Luke Kornet Re-Signs With Celtics
JULY 2: The Celtics have re-signed Kornet, the team announced in a press release. Since free agent contracts worth more than the minimum can’t be finalized during the July moratorium, this is official confirmation that Kornet’s deal is a minimum-salary contract.
“Luke has been an integral part of our team over the past few years,” president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in a statement. “He is the ultimate teammate and his attitude and spirit have a contagious effect on our team. On the court, Luke had his best season as a Celtic and played a big role in helping us win. We are excited about the impact he’ll have moving forward.”
JUNE 30: The Celtics have reached an agreement with Luke Kornet on a one-year contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Terms of the deal weren’t released, but given Boston’s financial restrictions, it’s almost certainly another veteran’s minimum contract. With seven years of NBA experience, Kornet is projected to make $2.8MM next season.
The 28-year-old center has played an important role off the Celtics’ bench over the past two seasons and saw regular rotation minutes throughout this year’s championship run. He appeared in 63 games during the regular season, making seven starts and averaging 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per night.
Re-signing Kornet became a bigger priority after the announcement that Kristaps Porzingis will be sidelined five-to-six months after surgery, which means he’ll miss the start of next season. The team doesn’t want to overwork 38-year-old center Al Horford, so it needs productive big men off its bench.
Kornet began his NBA career with New York in 2017 and spent time with Chicago, Cleveland and Milwaukee before coming to Boston. He will be an unrestricted free agent again next summer.
Cavaliers Notes: Atkinson, Mobley, Allen, Garland
Kenny Atkinson was eager to pursue the Cavaliers‘ head coaching job after the team fired J.B. Bickerstaff in May, writes Tom Withers of The Associated Press. Atkinson recognizes that Cleveland has the potential to become a serious contender in the East after two straight playoff appearances, as he explained at Monday’s introductory press conference.
“The first thing I said (was), ‘I want this job, I’m going for it and I’m going to be aggressive,’” Atkinson told reporters. “I knew all the great things that were in place.”
This is the second head coaching job for Atkinson, who compiled a 118-190 record while overseeing a rebuilding project in Brooklyn before being let go in 2020. Since then, he spent one season as an assistant to Tyronn Lue with the Clippers and three years on Steve Kerr’s staff with the Warriors. He compared that experience to “getting your doctorate in basketball.”
“It’s a partnership,” Atkinson said. “Ty was great at it. Steve was a master at it. When you’re making big decisions, sure, you’re the ultimate decision-maker. But you have talked that through with your best players. In my experience, they might say: ‘No, why don’t we do this in the pick-and-roll? Why don’t we do this?’ So really, it’s a true partnership, and that means you better be a great listener when you do have those one-on-ones.”
There’s more from Cleveland:
- Getting the chance to coach Evan Mobley was one of the things that attracted Atkinson to the job, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. In his discussions with Cavs’ management, Atkinson described his detailed plan to develop Mobley’s offensive skills in hopes of making him one of the league’s top five players. “I do think we can schematically get the ball in his hands more quite honestly,” Atkinson said. “It’s going to be in multiple ways. I think when you have a guy that versatile, it could be him in transition bringing the ball up, it could be him handling in a five out situation or him handling in pick and roll. I think there’s creative things we can do to help him.”
- Appearing on ESPN Cleveland, Brian Windhorst (Twitter video link) says teams “definitely” have interest in trading for Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, but Atkinson wants to keep him. “I don’t think they’re trading him,” Windhorst said. Atkinson previously coached Allen during his time with the Nets.
- Windhorst also expressed skepticism that the Cavaliers will look to move Darius Garland (Twitter video link), who has been the subject of trade speculation related to Donovan Mitchell‘s contract extension. “I don’t think the market is there for Darius Garland. … I think it’s a terrible time to trade Darius Garland,” said Windhorst, who added that he’s not convinced the point guard will even want a trade.
Dalton Knecht Signs Rookie Scale Contract With Lakers
First-round pick Dalton Knecht has reached a contract agreement with the Lakers, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
L.A. was delighted to see the Tennessee sharpshooter slip to No. 17 in last week’s draft and reportedly has plans for him to be an immediate contributor. Although he’s old for a prospect at 23 and there are questions about his defense, his shooting is an obvious skill that should translate into the NBA.
Knecht played two years at Northern Colorado before transferring to Tennessee last summer. He was a consensus first-team All-American and was named SEC Player of the Year in his lone season with the Volunteers, averaging 21.7 points per game with .458/.397/.772 shooting stats.
Knecht’s four-year contract is expected to be worth about $18.5MM with a first-year salary of $3.8MM as our breakdown of this year’s rookie scale salaries shows. He’s now ineligible to be traded for 30 days.
Magic Re-Sign Moritz Wagner
JULY 6: The Magic confirmed in a press release (Twitter link) that they’ve officially re-signed Wagner. The deal will feature a second-year team option, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
JULY 2: Moritz Wagner has agreed to re-sign with the Magic for $22MM over two years, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The 27-year-old center became an unrestricted free agent on Sunday after Orlando declined its $8MM team option for next season. The move was made to maximize cap space heading into free agency, but there were multiple reports that Wagner and the team were interested in a new deal.
Wagner appeared in 80 games last season, making just one start, and averaged 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 17.7 minutes per night. He shot a career-best 60.1% from the field and 33% from three-point range as Orlando reached the playoffs for the first time in four years.
Wagner was drafted by the Lakers with the 25th pick in 2018 and played for three teams in his first three seasons before signing with the Magic late in the 2020/21 campaign. He has become a valuable reserve on one of the best young teams in the East.
Orlando has been active since the start of free agency, re-signing Goga Bitadze and Gary Harris along with Wagner, and luring Kentavious Caldwell-Pope away from Denver. The Magic still have some leftover cap room, though recent reporting suggested they may be focused on re-signing Joe Ingles and renegotiating Jonathan Isaac‘s contract.
A Closer Look At How Paul George Wound Up In Philadelphia
Bad weather caused a two-hour flight delay for Sixers owner Josh Harris and franchise legend Julius Erving as they headed to Los Angeles to meet with Paul George on Sunday, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. But they found a pleasant surprise when they arrived, as their No. 1 free agent target showed up wearing a T-shirt featuring another Sixers icon, Allen Iverson.
George’s other options were mostly exhausted by that point, so the late-night meeting was more or less a formality. The Clippers weren’t willing to give him the four-year contract he wanted, and the Magic, who were the other team George agreed to meet with, had already reached an agreement with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that limited their remaining cap space.
George happily accepted the four-year max offer, giving Sixers brass the player they had been hoping to acquire since James Harden demanded a trade last summer. Sources tell Shelburne that when Clippers executive Lawrence Frank originally called to ask about Harden, Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey asked for George in return. Frank wasn’t willing to consider it because L.A. was trying to compete for a title, but the team’s concerns about a long-term stay in the second apron eventually made George available in free agency.
Shelburne hears that after Kawhi Leonard agreed to a three-year, $150MM extension in January — after being eligible for four years at $221MM — there was pressure on George to accept a similar deal. At age 34, George was hoping to maximize what could be his final NBA contract, so he began to consider other options.
Sources tell Shelburne that the Clippers’ offers to George were for less guaranteed money than what Leonard received. She adds that George was aware that other teams were willing to give him a four-year max contract and he was disappointed by the Clippers’ resistance.
Shelburne confirms a weekend report that the Warriors made a serious effort to trade for George on Saturday as the deadline for picking up his $48.8MM option approached. Chris Paul‘s agreement to push back the guarantee date on his $30MM salary for next season was done in case Golden State needed to include all or part of that money in a deal with L.A.
Shelburne’s sources say there were talks at both the ownership and executive levels as the Warriors made numerous offers consisting of expiring contracts, young players and a 2027 first-round pick that would have been unprotected. The Clippers asked for Jonathan Kuminga to be included, but Shelburne hears that Golden State was unwilling to part with the talented young forward because they feared George’s interest in joining the Warriors would dip if they gave up too much to acquire him.
The trade ultimately died because of the Clippers’ reluctance to take back contracts that would push them into the second apron unless the talent level justified it.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 7/2/2024
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 11 a.m. Central time (noon Eastern). Click here to read the transcript.
Tobias Harris Signs Two-Year Deal With Pistons
JULY 8: Harris has officially signed his contract with the Pistons, per the NBA’s transaction log.
JULY 1: The Pistons have reached a two-year, $52MM agreement with free agent forward Tobias Harris, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). There are no options on either side, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Harris, 31, ranked 16th on our list of the top 50 free agents this summer. He can play either forward spot and will bring much-needed shooting to Detroit, along with a veteran presence for a young locker room.
Harris was a reliable scorer and valuable all-around player during his five-plus years in Philadelphia. He averaged 17.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists this season with a shooting line of .487/.353/.878.
The move marks a return to Detroit for Harris, who played for the Pistons from February of 2016 to January of 2018. He was well-traveled before landing with the Sixers, being drafted by the Charlotte Bobcats in 2011 and spending time with four other franchises in his first eight years in the league.
This is the first signing for a Detroit team that headed into free agency with more than $58MM in cap room, and it’s the first major roster addition under new head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon.
The Pistons project to have roughly $26.5MM remaining, estimates Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (via Twitter), factoring in a cap hold for Simone Fontecchio. They hold Early Bird rights on the 28-year-old small forward and can offer him a new deal worth up to $58MM over four years.
Langdon appeared on the verge of making another significant move on Sunday night, as the Pistons reportedly neared a max extension with Cade Cunningham, the top pick in the 2021 draft.
Jalen Smith Signs Three-Year Contract With Bulls
JULY 8: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
JULY 1: Free agent center Jalen Smith will join the Bulls on a three-year, $27MM contract, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Smith became an unrestricted free agent on Friday by declining his $5.42MM player option for next season. The 24-year-old, who ranked 44th on our list of the top 50 free agents, winds up with a nice raise and a longer deal in Chicago.
Smith is expected to be the Bulls‘ new backup center after Andre Drummond agreed to terms with Philadelphia on Sunday night. With no available cap space, Chicago will likely sign Smith with a portion of its $12.8MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Whether they use the MLE or acquire him via sign-and-trade, the Bulls will be hard-capped at the first tax apron of $178,132,000.
After being selected by Phoenix with the 10th pick in the 2020 draft, Smith was sent to Indiana at the 2022 trade deadline. He became a valuable backup in two-and-a-half years with the Pacers and played rotation minutes as the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
He averaged 9.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 61 games this season while shooting 59.2% from the floor and 42.4% from three-point range.
The addition of Smith is one of several recent moves the Bulls have made to create a younger, more athletic roster and become less reliant on veterans. They traded for Josh Giddey last week and agreed to terms on a new five-year deal with free agent Patrick Williams over the weekend.
Aaron Wiggins Signs Five-Year Deal With Thunder
JULY 7: Wiggins has officially signed the contract, Joel Lorenzi of Oklahoma Sports tweets.
JULY 1: Aaron Wiggins will return to the Thunder on a five-year, $47MM contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The 25-year-old shooting guard became a restricted free agent on Saturday after Oklahoma City declined his $1.989MM option for next season and tendered him a qualifying offer.
That move was a prelude to a long-term deal. Wiggins has become a valuable rotation member during his three years with the team, and the Thunder wanted to lock him down for the future.
The No. 39 player on our list of this summer’s top 50 free agents, Wiggins appeared in 78 games last season, making four starts and averaging 6.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 15.7 minutes per night. He also posted .562/.492/.789 shooting splits as OKC tied for the best record in the West at 57-25.
Wiggins was selected with the 55th pick in the 2021 draft after three seasons at Maryland. He turned out to be a bargain on his original four-year, $6.4MM deal, so the team decided to reward him and make sure he’s part of what appears to be a very bright future in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City also agreed to re-sign Isaiah Joe to a long-term deal after declining his option on Saturday. The Thunder will be able to keep both Wiggins’ and Joe’s modest cap holds on their books while using up their cap room, then go over the cap to re-sign them.
Clippers Trying To Trade Russell Westbrook
The Clippers are trying to work out a trade involving Russell Westbrook, who decided on Saturday to exercise his $4MM player option for next season, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). A potential Westbrook trade was also reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter), who says L.A. is actively looking for someone to take on the veteran guard.
Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link) hears that the team is working with Westbrook to find a trade that benefits both of them. It’s believed Westbrook has played his last game for the franchise, Haynes adds.
League sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic that Westbrook has expressed interest in joining the Nuggets (Twitter link). Denver has an opening for a backup point guard after reaching an agreement this week to trade Reggie Jackson to Charlotte. Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports confirms (via Twitter) that the rumors of the Nuggets acquiring Westbrook are legitimate.
Westbrook adapted to a reserve role in his first full season with the Clippers, coming off the bench in 57 of the 68 games he played. He averaged 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 22.5 minutes per night while shooting 45.5% from the field but just 27.3% from three-point range.
Westbrook provided a spark for the Clippers when he signed with the team late in the 2022/23 season following a buyout with the Lakers. However, his role diminished after a trade in early November that brought in James Harden to be the starting point guard.
The Clippers are facing salary cap and apron concerns and no longer view Westbrook’s salary as a wise investment as he nears his 36th birthday.