Kawhi Leonard Wants To Meet With Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson
11:30pm: Full reports from ESPN and Los Angeles Times provide more details on Leonard’s proposed meeting(s) with the Lakers, as Shelburne, Turner, and Tania Ganguli explain in those stories that Kawhi’s camp made it clear he only wants Buss and Johnson involved in his meeting with the team.
The Lakers’ owner (Buss) and former president of basketball operations (Johnson) will likely have to meet with Leonard and his camp separately, since the NBA has told Johnson that he can’t be a formal part of the free agent process, per ESPN and The Times. He still has interest in doing what he can on an informal basis to help the Lakers.
While James and Davis also plan to meet with Leonard, they might not be involved in the Lakers’ formal meeting, since Kawhi’s camp let it be known he wants that meeting to be with only Buss, rather than with multiple members of the front office, according to The Times. Additionally, ESPN’s report notes that Davis can’t act as an official representative of the Lakers, since he won’t actually become a Laker until July 6.
4:50pm: Citing league rules, Johnson said he cannot participate in the meeting nor has Buss asked him to meet with any prospective free agents, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets. A third party called Johnson and told him Leonard wanted to meet with him, Shelburne adds in another tweet.
4:24pm: Kawhi Leonard’s representatives plan to meet with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and former president of basketball operations Magic Johnson next week when free agency begins, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The meeting will likely take place in Los Angeles, Turner adds.
A Yahoo Sports report on Thursday revealed that Leonard planned on meeting with both L.A. teams along with Raptors and this seems to firm up some of those plans.
The Lakers opened up a max $32MM salary slot for the Finals’ Most Valuable Player by agreeing to trade Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, and Jemerrio Jones to the Wizards as part of the Anthony Davis trade. Additionally, Davis has agreed to waive his $4MM trade kicker. The Lakers are hoping to secure Leonard or Kyrie Irving to form an imposing superstar trio with Davis and LeBron James.
James and Davis are planning to be part of the formal pitch to Leonard, Sam Amick of The Athletic tweets.
The presence of Johnson, rather than GM Rob Pelinka, at the proposed meeting is a little curious. Johnson infamously ripped Pelinka in a TV interview after resigning his post, though Johnson did praise Pelinka for pulling off the Davis trade.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nets Extend Qualifying Offer To Theo Pinson
The Nets extended a qualifying offer to shooting guard Theo Pinson, making him a restricted free agent, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.
Pinson’s qualifying offer is $1,734,917 and it can be rescinded if the Nets decide to use their cap room in other ways. They also extended a QO to more notable free agent, D’Angelo Russell, on Friday.
Pinson was on a two-way contract most of the season, then had it converted to a standard contract just before the postseason.
An undrafted free agent out of UNC, Pinson appeared in 18 regular-season games with the Nets as a rookie and averaged 4.5 PPG and 1.2 APG in 11.7 MPG. He also saw action in three playoff games, averaging 3.0 PPG in 7.3 MPG.
Pinson spent the bulk of the season in the G League. The 23-year-old posted averages of 20.7 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 5.9 RPG in 34 games with the Long Island Nets and was named to the All-NBAGL Second Team.
Warriors Extend Qualifying Offer To Jordan Bell
The Warriors have made forward Jordan Bell a restricted free agent by extending him a qualifying offer, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Bell’s qualifying offer is $1,818,486. Bell had a generally disappointing regular season. He appeared in 68 games, averaging 3.3 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 11.3 MPG.
When injuries struck in the playoffs, Bell saw action in 15 games. The 6’9” Oregon product was a 2017 second-round pick.
He had an embarrassing incident in late March in which he put authorized charges to assistant coach Mike Brown‘s hotel room, leading to a one-game suspension. But the Warriors see enough potential in Bell to at least make it more challenging for another team to sign him.
Darren Collison Announces Retirement
In a stunning decision, veteran point guard Darren Collison has announced that he will retire from the NBA. Collison confirmed his retirement in a story for The Undefeated relayed by Marc J. Spears, citing family and religious reasons.
“Basketball has been my life since I was a child,” Collison writes. “I could never imagine finding anything that brings me more joy than I get from playing the game. While I still love basketball, I know there is something more important, which is my family and my faith. I am one of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and my faith means everything to me. I receive so much joy from volunteering to help others and participate in a worldwide ministry. The joy I feel is unmatched.
“With that being said, I have decided to retire from the NBA.”
Collison’s surprising career move takes one of the top free agent point guards off the board this summer. While he wouldn’t have made the same sort of money that All-Stars like Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, and D’Angelo Russell will, Collison was on track to secure an annual salary in the range of $10-12MM if he had continued his career, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Collison, who will turn 32 in August, began his NBA career in New Orleans after being selected with the 21st overall pick in the 2009 draft. Over the course of his 10 years in the NBA, he spent time with the Pelicans (then the Hornets), Pacers, Mavericks, Clippers, and Kings, averaging 12.5 PPG and 5.0 APG on .471/.394/.853 shooting in 708 career regular season contests.
After earning $10MM with the Pacers in 2018/19, Collison will see his contract expire this weekend, so no roster move will be necessary as a result of his retirement.
The Pacers had already sent signals that they were planning to move on at the point guard position, having been linked repeatedly to Ricky Rubio as of late. Marc Stein of The New York Times tweets that a number of teams around the NBA have been operating as if Rubio-to-Indiana is a “highly likely” scenario.
Dana Gauruder contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Lowe’s Latest: Walker, Brogdon, Mavs, Rubio, Butler
The Celtics might be the frontrunner for Kemba Walker‘s services but devoting most of their cap space to the All-Star point guard would leave them without any proven frontcourt players and limited ways to acquire them, ESPN’s Zach Lowe writes in an in-depth look at free agency. The addition of Walker would force coach Brad Stevens to use either Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum or Gordon Hayward at power forward, Lowe notes. Walker also ran more pick-and-rolls with the Hornets than Kyrie Irving did with the Celtics, yet Irving was sometimes accused of being a ball hog, Lowe adds.
Here are some other interesting tidbits from Lowe’s column:
- Bucks restricted free agent Malcolm Brogdon will lose a suitor if the Celtics ink Walker. The Suns, Bulls, Mavericks and Pacers could potentially extend Brogdon an offer sheet but some teams are concerned about his foot issues.
- The Mavericks are not looking to sign any high-level free agents.
- The Pacers are looking to make a run at point guard Ricky Rubio. They are also likely to let power forward Thaddeus Young walk and go with a frontcourt of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner. Indiana rejected trade offers for Turner at the draft.
- The Heat could get involved in the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes via a sign-and-trade.
- The Nets have no interest in doing a sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves involving restricted free agent D’Angelo Russell if it means taking back Jeff Teague or Andrew Wiggins.
Pistons Won’t Retain Glenn Robinson III
The Pistons will not pick up their option on swingman Glenn Robinson III, according to The Athletic’s James Edwards and Michael Scotto (Twitter links).
Robinson’s option was $4,278,750. Even with Robinson’s salary subtracted, the Pistons will be over the cap this summer. They’ll look to use the mid-level exception in free agency.
The move was expected, as Robinson was a major disappointment after signing a two-year deal with Detroit last summer. The Pistons were hoping that Robinson would revive his career with them after an ankle injury wrecked his 2017-18 campaign with the Pacers.
However, Robinson had a minimal impact on a team starving for 3-point shooting. He averaged 4.2 PPG in 13.0 MPG over 47 regular-season appearances while shooting just 29% from distance. Coach Dwane Casey at times used Robinson as an undersized power forward, though he mainly saw action at the wing spots.
Robinson appeared in three playoff games against the Bucks, averaging 4.3 PPG in 12.0 MPG.
Clippers Extend Qualifying Offers To Zubac, McGruder
The Clippers have extended a qualifying offer to center Ivica Zubac, making him a restricted free agent, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. They have also extended a QO to swingman Rodney McGruder, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
The Clippers declined forward Johnathan Motley‘s QO and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Motley was one of the team’s two-way players.
The move to make Zubac an RFA was a mere formality, as he impressed the Clippers after they acquired him from the Lakers at the trade deadline. His qualifying offer is $1,931,189 and the Clippers can now match any offer sheet for the young big man in free agency.
He averaged 9.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG and 1.5 APG in 20.2 MPG over 26 regular-season games after the deal, including 25 starts. The 7’1” Zubac, 22, saw reduced action in the postseason, averaging 9.8 MPG in four games during the first-round series against the Warriors.
Zubac, a 2016 second-round pick, was part of the February trade that sent veteran forward Mike Muscala to the Lakers.
McGruder’s QO is the same amount extended to Zubac. He was claimed by the Clippers in April after the Heat waived him for luxury-tax purposes. He did appear in any games with the Clippers and was ineligible for the postseason. He averaged 7.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.7 APG in 66 games with Miami last season, including 45 starts.
Nets Make D’Angelo Russell A Restricted Free Agent
The Nets have extended a $9,160,706 qualifying offer to guard D’Angelo Russell in order to make him a restricted free agent, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Russell has a cap hold of $21,059,095, meaning they’ll have approximately $46MM in cap space entering free agency. However, if they secure commitments from two other high-level free agents, they can still renounce Russell’s rights or not match an offer sheet for him, which would open up approximately $68MM in cap space.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant as expected to be Brooklyn’s top targets and there have been conflicting reports whether they’d retain Russell if Irving commits and Durant doesn’t.
The Nets can offer Russell a five-year, $158MM deal while the biggest offer sheet he could receive is $117MM over four years.
The Magic, Timberwolves, Pacers and Lakers are some possible suitors for Russell in free agency. Russell was a finalist for the league’s Most Improved Player award after averaging 21.1 PPG and 7.0 APG in 81 games this season.
Free Agent Rumors: Wolves, Cousins, Sumner, KP
The Timberwolves don’t project to have cap room, though that won’t stop them from attempting to make major moves this offseason, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic notes. The team will have major stakeholders in Los Angeles for meetings on Sunday with an eye on recruiting free agents.
Karl-Anthony Towns has taken on the role of a recruiter. D’Angelo Russell appears to be a target with Krawcynski citing the two players’ friendship as just part of the reason a pairing makes sense. Much has to be done before Minnesota can truly become a threat to land Russell, as he is still technically a restricted free agent and the franchise can’t compete with some of the other organizations with max cap space already on hand.
As we wait to see what moves the Timberwolves have in store, let’s take a look at some rumors from around the league:
- Seven teams have expressed “varying levels” of interest in DeMarcus Cousins, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated hears. The Knicks are among the teams with serious interest and the Clippers are “intrigued,” Spears writes.
- The Pacers have yet to exercise or decline the option on Edmond Sumner, as they are discussing a long-term deal with the point guard, J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star relays. The former second-round pick appeared in 23 games for Indiana last season.
- Sources tell Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) that it’s unlikely that there will be an update on Kristaps Porzingis‘ sexual assault allegations before free agency on Sunday. The Mavericks and Porzingis are still expected to come together on a full, five-year max contract, Townsend adds.
Wolves Waive Cam Reynolds
Minnesota is waiving Cameron Reynolds, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The team would have interest in re-signing the shooting guard should it miss out on other targets this offseason, Darren Wolfson of Eyewitness News tweets.
Reynolds had agreed to a multi-year deal with the Timberwolves toward the end of the 2018/19 season after inking back-to-back 10-day deals with the club. The contract was non-guaranteed, though he would have received $50K had he remained on the roster through August 1, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
The Tulane product went undrafted last year and signed on with the Kings last summer. He was released prior to the season and spent much of his time in the G League, playing for Sacramento’s affiliate.