Central Notes: Pacers Rookies, Stephenson, Cavs’ Targets, Sexton, Garland
The Pacers wound up with three players in the draft — lottery pick Bennedict Mathurin and second-rounders Andrew Nembhard and Kendall Brown. Team president Kevin Pritchard has high hopes for the trio, Bob Kravitz of The Athletic writes.
“One of the things I’m absolutely convinced of, these three young men will be a part of this organization for a long time,” Pritchard said. “We wanted to get more athletic, more dynamic and bring some intelligence. All three demonstrated that athleticism and drive to win. The one common denominator is, they all love to play.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- The Pacers shouldn’t bring back free agent Lance Stephenson, James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star argues. Stephenson is most comfortable with the ball in his hands and the team has an overload of guards and wings — most notably Tyrese Haliburton, T.J. McConnell and Chris Duarte — who are ballhandlers. They added two more in the draft.
- Ricky Rubio, Delon Wright and Tyus Jones are some of the free agents the Cavaliers might consider to back up starting point guard Darius Garland, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic writes.
- Collin Sexton has received a qualifying offer from the Cavaliers, making him a restricted free agent. Garland, who like Sexton is represented by Rich Paul, likes Sexton personally and wants to continue playing with him in Cleveland, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Knicks Strong Frontrunners For Brunson, Expected To Offer $110MM
10:08pm: The Knicks intend to offer Brunson a four-year contract worth approximately $110MM, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets.
4:53pm: The Mavericks have believed for the last couple weeks that Brunson is headed to the Knicks, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic, who tweets that it’s viewed as a virtual “certainty” at this point.
4:01pm: It’s “widely anticipated” that free agent point guard Jalen Brunson will land with the Knicks in free agency on a four-year deal worth more than $100MM, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).
Marc Stein has heard similar rumblings, tweeting that there’s a “growing resignation” from the Mavericks‘ end that New York is Brunson’s first choice and his inevitable destination.
The Knicks project to have about $17MM in cap room if they waive Taj Gibson and his non-guaranteed salary, so they’d need to make at least one move to create the flexibility necessary to offer $25MM+ per year to Brunson. However, they could realistically get there by trading either Alec Burks or Nerlens Noel — both players have been involved in recent trade rumors, with Ian Begley of SNY.tv suggesting the Nets and Raptors are among the teams to register some interest in Noel.
Brunson and the Knicks have been linked to one another for months. As has been repeated ad nauseam, Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose is Brunson’s former agent, Rose’s son Sam Rose is Brunson’s current agent, and Brunson’s father Rick Brunson was recently hired as a Knicks assistant.
Still, the Mavericks had long projected confidence in their ability to re-sign Brunson. Although the point guard will be an unrestricted free agent, Dallas holds his Bird rights, giving the team the ability to offer him more money and more years than any other suitor. But the Mavs’ confidence appears to be waning with free agency right around the corner.
According to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link), part of the Knicks’ pitch to Brunson is the ability to be the full-time starting point guard. In Dallas, he’s more of a secondary option at the position, with Luka Doncic running the show.
The Knicks don’t view Brunson as a “potential franchise-altering savior,” per Begley, but rather as an important piece of the process. The 25-year-old is considered to be a good fit for the timeline of some of New York’s other young players, Begley adds.
The Mavs project to be far over the cap, limiting their ability to secure an adequate replacement for Brunson if he does head to New York. If Dallas knows Brunson is leaving, the team could attempt to work out a sign-and-trade agreement with the Knicks, but may not have much leverage to do so if New York has cap room available for a $100MM+ offer.
Clippers Sign Ivica Zubac To Three-Year Extension
8:37pm: The Clippers have officially announced their extension with Zubac, issuing a press release to confirm the move.
“For four seasons, Zu has been a pillar of our team, durable and dependable,” president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement. “He does whatever is needed: setting screens, rolling to the rim, anchoring the interior of the defense. He is a reliable teammate and a consistent pro, just entering the prime of his career. We are excited to continue growing with him.”
4:12pm: The Clippers and Ivica Zubac have agreed to a contract extension that will cover the next three years and will be worth $33MM, agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
The Clippers held a team option on Zubac for the 2022/23 season worth $7,518,518, but will decline that option as part of the extension agreement, Wojnarowski reports.
The new deal, which will run through the 2024/25 season, won’t include any options, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
Zubac, 25, was the Clippers’ starting center in 2021/22, appearing in a career-high 76 games and starting all of them. He also established new career highs in PPG (10.3), RPG (8.5), APG (1.6), and BPG (1.0) in 24.4 minutes per contest.
Zubac will be the second Clippers player to receive an extension between the end of the regular season and the start of the NBA’s 2022/23 league year, joining Robert Covington.
Los Angeles now has more than $171MM in guaranteed money on its books for next season without accounting for their reported agreement with John Wall – rumored to be worth the taxpayer mid-level exception – or possible new deals for free agents like Nicolas Batum, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Amir Coffey. The team’s tax bill projects to be worth at least $80MM, assuming a taxpayer MLE contract for Wall, tweets Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype, and that number could continue to grow.
Zubac won’t be eligible to be traded for six months once he officially signs the extension, since it exceeds the extend-and-trade limits.
Pacific Notes: Wall, George, Mutombo, Ayers, Looney, Payton II, Kings
John Wall is expected to sign with the Clippers once he clears waivers and he’ll be joining a close friend in Los Angeles, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times writes. Paul George formed a strong bond with Wall early in their NBA careers and they’ve both dealt with major injuries.
“He’s somebody I’m always going to root for,” George said during Wall’s first season in Houston. “He’s a brother to me, and I couldn’t be more happy to see him back on the floor and doing what he loves to do, and continuing to make those plays that everyone loves him for.” Wall didn’t get a chance to make those plays last season as he sat out while Houston developed its young backcourt.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- The Suns officially announced the addition of Patrick Mutombo as an assistant to head coach Monty Williams in a press release. Phoenix’s decision to hire Mutombo was reported two weeks ago. Mutombo joins Phoenix following two seasons as the head coach of the Raptors’ G League affiliate, Raptors 905. The Suns also announced that Randy Ayers will transition from assistant coach to coaching advisor on the team’s staff.
- Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II are considered top tier priorities among the Warriors’ own free agents, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Johnson breaks down all of the team’s free agents into tiers, with Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica at the second level.
- The Kings decided to exercise their option on Trey Lyles but they could still seek forward depth in free agency. James Ham of the Kings Beat breaks down 12 potential targets, including T.J. Warren and Derrick Jones Jr.
Summer League Commitments: Hawks, Kings, Mavericks, Sixers
Free agent swingman Chandler Hutchison has agreed to play summer league with the Hawks, a league source told Hoops Rumors. Hutchison has spent time with the Bulls, Wizards and Suns since being drafted with the 22nd overall pick in 2018.
The 26-year-old joined Phoenix on a two-way contract this past season. Upon being waived in January, he joined the Heat’s G League affiliate, where he averaged 11.4 points in 20 games.
There’s more summer league news tonight:
- The Kings have received a commitment from guard DJ Steward to play in Las Vegas, a source told Hoops Rumors. Steward attended training camp with the team in the fall. He averaged 14.6 points per game in the G League this season.
- Former Boise State star Derrick Alston Jr. will play summer league with the Mavericks, Hoops Rumors has learned. Alston played for the Jazz’s G League affiliate this season, averaging 18.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
- The Sixers are adding Cassius Winston and Justin Smith to their summer league roster, according to sources. Winston, 24, has spent time with the Wizards on a two-way contract, while Smith, 23, briefly played for the Raptors’ G League affiliate this past season.
Heat Willing To Give Tucker Guaranteed Three-Year Deal
The Heat are willing to give impending free agent P.J. Tucker a guaranteed three-year deal but don’t want to invest their full mid-level exception on the veteran forward, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.
Using the full mid-level ($10.3MM) would push Miami into a hard cap situation, which would seriously curtail its ability to make other moves. The Heat instead plan to offer Tucker the maximum allowable three years using the Non-Bird exception. The contract would include a starting salary of $8.4MM and would be worth about $26.5MM in total.
Tucker is declining his $7.35MM option in order to enter unrestricted free agency. The Sixers have emerged as the frontrunners for Tucker, reportedly ready to offer him a three-year contract worth $27MM with incentives that could increase the value to $30MM.
If the non-taxpayer mid-level exception is used on Tucker, the Heat would only be able to offer restricted free agent Caleb Martin or any outside free agent their $4.1MM bi-annual exception or a minimum-salary deal, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald notes.
Summer League Commitments: Bulls, Pistons, Spurs
Four-year NBA veteran Sindarius Thornwell has committed to play summer league with the Bulls, a league source told Hoops Rumors. Thornwell holds 160 games of experience, making past stops with the Clippers, Pelicans and Magic.
The 2022 Las Vegas Summer League will be held from July 7-17 this year. Thornwell, the No. 48 pick out of South Carolina in 2017, most recently played in Germany.
Here are some other commitments to pass along:
- The Pistons are bringing swingman Anthony Tarke to summer league, his agent Billy Davis of Family of Athletes said. Tarke joined the Pistons for training camp last fall. He appeared in 10 games with the team’s G League affiliate this year.
- The Spurs will add swingman Robert Woodard II to their summer league roster, a source told Hoops Rumors. Woodard signed a two-way contract with the team in March and will soon be a free agent.
- Denzel Mahoney has also accepted a summer league invite from the Spurs, according to a source. Mahoney joined the team for training camp last fall and played for the team’s G League affiliate this year.
Atlantic Rumors: Tucker, Sixers, Knicks, Robinson, Nets
With free agency still two days away, rumors about P.J. Tucker landing in Philadelphia continue to percolate. After Marc Stein reported earlier in the week that multiple executives believe the Sixers will sign Tucker to a three-year, $30MM contract, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer conveys a similar sentiment today.
According to Pompey, three sources believe Tucker to the 76ers is a “done deal,” while a fourth source said he’d be shocked if the veteran forward doesn’t end up in Philadelphia. Sources tell Pompey that Tucker’s three-year deal with the Sixers, assuming it materializes, could be worth $27MM with incentives that increase the value to $30MM.
The Sixers still need to do some cap work in order to realistically make that kind of offer to Tucker. If James Harden turns down his $47MM+ player option and agrees to a lesser first-year salary on a new contract, the team could create the cap flexibility necessary to use its full mid-level exception on Tucker. But Harden is expected to opt in and then sign an extension, which means Philadelphia would have to shed some salary. Furkan Korkmaz ($5MM), Matisse Thybulle ($4.4MM), and Georges Niang ($3.5MM) are among the club’s potential trade candidates.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- The Knicks are considering converting Jericho Sims‘ two-way contract into a standard NBA deal, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv. If that occurs, second-round pick Trevor Keels would likely receive a two-way pact. Both moves were considered likely as of Tuesday afternoon, Begley writes.
- Within the same story, Begley says he expects the Knicks to give strong consideration to re-signing Taj Gibson if they waive him this week as part of their cap-clearing efforts.
- The four-year, $48MM contract Robert Williams signed with Boston last fall is viewed by rival executives as a fair comparable for Mitchell Robinson, according to Steve Popper of Newsday, who suggests the Knicks likely wouldn’t want to go much higher than that to retain Robinson this summer.
- The Nets are expected to give David Duke a prominent role in summer league games next month and will give him an opportunity to compete for a roster spot in 2022/23, sources tell Chris Milholen of NetsDaily. Duke received a two-way qualifying offer from Brooklyn, as we relayed earlier today.
Pistons To Decline Options On Garza, Edwards
The Pistons will not pick up the team options of center Luka Garza and guard Carsen Edwards, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets.
The option on Garza, a second-r0und pick last season, is worth $1,563,518. The option figure for Edwards, who joined the Pistons late last season, is $1,815,677.
Edwards also confirms that Detroit will decline the $3,150,000 option on Frank Jackson‘s contract, which he previously reported was likely.
Technically, Detroit could make Garza and Edwards restricted free agents by extending qualifying offers, but that’s unlikely given the team could have retained either player at a low-cost figure. The Pistons are projected to have more cap space than any other team in free agency and these moves open up a little more room to make a splash.
Garza, who starred at Iowa, appeared in 32 games (five starts) last season, averaging 5.8 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 12.2 MPG. The addition of lottery pick Jalen Duren increased the possibility that Garza would be let go.
Edwards spent the bulk of last season in the G League before appearing in four games with Detroit in April.
Hornets’ Bouknight Undergoes Hand Surgery
Hornets guard James Bouknight underwent surgery on Monday to repair a tendon in his fifth digit on his right hand, the team announced in a press release.
Bouknight will not participate in the summer league next month.
The 11th pick of last year’s draft, Bouknight had a disappointing rookie campaign. He only made 31 appearances last season, averaging 4.6 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 8.9 MPG. He missed games due to wrist, neck and elbow injuries.
He also had a sideline altercation with now former head coach James Borrego in early February.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Brandon Valentine at Novant Health Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital in consultation with Hornets team physician Dr. Marcus Cook.