- Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has the details on a couple trades that went down on draft night, reporting that the Rockets bought the No. 52 overall pick from the Jazz for $1.5MM and the Trail Blazers sent the Kings $1.5MM in their deal for Gary Trent Jr.‘s draft rights (Twitter links).
The first domino of the NBA offseason fell tonight with the Clippers sending Austin Rivers to the Wizards for Marcin Gortat. As we wait to see what other moves the offseason brings, let’s take a look at some news and notes from around the league:
- The Wolves will not tender Marcus Georges-Hunt a qualifying offer, Michael Scotto of The Atlantic tweets. Georges-Hunt, who played in 42 games for Minnesota last season, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Glenn Robinson, who will hit the unrestricted free agent market, has changed representatives, leaving CAA and signing with a group of independent agents. He’ll be represented by the team of Jelani Floyd, Daniel Poneman, Mike Naiditch, and E.J. Kusnyer, according to Kevin O’ Connor of the Ringer (Twitter link).
- NBA.com’s David Aldridge isn’t surprised that the Wizards dealt Gortat, tweeting that Gortat and Wall were “oil and water.” The scribe adds that Washington is now in need of a big man and he speculates that Nerlens Noel could be a fit in D.C.
- The Kings like Aaron Gordon, but view him as a power forward, the same position as Marvin Bagley, their top selection in this year’s draft, James Ham of NBC Sports writes. Ham adds that it’s unlikely Sacramento chases the 22-year-old.
The Kings are interested in signing restricted free agent Jabari Parker, though their level of interest depends on Parker’s asking price, James Ham of NBC Sports California writes.
Since coming into the league, Parker has torn the ACL in his left knee twice — once in 2014 and again in 2017. Ham notes that the Bucks may be preparing for life without Parker, someone who was once seen as a franchise cornerstone.
Milwaukee can match any offer Parker signs, so finding the right deal could be tricky for the Kings, as the Bucks would likely not let Parker go free on a low-risk deal.
Sacramento will also kick tires on Mario Hezonja, as the former No. 5 overall hits the free agency market. The wing never lived up to his draft status, mixing in moments of high-potential with mostly uninspiring play. Orlando declined to pick up his fourth-year option, meaning he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The lack of salary cap space around the NBA this offseason has resulted in a substantial uptick in veterans exercising player options. In 2016, just three players picked up those options, while five followed suit in 2017. So far in 2018, 16 players have elected to opt into their contracts for 2018/19, and Spurs swingman Danny Green is expected to increase that number to 17.
Player option decisions are due by June 29, this Friday, and there are still several noteworthy decisions to come. Here’s a quick breakdown of the ones we’re still waiting on:
LeBron James, Cavaliers ($35,607,968): While it seems like a lock that James would opt out to reach free agency, exercising his option makes more sense if he wants to join certain over-the-cap teams, as we explained here. I still expect LeBron to opt out, but if he picks up this option, he’ll likely be doing so with a specific trade destination in mind.- DeAndre Jordan, Clippers ($24,119,025): Jordan is unlikely to get a $24MM starting salary in free agency, but if he could get a three- or four-year contract with an average annual value of $15-20MM, that might be preferable to opting in. His decision will have a huge impact on the Clippers’ offseason, since the club would be well over the cap with Jordan’s salary on its books.
- Paul George, Thunder ($20,703,384): Of all the options on this list, George’s looks like the easiest call. Even if he wants to stay with the Thunder, he’s more likely to opt out and sign a new deal that starts at his max, $30.3MM. This option is a virtual lock to be declined.
- Enes Kanter, Knicks ($18,622,514): Picking up the option is probably the right move for Kanter, who wouldn’t get an $18MM+ salary on the open market, but he has talked about opting out. As in Jordan’s case, turning down the option could mean accepting a lesser salary in 2018/19 in exchange for greater long-term security.
- Thaddeus Young, Pacers ($13,764,045): Young is said to be strongly considering declining his option, and he’s another player who could seek a longer-term deal that increases his overall payday. For example, a new three-year, $30MM contract might appeal more to Young than finishing out a one-year, $13MM+ deal.
- Garrett Temple, Kings ($8,000,000): Temple is coming off a solid year in Sacramento, but he’s 32 years old and isn’t a starting point guard, so opting in for an $8MM guarantee appears to be the right call.
- Joffrey Lauvergne, Spurs ($1,656,092): Lauvergne is reportedly considering turning down his option. If he does so, there’s little downside — he’d simply have to find another minimum salary offer in order to match his option salary. The big man may not want to risk following in the footsteps of former Spur David Lee, who declined a minimum-salary player option last summer and then didn’t sign another NBA contract, but at age 26, Lauvergne should a safe bet to receive an offer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The signing of Dwyane Wade just before the start of the season led to jealousy in the Cavaliers‘ locker room, according to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert were most affected, with Smith fearing Wade would take his starting spot and Shumpert believing Wade would cut into his playing time. Wade did start briefly, before asking to be moved to a bench role. Injuries limited Shumpert to just 14 games before he was traded to the Kings in February.
- In exchange for sending Gary Trent Jr.‘s draft rights to the Trail Blazers, the Kings will receive either the Timberwolves’ or Lakers’ 2019 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable), the Heat’s 2021 second-round pick, and cash, according to Sactown Royalty (Twitter link).
Undrafted rookie Cameron Reynolds has agreed to sign a free agent deal with the Kings, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
While Charania doesn’t provide any additional details on the agreement between Reynolds and the Kings, the fact that he distinguishes it from a Summer League deal suggests that the former Tulane wing should be on Sacramento’s training camp roster in the fall.
In his final college season in 2017/18, Reynolds averaged 15.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 36.0 minutes per contest for Tulane. Although his three-point numbers took a little dip from 2016/17, he still made 2.0 threes per game at a rate of 35.3%.
Any contract Reynolds signs with the Kings can’t be made official until the new league year begins in July.
The Trail Blazers have agreed to acquire Gary Trent Jr. in a trade with the Kings after Sacramento selected him with the 37th overall pick, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the Kings will receive a pair of future second-round picks from Portland in exchange for Trent. The Blazers will also send cash to Sacramento, per the NBA’s official announcement.
Trent, 19, made an impact as a shooter during his lone season at Duke. He connected on better than 40% of his long-range shots while averaging 14.5 points per game. He could provide another weapon in an already high-scoring Blazers’ backcourt.
While the Kings were linked to Michael Porter Jr. and Luka Doncic at various times throughout the pre-draft process, the team appears to be locked in on Marvin Bagley III with the No. 2 pick.
After ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area, among others, indicated earlier this afternoon that Bagley was looking more and more like the Kings’ man at No. 2, a slew of other reliable reporters have corroborated that news.
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Marc Stein of The New York Times, Sam Amick of USA Today, and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports have all reported that the Kings are zeroed in on Bagley with the second overall pick (all four Twitter links).
It has long been assumed that the Suns will draft Deandre Ayton with the No. 1 pick, so we now have a good idea of which two players will come off the board first tonight. Things could get interesting at No. 3, where teams may look to move up to snag Doncic, and at No. 4, a pick which has been mentioned in trade rumors for weeks.
As for the Kings, assuming they make it official with Bagley, they’ll head into the 2018/19 season with their top two long-term building blocks in the frontcourt – Bagley and Harry Giles – having not yet appeared in a single NBA game.
The Mavericks, Bulls, Cavaliers, and Clippers are among the teams still exploring the possibility of moving up in the draft lottery, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Wojnarowski adds that the Sixers‘ pick (No. 10) is in play for teams targeting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Wojnarowski currently believes that Deandre Ayton (Suns), Marvin Bagley III (Kings), Luka Doncic (Hawks), Jaren Jackson Jr., Mohamed Bamba (Mavericks), and Trae Young (Magic) are the most likely selections (Twitter link). Interestingly, the Grizzlies are the only team Wojnarowski doesn’t mention in his rundown, suggesting the No. 4 pick is still the most likely selection at the top to be traded.
If the top six plays out like that and Chicago doesn’t trade up, the Bulls would likely opt for Wendell Carter Jr. over Michael Porter Jr., tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
Here are several more rumors worth passing along as draft night nears…
- Kings beat reporter James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link) is also getting the vibe out of Sacramento that Marvin Bagley III is the club’s likely choice at No. 2.
- Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link) is hearing some buzz linking Zhaire Smith to the Sixers at No. 10.
- Although the Heat are exploring opportunities to trade into the first round of tonight’s draft, it’s hard to imagine the club completing a deal for a first-round pick unless it can shed a veteran salary, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
- The Suns, who hold Miami’s pick at No. 16, are eyeing Donte DiVincenzo, Zhaire Smith, Jalen Brunson, Aaron Holiday, Lonnie Walker, Troy Brown, Elie Okobo, and Landry Shamet at that spot, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link).
- NBA teams have been impressed with Michael Porter Jr. in interviews, but the club that picks him will have to be “ultra-cautious” with his health, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, who suggests (via Twitter) that sitting Porter for a good chunk of 2018/19 is a real possibility.