- Per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian, a couple of key subplots have emerged for the Trail Blazers during the team’s summer league minicamp. First, it’s an opportunity for Portland to get a first-hand look at rookies Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr. in an NBA practice. Moreover, both Wade Baldwin and Georgios Papagiannis are fighting for their NBA lives while Jake Layman looks to secure a more prominent role for next season.
Before DeMarcus Cousins agreed to join the defending-champion Warriors on a one-year, $5.3MM contract, the Trail Blazers and Pelicans discussed the possibility of a sign-and-trade deal that would have sent the star center to Portland, reports Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link). However, according to Haynes, the fact that Cousins and Jusuf Nurkic share the same agent was one roadblock in those talks.
Even if not for that issue, it would have been tricky for the Pelicans and Blazers to reach a deal that worked for both sides. Acquiring a player via sign-and-trade would have hard-capped the Blazers, who were already well over the cap, so they likely would have had to send at least one or two players to New Orleans. It’s not clear if talks progressed to the point where the two sides were discussing specific players.
Here’s more on the free agency decision that has practically made LeBron James‘ move to Los Angeles an afterthought tonight:
- Cousins had narrowed down his choices to Golden State and Boston before opting for the Warriors, according to Haynes (Twitter link). The Celtics could have comfortably matched Golden State’s offer and would have been a fascinating destination for Cousins — with LeBron out of the East, the C’s already look like a favorite to represent the conference in the Finals in 2019, so the team’s status as the frontrunner would have been cemented with Cousins in the mix.
- Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports takes a look at the Warriors‘ recruitment of Cousins, which was led by his USA Basketball teammates Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, along with GM Bob Myers. Cousins also had “positive phone calls” with head coach Steve Kerr, league sources tell Charania.
- The Warriors were initially reluctant to believe in Cousins’ interest, according to Charania, who adds that the big man also received interest from the Pelicans, Mavericks, and Wizards. Golden State’s agreement with Cousins came together so quickly that some members of the organization were “stunned” when word of the deal broke, tweets ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
- Speaking to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter links), Cousins called his decision to join the Warriors the “smartest move ever,” and said he’s still hoping to return from his Achilles injury for training camp. Reports tonight suggested the Dubs may be eyeing a December or January return to action for their latest acquisition.
- Cousins also told Spears that he received no significant contract offers when free agency began, but was prepared for that possibility due to his Achilles injury (Twitter link).
- While it’s not impossible that Cousins could end up hurting the Warriors more than he helps, the addition – combined with the Rockets’ loss of Trevor Ariza – appears to have further widened the gap between Golden State and the rest of the NBA, writes Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com in his breakdown of the deal.
The Trail Blazers have signed first-round pick Anfernee Simons, according to the team’s website.
Portland used the 24th overall pick on the 19-year-old Simons, who attended IMG Academy last year. The 6’4” Simons will receive approximately $1.8MM during his rookie year.
Simons could see playing time in his rookie season, even though the Trail Blazers just came to terms with free agent Seth Curry. Portland is still somewhat thin at the guard spots behind starters Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
JULY 6: Curry’s agreement with the Blazers is official, according to a press release from the team. “We expect Seth to be an impactful addition to our backcourt as his skill set will translate immediately,” president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said. “He is an elite shooter with the ability to play on or off the ball.”
JULY 2: Mavericks free agent guard Seth Curry has agreed to a two-year contract with the Trail Blazers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Curry will receive $2.75MM in the first year and have a player option on the second year, Wojnarowski adds.
Curry missed the entire 2017/18 season due to a stress fracture in his lower left leg. He underwent surgery in early February but has been medically cleared to play. He has participated in full basketball-related activities for over a month.
There’s a path for Curry to jump right into the rotation. Portland is currently thin at the guard spots behind starters Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. The team allowed Shabazz Napier, a rotation player last season, to become an unrestricted free agent after declining to give him a qualifying offer.
Curry enjoyed a breakout season in 2016/17 with Dallas, playing in 70 games (42 starts) and averaging 12.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 2.7 APG.
The Trail Blazers figure to be well over the cap for 2018/19, so they’ll need to use an exception to sign Curry. The mid-level seems likely — Curry’s deal would fit in the bi-annual exception, but using the BAE would hard-cap Portland for the year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Before he agreed to a two-year, $16MM deal with the Nets, free agent sharpshooter Joe Harris fielded competitive offers from rival suitors. However, he tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic that his priority was remaining in Brooklyn.
“I had some offers for longer-term deals, but ultimately from the get-go, I had basically said that I wanted to stay in Brooklyn and however we could come to an agreement on that,” Harris said.
Meanwhile, the Nets’ other noteworthy July 1 move involved reaching a contract agreement with Ed Davis, who will ink a one-year, $4.4MM contract with the club. According to Scotto, Davis received interest from the Warriors, Sixers, Thunder, and Trail Blazers before striking a deal with the Nets.
Here are a few more notes on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- The Nets are not actively shopping anyone on their roster in trade talks, a league source tells Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). That includes Jeremy Lin, who has a $12.5MM expiring contract in 2018/19 and will be part of a point guard rotation that also includes Spencer Dinwiddie and D’Angelo Russell.
- Within his report on Mario Hezonja‘s agreement with the Knicks, Marc Berman of The New York Post notes that the forward chose New York over seven other teams, including the runner-up Trail Blazers. “The main reason is David Fizdale. He sold him,” a source told Berman. “The goal is to be here long term and finish his career. He was a fan of the team growing up.” Hezonja’s deal significantly reduces the odds of Michael Beasley returning to the Knicks, Berman adds.
- Nets restricted free agent Milton Doyle has drawn interest from the Timberwolves and an Eastern Conference team, among others, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). A two-way player last year, Doyle could sign an offer sheet with another club, but Brooklyn would have the chance to match it.
Jazz forward Thabo Sefolosha should be fully cleared for basketball activities within six weeks, Tony Jones of the The Salt Lake Tribune tweets. Sefolosha underwent season-ending right knee surgery after appearing in 38 games. His status with the franchise remains cloudy. Sefolosha’s $5.25MM salary for next season becomes guaranteed if he’s still on the roster on Sunday.
In other news around the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder recently held a free-agent workout that included centers Willie Reed and Jeff Withey, according to Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. Reed played 39 games with the Clippers before he was thrown into the Blake Griffin blockbuster with the Pistons. He was traded to the Bulls shortly thereafter and then waived. Withey played nine games with the Mavericks last season. The cap-strapped Thunder will be seeking low-cost alternatives to fill out their bench.
- Salary-cap issues will force the Timberwolves to be frugal in free agency, the Associated Press reports. They’ll have to find some players on the market willing to team-friendly deals, perhaps for the veteran’s minimum, to fill out the bench, the report adds.
- Point guard Shabazz Napier played regularly for the Trail Blazers last season but they still decided to let him go rather than giving him a qualifying offer.
The Trail Blazers will not tender a qualifying offer to Pat Connaughton, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link). Rather than hitting the open market as a restricted free agent on Sunday, Connaughton will be unrestricted.
Connaughton, 25, emerged as a reliable rotation piece for Portland in 2017/18, appearing in all 82 of the team’s regular season games and averaging 18.1 minutes per contest. He chipped in 5.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.1 APG with a .423/.352/.841 shooting line.
The Trail Blazers issued a qualifying offer to Jusuf Nurkic, but have decided against doing so for Connaughton and Shabazz Napier, two players who saw regular minutes for the club last season.
Napier’s QO would have been worth $3.45MM, while Connaughton’s would have only been for $1.84MM. However, the cap-strapped Blazers already have $110MM+ in guaranteed money on their books for eight players, so a new deal for Nurkic could put them up against the tax line with several players still to sign. As such, Portland will be cautious about every dollar it spends, and may not have wanted to risk Napier and/or Connaughton accepting their qualifying offers.
The Trail Blazers will not extend a qualifying offer to point guard Shabazz Napier, making him an unrestricted free agent, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.
It’s somewhat surprising the Blazers would not make the qualifying offer for a rotation player, given it was a modest $3,452,308, Portland did add 19-year-old guard Anfernee Simons in the draft, so perhaps it feels Simons can step into that role. Portland is well over the cap and the decision to let Napier walk could also help it avoid the luxury-tax threshold.
Napier, who led the University of Connecticut to the 2014 championship, has also played for the Heat and Magic. He had his best season as a pro in his second year with Portland, averaging 8.7 PPG and 2.2 APG in 20.7 MPG while appearing in 74 games, including nine starts.
As for Beasley, while a return to the Knicks is possible, sources tell Berman that the Trail Blazers, Hawks, and Bucks are among the other teams that could have interest. The Warriors have also internally discussed the possibility of offering Beasley a minimum-salary deal, but it doesn’t look like they’ll do so, Berman adds.
- Coming off a big EuroLeague season, James Nunnally is re-testing the NBA market, according to international basketball reporter David Pick, who tweets that Nunnally worked out for the Trail Blazers and will also get a look from the Timberwolves.