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Pacers Sign Tyrese Haliburton To Rookie Scale Max Extension

July 6th, 2023 at 1:20pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: The Pacers have officially Haliburton to his maximum-salary rookie scale extension, the team announced today.

The contract doesn’t feature a player option, but does have a 15% trade kicker, according to Tony East of SI.com (Twitter link), who confirms that a spot on any of the three All-NBA teams next season will bump Haliburton up to the full 30% max.

JUNE 30: Point guard Tyrese Haliburton is signing a five-year, rookie scale max extension with the Pacers, agents Dave Spahn and Aaron Mintz tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

As a designated rookie, Haliburton will earn at least 25% of the 2024/25 salary cap, which is when his extension will officially kick in. However, Wojnarowski suggests the contract will feature Rose rule language that could boost the value to 30% of the cap over five years.

To receive the 30% max, Haliburton will have to meet one of three performance criteria next season: All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year, or MVP. If he earns one of those honors and the cap increases by 10% in ’24/25, Haliburton’s deal would be worth $260MM.

The 23-year-old averaged 20.7 PPG, 10.4 APG, 3.7 RPG and 1.6 SPG on an excellent .490/.400/.871 shooting line in 56 games (33.6 MPG) in ’22/23, earning his first All-Star nod in the process. The former first-round pick just finished his third season, making him eligible for a rookie scale extension.

Several draft analysts had Haliburton high on their boards, but he wound up falling to the Kings at No. 12 overall in 2020. He played very well in his stint with Sacramento, but his fit with fellow point guard De’Aaron Fox was less than perfect, particularly defensively, so the Kings memorably traded him in February 2022 for a package headlined by big man Domantas Sabonis.

The deal has worked out well for both teams. Sabonis helped the Kings break their record-long playoff drought, while Haliburton has shined in a featured role with Indiana.

Advanced stats nearly universally say Haliburton has been the top player from the 2020 draft class through three seasons. His efficiency and excellent decision-making stand out.

The 23-year-old only averaged 2.5 turnovers per game last season, good for a 4.15-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio – an top-tier mark. Indiana went 28-28 with him in the lineup, versus 7-19 without him.

The Pacers are looking to take a step forward in ’23/24, which will be the final year of Haliburton’s rookie deal. They agreed to two-year, $45MM contract with Bruce Brown, who helped the Nuggets win their first championship in June, and have their eyes set on the playoffs.

Nets Officially Trade Patty Mills To Rockets

July 6th, 2023 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: The pick the Nets received in the trade is their own 2024 second-rounder with top-55 protection, reports Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Houston acquired Brooklyn’s 2024 second-rounder in a prior trade and will retain it if it lands between 31-55 next June.

JULY 6: The Nets and Rockets have officially completed their trade sending guard Patty Mills to Houston, according to a pair of press releases from the clubs.

Along with Mills, Houston acquired the Bucks’ 2028 second-round pick. The Rockets sent a protected future second-rounder to Brooklyn. While the exact details on that pick aren’t known, it’ll have top-55 protection, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

Mills will only be a Rocket temporarily. He’s being flipped to the Thunder as part of Houston’s Dillon Brooks sign-and-trade acquisition, as Adrian Wojnarowski first reported over the weekend.

Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) suggests Oklahoma City will be receiving three second-round picks as part of its deal for Mills, though we’re still waiting for clarity on the full terms of that trade agreement. According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Rockets will actually send two second-round picks to Oklahoma City and will amend the terms of a previously traded second-rounder.

A veteran combo guard who will turn 35 next month, Mills was no longer a major part of the Nets’ rotation last season — his 14.3 minutes per game represented his lowest average since the 2012/13 season. He averaged 6.2 points and 1.4 assists in 40 appearances, with a shooting line of .411/.366/.833.

“Patty was an exemplary representative of the Nets during his two years in Brooklyn, both for his contributions on the court and his impact in the community,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “We thank Patty for all he has brought to our organization and wish him and Alyssa nothing but the best in their next chapter.”

Mills is earning $6.8MM on an expiring contract in 2023/24. By acquiring him using cap space and using him as a salary-matching piece in a subsequent deal, the Rockets will be able to preserve a bigger chunk of cap room before eventually abiding by salary-matching rules to go over the cap in their sign-and-trade for Brooks. That deal is expected to involve four or five teams, including the Grizzlies and Hawks — as noted above, the full details aren’t yet known.

It’s not clear if the Thunder plan to hang onto Mills once they acquire him. If they cut him, he’d be eligible to sign with any team besides Houston (including Brooklyn).

Aaron Holiday Signs One-Year Contract With Rockets

July 6th, 2023 at 12:32pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 10: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 6: Aaron Holiday is signing a one-year contract with the Rockets, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported earlier today that the Hornets and Rockets were among the teams interested in the free agent guard.

Holiday spent his first three NBA seasons with the Pacers, the team that selected him 23rd overall in the 2018 draft. He was sent to the Wizards two years ago as part of the massive five-team deal that saw Russell Westbrook head to the Lakers, and was later sent to the Suns at the 2022 trade deadline for cash.

Phoenix chose not to give Holiday a qualifying offer last summer in order to make him a restricted free agent, and he wound up signing a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum with the Hawks. Kelly Iko of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the combo guard will once again be on a minimum-salary contract.

The Rockets were on the lookout for guard depth after trading TyTy Washington and Josh Christopher (to different teams) and releasing Daishen Nix, Iko adds (Twitter link).

Holiday, 26, appeared in 63 games for the Hawks in 2022/23, but his role was quite limited, averaging career lows in points (3.9) and assists (1.4) in 13.4 minutes per contest. The 6’0″ guard is a 37.7% career three-point shooter and converted 36 of his 88 attempts last season (40.9%).

Heat Trade Victor Oladipo To Thunder

July 6th, 2023 at 12:24pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 6: The Heat have officially traded Oladipo to the Thunder along with Miami’s own second-round picks in 2029 and 2030, the team announced (via Twitter). According to the Thunder’s own press release, Miami acquired cash in the deal.

JUNE 30: The Heat are offloading reserve shooting guard Victor Oladipo to the Thunder, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Thunder will receive a pair of second-round picks from the Heat as part of the trade agreement, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The Heat, meanwhile, will net a $9.45MM trade exception by flipping his salary. Miami also still has a $4.7MM trade exception from its February deal of big man Dewayne Dedmon.

Earlier this week, the injury-plagued former All-Star picked up his player option for the 2023/24 season. Oladipo tore his left knee patellar tendon during Miami’s first round matchup against the Bucks.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN details (via Twitter), the Thunder will absorb Oladipo’s salary into its available cap space. After the deal, Oklahoma City should still have an estimated $7.2MM in available money at its disposal, as well as the $7.8MM room exception. The club currently has 16 players under contract, and will need to make more moves to reduce its head count to 15 for its standard roster this fall.

With 11 players currently signed, meanwhile, the Heat now have $172MM in committed salary. While Miami is in the luxury tax, this move shifts the team $6.5MM beneath the highly punitive second tax apron. As Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link) notes, the team is in better position to use its $5MM taxpayer mid-level exception, but still may have to shed a little salary to do so.

Should the 31-year-old Oladipo remain with the Thunder, it would represent his second tour of duty with the team. After being drafted by the Magic with the second overall pick out of Indiana in 2013, he spent three seasons with Orlando before being dealt to Oklahoma City in 2016. The Thunder flipped him to the Pacers as part of the Paul George trade the following summer. With the Pacers, Oladipo blossomed into a two-time All-Star thanks to a versatile scoring touch and stellar perimeter defense.

His major lower body injury issues first began to plague him in Indiana, and he has since been trying to find his footing as a defense-first role player with the Rockets and Heat. During his 42 healthy regular season contests with Miami in 2022/23, the 6’4″ vet averaged 10.7 PPG, 3.5 APG, 3.0 RPG and 1.4 SPG in 26.3 MPG, mostly off the Heat bench.

Mavericks Trade Davis Bertans, Cason Wallace To Thunder

July 6th, 2023 at 11:46am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: The Mavericks have officially acquired Lively’s rights in exchange for Bertans and the rights to Wallace, the team announced today (via Twitter).

JUNE 22: The Mavericks and Thunder have agreed to a trade, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Davis Bertans and the No. 10 pick are headed to Oklahoma City in exchange for the No. 12 pick.

The Thunder selected Kentucky guard Cason Wallace at No. 10, Charania adds, while Dallas will get off Bertans’ pricey multiyear contract. The No. 12 pick that Dallas acquired was used on Duke big man Dereck Lively II, Shams Charania of The Stadium tweets.

The Mavericks will generate a $17MM trade exception with this trade, according to Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link). They’ll now be approximately $74MM under to projected luxury tax line, which will help them make other moves, such as re-signing Kyrie Irving.

[UPDATE: Mavs to use trade exception to acquire Richaun Holmes]

The Mavs were looking to move down in the lottery, get off a bad contract and acquire a veteran starter, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). They accomplished the first two goals with this deal. They also add a promising young rim protector in Lively, who will fill a hole in the Dallas frontcourt with the team considered unlikely to re-sign big man Christian Wood.

Bertans had a career year in 2019/20 with the Wizards and cashed in with a five-year, $80MM deal. Dallas acquired Bertans as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade with Washington.

The Thunder now pick up the two remaining years left on his deal — $17MM next season and $16MM in 2024/25 with an early termination option. The final year is only partially guaranteed for $5MM.

Oklahoma City’s desire to move up was motivated by the concern that another team might jump the Thunder by making a trade with Orlando, which held the No. 11 pick, Jeremy Woo of ESPN tweets. The Raptors, who held the No. 13 selection, were a potential trade-up suitor for Wallace.

Nets Trade Joe Harris To Pistons

July 6th, 2023 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The trade is official, the Nets and Pistons confirmed in a pair of press releases. Detroit received Harris, the Mavericks’ 2027 second-round pick, and the Bucks’ 2029 second-rounder from Brooklyn in exchange for cash ($110K).

JUNE 30: The Nets have reached an agreement on a trade that will send Joe Harris to the Pistons, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), Brooklyn will also send two second-round picks to Detroit in the deal and will generate a traded player exception worth $19.9MM, the amount of Harris’ 2023/24 salary.

The picks being acquired by the Pistons are the Mavericks’ 2027 second-rounder and the Bucks’ 2029 second-rounder, per Charania (Twitter link).

No players are going from Detroit to Brooklyn in the trade, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. The Pistons are instead sending the Nets $110K to complete the deal, per Edwards (Twitter link). That’s the minimum amount of cash a team can include in a trade.

While the deal looks like a simple salary dump on the surface, it’s a fascinating agreement that will have a major ripple effect on both teams’ offseasons. The Pistons had frequently been cited as a potential suitor for Nets restricted free agent Cameron Johnson in the weeks leading up to free agency and there had been a belief that they could make life difficult on Brooklyn by signing the forward to a lucrative offer sheet.

By convincing the Pistons to take Harris instead, the Nets will gain more financial flexibility to re-sign Johnson and stay out of luxury tax territory. They also may take their biggest competitor for Johnson’s services out of the mix, since Harris will take up a significant chunk of Detroit’s cap room and will reduce the need for the Pistons to go out and acquire another sharpshooter.

It’s not a bad arrangement from the Pistons’ perspective either. Rather than potentially overpaying Johnson on a four-year, nine-figure offer sheet and hoping the Nets won’t match it, they’ll get one of the NBA’s best outside shooters on a short-term contract, retaining long-term flexibility and picking up a pair of future second-rounders in the process.

[UPDATE: Nets, Cameron Johnson agree to four-year deal]

Injuries limited Harris to just 14 games in 2021/22, and he played a reduced role when he returned to action this past season, averaging just 20.6 minutes per game, his lowest mark since ’15/16. However, he remains as effective as ever from beyond the arc, knocking down 42.6% of his three-point attempts in 74 games last season. He has now hit at least 42.4% of his threes in five straight seasons, leading the NBA in three-point percentage twice during that time.

A.J. Green Re-Signs With Bucks On Standard Deal

July 6th, 2023 at 9:36am CST by Arthur Hill

July 7: Green’s standard deal is official, per NBA.com’s official transactions log.

July 6: A.J. Green will remain with the Bucks on a multi-year contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Only the first year of the deal is fully guaranteed, Charania adds. It’s a three-year deal, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

The 23-year-old shooting guard will receive his first standard NBA contract after playing on a two-way deal last season. He signed with Milwaukee last July after going undrafted out of Northern Iowa.

Green appeared in 35 games for the Bucks during his first NBA season, averaging 4.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per night. He underwent surgery for a nasal fracture in October that kept him out of action for close to a month.

Green is the fourth Bucks free agent to agree to re-signed with the team, joining Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, and Jae Crowder. The team has also reached deals with Malik Beasley and Robin Lopez.

Trail Blazers Re-Sign John Butler To Two-Way Contract

July 6th, 2023 at 6:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have re-signed big man John Butler to a two-way contract, according to the official transaction log at NBA.com.

Butler, 20, initially signed with the Blazers on a two-way deal last October after going undrafted out of Florida State. He appeared in 19 NBA games as a rookie, averaging 2.4 points and 0.9 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per night.

Because Portland didn’t have a G League affiliate last season, Butler didn’t get much of a chance to develop at the NBAGL level, appearing in just six games for the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s affiliate.

However, the Blazers liked what they saw from Butler enough to issue him a two-way qualifying offer in June. Now that he’s back on a second two-way deal, he should have an opportunity to get regular playing time this fall for Portland’s new G League team, the Rip City Remix.

Butler and Ibou Badji are currently on two-way deals with the Blazers, leaving one open slot.

Nuggets, Hunter Tyson Agree To Four-Year Deal

July 5th, 2023 at 9:33pm CST by Rory Maher

The Nuggets are signing rookie second-round pick Hunter Tyson to a four-year, $7.7MM contract, reports Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The first three seasons are guaranteed, according to Singer, with a fourth-year team option.

As with Jalen Pickett, a fellow rookie second-rounder, the Nuggets are using the new second-round pick exception to complete the signing. That enables them to offer a four-year deal.

Tyson spent five college seasons with Clemson before Denver selected him 37th overall in last month’s draft. The 23-year-old had by far his best season in 2022/23 as a “super senior,” averaging 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds on .479/.405/.835 shooting in 34 games (34.7 minutes) for the Tigers.

The Nuggets will have 15 players on standard deals once their third draft pick, first-rounder Julian Strawther, signs his rookie scale deal, Singer notes (via Twitter). Collin Gillespie, who missed his entire rookie season following a leg fracture last summer, is expected to return on a two-way deal and play regularly, per Singer. Gillespie is a restricted free agent after he was given a qualifying offer.

Mavs To Sign Thybulle To Offer Sheet; Blazers Will Have Right To Match

July 5th, 2023 at 8:30pm CST by Luke Adams

8:30pm: Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report believes there’s a “strong chance” the Blazers will match the offer sheet (Twitter link).

8:20pm: Thybulle will sign the offer sheet on Thursday, Haynes reports (via Twitter). Sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic that it will be a three-year, $33MM deal (Twitter link). Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports was first to report that the Mavs would likely pay the 26-year-old slightly below the full mid-level exception.

With the Mavs poised to land Grant Williams in a sign-and-trade deal involving Reggie Bullock, team salary projects to be above the $172.3MM hard cap based on the salary figures reported for Thybulle and Williams, notes Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Either some of Dallas’ signings will come in lower than reported or the team would have to shed some salary if it lands Thybulle.

11:18am: Restricted free agent forward Matisse Thybulle intends to sign an offer sheet with the Mavericks, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT (Twitter link). The Trail Blazers will have the right the match the offer to retain Thybulle.

One of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders, Thybulle has earned two All-Defensive nods during his first four years in the league. However, he has struggled to make an impact on the other side of the ball.

In 245 games with the Sixers during his first three-and-a-half seasons in the league, Thybulle averaged just 4.4 points per game on .448/.325/.667 shooting. He bumped those numbers to 7.4 PPG on .438/.388/.625 shooting in 22 contests with the Blazers following a February trade that sent him to Portland.

The Mavericks don’t have any cap room available, but they haven’t used any of their $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, so their offer sheet for Thybulle will presumably come out of that figure. While the terms of the offer aren’t yet known, it will have to cover at least two seasons.

Marc Stein, who previously reported Dallas’ interest in Thybulle, said at the time that Portland has sent “behind-the-scenes signals” that it will match any reasonable offer sheet on the restricted free agent wing. It appears the Mavs are prepared to test the Blazers’ commitment to the 26-year-old, perhaps hoping that the uncertainty surrounding Damian Lillard‘s future will cause the team to waver on locking in Thybulle.

The two teams could theoretically still negotiate a sign-and-trade agreement, but that won’t be possible once Thybulle officially signs his offer sheet. At that time, the Blazers would simply have to decide whether to match it or whether to let him go to Dallas.

If Thybulle formally signs an offer sheet and Portland receives it before the July moratorium ends on Thursday at 12:00 pm Eastern time, the Blazers will have until 11:59 pm on Friday to make their decision. Players can sign offer sheets during the moratorium, but the clock on the matching team doesn’t start ticking until the moratorium is over.

Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams have one full day to match an offer sheet received before noon and two full days to match an offer sheet that comes in after noon. For example, if the Blazers were to receive Thybulle’s signed offer sheet at 3:00 pm ET on Thursday, they’d have until 11:59 pm on Saturday to make their decision.

The Mavericks were also said to have interest in restricted free agent forward Grant Williams.