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Pelicans Extend Qualifying Offers To Ball, Hart

July 31st, 2021 at 1:52pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Pelicans have extended qualifying offers to Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, making them restricted free agents this summer, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN.

Ball’s qualifying offer is worth about $14.36MM, while Hart’s is approximately $5.24MM. Those are one-year contract offers that could theoretically be accepted, but Ball and Hart will likely earn more lucrative multiyear deals in free agency.

As long as the Pelicans keep those qualifying offers on the table, they’ll have the ability to match any offer sheet signed by Ball or Hart, and would have the leverage necessary to negotiate a sign-and-trade.

It remains unclear whether either Ball or Hart will return to New Orleans. The Pelicans’ agreement to trade Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams creates some cap flexibility for a bigger free agent acquisition, and the team is said to be eyeing Kyle Lowry and other point guards, including Spencer Dinwiddie.

Ball is unlikely to return if the Pelicans land one of those targets, since he’d probably need to be renounced to clear the necessary cap space. But if New Orleans strikes out on the free agent market, it will be interesting to see how the club handles Ball’s situation. He has been linked to the Bulls, Celtics, Raptors, Pacers, and Knicks, among other teams.

The Pelicans could potentially clear enough space to land a top free agent point guard without renouncing Hart, so he looks – for now – like a decent bet to return to the team.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Bucks’ Bobby Portis Declining 2021/22 Player Option

July 31st, 2021 at 12:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Bucks forward/center Bobby Portis won’t pick up his player option for the 2021/22 season, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

If Portis had opted into the final year of his deal, he would’ve earned a $3,804,150 salary. Instead, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent in search of a new contract.

Portis, 26, took a modest offer worth the bi-annual exception in free agency last fall in order to join the Bucks and played a key role in the team’s championship run. The veteran big man averaged 11.4 PPG and 7.1 RPG on .523/.471/.740 shooting in 66 regular season games (20.8 MPG), then contributed 8.8 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 20 postseason contests (18.3 MPG).

Declining his second-year option doesn’t preclude a return to the Bucks for Portis, who emerged as a fan favorite in Milwaukee. However, the club’s ability to offer him a raise will be limited.

The Bucks only hold Portis’ Non-Bird rights, which would allow them to offer a starting salary worth up to about $4.2MM. If they want to dip into their taxpayer mid-level exception, the Bucks could go up to about $5.9MM in year one. Portis will likely receive more lucrative offers on the open market.

Still, the former first-round pick accepted a discount to sign with Milwaukee once and could be open to doing so again if he wants to try to earn a second consecutive title with Giannis Antetokounmpo and company. The Bucks and Portis reportedly have mutual interest in a new deal.

Mavs Trade Josh Richardson To Celtics

July 31st, 2021 at 12:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 31: The Celtics will send Moses Brown – recently acquired from Oklahoma City – to Dallas in the deal for Richardson, tweets Charania. A simple one-for-one swap, the trade is now official, according to an announcement from the Mavs.

JULY 30: The Mavericks are finalizing a trade that would send swingman Josh Richardson to the Celtics, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Richardson will exercise his $11.6MM option in order to make the deal happen, Charania adds.

The Celtics are using a $11.05MM trade exception acquire in the Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade last year in order to make the deal, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Richardson made $10.86MM this past season, so Boston will finalize the deal on Saturday before the league calendar flips. The Mavericks will generate a trade exception worth the same amount.

Dallas could have up to $34MM in cap room entering free agency, though creating that much space would require renouncing Tim Hardaway Jr.‘s cap hold, Marks adds.

Richardson averaged 12.1 PPG and 2.6 APG in 59 regular-season games with Dallas this past season, including 56 starts. He’s a career 35.8% 3-point shooter and 83.2% free throw shooter with the reputation of being a quality perimeter defender.

The Celtics also agreed to a three-way deal on Friday in which they shipped big man Tristan Thompson to the Kings and acquired guard Kris Dunn from the Hawks. However, Dunn could be moved as part of another trade, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).

Rockets Make Avery Bradley Unrestricted Free Agent

July 31st, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets will not pick up their $5.9MM option on Avery Bradley, making the veteran guard an unrestricted free agent, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The move was expected, as Houston is in full rebuild mode. Bradley is expected to draw interest from multiple playoff contenders once he hits the open market on Monday.

Bradley wound up in Houston as a result of a deadline deal with the Heat during an injury-riddled season. Following the trade, Bradley averaged 5.2 PPG (while shooting 31.4% from the field and 27.0% from deep), 2.3 RPG and 1.9 APG across 23.0 MPG in 17 contests with the team.

Bradley, 30, has also played for Boston, Detroit, Memphis and both Los Angeles teams. He was on the Lakers’ roster in 2019/20 but opted not to play in the Orlando bubble when the Lakers won the NBA title.

Nico Mannion, Saben Lee, Others Receive Qualifying Offers

July 31st, 2021 at 10:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have issued a qualifying offer to two-way player Nico Mannion, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Because Mannion, the 48th overall pick in the 2020 draft, was on a two-way contract during his rookie season, his qualifying offer will be the equivalent of another two-way deal, with a partial guarantee worth $50K. The QO will give Golden State matching rights in the event that another team signs Mannion to an offer sheet next week.

Here are more updates on players on two-way contracts receiving qualifying offers:

Saben Lee, a 2020 second-round pick who spent his rookie season on a two-way deal, has received a qualifying offer from the Pistons, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith. As expected, Detroit also officially renounced the draft rights to Jaylen Hands, Smith notes.
The Bulls issued a qualifying offer to two-way player Devon Dotson, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith. Chicago also gave a QO to Lauri Markkanen on Friday.
Nuggets guard Markus Howard, another two-way player, received a qualifying offer that makes him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith. Howard appeared in 37 games for Denver last season as an undrafted rookie out of Marquette.
The Spurs extended a qualifying offer to forward Keita Bates-Diop to make him an RFA, tweets Smith. Like the other players listed above, Bates-Diop has fewer than four years of NBA experience and is therefore eligible to sign another two-way contract after spending the 2020/21 season on a two-way deal.
The Cavaliers gave a qualifying offer to two-way shooting guard Brodric Thomas, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Thomas appeared in a total of 32 games for Houston and Cleveland as a rookie in 2020/21.
The Grizzlies announced they’ve issued a qualifying offer to big man Killian Tillie, making him a restricted free agent. Tillie appeared in 18 games for Memphis as a rookie on his two-way deal.

Since all of these players are coming off two-way contracts and have only spent one season with their respective teams, their QOs are one-year, two-way offers with $50K guarantees.

Grizzlies Waive Jontay Porter

July 30th, 2021 at 9:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies have waived big man Jontay Porter, the team’s PR department tweets.

Porter came off the bench in 11 games last season but only averaged 4.9 MPG. Porter, 21, went undrafted in 2019 out of Missouri.

Porter, the brother of Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., underwent multiple knee surgeries before making his NBA debut in April. He also played for the team’s G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, at the Orlando bubble.

Porter was signed to a three-year, $6MM deal last November but the salaries in the last two years of the deal were not fully guaranteed. He would have been owed $1.95MM for next season if he had remained on the roster past August 18th.

Memphis will incur a $300K cap hit for waiving Porter, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.

Pacers Exercise Edmond Sumner’s 2021/22 Option

July 30th, 2021 at 8:48pm CST by Luke Adams

8:48pm: It’s official, according to a team press release.

1:00pm: The Pacers will pick up their team option on Edmond Sumner‘s contract for 2021/22, according to president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard (Twitter link via Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files).

The option will pay Sumner a $2.32MM salary before he becomes eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2022.

Sumner, 25, had a career year for the Pacers in 2020/21, playing a career-high 16.2 minutes per game and earning 24 starts in 53 contests. The 6’4″ guard averaged 7.5 PPG and 1.8 RPG with an impressive shooting line of .525/.398/.819.

While there might be some extra minutes on the wing available in Indiana in 2021/22 if Doug McDermott departs in free agency, Sumner will face competition from newly-drafted swingman Chris Duarte. A number of Pacers veterans have also been mentioned in trade rumors in recent weeks, so it’s possible the team will shake up its roster a little during the free agency, but when the dust settles, Sumner should be in the mix for a regular rotation role.

Matthew Hurt Signs Two-Way Contract With Rockets

July 30th, 2021 at 8:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 13: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 30: Undrafted Duke forward Matthew Hurt has agreed to a two-way deal with the Rockets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Hurt was the conference’s leading scorer last season, averaging 18.3 PPG and 6.2 RPG for the Blue Devils in 24 games as a sophomore. The 6’9” Hurt shot 44.4% from 3-point range, making him an attractive free agent after the draft.

The Timberwolves were among the teams also interested in signing Hurt, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Hurt worked out for a number of clubs during the draft process, including the Rockets.

Bulls Extend Qualifying Offer To Markkanen

July 30th, 2021 at 6:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls have extended a qualifying offer to forward Lauri Markkanen, making him a restricted free agent, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The QO is worth just over $9MM but Markkanen is expected to receive a deal exceeding that amount on the open market. Markannen is coming off a somewhat disappointing 2020/21 campaign in which he averaged a career-low 13.6 PPG and 5.3 RPG. His playing time diminished after Nikola Vucevic and Daniel Theis were acquired at the trade deadline.

Markannen said in May he intended to explore his free agent options. He was the seventh overall pick of the 2017 draft.

“My thing is I think I’ve always been a team-first guy. And I think now it’s time to look at the business side of the game,” Markkanen said. “I feel like I’m only 23 years old and I have a lot of basketball ahead of me. It’s a good opportunity to look what’s out there for me. I can be a focal point. I think I have a lot more to offer.”

Heat Extend QOs To Robinson, Nunn, Vincent, Strus

July 30th, 2021 at 6:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat have extended qualifying offers to Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, making the quartet restricted free agents, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets.

The QOs for Robinson and Nunn are worth $4.736MM apiece, while Vincent’s QO is $1.67MM and Strus’ would be another two-way deal. Vincent’s offer includes an $84K guarantee as a two-way player over the last two seasons, while Strus’ guarantee would be $50K, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes.

Robinson will be one of the hottest restricted free agents on the market, and Nunn will also likely attract interest from multiple suitors. Miami will have to right to match offer sheets on both of those wing players.

The Heat still need to decide whether to exercise their options on the contracts of Goran Dragic ($19.4MM), Andre Iguodala ($15MM) and Omer Yurtseven ($1.5MM) by 5 p.m. on Sunday.