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Free Agent Notes: Giddey, Clippers, Knicks, Metu, Moore

July 10th, 2025 at 8:02am CST by Luke Adams

Reports since last October have suggested that a salary of $30MM per year is a target for Josh Giddey and his representatives in their contract talks with the Bulls, and that number continues to be mentioned this summer. However, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (YouTube link) isn’t convinced that’s what it’ll take for the Bulls to get a deal done with the restricted free agent guard.

“Both the Bulls and Giddey want to get a deal done,” Johnson said (hat tip to Benedetto Vitale of Clutch Points). “The Bulls, knowing that the market is scarce and the restricted free agency market has very little movement…are playing the slow game here.

“I don’t have particular numbers, other than to say that Josh Giddey’s $30MM per year price tag – that’s been well documented in media and out there since last fall when the rookie contract extension was discussed – has not ever crossed my radar. I’ve never heard the Bulls mention that number. So I would not expect Josh Giddey to sign a $30MM (per year) deal.”

While Johnson refers to the situation as a “stalemate” for the time being, he stresses that negotiations haven’t been acrimonious and says he fully expects Giddey to be wearing a Bulls uniform next season.

Here’s more on free agency:

The Clippers continue to be linked to guards Bradley Beal and Chris Paul and haven’t ruled out the possibility of adding both players, per NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). While Paul is currently a free agent, Beal will need to finalize a buyout with Phoenix before reaching the open market.
The Knicks have one roster spot open for a veteran free agent and will likely target a guard, ideally one who can handle the ball, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link). Breaking down a few possible targets who might make sense for the Knicks, Bondy notes that the team has kept an eye on Marcus Smart in case he and the Wizards work out a buyout agreement.
Former NBA big man Chimezie Metu is nearing a deal with the Turkish team Fenerbahce, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, who says the plan is to finalize a one-year agreement if Metu’s medicals check out. The 28-year-old, who appeared in 260 NBA regular season games from 2018-24, tore his Achilles in March, so Fenerbahce wants to make sure his recovery is progressing as planned. Sources tell Urbonas that Metu is targeting a return to the court before the end of the year.
After playing for the Spurs during the California Classic Summer League this past week, free agent guard Omari Moore has reached a contract agreement with Valencia, the Spanish team announced in a press release. According to Urbonas (Twitter link), Moore had received NBA interest but has decided to make the move to Spain rather than accepting a two-way contract offer.

Suns Sign Nigel Hayes-Davis To One-Year Deal

July 10th, 2025 at 7:07am CST by Eli Cohen

July 10: The Suns have officially signed Hayes-Davis, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

Hayes-Davis and Fenerbahce officially parted ways this week after he reportedly turned down a lucrative offer from the Turkish team that would have made him one of the EuroLeague’s highest-paid players.

June 30: The Suns have agreed to a one-year deal with free agent forward Nigel Hayes-Davis, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter). The deal is fully guaranteed.

Hayes-Davis is coming off being named Final Four MVP as he helped Turkish club Fenerbahce win the 2025 EuroLeague championship. He averaged 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 42.3% from three-point range in 34 EuroLeague contests in 2024/25 (31.1 MPG).

After starring at Wisconsin in college, Hayes-Davis played nine total NBA games during the 2017/18 season, bouncing between the Lakers, Raptors, and Kings. He has been out of the league ever since.

While the 6’7″ forward’s first NBA stint was brief, he has been one of the top players in the EuroLeague over the past three seasons with Fenerbahce. With the Suns loaded with shooting guards and centers, the 30-year-old will provide forward depth alongside Royce O’Neale.

Fenerbahce’s GM said Hayes-Davis was drawing serious NBA interest shortly after the team won the title and was preparing for his potential departure.

Nuggets Notes: Holmes, Tyson, Valanciunas, MPJ

July 9th, 2025 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

After suffering a torn right Achilles tendon during last year’s Summer League, Nuggets big man DaRon Holmes is returning to Las Vegas to restart his NBA career, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. The organization had huge expectations for Holmes after trading up to take him with the 22nd pick in the 2024 draft, but the injury forced him to sit out his entire first season. He has fully recovered and won’t be on any limitations for Denver’s first game Thursday evening.

“It can be pretty difficult, because you have to trust what the trainers are saying (while recovering),” Holmes said. “So if they’re like, ‘Hey, we don’t want you coming back in the gym tonight — rest your legs, rest your Achilles,’ I might try to fight back and say no, I want to get shots up. But I have to listen to what they have to say. They went to school for eight-plus years doing that. I grew up playing basketball. So that’s the fight. It’s more of a mental thing. But I listen to what they have to say. And I trust my form. I’ve been still getting up shots, but I listen if they say (to rest).”

Holmes considers himself to be a natural power forward, but he’ll likely see some time at center this summer. He’s a little short for the position at 6’9″, so Durando expects him to compete for backup minutes during the season at the four spot with Zeke Nnaji and Peyton Watson.

“Anywhere they put me, I’ll be comfortable playing,” Holmes added. “I spent a lot of summer time playing the five. … I trust what the coaches have. I trust this team, the organization.”

There’s more on the Nuggets:

Hunter Tyson will return to Summer League for a third season, Durando states in a separate story. The former second-round pick was the only player on Denver’s standard roster who averaged fewer than 10 minutes per game last season, so he signed up for another summer in Las Vegas to sharpen his skills. “Trying to use this opportunity to get better,” Tyson said. “Make the most of it every time I step on the floor. … Going to go out there and try and win, try and work on my game, try and get better. Use the game reps to continue to grow my game.”
The Nuggets’ trade with Sacramento for Jonas Valanciunas remains on track to be finalized this week, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), but the team hasn’t agreed to guarantee his $10MM salary for 2026/27. Valanciunas will make $10.395MM during the upcoming season and has been hoping to return to Europe to play for Panathinaikos. On Tuesday, during his first public comments since news of the trade broke, Valanciunas sounded ready to report to the Nuggets. “Once the trade is finalized, we’ll put together the plan for the trip to Denver,” he said, per Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. “The team will outline how they see the situation, medicals, and all the details. That part is up to them.”
Michael Porter Jr. released a YouTube video thanking Nuggets fans for their support and discussing his trade to Brooklyn. Porter said he enjoyed his time with the organization, especially the 2023 championship, but added that his “ceiling in Denver kind of plateaued.”

Timberwolves Sign Rocco Zikarsky To Two-Way Contract

July 9th, 2025 at 10:17pm CST by Luke Adams

10:17 pm: Zikarsky’s two-way contract will cover two seasons, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.

2:23 pm: The Timberwolves have officially added second-round pick Rocco Zikarsky to their roster, announcing today in a press release that the 7’3″ center has signed a two-way contract with the team.

Zikarsky, who will turn 19 on Friday, has been a member of the Brisbane Bullets in Australia’s National Basketball League for the last two seasons. The Australian big man appeared in 18 games for the team in 2024/25, averaging 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per contest.

The Bulls technically selected Zikarsky with the No. 45 overall pick on draft night last month, but they did so on behalf of the Timberwolves. The Lakers initially agreed to move up from No. 55 to No. 45 in a deal with the Bulls, then flipped that pick to Minnesota in a deal for No. 36.

Zikarsky’s rights were officially traded to the Wolves as part of the seven-team Kevin Durant blockbuster.

As our tracker shows, Minnesota now has a pair of players on two-way contracts, with Zikarsky joining fellow center Jesse Edwards. The Wolves have one more two-way slot available and free agent guard Tristen Newton is the favorite to fill it, having received a two-way qualifying offer from the club at the end of June.

Jordan McLaughlin To Re-Sign With Spurs

July 9th, 2025 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jordan McLaughlin will return to the Spurs on a one-year, $3MM contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

It will likely be a veteran’s minimum deal for McLaughlin, whose minimum salary this season based on his six years of NBA service would be $2,874,436.

The 29-year-old point guard was acquired from Sacramento in February as part of the De’Aaron Fox deal. He saw limited playing time in 18 games after the trade, averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 assists in 6.9 minutes per night with .536/.450/1.000 shooting numbers.

McLaughlin spent his first five NBA seasons with Minnesota after signing a two-way contract in the summer of 2019. He moved on to the Kings as a free agent last July, but didn’t see consistent playing time with them either before being traded.

McLaughlin will be the 13th standard contract for San Antonio, which opened an extra roster spot earlier today by sending Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley to Washington in exchange for Kelly Olynyk.

Devin Booker Agrees To Two-Year Max Extension With Suns

July 9th, 2025 at 8:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

Devin Booker has reached an agreement with the Suns on a two-year maximum-salary extension that could be worth more than $145MM, agents Jessica Holtz and Melvin Booker of CAA tell Shams Charania of ESPN. The deal, which will run through the 2029/30 season, was finalized tonight in a meeting with owner Mat Ishbia in Las Vegas.

Booker’s annual extension salary of $72.5MM would be the largest in NBA history, Charania adds, slightly surpassing the projections on the new deal Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed with Oklahoma City last week ($71.25MM). Booker now has five years and an estimated $316MM left on his contract with the Suns.

Booker’s deal will be worth 35% of the salary cap in 2028/29, with an 8% raise for ’29/30. Charania’s figures are based on presumed cap increases of 7% next year and 10% each of the following two years, so there’s no guarantee the extension will actually come in that high.

If it does, Booker would make $70,077,350 in 2028/29 and $75,683,530 in 2029/30, giving him a total of $145,760,880.

This is the third contract extension for Booker, who has spent the past 10 seasons in Phoenix after being selected with the 13th pick in the 2015 draft. He has talked frequently about wanting to play his entire career with the same franchise and working to make the Suns contenders again. The new deal, which will take him past his 33rd birthday, is a major step toward accomplishing that.

There was trade speculation surrounding Booker and virtually all the Suns in the midst of a frustrating 36-46 season that saw them fall short of the play-in tournament. That prompted Ishbia to issue a strong statement in March vowing that he would never part with Booker and referring to him as the sort of “superstar” that’s necessary to win a title.

Ishbia and his new management team have already started the process of reworking the roster around Booker. Kevin Durant was shipped to Houston in a seven-team trade, and the Suns are believed to be nearing a buyout agreement with Bradley Beal. Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks were the main additions in the Durant deal, Mark Williams was acquired from Charlotte in a draft-night trade and Khaman Maluach was selected with the No. 1o pick.

Booker posted typically excellent numbers amidst the chaos of last season, although his shooting percentages declined from his usual standards. He averaged 25.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 75 games while connecting at 46.1% from the field and 33.2% from three-point range.

Booker will return to being the focus of the offense with Durant and possibly Beal gone, so he’ll need a strong performance next season to push the Suns in the right direction.

Longtime Jazz Coach, GM Frank Layden Passes Away

July 9th, 2025 at 7:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Jazz coach and general manager Frank Layden has died at 93, writes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Layden began his NBA coaching career in 1976 as an assistant to Hubie Brown in Atlanta, but he’s best known for his time with the Jazz, whom he joined as GM in 1979 while they were still in New Orleans. He took over as head coach in 1981 and became famous for his colorful personality while leading the franchise to its first taste of NBA success.

Layden was named Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year in 1984 as the Jazz captured their first division title. He built an enduring foundation by drafting John Stockton that year and Karl Malone in 1985, teaming up one of the NBA’s longest-running and most accomplished duos.

Layden continued coaching until 1989, when he turned over the team to assistant Jerry Sloan, who guided Utah to its only two NBA Finals. Layden, who finished with a career record of 277-294 and five playoff appearances, briefly resumed his coaching career in 1998 and 1999 with the Utah Starzz in the WNBA.

“Frank brought relevance to Utah,” said Gordon Chiesa, who worked as an assistant under Layden. “He was unique, he was authentic, he was an original. He treated everyone the same, from a custodian to the mayor of New York City.”

Layden remained with the Jazz for several years as an executive after he stopped coaching. He later worked as a consultant with the Knicks while his son, Scott Layden, was the team’s general manager.

Brandon Judd of The Deseret News shared a 2014 quote from Layden that summed up his philosophy of coaching and life.

“One thing I try to emphasize is it should be fun,” he said. “Anything you do. If you go to school, it should be fun; if you go to work, it should be fun. And then you work and each day there should be some satisfaction that you accomplished something.”

Jericho Sims Re-Signs With Bucks

July 9th, 2025 at 7:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

July 9: Sims’ new deal with the Bucks is official, the team announced in a press release.

July 1: Jericho Sims will return to the Bucks on a two-year contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). He’ll have a player option on the second season of the deal.

The 26-year-old big man appeared in 14 games, all off the bench, after being acquired from New York in a four-team trade at the deadline. He averaged 2.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in 15 minutes per night with Milwaukee.

Terms of the new deal weren’t released, but Sims will get at least a modest raise over the $2MM he made in the final season of the three-year contract he signed with the Knicks. His minimum salary this season will be $2.46MM.

New York selected Sims with the 58th pick in 2021, but he was in and out of coach Tom Thibodeau‘s rotation during his three and a half years with the team. He has a chance to claim a larger role in his first full season with Milwaukee, possibly as the primary backup for newly acquired center Myles Turner.

The Bucks have been active since free agency began, waiving and stretching Damian Lillard to create cap room for Turner, re-signing free agents Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince and trading Pat Connaughton to Charlotte in exchange for Vasilije Micic.

Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst approached the offseason determined to put together a contender to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo from asking for a trade and has been very aggressive in the first 24 hours of the new league year.

Heat Notes: Powell, Clutch Shooting, Cap Space, D. Robinson

July 9th, 2025 at 6:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

Norman Powell called it a “childhood dream” to play for the Heat during an introductory news conference conducted via Zoom on Wednesday, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. That dream was realized on Monday when the Clippers agreed to send Powell to Miami as part of a three-team trade that also included Utah. Powell wasn’t exactly expecting to be dealt after a career-best season, but it wasn’t a complete surprise.

“I didn’t know what to think at first,” he said. “It has been a crazy last couple of weeks, from talking to [Clippers general manager] Lawrence Frank at my exit meeting and what they were telling me. It was something I knew was a possibility, from them communicating teams were interested, inquiring about me. But it was made to seem like it wasn’t a high possibility of it happening and they valued me and wanted me to be a Clipper and we were going to figure out … extension talks.”

Powell’s love for the Heat comes from being a fan of Dwyane Wade while growing up. He believes he has the work ethic to fit right into Heat culture and said he can provide scoring punch in whatever role he’s given.

“I see myself as a plug and play,” Powell said. “I see myself as a key guy, a one, two option that can help carry a team to win. … I’ve always seen myself as a go-to guy that can help carry a team, help a team win. I don’t have a big ego of ‘I have to be the main guy.’ I want to win.”

There’s more from Miami:

Powell should help the Heat improve their clutch shooting, which cost them several games last season, Jackson states in a separate piece. Miami posted the league’s worst record in close games after January 1 and ranked in the bottom two for shot-making in clutch situations throughout the entire season. Jackson notes that Powell was 12th in the league in clutch three-point shooting among players with at least 10 attempts, going 7-of-14.
The trade won’t have an immediate effect on the Heat’s cap space beyond next season, Jackson adds. Powell has a $20.5MM expiring contract, while Kevin Love also had an expiring deal and Kyle Anderson‘s $9.4MM salary for 2026-27 was non-guaranteed.
Powell represents a clear upgrade from Duncan Robinson, who was sent to Detroit in a sign-and-trade deal, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Winderman views Powell as a more complete offensive threat than Robinson, who is primarily an outside shooter. He adds that it would have cost close to $20MM per season to keep Robinson, so there’s not much salary difference in acquiring Powell.

Clippers Waive Seth Lundy

July 9th, 2025 at 4:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers have waived two-way small forward Seth Lundy, the team announced today.

Lundy, 25, signed a two-way contract with L.A. on March 1 after being released by Atlanta in December. He spent last season recovering from left ankle surgery and didn’t appear in any games in either the NBA or the G League. He’s expected to be fully healthy in time for training camp if he catches on with another team, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Lundy was selected by the Hawks with the 46th pick in the 2023 draft. He was on two-way contracts during both his seasons with Atlanta and averaged 1.6 PPG in nine games as a rookie.

He played four seasons at Penn State before being drafted.

Patrick Baldwin and Trentyn Flowers are the Clippers’ other two-way players.