Bulls Notes: Terry, LaVine, Jones, Eastern Conference
It didn’t take long for first-round pick Dalen Terry to earn the respect of his new Bulls teammates, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. In his first practice with Chicago’s Summer League squad, Terry showed why he had a reputation as a maximum-effort player at Arizona.
Second-year forward Patrick Williams singled out Terry as the strongest competitor at today’s practice. That recognition was installed by coach John Bryant, who is trying to make the Summer League experience as competitive as possible.
“It means everything,” Terry said. “I appreciate Pat for doing that. It gave me a little bit more confidence. He was a rookie last year and he’s been through what I’ve been through, obviously. For him to do that, it’s definitely a nod and respect to him. I appreciate him for saying that.”
There’s more from Chicago:
- Zach LaVine‘s new max contract was necessary for the Bulls to maintain roster stability, Mayberry contends in a separate story. While the investment could top $215MM, LaVine is a two-time All-Star who’s still in his prime at age 27 and he gives the team a foundation to build around.
- Derrick Jones Jr. wasn’t in the Bulls’ long-range plans when they acquired him from Portland last summer, but he played well enough to earn a new contract, Mayberry adds. Jones was taken as a throw-in to get a first-round pick in a three-team deal that also involved Cleveland. Injuries and COVID-19 created a chance for him to play and he proved useful as a small-ball center. The Bulls pursued Danilo Gallinari before re-signing Jones, Mayberry notes, but Gallinari decided to join the Celtics.
- The Bulls are putting together a successful offseason, but so are several other teams in the Eastern Conference playoff race, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley rates the offseason progress of the top nine teams in the East, giving an A to the Celtics and A-minuses to the Bucks and Hawks. Chicago gets a C, as Cowley is skeptical about the philosophy of keeping the current roster together after a quick playoff exit.
Josh Okogie Signs One-Year Deal With Suns
10:51pm: Okogie’s deal is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. That signals that it’s a minimum-salary contract, which can be signed during the July moratorium.
7:11pm: The Suns will add free agent Josh Okogie on a one-year contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The 23-year-old shooting guard became unrestricted this week when the Timberwolves declined to give him a qualifying offer. He spent his first four NBA seasons in Minnesota after being selected with the 20th pick in the 2018 draft.
Okogie has seen his playing time reduced over the past two seasons and averaged just 10.5 minutes in 49 games this year. A fresh start in Phoenix may help revitalize his career.
The Suns also added former Warriors shooting guard Damion Lee in free agency. They lost Aaron Holiday to the Hawks, while Elfrid Payton remains unsigned.
Heat Notes: Durant, Highsmith, Jovic, Summer League
The Heat could try to improve their bargaining power in a potential Kevin Durant trade by negotiating with the Thunder to remove protections on the 2025 first-round pick owed to OKC, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
If Oklahoma City agrees to accept the pick with no lottery protection, Miami will be free to offer Brooklyn first-rounders in 2023, 2027 and 2029 without violating the Stepien rule. Teams aren’t permitted to trade draft picks that are more than seven years away, but the Heat could also include pick swaps in 2024, 2026 and 2028.
Chiang says the Heat are in a “holding pattern” as they wait for the next step in the Durant drama. They haven’t made any moves since reaching agreements to re-sign Dewayne Dedmon and Victor Oladipo shortly after free agency began Thursday afternoon.
The Nets can’t acquire Bam Adebayo as long as Ben Simmons is on the roster and the Heat would prefer to keep Jimmy Butler, so any trade offer would have to be built around Tyler Herro. Chiang notes that Herro, Duncan Robinson and Kyle Lowry are sufficient to match salary, while inexpensive players such as Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Omer Yurtseven could be added to sweeten the offer. It’s unlikely that would be enough to interest the Nets, who reportedly have received interest in Durant from more than half the league.
League rules prevent Miami from trading Dedmon or Oladipo until December 15, while first-round pick Nikola Jovic, who signed his rookie contract today, can’t be included in a trade for 30 days.
There’s more from Miami:
- Haywood Highsmith received a $50K guarantee on his 2022/23 salary by remaining on the roster past Friday’s deadline, Chiang adds. The second-year small forward joined the Heat in late December on the first of three 10-day contracts, then was given a standard deal in March.
- Highsmith has an opportunity for a larger role next season after P.J. Tucker‘s departure to Philadelphia, Chiang notes in a separate story. Highsmith, who scored 11 points in today’s Summer League opener, is working to model himself after Tucker as a three-and-D player.
- Jovic is still adjusting to the speed of the NBA game and that was evident in today’s debut, per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. He made just 1 of 6 shots and grabbed three rebounds in 21 minutes of action. “I know he wanted to play better,” said Summer League coach Malik Allen. “I just think it was moving really fast. I told him just to keep his head up. He was frustrated. That learning curve is going to continue to be there for him.”
Knicks Rumors: Mitchell, L. Rose, Brunson, Durant, Irving
Even if the Jazz decide to trade Donovan Mitchell, the Knicks might not be first in line to acquire him, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. A New York City native, Mitchell has been rumored as a prime Knicks target for some time. The Jazz have indicated they plan to keep Mitchell and rework the roster around him, but sources tell Begley that several teams believe he would be available at the right price.
However, there’s no guarantee that New York’s front office will meet that price. Sources close to the Knicks indicated to Begley before the draft that the team was reluctant to part with the mix of players and draft picks that would be necessary to land a talent like Mitchell, fearing that the remaining roster would be too thin to compete. Since then, New York has reached an agreement with free agent guard Jalen Brunson, but Begley doesn’t believe that will change the team’s philosophy toward a potential Mitchell trade.
There’s more from New York:
- The Knicks may have signed their top target this year by luring Brunson away from the Mavericks, but it’s still not clear that team president Leon Rose was the best choice to run the organization, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Rose and William Wesley were highly touted when they took over the Knicks because of their connections to the league’s top players. The results have been uninspiring, according to Bondy, as the team hasn’t landed a true star and has committed nearly $500MM in guaranteed money over the past two summers to an average roster.
- Brunson’s father, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, has been telling friends for months that Jalen wanted to come to New York, but there were concerns about whether the team could create enough cap space to make a competitive offer, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post. The Brunson family has a strong connection to Rose, but Jalen wasn’t willing to sign for less than his market value.
- The Knicks may have dodged a bullet when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving decided to sign with Brooklyn three years ago, suggests Steve Popper of Newsday. The Knicks pursued the two stars, but Popper believes they would have run into the same chaos the Nets are experiencing now.
Nets, Lakers Discussing Irving-Westbrook Deal
7:06pm: The Nets are characterizing trade talks with the Lakers as “preliminary,” Haynes tweets.
6:47pm: The Nets and Lakers are holding active discussions about a trade that would include Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook, writes Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Haynes cites “palpable optimism” that a deal can be finalized, but sources tell him there are several details to be worked out.
The Nets want to include sharpshooting guard Joe Harris, who is owed $38.6MM over the next two years, according to Haynes. Harris is coming off left ankle surgery and was limited to 14 games this season.
The Lakers are reluctant to take on Harris’ contract and want the Nets to give up Seth Curry instead. Curry is also a proficient outside shooter and has an $8.5MM expiring contract.
Irving and Westbrook both picked up their player options this week, but the two sides have to figure out how to match salaries. Irving will make $36.5MM next season, while Westbrook is owed $47MM. The Nets are also seeking draft compensation in the deal.
Haynes notes that Brooklyn isn’t in a hurry to complete an Irving trade and is sifting through numerous offers for Kevin Durant at the same time.
Keegan Murray Signs With Kings
Keegan Murray, the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft, has officially signed with the Kings, tweets James Ham of ESPN 1320.
Assuming Murray receives the standard 120% of the rookie scale, he will make approximately $8MM during his first season and $36.4MM during the four-year contract.
Murray was a first-team All-American as a sophomore at Iowa, averaging 23.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He was also a first team All-Big 10 selection and was named MVP of this year’s conference tournament.
Murray, who will turn 22 next month, was among the oldest prospects in this year’s draft and there was some speculation that his age might work against him. The Kings weren’t concerned, however, and selected Murray ahead of Purdue guard Jaden Ivey, who had been projected as a top-four pick.
“Keegan is an incredibly versatile, well-rounded player with a high basketball IQ,” said Sacramento general manager Monte McNair. “He will be a tremendous asset to our team, and we are excited to welcome him to the Kings family.”
Heat Sign Nikola Jovic
First-round pick Nikola Jovic has officially signed with the Heat, the team announced in a press release.
The Serbian forward was the 27th pick in this year’s draft. Assuming he receives the full 120% of the rookie scale, which is standard, Jovic will earn approximately $2.2MM in his first season and $11.5MM across the four-year deal.
The 19-year-old averaged 11.7 points per game this season while playing for Mega Basket in Europe’s ABA League. He was named the league’s top prospect for the just-completed season and was Junior ABA League MVP in 2021.
Jovic is making his debut with Miami in today’s Summer League California Classic in San Francisco.
Leandro Barbosa To Join Kings’ Coaching Staff
New Kings head coach Mike Brown will add one of his Warriors associates to his coaching staff, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Leandro Barbosa, who served as a player development coach with Golden State, will become an assistant to Brown in Sacramento.
Barbosa, 39, spent time with five teams during a 14-year NBA career that ended in 2017, and then played two overseas seasons after that. He also had extensive international experience with the Brazilian national team.
Barbosa’s coaching career began when the Warriors hired him in September of 2020.
Eastern Notes: Cavs, Rubio, Tsai, Bucks, Papagiannis, Bridges
The Cavaliers‘ agreement with Ricky Rubio remains flexible and could eventually become a sign-and-trade with the Pacers, sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Rubio, who suffered a torn left ACL last December, isn’t expected to be able to play for the first two or three months of the season, so the Cavs want to explore other point guard options.
If they do a sign-and-trade with Rubio, they’d be able to use their $10.4MM mid-level exception to address that area, and Fedor suggests that another signing could be reported sometime this weekend.
Bringing back Rubio was “Plan A” for the team, Fedor adds, after he helped fuel a surprising rise to contention last season. Serving as a veteran component in a young backcourt, Rubio averaged 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists in 34 games before the injury. Cleveland was 20-14 with Rubio last season, but only 24-24 when he didn’t play.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Nets owner Joe Tsai is fed up with the drama surrounding the organization and won’t mind parting with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Vardon notes that Tsai has been willing to pay the luxury tax in the three seasons since Durant and Irving arrived, but he hasn’t gotten much in return, with just one playoff series win in that time. Other distractions, such as the coaching change involving Kenny Atkinson, the trades to acquire and then unload James Harden, the addition of Ben Simmons when he wasn’t ready to play, and Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated have all tested Tsai’s patience, Vardon adds.
- The Bucks have some interest in former first-round pick Georgios Papagiannis, tweets Dionysis Aravantinos of HoopsHype. The Greek center fizzled out quickly after being selected at No. 13 in the 2016 draft — playing 38 games for the Kings and one for the Trail Blazers — but he has been a star in Europe, earning a spot on the All-EuroLeague Second Team this year. Papagiannis is still under contract to Panathinaikos, so Milwaukee would have to arrange a buyout, but Aravantinos doesn’t see that as an obstacle.
- The wife of Hornets forward Miles Bridges has posted several photographs showing injuries that she says were caused when he attacked her this week, as Amy Woodyatt and Jacob Lev of CNN write. Bridges was arrested on Wednesday and charged with felony domestic violence. His next court date is scheduled for July 20, per CNN’s report.
Rockets Sign Trevor Hudgins To Two-Way Contract
JULY 1: The Rockets have officially signed Hudgins to his two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release. It’s a one-year contract, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
JUNE 24: Trevor Hudgins, a two-time Division II Player of the Year at Northwest Missouri State, will sign a two-way deal with the Rockets, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The agreement was confirmed by Hudgins’ agent, George Langberg.
A 23-year-old guard, Hudgins averaged 23.0 points, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals as a senior. He’s an accomplished shooter, connecting at 48.2% from the field, 41.5% from three-point range and 90.1% from the foul line this season. He was named Most Outstanding Player in the Division II Tournament in both 2019 and 2022 and won three national titles with the Bearcats.
Hudgins had one year of eligibility remaining, but chose to forego it and enter the draft. He also declared for the 2021 draft before deciding to return to school.
ESPN ranks Hudgins 33rd on its list of best undrafted players.