Transactions

Hawks Waive David Roddy

February 7th, 2025 at 5:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have waived forward David Roddy, the team announced in a press release.

Roddy was a victim of a roster crunch in Atlanta, where the Hawks were at the maximum allowable 15 players and needed to open up a roster spot to accommodate their one-for-two Bogdan Bogdanovic deal, which saw them acquire Terance Mann and Bones Hyland from the Clippers. That trade is now official, with Roddy as the odd man out.

The 23rd overall pick in the 2022 draft, Roddy began his NBA career with the Grizzlies before being traded to Phoenix at the 2024 deadline and then to Atlanta during the 2024 offseason. The bulky 6’4″ forward was a regular rotation piece in Memphis, but has seen his playing time decline since then.

In 27 games (three starts) for the Hawks this season, Roddy averaged 4.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 12.8 minutes per night, with a .473/.372/.818 shooting line.

Because Atlanta opted not to pick up its 2025/26 team option on Roddy at the October 31 deadline in the fall, he’s on an expiring contract and won’t count against the team’s cap beyond his $2,847,240 salary for this season.

Roddy would be eligible to sign a standard or two-way deal with any NBA team if he clears waivers this weekend.

Hawks Trade Bogdanovic, Second-Rounders To Clippers For Mann, Hyland

February 7th, 2025 at 5:55am CST by Tristan Tucker

FEBRUARY 7: The trade is official, according to press releases from both teams. In order to make room on their roster to complete the deal, the Hawks have waived forward David Roddy.

Within the Clippers’ announcement of the trade, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank spoke glowingly about Mann, lauding him for “what’s he’s meant to our organization” and the “imprint” he left on the team. Frank also said the club is grateful to Hyland and hopes he gets the opportunity to play more regularly as a result of the deal.

General manager Landry Fields said in the Hawks’ statement that the club is grateful for the “passion and heart” Bogdanovic played with, adding that Mann is “someone we’ve liked as a player and person for a long time.”

FEBRUARY 6: The Hawks are trading Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Clippers for Terance Mann and Bones Hyland, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

In addition to receiving Bogdanovic, the Clippers will obtain three second-round picks. According to The Athletic’s Law Murray (Twitter link), those second-round picks are Minnesota’s in 2025, the Clippers own in 2027 and a protected 2026 Grizzlies selection.

The Grizzlies’ 2026 second-round pick will be sent to the Clippers if it lands between 31-42, according to Murray (Twitter link). The 2027 pick sent back to the Clippers is their own that was originally moved in the 2023 five-team trade that ultimately saw Dillon Brooks land with the Rockets.

The trade of Bogdanovic was anticipated by several reporters in the weeks leading up to the deadline. In recent days, his name was brought up in rumors involving Brandon Ingram before the latter was sent to Toronto.

A career 38.0% three-point shooter, Bogdanovic is having a bit of a down year for the Hawks, shooting just 30.1% from deep and averaging 10.0 points per game after recording 16.9 PPG last year. The Clippers are hoping he’ll round into form for a team with playoff aspirations.

In addition to rolling the dice on Bogdanovic, the Clippers wil open up a roster spot by moving two players out in exchange for one. That will help make the team a player in the buyout market while being $2.4MM below the tax.

The Clippers are also able to shed some future salary by moving off Mann’s contract, which is guaranteed through 2027/28. Bogdanovic’s contract is guaranteed for $16.02MM next year, but he has a team option for the same amount in 2026/27.

As noted by ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the Clippers increase their available second-round picks from one to four in this move as well.

While Bogdanovic and Hyland both came up in external trade rumors this season, there wasn’t much reported activity regarding Mann heading into the deadline. However, as NBA insider Jake Fischer reports (Twitter link), the Nuggets were another team that had serious interest in acquiring Mann.

The six-year NBA vet spent his entire career with the Clippers to this point after he was the 48th overall pick in the 2019 draft. His minutes have declined this season and he’s averaging just 6.0 PPG in his reduced role.

Hyland, the 26th overall pick in the 2021 draft, was traded to the Clippers originally at the 2023 deadline. However, he didn’t break into the rotation and is out after about two seasons. Still just 24, Hyland is a strong three-point shooter (36.4% career average) and scorer (9.7 points per game), giving the Hawks an upside swing if he sticks around.

As a result of their three reported deals today, which send out De’Andre Hunter, Bogdanovic and Cody Zeller, the Hawks will remain out of luxury tax territory.

Hawks Trade De’Andre Hunter To Cavaliers

February 6th, 2025 at 11:52pm CST by Rory Maher

11:52 pm: The Hawks have officially confirmed that their trade with the Cavaliers is official, issuing a press release to announce the deal. The two teams ended up not needing a third team to take salary because Atlanta worked out separate deals to cut costs and stay out of tax territory.

12:45 pm: The Hawks and Cavaliers have reached an agreement on a trade that will send forward De’Andre Hunter to Cleveland, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Atlanta will acquire Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, and two pick swaps.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com confirms Charania’s report (via Twitter), adding that the Hawks and Cavs are looking to include a third team in the deal as well.

According to Fedor (Twitter link), Cleveland will send Atlanta second-round picks in 2027, 2029 and 2031. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports (via Twitter) that the pick swaps will be first-rounders in 2026 and 2028.

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets, the Cavs will move out of the luxury tax as a result of the trade and will now be about $1.5MM below the tax line. They will have two open roster spots once the deal is official (they’ve only been carrying 14 players on their standard roster) and will eligible to sign any player on the buyout market.

The Hawks, meanwhile, will be approximately $2.1MM above the tax line if the current details of the trade remain in place, according to Gozlan (Twitter link). They also have 15 players on their standard roster, so they’ll have to release someone, expand the trade, or make a separate deal to dip below the tax.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), LeVert makes $16.6MM in 2024/25 and will be a free agent this summer. Niang makes $8.5MM this season and $8.2MM in ’25/26 before hitting free agency in 2026. Hunter earns $21.7MM in ’24/25, $23.3MM in ’25/26, and $24.7MM in ’26/27 before becoming eligible for free agency in 2027.

The Cavaliers have been linked to Hunter for years, with multiple reports indicating that the team was pursuing the former No. 4 overall pick ahead of today’s deadline. The 6’8″ forward is having the best season of his career, averaging 19.0 points and 3.9 rebounds on .461/.393/.858 shooting in 37 games (28.8 minutes per contest).

Hunter, 27, theoretically fills a need for a Cleveland team that has long been seeking a small forward with plus size and who can provide versatility on both ends of the court. He has come off the bench for most of ’24/25, but seems likely to start for the Cavaliers, considering what they’re trading away to acquire him.

LeVert, 30, and Niang, 31, have been rotation mainstays off the bench for Cleveland and have contributed to the team leading the league in three-point percentage — LeVert is at a career-best 40.5%, while Niang has converted 40.0% of his outside attempts. They were both reportedly positive presences in the locker room as well.

It’s unclear if the Hawks have interest in retaining either player long-term, as the draft assets seem to be the primary motivating factor for making the trade. Atlanta will also clear off a significant long-term salary in the coming years, giving the team more financial flexibility as it builds out the roster around Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu.

It’s interesting that the Cavaliers decided to potentially disrupt the chemistry that has led them to the second-best record in the NBA (41-10), but they upgraded at a position of relative weakness while also staying out of the luxury tax, so the deal accomplishes two goals at once. They figure to be a taxpayer for years to come by adding Hunter’s long-term deal, but that was always likely after giving lucrative long-term extensions to Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen last offseason.

Regarding the pick swaps in the deal, the language on those is quite convoluted because the Hawks already traded swap rights on their 2026 first-rounder to the Spurs, while the Cavs gave swap rights on their 2026 pick first to the Timberwolves, then to the Jazz. Utah also has the right to swap 2028 first-rounders with Cleveland.

Essentially, in 2026, the Hawks will have the opportunity to swap whichever first-round pick they end up with for whatever pick the Cavs end up with. In 2028, Atlanta will be able to swap its own first-rounder for the least favorable of the Cavs’ and Jazz’s picks.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Lakers Trade Knecht, Draft Assets To Hornets For Mark Williams

February 6th, 2025 at 11:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

FEBRUARY 6: The trade is official, the Lakers and Hornets have announced in a pair of press releases.

FEBRUARY 5: The Lakers have reportedly found their Anthony Davis replacement.

According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), Los Angeles is acquiring Hornets center Mark Williams in exchange for rookie wing Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, the Lakers’ unprotected 2031 first-round pick, and a 2030 first-round pick swap.

The Lakers shook the basketball world when they landed five-time All-NBA superstar guard Luka Doncic from the Mavericks over the weekend along with big men Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris. Adding the reigning Western Conference Finals MVP cost the Lakers All-NBA Second Team center Davis, however.

With Kleber out indefinitely due to a broken foot, Los Angeles found itself badly in need of center depth to complement fill-in starter Jaxson Hayes.

While comments made this week by general manager Rob Pelinka suggested the Lakers may seek out a stop-gap option for the rest of the season and take a bigger swing in the summer, the front office instead took that swing now, surrendering a promising rookie in Knecht and two valuable future draft assets in order to land Williams.

The seven-footer out of Duke had been enjoying a breakout season with Charlotte in 2024/25. Williams is averaging 16.0 points, 9.8 boards, 2.5 dimes, 1.2 blocks and 0.7 steals per game in 22 healthy contests.

Williams has dealt with some health issues early in his career, including a back injury and a small fracture in his left foot, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link), but the Lakers are confident about the 23-year-old’s medicals.

As McMenamin and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN outline (Twitter links), in his initial conversations with the Lakers, Doncic impressed upon their decision-makers how much it benefited him in Dallas to play with vertical lob threats like Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford, prompting the Lakers to more aggressively pursue a young, athletic center rather than some of the older, slower bigs that had been on the club’s radar.

Lakers head coach J.J. Redick also has a connection to Williams, Shelburne notes (via Twitter), having done some mentoring of him at his alma mater of Duke.

Williams will be eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2025 offseason. If he and the Lakers don’t agree to a deal at that point, he’d be a restricted free agent in 2026.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the two-for-one deal will open up a standard roster spot for Los Angeles. The Lakers have several movable contracts still on their roster, though they no longer have any tradable first-round draft picks on hand. The team could end up using that open roster spot to go shopping on the buyout market, McMenamin suggests (via Twitter).

Knecht, meanwhile, has slowed down since a hot start to the season, but the 6’6″ Tennessee alum is having a solid rookie season and looks capable of developing into a regular rotation piece on the wing in Charlotte. He’s averaging 9.4 points per game on .465/.358/.825 shooting splits in 48 outings so far this season.

Reddish, whose inclusion was necessary for salary-matching purposes, is on an expiring minimum-salary contract. The former 10th overall pick is a solid defender, but has a limited offensive game. He’s averaging career lows in points (3.3) and minutes (18.1) per game in 31 appearances (eight starts) for the Lakers this season.

The Hornets will need to trade or waive a player from their 15-man roster in order to open up a spot for the extra incoming player. They’ve now moved both of their top two centers in recent weeks, having also sent Nick Richards to the Suns last month for a package primarily made up of future second-round picks.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Hawks Trade Cody Zeller, Second-Rounder To Rockets

February 6th, 2025 at 11:10pm CST by Rory Maher

11:10 pm: The trade is official, according to press releases from the Hawks and Rockets. As expected, Houston waived Springer to complete the deal.

1:44 pm: The Hawks are trading veteran center Cody Zeller and Houston’s own 2028 second-round pick, which Atlanta controlled from a previous deal, to the Rockets, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Houston will acquire Zeller’s $3.5MM contract without having to send a player back in return by using a portion of its non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Kelly Iko of The Athletic hears (via Twitter) that Atlanta will acquire the draft rights to Alpha Kaba from Houston to complete the deal. The 29-year-old French forward was selected No. 60 overall back in 2017, but has spent his entire career overseas to this point.

It’s a straight salary-dump move for the Hawks, who will remain below the luxury tax line as a result of the deal. They were in danger of surpassing that threshold as a result of taking on additional salary in their De’Andre Hunter trade with Cleveland.

As for the Rockets, they’ll reacquire their own future second-rounder for taking on Zeller’s salary, which is non-guaranteed beyond 2024/25.

The No. 4 overall pick of the 2013 draft, Zeller spent his first eight NBA seasons in Charlotte before becoming a journeyman over the past handful of years, spending time with Portland, Miami and New Orleans from 2021-24.

The Pelicans re-signed Zeller last summer to use his contract for salary-matching purposes in the Dejounte Murray trade — he has yet to play a game for the Hawks in ’24/25, having been listed as away from the team for personal reasons for much of the season.

Considering he hasn’t played at all this season and the Rockets already have three centers (Alperen Sengun, Steven Adams, Jock Landale), it wouldn’t be surprising if Houston decides to waive the 32-year-old big man in the coming days in order to open up a roster spot.

The Rockets will be waiving newly acquired Jaden Springer in order to finalize the trade, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle.

Four-Team Kyle Kuzma/Khris Middleton Trade Officially Completed

February 6th, 2025 at 10:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The four-team trade that sends Kyle Kuzma to the Bucks and Khris Middleton to the Wizards has been formally completed, the Knicks announced in a press release (via Twitter). Washington confirmed the finalized agreement in a press release as well.

The terms of the deal, which also includes the Spurs, are as follows:

Bucks acquire Kuzma, Jericho Sims, either the Pistons’, Suns’, or Warriors’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is second-most favorable; from Wizards), and a protected second-round pick (from Spurs).
Wizards acquire Middleton, AJ Johnson, the draft rights to Mathias Lessort (from Knicks), the right to swap their own 2028 first-round pick for the Bucks’ 2028 first-round pick or the Trail Blazers’ 2028 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable), and cash ($1MM; from Bucks).
Knicks acquire Delon Wright, the draft rights to Hugo Besson (from Bucks), and cash ($2MM; from Bucks).
Spurs acquire Patrick Baldwin Jr. and cash ($4.13MM; from Bucks).
Note: If the Trail Blazers haven’t conveyed their lottery-protected 2025 first-round pick by 2027 and it lands outside the lottery in 2028, it would be ineligible to be swapped; in that scenario, the Wizards would simply have the right to swap their own 2028 first-round pick for the Bucks’ 2028 first-round pick.

The Kuzma/Middleton agreement between the Bucks and Spurs was initially reported on Wednesday morning. Our full story on that original deal can be found right here.

Milwaukee later expanded the trade by working out a side deal with New York involving Sims and a second side deal with San Antonio for Baldwin.

The transaction allows the Bucks to shed enough salary move below the second tax apron, which is why they’re permitted to send out cash in the deal — Fred Katz of The Athletic reported the details on the cash going to each team earlier today.

The only other changes from the terms previously reported are that the draft rights to Lessort are headed from New York to Washington instead of Milwaukee and the Spurs are sending the Bucks a protected second-round pick. Details on that second-rounder are TBD.

Suns Trade Jusuf Nurkic To Hornets In Three-Player Deal

February 6th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:05 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Hornets.

12:28 pm: The Suns will send Jusuf Nurkic and a 2026 first-round pick to the Hornets in exchange for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic and a second-rounder in 2026, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Phoenix has been searching for a taker for Nurkic, who was removed from the starting lineup in early January and hasn’t played at all since January 7. The recent trade for Nick Richards and the emergence of rookie big man Oso Ighodaro made Nurkic expendable.

The 30-year-old center has one season left on his contract at $19.375MM. He expressed skepticism last month that the Suns would be able to move him, but they found a willing trade partner in Charlotte, which was low on centers after agreeing to send Mark Williams to the Lakers late Wednesday night.

The Hornets and Suns discussed Nurkic before finalizing the Richards deal, but they opted to keep him out of the original trade.

Today’s deal provides future flexibility for Phoenix, as Martin’s $8.68MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed and Micic has a team option worth $8.1MM. The Suns have a roster opening, so they can complete the two-for-one trade without another move.

The 2026 first-rounder will include “least favorable” language. If the Wizards’ pick lands in the top eight, they’ll have the opportunity to swap first-rounders with the Suns. The Magic would subsequently have an opportunity to swap their first-rounder for whichever pick Phoenix holds, with the Grizzlies then given the chance to swap their first-rounder for the pick the Suns are left with. Whichever pick is remaining at the end of that series of swaps is the one headed to Charlotte.

The 2026 second-round pick that Phoenix will receive is the least favorable between the Warriors’ and Nuggets’ second-rounders, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Raptors Acquire, Waive James Wiseman

February 6th, 2025 at 10:03pm CST by Tristan Tucker

10:03 pm: The Raptors have issued a press release confirming their deal with the Pacers and announcing that Wiseman has been waived. That’s a clear signal that the trade was just about the cash for Toronto, which still has an open spot on its 15-man roster and will have a second opening when Orlando Robinson‘s 10-day deal expires tonight.

2:16 pm: The Pacers are trading James Wiseman and cash to the Raptors, according to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Wiseman is currently out for the season due to a torn Achilles after signing a two-year, minimum-salary deal last offseason.

In return, the Pacers are getting a top-55 protected second-round pick from the Raptors, according to IndyStar’s Dustin Dopirak (Twitter links). That pick is for the 2026 draft.

The former No. 2 overall pick only appeared in one game this season due to his injury. Prior to that he had stints with the Warriors (where he was drafted in 2020) and Pistons. In 148 career games (55 starts) he holds averages of 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds.

Wiseman has a team option worth $2.5MM for next season. If the Raptors opt to exercise that option, they could take a flier on a former highly rated recruit who is still only 23 years old and matches up with Toronto’s timeline. They could also turn down the option in favor of extra flexibility.

Toronto will have a full 15-man roster after the move, if no other changes to reported deals involving Brandon Ingram or P.J. Tucker occur.

As for the Pacers, they gain a bit more of a cushion under the luxury tax and open up a roster spot, which could help them be players on the buyout market. Specifically, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out (Twitter link), the Pacers will move from being $147K below the tax to about $2.3MM below it.

Raptors Acquire Brandon Ingram From Pelicans

February 6th, 2025 at 9:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 6: The Raptors have officially acquired Ingram, the team confirmed in a press release.

“We see Brandon as an integral part of this team’s future – he’s an elite scorer, he has a really diverse offensive skillset, and adding him to the young core we have is huge as we continue our quest to win in Toronto,” team president Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “At the same time we welcome Brandon, we need to really thank Bruce and Kelly. They have been professionals and leaders and they’ve been great teammates and examples for all of us. We wish them all the best moving forward.”

FEBRUARY 5: The Pelicans will trade Brandon Ingram to the Raptors for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, a first-round pick and a second-rounder, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The first-rounder will be a top-four protected 2026 pick that originally belonged to Indiana, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). The second-rounder will be the Raptors’ 2031 pick, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.

Sam Amick of The Athletic reported earlier tonight that the Raptors and Hawks were “neck-and-neck” in their pursuit of Ingram, but Toronto found a way to get the deal done. Assuming he’s signed to an extension, the 27-year-old forward will be part of the long-term foundation in Toronto alongside Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.

Ingram will be eligible for an extension worth up to $144MM over three years through June 30, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Marks adds that the Raptors inherit Ingram’s Bird rights and can exceed the cap to sign him to a new deal in July when they will be roughly $50MM below the tax line.

Marks also notes (via Twitter) that Ingram’s current contract includes a 15% trade kicker that will increase his cap hit for this season from $36MM to $38.1MM.

With an expiring contract, Ingram has been on the market for months after he and the Pelicans weren’t able to agree on an extension last summer. New Orleans reportedly offered to use Ingram’s deal to help Miami facilitate a Jimmy Butler trade, then made its own offer for Butler last week.

Ingram has been sidelined with an ankle issue since December 7, and he still hasn’t been cleared for contact. He may not be able to play for a few more weeks, but that shouldn’t matter to Toronto, which is far out of the playoff race. Ingram is averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the 18 games he’s played this season.

Will Guillory of the Athletic notes (via Twitter) that Ingram was on the bench with his teammates for the first half of tonight’s game at Denver, but he didn’t return after halftime, suggesting that a trade was imminent.

Brown has a $23MM expiring contract, while Olynyk has one year left at $13.4MM. It’s possible that New Orleans will explore subsequent deals involving both players before Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline.

Brown, 28, built a reputation as a versatile utility man on several teams, culminating with the role he played in helping the Nuggets win the 2023 title. He turned that into a lucrative two-year deal with Indiana, but was traded to Toronto midway through last season and has been limited by injuries this year. He’s averaging 8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 17 games.

Olynyk, a 33-year-old big man, was in his first full season with Toronto after being acquired at last year’s deadline. He was putting up 7.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23 games.

Grizzlies Trade Marcus Smart, First-Round Pick To Wizards; Jake LaRavia To Kings

February 6th, 2025 at 8:35pm CST by Luke Adams

8:35 pm: The three-team trade involving the Grizzlies, Wizards, and Kings is official, according to press releases from all three clubs.

In addition to the details reported below, the Wizards sent the Grizzlies a 2025 second-round pick as part of the agreement, as reported by Varun Shankar of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

2:07 pm: The Grizzlies are trading Marcus Smart and a 2025 first-round pick to the Wizards in a multi-team deal that will see Memphis acquire a pair of second-round picks, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The trade will also include the Kings, per multiple reports.

According to Charania (Twitter link), NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), here are the details of the deal that are known so far:

Grizzlies to acquire Marvin Bagley III (from Wizards), Johnny Davis (from Wizards), a 2028 second-round pick (from Kings), and one additional second-round pick (possibly from the Wizards, though it’s unclear).
Kings to acquire Jake LaRavia (from Grizzlies).
Wizards to acquire Smart (from Grizzlies), Colby Jones (from Kings), Alex Len (from Kings), and the Grizzlies’ 2025 first-round pick (top-14 protected; from Grizzlies).

Obviously, Memphis’ initial trade for Smart completely backfired, as the former Defensive Player of the Year has only made 39 combined appearances for the Grizzlies over the past two seasons due to a series of injuries. The Grizzlies gave up Tyus Jones, the draft rights to Marcus Sasser (No. 25 overall pick in 2023) and Golden State’s 2024 first-rounder (which was later traded multiple times — Carlton Carrington was selected No. 14 overall by Washington) in that initial deal.

Smart also hasn’t been particularly effective when active for the Grizzlies, especially in 2024/25, averaging just 8.7 points, 3.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals on .358/.322/.833 shooting in 19 games (21.1 minutes). That’s not much production for a player earning $20.2MM this season and $21.6MM in ’25/26.

Former first-round pick LaRavia, on the other hand, has been effective in a crowded Memphis rotation this season, averaging 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists on .490/.444/.698 shooting in 47 games (20.9 minutes). However, the Grizzlies declined to pick up his $5.16MM rookie scale team option for ’25/26 last fall, which means they couldn’t offer him a starting salary above that amount when he hits unrestricted free agency this summer — that same restriction will now apply to Sacramento.

Moving off Smart’s contract will free up Memphis’ books for next season, as Bagley and Davis will hit free agency this summer. That should help them re-sign forward Santi Aldama, an impending restricted free agent, and possibly extend All-Star big man Jaren Jackson Jr. The Grizzlies will also add a couple of second-round picks in the deal.

It’s a pretty low-risk move for the Kings, who are looking to make a playoff push. Even if it turns out that they won’t be able to re-sign LaRavia in the offseason, they didn’t give up any rotation players and the outgoing assets are modest.

Both Memphis and Sacramento will save some money in ’24/25 as a result of the deal as well, giving the clubs more flexibility to potentially be players on the buyout market.

As for the Wizards, they’ll take a flyer on Smart in the hopes that he gets healthy and becomes a trade chip next season. Jones and Len aren’t owed money beyond this season. Of course, the primary motivation for making the deal for the rebuilding team was to acquire the 2025 first-round pick, which would land at No. 27 overall if the season ended today.

Rory Maher contributed to this story.

Load More Posts