The terms of Daniel Gafford‘s three-year extension will keep him trade-eligible without a six-month waiting period, but that doesn’t mean the Mavericks are looking to deal the 26-year-old center, Marc Stein of The Stein Line writes in his latest column (Substack link). Stein confirms that Gafford’s new contract, which will start with the 2026/27 season and is projected to be worth about $54MM, contains no options for him or the team.
Stein states that Dallas’ front office expects “considerable” trade interest in Gafford, but is reluctant to part with him after injuries limited Dereck Lively to 36 games during his second NBA season. Stein notes that forward P.J. Washington is also eligible for an extension this summer and says the Mavericks plan to hold onto him as well.
This is an important day for the organization, Stein adds, as it’s the deadline for Kyrie Irving to pick up a $43MM player option. If Irving passes on the option, Stein views that as a sign that he has an agreement with the Mavericks on a new long-term deal that will likely be announced early in free agency. It’s also possible that Irving could pick up the option and negotiate an extension after the moratorium is lifted or he could decide to test free agency next summer. A source tells Stein that Irving remained undecided as of Monday night.
Stein shares more inside information from around the league:
- The Rockets may decline their $44.9MM option on Fred VanVleet, but Stein states there’s “no scenario” where he won’t be with the team next season. A source tells Stein that Houston and VanVleet would “do a new deal” if the option is turned down by Sunday’s deadline. Stein points out that the original deadline on the team option was five days after the Rockets’ season ended, but VanVleet and the team reached an agreement to push it back to late June. Stein also notes that Kevin Durant will be eligible for a two-year extension once he officially joins the team next month, suggesting it’s possible that VanVleet and Durant will both be signed to new deals that cover the next three seasons.
- Stein reports that Jazz center Walker Kessler has been “unavailable for some time” and speculates that could have led to recent rumors that the Lakers are interested in John Collins. Stein calls it a “mischaracterization” to suggest that L.A. is a trade suitor for Collins.
- The Trail Blazers expect swingman Matisse Thybulle to pick up his $11.5MM player option by today’s deadline, Stein adds.
FVV will go back to teh Rockets once he finds out nobody is giving him a big fat contract like he had before. Look at his new contract with rockets about $30 million a big savings for them.
once again Utah will over price Kessler who is good but not close to all star level.
I highly doubt FVV is even listening to other teams. Him and the Rockets didn’t mutually agree to push his option date back to eventually part ways.
He will test the free agent market and find out that Rockets are the best team to sign with.
But honestly, even $30 million is still too high for him at this stage in his career. He had a really down year last season, despite the team success.
I swear y’all lack a basic understanding of the game of basketball.
Why are you so pretentious to think that no one knows as much about this sport as you do? People like you are hilarious talking tough on the internet. If you disagree or have a different opinion, you can say that and keep it pushing. You need a life.
Arrogance is a mask for a lack of self esteem
You could be onto something there. While we’re getting psychological let’s examine what it is that makes y’all hate these NBA players so much.
It’s just flabbergasting how bad y’all are at being basketball fans. Trust me I wish I didn’t have to keep pointing this out. I’m not looking for you to know as much about basketball as I do. A willingness to learn would be a good start. An even better start would be for y’all to chill on being so hateful/critical of these basketball players when you obv have a limited understanding of the sport in general.
Having a different opinion = bad basketball fan.
You truly are the worst.
The Rockets as a team were pretty bad when he got hurt. His #’s weren’t amazing, but he’s very important to the team with on the court organization and leadership. Which does matter in contract negotiations. I’d guess he gets less than $30/year but it’ll be close to that. Him and Durant may take less to help the team around the edges.
FVV is going to look a lot like Mike Conley production wise moving forward with other guys taking larger roles and KD.
I think you’ll see points 10-12, assists 5-7 assists. The only problem is his inconsistent 3P shooting. He needs to be better from 3.
That being said, he should be 20M max per year. I can’t see anyone giving him more in a S&T. And they need to manage the cap with extensions on the horizon and KD on a max or near max extension.
He’s like a less flashy Kyle Lowry. He’s so important to the Rockets and what they do he’ll get 30-40 million a year still. I said he was a bum last time he was a free agent but he’s proven that what he brings isn’t just a system glitch. He’s done it with 2 different teams now.