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Heat Notes: Lowry, Crowder, Yurtseven, Jovic

August 3rd, 2022 at 6:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat point guard Kyle Lowry still won’t reveal the specifics of the family situation that caused him to miss nine games in January and February, and he tells Doug Smith of The Toronto Star that it hasn’t been fully resolved. Lowry said the issue continued to be a distraction even after he resumed playing.

“It’s definitely something that kind of derailed my whole season and kept me derailed for a long time,” Lowry said. “Still to this day, it’s still something I deal with every single day, I actually got a phone call just now about it. It’s life, life happens and you just have to continue to get better and focus on the things you can control and try to help as best you can because at the end of the day, I can’t do this or that, all I can do is go to people who can help me and hopefully I can help them and we can kind of work together and collaborate.”

Lowry was in Toronto today to take part in the Nick Nurse Foundation golf tournament. Even though he chose to leave the Raptors in free agency last summer, Lowry has remained friendly with his former coach.

“Nick’s a friend of mine and we got closer and closer and as the years went on we trusted each other more and more,” Lowry said. “To keep a relationship with a guy like him, obviously I’m here for a reason, he’s such a great man, he’s helped me in my career tremendously and all I can do is try to give back as much to him as he’s given to me.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Miami would be interested in bringing back versatile forward Jae Crowder, but there’s no easy way to match salaries in a trade with the Suns, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Crowder, who is entering the final year of his contract, raised some eyebrows this week when he tweeted, “Change is inevitable.. Growth is optional.!! I believe its time for a change… I wanna continue growing!” Although Crowder doesn’t specify that he’s talking about basketball, the message has led to speculation that he wants to play somewhere else.
Omer Yurtseven will have to improve defensively to earn regular playing time, per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Winderman adds that the Heat view Yurtseven as a backup to starting center Bam Adebayo, but he’ll have to compete with Dewayne Dedmon for those minutes.
First-round pick Nikola Jovic won’t play for the Serbian national team in the World Cup qualifier or EuroBasket, according to Winderman (Twitter link). Jovic will focus on preparing for Miami’s training camp, which starts in late September. Yurtseven is also expected to bypass international competitions with Turkey (Twitter link).

Raptors Sign Gabe Brown To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 3rd, 2022 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have signed rookie free agent forward Gabe Brown, the team announced today in a press release. According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Brown received an Exhibit 10 contract.

Brown, who declared for the draft this spring after spending four years at Michigan State, became a full-time starter for the Spartans as a senior in 2021/22, averaging 11.6 PPG and 3.8 RPG with a .382 3PT% in 36 games (28.9 MPG). His performance earned him a spot on the All-Big 10 Third Team.

Brown suited up for the Thunder’s Summer League team last month, recording 11.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .421/.370/1.000 shooting in four Las Vegas contests (21.8 MPG).

Oddly, previous reports indicated that Brown had reached contract agreements first with Oklahoma City and then with Denver. Either one or both of those reports were erroneous, or Brown has had one or two changes of heart this offseason as he weighed where to begin his professional career.

The Raptors now have 19 players under contract, with second-round pick Christian Koloko still unsigned. Given the team’s roster crunch, Brown doesn’t have a clear path to a spot on the regular season roster, but his Exhibit 10 deal would entitle him to a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate.

VanVleet, Siakam Will Likely Wait To Sign Extensions

August 2nd, 2022 at 6:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Raptors stars Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam could sign lucrative extensions this offseason but will likely to decide to wait, as Eric Koreen of The Athletic explains. VanVleet could sign a four-year contract extension worth approximately $114MM right now but might get more money down the road if he waits and remains productive. Beginning in October, Siakam could sign a three-year extension in excess of $125MM. However, Siakam — who has two years left on his current deal — could also get more by putting extension talks on the backburner.

Checking In On Remaining Restricted Free Agents

August 1st, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Of the players who finished last season on an NBA roster and didn’t have a contract for 2022/23, there are still dozens of unrestricted free agents on the open market. However, the number of restricted free agents is far smaller.

As our list of current free agents shows, there are just eight restricted free agents still unsigned — four who received standard qualifying offers and four who received two-way QOs.

We’re already a month into the 2022 free agent period, but it’s possible that some of these restricted free agents will remain on the market for another month or two. Let’s take a closer look at the RFAs still available…

Standard RFAs:

Miles Bridges (Hornets)
Jordan Nwora (Bucks)
Collin Sexton (Cavaliers)
Joe Wieskamp (Spurs)

It’s no surprise that Bridges remains unsigned. He was arrested just before free agency began and now faces multiple felony charges related to domestic violence. The Hornets will certainly be in no rush to re-sign him as the legal process plays out, and Bridges’ $7.9MM qualifying offer won’t expire until October 1, so he’ll be in no hurry to accept it either. If and when Bridges is back under contract, the NBA would have the option of placing him on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation.

The other three cases here look more like straightforward examples of how restricted free agency often works. In all likelihood, the Bucks, Cavaliers, and Spurs have made preliminary offers to Nwora, Sexton, and Wieskamp, respectively, and have encouraged them to explore the market to see if they can get a more lucrative offer sheet elsewhere. Until that happens, those teams are unlikely to bid against themselves by increasing their offers.

We know, for instance, that the Cavs have reportedly offered Sexton a three-year deal worth roughly $40MM. He’s believed to be seeking a salary closer to $20MM per year.

All three players would have the option of accepting their qualifying offers and heading into the season on a one-year contract, but that may be a more viable path for Sexton, who is coming off a lost season and has a QO worth $7.2MM, than for Nwora ($2.1MM). Wieskamp’s qualifying offer is also relatively modest ($1.8MM), but his NBA résumé is far more limited than Sexton’s or Nwora’s, so it’s unclear if he’ll get a better offer than that.

Two-way RFAs:

David Duke (Nets)
Malcolm Hill (Bulls)
David Johnson (Raptors)
Brodric Thomas (Celtics)

A report in early July suggested that Duke was hoping to earn a standard contract from the Nets, and following a Las Vegas Summer League in which he averaged 19.0 points per game in five appearances, there’s no reason to think his stance has changed. Brooklyn only has 13 players on standard contracts, so a promotion remains in play for Duke, but the team likely wants resolution on the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving sagas before locking in those back-of-the-roster spots.

Once Goran Dragic officially signs, the Bulls will have 15 players on standard guaranteed contracts and just one on a two-way deal, so they’d probably like to see Hill accept his two-way qualifying offer to fill that second slot.

It’s unclear what the Raptors‘ plans are for Johnson. The team has filled its two-way slots with new signees (Ron Harper Jr. and Jeff Dowtin) and there will be stiff competition for a spot on the 15-man regular season roster — the team already has 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, plus three with partial guarantees and second-rounder Christian Koloko still unsigned. We’ll see if Johnson gets a chance to vie for one of those roster spots.

There may be a cleaner path for Thomas to earn a place on the Celtics‘ 15-man roster. Only 12 of Boston’s regular season roster spots are accounted for so far, so Thomas could get the chance to compete to be the 13th or 14th man. The team has already filled both its two-way slots with new additions (JD Davison and Mfiondu Kabengele).

Contract Details: Hernangomez, Fontecchio, Rollins, Harris

August 1st, 2022 at 7:16am CST by Luke Adams

Juancho Hernangomez‘s one-year contract with the Raptors is fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. That full guarantee should put the veteran forward in a good position to earn a spot on the team’s 15-man regular season roster. Hernangomez’s deal is worth the veteran’s minimum, so he’ll earn a $2,298,385 salary while Toronto takes on a cap hit of $1,836,090.

Here are a few more notes on new contracts from around the NBA:

Simone Fontecchio‘s two-year, $6.25MM deal with the Jazz is fully guaranteed and was completed using a portion of the club’s mid-level exception. Fontecchio will earn $3,205,128 in 2022/23 and $3,044,872 in ’23/24.
Ryan Rollins‘ three-year contract with the Warriors is worth the minimum salary and is fully guaranteed for the first two seasons, as previously reported. The third year includes a partial guarantee worth $600K — that third year would become fully guaranteed if Rollins hasn’t been waived by June 28, 2024. Golden State used a portion of the taxpayer mid-level exception to complete the signing.
Kevon Harris‘ two-way contract with the Magic is for two years, Hoops Rumors has learned. Most two-way deals are for just one year, but Harris is the third player this offseason to sign a two-year two-way pact, joining Cole Swider (Lakers) and Vince Williams (Grizzlies).

Atlantic Notes: Achiuwa, Irving, Embiid, Sixers

July 30th, 2022 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Precious Achiuwa could be a strong candidate for Most Improved Player next season, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said in a recent appearance on the Rapcity Keleten-Nyugaton podcast (hat tip to Aaron Rose of All Raptors).

“Wait till this year because every time I see him this summer on the court it’s total focus, total intensity,” Nurse said. “I mean, something happened to him where he now understands what playing in the NBA is about and he is on a mission.”

The 22-year-old center got off to a rough start in his first season with Toronto, but he seemed like a different player after the All-Star break. He averaged 12.2 points per game over the last part of the season and shot 39% from three-point range.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

There may be a thaw in the relationship between Nets management and Kyrie Irving, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Lewis notes that owner Joe Tsai recently retweeted a post praising Irving after the paper reported that he plans to play the upcoming season in Brooklyn. Tsai retweeted another post related to the “NYC Point Gods” documentary that suggested Irving would have excelled in the old era of New York City playgrounds and added the word “truth.” Irving responded with a video of burning sage, which is used by Native Americans to get rid of negative energy.
Thumb and finger surgery prevented Sixers center Joel Embiid from playing for the French national team this summer, per Basket News. Former NBA player Boris Diaw, who serves as general manager for the French team, said Embiid is in the process of being registered as a player for the national team. “His request for naturalization has been accepted,” Diaw said. “We know that he’s still waiting for the French passport. When he obtains it, then he can start the process and apply for a FIBA license for the national team.” Embiid is expected to make his debut with France during the 2023 World Cup.
Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice examines the options for the Sixers‘ fifth starter and compares how the team would look with P.J. Tucker, Danuel House, Matisse Thybulle or De’Anthony Melton in a starting role alongside Embiid, James Harden, Tobias Harris, and Tyrese Maxey.

Raptors Waive Armoni Brooks

July 30th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by JD Shaw

4:00pm: The move is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

2:39pm: The Raptors are waiving shooting guard Armoni Brooks, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Brooks was only guaranteed $50K of his $1.75MM salary for next season, but that partial guarantee would’ve increased to $250K if he wasn’t waived on or before August 1.

Murphy expects Brooks to join another NBA team for training camp this fall. Brooks averaged 6.2 points per game in 41 outings with the Rockets last season, then was waived in February. He signed two 10-day deals with Toronto after that, later signing a two-year deal with the organization.

Brooks established himself as a sharpshooter during his first NBA stint in 2020/21, but he only shot 30% from three-point range last season. At 24 years old, he could certainly attract interest as the offseason moves on.

Brooks went undrafted in 2019 after spending four years at the University of Houston. The Raptors now have 16 players on standard contracts, plus two-way players Ron Harper Jr. and Jeff Dowtin. The team also hasn’t yet signed second-round pick Christian Koloko.

Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Durant, Knicks, Raptors

July 28th, 2022 at 10:47pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Various members of the NBA world have been weighing in since word spread earlier this week that the Celtics and Nets have been in conversation about a potential trade centered around current Brooklyn All-Star forward Kevin Durant and current Boston star wing Jaylen Brown.

Brown’s All-Star running mate in Boston, Jayson Tatum, shared his two cents on the matter earlier this week, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.

“I played with [Durant] during the Olympics,” Tatum said on Tuesday, attending the premiere of the new Showtime documentary ‘Point Gods.’ Durant, as an executive producer, was also in attendance, but did not discuss his future with assembled media.

“Obviously, he’s a great player, but that’s not my decision,” Tatum continued. “We got two new pieces [in Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari]… I love our team. I just go out there and play with my teammates. I don’t put that [general manager] hat on to make decisions.”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The aforementioned notion of the Nets and Celtics swapping Durant, Brown, and additional assets was explored by Jared Weiss, Jay King, and Alex Schiffer of The Athletic in a new roundtable.
The other big lingering line item that persists at this point in the 2022 NBA offseason is the fate of Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell. The 6’1″ swingman has long been floated as a possible fit for the Knicks, a star-hungry big market club with the contracts, future draft equity, and intriguing young talent to potentially swing a deal that the Utah front office may value. The Athletic’s Fred Katz and Mike Vorkunov experiment with a fascinating exercise by opting to stage a mock draft of New York’s most valuable trade chips, starting with RJ Barrett and the Knicks’ 2029 first-round pick.
The Knicks are not the only game in town when it comes to possibly acquiring Mitchell from Utah. Raptors team president Masai Ujiri and his Jazz front office counterpart Danny Ainge may appear at first blush to be particularly abrasive trade partners, doomed to haggle over picks and protections, opines Eric Koreen of The Athletic. However, Koreen notes that, because of the depth of Toronto’s young talent, the teams could wind up being particularly good fits for each other in a Mitchell transaction, provided Ujiri and Ainge can agree on the granular details of such an exchange.

Raptors Sign Juancho Hernangomez To One-Year Deal

July 28th, 2022 at 8:38am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 28: The Raptors have officially signed Hernangomez, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 26: Free agent forward Juancho Hernangomez is finalizing a one-year agreement with the Raptors, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Hernangomez has been on the open market since being waived by the Jazz on June 30. Utah released him before his $7.3MM salary for the 2022/23 season became guaranteed. While terms of the veteran’s new deal with Toronto aren’t yet known, it’s a safe bet it’ll be worth less than that — I’d expect a minimum-salary contract.

Hernangomez, 26, has flashed the ability to contribute as a stretch four over the course of his six NBA seasons, but didn’t stay in one place for long during the 2021/22 league year. He was traded from Minnesota to Memphis last August, then to Boston in September, to San Antonio in January, and to Utah in February.

In total, Hernangomez averaged 3.3 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 40 games (11.1 MPG) for three teams last season, posting a shooting line of .415/.348/.559. He’s perhaps most recognizable to many NBA fans for starring as Bo Cruz in the Netflix film Hustle.

The Raptors currently have 18 players under contract, with second-rounder Christian Koloko and Hernangomez likely to fill out the team’s 20-man offseason roster.

It’s possible that Hernangomez – like D.J. Wilson, Dalano Banton, Armoni Brooks, and Justin Champagnie – will get a partially guaranteed contract and will have to earn for a spot on the 15-man regular season roster.

Northwest Notes: Beverley, Mitchell, Lillard, Thunder

July 27th, 2022 at 8:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

After working to create a culture change in Minnesota last season, Patrick Beverley was looking forward to helping the Timberwolves take the next step. Although he was caught off guard by the team’s decision to send him to the Jazz in the Rudy Gobert trade, Beverley told Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston he wouldn’t call the move a surprise (video link).

“Surprised, no not in this business,” Beverley said. “Understood it. Never personal, always business. We did some great things in Minnesota. We kind of revamped the environment there. Gave the fans something to be happy about.”

Beverley brought a veteran presence to a young Wolves team that reached the playoffs for just the second time in the past 18 seasons. He hopes to fill a similar role for Utah, but admits that things are unpredictable in the midst of Donovan Mitchell trade rumors.

“We’ll see what happens in the next couple of weeks. It’s a lot going on right now,” Beverley said (video link). “We’ll see where the dust clears. Hopefully Donovan Mitchell stays and the team is competitive. If that’s the case we’re very excited.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Knicks are still in position to make the best offer for Mitchell, but Jazz CEO Danny Ainge has the advantage of being able to wait until someone meets his price, notes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Larsen examines the trade assets from the Hawks, Hornets, Heat, Kings, Raptors and Wizards – all rumored Mitchell suitors – to see what they could potentially offer.
Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard considers himself fully recovered from abdominal surgery in January, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. Lillard played 29 games last season before deciding to have the operation, but he admits that the pain had been bothering him for nearly five years. “I feel 100 percent healthy,” Lillard said. “I got a break from playing and going out there knowing I didn’t feel good, and the burden of, ‘We have to win. I have to perform well.’ That’s a little bit stressful. So the last seven-and-a-half, almost eight months without having to think about none of those things, it kind of cleared my mind. Physically, I feel great.”
Longtime Sixers executive Vince Rozman will join the Thunder as vice president of identification and intelligence, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.