Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Decline Omer Yurtseven’s Team Option

August 1st, 2021 at 5:32pm CST by JD Shaw

The Heat have declined center Omer Yurtseven‘s $1.5MM team option for the 2021/22 season, allowing him to enter unrestricted free agency, as relayed by Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald (Twitter links).

The option was non-guaranteed, a factor that didn’t interest Yurtseven. The 23-year-old will still play with the team during the California Classic Summer League and Las Vegas Summer League this month.

Miami signed Yurtseven at the end of the last season, allowing him to travel with the team for its first-round series against Milwaukee in May. Yurtseven went unselected in the 2020 NBA Draft and could remain with the franchise if he impresses this summer. However, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), which means the Heat didn’t tender him a qualifying offer.

In addition to declining Yurtseven’s option, Miami also declined Andre Iguodala‘s $15MM option and picked up the $19.4MM option in Goran Dragic‘s contract earlier today — though Dragic could still be used in a sign-and-trade involving Kyle Lowry.

Chris Paul To Decline Player Option, Enter Free Agency

August 1st, 2021 at 4:42pm CST by JD Shaw

Suns star Chris Paul is declining his $44.2MM player option for the 2021/22 season, allowing him to enter unrestricted free agency this week, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

As we previously relayed, Paul remains likely to re-sign with the team on a new deal. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that there remains optimism between both sides that a new agreement will be reached in free agency.

Entering free agency will allow Paul to seek a multiyear contract and one last big payday. The 36-year-old reached the NBA Finals for the first time in his 16-year career last season, averaging 16.4 points and 8.9 assists per game and earning All-NBA Second Team honors. He’s widely considered to be the most valuable guard on the open market this summer.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), the Suns can sign Paul to a contract up to four years if he officially opts out. Other teams with salary cap space are restricted to offering him a three-year deal due to the Over-38 rule, which is designed to prevent teams from circumventing the salary cap by offering a contract that extends beyond when the club expects a player to end his career. Paul will turn 38 in May of 2023.

In addition to his impressive averages, Paul also shot 49.9% from the floor and 39.5% from three-point range — all while playing 70 of 72 regular-season games for Phoenix in 2020/21. He was in the final year of a four-year, $160MM contract signed in 2018.

Kawhi Leonard To Opt Out, Become UFA

August 1st, 2021 at 4:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is turning down his $36MM player option for the 2021/22 season and will become an unrestricted free agent, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Today was the deadline for Leonard’s option decision.

The opt-out comes as no surprise — that decision had been expected since Leonard signed his three-year deal with Los Angeles back in 2019, and it doesn’t mean he’s leaving the Clippers. Speaking last December about his contract situation, Kawhi acknowledged that “the best decision” from a financial perspective would be to turn down his option.

Of course, when Leonard made those comments at the start of the 2020/21 season, he included a caveat: “If I’m healthy.” That’s not the case, as he recently underwent surgery to repair a partial tear of his right ACL. There’s a fear that the two-time Finals MVP could miss part or even all of the ’21/22 campaign.

Still, even taking that injury into account, opting out makes the most sense for Leonard, who will receive a new maximum-salary contract despite the fact that he won’t be ready to play this fall. He now has 10 years of NBA experience under his belt, which means he can bump his salary for next season to 35% of the cap – a projected maximum of $39.3MM – and perhaps lock in some additional years.

While the Mavericks and a handful of other teams are expected to kick the tires on Leonard, the Clippers are considered the overwhelming favorites to sign him to a new deal, as Haynes confirms.

The Clips only hold Leonard’s Early Bird rights, which will limit the team to a four-year offer (worth a projected $176.3MM). If he wants to maximize his long-term earnings, Kawhi could sign a one-plus-one contract this offseason and then opt out again next summer to sign a new five-year contract with the Clippers once they have his full Bird rights.

Jazz Waive Matt Thomas

August 1st, 2021 at 4:25pm CST by JD Shaw

The Jazz have waived second-year wing Matt Thomas, the team announced on its website today. Thomas appeared in a total of 45 games with the Raptors and Jazz during the 2020/21 season.

Utah, having acquired Thomas from Toronto in exchange for a future second-round pick in March, chose not to guarantee his $1.78MM salary for next season.

The 26-year-old shooting guard averaged 3.1 PPG and 1.0 RPG with a .338 3PT% in 45 total games (7.2 MPG) with the Raptors and Jazz this season.

Thomas went undrafted in 2017 after spending four seasons at Iowa State. He then latched on with the Lakers’ summer league team one month later, spending the following two years overseas.

Hornets Tender QO To Devonte’ Graham, Make Malik Monk UFA

August 1st, 2021 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have made point guard Devonte’ Graham a restricted free agent by tendering him a qualifying offer, but won’t give shooting guard Malik Monk a QO, according to Rod Boone of SI.com (Twitter links).

Graham, the 34th overall pick in the 2018 draft, had a breakout season for Charlotte in 2019/20, when he averaged 18.2 PPG and 7.5 APG in 63 games. He saw his role dialed back a little this past season due to the emergence of fellow point guard LaMelo Ball, but was still a solid backcourt contributor for the Hornets, recording 14.8 PPG and 5.4 APG with a .375 3PT%.

Graham’s qualifying is worth approximately $4.7MM. While he could accept that one-year offer, it’s more likely that he’ll work out a more lucrative – and longer-term – agreement with the Hornets or another team. According to Boone, Charlotte considers Graham a part of the team’s core and is hopeful the two sides can work out a new deal.

The Hornets’ decision on Monk is the more interesting of the two. The former 11th overall pick struggled in his first three NBA seasons, making just 32.2% of his three-point attempts and serving a drug-related suspension in 2020. However, he emerged as a reliable role player in 2020/21, averaging 11.7 PPG on .434/.401/.819 shooting in 42 games (20.9 MPG).

With a crowded backcourt – one that now includes 11th overall pick James Bouknight – the Hornets opted against issuing Monk a $7MM+ qualifying offer, so he’ll be free to seek out a new home as an unrestricted free agent. Teams in need of shooting on the wing could give the former Kentucky standout a look this week.

The Hornets also didn’t tender a qualifying offer to two-way player Grant Riller, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who tweets that the team and player aren’t ruling out a new deal.

Mavs Exercise Team Option On Willie Cauley-Stein

August 1st, 2021 at 3:56pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Mavericks are exercising their team option on reserve center Willie Cauley-Stein, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The option will pay Cauley-Stein $4.1MM for the 2021/22 season.

During his second year (and first full season) in Dallas in 2020/21, Cauley-Stein averaged 5.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 0.8 BPG over 17.1 MPG in 53 games. After being selected with the sixth pick out of Kentucky in 2015 by the Kings, Cauley-Stein spent his first four NBA seasons in Sacramento.

The seven-footer enjoyed several productive runs on lottery-bound Kings squads, averaging 11.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 1.2 SPG during his first — and so far only — year as a full-time starter, 2018/19.

He then joined the Warriors as a free agent in 2019, hoping to fill the same two-way, low-usage center role within that club’s humming offense that helped JaVale McGee win two titles in Golden State. Despite being a starter with Golden State, Cauley-Stein was shipped out out in 2020 to the Mavericks, where he finished off that pandemic-truncated season as a backup behind Maxi Kleber.

Holding on to Cauley-Stein seems like a savvy, cost-efficient move for the Mavs. At 27, the athletic rim-rolling big man could still have untapped upside and room to grow with Dallas.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavaliers To Make Isaiah Hartenstein UFA

August 1st, 2021 at 3:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Cavaliers will not issue a qualifying offer to reserve center Isaiah Hartenstein ahead of the 2021/22 season, making him an unrestricted free agent, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).

Hartenstein averaged 8.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 1.2 BPG across 17.9 MPG for a dismal 22-50 Cavaliers club last year. Cleveland’s frontcourt has undergone a major upgrade already during the offseason, as the Cavaliers drafted promising USC big man Evan Mobley with the third pick in the 2021 draft on Thursday. The Cavaliers are also expected to hold on to incumbent starting center Jarrett Allen, a restricted free agent this summer.

Mobley seems destined to start at power forward or center, but whether Allen or current starting power forward Larry Nance Jr. is the odd man out will ultimately be determined by head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Given that big man Kevin Love, a probable reserve, has two years and $60.2MM left on his exorbitant deal with the club and will be hard to trade this season, moving on from Hartenstein this summer makes sense from a minutes perspective.

Hartenstein, 23, was first selected by the Rockets in the 2017 NBA draft after a promising 2016/17 stint with Lithuanian pro club Žalgiris. After being waived by Houston in the 2020 offseason, the 7’0″ German then joined the Nuggets as a potential backup for eventual MVP Nikola Jokic ahead of the 2020/21 season. Hartenstein and two future Cleveland second-rounders were ultimately traded to Cleveland for an upgrade at the reserve center position in JaVale McGee.

Hartenstein declined a minimum-salary player option earlier this offseason.

Bulls Declining Ryan Arcidiacono’s Option

August 1st, 2021 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls won’t pick up their $3MM team option on Ryan Arcidiacono for the 2021/22 season, reports K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link).

Arcidiacono has been a Bull for the last four seasons, but had his role reduced this past year, playing a career-low 10.2 minutes per game in 44 regular season contests. He averaged 3.1 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 1.3 APG in his limited role, with a .419/.373/.650 shooting line.

Because he has four years of NBA service, Arcidiacono isn’t eligible for a qualifying offer and will become an unrestricted free agent after having his option declined.

Johnson suggests that a return to Chicago on a minimum-salary deal is a possibility for Arcidiacono, but adds that the 27-year-old guard is expected to receive interest from some other clubs as well.

Heat Pick Up Dragic’s Team Option, Decline Iguodala’s

August 1st, 2021 at 1:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Heat have made two divergent decisions on two decorated NBA veterans who proved instrumental in their 2019/20 NBA Finals run.

Miami has decided to pick up its $19.4MM team option on veteran point guard Goran Dragic for the 2021/22 season, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Dragic, 35, has been with the Heat since midway through the 2014/15 season, and netted his lone All-Star appearance with the club in 2018. Dragic was also named to the 2014 All-NBA Third Team while with the Suns.

Picking up Dragic’s option does not necessarily mean he is guaranteed to stick with the Heat this summer. As Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes (via Twitter), his contract could be incorporated to help match salaries in a big-money trade.

Andre Iguodala, meanwhile, will be hitting the open market. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that the Heat will not pick up their $15MM player option on the final year of the extension Iguodala inked with the club after he was traded from Memphis to Miami in the 2019/20 season. The 37-year-old Iguodala was named the 2015 Finals MVP during his first of three championships with the Warriors, and also has an All-Star appearance, two All-Defensive Team selections, and an Olympic gold medal on his resume.

Exercising Dragic’s option likely means Miami will operate as an over-the-cap team, but Woj suggests (Twitter link) the club will still be a player in free agency, either by carving out cap space in another way or via sign-and-trades.

Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, an unrestricted free agent this summer, remains among Miami’s most-desired free agent additions. Woj notes (via Twitter) that Dragic’s deal could be incorporated into a Lowry sign-and-trade with Toronto, while Marc Stein (Twitter link) refers to the Heat as the “favorite” to land Lowry and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets that Miami is a “very strong consideration” for the longtime Raptor.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) observes, if the Heat could add Lowry via sign-and-trade, they’d still possess the $9.5MM full non-taxpayer’s midlevel exception to sign a quality free agent and would be in position to retain restricted free agent sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, who appears to be in line for a major raise.

Rockets Extend Qualifying Offer To Anthony Lamb

July 31st, 2021 at 8:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Lamb has received a qualifying offer from the Rockets, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Because Lamb is a two-way player, his QO will carry a $50K guarantee, and it will make him restricted heading into free agency.

Lamb went to training camp with the Pistons last year, but was waived before the season began. He signed with Houston in early March and appeared in 24 games, making three starts and averaging 5.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per night.

A 6’6″ small forward, Lamb played for both the Canton Charge and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League bubble this year. He was named the league’s Most Improved Player.

Earlier today, the Rockets tendered a qualifying offer to Armoni Brooks, so both of their two-way players have been addressed. However, the team also reportedly agreed to a two-way deal with undrafted rookie Matthew Hurt, so it appears unlikely that both Brooks and Lamb will return unless one is promoted to the 15-man roster.