Blazers Match Mavericks’ Offer For Matisse Thybulle
JULY 8: NBA teams were notified on Friday night that the Blazers officially matched the Mavs’ offer sheet for Thybulle, reports Marc Stein (via Twitter).
JULY 6: The Trail Blazers have elected to match the three-year, $33MM offer sheet that Matisse Thybulle received from the Mavericks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The offer sheet was signed and submitted to Portland Thursday morning, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The new Collective Bargaining Agreement gives teams just one day to decide whether to match offer sheets if they’re received before noon.
Thybulle’s new deal contains an $11.5MM player option for the third season, per Wojnarowski. It also features a 15% trade kicker, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
The Blazers will keep the 26-year-old swingman, who was acquired in a February trade with the Sixers. Thybulle was a restricted free agent after not working out a contract extension with Philadelphia last summer.
Thybulle is a defensive standout, with two appearances on the All-Defensive team in his first four seasons. He struggled to score with the Sixers, although his numbers improved after coming to Portland, where he became a full-time starter and averaged 7.4 PPG in 22 games while shooting 43.8% from the field and 38.8% from three-point range.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks details (via Twitter), Thybulle will have the right to veto any trade for the next year and cannot be dealt to the Mavs during that time. He will become trade-eligible on January 15.
According to Marks, the Blazers are $3.4MM below the luxury tax line with 13 players under standard contract, while the Mavs are $9MM below the tax and still have access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which starts at $12.4MM in 2023/24.
The move is a setback for Dallas, which is hoping to remake its supporting cast around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. The Mavericks are acquiring Grant Williams from the Celtics in a sign-and-trade deal and may search for another defensive-minded wing on the free agent market now that Thybulle is unavailable.
Stein’s Latest: Wood, Saric, Bol, Mavs, Pelicans, Reed
Christian Wood and Dario Saric are two of the top unrestricted free agents who have yet to find new teams. There’s a good reason for that, according to Marc Stein at Substack: Both big men have only received contract offers for the veteran’s minimum thus far and are presumably looking for more money.
Stein says Saric will likely land with the Warriors if he’s unable to find a higher-paying offer. The Croatian big man is reportedly Golden State’s top remaining target.
Here’s more from Stein:
- The Magic released Bol Bol on Tuesday and he cleared the waiver wire despite having a relatively modest $2.2MM salary. The Suns have a “level of interest” in the 7’2″ big man, according to Stein. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM said on Thursday (via Twitter) that he believed Phoenix might “take a hard look” at potentially signing Bol. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported when Bol was waived that the Suns contemplated trading for him on the night of last month’s draft.
- The Mavericks aren’t done reshaping their roster this offseason, Stein reports. Dallas is expected to trade Tim Hardaway Jr. at some point, with JaVale McGee another candidate to be on the move, whether it’s via trade or being waived. Stein also hears Theo Pinson‘s time with the Mavs is likely over. The veteran guard remains an unrestricted free agent.
- The Pelicans are just above the luxury tax threshold and have reportedly been active in trade talks for weeks. Like Fischer, Stein hears New Orleans is shopping guard Kira Lewis Jr. and center Jonas Valanciunas, with Lewis’ name surfacing more frequently in recent days. The Pelicans also unsuccessfully attempted to pry Jarrett Allen away from the Cavaliers, according to Stein.
- There hasn’t been much buzz about possible offer sheets for restricted free agent Paul Reed, but Stein writes that the Jazz are worth monitoring. However, the Sixers are reportedly keen on retaining Reed, so it’s unclear if that might work out for Utah. The Jazz also already have several frontcourt players, so Reed would be a bit of an odd fit from a roster standpoint.
Mavericks Re-Sign Kyrie Irving To Three-Year Contract
JULY 7: Irving’s new contract with the Mavericks is official, the team announced (via Twitter).
JUNE 30: The Mavericks and star guard Kyrie Irving have reached an agreement on a new contract within the first hour of free agency, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Charania, Irving will sign a three-year, $126MM contract that will include a player option in the final season. That’s an average of $42MM annually, which is a little below Irving’s 2023/24 maximum of $47.6MM.
While Irving is certainly enigmatic and has missed an alarming amount of games over the past four seasons, there’s no question that he’s an elite scorer and ball-handler when he’s on the court, having averaged 27.1 PPG, 5.8 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.3 SPG on .491/.395/.914 shooting in 163 games (36.0 MPG) over that span.
Dallas acquired Irving in February after he requested a trade ahead of the deadline. Considering the Mavs gave up two solid role players (Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith) as well as an unprotected 2029 first-round pick to land the 31-year-old, they were always viewed as the frontrunner to re-sign the veteran guard.
A former first overall pick, Irving has earned numerous accolades during his career, including eight All-Star nods, three All-NBA appearances, a Rookie of the Year award, and a championship trophy with the Cavs in 2016.
It will be interesting to see how the Mavs build out the rest of their roster around Luka Doncic and Irving, two incredible offensive talents who don’t always put forth much effort defensively.
Rory Maher contributed to this story.
Bucks Sign Second-Rounder Andre Jackson Jr.
The Bucks have officially signed second-round pick Andre Jackson Jr., the team announced in a press release (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).
While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Jackson is not listed as having inked a two-way contract on NBA.com’s official transaction log, which suggests Milwaukee signed him to a standard contract, likely using the new second-round pick exception.
Jackson, who helped UConn win the championship as a junior last season, was the 36th overall pick in the 2023 draft last month. The 6’6″ guard averaged 6.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals on .432/.281/.646 shooting in 36 games (29.1 MPG) for the Huskies in 2022/23.
The Bucks acquired 36th pick in a draft-night trade with the Magic, sending back a 2030 second-rounder and cash.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype was first to report that Jackson was a candidate for a standard roster spot. The 21-year-old made his NBA debut with the Bucks on Friday night in Las Vegas Summer League, finishing with nine points, six assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal against Denver.
Blazers’ Scoot Henderson To Undergo MRI On Right Shoulder
8:40pm: Henderson will undergo an MRI, sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Haynes hears there’s optimism the shoulder isn’t dislocated.
8:01pm: Guard Scoot Henderson, the No. 3 overall pick in last month’s draft, exited his Summer League debut with the Trail Blazers due to a right shoulder injury, the team announced (via Twitter).
Henderson had a great start, accumulating 13 points in the first quarter against Houston. He finished with 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes of action, shooting 5-of-13 from the floor (1-of-3 from three, 4-of-4 from the line).
It’s unclear at this time how severe the injury is. It’s not unusual for top prospects to be limited to a game or two during Summer League action, so the Trail Blazers might just be exercising caution. Still, it’s obviously unfortunate that the 19-year-old was injured in his debut with Portland, and hopefully it’s nothing serious.
Hawks Trade John Collins To Jazz For Rudy Gay, Second-Rounder
July 7: The trade is official, both teams announced. The second-rounder heading to Atlanta is conditional. It will be Memphis’ 2026 pick and will only convey if it lands between 31 and 42.
June 26: The Hawks are trading forward John Collins to the Jazz in exchange for forward Rudy Gay and a second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Gay had a $6.48MM player option for 2023/24 that he exercised as part of the deal, his agent Sam Permut of Roc Nation Sports tells Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Collins had been in trade rumors for multiple seasons, and now he’s finally on the move. Utah will be acquiring Collins using cap room, so the deal can’t be officially completed until July 6.
It’s essentially a salary-dump move to dip under the luxury tax line for Atlanta, much like the Kevin Huerter trade last offseason (the Hawks did get a protected first-rounder for Huerter, but it was mostly to avoid the luxury tax). Collins is owed $78MM over the next three seasons, including a $26.58MM player option in ’25/26.
In addition to significant financial flexibility, the Hawks will also generate a $25.34MM trade exception — equivalent to Collins’ salary for ’23/24 — as part of the deal, Wojnarowski reports. That will be the league’s new largest trade exception, surpassing the $18.1MM TPE the Nets created as part of the Kevin Durant deal in February.
Bobby Marks of ESPN clarifies (via Twitter) that the Collins TPE will be created by Atlanta absorbing Gay’s salary into an existing trade exception, worth $6.29MM. As Anil Gogna of Thread Sports Management tweets, the new CBA has a $250K allowance for TPEs (as opposed to $100K in the old CBA), which is enough to accommodate Gay’s deal.
It’s an interesting buy-low acquisition for the Jazz, who already have Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, Kelly Olynyk and first-round pick Taylor Hendricks in their frontcourt.
Collins had a down season in ’22/23, averaging 13.1 PPG and 6.5 RPG on .508/.292/.803 shooting in 71 games (30.0 MPG). Still, he’s only 25 years old and holds career averages of 15.8 PPG and 8.0 RPG on .551/.356/.783 shooting across 364 games (29.2 MPG). The Jazz will be hoping he can rebuild his value under head coach Will Hardy.
According to Wojnarowski, the two teams have discussed “numerous iterations” of a Collins trade for “over a year,” but Atlanta finally decided to move on due to a salary-cap crunch. The Hawks are expected to remain active in trade conversations and GM Landry Fields has ownership’s permission to go above the tax threshold if it improves the roster, says Woj.
Atlanta’s newfound financial flexibility could be used to negotiate long-term extensions for Dejounte Murray, Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey, whom Wojnarowski refers to as “core players.”
Gay was a very good player for a long time, but age and injuries seemed to catch up with him last season. He posted career lows in points (5.2), rebounds (2.9) and minutes (14.6) per game in 56 appearances. He’s about to enter his 18th season and will turn 37 in August.
Contract Details: Poeltl, Strus, Love, Robinson, Walsh, R. Lopez
Jakob Poeltl‘s four-year contract with the Raptors has a flat base value of $19.5MM per year, for a total of $78MM, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. There are $500K in annual incentives currently considered unlikely to be earned — if Poeltl maxes out those bonuses, it’ll be worth $80MM. As previously reported, the fourth year is a player option.
Murphy adds that Jalen McDaniels‘ two-year deal is, as expected, worth the full amount of the bi-annual exception and is fully guaranteed, with no options on the second year.
Here are a few more details on recently signed contracts that Hoops Rumors can confirm:
- Max Strus‘ four-year contract with the Cavaliers, which has a total value of $62.3MM, has a first-year salary of $14,487,684. That means the trade exception created by the Heat in the sign-and-trade deal is worth $7,243,842, half of Strus’ salary, due to base year compensation rules.
- Kevin Love‘s two-year deal with the Heat is worth the full Non-Bird amount — $3.84MM in year one and $4.03MM in year two (with a player option). That represents 120% of his minimum salary.
- Orlando Robinson‘s two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Heat is only partially guaranteed for $75K in 2023/24. That guarantee will increase to $425K if he remains under contract through the start of the regular season and to $850K if he’s not waived on or before December 1. Because Robinson’s current guarantee is only $75K, he’d be eligible for a two-way deal if he’s waived before the regular season.
- Jordan Walsh‘s four-year deal with the Celtics is worth the minimum in all four seasons. It’s fully guaranteed in the first two years, with a $200K partial guarantee in year three.
- Robin Lopez‘s minimum-salary contract with the Bucks is for one year.
- We’re continuing to update our free agent tracker and our list of draft pick signings with contract details as we learn them.
Thunder Sign Cason Wallace, Keyontae Johnson
The Thunder have signed Cason Wallace to his rookie scale contract, the team announced in a press release.
Wallace, who was the 10th overall pick in last month’s draft, was acquired via trade from Dallas. Oklahoma City took on Davis Bertans‘ contract in order to move up two spots and select the former Kentucky guard (the Thunder sent the Mavs the 12th pick to complete the deal).
Wallace, 19, has a reputation as a strong defensive player. He averaged 11.7 PPG, 4.3 APG, 3.7 RPG and 2.0 SPG on .446/.346/.757 shooting in 32 games (32.2 MPG) as a freshman last season for the Wildcats.
As our list of rookie scale salaries shows, Wallace will earn about $5.3MM as a rookie in 2023/24. That’s assuming he received 120% of his draft slot, which virtually every first-rounder does. Like all first-round picks, Wallace’s first two years are guaranteed, with team options in years three and four.
The Thunder have also signed second-round pick Keyontae Johnson to a two-way contract, per the team. Johnson, selected 50th overall, averaged 17.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.1 APG and 1.0 SPG on .516/.405/.715 shooting in 36 games (34.1 MPG) for Kansas State in ’22/23. Head of basketball operations Sam Presti previously said the plan was for Johnson to ink a two-way deal.
Jazz Renegotiate, Extend Jordan Clarkson’s Contract
JULY 7: Clarkson’s renegotiated and extended contract is now official, per the Jazz.
JULY 2: After picking up his 2023/24 option last week to remain in Utah, Jordan Clarkson will commit to the team for a couple more seasons, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Clarkson and the Jazz are finalizing a renegotiation and extension that will give him a raise in 2023/24 and will add two new years to his current contract, his agents at Klutch Sports tell Charania.
The deal will be worth $55MM, Charania adds. Based on the wording of his report, it’s unclear if that $55MM is all new money or if it includes Clarkson’s preexisting $14.3MM salary for 2023/24 — I’d assume the latter unless we hear otherwise, since agents leaking word of an agreement typically frame it in the most flattering light.
As we outlined on Saturday when Domantas Sabonis completed a similar deal with the Kings, contract renegotiations in the NBA are rare, since they can only be completed when a team has cap space and intends to increase a player’s salary rather than reducing it. Like Sacramento with Sabonis, Utah has the cap room necessary to give Clarkson’s current-year salary a bump and negotiate an extension off that new cap hit.
Interestingly, without a renegotiation, the maximum two-year extension Utah could give Clarkson would be worth about $41.5MM — when added to his current $14.3MM salary, that would also work out to just over $55MM.
By forgoing a traditional ascending extension structure and renegotiating his current-year salary to give him an immediate raise, the Jazz may end up paying the veteran guard the same amount of money overall while applying more of it to the 2023/24 cap in order to maximize future flexibility. An extension signed signed as part of a renegotiation can decline by as much as 40% in the first season.
Clarkson, 31, entered Utah’s starting lineup in 2022/23 after coming off the bench as a microwave scorer for most of his nine-year NBA career. In 61 games (32.6 MPG) in 2022/23, he averaged 20.8 points, 4.4 assists, and 4.0 rebounds with a shooting line of .444/.338/.816.
The Jazz, who are acquiring John Collins into their cap room in a trade with Atlanta, still projected to have nearly $15MM in cap room available after completing that deal, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Whether or not they have more room to operate after the Clarkson renegotiation will depend on how much money they add to his 2023/24 salary, as well as the team’s plans for players on non-guaranteed contracts like Luka Samanic and Vernon Carey.
Clarkson is the third player to agree to renegotiate his contract in 2023, joining Sabonis and Pacers center Myles Turner. Prior to Turner, no player had renegotiated a deal since Robert Covington in 2017.
Wolves’ Mike Conley Wins 2022/23 Sportsmanship Award
Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley has won the Sportsmanship Award for the 2022/23 season, the NBA announced in a press release.
According to the NBA, each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award. It was then narrowed down to six finalists — one from each division — by a panel of league executives. Finally, current players voted for the winner.
As the full voting results show, Conley narrowly edged Boban Marjanovic for his fourth award, which is the most in league history — he had previously been tied with Grant Hill at three apiece. The annual award is “designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA.
The other four finalists, listed in order of the voting results, were Darius Garland, Bam Adebayo, Harrison Barnes and Jalen Brunson.
Conley, 35, appeared in 67 games for Utah and Minnesota in ’22/23, having been traded in February. The steady veteran averaged a combined 11.9 PPG, 6.7 APG, 2.7 RPG and 1.1 SPG on .428/.385/.834 shooting in 30.3 MPG.
The Sportsmanship Award trophy is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96.