Thunder Decline Muscala’s Team Option, Pick Up Roby’s
The Thunder have declined their 2022/23 team option on Mike Muscala and exercised their option on Isaiah Roby, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter links).
Muscala’s option was worth $3.5MM and declining it makes him an unrestricted free agent. Roby’s $1,930,681 contract for next season is currently non-guaranteed, but will become fully guaranteed on July 3, per Smith.
Muscala, 30, had arguably the best season of his nine-year career in ’21/22, averaging 8 PPG and 3 RPG on .456/.429/.842 shooting in 43 games. While those figures are relatively modest, he averaged just 13.8 MPG, so he was quite productive on a per-minute basis.
Ankle surgery in March ended Muscala’s season prematurely, which is why he only appeared in 43 contests last season. Teams looking for a reserve big man capable of making three-pointers (37.7% career) could do worse than Muscala, who will likely be pretty affordable.
In his third season with Oklahoma City, the 6’8″ Roby averaged a career-best 10.1 PPG along with 4.8 RPG on .514/.444/.672 shooting in 45 games (21.1 MPG).
His season was a study in halves, as Roby rarely saw action before the All-Star break (22 games, 15.1 MPG) and spent time in the G League. In the second half of the season when most of the Thunder’s roster was decimated by injuries, Roby averaged 13.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1 SPG and 1 BPG in 23 games, including 20 starts (26.8 MPG).
Wolves Pick Up Team Options On Naz Reid, Jaylen Nowell
The Timberwolves are picking up the 2022/23 team options on Naz Reid and Jaylen Nowell, sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Both players will earn $1,930,681 next season, and both deals are non-guaranteed. Reid’s contract will become guaranteed on July 20, while Nowell’s guarantee date is in January.
As Krawczynski notes (via Twitter), both reserves were productive last season, but were essentially depth pieces in the postseason, so neither player has a clear-cut standing on Minnesota’s roster going forward. However, head coach Chris Finch recently praised Nowell, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.
“We saw in short stints out there what he’s able to do,” Finch said of Nowell. “He’s an x-factor, he’s a game-changer. I think everybody needs that. He has the ability to create his own basket, he has the ability to attack switching. He’s actually an underrated play-maker.”
Finch added that the Wolves wants to find regular minutes for him going forward.
“… But now we’re trying to figure out how to get a role, a more consistent role, for him, and we want him to feel as a part of our young core as anybody else that’s here,” he said as part of a larger quote.
Both Reid, a center, and Nowell, a guard, will turn 23 this summer. In 77 games (15.6 MPG) last season, Reid averaged 8.3 PPG and 3.9 RPG on .484/.343/.765 shooting, with his minutes, points and rebounds all declining from ’20/21.
Nowell averaged 8.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 2.1 APG on .475/.394/.783 shooting in 62 games (15.7 MPG) in ’21/22. Both players are entering their fourth seasons and have spent their entire careers with Minnesota.
Lonnie Walker, Anfernee Simons Get QOs; Kevin Knox Doesn’t
The Spurs have issued a qualifying offer to guard Lonnie Walker, making him a restricted free agent, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). The qualifying offer will be worth $6,311,564.
Unlike some of this summer’s top restricted free agents, Walker wasn’t a lock to receive that qualifying offer, given the up-and-down season the 23-year-old had in 2021/22. He averaged a career-high 12.1 PPG and 2.2 APG, but saw his shooting percentages dip to 40.7% from the floor and 31.4% on threes, well below his career rates. Furthermore, a report earlier today stated that Walker was unlikely to remain in San Antonio.
By issuing the qualifying offer, the Spurs are at least opening up a path for Walker to return, either by accepting the one-year QO or by negotiating a new deal with the team. However, McDonald says there’s an expectation that Walker will “fully” test the market.
Spurs swingman Joe Wieskamp also received a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent, tweets McDonald. Because Wieskamp was promoted from his two-way deal to a standard contract last season, his qualifying offer will be worth approximately $1.8MM ($200K more than his minimum salary).
Here are a few more qualifying offer updates from around the NBA:
- The Trail Blazers have formally issued a qualifying offer to guard Anfernee Simons, making him a restricted free agent, the team announced in a press release. Simons’ QO is worth $5,758,552, but the 23-year-old is expected to negotiate a far more lucrative long-term deal. Multiple reports have suggested a four-year contract worth in the neighborhood of $80MM is possible.
- Hawks forward Kevin Knox isn’t getting a qualifying offer and will become an unrestricted free agent, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Knox didn’t get regular minutes last season and his qualifying offer would have been worth $7,228,448, so it comes as no surprise that Atlanta is passing.
- The Warriors aren’t giving qualifying offers to either Juan Toscano-Anderson ($2,126,991) or Chris Chiozza ($1,968,175), according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both players will be unrestricted free agents and are unlikely to remain in Golden State, Slater adds.
- The Celtics have tendered a two-way qualifying offer to guard Brodric Thomas, making him a restricted free agent, a source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Boston hasn’t reached a deal to fill either of its two-way slots for next season yet, so Thomas could end up taking one of them.
- Two-way players Jay Scrubb (Clippers) and Trevelin Queen (Rockets) won’t receive qualifying offers and will become unrestricted free agents, according to reports from Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times and Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Queen, the 2021/22 NBA G League MVP, is expected to receive interest on the open market, per Haynes.
Celtics’ Sam Hauser To Become Restricted Free Agent
The Celtics are declining their $1,563,518 club option on Sam Hauser and instead will make him a restricted free agent, a source tells Keith Smith of Spotrac and CelticsBlog (Twitter link).
While Smith doesn’t outright state that Hauser has been given a qualifying offer, that’s the likely outcome given that he says Hauser will become a RFA. According to Smith, Boston plans to work out a longer contract with Hauser in free agency.
Hauser, 24, signed a two-way contract with the Celtics last August after going undrafted out of Virginia. He was promoted to the 15-man roster in February after trades created multiple roster openings.
The 6’8″ forward played limited minutes in 26 NBA games with Boston, but did convert an impressive amount of his three-point attempts (19-44, 43.2%). Hauser was a G League standout for the team’s affiliate in Maine, putting up 20.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.9 APG and 1.1 SPG on .460/.408/.800 shooting in 13 regular season contest (35 MPG).
Hauser will reportedly be among the young players on Boston’s Summer League roster next month.
Thunder’s Luguentz Dort To Become Restricted Free Agent
The Thunder are declining the $1,930,681 team option on Luguentz Dort, making him a restricted free agent, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
A report last week indicated that Oklahoma City would pick up the option, with GM Sam Presti telling Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman that was the likely outcome.
“Obviously it’s our plan to exercise that pending anything different,” Presti said.
Evidently Presti has reevaluated that decision, which isn’t very surprising considering Dort would have drawn considerable interest on the open market as an unrestricted free agent in 2023. Declining the option and making him restricted gives the Thunder the ability to match any offer sheet he receives in a free agent market where not many teams have cap space.
The barrel-chested Dort, who turned 23 in April, has showed continuous improvement after going undrafted out of Arizona State in 2019. He averaged 17.2 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .404/.332/.843 shooting in 51 games (32.6 MPG) last season while playing solid, switchable defense.
Given his rate of improvement and the NBA’s ever-growing need for wings who can contribute on both ends of the court, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Dort sign a contract in the range of $15-20MM annually. Dort is ranked No. 9 on our list of top 50 free agents.
Patty Mills Declines Player Option, Becomes Free Agent
Nets guard Patty Mills has declined his $6.2MM player option for next season in order to become a free agent, league sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link).
Mills, 33, had a solid season in his first season with Brooklyn in 2021/22, averaging 11.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 2.3 APG on .408/.400/.814 shooting in 81 regular season games (48 starts, 29 MPG). He averaged career-highs in three-point makes and attempts, with 2.8 and 7.0, respectively.
Last season was the 13th of Mills’ lengthy NBA career, spending his first couple of seasons with Portland before a 10-year run with the Spurs that included an NBA Championship in 2014. The veteran guard also led the Australian national team to a Bronze Medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
While Mills isn’t quite as quick as he once was, he holds a career three-point percentage of 38.9% and figures to draw plenty of interest from contending teams. He should receive a contract similar in annual value to the one he declined (taxpayer mid-level exception), but he’ll likely be looking for a multiyear deal to maximize his earnings.
Kings Won’t Give Donte DiVincenzo Qualifying Offer
The Kings won’t tender a $6,602,272 qualifying offer to fourth-year guard Donte DiVincenzo, a league source tells James Ham of ESPN 1320 and The Kings Beat (Twitter link). As a result, DiVincenzo will become an unrestricted free agent.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirms the news (via Twitter), stating that DiVincenzo is expected to draw “significant interest” as a free agent. Sacramento remains interested in re-signing DiVincenzo despite declining the QO, according to Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 (KTXL) (Twitter link).
The 25-year-old had a down season in 2021/22 after returning from ankle surgery last June. He struggled to find his footing in 17 games (20.1 MPG) with the Bucks, averaging 7.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 1.7 APG on .331/.284/.852 shooting before being traded to the Kings at the deadline in February.
He played better in 25 games (26.6 MPG) for Sacramento, averaging 10.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.5 SPG on .362/.368/.839 shooting. While his field goal percentage seems alarmingly low, the majority of his shot attempts came from deep.
It’s a puzzling move for the Kings, who acquired DiVincenzo at the 2022 deadline when they traded away Marvin Bagley III. DiVincenzo would have been a fair value on a one-year, $6.6MM deal if he had accepted his qualifying offer — declining to issue it means the Kings won’t have the ability to unilaterally match any offer given to him.
A versatile defender with a high basketball IQ, DiVincenzo had reportedly grown frustrated with the team a couple of months ago, believing the Kings were attempting to lower the value of his QO by not starting him.
James Harden Declines Option, Plans To Remain With Sixers
Sixers guard James Harden is declining his $47,366,760 player option for the 2022/23 season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. However, Harden intends to re-sign with Philadelphia on a new contract that gives the team some added cap flexibility to improve its roster in free agency, Charania adds.
Multiple reports leading up to Harden’s free agency indicated that he would likely pick up his player option and then sign a short-term extension (possibly two years) with the Sixers.
However, in recent days, there has been increasing chatter about Philadelphia using its full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which would create a hard cap. That would have been difficult with Harden on the books for $47MM+.
If Harden returns on a new multiyear deal that starts no higher than $38MM or so, it would give the 76ers the flexibility to use both their full mid-level and the bi-annual exception, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
That would clear a path for Philadelphia to make its rumored three-year, $30MM offer to P.J. Tucker using the mid-level exception. Brian Windhorst of ESPN said during an appearance on NBA Today (video link) that the Sixers have been telling agents they’ll have the bi-annual exception available to use.
While Harden’s willingness to negotiate a new deal with a lower starting salary will benefit the Sixers in the short term, we’ll see what it means for the long term. The former MVP and the team may have reached an agreement to tack on an extra year or additional guaranteed money to his new deal in exchange for him turning down his option.
Harden, who was traded from Brooklyn to Philadelphia midway through the 2021/22 season, had a down year by his standards and was hampered by a hamstring injury. However, multiple sources tell Charania that the star guard has resumed his workout and on-court program much earlier than usual this offseason and has communicated to Sixers officials that he’s focused on winning a title next year.
Bobby Portis To Decline Option With Bucks
Bobby Portis has told the Bucks he will decline his $4.6MM option for next season, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 27-year-old forward will be an unrestricted free agent, but there’s a good chance he’ll stay in Milwaukee on a more lucrative deal, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who says Portis “seems destined” to sign a new contract worth more than $40MM over four years to remain with the Bucks.
The Bucks have Early Bird rights on Portis and can pay him up to $49MM over four seasons, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Marks adds that a new Early Bird contract must cover at least two seasons with no options in the second year.
Portis played an important role in Milwaukee’s title-winning team in 2020/21 and was just as valuable this past season. He moved into the starting lineup — starting 59 of the 72 games he played — and averaged a career-best 14.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per night.
Portis was the No. 13 player on our list of 2022’s top 50 free agents.
Summer League Commitments: Sixers, Pelicans, Timberwolves
The Sixers have received a summer league commitment from guard Grant Riller, his agent Scott Nichols of Rize Management told Hoops Rumors. The 25-year-old spent time on a two-way contract with the team this past season.
Riller was waived in December after undergoing shoulder surgery, which came with a four-to-six-month timetable. Riller has fully recovered and worked out for multiple teams before committing to the Sixers, who open summer league play against the Raptors on July 9.
Here are some other commitments for this year’s summer league:
- Point guard Jared Harper will be playing with the Pelicans, Hoops Rumors has learned. Harper signed a two-way deal in March and will soon become a free agent. He averaged 21.2 points and 7.2 assists in the G League this season, shooting an efficient 50% from the floor.
- Former Alabama guard John Petty Jr. will also play with the Pelicans during summer league, Hoops Rumors has learned. The 23-year-old signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the franchise last fall.
- The Timberwolves are adding guard Kahlil Whitney to their summer league roster, a source told Hoops Rumors. The 21-year-old spent time with the Rockets’ G League team this past season.