Spurs control the Hawks’ first-round picks for the next three drafts (unprotected in 2025 and 2027 and an unprotected swap in 2026)

That’s why, Hollinger writes, the Spurs are the most logical trade partner for any deal involving Young. San Antonio is looking for an elite point guard to pair with Victor Wembanyama, and the combined salaries of Devonte’ Graham (whose guarantee date was just pushed back), Zach Collins and Tre Jones match Young’s, Hollinger points out.

Outside of Young, offers for the likes of Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter have been lacking, Hollinger hears from league sources, but more moves out of Atlanta are expected.

For now though, this is Young’s team and the trade of Murray allows for more roster flexibility, including unlocking the non-taxpayer mid-level exception as a result of ducking under the luxury tax line.

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Heat star Jimmy Butler is planning to play out the 2024/25 season and then opt out of his contract and hit unrestricted free agency next year, without signing an extension. While it isn’t the ideal outcome for either side, it represents a middle ground that allows Butler to bet on himself and buys the Heat time to figure out their future. As William Guillory of The Athletic writes, Miami understands Butler is the key to any postseason success this season. Still, Guillory wonders if it might make more sense to turn the page on the Butler era as the team quietly continues building a strong young core.
The Heat introduced the newest member of that young core to the media on Friday, with No. 15 overall pick Kel’el Ware making his press debut. “We feel very fortunate that we were able to get the specific player we wanted, that can complement our team, can complement Bam [Adebayo],” Heat president Pat Riley said, per the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Ware immediately becomes the tallest player on Miami’s roster.
The Hornets waiving Seth Curry and declining the team option on JT Thor‘s contract suggest they’re preparing to operate as a cap room team if they lose free agent forward Miles Bridges, Hollinger writes in a separate post. The Hornets could create up to $23MM in cap space if they waive the non-guaranteed contracts of Aleksej Pokusevski and Bryce McGowens.
The Hornets also introduced draft picks Tidjane Salaün and KJ Simpson on Friday. The duo represents vice president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson‘s first two pieces of his roster vision and culture. “[Salaün and Simpson] just embody everything that we want to be about,” Peterson said, per The Charlotte Observer’s Roderick Boone. “They are extremely unselfish. They work, they understand the importance of putting the time in. It’s the only way you are going to get the results that you want. They compete and they just have an amazing outlook and approach in terms of how to get better on a daily basis. So these two guys just embody exactly what we want to be about going forward.“

Klay Thompson, Mavericks Have “Strong Mutual Interest”

June 28th, 2024 at 9:05pm CST by Tristan Tucker

“Strong mutual interest” is expected between Klay Thompson and the Mavericks when free agency opens on Sunday night, NBA insider Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack post.

Reports have long indicated the lack of contact between Thompson and the Warriors, the team with which he’s won four rings and played since 2011. Now, Stein says he’s heard from multiple sources that the Mavs are likely to emerge as the favorites to sign the Splash Brother.

Having agreed to send Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Pistons, the Mavericks will have some additional financial flexibility and are expected to be able to make a competitive multiyear contract offer to the five-time All-Star, Stein writes. However, with no cap room available, Dallas would likely need Golden State’s cooperation for a sign-and-trade deal — it’s not “immediately clear” whether such a deal could be negotiated, Stein acknowledges.

It’s also not known whether the Mavs would be able to retain Derrick Jones Jr. if they were to land Thompson, Stein adds. Jones, who was an instrumental piece en route to the Mavs’ NBA Finals appearance, is poised to sign with Klutch Sports for representation as he prepares to enter free agency, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

As has been reported, teams with cap space like Orlando and Philadelphia are expected to show interest in Thompson if he doesn’t return to the Warriors, but it’s believed that his preference is to remain in the Western Conference, according to Stein.

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).

Pistons To Decline Evan Fournier’s Team Option

June 28th, 2024 at 7:23pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Pistons will not pick up guard Evan Fournier‘s team option for next season worth $19MM, according to The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III (Twitter link). The deadline to make a decision on Fournier’s option was Saturday.

This was an expected move, since Detroit will operate under the cap, meaning declining the option frees up $19MM in room. The Pistons acquired Fournier at the 2023/24 trade deadline from the Knicks alongside Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn and Ryan Arcidiacono in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.

Fournier averaged 7.2 points in 29 games with the Pistons after the deadline after playing sparingly for the Knicks over the past two seasons. A skilled three-point shooter, the 31-year-old will become an unrestricted free agent and could help out a playoff team on a small salary.

Fournier had the most productive stint of his career with the Magic, where he averaged 16.2 PPG across 435 games with the franchise. For his career, Fournier has averaged 13.6 PPG on a 37.4% three-point clip (5.2 attempts per game).

Spurs, Devonte’ Graham Move Back Contract Guarantee Date

June 28th, 2024 at 7:02pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Spurs and guard Devonte’ Graham are moving back his contract guarantee date to July 8, according to ESPN’s Andrew Lopez (Twitter link).

Graham’s contract is already partially guaranteed for $2.85MM for next season, but it was set to increase to $12.65MM by July 1. Now, the Spurs have an extra week to mull over options for Graham, including potential trades.

The Spurs acquired Graham in 2023 from New Orleans in a move that also involved Josh Richardson going to the Pelicans.

In one-and-a-half seasons with the Spurs, Graham has averaged 8.7 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game and has shot 33.8% from beyond the arc. The 34th overall pick in the 2018 draft began his career with the Hornets, playing modest minutes in his first season before breaking out and averaging 18.2 points and 7.5 assists in 2019/20, finishing fifth in Most Improved Player voting.

However, his production has gradually declined since that season. At 29 years old and a career 35.4% shooter from beyond the arc, Graham could provide value to prospective playoff teams, but likely not on his current contract. In 336 career games (171 starts), Graham holds career averages of 11.1 points and 4.3 assists per game.