NBA Rumors - HoopsRumors.com

Northwest Notes: Giddey, Malone, Nuggets’ Draft, Wolves

June 8th, 2024 at 7:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards could have interest in Josh Giddey if the Thunder decide to move him this summer, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic suggests on his Game Theory Podcast (hat tip to Rylan Stiles of Inside the Thunder). Vecenie notes that Washington general manager Will Dawkins, a former Oklahoma City executive, was heavily involved in the process when the Thunder drafted Giddey with the sixth pick in 2021.

Vecenie doesn’t place a high price tag on Giddey, theorizing that OKC could get the Wizards’ No. 26 pick and a future second-rounder in return: “That feels like it is about the price point, to be honest with you, for where Giddey is right now and where the playoffs ended with him, this feels like a reasonable offer for Giddey.”

The third-year swingman has been a starter since his rookie season, but he was ineffective in the second-round series against Dallas. Giddey averaged just 12.6 minutes per game and connected at 43.2% from the field and 18.8% from three-point range as the Mavericks dared him to shoot. Giddey will be extension-eligible this summer, but the Thunder may opt to trade him rather than committing to another long-term salary with so much young talent on the roster.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

During an appearance on the Jim Rome show, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said there have been discussions about trading the 28th pick (video link from Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports). Malone responded, “You can never have enough shooting” when asked about team needs, and although he said Denver has the league’s best starting five, he expressed concern about that group being overworked again.
Bennett Durando of The Denver Post offers his insight into players the Nuggets are projected to take in various mock drafts if they hold onto their first-round pick. ESPN and Yahoo Sports both have Denver selecting Dayton center DaRon Holmes II, whom Durando describes as a versatile big man capable of protecting the rim and spacing the floor. Other mock drafts give the Nuggets Duke center Kyle Filipowski, Indiana forward Kel’el Ware, Creighton wing Baylor Scheierman and California wing Jaylon Tyson.
Michael Rand of the Star Tribune examines the debate over whether the Timberwolves should keep the core of their current roster together or try to shake things up with an offseason trade.

Draft Rumors: Risacher, Buzelis, Salaun, Carter

June 8th, 2024 at 6:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

Zaccharie Risacher could be the first selection in this year’s draft, but most American fans aren’t familiar with the French forward’s game. Risacher sought to clear up some of the mystery in a Zoom session with the media this week, writes Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports.

The 19-year-old plays for JL Bourg in the LNB Pro A league, where he impressed scouts with his soft shooting touch and 6’8″ frame. He’s a career 40.7% three-point shooter during his three-year career in France and connected at 56.1% from beyond the arc in this year’s playoffs, often with NBA scouts and executives in attendance.

“I think my best skill is probably my shooting ability. I’m really comfortable with it and I know it’s not perfect, I still got a lot of work to do. But that’s the part of my game I feel like is my best skill that I have,” Risacher told reporters. “And the part of my game that I need to work on is probably my dribbling ability, the way to handle contact with dribbling. But I know I can do it. I will say that’s the next step.”

Hughes notes that Risacher is projected to go to Atlanta with the No. 1 pick in the latest mock drafts from Yahoo Sports, ESPN and The Ringer. He’s listed as the second selection by The Athletic and Bleacher Report.

Risacher mentioned Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Jayson Tatum and Ray Allen as players he studied while developing his game. He’s also considered to be a high-level defender, so whoever drafts him won’t be getting a one-dimensional player.

“I take pleasure in [impacting] both sides of the court. [I like] defending small guards, big guards, big men,” Risacher said. “I think that’s something that I can like translate in the NBA.”

There’s more draft news to pass along:

G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis is under consideration by teams in the top five, sources tell Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Wasserman has Buzelis going to San Antonio at No. 4 in his latest mock draft, noting that the team should be able to fill its need for a point guard with the eighth pick. He hears the Spurs are interested in Providence guard Devin Carter, who may get the edge over Nikola Topic because of Topic’s ACL injury.
Wasserman also hears that French forward Tidjane Salaun, who has been rising up draft boards, will hold a pre-draft workout with the Thunder, who have the No. 12 pick. That’s in addition to sessions with teams in the top 10 such as the Spurs, Pistons and Trail Blazers.
Following a report that Carter has received a promise from a team in the lottery, Rylan Stiles speculates in a Sports Illustrated article about which club might have given that promise, writing that the Grizzlies and Thunder both have incentives to add Carter.

Mavericks Notes: Kidd, Doncic, Lively, Irving

June 8th, 2024 at 5:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dallas is now 1-6 in playoff series openers under coach Jason Kidd, so there was no cause for alarm following the Game 1 loss in Boston, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The Mavericks suffered double-digit defeats in their first games against the Clippers and Thunder on their way to the NBA Finals, MacMahon notes, and they rebounded with road victories in Game 2 each time. So it was business as usual at Saturday’s practice.

“There’s no panic with this group,” Kidd said. “We didn’t play well in Game 1. Give credit to Boston; they did. But it’s a series. We don’t just look or capitalize on just one game. We’ve lost Game 1 a lot of times, and we’ve responded. We believe that we can respond in Game 2.”

The team’s resiliency starts with Luka Doncic, who holds the highest scoring average in Game 2s in playoff history at 33.9 PPG, according to MacMahon. That number rises to 34.3 following a loss. Doncic put up 30 points on Thursday night, but he was limited to one assist, and Kidd has urged him to “take the layups” if the Celtics continue to focus on preventing him from throwing lobs or passes to corner shooters.

“I think just be a little bit more aggressive,” Doncic said. “I think we all came out for the game with little energy. So I think we have to be better with our energy, especially from the start.”

There’s more on the Mavericks:

After a subpar Game 1, Dereck Lively II got some words of encouragement via text message from former Dallas center Tyson Chandler, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Chandler, who has become a mentor for Lively, didn’t want the rookie center to get discouraged after foul trouble helped limit him to two points and five rebounds. “All he’s telling me to do is the little things, no matter if that’s hitting them on the box-out or being able to talk to my teammates on the backside,” Lively said. “Just doing the little things so that everybody is connected on the court, so we’re not leaving anybody behind.”
Meeting with reporters on Friday, commissioner Adam Silver addressed Kyrie Irving‘s apology for endorsing an antisemitic film in Brooklyn two years ago and his journey toward reinstatement, relays Sam Amick of The Athletic. Irving had to complete six “action items” before he could return to the league, and Silver was convinced that he remorse he showed was genuine. “I felt comfortable vouching for him, in essence, because I knew him,” Silver said. “I knew his character and felt that it was important that — while he acknowledged that he had made a mistake — that his entire career and character not be framed by one bad moment. I mean, having said that, he paid a price, of course, for that misstep. But he did a lot (to make amends).”
Tim Cato of The Athletic looks at the role Mavericks assistant God Shammgod played in forging a successful on-court partnership between Irving and Doncic.

2024 NBA Offseason Preview: Philadelphia 76ers

June 8th, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

For the second time in three years, the Sixers opened their season with a major trade request hanging over the team. Unlike in 2021/22, when the acrimonious Ben Simmons saga dragged out all the way to the February trade deadline, Daryl Morey was able to resolve James Harden‘s trade demand early in the fall, reaching an agreement during the second week of the regular season to send the former MVP to the Clippers in exchange for a package of role players and draft picks.

It’s highly unlikely that any of those future draft picks will ever turn into a player of Harden’s caliber, and none of the four veterans sent to Philadelphia in the swap figure to be long-term keepers. But with a disgruntled player on a pricey expiring deal, the 76ers didn’t have much leverage in trade talks and did well to acquire players who fit the roster in the short term and assets that could be flipped in future moves — one of the players Philadelphia received from L.A., Marcus Morris, was sent out at the trade deadline in a deal for Buddy Hield, for instance.

Perhaps even more important than the assets the Sixers got for Harden was the opportunity his exit created for fourth-year guard Tyrese Maxey. With Harden no longer in the picture, Maxey saw his usage rate increase to a career-high 28.0% and responded by posting new career bests in points (25.9), assists (6.2), and rebounds (3.7) per game, among other categories. His scoring efficiency took a hit, but his .450/.373/.868 shooting line was still just fine, and the 23-year-old was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for his star turn.

Maxey already looked like a future building block in Philadelphia, but his 2023/24 performance proved he’s capable of being a legitimate No. 2 to former MVP Joel Embiid. The Sixers had a 29-7 record in the games those two played together and outscored opponents by +12.4 points per 100 possessions when they shared the court.

Unfortunately, Embiid’s injury issues flared up again, with a meniscus tear limiting him to 39 regular season games and reducing his mobility and effectiveness in the postseason. For the first time since 2020, the 76ers didn’t win a playoff series this spring, but that early postseason exit wasn’t cause for panic, since the front office had already anticipated making major roster changes during the offseason.

Having dumped P.J. Tucker‘s contract in the Harden trade, the Sixers will head into this summer with only one guaranteed contract (Embiid) on their cap for 2024/25 and Maxey poised to re-sign as a restricted free agent. Besides those two players, no one else who finished the season with Philadelphia is a lock to be back in the fall.

That’s a lot of uncertainty entering an offseason, which is a little scary, but the duo of Embiid and Maxey is a great place to start. So even if the Sixers miss out on their top target(s) and have to turn to Plan B or C, they’re well-positioned to take a step forward following a 47-35 season in ’23/24.

The Sixers’ Offseason Plan

Taking into account Embiid’s salary, Maxey’s cap hold, the cap hold for the No. 16 overall pick, and rookie-minimum cap holds for nine empty roster spots, the Sixers could generate up to about $62MM in cap room. That figure, which would rely on renouncing all the team’s current free agents and waiving players on non-guaranteed salaries (including Paul Reed), could rise to nearly $65MM if Philadelphia also trades away its draft pick. The club will be able to go over the cap to re-sign Maxey to a maximum-salary contract after it uses up its room.

$65MM is a ton of cap space, but it would disappear quickly with a major move or two. The Sixers’ top target is reportedly Paul George, who can become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t reach an extension agreement with the Clippers and turns down his 2024/25 player option. It’s unclear how viable a move to Philadelphia is for George – he may just be using the 76ers for leverage purposes to get the deal he wants in Los Angeles – but if they hope to lure him away from his hometown, the Sixers would have to offer the star forward a maximum-salary contract that would start at a projected $49.35MM.

Jimmy Butler has also frequently been cited as a prime target for Morey, though the former Sixer would need to be acquired via trade, which wouldn’t be easy — the Heat aren’t looking to rebuild, so if the 76ers offered a package heavy on draft assets and cap relief, Miami would have to be confident they could turn those assets into another impact player. If Philadelphia could find a way to pry Butler away from the Heat, it would mean accommodating his $48.8MM salary.

Landing a star like George or Butler would be a home run for the Sixers, since either player would be an ideal fit on the wing alongside Embiid and Maxey. But it would reduce Philadelphia’s remaining cap room to approximately $13-17MM, putting the team in position to realistically make just two or three more signings above the minimum — one or two using that remaining cap room, and another one using the $8MM room exception.

The result would be an awfully top-heavy roster, similar to the one the Suns had this past season. You could certainly make the case that Maxey, George (or Butler), and Embiid would fit together better than Phoenix’s three stars do. However, there would be a lot of pressure on Philadelphia’s stars to stay healthy, which Embiid hasn’t been able to do in the past — neither George nor Butler has the best track record on that front either.

If the Sixers don’t land a star using their cap room – Brandon Ingram and OG Anunoby have been mentioned as other possible targets who wouldn’t be quite as highly paid in 2024/25 as George or Butler – the expectation is that they’ll focus on signing useful role players to lucrative short-term contracts, similar to the one Bruce Brown got from Indiana last summer.

With several teams chasing Brown using the full mid-level exception (starting at $12.4MM), the Pacers took advantage of their cap room to give him a two-year deal that started at $22MM and included a second-year team option worth $23MM. It made Brown an ideal trade chip when the club needed a salary-matching piece for Pascal Siakam a few months later. And if that trade opportunity hadn’t arisen, Indiana would have had the option of clearing Brown’s salary off the books after just one year, regaining cap flexibility.

If Philadelphia takes a similar route, free agents like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Klay Thompson, and Malik Monk look like a few of the most logical targets. The Nuggets and Warriors would have luxury-tax and apron concerns if they have to match a big starting salary for Caldwell-Pope or Thompson, respectively, while the Kings are limited to offering Monk a starting salary in the $17.4MM range since they only hold his Early Bird rights.

A tier or two below those guys, Caleb Martin, Kyle Anderson, Monte Morris, Reggie Jackson, Precious Achiuwa, and Malik Beasley are among the other free agents whose current teams may face financial restrictions due to their proximity to the tax (or, in Beasley’s case, a lack of Bird rights). If he hadn’t already had a brief stint in Philadelphia, I’d view center Andre Drummond as another ideal target for the Sixers, since he could back up Embiid and slide into the starting five if and when the star center is unavailable. I still think he makes a lot of sense.

While going this direction could be a more prudent path than spending nearly $50MM on a single player entering his mid-30s, it might cost upwards of $50MM in 2024/25 to land a pair of those top-tier Plan B targets (KCP, Thompson, and Monk), so the Sixers’ cap room could disappear almost as quickly.

No matter what direction Philadelphia goes with its cap space, it will be crucial for the team to nail its minimum-salary signings once its room dries up. That was one of the Suns’ issues this past season — they signed eight players to minimum-salary contracts last summer, but fewer than half of them earned regular minutes. The Sixers will aim to do better with the back half of their roster.

Of the players who finished this past season in Philadelphia, Kyle Lowry, Kelly Oubre, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, and Cameron Payne are among the useful role players who might be willing to return for the veteran’s minimum (though I think some of them could do better than that on the open market). There will be other options around the league as well, especially if the Sixers can offer them a shot at regular minutes and a chance to contend.

Tobias Harris, Hield, and De’Anthony Melton aren’t minimum-salary players, so if the Sixers want to bring any of them back, it would cut into their cap room. Harris and Hield seem unlikely to return though, meaning Melton is the only one Philadelphia might have to account for.

The versatile defensive-minded guard made $8MM last season and would be a great re-addition at that price again using the room exception. If he’d finished the season healthy, Melton would definitely have stronger offers than that, but given the back issues that limited him to six games after January 12, that’s no longer a sure thing, which could work in Philadelphia’s favor.

I don’t mind the idea of the 76ers keeping the No. 16 overall pick, since it would give them an opportunity to get a team-friendly four-year contract on their books, but there are scenarios in which I think a trade makes more sense. One of my favorite concepts is a potential deal with the Wizards – who are said to be seeking another first-round pick – for Corey Kispert, a sharpshooter who was drafted by the previous front office in Washington and is in line for a rookie scale extension this offseason.

To be clear, I have no insider information suggesting the Sixers and Wizards are exploring such a trade, and it’s possible Philadelphia would have to sweeten the pot beyond offering a mid-first-rounder in a weak draft. But a trade target like Kispert would make perfect sense, since he’d take up only a small fraction of the team’s cap room this summer (he’s owed $5.7MM in 2024/25, not much more than the $4MM cap hold for the No. 16 pick) and then would get a raise in a year, when the 76ers would be in position to pay him.

With so many options available to them this offseason, it’s impossible to predict exactly how the Sixers’ offseason will play out. But that unpredictability is what will make them one of the most fun clubs to follow in the next month or two, with the pressure on Morey to get Embiid (who turned 30 in March) the supporting cast he needs to vie for his first championship.

Salary Cap Situation

Guaranteed Salary

Joel Embiid ($51,415,938)
Total: $51,415,938

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Paul Reed ($7,723,000)
Ricky Council ($1,891,857)
Total: $9,614,857

Dead/Retained Salary

None

Player Options

None

Team Options

Jeff Dowtin ($2,196,970): Non-Bird rights
- Dowtin’s salary would remain non-guaranteed if his option is exercised.
Total: $2,196,970

Restricted Free Agents

Tyrese Maxey ($8,486,620 qualifying offer / $13,031,760 cap hold): Bird rights
Total (cap holds): $13,031,760

Two-Way Free Agents

Terquavion Smith: Non-Bird rights

Draft Picks

No. 16 overall pick ($4,032,240 cap hold)
No. 41 overall pick (no cap hold)
Total (cap holds): $4,032,240

Extension-Eligible Players

Robert Covington (veteran)
- Extension-eligible until June 30.
Joel Embiid (veteran)
Tobias Harris (veteran)
- Extension-eligible until June 30.
Buddy Hield (veteran)
- Extension-eligible until June 30.
KJ Martin (veteran)
- Extension-eligible until June 30.
De’Anthony Melton (veteran)
- Extension-eligible until June 30.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, these players are eligible for extensions beginning in July.

Unrestricted Free Agents

Tobias Harris ($49,350,000 cap hold): Bird rights
- Harris’ cap hold will be his maximum salary (35% of the 2024/25 cap).
Buddy Hield ($29,767,647 cap hold): Bird rights
Nicolas Batum ($22,250,554 cap hold): Bird rights
Robert Covington ($22,215,385 cap hold): Bird rights
De’Anthony Melton ($15,200,000 cap hold): Bird rights
Mohamed Bamba ($2,093,637 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
Kyle Lowry ($2,093,637 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
KJ Martin ($2,093,637 cap hold): Bird rights
Kelly Oubre ($2,093,637 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
Cameron Payne ($2,093,637 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
Total (cap holds): $149,251,771

Other Cap Holds

Mike Scott ($9,510,165 cap hold)
Dewayne Dedmon ($2,093,637 cap hold)
Paul Millsap ($2,093,637 cap hold)
Kyle O’Quinn ($2,093,637 cap hold)
Myles Powell ($1,867,722 cap hold)
Total (cap holds): $17,658,798

Note: The cap holds for these players are on the Sixers’ books from prior seasons because they haven’t been renounced. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.

Cap Exceptions Available

Note: The Sixers project to operate under the cap. They would have to renounce six trade exceptions (the largest of which is worth $6,831,413) in order to use cap room.

Room exception: $8,006,000

International Notes: Theis, Birch, M. James, M. Scott

June 8th, 2024 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Clippers center Daniel Theis, who will be an unrestricted free agent, would draw significant interest from EuroLeague teams if he’s unable to find an NBA offer he likes this offseason, according to a report from TeleSport (Twitter link; hat tip to Sportando).

Sources tell TeleSport that Barcelona, Fenerbahce, and Panathinaikos would be among the teams with interest in the German big man if he becomes open to the idea of returning to Europe. Theis has played in the NBA since 2017, but began his professional career in Germany from 2010-17.

After opening the 2023/24 season in Indiana, Theis agreed to a buyout with the Pacers and caught on with the Clippers, who needed a backup center after Mason Plumlee suffered a knee injury. Theis averaged 6.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per game across 59 appearances with Los Angeles.

Here are a few more notes from around the international basketball world:

Former NBA big man Khem Birch, who is healthy again and finished this past season playing for Girona in Spain, has accepted an invitation to take part in training camp with the Canadian national team this summer, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. It’s unclear whether or not there will be a spot available for Birch on Canada’s 12-man Olympic roster. He didn’t play for the team at least year’s World Cup, with Kelly Olynyk and Dwight Powell serving as Canada’s primary centers. Probable first-round pick Zach Edey will also be in that mix.
According to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, sources have disputed the claim that EuroLeague MVP Mike James is on the verge of signing a new contract to remain with AS Monaco. Despite lengthy extension talks between the two sides, no deal is in place and James may explore his options on the open market, sources tell Urbonas. The veteran guard last played in the NBA in 2021 for Brooklyn.
Former NBA forward Mike Scott has parted ways with French team ASVEL and will continue his career with Gigantes de Carolina in Puerto Rico, tweets Urbonas. The 35-year-old forward appeared in 555 regular season NBA games from 2012-21, last playing for Philadelphia.

NBA Finals Notes: Brown, Porzingis, Mavs’ Centers, Luka, Kyrie

June 8th, 2024 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters during a media session on Saturday, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd referred to Jaylen Brown as the Celtics‘ “best player” when asked about the challenges of facing the Boston wing (Twitter video link).

“Well, Jaylen’s their best player,” Kidd said. “So just looking at what he does defensively, he picked up Luka (Doncic) full court, he got to the free throw line, he did everything. That’s what your best player does.”

You could certainly make a case that Brown has been the Celtics’ best player in this postseason — his 24.8 points per game during the playoffs rank slightly behind Jayson Tatum‘s 25.3 PPG, but he has got his points far more efficiently, shooting 54.3% from the floor and 36.6% on three-pointers, compared to 43.8% and 29.9% for Tatum.

Still, the general consensus is that Tatum – who has also averaged a team-high 10.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game in the postseason – is Boston’s best player, so Kidd’s comments raised some eyebrows. While they may reflect his honest opinion, it’s hard not to read Kidd’s praise of Brown as an attempt at gamesmanship, given that the relationship between the two Celtics stars has been a popular topic of speculation among outsiders over the years.

Here’s more on the NBA Finals, with Game 2 on tap for Sunday:

Given how well the Celtics played in Game 1 with Kristaps Porzingis coming off the bench, head coach Joe Mazzulla will face an interesting decision on whether to return the big man to his spot in the starting lineup on Sunday, writes Brian Robb of MassLive.com. As Robb notes, Boston played its best basketball with Porzingis on the court and could still manage his minutes over the course of the night if he starts. However, the team has gone 10-1 with Al Horford as its starting center during the playoffs and is riding an eight-game winning streak, so Mazzulla may not want to mess with what’s working.
Despite Mazzulla saying prior to Game 1 that Porzingis had no minutes limit, the big man told reporters on Saturday that he is in fact facing a minutes restriction (Twitter link via Souichi Terada of MassLive.com). Porzingis, who logged 21 minutes in Game 1, didn’t offer any specifics on that restriction.
Porzingis’ presence represents a major problem for the Mavericks, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, who says the Celtics’ floor-spacing centers essentially neutralized the impact of Dallas big men Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively, who had to chase Porzingis and Horford out to the perimeter rather than hanging back and protecting the rim. As Townsend points out, Gafford and Lively combined for just 10 points, eight rebounds, and no blocks on Thursday, while Porzingis and Horford totaled 30 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks.
Doncic and Kyrie Irving were unable to beat their defenders one-on-one in Game 1, which would’ve forced the Celtics to send help and created open shots for teammates, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. As a result, the two stars combined for just three assists, while the team as a whole had only nine. If that doesn’t change going forward and Doncic and Irving can’t do more in those one-on-one situations, it will likely be a quick series, Hollinger opines.

Eastern Notes: Cunningham, Pistons, Okoro, Hawks, Magic

June 8th, 2024 at 11:19am CST by Rory Maher

Cade Cunningham is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic expects the Pistons guard to receive a maximum-salary deal, he states in a mailbag.

“I’m 99.9 percent sure that Cunningham gets an extension this offseason,” Edwards writes. “I don’t want to say 100 percent because you never know what can happen, but I’d be stunned if the 2021 No. 1 overall pick doesn’t sign a max rookie extension.”

As Edwards outlines, Cunningham improved his averages across the board in his third season and was one of the team’s few bright spots amid another last-place finish which saw Detroit go just 14-68 and break an NBA record by losing 28 consecutive games.

Edwards also answers questions about veteran players who could be attainable for cheap due to their contracts, and Trajan Langdon‘s top priority for Detroit’s roster, among others.

Here’s more from around the East:

On the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, Ethan Sands and Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com discussed the upcoming restricted free agency of Cavaliers wing Isaac Okoro. While the 23-year-old is a stout defender and made strides with his shot during the regular season (a career-high 39.1% on three-pointers), Okoro also struggled offensively in the playoffs. Sands and Fedor suggest the Cavs could be open to giving Okoro a deal up to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, but might not go beyond that due to future cap concerns.
With just 3% odds, Atlanta won the draft lottery and the rights to the No. 1 overall pick. Simply drafting a player and going about business as usual isn’t enough for the Hawks, according to Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who argues the team needs a drastic overhaul this season, particularly trading either Trae Young or Dejounte Murray.
Keith Smith of Spotrac previews the Magic‘s offseason, writing that while Orlando will have plenty of cap room this summer, the team will also have to spend that money wisely, as impending rookie scale extensions will complicate the club’s financial outlook in 2025/26 and beyond.

Sasha Vezenkov Seeking Exit From Sacramento?

June 8th, 2024 at 9:59am CST by Rory Maher

After an uneven rookie season, forward Sasha Vezenkov has informed the Kings he’d prefer a change of scenery, sources tell Mihalis Stefanou of Eurohoops.

Vezenkov signed a three-year, $20MM contract with Sacramento last summer. His $6.66MM salary for 2024/25 is fully guaranteed, while his $6.98MM salary for ’25/26 is a team option.

According to Stefanou, Vezenkov has yet to decide whether he wants to continue his NBA career or return to Europe. The ’22/23 EuroLeague MVP would generate “huge interest” overseas, Stefanou adds.

Still, as Keith Smith of Spotrac observes (via Twitter), the Kings will certainly have a major say in what transpires. Since Vezenkov’s deal for next season is guaranteed, Sacramento has no incentive to waive him unless he’s willing to give back some or all of the money he’s owed in a buyout.

In our Kings offseason preview, which was released last night, Luke Adams identified Vezenkov as a possible salary-dump candidate due to the team’s proximity to the luxury tax.

Vezenkov, 28, averaged 5.4 PPG and 2.3 RPG on .440/.375/.800 shooting in 42 games last season for Sacramento (12.2 MPG). He missed 22 games with a Grade 3 right ankle sprain, but even when he was healthy, he wasn’t a consistent part of the team’s rotation.

Interestingly, the former Olympiacos star said he had no regrets about coming stateside when the Kings’ season concluded in April.

“I made the right choice, no doubt about it,” Vezenkov said.

Heat Notes: Draft, Two-Way Players, Bam, Jones, Cap, More

June 8th, 2024 at 8:52am CST by Rory Maher

The Heat began hosting prospects for pre-draft workouts this week, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who reports that Providence guard Devin Carter, USC guard Isaiah Collier, Indiana center Kel’el Ware, Arizona forward Keshad Johnson and UConn guard Tristen Newton are among the players who are taking part. The Heat control one first-round pick (No. 15 overall) and one second-rounder (No. 43).

One of the draft’s risers, Carter was a standout performer during athletic testing at the combine. The 22-year-old is rumored to have a lottery promise, with the Heat reportedly viewed as his floor at No. 15. The son of former Heat guard and assistant coach Anthony Carter, Devin is ranked No. 13 on ESPN’s big board.

Collier (No. 22) and Ware (No. 24) are other possible options with Miami’s first-round pick, Chiang notes, while Johnson (No. 50) and Newton (No. 68) are viewed as potential second-rounders.

Here’s more on the Heat:

In a separate article for The Miami Herald, Chiang examines what’s next for the Heat’s trio of players — Jamal Cain, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams — on two-way contracts. All three players will be free agents this summer. As Chiang writes, Cain was dominant at the G League level in 2023/24 and he’s hoping to be promoted to a standard deal, whether it’s with Miami or elsewhere. Swider and Williams, meanwhile, are expected to play for Miami’s Summer League team and will continue to work out with the team in the offseason, Chiang adds.
Appearing on the Point Game podcast with John Wall and C.J. Toledano, big man Bam Adebayo discussed how he views the Heat’s culture. “To me, it’s just a standard,” Adebayo said, according to Chiang. “People try to make up these myths and [expletive] like that. The biggest thing I could say about it is it’s a standard. Every year, [Heat coach Erik Spoelstra] comes in and is like, ‘This is what we’re trying to get. We’re trying to get the trophy.’ Sixteen wins, whatever that may be, but it’s a standard because every day our coach walks in and challenges us. Every day, he walks in and is like, ‘You’re going to be prepared for what’s about to happen in this season.’ That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to execute. But it’s the standard of always having to be that way, having to come in there and really lock in every day to the point where like you get in the playoffs, it’s second nature.” Adebayo also talked about his potential role with Team USA at the upcoming Olympics in Paris, among other topics.
Former Heat forward Derrick Jones has “found new life” with the Mavericks, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Ever since I stepped foot in Dallas, they tell me to be me, play my game, go out there and be the best defender I can be,” Jones said. “Whenever I get shots, opportunities, I take the shots, I drive the ball, I finish the ball, make another play for a teammate.” Jones, who signed a one-year, minimum salary deal with Dallas as a free agent last summer, will be an unrestricted free agent again this offseason.
In a pair of subscriber-only mailbag articles for The Sun Sentinel, Winderman answers questions about the Heat’s postseason potential going forward as well as the team’s future cap outlook. According to Winderman, Miami has no viable way to move off their top players to free up cap space without becoming a lottery team. And since the Heat have already traded away two future first-round picks, rebuilding probably isn’t a realistic option, as Miami is constantly striving to be as competitive as possible.

2024 NBA Offseason Preview: Sacramento Kings

June 7th, 2024 at 9:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings were one of the NBA’s feel-good stories of the 2022/23 season. First-year head coach Mike Brown led Sacramento to its best record (48-34) since 2005 and its first playoff berth since 2006, with no team scoring more points per 100 possessions (118.6) than the Kings.

In many ways, the sequel in 2023/24 was a worthy follow-up — despite dealing with injuries to a couple key role players down the stretch, the Kings won 46 games, registering consecutive seasons above .500 for the first time in nearly two decades.

But the vibes weren’t quite as good in Sacramento for a few reasons. For one, while Brown surely appreciated the improvements on defense (the Kings went from 24th in ’22/23 to 14th this past season), the No. 1 offense took a major step back (to 13th) and wasn’t the crowd-pleasing, well-oiled machine it was a year earlier.

More importantly, with the postseason drought over, the expectations were higher in Sacramento, where the goal was to take another step forward and perhaps win a playoff series. Instead, the Kings found themselves fighting for their postseason life in a more competitive Western Conference.

A year after their 48 wins comfortably earned them the No. 3 seed, the Kings claimed the No. 9 spot in the West despite winning only two fewer regular season games. They got some level of revenge against the Warriors – who eliminated them in the first round in 2023 – in the 9 vs. 10 play-in game, but fell to the Pelicans in the play-in game to determine the conference’s No. 8 seed, bringing their season to an end before the playoffs tipped off in earnest.

A team’s improvement isn’t always linear, so the slight downturn this season doesn’t mean this version of the Kings can’t continue to get better in 2024/25. With no dominant franchises far ahead of the pack in the West, the front office may not have to make major changes to the roster to become a legitimate contender. Still, Monte McNair and his basketball operations team figure to do all they can this summer to figure out how to upgrade the current group with somewhat limited resources.

The Kings’ Offseason Plan

The Kings took care of one of the most important items on their offseason to-do list a week ago, reaching an agreement on a multiyear extension for Brown. The veteran coach signed a four-year contract with the franchise when he was hired in 2022, but the final year was a mutual option, so he would’ve essentially been on an expiring deal in 2024/25 if negotiations between the two sides had reached an impasse, which briefly looked like it might happen last month.

Brown’s has yet to win a championship as a head coach, but his playoff résumé is still relatively strong, which bodes well for Sacramento going forward — he has a winning overall record (50-40) in the postseason and advanced beyond the first round for six straight seasons with the Cavaliers and Lakers. He’s also respected throughout the league, is one year removed from earning Coach of the Year honors, and is the best coach the Kings have had in quite some time.

Given the rising cost of coaching salaries around the NBA, Sacramento did well to secure Brown to a three-year deal with a base value of $8.5MM per year (it can be worth up to $10MM annually with incentives). If things go south in the next year or two, the Kings aren’t on the hook for Brown long-term, and if things go well, they can be more confident about offering him an eight-figure salary commensurate with what some of his more accomplished colleagues around the NBA have received in the last year or two.

With Brown locked up, the focus in the coming weeks will be on the roster, where the biggest question is what will happen with free agent wing Malik Monk. The Sixth Man of the Year runner-up in 2024, Monk has been one of the Kings’ most important rotation players in the past couple years, evolving into more than just a shooter. His 3.9 assists per game in 2022/23 were a career high, which he promptly eclipsed by bumping that number to 5.1 APG in ’23/24.

The challenge when it comes to re-signing Monk is twofold. For one, Sacramento only holds the 26-year-old’s Early Bird rights, which means the team can offer up to a 75% raise on his previous $9.95MM salary (with 8% annual raises in subsequent years). That works out to about $17.4MM in year one and just shy of $78MM in total over four years. That would be a strong offer, but it’s possible a team with cap room and a need for shooting (Detroit? Orlando?) would top it.

In comments to reporters after the season, Monk suggested he wouldn’t necessarily just accept the biggest offer he gets, but if another suitor gives him more money than the Kings can put on the table and offers him a starting role, it could be hard to turn it down.

Even if we assume the Kings are able to re-sign Monk with an Early Bird offer, giving him a sizable salary bump would put the club in danger of surpassing the luxury tax line. Taking into account Keon Ellis‘ non-guaranteed salary and the cap hold for the No. 13 pick, Sacramento has about $155MM on the books for 12 players. Adding a $17.4MM salary for Monk would push that total above the projected luxury tax line ($171.3MM) with at least one more roster spot to be filled.

Letting the veteran shooting guard walk – or losing him to a higher bidder – would create enough breathing room below the tax line for Sacramento use its entire non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($12.9MM) on a replacement, but it would be unrealistic to expect the MLE to yield a player whose impact would match or exceed Monk’s. I expect the Kings to push to re-sign him and then address the tax issue later if necessary — it probably wouldn’t be too challenging to shed a contract or two to duck the tax if that’s what team ownership wants.

Of course, if Monk returns, the Kings’ roster in 2024/25 could look quite similar to the one we saw this past season. The team wouldn’t be able to do much in free agency after re-signing Monk and could end up just adding a new prospect with the No. 13 pick, salary-dumping a modest contract (maybe Sasha Vezenkov and his $6.66MM cap hit), and perhaps swapping out a couple back-of-the-roster minimum-salary players.

While that wouldn’t inspire a ton of excitement heading into the fall, it wouldn’t be a total disaster. Sacramento has high hopes for 2022’s No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray, a big 23-year-old wing who increased his scoring average to 15.2 PPG in 2023/24 and has made 38.4% of his three-pointers since entering the league two years ago. Murray made improvements on the defensive end in his sophomore season and is the sort of breakout candidate who could legitimately raise the Kings’ ceiling if he continues to develop into a two-way star.

Turning to the trade market would be another option for the Kings, who probably wouldn’t mind upgrading their other forward spot, currently manned primarily by Harrison Barnes and Trey Lyles. Sacramento was viewed as a possible Pascal Siakam suitor before he was traded to the Pacers, but putting together a package for that caliber of player without including Murray isn’t simple.

The Kings’ other recent lottery pick, Davion Mitchell (No. 9 in 2021), is a solid defender, but he fell below a two-way player (Ellis) on the backcourt depth chart at times and doesn’t have nearly the trade value that Murray would. A trade package built around Mitchell and either Barnes or Kevin Huerter and future first-round picks would have some appeal, but could probably be outbid by other would-be contenders seeking a star.

It’s also worth noting that, after finishing in the lottery this year, the Kings still owe a 2025 first-round pick to Atlanta, meaning the earliest first-rounder they can trade (outside of this year’s No. 13 pick) would be in 2027 — and it could be pushed back by a year if Sacramento’s 2025 first-round selection lands in the top 12 and is protected again.

Rather than taking a huge swing on the trade market, perhaps the Kings will gauge the value of a package headlined by Huerter and a future first-rounder (or this year’s No. 13). Huerter is a talented outside shooter, but he’s coming off shoulder surgery and his limitations on defense prompted Brown to experiment with starting Chris Duarte in his place in January.

Barnes’ underrated two-way contributions have arguably been more meaningful than Huerter’s, so the veteran forward should only end up on the trade block if a clear upgrade at his position is available. Huerter looks to me like the more expendable salary-matching piece, especially since the Kings have a good deal of shooting elsewhere on the roster. Sacramento could also potentially add another outside threat with the No. 13 pick in the draft, though the club could go in any number of directions with that lottery selection and should probably just be targeting the best player available if the pick isn’t traded.

We’ve made it this far without mentioning the Kings’ two stars – Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox – but their contract situations are relatively stable and they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. That’s especially true of Sabonis, who signed a new deal last summer and will be under team control for four more seasons.

Fox has two years left on his current pact and will be extension-eligible this offseason. The star guard may want to see if he can gain super-max eligibility by making an All-NBA team next spring, lining himself up for a maximum salary worth up to 35% of the cap instead of 30%. So if he and the Kings pass on an extension this offseason, there will be no reason for concern — if they still can’t come to terms in 2025, that could spell trouble, but there’s no indication at this point that we’re headed down that path.