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Pelicans Trade Kira Lewis Jr. To Pacers

January 17th, 2024 at 6:24pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans have traded fourth-year guard Kira Lewis Jr. and a 2024 second-round pick — the least favorable of New Orleans’ and Chicago’s second-rounders — to the Pacers in exchange for cash considerations, the two clubs confirmed in press releases.

Indiana waived James Johnson to create a roster spot for Lewis.

Lewis won’t be staying in Indiana. He’ll be part of the package heading to Toronto in the Pascal Siakam blockbuster. Lewis will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer if the Raptors give him a qualifying offer.

By trading Lewis’ $5.7MM contract, the Pelicans moved under the luxury tax line — they’d previously been over and have never paid the tax — so it’s a straightforward salary dump from their perspective.

A former lottery pick (13th overall in 2020), the 22-year-old was unable to carve out a regular spot in New Orleans’ rotation over the past two seasons after returning from a torn ACL in 2022/23. He has appeared in just 15 games this season for an average of 9.8 minutes per night.

The Pacers are acquiring Lewis using cap room, which means they’ll be able to immediately aggregate his salary in the Siakam trade. Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, and three first-round picks will also be sent to the Raptors in that deal.

The Pelicans now have 13 players on standard contracts. Teams aren’t permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard deals for more than 14 days at a time, so they’ll have two weeks to re-add a 14th man.

Pacers Waive James Johnson

January 17th, 2024 at 5:09pm CST by Rory Maher

As expected, the Pacers have officially waived veteran forward James Johnson, the team announced in a press release.

Indiana needed to open a roster spot to acquire Kira Lewis Jr. from New Orleans. Lewis — along with Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora and three first-round picks — will then be sent to Toronto in a separate deal for Pascal Siakam.

According to Tony East of SI.com (Twitter link), the Pacers hope to re-sign Johnson, assuming he clears waivers in a couple days. After the three-for-one trade is complete, Indiana will have two open roster spots.

Interestingly, Johnson was waived as part of a blockbuster trade last year as well, but the Pacers re-signed him a few days later. It sounds like that will be the case again in 2024.

If he clears waivers and becomes an unrestricted free agent, the Pacers will owe Johnson about $2.2MM — the prorated version of the veteran’s minimum — while the team will carry a $1.4MM cap hit, according to Spotrac. The 36-year-old signed a one-year deal with Indiana last month after going unsigned over the offseason, which is why his salary is prorated.

Johnson, who has played for 10 different different NBA teams, averaged 4.8 minutes per game across five appearances in 2023/24. He played 18 games for the Pacers last season.

While he hasn’t contributed much on the court the past two seasons, the Pacers clearly value Johnson’s leadership and professionalism, which is why they keep bringing him back.

Pacers Finalizing Trade For Pascal Siakam

January 17th, 2024 at 1:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers and Raptors are finalizing an agreement on a trade that will send star forward Pascal Siakam to Indiana, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The deal, whose framework was previously reported by Shams Charania and Jake Fischer, will send Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, and three first-round picks to Toronto, according to Wojnarowski. The Pelicans will also be involved, Wojnarowski notes, with fourth-year guard Kira Lewis headed to the Raptors.

Earlier reporting indicated that Indiana would likely include either Jalen Smith or Obi Toppin in their package for salary-matching purposes. However, by acquiring Lewis from New Orleans using their cap room, the Pacers will be able to immediately aggregate his salary with Brown’s and Nwora’s, making him the missing matching piece. As a result, the “three-team” deal will technically consist of two separate trades, ESPN’s Bobby Marks confirms (via Twitter).

The three first-rounders going to Toronto will be the Pacers’ own 2024 pick, a second ’24 first-rounder (via Oklahoma City), and Indiana’s 2026 pick, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The 2024 pick from OKC will be the least favorable of the Thunder’s, Clippers’, Rockets’, and Jazz’s first-rounders. The 2026 pick will include top-four protection, according to Charania (Twitter link).

In the Pelicans/Pacers swap, New Orleans will receive cash from Indiana and will send a second-round pick to the Pacers, per ESPN’s Andrew Lopez and Wojnarowski (Twitter link). That will be a 2024 selection, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com, which means it’ll be the least favorable of the Pelicans’ and Bulls’ second-rounders.

The blockbuster deal is the culmination of several months of trade rumors involving Siakam. He was also at the center of speculation over the 2023 offseason, at which time the Raptors reportedly spoke to the Hawks and others about the two-time All-Star. The Mavericks, Warriors, Pistons, and Kings are among the teams that have been linked to him in recent weeks.

After getting a limited return for Kyle Lowry in a sign-and-trade deal in 2021 and then losing Fred VanVleet for nothing in 2023 free agency, the Raptors were more proactive this season in moving key players on expiring contracts ahead of February’s trade deadline. Toronto sent OG Anunoby and two other players to New York at the end of December in exchange for Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and a second-round pick.

The Pacers reportedly made an effort to acquire Anunoby before the Knicks landed him, but Siakam had been at the top of their wish list for over six months, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. While the Raptors were believed to be seeking a return headlined by a young player or two – like the one they got from the Knicks for Anunoby – Indiana was able to get the deal done with a pick-heavy package that didn’t include recent lottery selections Bennedict Mathurin or Jarace Walker.

By virtue of being traded, Siakam will no longer be eligible for a super-max contract in the event he makes an All-NBA team for a third time this season. Additionally, he won’t be able to sign an extension of more than two years with Indiana prior to free agency, since a longer-term extension deal isn’t permitted for six months after the trade.

However, the 29-year-old is excited to join the Pacers and is expected to be “eager” to figure out a new contract with the team this summer, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Pacers will hold his Bird rights, giving them the ability to offer up to five years once he becomes a free agent. They’ll have plenty of financial flexibility to make Siakam a part of the long-term core alongside star point guard Tyrese Haliburton.

“I’m excited that Pascal is getting a first class opportunity with the Pacers, being paired with Tyrese and Myles (Turner) and being coached by a great coach in Rick Carlisle,” Siakam’s agent Todd Ramasar said in a statement to Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link). “His future there looks bright there.”

The Raptors will now control at least two first-round picks in the 2024 draft, along with an early second-rounder from the Pistons that currently projects to be 31st overall. They traded their own ’24 first-rounder away to the Spurs in last season’s Jakob Poeltl deal, but it has top-six protection, so it’s not a lock to change hands — Toronto’s 15-25 record is tied for the sixth-worst mark in the NBA.

It’s unclear what Toronto’s plans are for Brown, who played an important role on the Nuggets’ championship team last season and could be a popular target for contenders on the trade market in the coming weeks.

Brown is on a pseudo-expiring $22MM contract — he has a $23MM club option for 2024/25, so if he remains a Raptor, the club could create in excess of $30MM in cap room by declining that option, notes Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Nwora ($3MM) and Lewis ($5.7MM) are also on expiring deals.

While the Pacers’ 2023/24 team salary will increase beyond the cap once they officially acquire Siakam, the Raptors and Pelicans will gain significant cap relief. After being only slightly under the luxury tax line prior to the trade, Toronto will have about $9MM in breathing room below that threshold, tweets cap expert Yossi Gozlan.

New Orleans, meanwhile, will move from above the tax line to about $2.8MM below it, Gozlan adds (via Twitter). That will give the Pelicans – one of two NBA teams to never pay the tax – more room to operate on the trade market or in free agency in the coming weeks.

The Pacers will have to waive a player in order to acquire Lewis from New Orleans. Veteran forward James Johnson will be that roster casualty, per Tony East of SI.com (Twitter link). The Raptors, who currently have one open spot on their 15-man roster, will also need to make a cut in order to accommodate their three-for-one deal with Indiana.

Both the Pacers and Pelicans will end up with 13 players on standard contracts once the two trades are completed. Teams aren’t permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard deals for more than 14 days at a time, so both clubs will have two weeks to re-add a 14th man.

Scotty Pippen Jr. Signs Two-Way Contract With Grizzlies

January 16th, 2024 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

2:42pm: Pippen has officially signed with the Grizzlies, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). He’ll be eligible to appear in up to 26 regular season games for the club.

2:30pm: Former Lakers guard Scotty Pippen Jr. has agreed to a two-way contract with the Grizzlies, agent Erika Ruiz tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, it will be a two-year deal, covering not just the rest of this season but 2024/25 as well.

Pippen, the son of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, spent his rookie year in 2022/23 on a two-way deal with the Lakers after going undrafted out of Vanderbilt. He logged just 32 total minutes in six games at the NBA level, but played regularly for the South Bay Lakers, averaging 22.2 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game across 35 NBAGL appearances in the Showcase Cup and regular season.

After spending training camp with Los Angeles again this past fall, Pippen was waived ahead of the regular season and returned to South Bay. He has put up 20.2 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 5.3 RPG with a .485/.329/.846 shooting line in 17 G League games this season.

The Grizzlies had a two-way slot available after promoting Vince Williams to their standard 15-man roster last week. Pippen will join G.G. Jackson and Jacob Gilyard as Memphis’ two-way players.

Once Pippen officially signs, Memphis will have a full roster of 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals. However, as we outlined earlier this afternoon, the Grizzlies are in position to fill out their roster beyond the standard limits due to a series of injuries that will make the team eligible for hardship exceptions.

Wizards Acquire Bagley, Livers From Pistons In Four-Player Trade

January 14th, 2024 at 2:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

2:31pm: The trade is now official, Detroit has announced in a press release (Twitter link).

9:35am: The Pistons will send Marvin Bagley III, Isaiah Livers and two second-round picks to the Wizards in exchange for Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The picks are for 2025 and 2026, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Detroit used some of its draft assets to offload Bagley’s contract, which will pay him $12.5MM next season. The other three players in the trade are all on expiring deals, with Livers at $1.8MM, Gallinari at $6.8MM and Muscala at $3.5MM.

Bagley had been a part-time starter since being acquired from Sacramento at the 2022 trade deadline, but the organization is motivated to create as much cap space as possible in the wake of a disastrous season. Detroit will have 11 impending free agents once the trade is finalized and currently projects to have about $64MM to work with in free agency, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.

This could be the start of a complete overhaul for the 3-36 Pistons heading into the February 8 trade deadline, suggests Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports cites a high-ranking source who tells him the deal is just the “first step” (Twitter link).

There are several options available for the two draft picks in the trade, observes John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 2025 selection could be a return of Washington’s pick, while the 2026 choice could be from Minnesota, New York, New Orleans or Portland.

Bagley, the second overall selection in the 2018 draft, will get a chance to revive his career with another rebuilding team in Washington. Although he was averaging 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 26 games this season, he was an awkward fit for a team that already had Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart and James Wiseman in its big-man rotation.

Livers, a 25-year-old forward, established himself as a rotation player in Detroit after being drafted in the second round in 2021. He averaged 5.0 points and 2.1 rebounds in 23 games this season, but was shooting career lows of 34.5% from the field and 28.6% from three-point range.

Gallinari appeared in 26 games in his first year with the Wizards after sitting out all of last season with a torn ACL. The 35-year-old forward was averaging 7.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per night.

Muscala, 32, was acquired from Boston last summer in the same deal as Gallinari. He averaged 4.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 24 games in his brief time in Washington.

The Pistons will also create a $5.7MM trade exception in the deal, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link).

Grizzlies Give Vince Williams Standard Contract, Waive Bismack Biyombo

January 10th, 2024 at 5:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

5:54pm: The moves involving Williams and Biyombo are now official, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter).

5:18pm: The Grizzlies will convert Vince Williams‘ two-way contract to a standard deal, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The new contract will be fully guaranteed at $7.9MM over three years and carries a team option for a fourth season, adds Wojnarowski, who states that it’s believed to be the richest ever for a player coming off a two-way deal.

To open a spot for Williams on the 15-man roster, Memphis will waive veteran center Bismack Biyombo, according to Woj, who notes that Biyombo has been impressive in his time with the Grizzlies and could return to the team later in the season if he clears waivers. Wojnarowski hears that Memphis will look for another big man to fill its open two-way slot.

Williams has emerged as an outstanding perimeter defender in his second year with Memphis after being taken with the 47th pick in the 2022 draft. The 23-year-old swingman has appeared in 27 games this season, making eight starts, and is averaging 5.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 21.9 minutes per night.

Memphis will use part of the $7.4MM remaining on its non-taxpayer mid-level exception to cover Williams’ salary for the rest of the season, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The team already spent $5MM of its MLE to sign Biyombo in November.

Biyombo’s contract was only partially guaranteed and the Grizzlies could have saved money by waiving him before Sunday’s deadline, but Marks notes that they’re far enough below the luxury tax that it won’t affect their financial flexibility this season.

Memphis added the 31-year-old Biyombo after losing Steven Adams with a season-ending knee injury. Biyombo quickly took over as the starting center and averaged 5.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 30 games. The Grizzlies will be responsible for the rest of his contract unless another team claims him on waivers.

Clippers Sign Kawhi Leonard To Three-Year Extension

January 10th, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

1:00pm: Leonard’s new contract is a three-year extension worth $152.4MM, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links). The deal, which runs through 2026/27, doesn’t include a player option and comes in a little below Leonard’s maximum salary, Charania adds.

The precise value of Leonard’s maximum salary for next season won’t be known until the 2024/25 salary cap is set, but based on current projections, Leonard could have earned up to about $161MM on a three-year max extension; that figure could end up at nearly $170MM if the cap increases by the maximum 10%.

Leonard’s new deal will feature a salary in the $52MM range in year one before dipping to approximately $50MM for each of the next two seasons, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The cap would have to rise by more than 9% this summer for Kawhi’s max to get to $52MM — if it doesn’t, the first-year salary on his new deal will come in slightly lower than that.

The extension will make Leonard ineligible to be traded until July 10.

12:34pm: The Clippers have signed star forward Kawhi Leonard to a contract extension, the team announced today in a press release.

Prior to agreeing to a new deal, Leonard was eligible to reach unrestricted free agency this summer by turning down a $48.8MM player option for 2024/25. The terms of his extension aren’t yet known, but he had the ability to decline that option at any time up until June 30 and then add as many as four years to the final season of his current contract.

“We’re thrilled to continue our relationship with Kawhi,” president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement. “He is an elite player, a terrific partner and a relentless worker who knows how to win and makes it his first priority. He elevated our franchise from the moment he arrived. We feel fortunate that Kawhi chose to join the Clippers four years ago, and excited to keep building with him.”

Leonard, who signed with the Clippers in 2019 on the heels of leading the Raptors to a championship, has been hampered by injuries during his time in Los Angeles, appearing in no more than 57 regular season games in any of his first four years as a Clipper. He missed the entire 2021/22 season while recovering from an ACL tear that he sustained during the ’21 playoffs.

However, the 32-year-old has continued to perform at an All-NBA level when he’s healthy and has played in 32 of 36 Clippers games so far in his fifth season with the franchise, leading L.A. to a 23-13 record. Leonard has averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.8 steals in 34.5 minutes per night in 2023/24, posting an elite shooting line of .516/.430/.871.

Entering the day, Leonard and Paul George were on identical contracts, with George also eligible to sign an extension of up to four years if he declines a $48.8MM player option for ’24/25.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the organization’s extension talks with George are ongoing, with the Clippers hoping to get both stars locked up to longer-term contracts as they prepare to move into their new arena later this year.

The Clippers won’t be able to extend James Harden‘s contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the 2024 offseason, but if the rest of this season goes well, the team would presumably be looking to sign him to a new deal as well.

The Clippers lost their first six games after acquiring Harden on November 1, but have been on fire since then, winning 20 of their past 26 games to move up in the Western Conference standings from 12th place to fourth.

Kings Re-Sign Toscano-Anderson To 10-Day Deal

January 9th, 2024 at 5:57pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JANUARY 9: The Kings have re-signed Toscano-Anderson on a 10-day contract, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee tweets.

JANUARY 7: As expected, the Kings have officially waived reserve wing Juan Toscano-Anderson, according to James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento (Twitter link). However, Ham reports that Sacramento intends to re-sign Toscano-Anderson to a 10-day deal if and when he clears waivers.

Toscano-Anderson first joined Sacramento last month, though he never cracked the regular lineup, only playing 19 minutes of mop-up duty across eight games. He scored a total of two points, grabbed five cumulative boards, and dished out three dimes.

After spending two days on waivers, the 30-year-old will have earned a total of $323,506 from the non-guaranteed minimum deal he initially signed on December 15.

Given that today marks the NBA’s deadline to lock in non-guaranteed salaries, it makes sense that Sacramento wants to maximize its flexibility on the fringes of its roster, with just over a month until this year’s February 8 trade deadline. Toscano-Anderson would again fill the Kings’ 15th and final roster spot once he rejoins the team.

Across his five NBA seasons spent with four teams now, the 6’6″ swingman boasts averages of 4.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 0.6 SPG. He went undrafted out of Marquette in 2015. Following stints with pro clubs in Mexico and Venezuela, he latched on with the Warriors’ Santa Cruz NBAGL affiliate in 2018. Toscano-Anderson signed on with Golden State proper in 2020 and won a title with the club in 2022. He has spent the past two seasons with the Lakers, Jazz, and now Kings.

Wizards Sign Hamidou Diallo To 10-Day Deal

January 9th, 2024 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

1:58pm: The Wizards have officially signed Diallo to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through next Thursday (January 18).

8:14am: The Wizards have agreed to sign free agent wing Hamidou Diallo to a 10-day contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Diallo, 25, was the 45th overall pick in the 2018 draft. Over his first five years in the NBA, he appeared in 263 regular season games for the Thunder and Pistons, averaging 8.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per night. Last season, he made a career-high 57.3% of shots from the field in 56 games (17.8 MPG) for Detroit, putting up 9.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG.

While Diallo is an athletic player, an above-average rebounder for his position, and an active defender, he’s an awkward fit in some lineups due to his inability to space the floor — he has made just 27.4% of his career three-point attempts. That’s presumably a key reason why he didn’t find an NBA home when he became an unrestricted free agent this past offseason.

Washington eventually signed Diallo to an Exhibit 10 contract at the end of the offseason and made him an affiliate player for the Capital City Go-Go. The former Kentucky standout has averaged 18.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 31.1 minutes per game across 20 appearances this season for the Go-Go.

The Wizards have an open spot on their 15-man roster after having waived Ryan Rollins on Monday. Diallo will fill that opening and will earn $134,863 over the course of his 10 days with the club. He’ll be available for the team’s next four games, assuming he officially signs today or tomorrow. Washington would be eligible to sign Diallo to one more 10-day contract after his first deal expires.

As Rylan Stiles of Locked on Thunder points out (via Twitter), current Wizards general manager Will Dawkins was in the Thunder’s front office during Diallo’s time in Oklahoma City.

Wizards Waive Guard Ryan Rollins

January 8th, 2024 at 10:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

10:45pm: The Wizards have officially waived Rollins, the team’s PR department tweets.

10:17pm: The Wizards are waiving guard Ryan Rollins, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.

Rollins has appeared in 10 games with Washington, averaging 4.1 points in 6.6 minutes per night.

A second-round pick in 2022, Rollins played 12 games for Golden State last season. He was included in the trade that sent Chris Paul to the Warriors and brought Jordan Poole to Washington.

Rollins had a $1,719,864 salary this season. His deal wasn’t fully guaranteed beyond this season, but it included a $600K partial guarantee for 2024/25, according to Spotrac. The Wizards will be on the hook for that money unless he’s claimed on waivers.

Rollins hasn’t appeared in an NBA contest since Dec. 27. The Wizards are planning to replace him on the roster soon, perhaps with a player on a 10-day contract, according to Robbins.