Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat, Hawks Swap No. 43, No. 44 Selections

June 27th, 2024 at 4:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

[Update: This trade has been folded into a separate agreement and officially completed as a three-team deal.]

The Heat are flipping the No. 43 pick to the Hawks for the No. 44 pick and cash, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter links here).

The Hawks will thus be receiving guard Nikola Djurisic at No. 43, while the Heat will wind up with Arizona Wildcats guard Pelle Larsson, the No. 44 pick.

Significantly, Atlanta will now be hard-capped at the second tax apron as a result of sending out cash.

Djurisic, 20, has played three-plus seasons with Mega in the Adriatic League. He averaged 15.4 points and 3.5 assists last season. He’s a potental draft-and-stash candidate.

Larsson, 23, played three seasons with the Wildcats after one year at Utah. He’s a prolific 3-point shooter — 39.7% in 133 career college games. Last season at Arizona, he averaged 12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He shot 51.9% from the field and 42.6% from deep.

Knicks To Trade No. 38 Pick To Thunder

June 27th, 2024 at 3:57pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks are trading the No. 38 pick in the 2024 draft to the Thunder, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Oklahoma City will be sending New York the No. 40 pick and cash, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports that the Thunder will select UC Santa Barbara guard Ajay Mitchell (Twitter links).

A native of Belgium, Mitchell had an impressive junior season for the Gauchos in 2023/24, averaging 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals on .504/.393/.858 shooting in 29 games (31.5 minutes per contest).

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Thunder previously agreed to acquire the No. 40 pick from the Trail Blazers in exchange for the No. 52 pick. OKC intially secured the 52nd pick in the deal that sent Lindy Waters to Golden State (Twitter links).

Portland will receive cash from Oklahoma City for moving down from No. 52 to No. 40.

Jamal Murray Expected To Agree To Four-Year Max Extension

June 27th, 2024 at 2:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets and point guard Jamal Murray are making progress toward a four-year, $208.45MM maximum contract extension this offseason, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). The Nuggets will present the offer to Murray and both sides expect an agreement.

Murray is entering the final season of a five-year, $182.8MM contract. He’s due to make $36MM in 2024/25

Under the terms of the extension, Murray would make approximately $46.53MM in 2025/26, $50.25MM in 2026/27, $53.97MM in 2027/28 and $57.7MM in 2028/29, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan. He could’ve added a fifth year worth $61.4MM if he re-signed as a free agent in 2025, according to Gozlan, but Murray has apparently chosen to lock into the long-term security now (Twitter link).

These salary estimates are based on a $141MM cap in 2024/25, then a 10% increase in 2025/26.

Murray won a championship with the Nuggets in 2023 and is generally considered the best active player never to be selected as an All-Star. During the title run, Murray averaged 26.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 20 games.

Injuries limited him to 59 regular-season games this past season, when he averaged 21.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and a career-best 6.5 assists. In Denver’s 12 postseason games, he averaged 20.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists.

He’s a career 45.2% shooter, including 38% from beyond the 3-point line. A 2016 lottery pick, Murray is still just 27 years old.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope To Decline Option, Become Free Agent

June 27th, 2024 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has decided to decline his $15.4MM player option with the Nuggets for the 2024/25 season, according to Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic, who report (via Twitter) that the veteran wing will become an unrestricted free agent.

The decision doesn’t necessarily mean Caldwell-Pope won’t return to Denver, but the Nuggets figure to face plenty of competition for the three-and-D specialist. Multiple teams with cap room are expected to pursue him, per Charania and Jones.

Caldwell-Pope, 31, played an important role on the Lakers team that won a title in 2020 and the Nuggets squad that won the 2023 championship. He has knocked down 40.3% of his three-point attempts over the last five seasons and is a strong perimeter defender.

While Denver would obviously like to bring back its starting shooting guard, a strong offer for Caldwell-Pope would likely push the team’s salary above the restrictive second tax apron. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth expressed a desire to re-sign Caldwell-Pope but suggested that the team has contingency plans prepared – including potentially sliding Christian Braun into the starting five – in the event that KCP leaves.

“I think we have to look at everything, and the nature of free agency is, he’s unrestricted,” Booth said. “So we can try to bring him back, and if he doesn’t want to come back or opts to go somewhere else, that’s his prerogative. So we’ll have to work with that. But I think we’re prepared to plug and play, so to speak.”

The Sixers and Magic are among the cap-room teams who have been mentioned as possible suitors for Caldwell-Pope, the No. 11 free agent on our top-50 list.

Suns’ Eric Gordon To Opt For Free Agency

June 27th, 2024 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Suns veteran wing Eric Gordon will turn down his $3.36MM player option for the 2024/25 season and become an unrestricted free agent, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

While a recent report from The Athletic had indicated that Gordon was “50-50” on his player option decision, plugged-in local reporter John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 subsequently stated that he didn’t expect the 35-year-old to be back in Phoenix next season. According to Charania, multiple contenders are expected to pursue Gordon.

Gordon is no longer the 20+ PPG scorer that he was earlier in his career, but the 16-year veteran has remained a reliable rotation piece for contending teams in recent years. After accepting a minimum-salary contract to join the Suns last summer, he averaged 11.0 points, 2.0 assists, and 1.8 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .443/.378/.797.

During his foray into free agency in 2023, Gordon prioritized the ability to play a significant role for a contending team over seeking out the most lucrative offer, since he almost certainly could’ve earned more than the veteran’s minimum from another club. We’ll see if his priorities remain the same this summer.

Gordon is one of four Suns who had a player option decision to make by June 29 and will join Drew Eubanks among those who are opting out. Josh Okogie‘s and Damion Lee‘s decisions have yet to be reported.

Warriors To Acquire Lindy Waters From Thunder For 52nd Pick

June 27th, 2024 at 1:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Thunder will send Lindy Waters to the Warriors in exchange for the 52nd pick in today’s draft, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Oklahoma City holds a $2.2MM non-guaranteed team option on Waters that must be exercised before the deal can be completed. Golden State views Waters as a potential rotation player and plans to guarantee his salary, keeping him on the roster, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

The 26-year-old shooting guard spent the past three years with OKC, mostly on two-way contracts before receiving a standard deal in February. He appeared in 38 games this season, averaging 3.6 points and 1.1 rebounds per game in 7.4 minutes per night.

The Thunder don’t have any other second-round picks, and there’s a belief that they might want to trade up even further, Fischer adds (Twitter link). Oklahoma City traded into the late first round Wednesday night, acquiring the 26th pick from New York to draft Dillon Jones.

OKC could be targeting San Francisco forward/center Jonathan Mogbo in the second round, speculates Rylan Stiles of Inside the Thunder. The team needs to find a replacement for two-way big man Olivier Sarr, who is expected to miss all of next season after suffering an Achilles injury in the G League Finals.

Wolves Trading Wendell Moore Jr. To Pistons In Pick Swap

June 27th, 2024 at 12:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons will acquire shooting guard Wendell Moore Jr. and the 37th pick in today’s draft from the Timberwolves, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Minnesota will receive the 53rd selection in return.

The trade serves as a slight salary dump for the Wolves, who unload Moore’s $2.5MM contract for next season and will likely fill that roster spot with a minimum-salary player. Minnesota picked up the third-year option on Moore last October.

Moore, 22, was drafted by Dallas with the 26th pick in the 2022 draft and was shipped to Houston and then Minnesota in a pair of draft-day trades. He has seen limited playing time at the NBA level, appearing in 54 total games, including 25 this past season when he averaged just 3.0 minutes per night.

The Pistons will move up 16 spots in the second round, putting them in position to grab a player ranked higher on their board without sacrificing much of their projected cap room. They’re still on track to create over $60MM in room once the new league year begins.

Detroit will have until the end of October to decide whether or not to exercise the $4.57MM option on Moore’s contract for the 2025/26 season. Turning down that option would put him on track for unrestricted free agency next summer, while picking it up would set him up for possible restricted free agency in 2026.

This is the first reported deal on what is expected to be an active day of trading as the NBA draft has expanded to two days for the first time.

Thunder Acquire No. 26 Pick Dillon Jones From Knicks

June 27th, 2024 at 8:04am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JUNE 27: The trade is now official, the Knicks confirmed (via Twitter).

JUNE 26: The Thunder have agreed to acquire the No. 26 pick from the Knicks and are using it to draft Weber State’s Dillon Jones, according to reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

Oklahoma City will trade five second-round picks to New York in exchange for Jones’ rights at No. 26, per Charania (Twitter link). The five second-rounders are as follows, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links):

Either the Celtics’ or Grizzlies’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable).
The Warriors’ 2026 second-round pick.
The Timberwolves’ 2027 second-round pick.
Either the Thunder’s, Rockets’, Heat’s, or Pacers’ 2027 second-round pick (whichever is second-most favorable).
Either the Thunder’s, Rockets’, Heat’s, or Pacers’ 2027 second-round pick (whichever is third-most favorable).

Adding Jones at No. 26 is a surprise move from Thunder team president Sam Presti. As The Oklahoman’s Joel Lorenzi tweets, Jones – who was not invited to the green room – was ranked 50th on ESPN’s big board and 65th by The Athletic.

However, the three-time All-Big Sky honoree had a big senior season in his final year with the Wildcats in 2023/24, averaging 20.8 points, 9.8 boards, 5.2 dimes, and 2.0 steals per game across 31 starts (37.0 MPG), with a shooting line of .489/.324/.857.

The move will allow the Knicks to replenish their future draft assets to some extent after the Nets ransacked their stash in the Mikal Bridges trade. It should also save New York some money and create additional flexibility below the tax aprons, since the cap hold for the No. 26 would have been about $2.63MM. The Knicks could instead use that roster spot on a minimum-salary player.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Knicks Trade No. 24 Pick Kyshawn George To Wizards

June 27th, 2024 at 8:02am CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 27: The Knicks have officially confirmed (via Twitter) that their deal with the Wizards has been finalized.

JUNE 26: The Wizards have agreed to acquire the No. 24 overall pick from the Knicks and are using it to draft Miami guard Kyshawn George, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Washington is giving up the 26th and 51th overall selections in exchange for George’s rights.

The Knicks had controlled both the No. 24 and No. 25 picks, so the Wizards presumably felt as if New York would use one of those selections to nab George, or that another team would move up ahead of them for the former Hurricane.

In his freshman season at Miami, George averaged 7.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 23.0 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .426/.408/.778. The Wizards will make the freshman wing their third draft pick of the night — he joins No. 2 pick Alexandre Sarr and No. 14 pick Carlton Carrington on the retooling squad, which is going all-in on player development and building through the draft.

The Knicks, meanwhile, essentially agreed to push their consecutive first-round picks by one spot – they now control the 25th and 26th picks instead of Nos. 24 and 25 – and acquired an extra second-round selection for their trouble.

They’ll reportedly flip that No. 26 pick to the Thunder in exchange for five future second-round picks.

Timberwolves Acquire No. 8 Pick Rob Dillingham From Spurs

June 26th, 2024 at 11:17pm CST by Luke Adams

11:17pm: The deal is official, the Spurs announced in a press release.

8:04pm: The Spurs used the No. 8 pick in tonight’s draft on Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, but he won’t begin his NBA career in San Antonio, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the Timberwolves are acquiring Dillingham’s rights from the Spurs.

According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), San Antonio is receiving Minnesota’s unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap in the deal. The ’30 swap will be top-one protected, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Neither of the Wolves’ 2024 picks (No. 27 and No. 37) are involved in the trade, confirms Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Minnesota’s ability to make roster moves this offseason will be extremely limited due to the fact that team salary will be above the second tax apron. That means the Wolves won’t be able to aggregate players in trades, take back more salary than they send out in trades, or sign outside free agents to contracts worth more than the minimum.

However, the second apron doesn’t prohibit them from acquiring a player’s draft rights, which don’t count as incoming salary for trade purposes as long as the player has not yet signed his rookie contract. That means they’ll be able to trade for Dillingham without sending out any players.

In his first and only college season with the Wildcats, Dillingham averaged 15.2 points, 3.9 assists, and 2.9 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game, posting an impressive shooting line of .475/.444/.796

Despite the Wolves’ ongoing ownership dispute, it appears management has been given the go-ahead to keep adding pieces. The addition of Dillingham, who projects to earn about $6.28MM as a rookie, will increase the club’s projected tax bill to approximately $100MM, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) estimates Minnesota’s projected tax bill at $84MM, but that number is fluid depending on how the club fills out its roster.

As for the Spurs, after adding Stephon Castle with the No. 4 pick, they clearly weren’t in love with any of the prospects available to them at No. 8, opting instead to continue adding to their stockpile of future draft picks by acquiring a pair of assets far down the road with little to no protection.

Clearing the $6.28MM cap hold for the No. 8 pick from their books will put the Spurs in position to create additional cap room this summer.