And-Ones: Muhammad, Franchise Players, Sims

Free agent forward Shabazz Muhammad remains one of the most noteworthy names on the open market, and with still no deal in hand, the four-year veteran is looking to change agents, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). If that sounds familiar, it’s because Muhammad just hired a new agent in the spring — the former Rob Pelinka client made the move to Rich Paul after Pelinka landed with the Lakers as their new GM.

As Wolfson adds in a separate tweet, at least six teams have checked in on Muhammad, but the former first-round pick entered free agency hoping to get a mid-level type deal, perhaps similar to what Patrick Patterson received from the Thunder (three years, $16MM+). At this point in the offseason, Muhammad will be hard-pressed to find more than a minimum salary deal, which explains why he’s not necessarily thrilled with Paul’s work.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the league:

• In an interesting piece for Bleacher Report, Dan Favale explores which player out of a group that features Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Kristaps Porzingis would make for the best young franchise cornerstone. Favale eventually makes Antetokounmpo his pick.
• Bleacher Report also published a feature this week that saw various staff writers conduct a re-draft of NBA rosters for the 2017/18 season, if each player was made available. The first round of that hypothetical re-draft starts with LeBron James to the Knicks and ends with Devin Booker to the Raptors.
• Veteran center Henry Sims, who has appeared in 135 total NBA games, will head to Italy for the 2017/18 season, having reached a deal with Vanoli Cremona, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando details. Sims, who last played in the NBA in 2015/16 with the Nets, saw action in 25 games last season for the G League’s Salt Lake City Stars.