Lakers To Sign Danny Green To Two-Year Deal
While his longtime teammate Kawhi Leonard heads to the Clippers, free agent shooting guard Danny Green had opted to sign with Los Angeles’ other team, announcing on Twitter that he’ll join the Lakers.
Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that the Lakers have reached a deal with Green, while ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski provides the financial details, tweeting that it’ll be a two-year, $30MM contract.
Green, 32, was part of the trade package last summer that sent Leonard to the Raptors, and enjoyed one of his best seasons as a pro in Toronto. Green averaged 10.3 PPG and knocked down a career-best 45.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc in 80 games (all starts), establishing a career high with 2.5 made threes per game. He also nearly earned a spot on the NBA’s All-Defensive team for his work on perimeter scorers, and helped Toronto win its first-ever championship.
Although he generated plenty of interest on the open market within the last week, Green opted to wait out Leonard’s decision before deciding on his own team. If Kawhi had chosen to re-sign with the Raptors, Green likely would have had interest in running it back and trying to defend their title.
However, with Leonard on track to become a Clipper, Green’s decision came down to the Lakers and Mavericks, both of whom put big offers on the table, tweets David Aldridge of The Athletic. The Clippers were also believed to be in the mix for Green earlier in the week, but landing Kawhi reduced their ability to offer the veteran shooting guard a market-value deal.
The Lakers, who had earmarked $32MM in cap room for Leonard, will now use that space on Green and other players, adding some depth to a roster headlined by LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Kuzma.
The club has already reportedly reached new deals with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and JaVale McGee in addition to agreeing to terms with Green.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Davis Deal Could Be Delayed If Leonard Remains Undecided
The Anthony Davis trade could be delayed if Kawhi Leonard doesn’t choose a team by noon ET on Saturday, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk and Bobby Marks report.
The complex, four-way series of deals involving the Lakers, Pelicans, Hawks and Wizards can become official Saturday. The Lakers would lose their ability to give Leonard a max contract if any of the other teams involved decline to delay the trade. However, those teams are expected to cooperate, according to Marks.
The Lakers and Pelicans agreed on the initial trade in which Los Angeles sent Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks to New Orleans for Davis. Los Angeles opened up a $32MM salary slot by agreeing to ship Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones and a 2022 second-round pick to Washington, which sent cash to New Orleans. Davis also agreed to waive his $4MM trade kicker.
New Orleans and Atlanta made a big draft-night swap as an offshoot of the Davis trade. New Orleans agreed to move the No. 4 overall pick, forward De’Andre Hunter, they received from the Lakers as well as a late second-rounder along with Solomon Hill‘s contract to the Hawks for two first-rounders, center Jaxson Hayes and guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, an early second-round pick and a first-rounder next year.
Without the delay, the Lakers could only offer Leonard a four-year, $127MM contract — $11MM less than the max over the life of the deal.
Leonard’s indecision also may cause some other delays.
The Pelicans won’t be able to sign free agent guard J.J. Redick until the Hill trade is finished. Hill is ticketed to the Grizzlies in another trade once the Davis deal is completed. The rookies involved in those proposed transactions, as well as the three young players headed to the Wizards, aren’t allowed to play summer league ball until everything is finalized.
Community Shootaround: Expansion
The NHL expanded into Las Vegas and the Golden Knights reached the Stanley Cup Finals during their inaugural 2017/18 season. The league will add a team in Seattle for the 2021/22 season.
Those two cities have also been prominently mentioned for NBA franchises. Despite the success of the Las Vegas Summer League and the feeling among many that Seattle didn’t deserve to lose the SuperSonics, there is no movement afoot regarding NBA expansion into those cities or anywhere else.
Commissioner Adam Silver said as much in Vegas on Thursday.
“There’s no doubt there are a number of cities in the United States that could host NBA basketball, but we analogize it to selling equity,” he said. “I think we would want to make sure at the time we expanded we felt it would help grow the entire league and not just support the NBA in that particular city.”
Since New Orleans got an NBA franchise in 2002, expansion has grinded to a halt. There are plenty of places that could support an NBA team, including cities that previously hosted a franchise, such as Kansas City, San Diego, St. Louis and Buffalo. Vancouver, former home of the Grizzlies, and Montreal would be worthy of consideration as well as other foreign cities such as Mexico City and London.
That leads us to our question of the day: When the NBA decides to expand again, which city is most worthy of a franchise?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Wizards Trade Dwight Howard To Grizzlies
JULY 6: The trade is now official, with both teams announcing it in press releases. “C.J. is respected around the league for his defense, three-point shooting and leadership,” Wizards Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Tommy Sheppard said. “All of those qualities appealed to us in making this deal and we look forward to him making a positive impact on our team.”
JULY 5: The Wizards are trading center Dwight Howard to the Grizzlies, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Memphis plans to waive Howard or forward him to another team, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Washington will receive swingman C.J. Miles in the deal, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets.
The Grizzlies will shave $3.13MM off their team salary by dealing Miles, who is due $8.73MM next season. Howard has one year and $5.6MM left on his contract.
Additionally, Memphis has waived shooting guard Avery Bradley, Aldridge reports in another tweet. Bradley had a $12.96MM salary for next season but only $2MM was guaranteed. This gives Memphis even more flexibility to make moves, as Aldridge notes.
Bradley is a former client of current Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, which may impact his decision as a free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link).
Howard opted in for the second year of his contract with the Wizards, who had no interest in keeping the former All-Star on the roster.
Howard, who spent his previous three seasons with three different teams in Houston, Atlanta, and Charlotte, was a complete washout last season. Having used the full taxpayer mid-level exception to sign him, Washington viewed Howard as its major offseason addition, but he only appeared in nine games. Spinal surgery and a hamstring injury during his rehab resulted in a lost season for the 33-year-old Howard.
Miles’ situation was similar. He opted in to his contract but the Grizzlies had little use for the three-point specialist with a hefty salary on a rebuilding squad.
Miles is recovering from a stress reaction in his left foot. The 14-year veteran, who started last season with the Raptors, was sent to the Grizzlies as part of the package for Marc Gasol in February. In total, Miles appeared in 53 games (16.2 MPG) for Memphis and Toronto, averaging just 6.4 PPG on .360/.330/.828 shooting.
Memphis had until July 8 to fully guarantee Bradley’s salary. He appeared in 63 games last season with the Clippers and Grizzlies, averaging 9,9 PPG and 2.4 APG in 30.2 MPG. Without Bradley on their roster, the Grizzlies are in much better position to match an offer sheet for restricted free agent Delon Wright without going into tax territory.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And-Ones: Casspi, Sampson, Expansion, Armstrong
Veteran forward Omri Casspi has overseas options if he doesn’t get an NBA offer in free agency. Two prominent teams, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Olimpia Milano, are interested in signing Casspi, according to Davide Chinellato of La Gazzetta dello Sport (hat tip to Sportando). Casspi came off the bench in 36 games last season with the Grizzlies, averaging 6.3 PPG and 3.2 RPG. Casspi, 31, has played for a handful of NBA teams since the 2016/17 season and is a career 36.8% 3-point shooter.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- JaKarr Sampson has signed with Shandong in the Chinese Basketball Association, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports. Sampson played six games with Shandong last season and 24 G league games with the Windy City Bulls. The 26-year-old forward also appeared in four games with the NBA Bulls last season and has 173 NBA games under his belt.
- The Las Vegas Summer League has been highly successful but there are no plans for the league to expand in that city or anywhere else, according to Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Commissioner Adam Silver said that expansion is “not on our agenda right now.” Silver also reiterated there are no plans to relocate a current franchise. “There have been no indications from any of our current franchises that they’re considering relocating,” Silver said.
- Terry Armstrong, a 2020 draft prospect, will play South East Melbourne Phoenix of the Australian National Basketball League, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reports. The 6’7” Armstrong is currently rated No. 40 by Givony. No. 6 prospect RJ Hampton and No. 24 prospect LaMelo Ball have also signed with the NBL. Armstrong played for four high schools in three different states.
Atlantic Notes: Payton, Raptors, Robinson, Jordan
Elfrid Payton will be given every opportunity to become the Knicks’ starting point guard next season, Ian Begley of SNY TV reports. Payton agreed to a two-year, $16MM deal with a team option for the second season. Dennis Smith Jr. and Frank Ntilikina are the other candidates for the starting role, though the team has shopped Ntilikina, Begley continues. It’s unclear whether the Knicks would consider a backcourt pairing of Payton and Smith, who started at the point after being acquired from the Mavericks last season.
We have more from around the Atlantic Division:
- The Raptors have to make more roster moves, regardless of whether Kawhi Leonard stays or goes, Blake Murphy of The Athletic notes. They currently have 10 players under standard NBA contracts, one on a two-way and another on an Exhibit 10 deal. With the Raptors’ needs in mind, Murphy takes a deep dive into the options still on the free agent market at each position.
- Knicks second-year center Mitchell Robinson has been invited to join the Select Team at USA Basketball’s training camp, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets. Robinson averaged 7.3 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 2.4 BPG in his rookie campaign.
- The competition between centers Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan will be the biggest preseason battle in Nets’ camp, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Allen, 21, is seemingly a core piece for the franchise but the presence of Jordan, a close friend of Kevin Durant who agreed to a four-year, $40MM contract, creates a potential dilemma. Jordan may have lost a step, Lewis notes, but he’s been a starter throughout his career.
Pelicans’ Second-Rounder Louzada To Play In Australia
Pelicans second-round pick Marcos Louzada Silva – aka Didi Louzada – will sign with the Sydney Kings as part of the National Basketball League’s “Next Stars” program, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com (Twitter link)
Louzada, a 6’5″ shooting guard, has spent the last two seasons playing for Franca in Brazil, earning a Novo Basquete Brasil All-Star nod earlier this year. The Pelicans will acquire his draft rights in a trade with the Hawks that was agreed upon on draft day. He was selected 35th overall.
With three rookies – Zion Williamson, Jaxson Hayes, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker – set to join their roster, the Pelicans have opted to go the draft-and-stash route with Louzada, who will have an NBA out clause for next summer in his deal with the Kings, per Givony. He’ll also receive English tutoring while he plays in Australia, Givony adds.
[RELATED: 2019 NBA Draft Pick Signings]
The NBL’s Next Stars program, introduced in 2018, gives teams an extra roster spot for import prospects. It paid a salary of approximately $78K in its initial season.
Timberwolves Sign Naz Reid To Two-Way Deal
JULY 5: The Timberwolves have officially signed Reid to a two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release.
JUNE 21: The Timberwolves have reached an agreement to sign rookie free agent Naz Reid to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Reid, who declared for the draft after his freshman year at LSU, was considered a strong candidate to be selected on Thursday night, but went undrafted. According to ESPN’s big board, the young forward/center was the eighth-best prospect who was still available at the end of the night.
Reid will enter the NBA after having recorded 13.6 PPG and 7.2 RPG in 34 games (27.2 MPG) during his first and only season with the Tigers. He’ll be able to officially sign his two-way contract after the new NBA league year begins.
Jared Terrell and C.J. Williams occupied the Wolves’ two-way slots during the 2018/19 season, but are both free agents this summer. Reid’s deal indicates that at least one of the two won’t be back.
No Kawhi Leonard Announcement Expected Today
Our wait for Kawhi Leonard‘s free agent decision appears likely to extend until at least Saturday. According to Cris Carter of Fox Sports 1 (Twitter link), Leonard remains undecided and doesn’t plan to finalize and announce his decision today.
Interestingly, Carter also adds that Leonard is expected to sign a long-term contract with whichever team he chooses. There had been some speculation that he might sign a one- or two-year deal in order to potentially line himself up for a larger maximum-salary contract in 2021, when he has 10+ years of NBA experience. Carter suggests that’s not the plan.
[RELATED: Poll: Which team will Kawhi Leonard choose?]
The NBA’s July moratorium will end on Saturday at noon eastern time, at which point teams will be able to finalize the free agent deals and trades that they’ve agreed upon over the last week.
While that doesn’t exactly represent a deadline for Leonard, the Raptors, Clippers, and especially the Lakers will presumably be hoping a decision comes in by then. The Clippers and Lakers each have $32MM+ in cap room that they could commit to other players if they don’t land Kawhi.
The Lakers would lose some of their cap room if they finalize the Anthony Davis trade with the Pelicans right away when the moratorium lifts — their $32MM in cap space relies on signing free agents first, then completing the Davis deal using salary-matching rules, since AD’s salary will exceed their total outgoing salaries. So if Leonard’s decision extends beyond the end of the July moratorium, they’ll want to wait a little longer to finalize that trade.
However, the Pelicans have a subsequent trade with the Hawks that hinges on getting the No. 4 pick from the Lakers, and Atlanta will flip one of the draft picks involved in that deal in another trade, and so on. Several teams – including the Wizards, Sixers, and Pistons, who are also all linked to the series of moves – will be anxious to complete those trades to get their draftees into Summer League action in Las Vegas.
Other free agents, including Danny Green, could also be impacted by the wait for Leonard, since their options will be impacted by which teams still have cap space available. NBA free agency appears to be a little stuck at the moment as everyone waits on Kawhi — no deals have been agreed upon since Wednesday night.
Hawks, Cavs, Nuggets Quiet So Far In Free Agency
As our 2019 NBA Free Agent Tracker shows, 27 of the league’s 30 teams have reached an agreement on a standard NBA contract with at least one player. Not every one of those clubs has made a huge splash, but they’ve been involved in free agency to some extent.
That leaves just three teams that have stayed out of the proceedings so far: Atlanta, Cleveland, and Denver. Two of those teams (the Hawks and Cavaliers) have at least signed an undrafted rookie to a two-way contract, but none have reached an agreement to add an NBA free agent on a standard deal.
The Hawks‘ inactivity on the free agent market so far is unsurprising. When he looked ahead to the free agent period more than two months ago, general manager Travis Schlenk predicted that the team would be patient, waiting to see which players slipped through the cracks after the first wave of signings.
Atlanta has used some its cap room to absorb salary (Allen Crabbe), but still has up to about $14MM in space available, per Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights. Given Schlenk’s fondness for taking on unwanted contracts, we’ll see if he goes that route to use the rest of the Hawks’ space, or if the team has its eye on any remaining free agents. For what it’s worth, the deal that will send Miles Plumlee and Solomon Hill to Memphs for Chandler Parsons will open up an extra roster spot for Atlanta.
As for the Cavaliers, their cap situation makes it difficult for them to be too aggressive in free agency. Even if they waive J.R. Smith‘s non-guaranteed contract, they’re still right up against the tax line. A couple years ago, that wouldn’t have stopped them from adding another free agent or two, but ownership won’t want to risk repeater-tax penalties for the current roster.
If the Cavs waive and stretch a veteran, their mid-level exception could be in play, but for now I don’t expect them to be throwing any money at free agents.
Finally, the Nuggets essentially made their big free agency move when they decided to exercise Paul Millsap‘s $30MM+ team option for 2019/20. Denver still has enough wiggle room below the luxury-tax line to use its mid-level exception, though Trey Lyles remains a wild card. Lyles is a restricted free agent with a $4.5MM qualifying offer, and the Nuggets may ultimately have to choose between retaining him and using their full mid-level, assuming they want to stay below the tax.
Still, the Nuggets should have enough room to add a lower-cost free agent or two if they want to. A Denver Post report last weekend suggested the team would be on the lookout for a combo guard, a wing defender, and/or another big man.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.