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Woj: Heat “Team To Watch” For Russell Westbrook

July 6th, 2019 at 7:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are a “team to watch” in the Russell Westbrook situation, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said today during the network’s broadcast of a Summer League game (video clip).

“Russell Westbrook at 30 years old is still a high-level player, but it is a lot of money and he’s going to take up a great deal of your salary cap,” said Wojnarowski, who predicts Miami will be among several to talk to the Thunder about Westbrook’s availability.

A source confirms to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that Heat officials “absolutely like” Westbrook, but there’s no indication of how hard they plan to pursue him (Twitter link). He adds that the Thunder own Miami’s first-round pick in 2021 and don’t have any incentive to help the Heat.

Westbrook’s availability was made public in the wake of the surprising overnight trade that sent teammate Paul George to the Clippers to team up with Kawhi Leonard. Westbrook will make $170MM over the next four seasons and the Thunder are interested in cutting costs now that they longer have two stars in place.

There’s more today from Miami:

New Heat center Meyers Leonard told Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel that he has gotten over the shock of being traded from the Trail Blazers. Leonard said he was in the middle of a workout when his trainer told him to call his agent after seeing a tweet from Wojnarowski about the deal. “There are numerous things I’m excited for — the culture, the kind of get-in-there-and-work-hard grit mentality,” Leonard said. “I can only say I’m very, very excited for this opportunity, to help the Heat win.”
The Heat are risking their ability to surround Butler with more talent in the future with today’s decision to stretch the $15.6MM still owed to Ryan Anderson, Winderman notes in a separate story. They had to cut salary before they could accommodate Butler’s new contract, but the deal will keep Anderson on the payroll for three more years at $5.2MM per season.
The Heat expect rookie forward KZ Okpala to make his Summer League debut tomorrow, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. With the moratorium lifted, the 32nd pick in the draft officially traveled the circuitous route that took him from the Pacers to the Suns to the Heat. “The process has been different,” Okpala said of the long wait. “It’s not what I expected, for sure. But I think it’s just all a part of the process. You just have to control the things you can control.”

Heat Acquire Jimmy Butler In Sign-And-Trade

July 6th, 2019 at 3:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat have officially acquired Jimmy Butler from the Sixers in a sign-and-trade deal that also includes the Trail Blazers and the Clippers, according to press releases from Miami and Philadelphia.

The Heat also acquired big man Meyers Leonard from the Trail Blazers and cash considerations from the Clippers. Miami sent shooting guard Josh Richardson to Philadelphia, center Hassan Whiteside to the Blazers and a conditional first-round pick to the Clippers. The Clippers also received forward Maurice Harkless from Portland and the draft rights to 2017 second-round pick Mathias Lessort from the Sixers.

The Clippers and Blazers have also confirmed the swap.

The 2023 first-rounder that the Heat forwarded to the Clippers, which is lottery-protected through 2025 and unprotected in 2026, was subsequently moved to the Thunder as part of the agreed-upon Paul George blockbuster.

Butler inked a four-year, $141MM contract with the Heat. Miami waived forward Ryan Anderson and stretched his contract in order to stay below the hard cap and complete the sign-and-trade.

“Jimmy’s leadership, tenacity, professionalism, defensive disposition and his ability to create his own shot will improve our roster immediately,” Miami president Pat Riley said in the press release. “Any time you can add a four-time All-Star to your roster, you make that move. Meyers is a versatile big, a great shooter, can play inside and block shots. The addition of both men puts us in a great position to win.”

The disgruntled Butler was dealt by Minnesota to Philadelphia last season. The Sixers wanted to retain Butler but couldn’t convince him to stay and got something for him via the sign-and-trade mechanism. In 65 total games for the Wolves and Sixers last season, Butler averaged 18.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.9 SPG with a .462/.347/.855 shooting line. Richardson averaged a career-high 16.6 PPG and 4.1 APG last season.

Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey called the acquisition of Whiteside an “impact move for our roster.” The Blazers were looking for a starting center with Jusuf Nurkic on the mend from a serious leg injury.

Damian Lillard Signs Super-Max Extension With Blazers

July 6th, 2019 at 2:02pm CST by clarkcrum

JULY 6: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Lillard to his super-max extension, the team announced today in a press release.

“Since the day we drafted Damian he has exemplified every quality an organization could hope for in a franchise player,” Olshey said in a statement. “His perpetual leadership, willingness to embrace responsibility for outcome on the floor and ability to set a cultural standard illustrates what it means to be a Portland Trail Blazer and makes us ecstatic he has chosen to extend his contract at the first opportunity.”

JUNE 30: The Trail Blazers and franchise point guard Damian Lillard are working toward an agreement on a four-year, $196MM super-max contract extension, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. Brian Windhorst of ESPN is reporting that the two sides have agreed on a deal, with Lillard also set to receive a player option for the 2024/25 season.

The extension will begin during the 2021/22 season. As we relayed yesterday, the projected cap figure for that season is $125MM, meaning that Lillard would earn an estimated $43.75MM in 2021/22, $47.25MM in 2022/23, $50.75MM in 2023/24, and a whopping $54.25MM in 2024/25.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports first indicated back in May that Portland and it’s star guard were working toward an extension. As we wrote then, Lillard’s four-year extension would cover his age 31-to-34 seasons, with the 29-year-old All-Star poised to make nearly $55MM at age 34.

Today, Haynes adds (link) that Lillard, his representatives, and Trail Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey are meeting in Oakland tonight to finalize the maximum-contract extension.

Lillard, coming off one of his best seasons as a pro, averaged 25.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and a career-high 6.9 APG in 80 games for Portland on his way to being named All-NBA Second Team for the 2018/19 campaign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Northwest Notes: Hezonja, Abrines, Jazz, Tolliver

July 4th, 2019 at 7:59pm CST by JD Shaw

New Trail Blazers guard Mario Hezonja has apologized to players and employees of the team for choosing to sign with the Knicks last summer instead of Portland, Jason Quick of The Athletic writes.

Hezonja, who was courted by a number of teams last year due to his overall potential and scoring ability, ultimately chose to sign with a New York team that failed to offer him a concrete role. He started in 24 of his 58 games this season, with the team accruing the league’s worst record at 17-65.

“I kind of rushed,” Hezonja said. “But I made my mind up quick; I wanted to experience New York.”

Hezonja reached agreement on a two-year, minimum-salary deal with Portland on the first day of free agency, committing to a franchise that’s focused on competing for an NBA title. He put pen to paper and inked his contract on Wednesday.

“I just have to fit in,” Hezonja said. “This team was in the Western Conference finals. I’m here to help. My individual goal is to push them even further. I want to be on a successful team and surround myself with players better than myself, because that will help me. That will help me be even better and become that top-tier player eventually.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division tonight:

Former Thunder guard Alex Abrines took to social media to discuss the personal issues he’s faced this year, as relayed by Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. Abrines left the team in February after three seasons due to these unspecified personal matters. In the video, Abrines also announced his intentions to return to the game of basketball, with the 25-year-old currently an unrestricted free agent.
The Jazz — along with the rest of the league — will have a much different feel entering the 2019/20 season, Doug Robinson of The Deseret News writes. Utah will acquire star guard Mike Conley, lose longtime Jazz forward Derrick Favors, and add scoring wing Bojan Bogdanovic, reshaping and improving their roster over the span of a couple weeks.
New Trail Blazers forward Anthony Tolliver recalled watching the team’s lack of three-point shooting during the postseason this spring, especially while players such as Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum were double teamed, Jason Quick writes in a separate article for The Athletic. “Watching the playoffs last year, they got double-teamed a lot, and that’s literally how guys like myself can excel,” Tolliver said. “I was like, ‘Wow! I could really help them out.’” Like Hezonja, Tolliver signed his minimum-salary contract with the team on Wednesday.

Trail Blazers Sign Mario Hezonja

July 3rd, 2019 at 12:35pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 3: Hezonja’s new deal with the Blazers is official, according to the team, which issued a press release today to announce it.

“Mario is a prodigiously talented player with a high ceiling and a bright future,” president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement. “He will have a chance to contribute immediately while we work to accelerate his development.”

JUNE 30: The Trail Blazers will sign Mario Hezonja to a two-year, minimum-salary deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com tweets. The second year of the pact will be a player option.

Hezonja is coming off an uneven season for the Knicks. The former top-1o pick struggled to find a consistent role for parts of the 2018/19, though he did look impressive as a point guard/facilitator once he received the chance during New York’s final contests.

Portland traded away Evan Turner this offseason and while they received Kent Bazemore in return, they’ll miss Turner’s ball handling. Bazemore projects to be a good fit in Portland’s offense, though he doesn’t have the play-making ability to regularly handle second-unit opportunities.

Hezonja should have an opportunity to secure that role and improve his stock on a talented Portland team. The Croatian-born wing is positioned to re-enter the market next offseason if things go well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trail Blazers Sign Anthony Tolliver To One-Year Deal

July 3rd, 2019 at 12:34pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 3: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Tolliver, the team announced today in a press release. Minimum-salary contracts can be finalized during the July moratorium.

JULY 1: The Trail Blazers and free agent power forward Anthony Tolliver have reached an agreement on a one-year deal worth $2.6MM, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Based on the reported terms, it appears to be a veteran’s minimum deal for Tolliver, as he’s eligible for a $2,564,753 minimum salary in 2019/20. Portland also reportedly committed its taxpayer mid-level exception to Rodney Hood already, limiting the club’s ability to offer other free agents more than the minimum.

Tolliver, 34, has been one of the NBA’s more effective under-the-radar stretch fours in recent years. He struggled a little in Minnesota last season, averaging just 5.0 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 65 games (16.6 MPG), but he has knocked down 1.6 threes per game at a 40.7% rate over the last three seasons for the Kings, Pistons, and Timberwolves.

Tolliver will help provide much-needed outside shooting in the frontcourt for a Portland team that has lost Al-Farouq Aminu in free agency and is trading away Maurice Harkless and Meyers Leonard to acquire Hassan Whiteside.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Rumors: Mavs, Morris, Knicks, Wizards, Wolves

July 2nd, 2019 at 8:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have interest in free agent forward Marcus Morris, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, confirming a report from Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com (Twitter link). However, Dallas has “a few [players] ahead” of Morris on their wish list, according to Townsend.

Danny Green is one of those names believed to be ahead of Morris. The Mavericks have been linked to the veteran sharpshooter since the start of free agency, and a tweet from the account for Green’s podcast today listed the Mavs, Raptors, and Lakers as the teams still in play for the veteran shooting guard. The Mavs aren’t expecting an answer from Green until tomorrow at the earliest though, says Townsend.

Here’s more on the NBA’s remaining free agents:

The Knicks project to have one slot open on their 15-man roster for next season, and Lance Thomas is the favorite to fill it, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link). New York recently waived Thomas to avoid guaranteeing his 2019/20 salary, but could bring him back on a more modest deal.
The Wizards haven’t circled back to free agent forward Jabari Parker so far, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link), who says that the market is “still developing” for the former No. 2 overall pick.
The Timberwolves have kicked the tires on free agent forward Jake Layman, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North. Layman received a qualifying offer from the Trail Blazers, so he’s a restricted free agent.

Western Notes: Russell, Suns, Beverley, Kings, Rivers, Blazers

July 1st, 2019 at 11:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves, led by D’Angelo Russell‘s close friend Karl-Anthony Towns, were confident about their ability to get a commitment from Russell in free agency and went into their Sunday meeting with him ready to make the trades necessary to make a deal work, sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Minnesota was just waiting for the green light from D-Lo to move forward on those trades, but the All-Star point guard instead opted to join the Warriors.

The Suns were viewed as a team that might try to get into the mix for Russell, who has another good friend – Devin Booker – in Phoenix. However, despite Booker’s campaign, Phoenix chose not to pursue the RFA guard, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. According to Rankin, the Suns “apparently felt Russell wouldn’t have been a good influence on Booker off the court.”

The Warriors, with their veteran leaders, apparently had no such qualms about D-Lo, who – by all accounts – matured considerably during his time in Brooklyn.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

After agreeing to sign a three-year, $40MM deal with the Clippers, Patrick Beverley tells Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times that he turned down a more lucrative offer from the Kings to return to L.A. “I got a bigger offer from Sacramento and I took $9-10 million less to come here,” Beverley said. “… It was the right decision. Of course, the human part of you wants to take as much money as you see, but all money isn’t good money. I did what was best for me and my family and I did what was best to stay on a winning team, and I feel like I made the right decision.”
Despite Beverley’s comments, Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link) hears that the Kings offered the veteran guard a guaranteed total of $35MM over three years, with a partial guarantee in year three. Theoretically, it’s possible that Beverley’s claim could still be accurate if that third-year partial guarantee was very small and he’s including the non-guaranteed money as part of Sacramento’s bid.
Before he agreed to return to the Rockets for the veteran’s minimum, Austin Rivers had offers in the range of the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. “Now that the league is wide open, I just saw an opportunity,” Rivers said. “You can’t really put a price on happiness. The goal was to come back to Houston all along. I think we have the team to beat.”
The Trail Blazers have announced Terry Stotts‘ coaching staff for the upcoming season, with Nate Tibbetts replacing David Vanterpool as the team’s associate head coach. Portland has also promoted Jim Moran to the front of the bench and hired former NBA guard Jannero Pargo as an assistant.

Blazers Sign First-Rounder Nassir Little

July 1st, 2019 at 8:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Trail Blazers have signed their first-round pick, small forward Nassir Little, according to a team press release.

Little will make approximately $2.1MM in his first NBA season if he receives the max on the rookie scale.

The 25th overall pick played one season at North Carolina, where he averaged 9.8 PPG and 4.6 RPG and 18.2 MPG over 36 games as the team’s top reserve.

Heat’s Jimmy Butler Sign-And-Trade Deal To Include Clippers, Blazers

July 1st, 2019 at 7:58pm CST by Luke Adams

7:58pm: The 2023 first-round pick being sent from the Heat to Clippers will be lottery-protected through 2025, then unprotected in 2026, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

5:00pm: The Clippers will receive a protected 2023 first-round pick from the Heat in the deal, according to ESPN’s full report.

4:17pm: The sign-and-trade deal that will send Jimmy Butler to the Heat and Josh Richardson to the Sixers has been agreed upon, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski explains (via Twitter), the trade between the Trail Blazers and Heat that will send Hassan Whiteside to Portland is becoming part of the transaction, with Maurice Harkless being re-routed to the Clippers to make it a four-team deal.

The Clippers will also receive a future first-round pick from Miami, according to Wojnarowski. Since the Heat have already traded their 2021 first-round selection to the Clippers and can’t give away consecutive future first-rounders, the next one that is trade-eligible would be the 2023 selection, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

As part of the four-team swap, the Sixers will send the draft rights to 2017 second-rounder Mathias Lessort to the Clippers, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

As of now then, this is what the deal would look like:

To Heat: Jimmy Butler (via sign-and-trade, getting a four-year, $141MM contract) and Meyers Leonard.
To Sixers: Josh Richardson
To Clippers: Maurice Harkless, a future Heat first-round pick, and the draft rights to Mathias Lessort.
To Trail Blazers: Hassan Whiteside

After acquiring Harkless, the Clippers will still have a maximum-salary slot available in the event that Kawhi Leonard decides to join them, tweets Marks. It would be a tight fit though, notes ESPN’s Zach Lowe, who tweets that the club might have to renounce a couple of small cap holds. Obviously, if Leonard decides to go elsewhere, that wouldn’t be necessary.

As for the Heat, they had let Goran Dragic‘s camp know that they’d likely to need to move the point guard in order to complete the Butler acquisition, but that shouldn’t be necessary after all, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Still, as Marks points out (via Twitter), Miami will have to make an additional move to make sure it gets below the hard cap $138.9MM that applies to teams that acquire a player via sign-and-trade. Waiving and stretching Ryan Anderson‘s contract looks like the most logical path for the Heat.

We have more details in other stories on the Butler/Richardson aspect of this deal, as well as the Blazers’ Whiteside acquisition.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.