Celtics Trade for Evan Fournier
12:27am: The Fournier trade is now official, according to an announcement from the Magic (via Twitter).
9:07pm: The draft picks headed to Orlando in the trade are the Celtics’ own 2027 second-rounder and whichever pick is the least favorable of the Celtics’ and Grizzlies’ 2025 second-rounders, reports Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).
2:36pm: The Celtics will also send Jeff Teague to Orlando in their trade for Fournier, according to Josh Robbins and Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Since Teague is on a minimum-salary contract, the value of the Magic’s $17MM+ trade exception generated by moving Fournier will remain the same.
Teague has been told he doesn’t have to report to Orlando and will be released by the Magic, Robbins adds.
10:34am: The Celtics are finalizing a deal to land shooting guard Evan Fournier from the Magic in exchange for two second-round picks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Since it appears Boston isn’t sending any sizeable salaries to Orlando in return, the Celtics will use part of their $28.6MM trade exception to take on Fournier’s expiring contract.
Fournier carries a $17.15MM cap hit that will be adjusted to $17.45MM once the deal is complete, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The increase involves bonuses, as Fournier has incentives for reaching the second round of the playoffs and the conference finals, which are both now considered likely since the Celtics did so last season.
Boston doesn’t have a roster opening, so another move will be necessary before the trade can be finalized. Marks adds that the deal puts the Celtics $1.6MM over the luxury tax, so Boston could include a low-priced contract in the trade to address both issues.
The Magic would create a $17.15MM trade exception if they’re not acquiring any players in the deal (or if they only take on a minimum-salary contract).
Fournier, 28, is in his ninth NBA season and his seventh with the Magic. He’s averaging a career-best 19.7 points per game and shooting 38.8% from three-point range in advance of unrestricted free agency.
The Celtics were previously said to be in serious contention to land Aaron Gordon from Orlando in addition to Fournier, but Gordon is reportedly headed to Denver.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southeast Notes: Anthony, Heat Arena, Monk, Riley
Injured Magic rookie point guard Cole Anthony, recovering from a rib fracture suffered on February 9, has been progressing in his rehab, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.
Magic head coach Steve Clifford addressed: Anthony’s improvement: “He’s able to be on the court more now. He can’t do any contact. The rib isn’t totally healed, so he’ll have to do another MRI before he’s ready for contact but he is able to do, like work out with the ball, shooting, ball handling, things on the court that he wasn’t able to do a week ago.”
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- The cryptocurrency exchange FTX has purchased naming rights for the Heat‘s home court, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The current American Airlines Arena will soon be rebranded. FTX will pay $2MM per year for the moniker.
- The Hornets face interesting decisions this summer on 2021 restricted free agents Devonte’ Graham and Malik Monk. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer wonders if Charlotte should prioritize retaining Monk, who has been on a tear of late, in the offseason. Bonnell notes that, in terms of each player’s potential fit alongside future of the franchise LaMelo Ball, Monk can be reliably slotted both alongside Ball and as a legitimate backup point guard option. The Hornets may need to let at least one of Graham or Monk walk to seek out a free agent upgrade at the center position.
- Heat team president Pat Riley discussed Miami’s new veteran additions, and why his team opted to retain its promising youth, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. The Heat added shooting guard Victor Oladipo, recently a two-time All-Star, plus forwards Trevor Ariza and Nemanja Bjelica, without giving up intriguing young players Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, both of whom many assumed could be moved. “They can become truly great,” Riley said. “I hate to have that come back to [bite] us if we move them… We’re happy with both of them. They’re both [going through a shooting slump]. They’ll come out of it.” Riley was also excited for Oladipo’s diverse offensive game and his defensive promise: “He’s not just a shooter. He can really defend.”
Pistons, Kings Swap Delon Wright, Cory Joseph
MARCH 25: The Kings have announced that their trade to acquire Wright is now official.
MARCH 24: The Pistons will send guard Delon Wright to the Kings in exchange for guard Cory Joseph and a pair of second-round picks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. The second-rounders in the deal are this year’s selection from the Lakers and Sacramento’s choice in 2024.
Wright, 28, was traded to Detroit in November. He took over as the Pistons’ starting point guard after an early-season injury to Killian Hayes and is averaging 10.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 35 games. Wright is under contract for one more year at $8.5MM before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2022. The Kings will be his fifth team in the last three seasons.
In Sacramento, Wright will join a backcourt rotation headed by De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. As Bobby Marks of ESPN explains (via Twitter), the Kings had hoped to improve their depth during the coming offseason, so the acquisition of Wright gives them a jump-start on that process. They’ll also create a modest $3.6MM trade exception in the deal.
Joseph, 29, was in his second season with Sacramento. He’s averaging 6.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 43 games, mostly as a reserve. Joseph is set to earn $12.6MM in 2021/22, but the contract is only partially guaranteed ($2.4MM) until August 1, so the Pistons may opt to waive him before next season to save some money.
“All I’ll say is that I really, really enjoy coaching Cory, and his spirit, his professionalism has been great to coach and great for this group,” Sacramento coach Luke Walton said. “He is a pleasure to coach and I’ll leave it at that” (Twitter link from Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee).
The pair of second-round picks headed the Pistons’ way look like the prime motivator for the club to complete the deal. Detroit had traded away several of its own second-rounders, including three of them in last November’s deal for Saddiq Bey, so this helps restock the team’s stash of picks to some extent. The Pistons now own three second-rounders in 2021 — while they’ve traded away their own pick, they’ll control the Lakers’ selection, as well as Charlotte’s and Toronto’s.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Magic Trade Aaron Gordon To Nuggets
11:22pm: The deal is official, according to a Magic press release (via Twitter).
3:05pm: The 2025 first-round pick headed to Orlando in the trade will be top-five protected, tweets Zach Lowe of ESPN. That protection will remain the same in 2026 and 2027 if it doesn’t convey immediately.
11:24am: The Nuggets and Magic have reached an agreement on a trade that will send forward Aaron Gordon to Denver, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links) also hears that the two sides are in agreement, reporting that Denver will send Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton, and a protected 2025 first-round pick to Orlando in the deal. The Nuggets will also acquire Gary Clark in the trade, tweets Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Gordon, who has been one of the most frequently discussed trade candidates this month, was said at the start of the week to be drawing serious interest from the Rockets. The Celtics overtook Houston as the frontrunner to acquire the 25-year-old on Tuesday, with the Nuggets reportedly emerging as the favorite as of Wednesday night.
It’s the second trade agreement of the day for the Nuggets, who also struck a deal with Cleveland to acquire JaVale McGee. The moves will shore up a Denver frontcourt that was hit hard last offseason by the free agent departures of Mason Plumlee, Jerami Grant, and Torrey Craig.
While McGee will take over as Nikola Jokic‘s backup at the five, Gordon can play either forward position, and should help provide the club with some of the defensive versatility that was lost when Grant and Craig left. It’s a safe bet that Gordon will be tasked with guarding bigger forwards like LeBron James or Kawhi Leonard during the postseason.
As for the Magic, the Gordon trade is the latest in a series of deals that signal the organization’s intention to reset its roster and retool around Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac. Orlando has also agreed to send Nikola Vucevic to Chicago and Evan Fournier to Boston.
According to earlier reports, the Celtics were offering Aaron Nesmith and a first-round pick as part of a package for Gordon. During conversations with the Timberwolves, the Magic wanted rookie Jaden McDaniels, but Minnesota was reluctant to part with him, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Instead, the Magic will get a package headlined by a future first-round pick and Hampton, who was selected with the 24th overall pick in the 2020 draft. The 20-year-old has logged mostly garbage-time minutes in his 25 NBA games so far, but is viewed as having considerable potential.
Orlando also gets Harris, who has been productive in the past but has an oversized contract, including a $19.6MM salary this season and a $20.9MM cap hit for 2021/22. He was included in the deal for salary-matching purposes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Thomas, Wolves, Jensen
The Nuggets reshaped their rotation with the additions of forward Aaron Gordon and reserve center JaVale McGee. Mike Singer of the Denver Post details Denver’s thinking behind the two acquisitions.
Singer cites the interest of Denver head coach Mike Malone in adding an experienced, rim-protecting playoff veteran in the post as the motivation behind adding McGee. The Nuggets are hopeful that McGee can help add some interior toughness against his old team, the Lakers.
The addition of Gordon makes sense as a solid “tweener” forward replacement for departed small forward Jerami Grant, capable of making an impact on both ends of the floor, Singer contends. The Nuggets did their due diligence in researching Gordon’s off-court fit as well as his on-court fit. Singer also notes that, because the team moved on from Gary Harris as part of the Gordon deal, Will Barton now appears destined to become the club’s starting shooting guard for the rest of the year.
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- The Jazz view new acquisition Matt Thomas as a keeper beyond this season, per Tony Jones of The Athletic (via Twitter). The 6’4″ shooting guard has a non-guaranteed $1.78MM salary for the 2021/22 season, but Utah doesn’t intend to waive him in the offseason. Thomas appeared in 26 games for the Raptors this season, averaging just 7.4 MPG.
- The front office of the lowly Timberwolves, led by team president Gersson Rosas, opted to stand pat at the trade deadline. Jon Krawczynski and Britt Robson of The Athletic report that the Wolves wanted a power forward upgrade, but struggled to find a deal they liked. Minnesota is the worst team in the West with a 10-34 record. “We could’ve acquired those high-end guys today, but it’s short term,” Rosas said. “From a long-term perspective, we’re very excited about our young guys and what the future holds for them. That’s why we weren’t as active as we potentially could’ve been.”
- Jazz assistant coach — and Utah Utes alum — Alex Jensen has withdrawn from consideration for the head coaching gig with his alma mater, according to Christopher Kamrani and Tony Jones of The Athletic. “He had great conversations with [Utah Athletic Director] Mark Harlan and knows it is a very positive situation but the timing was not right,” a source told Kamrani and Jones.
Spurs Acquire Marquese Chriss From Warriors
10:45pm: The Chriss deal is now official, per a tweet from the Warriors.
2:35pm: The Warriors will trade center Marquese Chriss to the Spurs, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Golden State will receive the rights to Cady Lalanne in return, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
San Antonio will also get cash in the deal, adds ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The move will enable the Warriors to save some money on the luxury tax, rather than spending it for an injured player (Twitter link).
Chriss underwent surgery after breaking his right fibula in late December and is expected to miss the rest of the season. He is making $1.8MM this season on an expiring contract.
Lalanne, a 28-year-old center, was a second-round pick by the Spurs in 2015, but has never made it to the NBA. He is currently playing in South Korea.
Warriors Trade Brad Wanamaker To Hornets
10:37pm: The Warriors tweet that they have officially dealt Wanamaker to the Hornets. The terms of the deal are as follows:
- Hornets acquire Wanamaker, the Raptors’ 2022 second-round pick (top-54 protected), and cash.
- Warriors acquire the Hornets’ 2025 second-round pick (top-55 protected).
2:19pm: The Hornets have agreed to acquire veteran guard Brad Wanamaker in a trade with the Warriors, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Golden State won’t receive any players or picks in return, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Charlotte has the room to absorb Wanamaker’s $2.25MM cap charge, so no salary-matching was necessary.
Cash will be involved in the deal, per Slater, though it’s unclear which team is receiving it. Given Wanamaker’s middling production and the Warriors’ sizeable tax bill, I’d expect Golden State to be the team sending out cash, but Wes Goldberg of The San Jose Mercury-News says it’ll be Charlotte doing so. We’ll have to wait for more details.
Wanamaker was expendable because Golden State views rookie Nico Mannion as its backup point guard moving forward, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports (Twitter link). The Warriors were able to open two roster spots today ahead of the buyout season.
After signing with the Warriors as a free agent in November, Wanamaker appeared in 39 games, all as a reserve, and averaged 4.7 points and 2.5 assists per night.
Heat Acquire Victor Oladipo From Rockets
10:25pm: The trade for Oladipo is now official, according to press releases from both clubs.
2:10pm: Victor Oladipo is on the move, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the Rockets have agreed to send the two-time All-Star to the Heat.
According to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link), the Rockets are acquiring Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk, and a 2022 draft-pick swap. The pick swap involves first-rounders, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.
Houston will have the ability to swap either its own 2022 first-rounder or Brooklyn’s 2022 first-rounder for Miami’s pick, MacMahon adds in another tweet.
According to David Weiner of ClutchFans (Twitter link), the 2022 first-round pick swap is lottery-protected. A separate report from ClutchFans (Twitter link) explains that if the Heat miss the playoffs next season and that protection applies, they’d instead send a ’22 second-round selection to Houston — it would be the least favorable of the Sixers’ and Nuggets’ second-rounders.
Miami’s interest in the high-scoring guard, an unrestricted free agent after the season, was well-known, as was Oladipo’s interest in playing for the Heat.
The Heat now have a formidable 1-2 punch at the wing spots in Jimmy Butler and Oladipo as they attempt to reach the NBA Finals for the second straight season. Miami also acquires Oladipo’s Bird rights, which gave the Heat added incentive to make this deal.
It appeared to be a foregone conclusion that Oladipo, who was acquired by Houston from Indiana earlier this season in the multi-team trade that sent James Harden to the Nets, would be dealt again when he turned down a two-year, $42.5MM extension offer from the Rockets last month.
He played 20 games for Houston, averaging 21.2 PPG, 5.0 APG and 4.8 RPG in 33.5 MPG.
Olynyk has an expiring $12.6MM contract and Bradley’s $5.9MM salary for next season includes a team option. Olynyk, who became expendable when Miami agreed to acquire Nemanja Bjelica from the Kings, started 38 of 43 games this season for Miami, averaging 10.0 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 26.9 MPG.
Bradley, who was signed as a free agent last offseason, has only appeared in 10 games this season due to injuries.
After a busy day on the trade market, Miami has two open roster spots. The team will sign at least one player via the buyout market, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press tweets. LaMarcus Aldridge looks like a top target for the Heat.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: KD, Bryant, Raptors, Lowry
Nets All-Star Kevin Durant did not travel with Brooklyn for the club’s three-game road trip, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN. Head coach Steve Nash shed some light on the team’s decision to keep Durant home. The two-time Finals MVP has been unavailable for the club since February 12 with a left hamstring strain.
“We just felt like it didn’t benefit him to travel across the country while he is trying to get that critical last part of his rehab done,” Nash said of the Nets’ star forward. “If this was the playoffs, there’s a chance he’d be back very soon, but there’s no point in taking a big risk with him when the most important thing is to get him back for the remainder of the season.”
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks associate head coach Johnnie Bryant, a former Utes player and Jazz assistant coach, is still in the hunt to become the new University of Utah head coach, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
- The Raptors made some significant changes at the trade deadline, but they didn’t move the player everyone was perhaps most expecting to be dealt. Blake Murphy of The Athletic takes stock of where Toronto stands in terms of its draft assets and salary cap space going forward.
- The Sixers opted not to trade for point guard Kyle Lowry, an unrestricted free agent this summer, apparently due to an ample asking price from the Raptors, as Rich Hoffman and Derek Bodner of The Athletic detail. The Raptors reportedly wanted a package centered around young players Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey, two future first-round draft picks, with veterans Danny Green and Mike Scott added to match Lowry’s incoming salary in a move.
Kings Waive Jabari Parker, Mfiondu Kabengele
9:33pm: Kabengele has officially been released as well by the Kings, per a Sacramento press release.
8:23pm: The Kings have officially waived Parker, according to a team press release.
3:33pm: The Kings are also expected to release newly-acquired big man Mfiondu Kabengele in order to open the roster spots necessary to accommodate their deadline-day deals, reports Ham (via Twitter).
3:26pm: The Kings are expected to waive forward Jabari Parker, James Ham of NBC Sports California tweets.
Parker, who has a $6.5MM salary this season, was scheduled to hit the free agent market after the season. He’ll reach that point sooner once he clears waivers.
The second overall pick of the 2014 draft only appeared in three games with Sacramento this season, due to a back injury, personal reasons, and most recently the league’s health and safety protocols.
Sacramento was Parker’s fifth NBA stop. He was included a trade deadline swap with Atlanta last February. Parker averaged 15.0 PPG in 32 games with the Hawks but only played six games with Sacramento last season.
The Kings needed to open up two roster spots after a reported two-for-one deal with Miami that is sending Nemanja Bjelica to the Heat, along with an agreed-upon trade with the Raptors that will send Terence Davis to the West Coast.