Warriors Notes: Curry, Thompson, M. Gasol, Smailagić
Warriors guard Stephen Curry was devastated after learning that his backcourt partner, Klay Thompson, will miss another full season after suffering a torn Achilles last week, writes Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Golden State had hoped to return to title contention after an injury-plagued year, but the loss of Thompson is a major setback.
“To get that call was a gut punch for sure. A lot of tears,” Curry said. “You don’t really know what to say because a guy like that is having to go through two pretty serious rehabs now. But at the end of the day, we have to have his back. We hope that he is around and a part of what we do through his rehab and staying connected with us. He can come back strong. He’s a guy that loves the game so much. He is going to do whatever it takes to get back out there on the floor and be himself. That’s what we hope and the confidence that we have. Two-and-a-half years of rehab is tough for anybody. We’re hoping for the best.”
Curry was limited to just five games last season after breaking his left hand in October. He will return to a roster that’s much different than the one that dominated the league for five years, with additions such as Kelly Oubre, who was acquired in a trade, and James Wiseman, the No. 2 pick in last week’s draft.
“Not seeing (Thompson) on the court, at first, is going to be weird,” Curry said. “But I think we’ve done a really good job in the offseason with James and our draft picks and in the free agency pool to put together a really solid roster. We’re going to have to learn a lot really quickly, and we will need a full commitment from everybody.”
There’s more Warriors news this morning:
- Thompson’s injury may have cost Golden State a chance to sign free agent center Marc Gasol, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. At age 35, Gasol was looking to join a contender and ended up with the defending champion Lakers. The Warriors are still in the market for veteran help and expect to receive a $9.3MM disabled player exception in the wake of Thompson’s injury.
- Management doesn’t believe Alen Smailagić is ready for regular playing time, but he’s likely to be kept on the roster with a $1.5MM guaranteed contract, Slater adds in the same piece. However, Smailagić could be waived later in the season if there’s an opportunity to sign someone. Second-round pick Nico Mannion is expected to be a two-way player and will see a lot of time in the G League, if there is a G League season.
- Oubre, who will be a free agent next summer, is hoping for a long-term stay with Golden State, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN.
- In case you missed it, the team’s deal with free agent guard Brad Wanamaker is now official. It was completed using a portion of Golden State’s taxpayer mid-level exception.
Nuggets Promote Bol Bol To Standard Roster
4:22pm: The Nuggets have officially announced that they’ve signed Bol to a standard NBA contract.
10:32am: The Nuggets and young center Bol Bol have agreed to a two-year deal worth $4.2MM, his agents at CAA Sports tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Bol, who spent his rookie season in 2019/20 on a two-way contract, will be promoted to Denver’s standard roster as part of the agreement.
Bol, once considered a probable 2019 lottery pick, dropped to No. 44 in last year’s draft due to health concerns. The 21-year-old was limited to seven NBA appearances and eight G League games as a rookie.
However, Bol has flashed intriguing potential as a 7’2″ center who can knock down shots from beyond the arc, and the Nuggets are excited about his development, tweets Charania. In his eight games for the Windy City Bulls last season, he averaged 12.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 2.1 BPG with a .364 3PT% in 19.3 minutes per contest.
Even with Mason Plumlee out of the picture for the Nuggets in 2020/21, Bol will have to compete to earn a regular role in the rotation. Isaiah Hartenstein, Paul Millsap, and Zeke Nnaji are also candidates for minutes at the five behind Nikola Jokic.
Bol will fill the roster spot previously occupied by Keita Bates-Diop, who was waived before his salary for 2020/21 became guaranteed. Mike Singer of The Denver Post previously reported that the Nuggets would promote Bol to the standard roster.
After committing most of its mid-level exception to JaMychal Green, Denver will likely use the remaining portion of that MLE to complete the Bol signing.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Lakers Sign Marc Gasol To Two-Year Deal
NOVEMBER 24: Gasol has signed his contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that it’s a straight two-year, minimum-salary deal, with no player or team option on year two.
Gasol will earn about $2.56MM in 2020/21 and $2.69MM in ’21/22.
NOVEMBER 22: The Lakers have reached an agreement to sign free agent center Marc Gasol, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN, who first reported that the two sides were finalizing a deal, say it’ll be a two-year pact (Twitter links).
A former Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-Star, Gasol has seen his numbers fall off significantly during the last year-and-a-half in Toronto. He averaged just 7.5 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 44 games (26.4 MPG) in 2019/20.
However, while he’s no longer as prolific a scorer as he was during his days with the Grizzlies, Gasol can still knock down three-pointers (38.5% in ’19/20) and facilitate an offense from the top of the key. He also remains a very effective defender, which will be important in Los Angeles. Montrezl Harrell, the Lakers’ other big frontcourt free agent addition, is far more effective on offense than on defense.
It appears likely that Gasol will get a minimum-salary deal from the Lakers, who are up against a hard cap. The team agreed to trade JaVale McGee to the Cavaliers, but will have to take back some salary in that deal. Plus, giving Gasol more than the minimum would require the Raptors to accommodate a sign-and-trade agreement.
Because the Lakers are offering a two-year contract, the first-year cap hit will be about $2.56MM instead of $1.62MM. The NBA partially reimburses teams for one-year minimum-salary veteran contracts, but not for two-year deals.
After completing this series of roster moves and filling out their roster with minimum-salary signings, the Lakers project to be about $1.3MM below the hard cap, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Gasol was drafted by L.A. way back in 2007 but was traded to Memphis in a package for his brother Pau Gasol and never appeared in a game for the Lakers. Thirteen years later, he’ll finally suit up for the franchise.
Meanwhile, the Raptors – having lost both Gasol and Serge Ibaka in free agency – have pivoted by securing a commitment from free agent center Aron Baynes. The team is also re-signing RFA big man Chris Boucher.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eastern Contract Details: Heat, Rondo, Harris, Clark, Raptors
Although Maurice Harkless‘ one-year, $3.623MM deal is exactly the same amount as the bi-annual exception, the Heat completed the signing using a portion of their mid-level exception, according to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Avery Bradley received the remaining portion of the $9.258MM MLE, for a first-year salary of $5.635MM, Smith adds (via Twitter).
The Heat will still be hard-capped as a result of using the full mid-level exception, but they now retain their bi-annual exception to use either this season or next year, if they remain over the cap in 2021/22.
Smith (Twitter link) also passes along the exact details on Meyers Leonard‘s new contract with the Heat, which has a $9.4MM first-year salary and a team option for 2021/22 worth $10.152MM.
Here are a few more specific details on some of the new free agent contracts signed in the last couple days, via Smith unless otherwise indicated:
- Rajon Rondo‘s two-year, $15MM deal with the Hawks has matching cap hits of $7.5MM this season and next year. It also includes $750K in annual bonuses – tied to games played and playoff appearances – that could increase the annual value to $8.25MM (Twitter link).
- Joe Harris‘ new four-year contract with the Nets technically has a base value of $72MM, with $500K in annual bonuses tied to games played, playoff games played, and team performance (Twitter link).
- The Magic used part of their mid-level exception to sign Gary Clark to a contract starting at $2MM. His $2.1MM second-year salary won’t become guaranteed until seven days after the 2021 moratorium (Twitter link).
- The Raptors‘ deals for Aron Baynes, Chris Boucher, and DeAndre’ Bembry will all be non-guaranteed in year two rather than technically featuring team options, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. That means they’ll have to be waived next summer if Toronto doesn’t want to retain them for two years.
Four-Team Jrue Holiday, Steven Adams Trade Officially Complete
The Pelicans, Thunder, Bucks, and Nuggets have officially completed the four-team trade that will send Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee and Steven Adams to New Orleans, the Pelicans announced today in a press release.
In total, the mega-deal involves 10 players, five draft picks, and two future pick swaps. The trade breaks down as follows:
- Bucks acquire Holiday and the draft rights to Sam Merrill (No. 60 pick; from Pelicans).
- Pelicans acquire Adams, Eric Bledsoe, the Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (unprotected), the Bucks’ 2027 first-round pick (unprotected), and the right to swap first-round picks with the Bucks in 2024 and 2026.
- Thunder acquire George Hill, Darius Miller, Kenrich Williams (sign-and-trade), Josh Gray (sign-and-trade), Zylan Cheatham (sign-and-trade), the Nuggets’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected), the Wizards’ 2023 second-round pick (from Pelicans), and the Hornets’ 2024 second-round pick (from Pelicans).
- Nuggets acquire the draft rights to RJ Hampton (No. 24 pick; from Bucks).
The deal began when the Bucks and Pelicans reached an agreement on a trade sending Holiday to Milwaukee last week. From there, the Thunder got involved when New Orleans agreed to flip Hill to Oklahoma City in a trade for Adams.
A draft-night deal between the Nuggets and Pelicans that involved the Nuggets’ 2023 first-rounder and the Bucks’ No. 24 pick (sent to New Orleans as part of the original Holiday agreement) was folded in to make it a four-team trade when the Pels agreed to flip Denver’s ’23 pick to OKC as part of the Adams package.
As cap expert Albert Nahmad has pointed out (via Twitter), it’s an intricate, complex transaction that had to make use of a slew of CBA rules. The Pelicans, who are signing Adams to a two-year extension as part of the trade, needed to sign-and-trade Williams, Gray, and Cheatham to Oklahoma City and guarantee most or all of Miller’s $7MM salary in order to abide by salary-matching rules.
Meanwhile, Adams gets a trade bonus worth a little over $2MM as part of the deal, while the Thunder create the largest trade exception in NBA history, worth $27.5MM, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
Unfortunately, as Nahmad observes (via Twitter), Oklahoma City will likely have to use that massive TPE immediately to accommodate the acquisition of Al Horford. Still, as John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, the Thunder should come out of their series of transactions with a handful of usable trade exceptions, including one worth $15.4MM.
A full breakdown of this offseason’s trades – including the ones not yet made official – can be found right here.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bucks Sign Second-Round Pick Jordan Nwora
The Bucks have officially signed second-round pick Jordan Nwora to his first NBA contract, according to the league’s transactions log.
Jake Weingarten of Stock Risers reports (via Twitter) that Nwora signed a two-year, fully guaranteed contract. It figures to be worth the minimum, meaning he’d earn $898K in year one and $1.52MM in year two.
[RELATED: 2020 NBA Draft Pick Signings]
A two-time All-ACC player for Louisville, Nwora averaged 18.0 PPG and 7.7 RPG in 31 games (33.1 MPG) in 2019/20, with a solid shooting line of .440/.402/.813. He declared for the draft as an early entrant following his junior season and was selected by Milwaukee with the No. 45 overall pick.
The Bucks, who were prioritizing second-rounders this season in order to fill out the back of their roster with inexpensive rookie minimum salaries, acquired the No. 45 pick from Orlando for a pair of future second-rounders. Milwaukee is also acquiring the No. 60 pick (Sam Merrill) from the Pelicans as part of the Jrue Holiday blockbuster.
Knicks’ Jared Harper Signs Two-Way Qualifying Offer
Jared Harper is officially back with the Knicks on a two-way contract, according to the NBA’s transactions log. Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports confirms (via Twitter) that Harper signed his two-way qualifying offer from the team.
Harper, 23, signed a two-way contract with Phoenix last July after going undrafted out of Auburn. The 5’11” point guard logged just eight total minutes in three NBA games for the Suns, but had a strong season for the Northern Arizona Suns, Phoenix’s G League affiliate.
In 34 NBAGL games (28.9 MPG), Harper averaged 20.2 PPG, 5.5 APG, 2.6 RPG, and 1.1 SPG with a shooting line of .413/.362/.787.
The Suns released Harper before the NBA restarted its season in July and the Knicks claimed him off waivers, retaining the right to make him a restricted free agent with a two-way qualifying offer. Now Harper appears set to fill one of the team’s two-way contract slots, alongside Theo Pinson.
Free Agency Rumors: Bogdanovic, McLaughlin, Baynes, More
The Kings will have to make a decision on Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s offer sheet with the Hawks on Tuesday, and as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes, there are pros and cons the team must consider as it weighs its options.
Matching Bogdanovic’s four-year, $72MM offer sheet would mean not losing him for nothing, and the contract doesn’t look particularly onerous — it’s unlikely that it will become an albatross within the next year. Bogdanovic would have veto power on any trade for the next year if Sacramento matches his offer, and the deal includes a 15% trade kicker, but there’s a good chance the club could eventually move him for positive value.
Still, while the Kings had originally budgeted for a $15-18MM annual salary for Bogdanovic under former GM Vlade Divac, per Anderson, the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the salary cap coming in $6MM lower than anticipated may make the team nervous about a long-term deal at the upper end of that range.
Additionally, sources have suggested to Anderson that Bogdanovic would prefer a change of scenery and that the swingman feels he has been “de-prioritized” by the Kings. Sacramento already may have to deal with one disgruntled wing in Buddy Hield — carrying two of them, and having them eat into each other’s minutes, may not be an ideal situation for the club.
Here are a few more notes and rumors related to free agency:
- The Timberwolves and restricted free agent guard Jordan McLaughlin are engaged in ongoing talks about a new contract, a source tells Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. McLaughlin was on a two-way deal last season as a rookie, but is due for a promotion to a standard contract after averaging 7.6 PPG and 4.2 APG on .489/.382/.667 shooting in 30 games (19.7 MPG).
- Before he committed to the Raptors, free agent center Aron Baynes gave serious consideration to joining the Warriors, a league source tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
- Alex Len, another center who agreed to a deal with Toronto, generated interest from the Lakers, Sixers, Bucks, and Kings during free agency, according to Scotto. The Raptors used their mid-level exception to give Len slightly more than his minimum salary.
- The Hawks and Pistons were among the teams that expressed interest in Damyean Dotson before the free agent guard committed to Cleveland, reports Scotto. Dotson’s two-year, $4MM deal with the Cavaliers is worth more than the minimum and the club is still weighing whether to use its mid-level exception or bi-annual exception to complete the signing, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
Atlantic Notes: Harden, Oladipo, Grant, VanVleet
The Nets have shifted their focus away from a potential James Harden blockbuster and are simply looking to make marginal upgrades to the roster, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Brooklyn might pursue the Hornets’ Nicolas Batum once he clears waivers to give itself another defensive wing. The Nets tried and failed to secure Serge Ibaka‘s services with the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception and also struck out on wing Kent Bazemore, Lewis adds.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks president Leon Rose isn’t eager to pursue a trade for Pacers guard Victor Oladipo even though GM Scott Perry wants to explore that possibility, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. The front office did make a strong push for free agent forward Jerami Grant, who wound up with the Pistons in a sign-and-trade with Denver. Rose could still make another trade for a rotation player or take on another team’s unwanted contract with an asset attached in order to reach the salary cap floor, Berman adds.
- Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a four-year, $85MM contract could be considered overpaying but the Raptors have a reputation for rewarding players for a job well done, Eric Koreen of The Athletic opines. While the Raptors may have essentially been bidding against themselves at that price, their reputation of taking care of their own helps in acquiring other players. The contract is also structured so that they can pursue a top-flight free agent next summer.
- That contract could ultimately prove to be a good value if VanVleet improves in a few areas, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic. He needs to get better with his pull-up shooting and finishing at the rim when he takes over lead guard responsibilities, which will happen when Kyle Lowry leaves or shifts to more of an off-guard role. He also needs to get better in pick-and-rolls, Murphy adds.
Southwest Notes: Adams, Cousins, Wood, Haliburton, Covington
The Thunder are trading center Steven Adams to the Pelicans and it isn’t the first time New Orleans tried to make that happen, ESPN’s Royce Young tweets. The Pelicans pursued an Adams trade last offseason when the Thunder shook up their roster by trading Paul George and Russell Westbrook but the teams couldn’t work out an agreement at that time.
We have more news from the Southwest Division:
- A workout on Monday convinced the Rockets to sign DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Cousins’ workout squelched any concerns about Cousins’ health, Haynes adds. Cousins agreed to a non-guaranteed one-year deal.
- The acquisition of Christian Wood should have a major impact on the retooled Rockets, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Wood, who’s headed to Houston on a sign-and-trade, should provide elite production in pick-and-rolls with two star play-makers setting him up. Wood’s perimeter shooting will facilitate the Rockets’ small lineups by provide spacing for Westbrook with his ability to attack closeouts off the dribble and finish, Feigen adds.
- The Mavericks tried to trade up in the draft to land guard Tyrese Haliburton, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (hat tip to RealGM). Dallas attempted to trade multiple picks to lottery teams in the 7-11 range to make that move. Haliburton was ultimately selected at No. 12 by the Kings. The Mavs also tried to work out a deal with the Rockets for small forward Robert Covington, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, but Houston instead chose to deal him to the Trail Blazers.