NBA Rumors - HoopsRumors.com

Bol Bol Re-Signs With Suns

June 29th, 2024 at 6:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 7: The agreement is now official, per the NBA’s transactions log.

JUNE 29: Free agent big man Bol Bol will return to the Suns on a one-year contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Phoenix holds Bol’s Non-Bird Rights, so he’s eligible for a new deal worth up to 20% more than the veteran’s minimum salary, though Woj’s report doesn’t specify whether that’s what his new contract will be worth.

Bol, 24, signed a one-year contract with Phoenix last July, shortly after being waived by Orlando. He appeared in 43 games, all off the bench, and averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per night.

Re-signing low-salaried free agents is important to a Suns team facing limited options for filling out its roster due to second-apron restrictions. Eric Gordon, Drew Eubanks, Josh Okogie and Damion Lee have all declined their player options for next season and decided to test free agency, though one or more of them could return to Phoenix on new deals.

Pistons Waive Troy Brown Jr., Buddy Boeheim

June 29th, 2024 at 6:01pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

6:01pm: The Pistons have officially waived Brown, according to the NBA’s official transaction log.

Detroit also cut wing Buddy Boeheim, whose two-way contract with the team ran through the 2024/25 season. Boeheim appeared in 10 games for the Pistons last season, averaging 3.4 points per contest on .310/.320/.800 shooting.

1:53pm: The Pistons have decided to not guarantee swingman Troy Brown Jr.‘s $4MM contract for the 2024/25 season and instead will waive him, report James L. Edwards III and Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Brown inked a two-year, $8MM deal with the Timberwolves during the 2023 offseason. He earned $4MM in the first year, with a non-guaranteed $4MM for year two. That salary would have become guaranteed if he had remained under contract through Sunday.

The 6’6″ small forward was flipped from Minnesota to Detroit midway through the 2023/24 season as part of a trade package for Monte Morris. For the year, he posted cumulative averages of 4.2 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 1.0 APG in 14.0 MPG for the two clubs, while suiting up for 59 total contests (15 starts). Brown also logged a middling shooting line of .372/.333/.865.

A journeyman 3-and-D bench wing, Brown played for the Wizards, Bulls, and Lakers from 2018-23 before splitting last season between the Timberwolves and Pistons. Now, it appears he’ll be on the move again.

Though he doesn’t possess much of a handle, he was — prior to this season, anyway — a capable jump shooter and a solid man-to-man perimeter defender. That skill set still should have value on the open market, though at what cost remains to be seen.

Richaun Holmes Declines Option, Signs Extension With Wizards

June 29th, 2024 at 5:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Richaun Holmes has reached a two-year contract extension with the Wizards after turning down his $12.88MM player option. The move, which was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), is official, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

The new deal for the 30-year-old center is valued at $25.9MM over two years, according to Charania, but it only carries a $250K guarantee on Holmes’ $13.3MM salary for the 2025/26 season. It looks like Holmes will receive roughly (or maybe exactly) the same amount of guaranteed money as if he had exercised his option.

Holmes was acquired at the February trade deadline in the deal that sent Daniel Gafford to Dallas. He appeared in 17 games for Washington, making eight starts and averaging 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per night.

The veteran big man is in contention to be the Wizards’ starting center next season and may fill the role until first-round pick Alexandre Sarr is ready to take over. Holmes, a second-round selection by Philadelphia in 2015, he has been with five teams in nine-year NBA career.

Pistons Turn Down Options On Chimezie Metu, Stanley Umude

June 29th, 2024 at 5:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons have declined team options valued at $2.65MM for Chimezie Metu and $2.12MM for Stanley Umude, league sources tell Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype (Twitter link). Both players will be unrestricted when free agency begins Sunday afternoon.

The moves will give Detroit a little more cap room to utilize in free agency. With more than $58MM to spend, the Pistons are expected to be among the most active teams on the market.

Metu, a 27-year-old center/power forward, came to Detroit on a 10-day contract in March and later signed for the rest of the season. He appeared in 14 games, starting seven, and averaged 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per night.

Umude, a 25-year-old shooting guard, played on a two-way contract before having it converted to a standard deal in February. He saw action in 24 games, averaging 5.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per night.

Knicks Didn’t Extend Qualifying Offer To Precious Achiuwa

June 29th, 2024 at 5:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks opted not to extend a $6.3MM qualifying offer to Precious Achiuwa, league sources tell Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). The decision means the 24-year-old big man will be unrestricted when he enters free agency on Sunday.

New York hasn’t ruled out re-signing Achiuwa, Katz adds, but the team didn’t want to risk the possibility of having him quickly accept the QO, which would have affected its hard cap situation as it tries to work out the details of the trade to acquire Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn.

The Knicks acquired Achiuwa in late December as part of the OG Anunoby deal. He wound up playing a significant role amid long-term injuries to Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and others. Achiuwa appeared in 49 games after the trade, making 18 starts and averaging 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 24.2 minutes per night.

The Knicks have picked up their $2MM team option on Jericho Sims for next season, a source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link). The backup center still only has a $651K partial guarantee on his $2.09MM salary, with trigger dates in July and August. Sims, who has spent the past three seasons with New York, will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The team has declined DaQuan Jeffries‘ $2.5MM option, Katz tweets. Jeffries, who saw action in 17 games, will become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday.

The Knicks extended a qualifying offer to two-way forward Jacob Toppin, making him a restricted free agent, Katz tweets. However, two-way players Duane Washington Jr. and Charlie Brown Jr. did not receive QOs (Twitter links).

Damion Lee Declines Player Option With Suns

June 29th, 2024 at 4:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Suns shooting guard Damion Lee has declined his $2.8MM player option with Phoenix and will become an unrestricted free agent, sources inform Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The 6’5″ swingman missed the entire 2023/24 NBA season after suffering a meniscus tear in his right knee, which ultimately required surgery.

Lee initially signed a one-season, minimum contract to join the Suns in the summer of 2022. He then inked a one-and-one contract with Phoenix last summer. During his lone healthy season with the Suns, Lee averaged 8.2 PPG on a .442/.445/.904 shooting line, along with 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists across 74 healthy contests.

After going undrafted in 2016, the Louisville alum began his NBA career with the Hawks in 2017/18, but he has spent most of his time in the league with the Warriors, with whom he won a championship as a floor-spacing backup in 2021/22. He was reunited with one-time Golden State teammate Kevin Durant in Phoenix when the latter was traded there from the Nets in 2022/23.

According to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link), a new deal with the Suns is a possibility for Lee, who would be eligible to sign for more than the veteran’s minimum since Phoenix holds his Early Bird rights.

Warriors Preparing To Lose Klay Thompson

June 29th, 2024 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

With Klay Thompson just 24 hours away from reaching unrestricted free agency, the Warriors are preparing to lose their longtime sharpshooter and four-time NBA champion, league sources tell Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

According to Charania and Slater, the Warriors and Thompson haven’t had much contact as of late and the team hasn’t made him a formal contract offer since the exclusive negotiating window opened after the NBA Finals.

The club has expressed interest in circling back to the five-time All-Star after addressing other business, including figuring out what to do with Chris Paul and his non-guaranteed $30MM expiring salary.

However, Thompson’s side believes Golden State’s interest in a reunion has been “disingenuous,” per The Athletic’s duo, who say he “never felt reciprocated love from management about his firm place in the franchise’s plans.”

As a result, the 34-year-old is determined to find a new home, league sources tell Charania and Slater, and both sides believe their 13-year run together is about to come to an end.

The Lakers, Clippers, and Mavericks are expected to be among Thompson’s top suitors, though all three teams project to be over the cap and would have to negotiate a sign-and-trade. Golden State has been open to the idea of accommodating such a deal in order to maximize Thompson’s earning potential, sources tell The Athletic.

Multiple clubs with cap room are expected to be in the mix too, per Charania and Slater. The Sixers and Magic are among the cap-space teams that have been linked to the longtime Warrior in recent days.

Marc Stein, who reported on Friday night that there’s “strong” mutual interest between Thompson and the Mavericks, tweets that LeBron James is hopeful the Lakers can make a bid to challenge Dallas for the veteran swingman. For his part, Thompson is intrigued by the Lakers possibility and plans to talking to both them and the Mavs, among other potential suitors, tweets Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.

Jeff Dowtin Jr.’s Option Declined By Sixers

June 29th, 2024 at 4:44pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Sixers have opted to decline reserve point guard Jeff Dowtin Jr.‘s team option for 2024/25, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).

After going undrafted out of Rhode Island in 2020, Dowtin spent the 2020/21 season with the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s G League affiliate. The 6’3″ point guard has since logged time with the Warriors, Bucks, and Raptors, often on either 10-day contracts or two-way deals that have seen him split his time with each team’s G League affiliate club.

Dowtin started off the 2023/24 season with Philadelphia’s NBAGL team, the Delaware Blue Coats, before inking a two-way deal with the Sixers. In April, that contract was converted to a standard agreement for the rest of the season, with a second-year team option.

All told, Dowtin boasts career NBA averages of 2.9 points, 1.5 assists, 1.3 rebounds and 0.5 steals per night. In 20 games with Delaware last year, Dowtin averaged 19.1 PPG on .491/.387/.906 shooting, along with 5.3 APG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.2 SPG.

Dowtin had been eligible for a qualifying offer, which would have made him a restricted free agent and allowed Philadelphia to match any contract extended his way. It appears that he did not receive one, given that the Sixers are looking to maximize their cap space with free agency looming.

Magic Decline $8MM Team Option On Moritz Wagner

June 29th, 2024 at 4:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic aren’t picking up their $8MM team option for Moritz Wagner for next season, but both sides have interest in negotiating a new contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The decision means the 27-year-old big man will become an unrestricted free agent Sunday afternoon and will be free to talk with anyone. Wagner has spent the past four seasons in Orlando and presumably enjoys playing alongside his brother, Franz Wagner, so the team should have an advantage in trying to re-sign him.

The Magic are expected to be major players on the free agent market, and the extra $8MM in cap room could turn out to be valuable. Orlando is projected to have upwards of $52MM to work with and is considered to be a suitor for Clippers forward Paul George, who is declining his $48.8MM option for next season.

One possibility for Wagner suggested by Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link) is for Orlando to use its $8MM room exception to give him the same salary as his option. The team would have to exhaust its cap space before that pathway becomes available.

Wagner played an important role off Orlando’s bench this season, averaging 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 80 games.

Cam Reddish Exercises Player Option With Lakers

June 29th, 2024 at 4:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Lakers forward Cam Reddish has picked up his minimum-salary player option for 2024/25, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The move guarantees Reddish’s $2.46MM salary for next season.

Last season with Los Angeles, Reddish averaged a career-worst 5.4 PPG on .389/.336/.759 shooting, alongn with 2.1 RPG, 1.0 APG and 1.0 SPG. Health issues limited him to just 48 contests with the club, which included 26 starts.

As Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets, now that Reddish, Christian Wood, D’Angelo Russell, and Jaxson Hayes have picked up their options for next season, the Lakers project to have 14 roster spots filled for next season, assuming LeBron James returns.

The Lakers have three rostered role players who are free agents this season in reserve 3-and-D forward Taurean Prince and backup guards Max Christie and Spencer Dinwiddie. Buha notes that Los Angeles may want to hold on to Christie, a restricted free agent.

To carve out more roster space, the front office may be looking to offload contracts. Given that Hayes and Reddish were minimal contributors during the Lakers’ stretch run and postseason, those two are among the most obvious candidates to be moved. Extracting value in return could prove difficult.