Pacers Decline Edmond Sumner’s Option, Issue QO
The Pacers have declined the $1.6MM team option on Edmond Sumner‘s contract, Keith Smith of Yahoo! Sports relays (Twitter link). However, the team has tendered a qualifying offer to the former second-round pick.
Despite having his team option turned down, Sumner was eligible to receive a QO and become a restricted free agent because he has fewer than four years of NBA experience.
Scott Agness of The Athletic (Twitter link) confirms Smith’s report and adds that the Pacers and Sumner are working on a new, multiyear deal. The move to bring Sumner back on another contract was expected.
Sumner was selected with the No. 52 overall pick by New Orleans in 2017 before the franchise traded his rights to Indiana. The 6″6″ point guard, who can also play on the wing, appeared in 23 games for the Pacers last season.
Steph Curry To Attend Warriors’ Meeting With Kevin Durant
Stephen Curry will attend the Warriors‘ meeting with Kevin Durant, Marcus Thompson of The Athletic hears. GM Bob Myers will sit down with Durant in New York and attempt to convince the former MVP to stay with the team.
Curry had been on an Under Armour tour in Asia but he is now on his way to the United States. Curry is expected to speak with Durant prior to the official meeting.
The point guard was at the team’s meeting with Durant three years ago when they successfully pitched the Maryland-native to come to Golden State. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were also there in 2016, but neither will be present in person this time around. Thompson is preparing to undergo surgery on his own ACL (not to mention his own free agency) but he will join the pitch via FaceTime, Thompson tweets. Green has already visited Durant in NYC this summer.
Durant’s decision in 2016 hinged on Curry wanting him there. The former no. 8 overall pick assured Durant that he did and envisioned the two winning multiple championships together. The Warriors won two titles with the pairing and came close to a third, losing in this year’s NBA Finals to the Raptors.
Durant plans to speak with the Clippers, Nets, and Knicks in addition to the Warriors. It’s unlikely Durant makes a quick decision.
Knicks Waive Lance Thomas
JUNE 29: As expected, the Knicks have waived Thomas, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
JUNE 14: The Knicks plan on waiving forward Lance Thomas, though they have interest in re-signing him, Ian Begley of SNY TV reports.
Thomas has a non-guaranteed contract of $7.58MM for next season and would receive $1MM if he’s on the roster through June 30. Thomas’ salary is the largest on the Knicks’ ledger. Waiving him would give them even more cap space to pursue free agents and blockbuster trades.
However, the club appreciates Thomas for his leadership and willingness to mentor younger players, according to Begley, so it would try to re-sign him at a reduced rate. With the team intend on giving its younger players experience, Thomas appeared in just 46 games this past season. He averaged 4.5 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 17.0 MPG.
He has been in the Knicks organization since the 2014/15 season after starting his career in New Orleans in 2011. Thomas, 31, also appeared in 22 games with Oklahoma City before joining the Knicks. He’s entering the final year of a four-year, $27.5MM contract, which he signed in 2016.
Jazz Expected To Meet With Bobby Portis
The Jazz are expected to meet with veteran forward Bobby Portis once free agency opens, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Jones, the meeting will likely take place in Los Angeles.
Utah doesn’t project to have any cap room once its acquisition of Mike Conley becomes official, but can open up space by waiving Derrick Favors, who has a non-guaranteed salary of $17MM+. It appears the Jazz are weighing frontcourt options who might be better fits alongside center Rudy Gobert than a non-shooter like Favors.
A report earlier this afternoon indicated that the Jazz had been mulling a three-year offer in the $45MM range for Nikola Mirotic. However, Mirotic has opted to return to Spain, agreeing to a deal with Barcelona.
With a top stretch four like Mirotic off the board, his former teammate Portis could be a fit for what the Jazz are seeking. The Wizards‘ restricted free agent has knocked down three-pointers at a 36.1% rate over the course of his four-year NBA career, including 39.3% last season for Chicago and Washington.
The Knicks also have strong interest in Portis, according to Jones. The Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, and Magic have previously been cited as potential suitors for the 24-year-old, who is said to be seeking an annual salary worth up to $16MM. The Wizards aren’t expected to match a lucrative offer sheet.
Free Agency Notes: Mirotic, Kanter, Knicks
Nikola Mirotic helped kick off free agency weekend by opting to play in Barcelona next season. It’s a surprising development considering he was a coveted free agent.
The Jazz had their eye on Mirotic and had “major interest” in trying to sign him to a three-year deal in the $45MM range, Marc Stein of The New York Times hears (Twitter link). The market for stretch fours is even thinner now after Mirotic’s decision.
Let’s take a look at more free agency notes from around the league:
- The Clippers have interest in Enes Kanter, Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard reports (Twitter link). Broussard also confirms that the Celtics and Lakers are eyeing the center, as was previously reported.
- There’s been no indication that the Celtics are still pursuing Clint Capela, whether it be a Rockets‘ sign-and-trade involving Jimmy Butler or any scenario, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald tweets. Capela had previously been linked to Boston.
- The Knicks will not extend a qualifying offer to Isaiah Hicks, Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets. Hicks was on a two-way contract last season.
- New York has interest in George Hill and Wayne Ellington, Begley relays in a full-length piece. Both veterans will be targets regardless of whether the Knicks land any stars in free agency.
Rockets’ Nene To Opt Out
Veteran Rockets center Nene has decided to opt out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Nene’s contract featured a $3,825,360 player option for the 2019/20 season, which he’ll turn down.
Nene, 36, averaged a career-low 13.0 minutes per contest in Houston last season, recording 3.6 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 42 games.
Given his age and his increasingly limited role with the Rockets, Nene’s decision to forgo a salary of nearly $4MM isn’t one I anticipated. It will be interesting to see how he does on the open market — perhaps his agent got word that another team is ready to put a more favorable offer on the table, or perhaps he’s doing Houston a favor.
The Rockets are said to be in the running for Jimmy Butler, who would have to be acquired in a sign-and-trade deal. That would put a hard cap on Houston’s spending for the 2019/20 league year.
Removing Nene’s $3.8MM cap hit from their books would give the Rockets some much-needed flexibility in that scenario and the veteran big man could still theoretically return on a minimum salary deal. He’d earn a projected $2.56MM on a one-year minimum contract, but would only have a cap hit of about $1.62MM.
Of course, it’s possible Nene won’t seek a new contract at all. According to Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic (via Twitter), retirement is a viable possibility for the former seventh overall pick.
Nene’s player option decision was the last one to be reported for the 2019/20 season. The full list can be found here.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nikola Mirotic To Play In Barcelona
Veteran power forward Nikola Mirotic will sign with EuroLeague club Barcelona, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The terms of his deal have not yet been disclosed.
On the heels of Darren Collison‘s stunning retirement announcement, this is another surprising decision that takes a second high-quality free agent off the market just before the new league year begins.
Mirotic was expected to be in line for a deal worth approximately $45-50MM if he had remained in the NBA, Charania adds. He made $12.5MM during the 2018/19 season, though he was forced to move to Milwaukee when the Pelicans dealt him to the Bucks at the trade deadline.
The 28-year-old’s decision makes the Bucks’ offseason priority a little clearer. Malcolm Brogdon, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton are all in need of new contracts and it would have been difficult for Milwaukee to bring back all of their pending free agents.
There were whispers that Mirotic would consider a deal in Spain, as Sportando recently relayed. He had played for Real Madrid prior to coming over to the NBA in 2014.
The Mavericks and Jazz were among the teams expected to have interest in Mirotic. Since coming to the league in 2014, Mirotic has seen action in 319 contests.
And-Ones: Trades, Antetokounmpo, World Cup
Jae Crowder would be a nice contingency plan for the Warriors should they lose Kevin Durant in free agency, Kevin Pelton contends in a piece for ESPN+. Pelton argues a deal that sends Crowder, who has one year left on his contract, to Golden State for Shaun Livingston and a future first-rounder makes sense for both sides.
Other ESPN insiders write about the trade they’d like to see this summer, with Bobby Marks breaking down a Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade that sends Eric Gordon to Philadelphia and Clint Capela to Sacramento. The whole piece is worth checking out.
As we brace for an offseason of change, let’s take a look at some notes from around the league:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo will play for Greece in the Basketball World Cup, according to Demetris Nellas of the Associated Press. “Whether I play the 1 [point guard] or the 5 [center], I don’t care,” the NBA MVP said. “I’m a basketball player. I want to help the team any way I can.”
- The NBA has announced that the Academy Games will be in the United States for the first time in history. Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com provides a detailed look at the games in Atlanta, relaying that the camp will feature eight teams and approximately 90 players from around the world.
- Isaiah Whitehead will play for the Trail Blazers‘ Summer League team, The Athletic’s Michael Scotto relays (Twitter link).
- The Mavericks have announced their Summer League roster and former first-rounder Cameron Payne is among the notable players. Kostas Antetokounmpo, the brother of Giannis, is also playing for the team in Las Vegas.
- Semaj Christon will play for the Kings‘ Summer League team, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia tweets.
- Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox has been invited to join Team USA’s Select Team, which will hold training camp in Las Vegas this summer, Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports passes along (Twitter links). Nets center Jarrett Allen has also been invited.
[In case you missed it: Team USA Announces 20-Player Roster For World Cup]
Nuggets Extend Qualifying Offer To Trey Lyles
The Nuggets remain busy ahead of free agency. Denver exercised the $30.35MM team option on Paul Millsap earlier today and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that the team will extend a qualifying offer to Trey Lyles.
Lyles’ qualifying offer comes in at approximately $4.46MM. After exercising Millsap’s option, the team won’t sniff any available cap space, though they still have to be wary about staying below the tax line.
Lyles came to the Nuggets during the 2017 draft as part of a trade that allowed the Jazz to move up to No. 13 overall. Utah selected Donovan Mitchell with the pick and Denver came away with Tyler Lydon at No. 24.
During his two years in Denver, Lyles played 137 games, starting four contests. His showcased solid three-point shooting to begin his career, though he hasn’t matched or surpassed his career-high 38.3% from behind the arc since his rookie season.
Nuggets Exercise Paul Millsap’s Team Option
12:48pm: The Nuggets have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve picked up Millsap’s option.
11:54am: The Nuggets are picking up their team option for 2019/20 on big man Paul Millsap, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The option will pay Millsap $30.35MM for next season, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
[RELATED: NBA Team Option Decisions For 2019/20]
Millsap, 34, played a slightly reduced role for Denver in 2018/19. His 12.6 PPG and 27.1 MPG were his lowest marks since the 2009/10 campaign. However, his interior presence helped stabilize the Nuggets’ defense, and he also chipped in as a rebounder (7.2 RPG) and outside threat (.365 3PT%).
There was some uncertainty over whether the Nuggets would exercise Millsap’s option, given its cost. The team was believed to be exploring whether turning down that option and bringing back Millsap on a more favorable multiyear contract was possible. However, as Marks points out (via Twitter), a deal along those lines would have cut into Denver’s projected cap space for 2020, which may represent the club’s best chance to spend.
If Denver had decided to move on from Millsap altogether, the team could have opened up about $17MM in cap room to pursue an outside free agent. Instead, as Wojnarowski tweets, the Nuggets are in position to potentially use their full mid-level exception ($9.25MM) and still sneak under the projected tax line.
Millsap, meanwhile, is now on track to reach the unrestricted free agent market in 2020 at age 35.
Today represents the last day for clubs to exercise team options or for veterans to pick up player options, so the Nuggets took their decision on Millsap down to the wire.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.