Five Key Stories: 6/17/17 – 6/24/17

In easily the most jam-packed week of the offseason thus far, here are the most newsworthy stories:

The Bulls traded Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves. The trade also included the No. 16 pick in Thursday’s draft going to Minnesota in exchange for Zach LaVineKris Dunn, and the No. 7 pick. The Bulls drafted Lauri Markannen with the seventh pick, while the Timberwolves selected Justin Patton with the sixteenth. The deal reunites Butler with his long-time former head coach in Chicago, Tom Thibodeau.

Dwight Howard was traded to the Hornets. In the trade, Charlotte received Howard and the No. 31 pick for Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli, and the No. 41 pick. The Hornets will be Howard’s fifth team in seven years. The move was Hawks‘ general manager Travis Schlenk‘s first large-scale move in his new capacity.

Nov 18, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard (8) reacts to a foul call in the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Hawks 100-96. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

The Lakers and Nets teamed up for a blockbuster trade. Brook Lopez and the No. 27 pick in Thursday’s draft went to Los Angeles in exchange for D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov. The Lakers managed to cut long-term costs by dealing Mozgov’s large contract and received Lopez, who has one year remaining on his contract. Meanwhile, the Nets finally get rid of Lopez and acquire a promising point guard in Russell.

Blake Griffin has formally opted out of his contract with the Clippers. Griffin would have earned $21.4MM in 2017/18. The Celtics are Rockets are said to be targeting the athletic power forward. In addition to Griffin, Chris Paul is expected to opt out of his Clippers contract, but he has yet to formally tell the team or file with the league.

Markelle Fultz was selected first overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. In addition to the 76erstop pick, here are the entire draft results. The trade that brought the No. 1 pick to the Sixers via the Celtics was finalized on Monday. In exchange for No. 1, Boston received Thursday’s No. 3 pick, along with the Lakers’ 2018 first-round pick if it falls between No. 2 and No. 5. If it does not, Boston receives the more favorable of the Kings’ or 76ers’ 2019 first-round pick (unless that pick is No. 1 overall, in which case the Celtics would receive the less favorable selection).


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