Nuggets Notes: Murray, Porter, Caldwell-Pope, Braun
The Nuggets‘ Summer League practice on Tuesday was enlivened by the presence of Jamal Murray, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscriber link). Murray participated in several drills and took part in some scrimmages. Summer League coach Ryan Bowen said practicing was Murray’s decision and although he wanted to keep playing while the media was present, that idea was vetoed.
Murray, who missed the entire season due to a torn ACL, was involved in some non-contact drills on Monday that sparked his competitive instincts, Bowen explained. The reviews on Murray were positive, and coach Michael Malone called it “probably the most serious 5-on-5” that Murray has played since the injury, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports.
“He looked mobile, agile and hostile,” Malone said, citing a quote from “Remember the Titans.” “He looked confident. That’s the most important thing to me. I wasn’t charting his makes and misses. I was trying to see the confidence level. How was he moving, defensively … he looked good.” (Twitter link)
There’s more from Denver:
- Jontay Porter, who’s on the Nuggets’ Summer League roster, offered a positive update on his brother, Michael Porter Jr., whose season was cut short by back surgery, Singer states in the same story. Jontay said Michael “looks great” and they’ve been playing 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 games to get themselves back into shape. Jontay played for the Grizzlies last year, but was limited to 11 games because of a knee injury.
- In a press conference today welcoming veteranswingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Malone said he was the main player the Nuggets focused on acquiring, Singer adds in a separate story. Malone likes having a 6’5″ guard who can play defense, and the team hasn’t forgotten the way that Caldwell-Pope shut down Murray in the 2020 Western Conference Finals. “He’s seen what it takes to win a championship,” Malone said.
- The Nuggets also introduced first-round pick Christian Braun, and Malone suggested that he might have a regular role as a rookie, Wind tweets. “I love his maturity. I love his IQ,” Malone said. “The things I really love about him the most are his toughness and physicality. Some guys shy away from physicality, Christian embraces physicality.”
Trail Blazers Waive Eric Bledsoe
5:20pm: The Trail Blazers have officially placed Bledsoe on waivers, per a press release. He’s on track to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.
9:41am: The Trail Blazers intend to waive Eric Bledsoe in the coming days, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says several teams are expected to register interest in Bledsoe as a free agent.
Bledsoe had been under contract for $19.38MM in 2022/23, but only $3.9MM of that money is fully guaranteed. If the point guard were to remain under contract through July 10, his full salary would become guaranteed, so Portland will officially waive him before that happens.
Bledsoe, 32, began the 2021/22 season with the Clippers, appearing in 54 games (29 starts) for L.A. and averaging 9.9 PPG, 4.2 APG, and 3.4 RPG in 25.5 minutes per contest. However, he was sent to Portland in the Norman Powell/Robert Covington trade prior to the trade deadline.
Bledsoe never actually appeared in a single game for the Blazers. The team announced in March that he was being shut down for the season after receiving a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection to address the tendinopathy in his left Achilles tendon.
The Blazers were in tank mode after the trade deadline and were shutting down just about veteran on their roster who had a minor ailment, so there’s no reason to think that Bledsoe’s Achilles issue is significant enough to hinder his ability to catch on with a new team once he reaches free agency.
Portland will have the option of applying Bledsoe’s $3.9MM in dead money solely to the 2022/23 cap or stretching it into increments of $1.3MM across three seasons. Stretching that cap hit could be something the Blazers consider, given their proximity to the luxury tax line.
Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link) estimates that Portland’s team salary is approximately $3.7MM above the tax threshold, but we’ll need to wait for the official details to come in on contracts for Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, and Gary Payton II to know for sure.
Nuggets Acquire Ismael Kamagate From Blazers
JULY 6: The trade between Denver and Portland is now official, the Blazers announced in a press release.
The Nuggets received the draft rights to Kamagate, while the Blazers will receive either the Timberwolves’ or Hornets’ second-round pick (whichever is more favorable).
JUNE 23: The Nuggets are acquiring French center Ismael Kamagate, the 46th pick of the 2022 NBA draft, from the Trail Blazers in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick, sources tell Mike Singer of The Denver Post (All Twitter links). Portland acquired the 46th pick from Detroit as part of the impending Jerami Grant trade.
In 34 appearances (27.1 MPG) for Paris Basketball of France’s LNB Pro A league (first division) this season, Kamagate averaged 11.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 1.6 BPG while shooting 64.3% from the floor and 65.4% from the free throw line.
According to Mike Schmitz, who used to work for ESPN but was recently hired as an assistant GM by the Blazers, the 6’11” big man has an impressive physical profile but is considered more of a long-term project than a player who’s ready for immediate action in the NBA. Kamagate is a strong inside finisher and a skilled offensive talent, per Schmitz, but he’s not a great rebounder and is a pretty poor defender at this point.
Based on Schmitz’ scouting report, Kamagate might be a draft-and-stash candidate for a Denver team that hopes to contend for a title next season.
Pacers, Duane Washington Push Back Salary Guarantee Date
5:07pm: Agness has now corrected his initial report, tweeting that the Pacers and Washington agreed to push back the guard’s salary guarantee date to July 15.
4:47pm: The 2022/23 contract for Pacers guard Duane Washington became fully guaranteed today as he remained on the roster past the guarantee date, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
Washington, who will make $1.56MM next season, also has a non-guaranteed $1.84MM contract for 2023/24. The guarantee date for that season is June 30, 2023.
The 22-year-old signed a two-way deal with Indiana last summer after going undrafted out of Ohio State. He was upgraded to a standard contract in early April, shortly before the end of the regular season.
Washington appeared in 48 games as a rookie, making seven starts, and averaged 9.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 20.2 minutes per night.
Lakers Sign Thomas Bryant To One-Year Deal
4:02pm: The Lakers have officially signed Bryant, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. The big man told reporters today that he’s fully recovered from the ACL tear he suffered in early 2021.
“(It feels) 100 percent great,” Bryant said (Twitter link via Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group). “Not good. Great.”
6:01am: The Lakers have reached an agreement with free agent center Thomas Bryant and will sign him to a one-year contract, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Haynes doesn’t provide any specifics on the financial terms, but given that Los Angeles has committed to using its taxpayer mid-level exception on Lonnie Walker and is ineligible to acquire a player via sign-and-trade without shedding significant salary, it’s safe to assume it will be a minimum-salary deal.
Bryant, who will turn 25 later this month, began his NBA career with the Lakers, having been acquired from Utah in a draft-night deal in 2017. The 42nd overall pick appeared in just 15 games as a rookie with L.A. and was waived in the summer of 2018.
The Wizards claimed Bryant off waivers and the big man spent the next four seasons in D.C., though his time there was marred by injuries. After a promising 2019/20 season in which he averaged 13.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 46 games (36 starts), Bryant suffered a torn ACL early in the ’20/21 campaign. That injury resulted in him playing just 37 games over the last two seasons.
Now fully recovered from his ACL tear, Bryant drew interest from the Raptors, Celtics, Bucks, and Jazz this offseason, sources tell Haynes.
The former Indiana Hoosier could be an intriguing bounce-back candidate entering the 2022/23 season. According to Haynes, he’ll be given the opportunity to earn a spot in the starting lineup with his new team in Los Angeles.
Bradley Beal Has No-Trade Clause In New Contract
Bradley Beal‘s new five-year, maximum-salary contract with the Wizards includes a no-trade clause, reports Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). That will give Beal the right to block any trade during the next several seasons.
There are several different scenarios in which a player can earn the right to veto a trade during a single league year. A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year deal with an option year – is given no-trade protection. So is a player who signs an offer sheet and has that offer matched by his previous team. Players who accept one-year qualifying offers after their rookie contracts expire also receive veto power.
However, an actual no-trade clause that spans the life of a contract can only be negotiated by a player who has been in the NBA for at least eight years and has spent at least four years with his current team — Beal qualifies, having spent all 10 of his NBA seasons in D.C.
Even for players who meet the criteria, no-trade clauses are extremely rare — Beal is just the 10th player in NBA history to receive one, Marks notes (via Twitter). Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and Dirk Nowitzki had no-trade clauses in their respective deals as recently as 2017/18, but no player has had one since — until now.
In addition to featuring a no-trade clause, Beal’s new $251MM contract includes a 15% trade kicker and a fifth-year player option, according to Marks (Twitter link).
Grizzlies, Ja Morant Finalize Five-Year Max Extension
JULY 6: Morant’s extension is now official, the Grizzlies announced today in a press release.
JUNE 30: The Grizzlies and star guard Ja Morant are in agreement on a five-year rookie scale extension worth the maximum salary, agent Jim Tanner tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The deal will go into effect when Morant’s rookie contract expires in 2023.
Morant’s extension will include Rose Rule language allowing him to earn a starting salary worth 30% of the 2023/24 cap instead of 25% if he makes an All-NBA team again next season.
Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection of $133MM for the ’23/24 season, Morant’s deal would be worth $231.42MM if he meets the Rose Rule criteria next season, or $192.85MM if he doesn’t.
It’s the biggest contract in Grizzlies history, according to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link), topping the $153MM deal Mike Conley signed in 2016.
Morant, who will turn 23 in August, has improved in each of his three NBA seasons, earning his first All-Star and All-NBA nods in 2021/22 and winning the league’s Most Improved Player award.
The former second overall pick averaged a career-high 27.4 PPG to go along with 6.7 APG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.2 SPG in 57 games (33.1 MPG). He also put up career-best shooting numbers of 49.3% from the floor and 34.4% on threes.
Morant is the first member of the 2019 draft class to reach an agreement on a rookie scale extension, and his new deal is one of several maximum-salary contract extensions agreed upon as the new NBA league year begins. Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Devin Booker have reportedly agreed to super-max veteran extensions tonight as well.
The Rose Rule criteria require a player to earn an All-NBA spot in the season before his rookie scale extension goes into effect to qualify for the 30% max, which is why Morant will have to make it again next year despite claiming a spot on the Second Team this spring.
Pelicans Sign Zion Williamson To Five-Year Max Extension
JULY 6: Williamson’s five-year, maximum-salary extension is now official. The Pelicans put out a press release confirming the signing after Zion put pen to paper at the Dryades YMCA in New Orleans today on his 22nd birthday (Twitter video link via ESPN’s Andrew Lopez).
“Zion is an astounding 22-year old talent, who we believe is just scratching the surface of what he is capable of, both on and off the floor,” Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin said in a statement. “We are extremely pleased to take this next step of our collective journey together.”
Now that the deal is done, it should just be a matter of time before we learn what sort of protection language is included in the contract. Griffin did confirm today that the contract does not feature a fifth-year player option (Twitter link via Lopez).
JULY 2: Williamson and the Pelicans have now reached an agreement on a five-year, maximum-salary extension, agent Austin Brown tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Details on the protections included in the contract still haven’t been reported.
JULY 1: The Pelicans are nearing an agreement on a five-year rookie scale extension for forward Zion Williamson, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Charania, it’ll be a maximum-salary deal that can be worth up to $231MM. That indicates it will contain Rose Rule language allowing Williamson to qualify for a starting salary of 30% of the 2023/24 cap instead of 25% if he makes an All-NBA team next season.
Charania’s report doesn’t include any details on how much of the contract will be fully guaranteed, which figured to be the sticking point in negotiations. He does say (via Twitter) that the deal is expected to include some protections for the Pelicans and that the two sides were sorting through those details overnight.
We’ll have to wait for more specifics on that front, but it appears the two sides are on the verge of finding common ground fairly quickly after the former No. 1 overall pick officially became extension-eligible.
The agreement ends months of speculation that Williamson might turn down an extension offer from the Pelicans to play in a larger market or for a more successful franchise. Williamson has attempted on several occasions to quash those rumors by proclaiming a love for New Orleans, with his latest comments coming three weeks ago at his youth basketball camp.
Injuries have derailed Williamson’s career since he entered the NBA as a highly touted No. 1 pick in 2019. He missed all of this season after undergoing foot surgery and has played in a combined 85 games in three years. However, he has shown signs of being a dominant force, averaging 25.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and making an All-Star appearance in 2021.
A healthy season from Williamson, who will turn 22 later this week, could make the Pelicans a serious Western Conference contender. New Orleans staged a late-season surge after trading for CJ McCollum, advancing through the play-in tournament and into the first round of the playoffs. Williamson could be a difference maker for an already talented roster, but he’ll have to prove that he can stay on the court.
Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection of $133MM for the 2023/24 season, Williamson’s deal would be worth $231.42MM if he meets the Rose Rule criteria next season, or $192.85MM if he doesn’t. That’s without considering any protections that might be included in the contract.
New York Notes: Nets Assistants, Grimes, Hartenstein, Brunson
The Nets have added Igor Kokoškov, Adam Caporn and Trevor Hendry as assistant coaches on Steve Nash‘s staff, per a team press release.
Kokoškov has extensive NBA experience, having served as an assistant coach for 20 years with the Clippers, Pistons, Suns, Cavs, Magic, Jazz, Kings, and most recently with the Mavericks last season. He was the head coach of the Suns for one season, in 2018/19.
In addition to his NBA coaching jobs, Kokoškov has also led the Georgian, Slovenian and Serbian national teams. He was the head coach of Turkish club Fenerbahçe in ’20/21. Marc Stein reported last month that Kokoškov was expected to join Brooklyn.
Caporn was the head coach of Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, last season. A native of Australia, Caporn played college ball at Saint Mary’s before joining the NBL for six seasons as a pro. He has extensive experience in player development and is currently an assistant with the Australian national team, helping the Boomers win a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
Hendry has been the Nets’ head video coordinator for the past four seasons. He’s been with the organization since 2014, serving in a variety of roles in the basketball operations department prior to becoming video coordinator.
Here’s more from New York:
- Knicks guard Quentin Grimes has a simple goal for Las Vegas Summer League, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “Really come out here and dominate,” Grimes said after the team’s first practice at Cox Pavillion. “I feel like I played well last year. Just coming in this year being a second-year guy, I know what to expect, I know how the games are. Just go out there and try to dominate every time offensively and defensively.” The 25th pick of the 2021 draft, Grimes averaged 6 PPG and 2 RPG while shooting 38.1% from three-point range and playing solid defense in 46 games (17.1 MPG) as a rookie last season. Grimes dealt with a dislocated knee cap towards the end of last season, but he says he’s fully healthy now, per Braziller.
- Fred Katz and Law Murray of The Athletic take a look at what the Knicks can expect from center Isaiah Hartenstein, who agreed to a two-year, $16.7MM deal with New York in free agency. A strong passer and play-maker, Hartenstein could unlock easy baskets for players like Grimes, Immanuel Quickley, Evan Fournier and RJ Barrett, according to Murray, who says Hartenstein was underutilized offensively by the Clippers last season. Although he isn’t the most athletic player, Murray notes that Hartenstein rotates well on defense and uses his length to effectively defend the paint. Hartenstein posted impressive per-36 averages of 1.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game last season.
- Signing Jalen Brunson is a make-or-break move for Leon Rose‘s tenure as president of basketball operations, argues Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Begley details Rose’s 2021 offseason moves, which were considered low-risk at the time, yet the Knicks were forced to package various draft assets to move off the salaries of Kemba Walker, Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks in order to create cap space to sign Brunson. Sources tell Begley that one rival team was willing to trade a second-rounder to acquire Burks, but the Knicks ended up giving away two second-round picks and $6MM to Detroit to move Burks and Noel. Rose’s CAA connections haven’t led to sustained success to this point, per Begley, and signing Brunson needs to work out considering all the assets the Knicks gave up.
- Part of the reason Brunson decided to sign with the Knicks is because he thought he’d have a better chance at becoming an All-Star in the East than the West, Marc Stein writes in his latest article for Substack. As Stein relays, Brunson is the first player in league history to receive a nine-figure contract from a new club without making an All-Star team, per ESPN Stats & Info (Twitter link).
Wizards, Bradley Beal Complete Five-Year Max Deal
JULY 6: The Wizards have officially announced Beal’s new contract, putting out a press release to confirm the deal.
“I have been blessed to call the city of Washington my home and the Wizards organization and our fans my family for the last 10 years, growing as a player, a leader, a husband and a father along the way,” Beal said in a statement. “Today represents such a special moment in my life.
“I could not be more grateful to have the opportunity to continue to partner with (Wizards owner) Ted (Leonsis), (president of basketball operations) Tommy (Sheppard), (head coach) Wes (Unseld Jr.) and the entire organization in moving forward to achieve our dream of bringing championships to D.C. and, just as importantly, to help our community continue to accomplish amazing things together.”
JUNE 30: The Wizards and Bradley Beal have agreed to a five-year, maximum-salary contract that will keep the star guard in D.C., agent Mark Bartelstein tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Beal’s new contract will pay him a $251,019,650 over the five years. The most a rival team could have offered would have been $186,100,778 over four years.
Beal declined his $36.4MM player option for 2022/23 in order to become an unrestricted free agent and maximize his earnings. He indicated in both March and May that he was leaning toward re-signing with the Wizards, so the news is expected.
The 29-year-old missed the final 33 games of the season because of an injured left wrist. He recently said the recovery process is going well and estimates that 80-90% of his range of motion has returned.
A three-time All-Star, Beal has been the subject of trade rumors for years but has remained loyal to Washington. Now that loyalty has paid off in a major way. He’ll get a chance to play a full season with Kristaps Porzingis, who was acquired at the February trade deadline, for the first time next season.
Beal finished second in the NBA in scoring in both ’19/20 and ’20/21, averaging more than 30 PPG in each season, but slumped a bit last year by his lofty standards, averaging 23.2, 4.7 RPG and 6.6 APG in 40 games (36 MPG). One potentially alarming statistic is that Beal’s three-point percentage has declined each of the past three seasons, with a career-low 30% in ’21/22, although his 6.6 assists per game represented a career-high.
Beal’s contract will pay him through his age 33 season, at which point he’ll become a free agent. Given his mediocre defense, it’s fair to question whether he’s worth more than $57MM in ’26/27, but there was never any doubt that he’d receive a max contract this summer.