Celtics Emerge As Frontrunner For Kemba Walker
8:58am: The Celtics have made Walker their No. 1 priority and are expected to offer him a four-year, maximum-salary deal when free agency opens on Sunday, Wojnarowski writes in his full story at ESPN.com.
It appears increasingly likely that Kemba will accept that deal, according to Woj, who says that Hornets owner Michael Jordan is “no longer determined to extend far enough financially” to bring back the All-NBA point guard.
8:06am: There are “sizable gaps” in contract negotiations so far between Kemba Walker and the Hornets, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Charania, the lack of progress toward a deal with the Hornets so far has opened a pathway for teams like the Celtics, Mavericks, and Knicks to have a shot at Walker. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Boston has emerged as the frontrunner to the 29-year-old, echoing a Wednesday report.
As we’ve detailed previously, Walker became eligible for a super-max contract by earning a spot on the All-NBA Third Team this spring. That means that the Hornets could offer him up to as much as $221MM over five years. Rival suitors can’t offer more than about $141MM for four years, creating a significant window for Charlotte to outbid their competition without technically maxing out the All-Star guard.
While Walker has said that the Hornets remain his first priority and has indicated he’s open to accepting less than the super-max to return to Charlotte, the club doesn’t have the same strong foundation that teams like the Celtics and Mavs do.
If they re-sign Walker, the Hornets would be up against the tax line and would have trouble adding complementary pieces around him. In Boston, he could team up with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Gordon Hayward, while Dallas would give him the chance to join Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. The Knicks are more of a blank slate, but have the cap flexibility to potentially add a second star to join Walker.
The Celtics can create enough salary for Walker’s maximum salary ($32.7MM) if they renounce Terry Rozier. The Mavs are at about $29MM in projected room and could get to a max slot by waiving and stretching Courtney Lee. The Knicks have enough space for two max deals.
Knicks Considering Making Play For DeMarcus Cousins
The Knicks are weighing the idea of making a “considerable” one-year contract offer to free agent big man DeMarcus Cousins in the event that they miss out on top free agent target Kevin Durant, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter).
As Stein reiterates in a follow-up tweet, the Knicks are widely expected to shift their focus to one- or two-year contracts if they strike out on this year’s elite free agents, a group that consists of Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Kawhi Leonard.
However, it sounds like New York still plans on attempting to field a competitive roster in that scenario, rather than fully relying on its young prospects for a second straight season. As we heard on Wednesday, the Knicks would be seeking “high-level” rotation players who wouldn’t necessarily require a long-term investment. Cousins could fit that bill. Terry Rozier was also named on Wednesday as a possible target.
Cousins, 28, didn’t look like his old self this season after returning from a torn Achilles (and a torn quad later). Still, he has a full offseason to work on getting back to full strength, and even when he’s limited, the big man can be an effective offensive weapon. In 30 games for the Warriors in 2018/19, he averaged 16.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.5 BPG, and 1.3 SPG.
Durant remains the Knicks’ top target, and while there’s no indication yet on which way he’s leaning, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (video link) said this morning during an appearance on Get Up that the Warriors – who remain confident about their odds of keeping KD – would be interested in exploring a sign-and-trade deal with the Knicks or Nets if Durant decides he wants to go east.
Golden State likely wouldn’t be seeking any assets in that scenario, but could create a giant trade exception in a sign-and-trade, which could be used to acquire someone else. Of course, the Knicks and Nets should both be able to sign KD outright using their cap room, so they’d have little incentive to help out the Warriors, as Windhorst acknowledges.
Free Agent Rumors: Kanter, Favors, Horford, Wolves
The Trail Blazers, Lakers, and Celtics are expected to be among the teams to show interest in Enes Kanter when free agency opens, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Portland doesn’t have Bird rights on Kanter, and Boston and L.A. may end up using most or all of their cap room on impact players, so it’s possible that none of those three teams will have the resources to make a strong bid for Kanter. We’ll see if the taxpayer mid-level exception (Trail Blazers) or room exception (Lakers, Celtics) is enough to sign him.
Here are more free agent rumors from around the NBA:
- Jazz big man Derrick Favors remains under contract in Utah, but because his situation remains in flux due to his non-guaranteed contract, he’ll be permitted to take calls from interested teams during the free agent period, agent Wallace Prather tells Shams Charania of The Athletic. If the Jazz decide not to guarantee Favors’ $17.65MM salary for 2019/20, he’d be waived by July 6 and could join a new club.
- Reporters around the NBA are still trying to pin down the mystery team that appears to be on track to sign Al Horford to a lucrative four-year contract. Marc Stein of The New York Times thought it might be the Pelicans, but says he has been “strongly advised” that that’s not the case (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) doesn’t believe the Mavericks are seriously in the mix for Horford, despite reports that suggested otherwise.
- According to Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (by way of Dan Feldman of NBC Sports), the Timberwolves reached out to the Nets to see whether Brooklyn might be interested in Andrew Wiggins in a potential sign-and-trade for RFA-to-be D’Angelo Russell. Predictably, the Nets had no interest in taking on Wiggins’ contract, per Wolfson.
- The Kings haven’t closed the door on a reunion with Kosta Koufos, who will be an unrestricted free agent this Sunday, and the veteran center feels the same way, writes James Ham of NBC Sports California. Both sides figure to let the market dictate their next moves, Ham adds.
Knicks Won’t Tender QO To Emmanuel Mudiay Or Luke Kornet
The Knicks, setting themselves up to have the maximum amount of cap space available once free agency begins, will not extend qualifying offers to former first-round pick Emmanuel Mudiay or big man Luke Kornet, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Both Mudiay and Kornet will be unrestricted free agents.
Haynes adds that the decision on Mudiay was solely to clear cap space for this summer, and that both Mudiay and the Knicks are interested in a reunion next season. However, because the Knicks will need to renounce the 23-year-old point guard’s Bird rights to clear his free agent cap hold of $12,883,440 off their books, they’ll need to use cap space or an exception to re-sign him.
As for Kornet, it’s unclear whether the Knicks have any interest in re-signing him. He played a significant role towards the end of the 2018/19 season, but the Knicks are clearly not looking at last year’s team as a building block for the future, and they already have a young big in Mitchell Robinson around whom to build.
Tomas Satoransky, Bobby Portis Receive Qualifying Offers
10:10pm: The Wizards are not tendering qualifying offers to Dekker or Chasson Randle, tweets Ben Standig of NBC Sports Washington. They’ll become unrestricted free agents.
9:29pm: Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports and Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington are reporting that the Wizards have extended qualifying offers to guard Tomas Satoransky and forward Bobby Portis just hours after also tendering a QO to center Thomas Bryant.
The qualifying offers for Satoransky ($3,911,484) and Portis ($3,611,813) are similarly affordable to Bryant’s QO ($3,021,354), so it comes as no surprise that Washington has made all three young players restricted free agents this summer.
Hughes also notes that while forward Sam Dekker has not yet been extended a qualifying offer by the team, they have until June 29 to make a final decision. His QO is similar in amount ($3,916,575) to the three aforementioned players.
Satoransky, 27, took on a larger role later on in the 2018/19 season after starting point guard John Wall went down with injury. He ended up averaging a career-best 8.9 PPG and 5.0 APG while starting 54 games.
Portis, 24 and a former first-round pick of the Bulls, also had a career season in Washington after being traded from Chicago before the trade deadline. He ended up starting 22 of the 28 games he played for the Wizards, and posted 14.3 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and a .458/.403/.809 shooting line.
Celtics Notes: Ainge, Mazzulla, Smart
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is back to work after suffering a second heart attack, and while he’s apparently no worse for the wear, the experience seems to have reawakened him to how precious life can be and how lucky he is, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
“You just move on,” says Ainge. “I just had some chest pains and went to the hospital and, you know, had a heart attack and had a stent put in… it’s just… it’s just a wake-up call… I’m at the stage in my life where I’m attending way too many funerals, so I’m just happy to be here and excited for our upcoming season. I love my job. I love the people I work with. I love the players. They keep me young. They’re a lot of fun to be around, as you can see by the four guys we just drafted.”
Ainge says he wasn’t scared when the incident happened, but he now realizes that he needs to treat himself better moving forward.
“I’m scared enough to the point where I want to eat better and I want to be healthier, and I’m listening to my doctors a little more diligently and taking better care of myself. So, yeah, I wouldn’t say that I was unhealthy, but I would say that I didn’t do what I needed to be doing, and I should have shown from having an episode 10 years ago. So, you know, you get really motivated for six months and then you sort of feel great again. I feel great now. I feel as healthy as I’ve felt.”
Ainge also spoke on the topic of whether the stress of being the head of an NBA team’s basketball operations department factored into his health issues.
“You wonder how much of it is work and stress and those things but, you know, everybody has to manage challenges, health challenges and stress challenges. I would say that there are stressful days, but the job overall is not high stress, in my opinion. There are stressful moments, (but) coaching is much harder. I’ve done that job. But my job is more to keep people in a good frame of mind, keep people positive through the adversity of a season. And just my nature, I’m more positive and see the bright side in things, and I think that eliminates a lot of stress.”
There’s more news out of Boston tonight:
- Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Celtics are hiring Fairmont (WV) State coach Joe Mazzulla as an assistant coach. Mazzulla, who made a strong impression with the Celtics G League staff a few years back, played for new Cavs’ head coach John Beilein at West Virginia.
- Despite the fact that the Celtics are likely losing both point guard Kyrie Irving and big man Al Horford to free agency, incumbent guard Marcus Smart is optimistic about the team’s prospects for the 2019/20 season, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “Hey, the thing is, the Raptors just won the championship, right? But they’ve got to start back over from the beginning just like we do… so everybody’s starting over, regardless if they have the same team or not, they’ve all got to start from the beginning. That’s how we take it. We take it as we come in, and we have an opportunity to do something special, and we get another chance to do it.”
- In another story for ESPN, Bontemps adds that with free agency right around the corner, Ainge finds himself with holes at point guard and center and with a roster that features 11 players who are 25 or younger, just one season after being a team that seemed destined to compete for championships right away.
Pistons Trade For No. 37 Pick Deividas Sirvydis
JUNE 26, 8:51pm: Per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, the deal is official.
JUNE 20, 10:59pm: The Mavericks are receiving the 2020 and 2021 second-rounders that the Pistons acquired earlier in the evening from Cleveland, tweets Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The 2020 pick is Utah’s and the 2021 selection is Portland’s.
JUNE 20, 10:34pm: The Pistons and Mavericks have agreed to a trade that will send the rights of No. 37 pick Deividas Sirvydis to Detroit, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
According to Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter), Dallas is receiving the No. 45 pick from Detroit tonight, along with two future second-round picks. The Pistons just acquired four second-rounders for the No. 30 pick, so it wouldn’t be surprised if those two of those selections are being re-routed to the Mavs.
Sirvydis, a wing player, is expected to be a draft-and-stash pick for the Pistons, reports Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).
Sirvydis, who declared the draft as an international early entrant, played in the Lithuanian league this season. He projects as a dangerous perimeter threat, as ESPN’s Jonathan Givony tweets.
Cavs Acquire No. 30, Draft Kevin Porter Jr.
JUNE 26, 8:39pm: The deal is official, per an announcement from the Cavaliers.
JUNE 20, 10:58pm: The Pistons are acquiring 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024 second-round picks in this swap, tweets Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The picks are from Utah (2020), Portland (2021 and 2023), and Miami (2024; top-55 protected), according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who tweets that Cleveland also surrendered $5MM in cash.
JUNE 20, 9:48pm: After agreeing to acquire the No. 30 pick from the Bucks along with Tony Snell, the Pistons are flipping that pick to the Cavaliers, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Cleveland will use the newly-acquired first-rounder to draft USC guard Kevin Porter Jr.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the Cavaliers are sending four future second-round picks to the Pistons in the deal, along with some cash. Detroit had traded away all of its second-rounders between 2020-23 in previous deals, so this move will help restock the club’s draft assets.
Porter had an up-and-down season at USC in 2018/19, averaging just 9.5 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 21 games. He also face questions about his maturity, which likely contributed to him slipping to the end of the first round. However, NBA evaluators believe he has the physical tools to become a talented shot creator and defender, per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
The Cavaliers have now added Darius Garland, Dylan Windler, and Porter in the first round of tonight’s draft. They don’t have any second-rounders, so their evening will be over unless they make more trades.
Stanley Johnson Won’t Receive QO From Pelicans
Not long after it was reported that the Pelicans opted not to extend a qualifying offer to Cheick Diallo, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium is now reporting that New Orleans will also decline to tender a QO to swingman Stanley Johnson. As a result, Johnson will become an UFA when free agency begins on June 30.
As Charania notes, the Pelicans will now have somewhere in the vicinity of $28MM in cap space this summer after renouncing Johnson’s cap hold. Johnson, who failed to meet starter criteria this past season, only had a QO worth $4,485,665, but as a former first-round pick, his cap hold would have cost the Pelicans $11,821,206 (i.e. 300% of his 2018/19 salary) in valuable cap space.
Johnson, 23, was drafted 8th overall by Detroit back in 2015 but has largely under performed his draft position during his first four seasons in the league. Expected to come in and fill a role as a 3-and-D guy, Johnson has only converted on 29.3% of his career three-point attempts. The Pistons traded him to New Orleans last season, where he only averaged 13.7 minutes per contest in 18 games with the Pelicans.
Wizards Extend Qualifying Offer To Thomas Bryant
According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, the Wizards have extended a qualifying offer to big man Thomas Bryant, thereby setting him up to be a restricted free agent this summer.
Bryant, still just 21, had a breakout campaign in Washington last season after being waived by the Lakers last summer. Largely capitalizing on injuries to Dwight Howard and other front court veterans for the Wizards, Bryant appeared in 72 games (53 starts) in 2018/19 while recording 10.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, and a .685/.333/.781 shooting line in 20.8 minutes per contest.
Because he reached starter criteria last season, Bryant’s qualifying offer will be worth just over $3MM, equal to the amount of the qualifying offer the 21st overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft (Hawks swingman Justin Anderson) would have been eligible to receive had he signed for 100% of the rookie scale instead of 120%.
Re-signing Bryant is a priority for the Wizards this summer, as we touched upon when we passed along the news of Jabari Parker‘s team option being declined.