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OG Anunoby Signs Five-Year Contract With Knicks

July 6th, 2024 at 6:30pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Anunoby’s new five-year contract is official, the Knicks announced today in a press release (via Twitter).

“Since his arrival in New York, OG has personified the type of player and teammate the organization and city embody,” president of basketball operations Leon Rose said in a statement. “OG’s offensive and defensive presence is undeniable and was a huge part of our success last season. We are thrilled to bring OG back to New York and continue the process of building a team and culture that makes our fans proud.”

Anunoby received a 15% trade kicker in the deal, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

JUNE 26: Free agent forward OG Anunoby intends to sign a five-year contract worth $212.5MM to remain with the Knicks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The deal, which can be officially completed once the moratorium period ends on July 6, will feature a fifth-year player option and a trade kicker, according to Wojnarowski. It will be the largest contract in Knicks history, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday.

It’s the second huge move the Knicks have made in the past 24 hours. On Tuesday night, the team reached an agreement with the Nets to acquire Mikal Bridges for a package that includes five future first-round picks and a pick swap. Between Bridges and Anunoby, New York will head into the 2024/25 season armed with two of the league’s best three-and-D players on the wing.

The Knicks acquired Anunoby from Toronto in December for a package headed by Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett. The former Raptor made an immediate impact with his new team, helping New York win 12 of his first 14 games before an elbow injury sidelined him for several weeks.

Anunoby had a positive on/off-court rating in each of the 23 regular season games he ended up playing for the Knicks, with the club registering an incredible +21.7 net rating during his 802 minutes on the court. Both the Knicks’ offensive rating (122.6) and defensive rating (100.9) during those minutes would’ve ranked first in the NBA.

In 50 total games for New York and Toronto last season, Anunoby averaged 14.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.4 steals in 34.0 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .489/.382/.753. He made the All-Defensive Second Team in 2023 but didn’t qualify in 2024 due to the NBA’s new 65-game rule.

Injuries have long been a issue for the defensive star, who has missed 29, 34, 15, and 32 games in the past four regular seasons and was unavailable for most of the Eastern Conference semifinals vs. Indiana due to a hamstring ailment. Those health concerns were thought to be a factor that might keep his overall payday this offseason in check, but that certainly won’t be the case.

While Anunoby isn’t signing a maximum-salary deal (which would have been worth a projected $245MM+), his deal with the Knicks will average $42.5MM per season, based on Wojnarowski’s report, which is higher than his projected maximum starting salary ($42.3MM). The five-year, $212.5MM contract will also exceed the maximum offer that any rival suitor could have made to the 26-year-old ($182MM over four years).

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), Anunoby might have had max offers on the table from other suitors, but wanted to help build a title contender in New York.

Anunoby had been the No. 5 free agent on our top-50 list. Three players in our top 10 – Anunoby, his former teammate Pascal Siakam, and Kings guard Malik Monk – have now reached tentative agreements to remain with their current teams ahead of the start of the free agent period on Sunday.

Sixers Sign Caleb Martin, Waive Paul Reed

July 6th, 2024 at 6:28pm CST by Tristan Tucker

7:28pm: Martin has officially signed with the Sixers, the team confirmed in a press release.

“Caleb is a battle-tested performer who has elevated his game when his teams have needed it most,” president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “We’re excited for him to bring his skillset and mentality to the 76ers.”

The Sixers also confirmed in a separate release that they’ve waived Reed.

11:45am: Martin’s deal with the Sixers is indeed guaranteed for roughly $32MM and can reach up to $40MM with bonuses, Scotto clarifies (Twitter link).

9:23am: Free agent forward Caleb Martin is planning to sign with the Sixers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). In order to help make space for the veteran forward, the 76ers are planning to waive Paul Reed‘s non-guaranteed contract, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).

In a follow-up story, Wojnarowski writes that Martin will sign a four-year contract that includes more than $32MM in guaranteed money. Meanwhile, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports Martin’s deal is worth $40MM over four years (Twitter link). We’ll see where the final numbers come in, but it’s possible both reports are accurate — for instance, there might be $32MM+ in guarantees, with additional incentives that could push the overall value higher.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype adds that Martin’s fourth year will be a player option (Twitter link).

Martin, who will bring extensive playoff experience to Philadelphia, could easily fit the roster off the bench or in the starting lineup at power forward. Over the past three seasons with Miami, Martin has averaged 9.6 points and 4.4 rebounds across 195 games (84 starts).

He was especially critical to the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals in 2022/23, when he averaged 19.3 points on 60.2% shooting from the field and 48.9% from deep in the seven-game Eastern Conference Finals against Boston. He nearly came away with the Conference Finals MVP award for that performance.

As Wojnarowski observes, Martin’s 13.6 points per game against the Celtics for his career (playoffs and regular season) are his most against any Eastern Conference opponent. As the Sixers continue to revamp their roster around superstar Joel Embiid, they’re adding a player who has given the reigning NBA champs problems throughout his career.

Philadelphia’s interest in Martin has been reported multiple times since free agency began. However, those reports suggested he was seeking more than what the Sixers were capable of offering.

The Heat also had interest in bringing back the 28-year-old forward, proposing a four-year extension on top of his $7.1MM player option before he decided to turn down that option. According to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald (Twitter link), Miami’s original offer would have been for four years and about $58MM, beginning in 2025/26, for a total of $65MM-ish over five years. However, once Martin declined his option, the Heat could no longer make that offer (they were limited to 8% raises in a free agent contract, rather than the bigger second-year jump they could have included in an extension).

Meanwhile, the Sixers are moving on from Reed, their former No. 58 overall draft pick in 2020. Reed has evolved into a serviceable backup in the frontcourt over the past few seasons. In ’23/24, he averaged 7.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 1.0 blocks, appearing in all 82 of Philadelphia’s regular season games.

However, his $7.7MM contract for next season was fully non-guaranteed, so he was always viewed as a candidate to be traded or released as the 76ers looked to maximize their cap room.

Heat’s Bam Adebayo Signs Three-Year Max Extension

July 6th, 2024 at 6:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: Adebayo has officially signed his maximum-salary extension with the Heat, the team announced in a press release. It includes a player option for the 2028/29 season, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

JUNE 26: Heat big man Bam Adebayo intends to sign a three-year contract extension, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reports (Twitter link). It’ll be a maximum-salary extension, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Adebayo has two years left on his contract. He’s due to make $34,848,340 next season and $37,096,620 in 2025/26. The extension would take the 26-year-old through the 2028/29 season. He can sign the deal on July 6, by league rule, according to Reynolds.

Adebayo averaged 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game this past season. His value goes well beyond offensive numbers. The Heat star has made the NBA’s All-Defensive team in each of the last five seasons, earning a First Team selection for the first time in 2023/24.

Adebayo could have waited until next offseason with the hope of making an All-NBA team or winning Defensive Player of the Year. In that scenario, he would have become eligible for a five-year super-max extension worth as much as $346MM, cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes (Twitter link).

Assuming a $141MM cap in 2024/25, with 10% raises in each of the next two seasons, Adebayo would earn a $51,183,000 in 2026/27; $55,277,640 in ’27/28; and $59,372,280 in ’28/29, for a total of $165,832,920.

While those salary numbers are eye-popping, Adebayo could have been eligible for even bigger salaries had he delayed an extension with the aim of making an All-NBA team, so this could turn out to be a team-friendly deal. Adebayo, who turns 27 next month, has spent his entire seven-year career with Miami.

Grizzlies Sign Zach Edey To Rookie Contract

July 6th, 2024 at 5:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

No. 9 overall pick Zach Edey has signed a rookie scale contract with the Grizzlies, the team announced (via Twitter).

The 7’4″ Edey was named National Player of the Year in each of his last two seasons at Purdue. He averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per game this season as the Boilermakers reached the championship game of the NCAA Tournament. His other honors as a senior include All-Big Ten First Team, NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team and NCAA Midwest Region Most Valuable Player.

Despite his college accolades, Edey was originally viewed as questionable to be taken in the lottery because of doubts regarding how well he can adapt to the NBA game. He’ll join a Memphis team that’s in need of size and should give him plenty of playing time right away.

The Canadian center was on the preliminary roster for his country’s Olympic team, but he recently withdrew to concentrate on preparing for his first NBA season.

Assuming Edey received the maximum contract for the ninth pick, he will earn about $5.76MM as a rookie and approximately $26.2MM over the four-year deal. The Grizzlies will hold his third- and fourth-year options.

Grizzlies Sign Jaylen Wells To Four-Year Deal

July 6th, 2024 at 4:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

4:50pm: Wells’ deal is official, the Grizzlies confirmed in a press release (Twitter link).

3:21pm: The Grizzlies are signing their second-round pick Jaylen Wells to a four-year, $7.9MM contract, a source informs Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). That total suggests a minimum-salary agreement, which would be worth $7,895,796.

Givony notes that the first two seasons of the deal are fully guaranteed. The fourth year will be a team option, since it will be signed using the second-round pick exception.

Wells was selected with the No. 39 pick in this summer’s draft out of Washington State. He kicked off his collegiate career with Sonoma State before transferring to the Cougars last season. In 34 games (20 starts) in 2023/24, Wells posted averages of 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.5 steals in 29.2 minutes per contest. The 6’7″ small forward had a shooting line of .436/.417/.814.

We’re tracking all of this year’s draft pick signings right here.

Magic Renegotiate, Extend Jonathan Isaac’s Contract

July 6th, 2024 at 4:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: The renegotiation and extension of Isaac’s contract is now official, the Magic announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), Orlando bumped up Isaac’s salary to $25MM this season. That figure will be fully guaranteed, as will his $15MM salary in 2025/26. His $14.5MM salary in ’26/27 will be partially guaranteed for $8MM, while the last two years ($15MM and $14.5MM, respectively) will be non-guaranteed.

In total, it appears the forward received $66.6MM in new money and $84MM overall (including his original $17.4MM salary for the coming season). Of that $84MM, $48MM is guaranteed.

JULY 2: The Magic have agreed to renegotiate and extend Jonathan Isaac‘s contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who tweets that the deal will be for five years and $84MM.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports first reported on Monday that the Magic were exploring a renegotiation and extension for the veteran forward.

Isaac had a non-guaranteed $17.4MM salary for next season, which was due to be fully guaranteed in January, so his new deal likely includes $66MM+ in new money.

The breakdown for the deal hasn’t been made public yet, but a team is permitted to use cap room to renegotiate a contract in order to give a player a current-year raise and Orlando has a chunk of room left over following a series of free agent agreements with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Moritz Wagner, Goga Bitadze, and Gary Harris.

The Magic could reduce Isaac’s salary by up to 40% in the first year of an extension, so it looks like they’ll essentially give him a bonus this season in order to lock him up to a more team-friendly (possibly descending) deal beginning in 2025/26.

The No. 6 pick of the 2017 draft, Isaac missed two seasons and most of the 2022/23 campaign while recovering from a torn ACL. He appeared in 58 games last season and averaged 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks to help Orlando reach the playoffs. He also appeared in seven postseason contests, including three starts, while averaging 6.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.

A talented, versatile defender, Isaac will once again back up at the power forward spot and can also slide over to the center position.

It’s unclear whether or not Isaac’s new extension will include injury-related language protecting the team like his current deal did, but it at least seems unlikely that all four years will be fully guaranteed.

Thunder Sign Draft Picks Nikola Topic, Dillon Jones, Ajay Mitchell

July 6th, 2024 at 4:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Thunder have signed first-round picks Nikola Topic and Dillon Jones to rookie scale contracts, the team announced in a press release. Second-round selection Ajay Mitchell inked a two-way deal.

Chosen with the 12th pick, Topic was originally viewed as a potential top-five selection, but a partially torn ACL caused his draft stock to tumble. The 6’6″ point guard averaged 15.1 points, 5.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds for Crvena Zvezda this year in the Adriatic League. He’s not expected to play next season, giving the injury plenty of time to heal.

Jones, the 26th overall pick, was acquired from New York in a draft night trade. The 6’5″ small forward out of Weber State led the Big Sky Conference in scoring this season at 20.8 PPG, while adding 9.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.0 steals per night. He was a finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.

Mitchell, a 6’4″ shooting guard out of UC Santa Barbara, was the 38th pick in the draft. He averaged 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals this season and was a First Team All-Big West selection the past two years.

Assuming they both got the maximum rookie contract they were eligible to receive, Topic will earn about $4.9MM in his first season and $23MM across four years, while Jones will be paid $2.6MM as a rookie and $13.5MM on his four-year deal. Oklahoma City will have third- and fourth-year team options on both players.

Pistons, Wolves, Grizzlies, Raptors Complete Four-Team Deal

July 6th, 2024 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons, Timberwolves, Grizzlies, and Raptors have folded a series of separate trade agreements into a single four-team trade, which is now official, the Wolves announced today in a press release.

The Pistons and Timberwolves initially agreed to a deal sending Minnesota’s Wendell Moore to Detroit in exchange for a second-round pick swap, with the Pistons moving up from No. 53 to No. 37.

The Wolves subsequently traded the No. 53 pick to Memphis in exchange for No. 57 and a future second-rounder. Then Minnesota traded No. 57 to Toronto for a reported $1MM in cash.

The end result is as follows:

Pistons acquire Moore and the draft rights to Bobi Klintman (No. 37 pick).
Timberwolves acquire a future second-round pick (from Grizzlies) and cash ($1MM; from Raptors).
Grizzlies acquire the draft rights to Cam Spencer (No. 53 pick).
Raptors acquire the draft rights to Ulrich Chomche (No. 57 pick).

The Pistons are taking a chance on an inexpensive former first-rounder in Moore ($2.54MM salary in 2024/25) while having moved up in the second round to select a prospect higher on their draft board; the Wolves, who are operating over the second apron, save some money while having swapped out their No. 37 pick for a future second-rounder; and the Grizzlies and Raptors gave up minor assets to trade into the back end of the second round of the draft.

The one missing detail is here is which future second-round pick the Grizzlies are sending Minnesota. We’ll update our tracker of 2024 offseason trades with that information once it’s reported.

Heat Sign Isaiah Stevens To Exhibit 10 Contract

July 6th, 2024 at 3:53pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Heat have signed undrafted former Colorado State guard Isaiah Stevens, Miami announced in a team press release.

According to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), Stevens’ new contract is an Exhibit 10 deal.

The six-footer, a five-time All-MWC honoree during his tenure with the Rams, finished his college career as Colorado State’s all-time leading scorer (with 2,350 career points) and passer (863 career assists), while also making the most three-pointers (253) in team history.

Last season, Stevens averaged 16.0 points per game on a .474/.440/.836 shooting line. He also dished out 6.8 dimes, pulled down 6.8 boards, and swiped 1.2 steals per night.

At present, all three of the Heat’s two-way player slots are occupied. Stevens is the team’s second reported Exhibit 10 signing, along with Bryson Warren.

An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal that doesn’t count against a team’s cap unless the player makes the regular season roster. It can be converted to a two-way contract before the season begins or can put a player in line to earn a bonus of up to $77.5K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with his team’s G League affiliate.

Spurs Trade Graham, Second-Round Pick To Hornets; Graham Waived

July 6th, 2024 at 3:35pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

3:35pm: After officially waiving three players to create additional cap room, the Hornets have completed their trade for Graham and New Orleans’ 2025 second-round pick, per a team release. They sent out cash to San Antonio and immediately waived Graham, as expected.

2:26pm: The Hornets will receive New Orleans’ 2025 second-round pick in the deal, while the Spurs receive cash, sources tell Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).

12:41pm: The Spurs are trading Devonte’ Graham and a second-round draft pick to the Hornets, one of the veteran guard’s former teams, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Graham won’t be back in Charlotte for long, though. According to Wojnarowski, the Hornets plan to waive Graham, making him an unrestricted free agent. The guard’s $12.65MM is partially guaranteed for $2.85MM, so Charlotte will have to take his fully salary into its cap room but will only end up on the hook for $2.85MM.

The 6’1″ Kansas alum, 29, played sparingly with the Spurs last season, averaging just 5.0 points per game on a .352/.301/.813 shooting line. He appeared in just 23 contests, logging 13.6 minutes per night.

Graham kicked off his NBA career with the Hornets, for whom he played from 2018-21. He spent 2021/22 and part of ’22/23 with the Pelicans before being traded to San Antonio midway through that season. During his best year, 2019/20, Graham finished fifth in Most Improved Player voting, averaging 18.2 points, 7.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes (via Twitter), this deal will give San Antonio some additional cap relief — the team now projects to have up to about $19MM in cap space.

As Gozlan notes, the Spurs could theoretically take back the mid-sized contract of a veteran wing like Harrison Barnes or Kevin Huerter to help orchestrate a three-team sign-and-trade with the Bulls and Kings to send All-Star wing DeMar DeRozan to Sacramento. San Antonio likely has something specific up its sleeve that will require a bit of extra breathing room below the cap, since Graham’s $2.85MM partial guarantee was pretty minimal.

The Hornets are reportedly waiving Davis Bertans in order to open up the cap room necessary to take on Graham’s salary.