Latest On Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant‘s situation with the Nets has reached a stalemate, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports (hat tip to RealGM). On Monday’s episode of Get Up, Windhorst said the Nets haven’t lowered their asking price.
“There hasn’t been an urgency in trade talks,” he said. “There hasn’t been a change in strategy by the Brooklyn Nets.”
Other teams aren’t backing down, either, as they refuse to give up the assets the Nets want. Meanwhile, Durant is stuck since he signed a long-term extension.
“First off, the Nets do not have leverage in trade talks with other teams. They are not giving them the offers that they want,” Windhorst said. “They see no reason to increase them. So, they’re not making any progress there. Kevin Durant clearly does not have leverage with the Brooklyn Nets. He is asking for things: ‘Get me traded. Fire the coach. Fire the GM.’ He is being told no. So, when you have denied leverage, you have a stalemate.”
We have more Durant-related news:
- Durant labeled the notion of him retiring is “comical,” he tweeted. “I know most people will believe unnamed sources over me but if it’s anyone out there that’ll listen, I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon,” he wrote.
- The tweet was a response to a Marc Stein Substack post in which Stein declared that a well-connected executive insisted last month that Durant was more apt to retire than play again for the Nets. Stein downplayed that comment but added that it’s quite possible Durant may refuse to report to training camp. According to Stein, many people around the league believe that if Durant hasn’t been traded when camps open, he’ll continue to cause a “ruckus” behind the scenes in order to force the Nets to lower their trade demands.
- Durant’s former teammate with the Warriors, Andre Iguodala, believes the two-time Finals MVP should withdraw his trade request, according to BasketNews.com. “I think he should stay in Brooklyn, it’s such a big market, it’s good for the game and just figure out how to make it work like everybody grow up and make it work,” Iguodala stated on the Point Forward podcast. “That’s how I feel about the situation.”
Northwest Notes: Mitchell, Gobert, Nnaji, Gilgeous-Alexander
There are plenty of good reasons why the Jazz need to trade Donovan Mitchell and go into full rebuild mode, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News opines.
Even with the assets acquired in the Rudy Gobert deal with Minnesota, the Jazz still aren’t good enough to be a true contender in the stacked Western Conference, says Todd. And even if they flipped those assets and tried to acquire another star like Kevin Durant, they wouldn’t be good enough to win it all. Wallowing in mediocrity would only serve to frustrate Mitchell and force the organization to deal him at a later date, Todd adds.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- How much will Gobert impact the Timberwolves? The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski picks the brain of colleague Tony Jones, who covered Gobert in Utah. Jones believes Minnesota has more defenders with length and athleticism around Gobert than the Jazz ever had. That will make the Timberwolves a very good team the next couple of years, though there’s some risk of decline near the end of his contract, which runs through the 2025/26 season.
- Zeke Nnaji has been working with the Nuggets coaches on bulking up so that he can play all three frontcourt positions, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. Nnaji has added 11 pounds of muscle and that could help him carve out a second unit role. The 21-year-old appeared in 41 regular season games last season.
- Is Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the best non-All-Star in the league? Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman tackles that subject.
Central Notes: Pistons, Turner, Bitadze
There are many ways Pistons coach Dwane Casey could go with his rotation next season, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. In Langlois’ view, Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Jaden Ivey are the only rotation locks, with Kelly Olynyk, Marvin Bagley III, Killian Hayes and Alec Burks “good bets” to join them. Beyond that, Casey has numerous choices between youth and experience.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Pistons fans are brimming with optimism, though they’re realistic about next season’s prospects, The Athletic’s James Edwards III revealed in a fan poll. With nearly 2,000 subscribers weighing in, 98 percent professed confidence in the team’s direction and 64 percent said they were very confident in the front office. However, 72.5 percent voted that the team would only win between 26-35 games next season. Second-year forward Isaiah Livers received the most votes for “breakout” player.
- Myles Turner‘s season could play out similar to the way Victor Oladipo departed from the Pacers organization in 2020, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files opines. Turner could get off to a good start and pump up his trade value. In the same mailbag piece, Agness speculates that Goga Bitadze won’t have a long-term role in the organization due to the team’s current playing style, along with the presence of Isaiah Jackson and Jalen Smith.
- Earlier on Monday, Giannis Antetokounmpo stated he wouldn’t mind playing for the Bulls later in his career. Get the details here.
Nuggets To Make Several Scouting Hires
Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth is adding a number of professional and college scouts, Mike Singer of the Denver Post reports.
Jared Jeffries, who previously spent time in the Nuggets’ front office as director of player personnel, is returning to the organization as a college scout.
Drew Nicholas, who previously worked for the Sixers and Celtics, will be the director of scouting and oversee the department. Former Lakers assistant Mike Penberthy will be hired as a pro scout and shooting coach. Jarrett Stephens will depart the college coaching ranks to become a pro scout along with former Hornets assistant Chad Iske.
Todd Checovich, the former GM of the NBA G League’s Iowa Wolves, will be hired as a college scout and capologist.
The Timberwolves hired away Nuggets director of pro personnel Joe Connelly last week to head their scouting department.
Alex Morales Agrees To Contract With Magic
Undrafted rookie guard Alex Morales has agreed to Exhibit 10 contract with the Magic, Adam Zagoria tweets.
He averaged 5.0 PPG in 13.5 MPG while appearing in five Summer League games with the Warriors.
Morales was the Northeast Conference Player of the Year. He averaged 16.8 PPG , 7.2 RPG and 4.3 APG in his second season with Wagner and had a year of eligibility left when he entered the draft.
The Exhibit 10 contract puts him in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived during the preseason and then spends at least 60 days as an affiliate player for the Lakeland Magic.
Orlando currently has 18 players under contract and has reached Exhibit 10 agreements with four others, meaning the team could end up signing and immediately waiving certain players to secure their G League rights.
Sixers Reach Settlement Agreement With Ben Simmons
Ben Simmons and the Sixers have reached a settlement agreement on the grievance the All-Star guard filed to recoup a portion of the nearly $20MM withheld him as a result of his failure to play last season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The Sixers maintained Simmons breached his contract upon failing to show up for the start of training camp and refusing to play in preseason and regular season prior to trade deadline swap with the Nets. Simmons cited mental health reasons for his limited participation in team activities. He also was diagnosed with a back injury that prevented him from playing with Brooklyn last season.
Both sides agreed to a confidentiality agreement on the exact financial settlement, Wojnarowski adds.
The Players Association backed Simmons in the grievance, which was shared with the Sixers, the league, and the NBPA in early April. The issue was to be arbitrated, which could have set a precedent on how future matters regarding mental health and contracts might be handled. Instead, the two sides reached an agreement before an arbiter could hand down a decision.
Simmons had a cap hit of just over $33MM last season.
During the season, Sixers officials claimed that team doctors were given limited access to Simmons to diagnose and confirm his mental health issues.
After Simmons was traded, his representatives had several conversations with the 76ers but those talks ended without a resolution.
Beginning last November 15, the Sixers withheld approximately $360K for each game Simmons missed (1/91.6th of his overall salary). Simmons received a $16.5MM advance on his salary during the offseason, thus there wasn’t enough money in each paycheck to cover the per-game deductions.
Along with the amount for escrow that was withheld by the NBA, the Sixers deducted nearly $1.3MM of Simmons’ salary from each pay check.
Former First-Rounder D.J. White Announces Retirement
Veteran power forward D.J. White, the No. 29 overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, is calling it a career, having confirmed in an Instagram post that he intends to retire as a player.
“You are never ready for it to be over, but I’m ready for what’s next,” White wrote as part of a larger statement.
Drafted by the Pistons out of Indiana University, White was immediately traded to the Thunder and spent his first two-and-a-half seasons with the newly relocated Oklahoma City team before being dealt to Charlotte. After his contract expired, the former Hoosier signed with Boston and was eventually part of the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce package sent to Brooklyn in one of the most memorable trades of the last decade.
White appeared in a total of 138 NBA games from 2008-14 for the Thunder, Celtics, and then-Bobcats, averaging 5.9 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 15.3 minutes per contest.
Since 2014, White has played for a number of international teams in China, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Korea. While he put up bigger numbers in the Chinese Basketball Association, his most impressive overseas stint may have come in 2015-17, when he played for Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino and averaged 15.9 PPG and 8.3 RPG in 38 games in the Italian League (Liga Serie A).
Western Notes: Merrill, J. Hall, Micic, Suns
Sam Merrill‘s new two-year contract with the Kings is, as expected, worth the veteran’s minimum. Merrill received a $150K partial guarantee for the 2022/23 season, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Merrill’s full minimum salary for ’22/23 would become guaranteed if he remains under contract through the league-wide guarantee deadline in January. If the Kings forward plays out the full first year of his deal, his second-year minimum salary would become guaranteed on June 29, 2023.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Jordan Hall‘s two-way contract with the Spurs covers two seasons, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Hall is one of four players this offseason to have signed a multiyear two-way deal.
- While there was a sense the asking price could have been brought down, the Thunder were believed to be seeking a first-round pick for Vasilije Micic‘s NBA rights before he decided to remain with Anadolu Efes, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. “I think that was where it was a little too much for teams,” one Western Conference executive told Deveney. “No one wanted to give up a pick plus everything else it would take. The guy can play, I think he’d be good in the NBA. But no one wanted to give up picks and money for him.” Deveney suggests Micic would’ve sought a salary in the $6-7MM range and a sizable rotation role in order to make the move to the NBA.
- Former Suns head of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo said he’d “love to see” Kevin Durant land in Phoenix, according to Doug Haller of The Athletic, who draws parallels between a possible Durant acquisition and Colangelo’s trade that brought Charles Barkley to the Suns back in 1992.
Giannis: “Everybody Would Love To Play For Chicago”
The Bulls have won just three playoff games in the last seven seasons, but they’re still viewed as a marquee franchise and a desirable landing spot by Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Highlighting the organization’s six championships and the hugely successful career that Michael Jordan enjoyed in Chicago, Antetokounmpo praised the Bulls during an appearance on The Sports Zone on Fox 32 Chicago (video link) when asked about someday playing for the club.
“I think anybody you ask that question that plays basketball, if he said no, he would be a liar,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s a team that won multiple championships; it’s a team that one of the greatest players, if not the greatest player who ever played this game, played for. So it’s a no-brainer. Everybody would love to play for Chicago.”
Giannis is under contract with the Bucks for three more seasons, with a player option for a fourth year, and has shown no inclination to leave Milwaukee. But the two-time MVP drove his point about the Bulls home by suggesting that he wouldn’t close the door on one day playing in Chicago himself.
“Down the line, you never know. You never know how life brings it, maybe I play for Chicago,” Antetokounmpo said. “But right now I’m committed to Milwaukee.”
The Bulls have been a major player in free agency over the last two summers. After landing forward DeMar DeRozan and guard Lonzo Ball in blockbuster sign-and-trade deals a year ago, the team locked up Zach LaVine this offseason to a five-year, $215MM contract, the richest deal in franchise history.
McKinley Wright IV, Mouhamadou Gueye Sign With Mavericks
AUGUST 15: The Mavericks have officially signed both Wright and Gueye to Exhibit 10 contracts, Hoops Rumors has learned.
AUGUST 14: The Mavericks will sign McKinley Wright IV and Mouhamadou Gueye to training camp deals and will give them a chance to compete for roster spots, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Wright, a 23-year-old point guard, signed a two-way contract with the Timberwolves last August after going undrafted out of Colorado. He appeared in just five games for Minnesota, spending most of the season with the team’s G League affiliate in Iowa, where he averaged 19.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.7 assists in 18 games. Wright played for the Suns in this year’s Las Vegas Summer League and is on Team USA’s roster for the World Cup qualifiers later this month.
Gueye, a 24-year-old forward, is a free agent who played last season at Pittsburgh after transferring from Stony Brook. He averaged 9.8 points and 6.3 rebounds for the Panthers during his lone season in the ACC.
Dallas has 14 players with guaranteed contracts and just one of its two-way slots filled, so there will be opportunities for whoever is impressive during training camp and the preseason.