Pacers Rumors: Turner, Lamb, Brogdon, Ball, FAs
Plenty of trade speculation has swirled around the Pacers heading into the 2021 offseason, but a league source tells J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required) that a “seismic” change to Indiana’s roster is unlikely.
One player whose name has popped up frequently in trade rumors during the last year or two is Myles Turner, and teams haven’t slowed their efforts to land the rim-protecting big man. According to Michael, the Knicks have gotten more aggressive lately in their pursuit of Turner — they aren’t the only club trying to trade for Turner, but they appear to be making the strongest push as of late, Michael says.
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- With lottery pick Chris Duarte expected to step into a role on the wing, the Pacers are interested in moving Jeremy Lamb, reports Michael. Lamb, who was limited to 36 games last season due to injuries, is on a $10.5MM expiring contract.
- The Pacers have had discussions about whether Malcolm Brogdon is the answer at point guard, according to Michael, who writes that the team also talked about possibly pursuing Lonzo Ball. However, Ball doesn’t seem to be a serious option for Indiana at this point, Michael adds.
- T.J. McConnell and Doug McDermott both have interest in returning to the Pacers, but McConnell wants security (ie. a multiyear deal) and McDermott may get too pricey for the team. As he’s previously reported, Michael notes that McConnell is more likely than McDermott to re-sign with the Pacers.
- Michael points to Avery Bradley, Lou Williams, Will Barton, and Garrett Temple as some free agents who may appeal to Indiana.
Javonte Green, Others Receive Qualifying Offers
The deadline for teams to issue qualifying offers to players eligible for restricted free agency was at 5:00pm ET on Sunday, but news of a handful of under-the-radar QOs continues to trickle in several hours later.
According to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), one player who received a qualifying offer was Bulls wing Javonte Green, whose offer was worth just shy of $1.9MM.
Green, 28, was sent from Boston to Chicago along with Daniel Theis in a three-team deadline deal and played a limited role for the team down the stretch, averaging 2.6 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 16 games (8.0 MPG). He’ll now start the 2021/22 league year as a restricted free agent.
Here are a few more QO updates:
- The Thunder issued a qualifying offer to make forward Josh Hall a restricted free agent, tweets Smith.
- The Hawks tendered a qualifying offer to former LSU shooting guard Skylar Mays, tweets Smith.
- The Mavericks have extended a qualifying offer to 22-year-old shooting guard Nate Hinton, tweets Smith.
- The Sixers have issued a qualifying offer to guard Rayjon Tucker to make him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith.
- Because all four of these players just finished the first season of a two-way contract with their respective teams, their QOs will be the equivalent of another two-way deal with a $50K guarantee.
Eastern Notes: Magic, Keefe, Giannis, Embiid, Dinwiddie, Wizards
The Magic intend on targeting veterans once free agency begins this week, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said, as relayed by Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
Orlando currently has a roster filled with younger players — including Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Isaac and Wendell Carter Jr. — making it imperative that the team also has some veterans by the time next season starts.
“Our goal would be to add experience to the roster,” Weltman said. “But it has to come in the right form and fashion. It has to be guys that we feel will help move our team forward, help our young guys navigate the early stages of their careers and can also help us on the court and show what hard work and preparation leads to.”
One veteran who spent time with Orlando the past two seasons, James Ennis, is set to reach the open market, though he recently told Hoops Rumors that his top priority will be finding a winning situation. The Magic finished with just a 21-51 record last season.
Here are some other notes from the East tonight:
- The Nets are hiring Brian Keefe as an assistant coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Keefe, a veteran NBA assistant, was a finalist for the Thunder’s head coaching job one year ago, Wojnarowski notes. Keefe will replace Mike D’Antoni on Steve Nash‘s staff.
- Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t need surgery on the knee he hyperextended during the playoffs, according to general manager Jon Horst. “He’s fine,” Horst said, as relayed by The Associated Press. “I can’t explain it, but he’s fine.”
- The Sixers are refusing to address questions about Joel Embiid‘s lingering knee injury, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Embiid sustained the injury in Game 4 of the team’s first-round series against the Wizards, though he still went on to average 28.1 points and 10.5 rebounds in 32.5 minutes per game during the postseason.
- A potential sign-and-trade for Spencer Dinwiddie won’t be easy to figure out for the Wizards, as detailed by Fred Katz of The Athletic. Washington is operating over the salary cap, meaning Dinwiddie could only join the team via a sign-and-trade, and the Nets won’t be eager to take on any significant salary for a player they don’t love. Dinwiddie missed most of last season after suffering a partially torn ACL. He averaged a career-high 20.6 points and 6.8 assists per game the season before, however, shooting 41.5% from the field.
Free Agent Rumors: Lowry, Caruso, Cavs, Trent, Batum, Bradley
The Pelicans are viewed as the most likely of Kyle Lowry‘s prospective suitors to guarantee a third year in their offer to the veteran point guard, sources tell Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. However, it’s the Heat that are considered the current frontrunners to land Lowry.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirms as much in his latest report, suggesting that the Heat are ready and willing to attach assets to Goran Dragic to entice the Raptors to accept a sign-and-trade offer, with Precious Achiuwa and draft picks among the pieces that could be in play. According to Wojnarowski, the Pelicans and Mavericks – rumored to be two of Lowry’s most aggressive suitors – are beginning to consider other options as they look for a starting point guard.
Here are a few more updates on free agents, with the start of the 2021 free agent period less than 24 hours away:
- Lakers free agent guard Alex Caruso is expected to meet with several teams when free agency begins on Monday, a source tells Jovan Buha of The Athletic. There’s an expectation that Caruso will have multiple options in the range of the full mid-level exception (approximately $9.5MM).
- Caruso was viewed as one of the Cavaliers‘ top targets when they were expecting to use their mid-level exception on a point guard, but now the team is focused on adding a wing or two with that MLE, says Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Fedor names Doug McDermott, Alec Burks, Reggie Bullock, Kent Bazemore, Denzel Valentine, Garrett Temple, Torrey Craig, Furkan Korkmaz, and Bryn Forbes as viable options for the Cavs.
- Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca hears from league sources that Raptors RFA wing Gary Trent Jr. may be looking for a contract in the range of $50MM+ over three years.
- Anthony Slater of The Athletic confirms there’s mutual interest between Nicolas Batum and the Warriors and that the two sides will likely be in touch early in the free agency process. An earlier Sunday report identified Golden State as a probable Batum suitor.
- The Pelicans are viewed as a possible landing spot for free agent guard Avery Bradley, whom the Rockets are hoping to sign-and-trade, writes J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star.
Heat Rumors: DeRozan, Oubre, Gay, Ariza, Butler
The Heat, who are reportedly considered the frontrunners to land Kyle Lowry in free agency, may also be eyeing another longtime Raptors guard.
Multiple reporters and outlets, including Marc Stein, Five Reasons Sports, and The Miami Herald (all four Twitter links), have suggested that the Heat are exploring ways to add free agent guard DeMar DeRozan. Miami has pursued DeRozan multiple times over the years, even inquiring on him earlier this season, and the veteran holds the Heat in high regard, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
However, landing DeRozan won’t be easy, since Miami has no clear pathway to acquiring both Lowry and DeRozan via sign-and-trade.
There has been some speculation about the possibility of DeRozan taking a discount to play for the Lakers or Clippers — if he’s open to that idea, it would open the door for the Heat to make a similar path. However, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report said on The Alex Kennedy Podcast that he’s not sure DeRozan – who earned $27MM this past season – would be willing to settle for the mid-level.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- The Heat tried to acquire Kelly Oubre at this year’s trade deadline and figure to be interested in him again as a free agent, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. However, Jackson views it as an unlikely match, since Oubre will likely want more than mid-level money.
- Jackson also names Rudy Gay as a free agent forward who will receive interest from the Heat this week (Twitter link). Miami may look to re-sign Trevor Ariza too, Jackson adds.
- There’s optimism that the Heat and Jimmy Butler will be able to reach an agreement on a contract extension this offseason, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Butler’s maximum extension would be a four-year deal worth up to a projected $181MM.
Mitchell Robinson, Terance Mann, Kenyon Martin Jr. Receive Salary Guarantees
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson ($1.8MM), Clippers guard Terance Mann ($1.8MM) and Rockets guard Kenyon Martin Jr. ($1.5MM) all saw their 2021/22 salaries become fully guaranteed on Sunday, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
Robinson had his team option picked up by the club on Saturday, but his salary for next season didn’t guarantee until today. The 23-year-old center played only 31 games for New York this season, averaging 8.3 points and 8.1 rebounds in 27.5 minutes per contest.
Mann, 24, showed flashes of potential with the Clippers this past season. He was the team’s No. 48 pick in 2019 and averaged seven points per game in 2020/21, shooting 51% from the floor and 42% from three-point range.
Martin, a 20-year-old swingman, was selected by the Kings on behalf of the Rockets with the No. 52 overall pick in last year’s November draft, then signed a four-year contract with Houston. His $1.78MM salary in 2022/23 remains non-guaranteed, while he also has a team option worth $1.93MM for 2023/24.
Both Robinson and Mann are also extension-eligible with their respected clubs, Marks notes.
Celtics Rumors: Green, Gay, Bradley, Olynyk, Dunn, Fournier
The Celtics prefer to use their mid-level exception to go after an experienced veteran player who can bring size and shooting to the team, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Former Celtic Jeff Green is thought to be one of Boston’s primary targets, Himmelsbach reports.
The Celtics aren’t far from the tax line and may be limited to the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception this offseason, since using the non-taxpayer version would hard-cap the club for the rest of the 2021/22 league year. The taxpayer MLE is expected to be worth about $5.9MM, which should be enough to make a competitive offer for Green.
Here’s more on the Celtics:
- Rudy Gay, Avery Bradley, and Kelly Olynyk are among the other free agents the Celtics may pursue, a league source tells Himmelsbach. Himmelsbach also confirms the club’s previously-reported interest in Patty Mills.
- League sources tell Himmelsbach that the Celtics will likely try to flip Kris Dunn, who is being sent from Atlanta to Boston in a not-yet-official trade.
- Himmelsbach also confirms that the Celtics are losing confidence in their ability to re-sign Evan Fournier in free agency. The acquisition of Josh Richardson was viewed as a contingency for the possibility of Fournier landing elsewhere.
- Former UConn star Jalen Adams worked out for the Celtics earlier this week, according to Jay King of The Athletic (Twitter link). Adams has played in the G League and in France since going undrafted in 2019.
Thunder Tender Qualifying Offer To Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk
The Thunder have tendered a qualifying offer to swingman Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, a league source tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). As a result of the move, Mykhailiuk will be a restricted free agent.
Mykhailiuk, a second-round pick in 2018, began his career with the Lakers before being traded to Detroit. After two years with the Pistons, he was flipped to the Thunder along with a second-round pick for Hamidou Diallo in a pre-deadline deal this March.
Playing a career-high 23.0 minutes per game in 30 appearances for the Thunder, Mykhailiuk averaged 10.3 PPG and 3.0 RPG on .438/.336/.700 shooting.
The 24-year-old’s qualifying offer will be worth about $2.08MM. If he accepts that offer, he’d reach unrestricted free agency next summer, but he may try to work out a more lucrative – and possibly multiyear – deal with the Thunder or another team. Oklahoma City will have the ability to match any offer sheet Mykhailiuk signs with a rival club as long as that QO remains on the table.
Grizzlies Decline Justise Winslow’s Team Option
The Grizzlies have declined the $13MM team option in Justise Winslow‘s contract for next season, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link).
This move was expected from Memphis, since the team needed to remove Winslow’s salary from its books to create space for Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams. The Grizzlies are reportedly set to acquire the duo in a trade with the Pelicans, sending back center Jonas Valanciunas in return.
The 25-year-old Winslow has missed several games due to injuries over the past two seasons, appearing in just 37 total contests as a result. He spent the first five seasons of his career in Miami before being traded to Memphis in February of 2020.
In the 26 games he did play during the 2020/21 season, Winslow averaged 6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per contest. Memphis had to make a decision on his option by 5:00pm ET on Sunday.
No QOs For Frank Ntilikina, D.J. Wilson, Mike James, Others
Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina is among the players who didn’t receive a qualifying offer in advance of Sunday’s deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent this offseason, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link).
The Knicks’ decision on Ntilikina doesn’t come as a surprise. Despite the years the team spent trying to develop the former No. 8 overall pick into a reliable rotation player, he wasn’t used often in 2020/21, logging just 9.8 minutes per game in 33 contests as he battled some injury issues. A qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent would have been worth $7MM+, a figure he’s unlikely to match or exceed on the open market.
Here are updates on a few of the other players who didn’t receive QOs today:
- The Rockets didn’t issue a qualifying offer to forward D.J. Wilson, who will become an unrestricted free agent, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Wilson’s QO would’ve been worth $6.4MM.
- The Nets didn’t issue a qualifying offer to guards Mike James or Chris Chiozza, according to reports from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). Both players will become unrestricted free agents.
- Brandon Goodwin didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Hawks, a league source tells Scotto (Twitter link). Goodwin averaged 4.9 PPG and 2.0 APG in 47 games (13.2 MPG) for Atlanta in 2020/21.