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Knicks, Pistons Complete Jalen Duren, Kemba Walker Trade

July 6th, 2022 at 7:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks and Pistons have officially completed their part of the draft-night trade involving Kemba Walker and No. 13 overall pick Jalen Duren, according to a press release from the Knicks.

Although the deal was initially reported as a three-team trade involving New York, Detroit, and Charlotte, the Hornets and Knicks finalized their half of the swap on draft night — the Hornets acquired a protected 2023 first-round pick and four future second-rounders in exchange for the rights to Duren.

The trade finalized today sends Walker and the rights to Duren to the Pistons in exchange for the Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (top-four protected), which Detroit officially acquired earlier today from Portland in its Jerami Grant deal.

The move is the first step toward ensuring that the Knicks have the cap room necessary to completed their signings of Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein. Detroit and New York also agreed to a separate trade that will send Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel to the Pistons, creating additional space for the Knicks.

While Walker is on the Pistons’ roster for the time being, he’s expected to hit the waiver wire sometime soon. A report last Thursday indicated that the two sides were finalizing a buyout agreement.

Luguentz Dort Re-Signs With Thunder On Five-Year Deal

July 6th, 2022 at 7:15pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: Dort’s new deal with the Thunder is now official, the team announced in a press release.

JUNE 30: The Thunder are re-signing restricted free agent Luguentz Dort to a five-year, $87.5MM contract, Dort’s agent Thad Foucher tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The barrel-chested Dort, who turned 23 in April, has showed continuous improvement after going undrafted out of Arizona State in 2019. He averaged 6.8 PPG and 2.3 RPG on .394/.297/.792 shooting in 36 games (22.8 MPG) as a rookie, with those averages increasing to 14 PPG and 3.6 RPG on .387/.343/.744 shooting in 2020/21 (52 games, 29.7 MPG).

Dort averaged 17.2 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .404/.332/.843 shooting in 51 games (32.6 MPG) last season. His shooting numbers seem fairly mediocre, but the majority of Dort’s shots come from three or at the rim, and he gets to the line a good amount, so his 54.1% true shooting percentage is actually decent.

Dort’s hallmark comes on the defensive end of the court, where his strength, toughness and versatility really shine. He’s an excellent athlete with a strong frame (6’3″, 215 pounds) and is capable of switching across multiple positions.

A report last week indicated that Oklahoma City would pick up Dort’s team option for ’22/23, which would have made him an unrestricted free agent in 2023, but clearly they had a change of heart after examining the amount of salary cap space rival teams will have next summer. Instead the Thunder chose to decline the option, making him a restricted free agent.

The modern NBA is dominated by wings capable of playing both sides of the ball, so his contract aligns with the value teams place on players of his mold. Considering his trajectory and the fact that he’s only entering his fourth season, there’s a good chance that it will be a very reasonable deal for both sides for years to come.

Suns Trade For Jock Landale

July 6th, 2022 at 6:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Hawks have officially traded Landale to the Suns in exchange for cash considerations, Atlanta confirmed in a press release. As we noted earlier this week, Landale’s minimum-salary contract has a small partial guarantee ($46,120).

JULY 2: The Suns will acquire Australian center Jock Landale from the Hawks, tweets Shams Charania of the Athletic. Atlanta will receive cash in return, according to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

Landale, 26, was a rookie with the Spurs last season, averaging 4.9 points and 2.7 rebounds in 54 games. He was shipped to the Hawks this week as part of the Dejounte Murray trade.

Landale signed with San Antonio in 2021 after going undrafted out of St. Mary’s. He also plays internationally for Australia and won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics.

The addition of Landale will help fill a vacancy for Phoenix, which lost back-up center JaVale McGee to the Mavericks in free agency and is exploring trade offers regarding starting center Deandre Ayton.

Trail Blazers Waive Eric Bledsoe

July 6th, 2022 at 5:20pm CST by Luke Adams

5:20pm: The Trail Blazers have officially placed Bledsoe on waivers, per a press release. He’s on track to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.

9:41am: The Trail Blazers intend to waive Eric Bledsoe in the coming days, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says several teams are expected to register interest in Bledsoe as a free agent.

Bledsoe had been under contract for $19.38MM in 2022/23, but only $3.9MM of that money is fully guaranteed. If the point guard were to remain under contract through July 10, his full salary would become guaranteed, so Portland will officially waive him before that happens.

Bledsoe, 32, began the 2021/22 season with the Clippers, appearing in 54 games (29 starts) for L.A. and averaging 9.9 PPG, 4.2 APG, and 3.4 RPG in 25.5 minutes per contest. However, he was sent to Portland in the Norman Powell/Robert Covington trade prior to the trade deadline.

Bledsoe never actually appeared in a single game for the Blazers. The team announced in March that he was being shut down for the season after receiving a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection to address the tendinopathy in his left Achilles tendon.

The Blazers were in tank mode after the trade deadline and were shutting down just about veteran on their roster who had a minor ailment, so there’s no reason to think that Bledsoe’s Achilles issue is significant enough to hinder his ability to catch on with a new team once he reaches free agency.

Portland will have the option of applying Bledsoe’s $3.9MM in dead money solely to the 2022/23 cap or stretching it into increments of $1.3MM across three seasons. Stretching that cap hit could be something the Blazers consider, given their proximity to the luxury tax line.

Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link) estimates that Portland’s team salary is approximately $3.7MM above the tax threshold, but we’ll need to wait for the official details to come in on contracts for Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, and Gary Payton II to know for sure.

Nuggets Acquire Ismael Kamagate From Blazers

July 6th, 2022 at 5:14pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: The trade between Denver and Portland is now official, the Blazers announced in a press release.

The Nuggets received the draft rights to Kamagate, while the Blazers will receive either the Timberwolves’ or Hornets’ second-round pick (whichever is more favorable).

JUNE 23: The Nuggets are acquiring French center Ismael Kamagate, the 46th pick of the 2022 NBA draft, from the Trail Blazers in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick, sources tell Mike Singer of The Denver Post (All Twitter links). Portland acquired the 46th pick from Detroit as part of the impending Jerami Grant trade.

In 34 appearances (27.1 MPG) for Paris Basketball of France’s LNB Pro A league (first division) this season, Kamagate averaged 11.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 1.6 BPG while shooting 64.3% from the floor and 65.4% from the free throw line.

According to Mike Schmitz, who used to work for ESPN but was recently hired as an assistant GM by the Blazers, the 6’11” big man has an impressive physical profile but is considered more of a long-term project than a player who’s ready for immediate action in the NBA. Kamagate is a strong inside finisher and a skilled offensive talent, per Schmitz, but he’s not a great rebounder and is a pretty poor defender at this point.

Based on Schmitz’ scouting report, Kamagate might be a draft-and-stash candidate for a Denver team that hopes to contend for a title next season.

Lakers Sign Thomas Bryant To One-Year Deal

July 6th, 2022 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

4:02pm: The Lakers have officially signed Bryant, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. The big man told reporters today that he’s fully recovered from the ACL tear he suffered in early 2021.

“(It feels) 100 percent great,” Bryant said (Twitter link via Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group). “Not good. Great.”

6:01am: The Lakers have reached an agreement with free agent center Thomas Bryant and will sign him to a one-year contract, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Haynes doesn’t provide any specifics on the financial terms, but given that Los Angeles has committed to using its taxpayer mid-level exception on Lonnie Walker and is ineligible to acquire a player via sign-and-trade without shedding significant salary, it’s safe to assume it will be a minimum-salary deal.

Bryant, who will turn 25 later this month, began his NBA career with the Lakers, having been acquired from Utah in a draft-night deal in 2017. The 42nd overall pick appeared in just 15 games as a rookie with L.A. and was waived in the summer of 2018.

The Wizards claimed Bryant off waivers and the big man spent the next four seasons in D.C., though his time there was marred by injuries. After a promising 2019/20 season in which he averaged 13.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 46 games (36 starts), Bryant suffered a torn ACL early in the ’20/21 campaign. That injury resulted in him playing just 37 games over the last two seasons.

Now fully recovered from his ACL tear, Bryant drew interest from the Raptors, Celtics, Bucks, and Jazz this offseason, sources tell Haynes.

The former Indiana Hoosier could be an intriguing bounce-back candidate entering the 2022/23 season. According to Haynes, he’ll be given the opportunity to earn a spot in the starting lineup with his new team in Los Angeles.

Grizzlies, Ja Morant Finalize Five-Year Max Extension

July 6th, 2022 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Morant’s extension is now official, the Grizzlies announced today in a press release.

JUNE 30: The Grizzlies and star guard Ja Morant are in agreement on a five-year rookie scale extension worth the maximum salary, agent Jim Tanner tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The deal will go into effect when Morant’s rookie contract expires in 2023.

Morant’s extension will include Rose Rule language allowing him to earn a starting salary worth 30% of the 2023/24 cap instead of 25% if he makes an All-NBA team again next season.

Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection of $133MM for the ’23/24 season, Morant’s deal would be worth $231.42MM if he meets the Rose Rule criteria next season, or $192.85MM if he doesn’t.

It’s the biggest contract in Grizzlies history, according to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link), topping the $153MM deal Mike Conley signed in 2016.

Morant, who will turn 23 in August, has improved in each of his three NBA seasons, earning his first All-Star and All-NBA nods in 2021/22 and winning the league’s Most Improved Player award.

The former second overall pick averaged a career-high 27.4 PPG to go along with 6.7 APG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.2 SPG in 57 games (33.1 MPG). He also put up career-best shooting numbers of 49.3% from the floor and 34.4% on threes.

Morant is the first member of the 2019 draft class to reach an agreement on a rookie scale extension, and his new deal is one of several maximum-salary contract extensions agreed upon as the new NBA league year begins. Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Devin Booker have reportedly agreed to super-max veteran extensions tonight as well.

The Rose Rule criteria require a player to earn an All-NBA spot in the season before his rookie scale extension goes into effect to qualify for the 30% max, which is why Morant will have to make it again next year despite claiming a spot on the Second Team this spring.

Pelicans Sign Zion Williamson To Five-Year Max Extension

July 6th, 2022 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Williamson’s five-year, maximum-salary extension is now official. The Pelicans put out a press release confirming the signing after Zion put pen to paper at the Dryades YMCA in New Orleans today on his 22nd birthday (Twitter video link via ESPN’s Andrew Lopez).

“Zion is an astounding 22-year old talent, who we believe is just scratching the surface of what he is capable of, both on and off the floor,” Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin said in a statement. “We are extremely pleased to take this next step of our collective journey together.”

Now that the deal is done, it should just be a matter of time before we learn what sort of protection language is included in the contract. Griffin did confirm today that the contract does not feature a fifth-year player option (Twitter link via Lopez).

JULY 2: Williamson and the Pelicans have now reached an agreement on a five-year, maximum-salary extension, agent Austin Brown tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Details on the protections included in the contract still haven’t been reported.

JULY 1: The Pelicans are nearing an agreement on a five-year rookie scale extension for forward Zion Williamson, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Charania, it’ll be a maximum-salary deal that can be worth up to $231MM. That indicates it will contain Rose Rule language allowing Williamson to qualify for a starting salary of 30% of the 2023/24 cap instead of 25% if he makes an All-NBA team next season.

Charania’s report doesn’t include any details on how much of the contract will be fully guaranteed, which figured to be the sticking point in negotiations. He does say (via Twitter) that the deal is expected to include some protections for the Pelicans and that the two sides were sorting through those details overnight.

We’ll have to wait for more specifics on that front, but it appears the two sides are on the verge of finding common ground fairly quickly after the former No. 1 overall pick officially became extension-eligible.

The agreement ends months of speculation that Williamson might turn down an extension offer from the Pelicans to play in a larger market or for a more successful franchise. Williamson has attempted on several occasions to quash those rumors by proclaiming a love for New Orleans, with his latest comments coming three weeks ago at his youth basketball camp.

Injuries have derailed Williamson’s career since he entered the NBA as a highly touted No. 1 pick in 2019. He missed all of this season after undergoing foot surgery and has played in a combined 85 games in three years. However, he has shown signs of being a dominant force, averaging 25.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and making an All-Star appearance in 2021.

A healthy season from Williamson, who will turn 22 later this week, could make the Pelicans a serious Western Conference contender. New Orleans staged a late-season surge after trading for CJ McCollum, advancing through the play-in tournament and into the first round of the playoffs. Williamson could be a difference maker for an already talented roster, but he’ll have to prove that he can stay on the court.

Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection of $133MM for the 2023/24 season, Williamson’s deal would be worth $231.42MM if he meets the Rose Rule criteria next season, or $192.85MM if he doesn’t. That’s without considering any protections that might be included in the contract.

Wizards, Bradley Beal Complete Five-Year Max Deal

July 6th, 2022 at 2:48pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: The Wizards have officially announced Beal’s new contract, putting out a press release to confirm the deal.

“I have been blessed to call the city of Washington my home and the Wizards organization and our fans my family for the last 10 years, growing as a player, a leader, a husband and a father along the way,” Beal said in a statement. “Today represents such a special moment in my life.

“I could not be more grateful to have the opportunity to continue to partner with (Wizards owner) Ted (Leonsis), (president of basketball operations) Tommy (Sheppard), (head coach) Wes (Unseld Jr.) and the entire organization in moving forward to achieve our dream of bringing championships to D.C. and, just as importantly, to help our community continue to accomplish amazing things together.”

JUNE 30: The Wizards and Bradley Beal have agreed to a five-year, maximum-salary contract that will keep the star guard in D.C., agent Mark Bartelstein tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Beal’s new contract will pay him a $251,019,650 over the five years. The most a rival team could have offered would have been $186,100,778 over four years.

Beal declined his $36.4MM player option for 2022/23 in order to become an unrestricted free agent and maximize his earnings. He indicated in both March and May that he was leaning toward re-signing with the Wizards, so the news is expected.

The 29-year-old missed the final 33 games of the season because of an injured left wrist. He recently said the recovery process is going well and estimates that 80-90% of his range of motion has returned.

A three-time All-Star, Beal has been the subject of trade rumors for years but has remained loyal to Washington. Now that loyalty has paid off in a major way. He’ll get a chance to play a full season with Kristaps Porzingis, who was acquired at the February trade deadline, for the first time next season.

Beal finished second in the NBA in scoring in both ’19/20 and ’20/21, averaging more than 30 PPG in each season, but slumped a bit last year by his lofty standards, averaging 23.2, 4.7 RPG and 6.6 APG in 40 games (36 MPG). One potentially alarming statistic is that Beal’s three-point percentage has declined each of the past three seasons, with a career-low 30% in ’21/22, although his 6.6 assists per game represented a career-high.

Beal’s contract will pay him through his age 33 season, at which point he’ll become a free agent. Given his mediocre defense, it’s fair to question whether he’s worth more than $57MM in ’26/27, but there was never any doubt that he’d receive a max contract this summer.

Lakers Officially Sign Lonnie Walker

July 6th, 2022 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have officially announced the signing of swingman Lonnie Walker, confirming the move today in a press release. Walker’s agreement with Los Angeles was first reported last Thursday night.

It’s the fourth free agent deal the Lakers have made official since the start of free agency last week. Minimum-salary contracts, like the ones signed by Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson, and Troy Brown, can become official during the July moratorium, but Walker’s one-year, $6.5MM contract is being completed using L.A.’s taxpayer mid-level exception and had to wait until the moratorium lifted today.

Walker, the 18th pick of the 2018 draft, spent his first four seasons with the Spurs. The 23-year-old has displayed a ton of athleticism and has shown glimpses of potential since his entering the NBA, but struggled with his scoring efficiency last season, posting a .407/.314/.784 shooting line.

In 70 games (23 MPG) with San Antonio in 2021/22, Walker averaged 12.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 2.2 APG.

The Spurs decided to withdraw Walker’s qualifying offer just before free agency opened, making him an unrestricted free agent and clearing a path for him to sign with any team.

Walker should have an opportunity to play a regular rotation role on a revamped Lakers roster and will be looking to build his value back up before he returns to free agency in 2023. He said today that he’d welcome the opportunity to start for L.A., but his primary focus is winning (Twitter link via Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group).