Magic Preparing Four-Year, $90MM+ Offer For Vucevic
The Magic are preparing a four-year contract offer believed to be worth more than $90MM for free agent center Nikola Vucevic, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter). Orlando is hoping to complete a deal with Vucevic early in free agency, according to Stein.
Vucevic, 28, is coming off the best season of his eight-year NBA career. He established new career highs in PPG (20.8) and RPG (12.0), among other categories, adding a more reliable three-point shot to his game (1.1 3PG, .364 3PT%).
Although he struggled in the playoffs as the Magic fell in five games to the Raptors, Vucevic is Orlando’s only All-Star, and it makes sense that the team would make a strong effort to bring him back, even after using last year’s lottery pick on a center (Mohamed Bamba).
It remains to be seen if the Magic’s offer will be strong enough to entice Vucevic to stay. He’s expected to draw interest from a handful of other teams in need of frontcourt help — the Kings and Mavericks have been frequently mentioned as possible landing spots, though Dallas is believed to be wary of his asking price. The Celtics are also a potential suitor, but appear more likely to use their cap room on Kemba Walker.
Bucks To Waive George Hill
As expected, the Bucks will release George Hill, putting him on track to become an unrestricted free agent, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The final year of Hill’s contract in 2019/20 featured a $18MM salary, but only $1MM of that figure was guaranteed. By cutting the veteran guard before July 1, the Bucks will avoid having that full guarantee hit their cap for next season.
According to Charania, the Bucks are working to find the space to re-sign Hill, if possible. That suggests they won’t stretch his $1MM cap hit, since doing so would make them ineligible to sign him for 2019/20.
After trading away Tony Snell, the Bucks currently project to have about $13MM in cap room, as I noted in my preview of Milwaukee’s offseason this morning. However, the team is expected to use that room to try to re-sign Brook Lopez before going over the cap to lock up Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon.
The Bucks could open up additional cap room for Hill by waiving and stretching Jon Leuer or by trading away Ersan Ilyasova without taking back salary. Alternately, the team could use its current cap room to try to bring back Hill if Lopez signs elsewhere.
If the Bucks aren’t able to re-sign Hill, he should draw interest from several other teams. He had a strong postseason run in Milwaukee, averaging 11.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.8 APG with a .534/.417/.818 shooting line in 15 games (26.3 MPG). The Bulls are one team with interest, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).
Rockets Believe They Have Taker For Capela; Trade Would Hinge On Acquiring Butler
The Rockets believe they have a trade partner lined up for a potential deal involving Clint Capela, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter).
However, as Stein explains, the Rockets don’t intend to move forward with a Capela trade unless they’re sure they can acquire Jimmy Butler in a sign-and-trade deal with the Sixers. Butler has been identified over the last couple weeks as Houston’s top offseason target.
As we detailed last night in our preview of the Rockets’ offseason, the obstacles in the way of the Rockets acquiring Butler in a sign-and-trade are numerous, but not technically insurmountable. As part of a sign-and-trade for Butler, Houston would likely need to move both Capela and Eric Gordon.
It’s possible that Gordon would appeal to Philadelphia, especially if the 76ers are unsure about their odds of re-signing J.J. Redick. But Capela would almost certainly have to be re-routed to a third team, both to satisfy base year compensation rules and because he’s not a fit for the Sixers. So if there’s a suitor out there for Capela, as Stein suggests, that team would likely be brought into a three-way trade involving Houston and Philadelphia.
Until we have a better sense of what Butler wants, this whole arrangement looks tenuous, but it’s worth noting that the Rockets are said to be very confident in their ability to acquire the standout wing. If they weren’t confident, it’s unlikely that they’d let these talks involving Capela become so public — if they can’t acquire Butler and want to bring back Capela, it would put the big man would be in a tough spot, since he’d be aware that his team was ready to trade him if another player had wanted to come to Houston.
Knicks, Terry Rozier Have Mutual Interest
The Knicks and Terry Rozier have mutual interest in a short-term deal, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Sources tell Berman that Rozier would be open to a one- or two-year contract.
New York’s interest has increased since the reports of the Celtics–Kemba Walker connection surfaced. If Walker commits to Boston, the New England franchise would likely have to renounce Rozier, making him an unrestricted free agent. Steve Mills and the Knicks’ front office wouldn’t want to tie up cap space for several days while they wait to see if the Celtics match a Rozier offer sheet, so their interest would likely hinge on him becoming unrestricted, as Berman details.
[RELATED: Celtics emerge as frontrunner for Kemba Walker]
“After Kyrie and Kemba, I think Rozier is next up,’’ a source close to the situation tells Berman. “I think he’d be good with Kevin Knox and R.J. [Barrett].”
The Celtics have yet to present a qualifying offer to Rozier. If they get a sense that a top free agent point guard is coming to Boston, they may allow him to be an unrestricted free agent, either by withdrawing the QO early in free agency or not offering it to begin with.
A short-term deal between Rozier and the Knicks would allow the point guard to try to improve his stock and position himself for a max deal in the future, Berman writes. For the Knicks, it would reduce the risk associated with handing big money to unproven commodity.
Rozier’s role in Boston was primarily off the bench and one scout told Berman that Rozier didn’t handle that role well, consistently pushing for more minutes. Another source told Berman that Rozier’s underwhelming season was due to toxic locker room chemistry.
If the Knicks were to sign Rozier, they’d plan on making him their starter at the point guard position. The team remains in the hunt for Durant and if they land the former MVP, he’d likely have the opportunity to have input on other signings, including a Rozier addition.
Cavaliers Notes: Love, Smith, Nwaba
There’s a belief within the league that the Cavaliers will receive trade inquiries for Kevin Love this offseason, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes.
“Yes, one of the big-market teams that fail to land a big fish are going to make an offer for Kevin,” an executive told Vardon. Another source said that if Love was a free agent this summer and coming off of an injury-free year, he would be in line for a massive deal.
“He would get four years and $120MM in this marketplace,” the other executive said. “I mean, Al Horford might get a similar deal.”
Love will make slightly under $29MM during the 2019/20 season and has approximately $91MM on his deal in the ensuing three years. The opinion that Love’s contract allows him to be a positive asset isn’t unanimous throughout the league.
“His contract is hard to digest unless he’s clearly the missing piece,” a separate league executive told Vardon.
Love has been the subject of trade rumors ever since the Cavaliers acquired him during the 2014 offseason. He signed an extension with the club last offseason and the team has resisted trade overtures. GM Koby Altman won’t deal Love unless the return makes the Cavs a better squad, and Vardon writes that it’s unlikely that the kind of deal that Altman is looking for will surface.
Here’s more from Cleveland:
- Trading J.R. Smith appears unlikely at this point, Vardon adds in the same piece. The team will need to waive him by June 30 to avoid paying his full contract. Only $3.9MM of his deal is guaranteed for next season.
- Vardon (same piece) hears that the Cavs are likely to do David Nwaba “a favor” by not tendering him a qualifying offer, thus allowing him to hit the market as an unrestricted free agent.
- Free agency in Cleveland should be quiet with the franchise currently over the salary cap, Vardon explains. It’s unlikely the team uses a “significant” portion of its mid-level exception or the trade exception the franchise netted when it dealt away Rodney Hood this past season.
- While cutting Smith loose will get the Cavaliers below the luxury tax threshold, it’s unlikely the team will consider going back over that line to fill their last couple open roster spots. Vardon expects Cleveland to fill those spots with minimum salary players.
Warriors Agree To Extension With Bob Myers
The Warriors have reached an agreement on a contract extension for president of basketball operations Bob Myers, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter).
Myers, who was hired as the Warriors’ assistant general manager back in 2011, was promoted to GM in 2012 and originally signed an extension in 2014 that ran through the 2017/18 season. When he was promoted to the role of president of basketball operations in 2016, Myers received another extension, though specifics on that deal weren’t reported. Details on his new contract also aren’t yet known.
In any case, it’s safe to say that the Warriors are committed to having Myers lead the basketball operations department for the foreseeable future as the franchise makes the move across the bay to San Francisco.
Myers has overseen a roster that has appeared in five consecutive NBA Finals, winning three of them. He was responsible for drafting Draymond Green in the second round in 2012, acquiring Andre Iguodala in a sign-and-trade deal in 2013, and signing Kevin Durant in free agency in 2016, among other key moves.
As Stein notes (via Twitter), Myers received an offer from the Sixers in 2018 to take over their basketball operations department, but opted to stick with the Warriors.
According to Stein (via Twitter), the Warriors have also agreed to terms on a new multiyear deal for team president and COO Rick Welts.
NBA Ponders Changes To Scheduling, Number Of Regular Season Games
As one of the more progressive leagues in the world, the NBA continues to explore changes to enhance the quality of its product. Altering the schedule to reduce the number of games per season is among the changes the league is exploring, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com passes along.
All conversations are in the earliest of stages, though top executives from around the league recently had a “brainstorming session,” in which ideas on changing the schedule and adding a mid-season cup and/or postseason play-in tournament were discussed. Arnovitz suggests the talks were “very exploratory,” adding that even if changes were proposed and implemented, it wouldn’t happen before the 2021/22 season.
While “load management” issues have caused debate over the league’s 82-game schedule, Arnovitz writes that executives from teams and the league have made an economic case for shortening the number of games. Increasing the scarcity of events and ensuring that each game would be more competitive – with fewer marquee players sitting out – are among the arguments for a change.
Supporters of a schedule alteration believe that the pair of potential tournaments would also help to offset the revenue decline that comes with reducing the games on the schedule.
Arnovitz hears that there isn’t much interest in drastically cutting down the number of games. Options discussed ranged from implementing a 58-game schedule to simply cutting just a handful of contests.
The NBA would need to collectively bargain any changes to the schedule, as the CBA requires the league to make reasonable efforts to increase revenue. A reduction in games could be seen by the players as an attempt to reduce Basketball Related Income.
Kings Plan To Offer Four Years, Nearly $90MM To Harrison Barnes
The Kings are working toward a deal with free agent forward Harrison Barnes that would be worth approximately $88MM over four years, according to Carmichael Dave of The Drive 1140 (via Twitter).
Marc Stein of The New York Times corroborates the report, tweeting that he has heard Sacramento plans to offer Barnes a four-year contract worth nearly $90MM when free agency opens on Sunday.
Barnes, 27, was traded from the Mavericks to the Kings at February’s trade deadline in the third year of the four-year, maximum-salary contract he signed with Dallas back in 2016. For the season, he recorded 16.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG with a .420/.395/.824 shooting line in 77 games (32.9 MPG).
Barnes had a player option for the 2019/20 season that would have paid him more than $25MM, but opted to turn it down. Based on today’s update, it’s clear why he went in that direction — if he and the Kings finalize an agreement in the four-year, $90MM range, it wouldn’t be quite worth $25MM annually, but it would give him substantially more long-term security than his option would have.
When the Kings acquired Barnes from Dallas during the season, reports indicated that the team viewed him as its answer at small forward. However, head coach Dave Joerger ended up frequently using his new acquisition at the four. Presumably, Sacramento’s front office and new head coach Luke Walton are aligned on how to best use Barnes going forward.
Even if they complete a deal with Barnes, the Kings should have significant cap room left over to address other positions, including center. Sacramento’s exact cap-room figure will hinge on what they do with potential restricted free agent Willie Cauley-Stein and non-guaranteed guard Yogi Ferrell, among others. But the club could theoretically get up to $40MM+ in space after signing Barnes.
The Kings have been linked to free agent centers like Al Horford, Brook Lopez, and Nikola Vucevic, as well as veteran point guard Patrick Beverley. They should still have the flexibility to pursue a center and Beverley after locking up Barnes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Free Agent Rumors: Klay, Horford, Brogdon, Jordan
The Warriors have long hinted that they plan to offer Klay Thompson a five-year, maximum-salary deal, and there have been no signals that they’ll change that stance in the wake of Thompson’s torn ACL. So why are there rumblings about Thompson potentially meeting with other teams if the Warriors don’t put that offer on the table right away?
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst, there are some “outstanding issues” that could force Thompson to try to generate some added leverage. Stephen Curry‘s five-year deal with the Warriors didn’t include a fifth-year opt-out or a no-trade clause, setting a precedent for what Golden State’s five-year max deals might look like going forward, as the ESPN duo notes. If Thompson prioritizes a player option or a no-trade clause, talking to the Lakers and/or Clippers may be his best chance to create a little extra leverage with the Warriors.
Elsewhere on the Warriors front, Draymond Green is eligible for a contract extension and is open to discussing a new deal before he reaches free agency in 2020, sources tell ESPN. Those talks are expected to happen later in the offseason, though I’d be surprised if they get something done, since Green could earn more in free agency.
Here’s more from Shelburne and Windhorst on the 2019 free agent class:
- The Sixers and Kings are among the potential suitors for Al Horford, according to ESPN’s report. Sacramento, in particular, has a clear path to making Horford a big offer, but the club is believed to have other centers – including Brook Lopez and Nikola Vucevic – on its list of potential targets, per ESPN.
- League executives believe a team may look to pry Malcolm Brogdon away from the Bucks by putting together an offer sheet that starts at a high number and descends in later seasons, according to Shelburne and Windhorst. A player option and various bonuses could also be added to such an offer sheet, the ESPN duo adds, identifying the Bulls, Suns, Mavericks, and Celtics (if they don’t get Kemba Walker) as possible suitors for Brogdon.
- The Bucks will almost certainly waive George Hill to avoid guaranteeing his $19MM salary, but there’s mutual interest in a new deal between the two sides, especially if the club doesn’t retain Brogdon, according to ESPN.
- DeAndre Jordan is believed to have interest in playing in Los Angeles again, sources tell ESPN. Either the Clippers or Lakers could be a fit for the veteran center.
Latest On Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant has not yet decided whether he’ll actually take face-to-face meetings with teams when he becomes a free agent on Sunday, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic (via Twitter). But if he does line up meetings with suitors, those discussions will take place in New York, a source tells Aldridge. That’s where Durant underwent his Achilles surgery earlier this month.
The Knicks, long considered one of Durant’s prime suitors, are hoping to get an audience with Durant in New York early in free agency, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. The Knicks’ plan would be to subsequently head west to Los Angeles to meet with Kawhi Leonard. However, neither meeting is set in stone yet.
Here’s more on Durant:
- Despite increased rumblings that the Nets are in the lead for Durant, Ian Begley of SNY.tv says that’s not the case. Sources tell Begley that the Nets aren’t the frontrunners or favorites for Durant at the moment. Only Durant and those close to him know if he favors one team over the others at this point, according to Begley, who notes that the Warriors, Knicks, and Clippers are all still believed to be in contention.
- The Warriors, who have stayed in contact with KD and business partner Rich Kleiman since the season ended, are prepared to offer Durant a five-year maximum-salary contract worth a projected $221MM, per Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. But if Durant says he wants to go elsewhere, Golden State is hoping he’ll work with the team on a sign-and-trade deal.
- When Windhorst first mentioned the sign-and-trade possibility earlier this week, I wrote that such an arrangement would make little sense for Durant’s new team, since the Nets, Knicks, and Clippers all have enough cap room to sign him outright. In his latest report for ESPN.com, Windhorst acknowledges that the Warriors might have to include an asset like a first-round pick to incentivize KD’s new team to work with them. That’s a scenario the Dubs have prepared for, according to Windhorst, since creating a massive trade exception via a Durant sign-and-trade would open up Golden State’s roster options significantly.