Jalen Brunson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Wiseman, Lundberg, Dorsey, Brunson, Tampering

July 4th, 2022 at 5:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors center James Wiseman remains on track to play in the Las Vegas Summer League, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Wiseman played 5-on-5 full contact on Sunday for the first time since he had a setback in his right knee rehab late in the regular season. The No. 2 pick of the 2020 draft missed all of last season.

We have more from the Western Conference:

Gabriel Lundberg is not on the Suns’ summer league roster and he could be on the move, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. Lundberg, who signed a two-way contract with Phoenix in March and appeared in four regular season games, has a possible deal overseas, Rankin hears. Lundberg left CSKA Moscow after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Tyler Dorsey had a private workout with the Mavericks on Sunday, Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports tweets. Dorsey appeared in a combined 104 regular season games for Atlanta and Memphis from 2017-19. He played for Olympiacos (Greece) last season and was the team’s second-leading scorer.
Will the Knicks be penalized for tampering after securing a commitment from Mavericks free agent guard Jalen Brunson? Fred Katz and Tim Cato of The Athletic tackle that subject, with Katz hearing that there’s an expectation around the league that the Knicks will get charged with tampering, unless they work out a sign-and-trade with Dallas. Katz notes that New York started dumping salary on draft night and continued to do so amid reports prior to the start of free agency that Brunson was going to the Knicks.

Knicks Rumors: Mitchell, L. Rose, Brunson, Durant, Irving

July 2nd, 2022 at 8:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Even if the Jazz decide to trade Donovan Mitchell, the Knicks might not be first in line to acquire him, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. A New York City native, Mitchell has been rumored as a prime Knicks target for some time. The Jazz have indicated they plan to keep Mitchell and rework the roster around him, but sources tell Begley that several teams believe he would be available at the right price.

However, there’s no guarantee that New York’s front office will meet that price. Sources close to the Knicks indicated to Begley before the draft that the team was reluctant to part with the mix of players and draft picks that would be necessary to land a talent like Mitchell, fearing that the remaining roster would be too thin to compete. Since then, New York has reached an agreement with free agent guard Jalen Brunson, but Begley doesn’t believe that will change the team’s philosophy toward a potential Mitchell trade.

There’s more from New York:

The Knicks may have signed their top target this year by luring Brunson away from the Mavericks, but it’s still not clear that team president Leon Rose was the best choice to run the organization, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Rose and William Wesley were highly touted when they took over the Knicks because of their connections to the league’s top players. The results have been uninspiring, according to Bondy, as the team hasn’t landed a true star and has committed nearly $500MM in guaranteed money over the past two summers to an average roster.
Brunson’s father, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, has been telling friends for months that Jalen wanted to come to New York, but there were concerns about whether the team could create enough cap space to make a competitive offer, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post. The Brunson family has a strong connection to Rose, but Jalen wasn’t willing to sign for less than his market value.
The Knicks may have dodged a bullet when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving decided to sign with Brooklyn three years ago, suggests Steve Popper of Newsday. The Knicks pursued the two stars, but Popper believes they would have run into the same chaos the Nets are experiencing now.

Free Agent Rumors: Brunson, Oladipo, Ingles, Rockets

June 30th, 2022 at 12:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jalen Brunson appears ready to leave the Mavericks and sign with the Knicks for a reported $110MM over four years, but money may not be the only factor, writes Tim Cato of The Athletic. Sources tell Cato that Brunson might not be willing to re-sign with the Mavs even if they agree to match New York’s offer, which has led to pessimism in Dallas about keeping the 25-year-old guard.

Cato adds that as of Tuesday, there’s no indication that the Mavericks are considering making a larger offer to Brunson.

In the same story, Cato examines Dallas’ system for evaluating how much players are worth and explains why the team decided not to offer Brunson a four-year, $55MM extension last summer.

There’s more on the free agent market:

The Kings are expected to be one of the teams reaching out to Victor Oladipo, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Injuries limited Oladipo to eight games during the regular season, but he was part of the rotation during the Heat’s playoff run. Oladipo is looking for a starting position and a salary in the $10MM range, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.
The Grizzlies are interested in Joe Ingles, Begley adds in the same piece. Ingles is rehabbing after his season was ended by a torn ACL in late January.
Rumors have linked the Rockets to several centers in free agency, but Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle isn’t convinced that it’s a position of need. Second-year center Alperen Sengun is projected to be the starter and the team plans to use a small-ball approach, with no traditional center, for eight to 10 minutes per game. Feigen notes that the Rockets want to be careful with their cap space beyond this season and suggests they may not make a large offer to a free agent this year.

Latest On Jalen Brunson

June 30th, 2022 at 10:04am CST by Rory Maher

JUNE 30, 10:04am: The Heat have now put out word that they never had a meeting scheduled with Brunson and won’t be meeting with him today, according to local reporters Ira Winderman, Tim Reynolds, and Anthony Chiang.

JUNE 29, 7:47pm: Point guard Jalen Brunson is scheduled to meet with the Knicks, Mavericks and Heat when free agency opens on Thursday, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

According to Haynes, the meetings will be held in New York, with the Knicks considered the strong frontrunners to land the unrestricted free agent on a four-year deal in the neighborhood of $110MM.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, GM Nico Harrison, and head coach Jason Kidd will attend the meeting, per Haynes, as will VP of basketball operations Michael Finley and “maybe one or two” players, sources tell veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link). Stein reports (via Twitter) that the Mavs are very pessimistic that they can convince Brunson to re-sign, but the 25-year-old’s camp sought out meetings with the three teams before coming to a decision.

A league source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News that the Mavericks have been unwilling to offer more than $106MM to this point, with Brunson reportedly seeking $125MM. Haynes confirms Bondy’s report, stating that Dallas has pitched a five-year, $106MM deal to Brunson, so it sounds like he might be open take a slight per-year discount ($125MM over five years vs. $110MM over four) if the Mavs are willing to go that high using his Bird Rights.

As Haynes observes, Miami’s only pathway to acquiring Brunson would be via sign-and-trade, because the team won’t have the necessary cap space to sign him outright. Such an agreement would be difficult to pull off due to sign-and-trades triggering a hard cap at the tax apron, which would limit Miami’s financial flexibility for the rest of 2022/23. That’s one reason why Haynes refers to the Heat as a “dark horse.”

Here are a couple more notes on Brunson’s free agency:

“At least one high-ranking member of the Knicks” views Brunson as a top-10 point guard in the NBA, Bondy reports. Given the huge offer the Knicks are reportedly willing to extend, it makes sense that Brunson has fans in high places within the organization.
In an appearance on “NBA Today,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks (video link) details why a sign-and-trade between the Mavericks and Knicks might make sense for both teams, assuming Brunson winds up with New York.

Knicks Among Teams To Inquire On Dejounte Murray

June 29th, 2022 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks are among the teams to inquire on Dejounte Murray and express interest in the Spurs‘ All-Star guard, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

Marc Stein previously reported of a belief that the Knicks could try to make a run at Murray, while Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report stated that league personnel began to mention Murray on Tuesday as New York’s next possible target.

The Knicks are still considered the strong frontrunners to sign Jalen Brunson in free agency, so the idea would be to acquire Murray in addition to Brunson, rather than in place of him. As Begley explains, some members of the organization are concerned about what a backcourt duo of Brunson and Evan Fournier would look like on defense and have discussed the potential fit of Brunson and Fournier.

While Murray’s defensive ability would make him a strong match alongside Brunson on that end of the court, it’s worth noting that he was the lead ball-handler in San Antonio this past season, with his usage rate increasing to a career-high 27.3%. As Fischer wrote earlier today, the Knicks are reportedly pitching Brunson on running the show in New York after he spent four years sharing point guard duties with Luka Doncic, so acquiring Murray may be at odds with that plan.

The Spurs are said to be seeking at least three or four first-round picks in any deal involving Murray, and the Knicks are well positioned to offer draft assets. New York has all of its own future first-round selections, plus protected 2023 first-rounders from Detroit, Washington, and Dallas, as well as a protected 2025 first-rounder from Milwaukee.

The Hawks have been the team most frequently linked to Murray as of late, while the Wizards are also reportedly among the clubs to inquire.

Knicks Strong Frontrunners For Brunson, Expected To Offer $110MM

June 28th, 2022 at 10:08pm CST by Luke Adams

10:08pm: The Knicks intend to offer Brunson a four-year contract worth approximately $110MM, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets.

4:53pm: The Mavericks have believed for the last couple weeks that Brunson is headed to the Knicks, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic, who tweets that it’s viewed as a virtual “certainty” at this point.

4:01pm: It’s “widely anticipated” that free agent point guard Jalen Brunson will land with the Knicks in free agency on a four-year deal worth more than $100MM, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).

Marc Stein has heard similar rumblings, tweeting that there’s a “growing resignation” from the Mavericks‘ end that New York is Brunson’s first choice and his inevitable destination.

The Knicks project to have about $17MM in cap room if they waive Taj Gibson and his non-guaranteed salary, so they’d need to make at least one move to create the flexibility necessary to offer $25MM+ per year to Brunson. However, they could realistically get there by trading either Alec Burks or Nerlens Noel — both players have been involved in recent trade rumors, with Ian Begley of SNY.tv suggesting the Nets and Raptors are among the teams to register some interest in Noel.

Brunson and the Knicks have been linked to one another for months. As has been repeated ad nauseam, Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose is Brunson’s former agent, Rose’s son Sam Rose is Brunson’s current agent, and Brunson’s father Rick Brunson was recently hired as a Knicks assistant.

Still, the Mavericks had long projected confidence in their ability to re-sign Brunson. Although the point guard will be an unrestricted free agent, Dallas holds his Bird rights, giving the team the ability to offer him more money and more years than any other suitor. But the Mavs’ confidence appears to be waning with free agency right around the corner.

According to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link), part of the Knicks’ pitch to Brunson is the ability to be the full-time starting point guard. In Dallas, he’s more of a secondary option at the position, with Luka Doncic running the show.

The Knicks don’t view Brunson as a “potential franchise-altering savior,” per Begley, but rather as an important piece of the process. The 25-year-old is considered to be a good fit for the timeline of some of New York’s other young players, Begley adds.

The Mavs project to be far over the cap, limiting their ability to secure an adequate replacement for Brunson if he does head to New York. If Dallas knows Brunson is leaving, the team could attempt to work out a sign-and-trade agreement with the Knicks, but may not have much leverage to do so if New York has cap room available for a $100MM+ offer.

New York Rumors: Knicks, Brunson, Burks, Nets, Claxton, Kyrie

June 28th, 2022 at 8:36am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have “legitimate optimism” about their chances of signing free agent point guard Jalen Brunson, Ian Begley of SNY.tv reports, citing people in touch with the organization since the draft.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report conveyed a similar sentiment during his latest podcast, suggesting that the Knicks may have moved ahead of the Mavericks as the favorites to lock up Brunson long-term this offseason (hat tip to HoopsHype).

As Begley observes, the Knicks still have some work to do if they want to create the cap room necessary to make Brunson a strong offer — trading either Alec Burks or Nerlens Noel may be the most likely path to opening up that space.

Burks underwent foot surgery this spring after the Knicks’ season ended, and while that procedure has reportedly hurt his trade value, Begley says there are still multiple teams with some interest in the veteran guard, including the Celtics.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Fred Katz of The Athletic spoke to 16 officials in NBA front offices to get a sense of how much they’d be willing to offer RJ Barrett in extension talks this offseason if they were running the Knicks. According to Katz, the responses ranged from $15-30MM per year, with no one saying they would go up to the max. A four-year, $100MM offer was the most-cited suggestion, Katz adds.
In the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that restricted free agent center Nic Claxton appears likely to remain with the Nets (audio link via Jac Manuell of Nets Republic). “The word is amongst executives, I’ve talked to a couple of executives today who believe that Nic Claxton will be back with the Nets, that that’s been worked out,” Windhorst said. “I shouldn’t say it’s been worked out. There’s an understanding.”
In the same podcast, Windhorst wondered whether or not the standoff between the Nets and Kyrie Irving has truly been put to bed after Irving announced he’ll pick up his player option for 2022/23. “I was told that the option pick-up came as a total surprise to the Nets, that they found out when everybody else did,” Windhorst said, per NetsDaily. “… The people that I talk to in the league are skeptical that Kyrie is going to be ‘all for one and one for all’ on this. … The people who are in the business to earn the business are telling me, ‘No, Kyrie actually has leverage here,’ because now he’s making the $36 million, he’s got his money and he can make life hell.”
In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton considers what’s next for the Nets now that Irving has decided to opt in.

Free Agent Rumors: Brunson, Tucker, LaVine, Sexton, Campazzo

June 27th, 2022 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Marc Stein isn’t certain whether the Mavericks or the Knicks will end up signing Jalen Brunson this offseason, but he hints in his latest Substack article that it would be a surprise if the point guard ends up anywhere else.

After being identified earlier this year as possible suitors for Brunson, the Pistons and Pacers are no longer being mentioned as potential destinations, Stein writes. Both teams used lottery picks to draft guards last Thursday, with Detroit selecting Jaden Ivey and Indiana nabbing Bennedict Mathurin.

Elsewhere on the free agency front, Stein provides an update on P.J. Tucker after reporting last week that the Sixers are considered the biggest threat to sign the forward away from the Heat. According to Stein, numerous rival teams are saying “with even more conviction now than they did last week” that they believe Tucker will end up in Philadelphia on a three-year, $30MM deal.

After adding De’Anthony Melton, the Sixers project to be a taxpayer and would likely have to shed a little salary in order to give Tucker $30MM over three years. Using the full mid-level exception or acquiring him via sign-and-trade are the only ways Philadelphia could realistically offer a $10MM annual salary — either approach would hard-cap team salary at the tax apron.

Here are more free agency rumors from across the NBA:

K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes that all signs still point toward the Bulls being prepared to offer Zach LaVine a five-year, maximum-salary contract when free agency opens this week, with LaVine likely to accept.
The Wizards have some interest in Collin Sexton but are probably in the market for a more traditional point guard in free agency, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports in a subscriber-exclusive story. Fedor believes the Cavaliers remain in the driver’s seat to re-sign Sexton, especially given that some of his potential suitors – including Detroit – drafted guards last Thursday.
After indicating an openness to returning overseas, Nuggets free agent guard Facundo Campazzo clarified that his goal is to remain in the NBA. He tweeted out a statement in Spanish that translates to English as follows: “My priority one, two, and three is to continue in the NBA. For now, I don’t have in mind to return to Europe. It is obvious that at some point it will happen, but not now. I have it very clear: I want to try again, in whatever franchise it is, but to try again.“
In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks takes an in-depth look at which teams project to have cap room, which will be taxpayers, and which fall somewhere in between.

Knicks Notes: Brunson, D. Rose, Point Guard Options, Ivey, Draft Night

June 26th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Derrick Rose may provide one more advantage for the Knicks in their pursuit of free agent Jalen Brunson, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The Mavericks guard already has numerous links to New York, with team president Leon Rose as his former agent and Brunson’s father, Rick, as the team’s newest assistant coach.

But the connections go even further. When Jalen Brunson was growing up in Illinois, he formed a bond with Derrick Rose, who was a star point guard with the Bulls at the time.

“Jalen would go over to the Bulls facility and practice with the Bulls players,” Brunson’s high school coach, Pat Ambrose, tells Braziller. “That’s where he became good friends with Derrick Rose. So your story gets deep with the Knicks. Derrick saw that young Jalen was a very, very good player and Derrick was a Chicago kid, and really started to mentor Jalen basketball-wise.”

There’s more from New York:

While Brunson will be the Knicks’ primary target when free agency begins this week, there are other options if the team can’t lure him out of Dallas. In a separate story, Braziller examines the point guard market involving both trades and free agents, focusing on Malcolm Brogdon, Dejounte Murray, Tyus Jones and Ricky Rubio, along with Kyle Anderson, a free agent forward who could fill the role of secondary playmaker.
The Knicks were optimistic that they could trade up for Jaden Ivey during Thursday night’s draft and continued to make offers even after the Pistons selected the Purdue guard at No. 5, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Begley isn’t sure exactly what the Knicks were offering, but he cites “frustration” in the team’s draft room when they couldn’t make a deal.
Steve Popper of Newsday searches for silver linings after the Knicks’ draft night, which left many fans confused and angry. New York entered the draft with the 11th pick and hopes of moving up for Ivey, but the team wound up selecting Ousmane Dieng and sending him to the Thunder for three conditional future first-round picks. The Knicks also acquired the Bucks’ 2025 first-round selection in a separate deal involving the Hornets and Pistons. New York was able to send Kemba Walker‘s salary to Detroit, but still needs to create more cap space to make a max offer to Brunson.

Knicks Gaining Momentum In Pursuit Of Jalen Brunson?

June 24th, 2022 at 2:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks are “gaining major momentum” in their pursuit of Mavericks free agent guard Jalen Brunson, league sources tell Marc Stein (Substack link).

As Stein notes, the Knicks began shedding 2022/23 salary on draft night when they agreed to send Kemba Walker ($9.2MM) to Detroit and moved off their first-round pick, removing a projected cap hold of $4.5MM from next season’s books. They don’t have enough cap room yet to make Brunson a competitive offer, but there’s a growing belief they’ll be able to get there, Stein writes.

Sources tell Stein that the Knicks appearing to be preparing an offer in the range of $100MM over four years for Brunson.

The Mavericks have long expressed confidence in their ability to re-sign Brunson, with president of basketball operations Nico Harrison repeating that refrain on draft night, telling reporters that the Knicks’ efforts to create cap room didn’t come as a surprise, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).

“Until he tells us that he doesn’t want to be here, we’re optimistic,” Harrison said.

However, according to Stein, the Mavs believed at the end of the season that a four-year offer in the range of $85-88MM would likely be enough to retain Brunson. That appears increasingly unlikely to be the case.

Dallas holds Brunson’s Bird rights and has the ability to offer any amount up to the maximum, plus a fifth year — the Knicks are limited to four years. But he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, so the Mavs won’t necessarily be able to retain him by matching or exceeding the Knicks’ offer.

Stein says there’s a growing belief among some people close to the situation that Brunson is interested in making the move to New York, where his former agent Leon Rose runs the Knicks’ front office and his father Rick Brunson was recently hired as an assistant coach.

According to Stein, the opportunity to take on a “new challenge and broadened responsibility” with the Knicks may appeal to the younger Brunson. Stein cites sources who say there’s “growing fear” within the Mavs’ organization about the point guard’s flight risk.

Rose virtually never holds media sessions and wouldn’t be able to publicly discuss Brunson anyway, but it’s worth noting that he put out an official statement on Friday discussing the Knicks’ draft-night moves — the phrase “increased financial flexibility” earned a prominent place in that statement explaining the team’s strategy (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).