Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Continue To Eye Deandre Ayton

July 11th, 2022 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been nearly 11 full days since the NBA’s 2022 free agent period opened, and Suns restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton still doesn’t have a new deal in place. However, it’s possible that will change soon.

Sources told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic over the weekend that the Pacers are “seriously” interested in Ayton. Indiana’s interest in the former No. 1 overall pick has been reported repeatedly in recent weeks, but it’s notable that the team’s interest hasn’t waned — the Pacers are one of just two teams in the NBA (along with the Spurs) that have the cap flexibility necessary to make Ayton a significant offer.

According to Marc Stein (Twitter link), there’s “great interest” among league insiders in Las Vegas about whether the Pacers will move forward with what Stein refers to as a “widely anticipated” offer sheet for Ayton. Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up (video link) on Monday, Brian Windhorst also expressed a belief that Indiana is on the verge of making a play for the young center.

“We believe that the Indiana Pacers are very close to giving Deandre Ayton an offer sheet or executing a sign-and-trade,” Windhorst said. “The Pacers had to do some business over the weekend and complete the Malcolm Brogdon trade. That is now on the verge of happening and that is opening enough cap space to almost give Deandre Ayton the max contract he is looking for. We could see something with the Pacers and Ayton as early as today.”

As James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star writes, while the Pacers and Celtics announced their trade on Saturday, Brogdon still technically has to pass his physical before the deal is officially irreversible. At that point, Indiana will have approximately $26.4MM in cap room.

Ayton’s maximum salary is about $30.9MM, so Indiana would have to waive-and-stretch multiple players or trade someone to open up a max-salary slot. The team could also present Ayton with an offer sheet that’s a little below the max, but it’s not clear whether he’d be willing to sign such an offer. And of course, the lower the starting salary in an offer sheet, the more likely the Suns are to match it.

A sign-and-trade deal in which Indiana sends out a player or two could potentially get everyone what they want — Ayton could get his max salary, the Pacers could get their man without having to worry about an offer sheet being matched, and the Suns could avoid losing their former top pick for nothing. Myles Turner would be the most obvious trade candidate in that scenario.

However, signing-and-trading Ayton to Indiana would deprive Phoenix of one of its top assets for a potential Kevin Durant trade, so the Suns will likely drive a hard bargain with the Pacers, knowing that if they don’t get a sign-and-trade offer they like, they could simply match any offer sheet Ayton signs.

Still, that may not be an ideal outcome for the Suns, who reportedly aren’t enthusiastic about paying Ayton max money. Additionally, if they were to match an offer sheet, the Suns wouldn’t be able to trade Ayton until January 15, and even then, any deal this season would require his consent.

With so many variables in play, every involved party will have to weigh its options carefully before moving forward. But it sounds like we could get action on the Ayton front sooner rather than later.

Pacific Notes: Wall, DiVincenzo, Lakers, Saric

July 10th, 2022 at 8:56pm CST by Rory Maher

In his first public comments since joining the Clippers as a free agent, John Wall said he’s looking forward to playing on such a talented roster, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN relays.

“I don’t have to do it every night, I don’t have to be Batman every night for us to win,” Wall said on Saturday at the Las Vegas Summer League. “That’s the ultimate goal for me is [at] this part of my career, I don’t want to have to be the Batman every night to try to win. On our team that we have, I think anyone can be Batman.”

Wall also said he never seriously considered joining another team besides the Clippers, according to Youngmisuk.

“I really didn’t care about all the other teams,” Wall said of his other potential suitors. “The other teams are great, and I’m glad teams wanted to come after me, but I kind of looked at the picture of like, where can I go [where] I don’t have to be the John Wall from 2016 and have to carry the load and do all those [things] and have the pressure on me. I think [LA] was missing a piece of having a point guard, and it’s a great situation for me to be there.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Recruitment calls from Stephen Curry and Draymond Green helped Donte DiVincenzo land on the Warriors as his free agent destination, writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Once I had the conversation with Steph and Draymond, everything kind of slowed down for me a little bit because I got away from the numbers, the dollar signs and everything,” DiVincenzo said. “I was more so focused on what is best for Donte and what is best for me going forward. With that culture and environment, it’s something that I want to be a part of and it’s something of who I am. I don’t have to change who I am. I can just totally fit in and become a Warrior.” DiVincenzo signed a two-year deal with Golden State with a player option in the second season. He reportedly had offers for more money, but the ability to join a contender and possibly build up his value next season appealed to the 25-year-old.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham recently expressed confidence in his coaching staff’s ability to get the most out of the team’s newly-signed free agents, per Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group. “There’s various circumstances as to why people have a dip in shooting,” Ham said. “Sometimes it’s injury-related, sometimes it’s minutes, who you’re out on the floor with, how many touches. So only thing we’re worried about is what we’re doing going forward, and we feel we’ve got a good group – a good young group of free agents that’s gonna come in and make an impact.” The Lakers have added Lonnie Walker, Troy Brown Jr., Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant thus far in free agency, prioritizing youth and athleticism over older veterans.
Suns big man Dario Saric, who missed the entire 2021/22 season after suffering a torn right ACL in the 2021 Finals and underwent arthroscopic surgery in May to repair a torn meniscus in the same knee, recently gave a positive update on his status, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Saric just started doing contact work with coaches and hopes to play a couple of games with the Croatian national team prior to training camp. “I’m feeling good, I’m feeling really good,” said Saric. “I’m moving better, moving faster. I was one year out of basketball. I’ve had time to settle my mind to really dive into this extra positive. Working to be as best as I can.”

Mavericks Notes: Hardy, Brunson, Cuban, Harding, McGee

July 10th, 2022 at 3:11pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks rookie shooting guard Jaden Hardy, the No. 37 pick in the 2022 draft, enjoyed a stellar Summer League debut on Friday, finishing with 28 points on 9-of-19 field goal shooting during a 100-99 overtime loss to the Bulls. Selby Lopez of the Dallas Morning News details Hardy’s big night.

“Jaden did a great job,” Mavericks assistant coach and Summer League team head coach Greg St. Jean said. “I think that’s part of the process here of putting him in those situations, then being able to review the film and talk through it… I think it’s a great start for him, and we’re going to learn a lot from the film.”

The 6’4″ guard averaged 17.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.2 APG while with the G League Ignite during the 2021/22 season. His efficiency left something to be desired, however, as he connected on just 35.1% of his field goal attempts.

There’s more out of Dallas:

Dallas team owner Mark Cuban expressed his excitement for former Maverick Jalen Brunson agreeing to sign a lucrative four-year, $104MM new deal with the Knicks, but revealed that Dallas was not able to counter with a potential contract of its own in free agency this summer, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “It really wasn’t about the amount of money,” Cuban said while at the 2022 Las Vegas Summer League. “We really didn’t get a chance to make an offer. It was Jalen’s choice. And I understand it. He knew those guys his entire life. He grew up there. It makes perfect sense… We wanted him to stay, but he had his reason, and I respect that.” The latest intel on the contract suggests that the Knicks will sign Brunson using cap space, rather than via a sign-and-trade with the Mavericks.
Mavericks Summer League point guard Jerrick Harding is hoping to latch on at the next level, writes Eddie Sefko of Mavericks.com. “I ended my senior year [at Weber State], and this was in 2020, so COVID hit and all that was going on,” he said. “So basically the whole summer I was waiting. There were no workouts, no summer league, there was no anything.” Harding signed on with Czech National Basketball League club ERA Nymburk in 2020 and has played with them for two seasons. “[They’re] the best team in the Czech Republic. They play in the Champions League. So I figured it would be a good spot for me. I didn’t want to sit and wait. I might not have a job, know what I mean if I stayed in the states.” Now with Dallas’s Summer League club, the 6’1″ guard is eager to prove himself.
Following two seasons played on one-year contracts, new Mavericks center JaVale McGee opted for a bit more security this time around in free agency, inking a three-year, $20.4MM deal with Dallas. “The past couple of years, I really wanted to focus on consistency and comfortability,” McGee said of his new opportunity, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Though the three-time champion fit in well with a 64-18 Suns team and seemed a safe bet to return for 2022/23, the team’s uncertain future this summer compelled him to look elsewhere for a long-term contract. “I think it was more of having to wait for [restricted free agent] Deandre Ayton and now [Kevin Durant], trying to figure it out,” McGee said. “For me, it was just like at this stage of my career and what I’m looking for, I don’t have time to be waiting on somebody else.”

Contract Details: Booker, Towns, Magic, Oladipo, Anderson, Hardy

July 9th, 2022 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The new super-max extensions for Suns guard Devin Booker and Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns each come with a different perk.

Booker’s deal includes a 10% trade kicker, but is fully guaranteed for all four years, with no player option in 2027/28.

Towns’ new contract, conversely, doesn’t feature a trade kicker, but has a fourth-year player option, giving Towns the ability to opt out and reach free agency in 2027.

Here are several more contract details from around the NBA:

Both Mohamed Bamba and Bol Bol received one guaranteed season and one non-guaranteed season on their new two-year contracts with the Magic. Bamba has matching cap hits of $10.3MM on his deal, while Bol’s cap hits are $2.2MM apiece.
Victor Oladipo‘s reworked two-year deal with the Heat came in at $18.2MM in total. It’s worth $8.75MM in 2022/23, with a $9.45MM player option for ’23/24.
As previously reported, Kyle Anderson‘s two-year contract with the Timberwolves is worth exactly $18MM. It features a first-year salary of $8,780,488 and a 5% raise to $9,219,512 for 2023/24.
Jaden Hardy‘s three-year contract with the Mavericks is, as expected, worth the minimum in all three seasons. It’s fully guaranteed in the first two years, with a partial guarantee of $400K in year three.

Rockets Notes: Frontcourt, Tate, Gordon, Martin

July 7th, 2022 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Whether or not they hang onto Boban Marjanovic, the Rockets would like to add one more big man to their roster, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, who says the club may use a two-way contract slot to add more depth up front. Trevor Hudgins currently occupies one of Houston’s two-way slots, but the other is empty.

Iko names Moses Brown, Freddie Gillespie, Bruno Fernando, and Mfiondu Kabengele as players who could be of interest to the Rockets as they look to add another frontcourt player.

According to Iko, Houston had some interest in Isaiah Roby after he was waived by Oklahoma City, but the Spurs ultimately claimed him off waivers. The Rockets were ahead of San Antonio in the waiver order and had a trade exception available to claim Roby, but they already have 18 players on guaranteed contracts for 15 spots, so they likely weren’t eager to bring in another.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

The $500K annual bonus in Jae’Sean Tate‘s new three-year contract are tied to the Rockets winning at least 35 games, Iko reports. So Tate would earn an extra $1.5MM if Houston wins 35 or more games in each of the next three seasons.
The Rockets were close to trading Eric Gordon on draft night, possibly to the Sixers, but the deal fell apart, according to Iko, who says the Heat, Bucks, and Suns also pursued Gordon before the draft. Sources tell The Athletic that Philadelphia re-engaged Houston on the veteran shooting guard at the start of free agency, but there’s certainly no guarantee he’ll be moved before the season begins.
The Rockets aren’t in any rush to trade Kenyon Martin Jr. either, says Iko, noting that Martin may “need to mend some internal relationships” if a trade doesn’t materialize and he remains in Houston.

Trade/FA Rumors: Mitchell, Durant, Ayton, Pacers

July 7th, 2022 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

After reporting on The Hoop Collective (video link) earlier this week that Donovan Mitchell inquired about the Jazz‘s plan following the team’s trades of Rudy Gobert and Royce O’Neale, Brian Windhorst said during an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up on Thursday that the star guard is not believed to be on the verge of asking for a trade (video link).

“After the Gobert trade, there was a belief that maybe Mitchell would be next, and maybe at some point he will be,” Windhorst said. “But for now the Jazz are telling people they don’t intend to trade him, and on Mitchell’s side, he’s going to stand pat. He’s not going to force any action right now.”

Reports at the time of the Gobert trade indicated that the Jazz planned to retool their roster around Mitchell, while subsequent reporting suggested teams still believed the 25-year-old could be had for the right price. If Mitchell doesn’t express any desire to leave Utah, it seems very unlikely that the Jazz will move him this offseason.

Here are a few more trade and free agency rumors from around the NBA:

Although ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski still believes a Kevin Durant trade is likely to happen, he said during an appearance on NBA Today (video link) that it’s “absolutely” possible the former MVP could end up remaining with the Nets into the fall. “Brooklyn, they don’t have to take a deal that they don’t want to do. They don’t have to talk themselves into a deal,” Wojnarowski said. “At the same time, Kevin Durant, as he looks at the situation, could he look at it differently over time? That’s certainly a possibility.” Wojnarowski explained that he believes Durant could have second thoughts about his trade request if his potential new team would have to gut its roster to trade for him.
During an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up on Thursday (video link), Windhorst said the Durant sweepstakes may not be creating the frenzy the Nets had hoped for. “When the Nets put him on the market, I think they thought there was going to be a tremendous bidding war,” Windhorst said. “And while there’s a lot of interest, from what I can tell that bidding war isn’t really hot right now. The teams have made their offers and they don’t really feel the need to increase them.”
According to Windhorst, the return Utah received in the Gobert trade has complicated the Durant negotiations: “The Nets responded (to the Gobert trade) by saying, ‘The price for Durant just went higher,’ and the rest of the league is kind of saying, ‘We don’t think so. We don’t want to pay that price. We didn’t like that trade,'” Windhorst acknowledged that talks could heat up when team executives gather at Las Vegas for Summer League starting this week.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) believes we may see action on the Deandre Ayton front before the end of the week, adding that he has heard “rumblings” about the possibility of the Pacers signing the Suns‘ restricted free agent center to an offer sheet.

Suns’ Devin Booker Signs Four-Year Super-Max Extension

July 6th, 2022 at 9:56pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: Booker has officially signed his contract extension with the Suns, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. Booker confirmed as much, tweeting, “Signed sealed delivered.”

JUNE 30: Devin Booker is set to sign a four-year, super-max extension with the Suns as early as next week, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).

The 13th pick of the 2015 draft, Booker has spend his entire seven-year career with Phoenix. He’s been an All-Star each of the past three seasons, but more importantly, at least from a financial perspective, Booker was named to the All-NBA First Team last season, which made him eligible for the super-max, also known as the Designated Veteran Extension.

The 25-year-old is still under contract for a total of $69.83MM through 2023/24, so his extension won’t kick in until ’24/25. The deal will tentatively be worth $214MM from 2024-28, per Charania.

Booker led the Suns to a 64-18 regular season record last season, the best mark in the NBA by a full eight games. However, the team fell to the Mavericks in the second-round of the playoffs, losing in embarrassing fashion at home in Game 7.

Despite the disappointing ending, in many other ways it was a resounding success for both Booker and the Suns, who set a franchise record for wins. Booker averaged 26.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.8 APG and 1.1 SPG on .466/.383/.868 shooting in 68 regular season games (34.5 MPG) while showing improved defense.

Booker has also been an impressive postseason performer over the past couple seasons, helping lead the team to the Finals in ’20/21. He’s averaged a combined 26.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 4.5 APG on .448/.356/.900 shooting in 32 career playoff games (39.2 MPG).

Pacific Notes: Ayton, Lundberg, Lakers, Wiseman

July 6th, 2022 at 6:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The market for Suns center Deandre Ayton has slowed in the wake of Kevin Durant‘s trade request, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski expects it to pick up soon. Appearing on “NBA Today” (video link), Wojnarowski said Durant’s availability affects the few teams with remaining cap room as well as teams that might be considering a sign-and-trade deal for Ayton.

He added that the “worst-case scenario” for Phoenix is that somebody will give Ayton a maximum offer sheet, which the Suns will have to decide whether or not to match. If Ayton’s offer is matched, it will be a full year before he’s eligible to be traded again.

Phoenix, of course, is one of the teams Durant reportedly wants to join, and the details of an Ayton trade could affect what the Suns can offer to the Nets. Wojnarowski said the Durant situation has “complicated the timing” of Ayton’s free agency process.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Gabriel Lundberg, who ended the season on a two-way contract, returned to Denmark rather than play in Summer League because the Suns wouldn’t offer him any guarantees, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I didn’t want to risk playing in the Summer League without having some kind of security,” said Lundberg, who appeared in four games after joining the team in March. “They didn’t want to give me that, so I went home. I can’t risk getting injured without having a deal. My family depends on me to provide for them.” Lundberg hasn’t signed a new contract overseas yet, but said he has received multiple offers.
As the Lakers discuss a potential Kyrie Irving trade with the Nets, they’ve also checked on Rockets guard Eric Gordon and Pacers guard Buddy Hield, Wojnarowski said on “NBA Today” (Twitter link). Both are former clients of general manager Rob Pelinka, and L.A. came close to trading for Hield last summer before deciding to pursue Russell Westbrook.
Warriors center James Wiseman isn’t expected to play in Friday’s game, but the team plans to use him at some point during Las Vegas Summer League, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Wiseman, who missed the entire season due to right knee issues, participated in a 5-on-5 scrimmage Tuesday. Jonathan Kuminga joined the team today and is also expected to see some game action (Twitter link).

Suns Trade For Jock Landale

July 6th, 2022 at 6:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Hawks have officially traded Landale to the Suns in exchange for cash considerations, Atlanta confirmed in a press release. As we noted earlier this week, Landale’s minimum-salary contract has a small partial guarantee ($46,120).

JULY 2: The Suns will acquire Australian center Jock Landale from the Hawks, tweets Shams Charania of the Athletic. Atlanta will receive cash in return, according to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

Landale, 26, was a rookie with the Spurs last season, averaging 4.9 points and 2.7 rebounds in 54 games. He was shipped to the Hawks this week as part of the Dejounte Murray trade.

Landale signed with San Antonio in 2021 after going undrafted out of St. Mary’s. He also plays internationally for Australia and won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics.

The addition of Landale will help fill a vacancy for Phoenix, which lost back-up center JaVale McGee to the Mavericks in free agency and is exploring trade offers regarding starting center Deandre Ayton.

Jazz Trade Rudy Gobert To Timberwolves

July 6th, 2022 at 12:22pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Gobert has officially been traded from Utah to Minnesota, the Timberwolves confirmed today in a press release.

JULY 1: The Jazz are trading three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski (all Twitter links), the Jazz will receive Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, 2022 first-round pick Walker Kessler, and four future first-rounders in the deal.

Minnesota will send Utah unprotected first-round picks in 2023, 2025, and 2027, along with a top-five protected 2029 first-round pick and the right to swap first-rounders in 2026, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

A major shake-up had been expected in Utah this spring and Gobert has been mentioned in trade rumors since the Jazz were eliminated from the postseason. On top of that, the Wolves were rumored to be in the market for a rim-protecting center to play alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, and had been linked to Gobert.

Still, the fact that the two division rivals were able to agree to terms on this blockbuster deal comes as a major surprise. It represents a huge home-run swing by new Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly and incoming owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, and is the first significant roster move made by Jazz CEO Danny Ainge.

The move will cost the Timberwolves a good amount of their depth, but will create a loaded starting five. Towns and Gobert figure to be joined by point guard D’Angelo Russell, rising star Anthony Edwards, and one of Kyle Anderson, Taurean Prince, or Jaden McDaniels.

The Wolves will have Gobert under contract for several years — he’s owed a guaranteed $123MM over the next three seasons and has a $46.7MM player option for 2025/26.

Minnesota currently projects to be about $9.5MM below this season’s luxury tax line, with 11 players on their books, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Meanwhile, of the players headed to Utah in this trade, only Kessler will have guaranteed money on his contract beyond 2022/23. Beverley is on an expiring contract, while Beasley, Vanderbilt, and Bolmaro all have team options for ’23/24.

The Jazz are currently $11MM below this year’s tax line for 13 players and should have significant cap flexibility in future seasons, says Marks.

Having also acquired a first-round pick from Brooklyn this week in exchange for Royce O’Neale, the Jazz are now loaded with draft assets and plan to retool their roster around Donovan Mitchell going forward, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Tony Jones of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that the team has no plans to trade Mitchell.

There could be an opportunity for the Jazz to turn around and immediately flip some of the picks they’ve accumulated for an impact player who will complement Mitchell.

For instance, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reports (via Twitter) that Utah has some interest in exploring a sign-and-trade deal for Suns restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton, and Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer confirms (via Twitter) that the Wolves, Jazz, and Suns had discussed some three-team scenarios.

After seeing multiple unprotected first-round picks change hands this week in deals involving Gobert and Dejounte Murray, it’s safe to say the Nets’ asking price for Kevin Durant will be astronomical. Brooklyn is said to be seeking a “historical haul” for the former MVP.