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Rockets Picking Up Jae’Sean Tate’s 2024/25 Team Option

June 29th, 2024 at 10:27am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Rockets are exercising forward Jae’Sean Tate‘s team option for next season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Tate’s option will pay him a base salary of approximately $7.07MM in 2024/25, with $500K in likely incentives bringing his cap hit to $7.57MM.

Tate’s been productive since joining the Rockets in ’20/21, averaging 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 244 games (151 starts) with the franchise. However, his minutes have decreased in each of the subsequent three seasons since he made the All-Rookie Second Team in ’20/21. Last season, he logged just 15.9 minutes per game in his 65 appearances (nine starts).

While the Rockets could just keep Tate as a serviceable and proven backup option, his expiring contract could also come in handy in trade negotiations. Houston is reportedly looking to add star-power to its roster, so being able to use Tate’s $7.6MM salary for matching purposes this offseason or ahead of the deadline makes sense.

The Rockets are also expected to exercise Jeff Green‘s $8MM team option and guarantee Jock Landale‘s $8MM salary for the same reason, as previously reported.

Heat’s Kevin Love Declining Player Option

June 29th, 2024 at 10:07am CST by Tristan Tucker

Heat forward Kevin Love is turning down his player option for next season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Love will become an unrestricted free agent as a result of declining that $4MM option.

Even though Love is declining his option, the two sides are enthusiastic about reaching a new deal in the opening days of free agency, Wojnarowski reports. Love has spent the past season and a half with the Heat after being bought out by the Cavaliers ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.

Love has been one of the more underrated buyout pickups of the last few years, immediately settling into a veteran leader role while averaging 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 76 games with the Heat (22 starts). He was also a big part of Miami’s run to the NBA Finals in 2022/23, averaging 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 37.5% from deep (4.4 attempts) in 20 postseason appearances.

Love, 35, is a five-time NBA All-Star and former champion with the Cavaliers in ’15/16. He has played 929 games (684 starts) while holding career averages of 16.5 points and 10.1 rebounds. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Love has a 73.47% chance to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

According to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang, one option could be for Love to re-sign with the Heat at his minimum of about $3.3MM with an additional year attached (Twitter link). That would give the team some extra wiggle room under the second apron to keep some of its own free agents.

Clippers’ Russell Westbrook Exercising 2024/25 Player Option

June 29th, 2024 at 10:02am CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook is exercising his 2024/25 player option to return to the Clippers, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

As our player option decisions tracker shows, Westbrook will earn just over $4MM next season. His contract is fully guaranteed. June 29 is the deadline for player options for the ’24/25 season.

The 35-year-old guard primarily came off the bench last season for Los Angeles, averaging 11.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.5 APG and 1.1 SPG on .454/.273/.688 shooting in 68 regular season games (22.5 MPG). He struggled in the Clips’ first-round playoff loss to Dallas, averaging 6.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.7 APG and 1.2 SPG on .260/.235/.615 shooting in six games (19.0 MPG).

Either Westbrook was content to return to L.A. or he wasn’t confident he could exceed his $4MM option as an unrestricted free agent (or perhaps both). For what it’s worth, the veteran’s minimum for a player with Westbrook’s experience is projected to be just over $3.3MM in ’24/25.

A Long Beach native who played two years of college ball at UCLA, Westbrook is one of the most accomplished players in NBA history, making nine All-Star and All-NBA teams over the course of his 16-year career. He has led the league in points per game twice, assists per game three times, won All-Star game MVP twice, and was named to the NBA’s 75th anniversary team in 2021.

While he’s clearly past his peak, Westbrook still brings his trademark energy and tenacity every time he steps on the court.

Marc Stein reported last week that Westbrook exercising his option might not preclude the Clippers from exploring other options at backup point guard, with Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry among the names who have been linked to L.A.

Magic To Decline Joe Ingles’ Team Option

June 29th, 2024 at 9:48am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Magic are declining Joe Ingles‘ team option for the 2024/25 season, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link). As a result of the move, the veteran wing will be an unrestricted free agent.

Ingles was set to make $11MM next season, but with his option declined, Orlando projects to have $44MM in cap space, which can increase to over $50MM if Moritz Wagner‘s team option is also declined, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Marks also notes Jonathan Isaac is on a $17.4MM non-guaranteed contract.

While Ingles is hitting the open market, Wojnarowski reports the two sides are expected to continue dialogue through free agency next week.

The 36-year-old Ingles signed with the Magic last season after playing for the Bucks the year before. In 68 games with Orlando, Ingles averaged 4.4 points but shot 43.5% on his 2.4 three-point attempts per game.

Ingles began his career in 2014 with Utah, where he spent eight seasons. In total, he holds career averages of 8.1 points on a 41.0% clip from deep.

Blazers Exercising 2024/25 Team Option On Dalano Banton

June 29th, 2024 at 9:40am CST by Rory Maher

The Trail Blazers are exercising their 2024/25 team option on Dalano Banton, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

As our team option decision tracker shows, Banton is slated to make a $2,196,970 next season. However, that figure is non-guaranteed. Now that his option has been picked up, his deal is partially guaranteed for $217,533, with multiple trigger dates to follow.

A report back in April said Portland was expected to pick up its option on Banton’s contract, so the move doesn’t come as a surprise.

The 46th pick of the 2021 draft, Banton was traded to Portland from Boston in a salary-dump move ahead of the February deadline. In part due to injuries, Banton received extended playing time down the stretch of the ’23/24 season for the Blazers, averaging 16.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.9 APG in 30 games, including eight starts (29.2 MPG).

While those counting stats are impressive, the 24-year-old struggled with scoring efficiency, posting a .408/.311/.780 shooting line over that span. That slash line is quite similar to his career mark (.409/.289/.729) — working to improve those percentages will be a key for Banton moving forward.

Still, obviously the Blazers were impressed enough with the 6’9″ guard to exercise their option on his deal. Despite being a former second-round pick, Banton has only played on standard contracts to this point in his career. The Toronto native spent his first two seasons with his hometown Raptors.

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.

We have more from the Western Conference:

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.”

We have more from around the Eastern Conference:

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.