Spurs Rumors

Goran Dragic Likely To Reach Buyout Deal With Spurs

The Spurs are expected to begin negotiations on a buyout agreement with newly-acquired guard Goran Dragic this week, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The Lakers and Warriors will be among the teams pursuing Dragic in free agency, sources tell Wojnarowski, along with the Clippers, Bucks, Bulls and Nets. Dallas was previously viewed as a frontrunner to sign the point guard, but the acquisition of Spencer Dinwiddie seemingly took the Mavericks out of the mix.

Dragic appears to be the top name on this year’s buyout market, and teams are confident that he remained in top shape during his long absence, Woj adds. After being dealt to the Raptors last offseason, Dragic played just five games before he and the team reached a mutual agreement that allowed him to work out on his own until he could be traded again.

San Antonio acquired Dragic, along with a 2022 second-round draft pick, shortly before Thursday’s trade deadline, sending Thaddeus Young and Drew Eubanks to Toronto in return.

Dragic, 35, is attractive to contenders because of his long history of success in the playoffs. He helped the Heat reach the NBA Finals in 2020 before being sidelined by plantar fasciitis.

Dragic currently has $6.1MM left to be paid on his $19.4MM contract, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN, although because the number is prorated it will decline each day. Whatever money Dragic gives up in San Antonio, he will presumably be able to replace when he signs with his new team.

Southwest Notes: White, Hernangomez, McCollum, Spurs

Spurs guard Derrick White was shocked by the team’s decision to trade him to the Celtics this week, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News writes. By trading White, San Antonio acquired Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a 2022 first-round pick (top-four protected), and the right to swap first-round picks with Boston in 2028 (top-one protected).

“The whole coaching staff, training staff, front office – I had a lot of love for everybody, all my teammates and everything,” he said. “So, I can’t really put into words how much I love all of them. It was hard for me, but I knew once I got here, it’s a new chapter and I am ready to get after it.”

White will add backcourt depth to a Celtics team that also traded Dennis Schröder on Thursday. He made his debut on Friday against Denver, recording 15 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • Pelicans center Willy Hernangomez has exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to ESPN’s Andrew Lopez (Twitter link). Hernangomez is expected to be available for the team’s game against San Antonio on Saturday. He originally entered protocols on February 3.
  • The Pelicans and Trail Blazers didn’t require any physicals in the trade that featured star guard CJ McCollum, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report tweets. ESPN’s Bobby Marks said on The Lowe Post that New Orleans waived McCollum’s physical (hat tip RealGM), so it’s still unclear if physicals were waived for all of the players involved in the deal. As Marks notes, it’s unusual for a team to waive a physical when the player has significant money left on his contract. McCollum will make $30.9MM this season, $33.3MM in 2022/23 and $35.8MM in 2023/24. He missed time due to a collapsed lung back in December.
  • The Spurs are entering a new phase of its rebuild, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. In addition to trading White, the team also made some other moves on Thursday, including sending veteran forward Thaddeus Young to Toronto. San Antonio currently ranks 12th in the Western Conference at 21-35.

Lowe’s Latest: Gasol, Bucks, Suns, Pacers, Kings, Sixers, More

With Brook Lopez sidelined indefinitely, the Bucks and center Marc Gasol, who is currently playing for Girona in Spain, had discussed the possibility of a possible late-season deal, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link). However, Lowe suggests that a union “does not appear to be in the cards” now that Milwaukee has acquired Serge Ibaka.

It’s worth noting that the Bucks have three open spots on their 15-man roster following the trade deadline, so there still could be room for Gasol down the road, and it’s not like he and Ibaka haven’t had success teaming up in the past — the two vets played key roles for the 2019 champion Raptors. Still, Milwaukee may be looking to address other positions with those open roster spots, and there’s no guarantee Gasol will look to return to the NBA when his season is over in Spain.

Here are a few more highlights from Lowe’s post-deadline roundup:

  • Sources confirmed to Lowe that the Suns and Pacers had brief discussions about Deandre Ayton and Domantas Sabonis, which was first reported by Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Fischer suggested the two teams might be exploring the idea of an offseason sign-and-trade involving Ayton, and Lowe agrees that the talks seem to have been just exploratory and informal, possibly aimed at the future rather than present. Indiana subsequently traded Sabonis to Sacramento, which could eliminate the possibility of any future deal with Phoenix for Ayton, but Lowe points out that the Suns’ willingness to consider shaking up their roster – even in the offseason – is noteworthy.
  • Before acquiring Sabonis, the Kings approached the Hawks about John Collins, but they didn’t discuss Tyrese Haliburton or De’Aaron Fox in that context, says Lowe.
  • Lowe expects the Sixers to explore the buyout market for a backup center, since there’s no guarantee that Paul Millsap will bounce back in Philadelphia and Charles Bassey is unproven.
  • The Spurs explored ways to move up in last year’s draft, according to Lowe, who notes that San Antonio has since gained more draft ammo to potentially revisit that idea going forward.
  • Lowe contends that Kristaps Porzingis should take his trade to the Wizards “as a huge slap in the face,” given the modest return the Mavericks received. As Lowe writes, Dallas appeared to be trying to gain more flexibility for future moves by taking back two (relatively) smaller contracts for Porzingis’ max deal, which could pay off down the road. But it “seems to be selling unthinkably low” on Porzingis, Lowe says.

Celtics Notes: White, Theis, Roster Openings, Pick Swap

Speaking to reporters on Friday about the Celtics‘ deadline-day trade for Derrick White, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said the team has thought for years that the longtime Spurs guard would fit with Boston’s best players (Twitter link via Keith Smith of Spotrac). Stevens referred to White as a strong defender who also “makes the right play on offense over and over” (Twitter link via Jared Weiss of The Athletic).

Confirming a previous report that the acquisition of Daniel Theis came together quickly right before the deadline, Stevens said the Celtics were happy to get two players who will be under contract for multiple years to come (Twitter link via Weiss). Both White and Theis are under team control through 2025.

“Neither move was a short-term deal,” Stevens said (Twitter link via Smith). “When trading away two really good perimeter players, we had to get perfect fits. We want to maintain the stretch we’re on, but this is about the long-term. We know these guys can be on the floor in a seven-game playoff series.”

The Celtics’ series of trades opened up five spots on their 15-man roster, so Stevens will remain busy after the deadline as he looks to fill those openings.

According to Weiss (Twitter link), Stevens expects to sign a couple players as soon as today, telling reporters that the front office is looking for “skilled” players, with an eye on outside shooting. He later said during an appearance on the Toucher and Rich radio show in Boston that his immediate focus is on frontcourt players (Twitter link via Weiss).

Here are a few more notes on the Celtics:

  • The 2028 first-round pick swap the Celtics gave the Spurs in the White deal will be top-one protected, sources tell Brian Robb of MassLive.com (Twitter link). In other words, if Boston gets the No. 1 overall pick in ’28, San Antonio won’t be able to swap first-rounders, but otherwise the Spurs will have that option.
  • Asked today about the decision to give up a 2028 pick swap in addition to a lightly-protected 2022 first-round pick for White, Stevens acknowledged that risk, but expressed a belief it was worth it. That can go either way, right? That’s the one you lose sleep over for a couple of days,” Stevens said (Twitter link via Weiss). “But I think the analysis of that is we’ve got some really good players and we’ve got a person who fits in perfectly with them.”
  • In a story for The Athletic, Weiss and Jay King assessed the Celtics’ deadline moves. Weiss doesn’t think the deals made Boston a legit title contender in the East, but says the gap between the C’s and the East’s top teams has gotten smaller.
  • In his own breakdown of the Celtics’ trades, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston acknowledges there’s no guarantee the roster changes will make the team better right away, but notes that Stevens has proven he’s certainly not risk-averse in his new front office role.

Mavericks Notes: Dragic, Porzingis, Bertans, Dinwiddie

Asked on Thursday night whether the Mavericks will go shopping on the buyout market, general manager Nico Harrison said he believes the team’s roster is “set,” as Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News tweets.

Dallas has long been viewed as a potential landing spot for buyout candidate Goran Dragic, but the team’s acquisition of Spencer Dinwiddie and Harrison’s post-deadline comments suggest a pursuit of the Slovenian may no longer be in the cards, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

According to Marc Stein (Twitter link), Dragic and the Spurs may take a little time to negotiate a buyout agreement. If and when the veteran point guard becomes available, he’ll likely have suitors who are able to offer him a more significant role than Dallas, Stein notes.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

  • Mavericks owner Mark Cuban explained that his team was willing to trade Kristaps Porzingis to Washington on Thursday because the deal helped address two weak spots on the roster, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “I think KP’s an incredible talent. But we needed that shooter [Davis Bertans] and we needed another ball handler [Dinwiddie] who could create a shot, and unfortunately that was the only way we were going to get them,” Cuban said. “It was that simple — getting two guys who fill roles that we really needed, and the fact that we have played OK without KP. But I think that doesn’t take anything away from KP being a great talent, and I actually think he’s going to be better with the Wizards than he was with us.”
  • Mavericks star Luka Doncic described the Porzingis trade as “shocking,” but stressed that he trusts the front office to do what’s best for the team, writes ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “Obviously, we’re going to miss KP,” Doncic said. “We were building something great here. It didn’t obviously work out. I wish him the best, and we’ve got two new guys who are welcome. Bertans is a great shooter. Dinwiddie can put the ball on the floor and he can score. The NBA is a business.”
  • In case you missed it, the Mavericks are set to officially lock up Dorian Finney-Smith to a four-year contract extension. Multiple reports have pegged the value of Finney-Smith’s new deal at $52MM, while others have said it’ll be worth $55MM. If the extension includes incentives, there would be a difference between the base value and the maximum value, which could explain the discrepancy between those reported figures.

Celtics Trade Richardson, Langford, First-Round Pick To Spurs For Derrick White

10:11pm: The trade is now official, according to a press release from the Celtics. White heads to Boston, while the Spurs acquire Richardson, Langford, the Celtics’ 2022 first-round pick (top-four protected), and the conditional right to swap first-round picks with Boston in 2028.


12:40pm: The Celtics are trading Josh Richardson to the Spurs in a deal for Derrick White, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) that the Celtics are including a first-round pick in the trade. That pick will be Boston’s top-four protected 2022 first-rounder, a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).

Himmelsbach tweets that Romeo Langford will also be headed to San Antonio. In addition, the Spurs will have the ability swap 2028 first-round picks with Boston, sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link).

White, now in his fifth season, is averaging 14.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.0 SPG, and 0.9 BPG through 49 games (30.3 MPG). The 27-year-old is also one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders. White’s big weakness is an inconsistent outside shot, shooting just 31.4% from three-point range.

However, he’s a good finisher inside the arc, making 51.9% of his two-pointers and 86.9% of his free throws, both very respectable for a guard. He’s also a heady passer and driver on top of being a premier defender. White’s addition further bolster’s Boston’s third-ranked defense, and the team will become an absolute menace on that end of the court.

White makes $15.2MM this season and is under contract through 2024/25, making him a potentially long-term addition as president Brad Stevens builds the roster around stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Boston currently sits at 30-25 after winning six straight, No. 7 in the East.

As Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets, the Celtics plan to absorb White’s contract into their Evan Fournier traded player exception, which is worth $17.1MM. Doing so will create a new TPE worth $11.2MM for Richardson. Smith notes that could change, pending other moves, but that’s the plan for now. John Hollinger of The Athletic first reported that creating a new TPE for Richardson was a possibility (via Twitter).

San Antonio obtains a stunning array of assets for White. I value him highly and think the Celtics have improved significantly in the short-term, but they gave up an awful lot to get him. The first-round pick this season is almost certain to convey, and depending on how the rest of this season plays out, there’s even a chance it could be a late lottery pick, although Boston has played outstanding basketball since the start of January. The 2028 pick swap could also be very valuable, but that’s far down the line and foolish to speculate about at this juncture.

Richardson, 28, was in his first season with Boston after being acquired via trade in the offseason. The 40th overall pick of the 2015 draft by Miami, Richardson had been a valuable two-way contributor for the Heat before being traded multiple times the past few years, spending the 2019/20 season with the Sixers and last season with the Mavs. He’d been a bit disappointing for both of those clubs, but is performing well this season, averaging 9.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.5 APG on .443/.397/.859 shooting in a reserve role (44 games, 24.7 MPG).

San Antonio also gets a buy-low candidate in Langford, the 14th overall pick of the 2019 draft. Still just 22, Langford was a highly touted prospect who struggled to break Boston’s rotation. Now in his third season, he’s averaging 4.7 PPG and 2.4 RPG through 44 games (16.5 MPG). As a third-year former first-round pick, Langford is eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer, although it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Spurs take a wait-and-see approach, as they’d still hold his rights as a restricted free agent in the summer of 2023.

Raptors, Spurs Swap Thaddeus Young, Goran Dragic

2:22pm: The Raptors have issued a press release officially announcing the trade.


10:51am: The Raptors and Spurs have agreed to a trade that will send forward Thaddeus Young to Toronto in exchange for point guard Goran Dragic, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Charania (via Twitter), big man Drew Eubanks and the Pistons’ 2022 second-round pick are also headed to Toronto in the deal, with the Raptors sending San Antonio their 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected). That pick would be top-13 protected in 2023 if it doesn’t change hands this season, and would turn into two future second-rounders if it doesn’t convey in ’23.

The Raptors had been shopping Dragic and draft capital for much of the season as they looked to acquire a player who could step into their rotation. Dragic, who was part of the return in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade last summer, appeared in just five games with Toronto before leaving the team for personal reasons.

In Young, Toronto gets a tough, playoff-tested veteran who – like Dragic – was a throw-in for salary-matching purposes in an offseason sign-and-trade, having been sent from Chicago to San Antonio in the DeMar DeRozan deal. Young had a nice year in Chicago in 2020/21, averaging 12.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 4.3 APG in 68 games (24.3 MPG), but wasn’t part of the Spurs’ plans and hasn’t played much this season.

Eubanks, 25, could also compete for minutes in Toronto after spending the first four years of his NBA career in San Antonio. He has averaged 4.7 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 49 games (12.1 MPG) this season.

[UPDATE: Raptors to waive Eubanks]

Young has an expiring $14.2MM contract, while Eubanks is earning the minimum this season, with a non-guaranteed minimum salary for 2022/23 before he becomes eligible for free agency. The Raptors will create some extra breathing room below the luxury tax line by swapping Dragic’s $19.4MM expiring deal for those two players.

Meanwhile, the Spurs – who have historically been quiet at the trade deadline – have now completed three in-season deals in 2021/22. Their goal in this deal was to continue stockpiling draft assets, so Dragic almost certainly won’t remain on the roster.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter) reports that Dragic and the Spurs are expected to negotiate a buyout, with the Mavericks, Bucks, Bulls, and Clippers among his potential suitors. Dallas is believed to be the frontrunner, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca and Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links).

The Raptors have an opening on their 15-man roster, so they won’t have to waive a player to officially finalize the trade. They’ll also create a trade exception worth the difference between Dragic’s and Young’s salaries ($5.25MM).

Spurs, Hornets Discussing Jakob Poeltl, P.J. Washington

The Spurs and Hornets have discussed a possible trade that would send center Jakob Poeltl to Charlotte, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

League sources tell Scotto that the proposed deal would see San Antonio acquire Hornets forward P.J. Washington, rookie big man Kai Jones, and a first-round pick. However, the two sides are haggling over the possible inclusion of that draft pick, says Scotto.

Charlotte has long been in the market for a center and is one of the many teams that have been linked to Poeltl. Toronto and Chicago were also mentioned as potential suitors for the big man leading up to the deadline, and Scotto says the Mavericks have expressed interest too.

Poeltl has emerged as a two-way force this season, averaging a career-high 13.1 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 45 games (28.8 MPG). He’s also San Antonio’s top rim protector, with 1.7 BPG.

The Spurs, meanwhile, have been one of the league’s busiest teams in the last month as they look to collect draft assets and young talent. According to Scotto, San Antonio considered drafting Jones at No. 12 last July before ultimately opting for Joshua Primo. Presumably, the Spurs are still high on Jones despite the fact that he hasn’t shown much yet at the NBA level, logging just 46 minutes across 16 games.

Washington has been solid again this season for Charlotte, averaging 9.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG on .446/.386/.729 shooting, but has seen his role reduced. He’s coming off the bench and is averaging a career-low 24.6 minutes per game after averaging 30+ MPG in each of his first two NBA seasons.

Jazz Acquire Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Juan Hernangomez In Three-Team Trade

7:54pm: The three-team trade is now official, the Jazz, Blazers and Spurs announced.


2:24pm: The Jazz are sending Memphis’ 2022 second-round pick to Portland in the trade and will send a 2027 second-rounder to San Antonio, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Utah has already traded away its own 2027 second-rounder, so the pick going to San Antonio will likely be the least favorable of Oklahoma City’s, Houston’s, Indiana’s, and Miami’s ’27 second-rounders. The Jazz previously acquired that pick from the Thunder in the 2021 offseason.


1:13pm: The Jazz, Spurs, and Trail Blazers have reached an agreement on a three-team trade, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski, Utah will acquire Nickeil Alexander-Walker from Portland and Juan Hernangomez from San Antonio. The Spurs will receive Tomas Satoransky and a second-round pick, while the Blazers will get Joe Ingles, Elijah Hughes, and a second-round pick. Both second-rounders will be coming from the Jazz, Woj adds (via Twitter).

Even before Ingles went down with a season-ending ACL tear, the Jazz had been exploring the market to see if they could find an upgrade on the wing using his expiring contract and a draft pick. Following the injury, Ingles’ value dipped, and Utah apparently decided none of the options available for the forward’s expiring deal and a first-round pick were worth moving forward on.

Instead, the Jazz will make a move that sees them sacrifice a pair of future second-round selections – rather than a first-rounder – for two healthy players, while reducing their projected tax bill in the process. Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) estimates $11MM in tax savings. Utah should also create a new trade exception worth nearly $10MM by taking Hernangomez into an existing TPE.

Alexander-Walker, a third-year guard, had a promising sophomore season in 2020/21, but has struggled to score efficiently this season, averaging 12.8 PPG on .375/.311/.722 shooting in 50 games (26.3 MPG). He has spent most of the season in New Orleans, having been sent to Portland on Monday in the CJ McCollum trade. The 23-year-old has a $3.3MM salary this season and will make $5MM next season before becoming eligible for restricted free agency.

Hernangomez has had some success in the past as a stretch four, but has played poorly in limited minutes this season, putting up 1.1 PPG and 1.7 RPG on 21.2% shooting in 23 games (6.4 MPG). He was traded from Boston to San Antonio in last month’s three-team Bryn Forbes deal. Hernangomez is essentially on an expiring contract, since his $7.4MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed.

From San Antonio’s perspective, the deal is about picking up an extra draft asset. Neither Hernangomez nor Satoransky is in the team’s long-term plans, so the Spurs were rewarded for their willingness to add to this season’s payroll by taking on a slightly bigger contract (Satoransky has a $10MM expiring salary).

The Blazers, meanwhile, continue to wheel and deal, agreeing to their third trade in the last week. It appears they weren’t particularly high on Alexander-Walker, choosing to flip him right away in a deal that clears another $5MM off their books for 2022/23 and nets them another second-round pick.

Both Ingles and Hughes will be free agents this offseason. Ingles spoke last week about remaining in Utah to rehab his knee injury even if he were traded and said he’d be interested in eventually re-signing with the Jazz (Twitter links via Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune).

[RELATED: Joe Ingles Has “No Doubt” He’ll Come Back From ACL Tear]

Despite the fact that Satoransky, Alexander-Walker, and Hernangomez were recently traded, the NBA’s rules don’t prevent them from being moved again right away, since they’re not being aggregated with a second player for salary-matching purposes in this deal.

From Portland’s perspective, Satoransky’s salary is being used to match Ingles’ $13MM cap charge, with Alexander-Walker’s salary not required for matching purposes (the Blazers will create a trade exception worth his $3.3MM cap hit), since Hughes can be acquired using a minimum salary exception. San Antonio is trading Hernangomez on his own for Satoransky.

Trade Rumors: Harden, Simmons, Barnes, Dragic, Fournier, Hawks

A number of NBA reporters have expressed skepticism that a James Harden/Ben Simmons mega-deal will come to fruition this week, citing sources who say it almost certainly won’t happen. However, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst remains bullish on the possibility of the Nets and Sixers figuring something out before Thursday’s trade deadline.

[RELATED: Sixers, Nets Engaged In Trade Talks On Tuesday]

Appearing on ESPN’s Greeny with Mike Greenberg (video link), Windhorst said the two teams are “absolutely” talking and negotiating possible terms, and suggested Harden would welcome a deal.

“Yesterday, the 76ers were out looking for other moves, talking to other teams about other moves – moving players, opening roster spots – leading those teams to believe that they were getting ready to make the (Harden/Simmons) deal,” Windhorst said. “They have swapped offers, and really right now it’s about haggling (over) the ancillary parts.

“Now, does that mean it’s absolutely going to get done by tomorrow? No, I can’t say that. I’m not sitting in the room. It’s complicated. … But they are in the ‘deal zone’ right now, and so I am leaning toward this probably happening. I don’t want to guarantee it or anything, but I think we’re headed in that direction.”

In an appearance of his own on Greenberg’s show, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link) cast doubt on his colleague’s reporting.

“I try not to do the prediction business because you follow the news where it leads,” Wojnarowski said when asked about the likelihood of a Harden/Simmons swap. “But right now, there’s no negotiation going on between Philadelphia and Brooklyn. The trade deadline is tomorrow at 3:00, it can change. But the idea that they’re going back and forth that’s been surmised by some, I don’t believe that to be accurate. … I think, barring a flurry of negotiations and activity that hasn’t happened yet, right now James Harden is likely to be with the Nets.”

Here are a few more trade rumors from across the NBA:

  • Although the Kings continue to explore potential trades involving forward Harrison Barnes, they’ve told teams they’re not interested in packages heavy on future assets, per Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). Sacramento remains focused on competing for the playoffs this season and would want players that could help right away.
  • After a report on Tuesday indicated New York has shown interest in acquiring expiring contracts, Mannix suggests the Knicks could “jump in the mix” for Raptors point guard Goran Dragic. However, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) says Toronto doesn’t see Evan Fournier as a fit. The Knicks continue to shop Fournier’s long-term contract around, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday.
  • Grange also reports that the Spurs have rebuffed the Raptors‘ interest in center Jakob Poeltl and are seeking more than just a mid first-round pick and expiring salary in exchange for Poeltl.
  • The Hawks have been frequently mentioned in trade rumors in recent weeks, with players like John Collins and Danilo Gallinari cited as candidates to be on the move. However, a person familiar with the situation told Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that, as of Tuesday night, there was about a 90% chance that the Hawks would simply stand pat this week.