Bulls Sign Luke Kornet
JULY 17: The deal is official, Charania tweets. It is fully guaranteed for both seasons with a total value of $4.5MM.
JULY 2: The Bulls will bring in Luke Kornet, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The pact will be for two seasons.
Chicago will get a chance to further develop the 23-year-old big man. Kornet saw action in 46 games for the Knicks last season, starting 18. He also spent time on their G League squad, averaging 18.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 3.6 APG with a blistering .514/.485/.730 shooting line in 11 games for the Westchester Knicks.
The Bulls have had an eventful offseason, adding Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky over the past 48 hours. It’s unclear how much opportunity Kornet will see in Chicago, as the team has a full roster of bigs, led by Wendell Carter Jr.. and Lauri Markkanen
Celtics Re-Sign Brad Wanamaker To One-Year Deal
JULY 17: Wanamaker’s new one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Celtics is now official, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 2: The Celtics will bring back Brad Wanamaker, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal will be for one season and, likely, at the minimum.
The point guard played in 36 games for the Boston last season. Wanamaker went undrafted out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2011 and ended up playing overseas.
Wanamaker shot 41.0% from behind the arc on a total of 39 attempts for Boston last season. The soon-to-be 30-year-old will fit in behind new addition Kemba Walker on the team’s depth chart.
And-Ones: Pacers, Favors, Zhou, Teodosic
The Pacers were thrilled to see Goga Bitadze still available when the team picked at No. 18, J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star relays. The scribe hears that many within the league were surprised Bitadze was still available at that spot. However, several executives told Michael that had they been running the Pacers, they wouldn’t have taken the center unless they planned on trading either Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis.
Most of the executives Michael spoke to believe that if the team decides to trade either Turner and Sabonis, the latter will be the one to go. Turner is entering the first season of a four-year, $80MM contract, while Sabonis is entering the last year of his rookie deal.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Pelicans were Derrick Favors‘ preferred destination once it was clear the Jazz were moving him, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. Utah needed to trade Favors in order to accommodate the Bojan Bogdanovic signing.
- Former Rockets center Zhou Qi plans to play in Europe next season, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Zhou has not yet picked a team.
- Milos Teodosic will make slightly over €5MM during his three-year contract with Virtus Bologna, Carchia passes along in a separate piece. Teodosic last played for the Clippers during this past season.
Pelicans Notes: Hart, Ball, Ingram, Melli
Josh Hart spoke with EVP of basketball operations David Griffin shortly after the Anthony Davis, pleading with the executive not to trade him, as he wanted to play for the Pelicans. During a press conference today that introduced Hart, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, Griffin said that it “meant a lot” to the team to have players who were “equally committed” to the franchise.
“We’re deep with selfless winners,” Griffin said (via Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register). “We’re deep with selfless high-character guys who wanna play any role they need to.”
Rival teams have called the Pelicans about all three former Lakers, according to Griffin, but the franchise has turned down inquiries for each player. The front office feels the trio can be part of the team’s future.
Here’s more from New Orleans:
- Ball said it was “tough” dealing with trade rumors last season but he learned to deal with those distractions and others while playing in Los Angeles, Will Guillory of The Athletic relays on Twitter. Ball added that he’s excited to get back to playing the style of basketball he’s accustomed to.
- Ingram said he is “pretty close” to resuming regular basketball activities, as ESPN relays. Ingram is recovering from surgery on his right arm that was performed to address a blood clot. Ingram added that he hasn’t played basketball since March. “I’m eager to pick up a basketball,” the forward added (via Guillory’s Twitter feed).
- Nicolo Melli, who signed with the Pelicans this offseason, underwent knee surgery this offseason, Emiliano Carchia of Sportnado passes along. Melli agreed to sign with New Orleans via the room exception.
Thunder, Rockets Swap Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul
JULY 16: The trade is official, according to a Thunder press release.
JULY 11: The Rockets have acquired Russell Westbrook. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Houston will send Chris Paul, two first-round picks and two pick swaps to Oklahoma City in exchange for the eight-time All-Star.
The Thunder will receive the Rockets’ first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, according to Wojnarowski. Shams Charania of the Athletic tweets that those selections are each top-four protected.
Oklahoma City will also have the right to swap first-round picks with the Rockets during the 2021 and 2025 drafts, though those have protections as well. The 2021 swap is top-four protected, while the 2025 swap is top-20 protected, per Charania.
GM Sam Presti worked with Westbrook and his agent to send the point guard to Houston, which was his preferred destination, Wojnarowski tweets. Westbrook will reunite with James Harden, whom he previously played with on the Thunder (before the team traded Harden to the Rockets). Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) hears that the push for a reunion came from both sides.
The Paul George trade request opened the door for another superstar to move this summer. The Thunder began an unexpected retooling process in the wake of trading George, leaving Westbrook in a curious position.
Rumors of the Paul-Harden relationship souring popped up this summer, with a report from Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports describing the relationship as “unsalvageable” and suggesting that CP3 wanted a trade. Both Paul and GM Daryl Morey shot down that report, but there was still widespread speculation that the team would try to move Paul.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com tweets that Presti has spoken to Paul’s agent, Leon Rose. Rose, who also represents Carmelo Anthony, worked with the team last summer on an exit strategy for ‘Melo.
The Thunder’s plan as of now is to keep Paul alongside Danilo Gallinari and remain competitive, Sam Amick of The Athletic hears (Twitter link). Still, Amick cautions that at this stage in his career, the point guard isn’t going to be patient.
Paul, whose contract runs through 2021/22, will make $38.5MM in the 2019/20 season, with roughly $86MM due to him over the following two seasons. Westbrook will also make $38.5MM this upcoming season and he’ll take home $132.6MM over the ensuing three seasons. The two deals are essentially identical, with Westbrook’s running for an extra season. Both of the point guards also have a player option on the end of their contracts, though it’s unlikely that either will decide to hit the open market a year early.
Westbrook has a 15% trade bonus in his contract, but because he’s already earning a maximum salary, the bonus will be voided, ESPN’s Bobby Marks adds on Twitter.
Paul, 34, slowed signs of slowing down during the 2018/19 season. Injuries limited him to just 58 games, and his 15.6 PPG and .419 FG% were both the lowest marks of his 14-year career. However, he still chipped in 8.2 APG and 2.0 SPG while helping to lead the Rockets to the Western Semifinals.
As for Westbrook, his scoring average (22.9 PPG) was his lowest in five years and he went through some major shooting slumps en route to a .428/.290/.656 line. The 30-year-old still managed to average a triple-double for the third consecutive year though, contributing 11.1 RPG and a league-leading 10.7 APG to go along with 1.9 SPG.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Anthony Davis Focusing On This Season, Not Future
Anthony Davis is expected to re-sign with the Lakers once his contract is up next summer. Yet, Davis was given the chance to confirm that outcome in an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols (h/t Kurt Helin of NBC Sports) and he chose not to go full Kyrie in reaffirming his commitment to the franchise.
“I’m just focused on this season. I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Davis said. “I have one year here, so I’m going make the best of this year. And when that time comes around in the summer or, you know, whenever the season’s over — hopefully, around, you know, mid-June, after we just had a parade, and I need a couple days to think — then we can talk about that. But until then, I’m trying to do whatever I can to help this team win this year.”
Regardless of being noncommittal when asked about his future with the club, Davis is unlikely to leave. Los Angeles was a destination he pushed for while in New Orleans and – alongside LeBron James – he’s in a position to compete for a championship.
Davis recently spoke about the “relief” he felt after the Lakers traded for him and discussed his high regard for the roster in L.A during his introductory press conference with the team.
“I like every player that we have, from one through 14. I’m excited about it. I would put our roster against anybody. I think that in a seven-game series we would come out victorious,” Davis said.
Jazz Sign Jarrell Brantley, Justin Wright-Foreman To Two-Way Deals
The Jazz have filled both of their two-way contract slots, inking Jarrell Brantley and Justin Wright-Foreman to deals, per the team’s Twitter feed.
Brantley was the No. 50 selection in the 2019 draft and Utah acquired his draft rights in a trade with the Pacers. Brantley spent four years at the College of Charleston before coming to the league, averaging 19.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 33 games as a senior.. The 23-year-old wing recently played for the Jazz’s Summer League squads.
Wright-Foreman was selected with the No. 53 overall pick in this year’s draft. He spent four years in college as well, appearing in 125 games for Hofstra and ranking second in the nation in 2018/19 with 27.1 PPG. The 21-year-old guard also played for Utah’s 2019 Summer League teams.
Utah didn’t have any first-round picks in this year’s draft, but loaded up on selections in the back half of the second round. In addition to selecting Brantley and Wright-Foreman, the club also nabbed Miye Oni at No. 58 — he signed a standard NBA contract earlier this week.
Eastern Notes: Simmons, Smith, Sexton
Ben Simmons‘ near-$170MM extension with the Sixers may sound like an exorbitant amount for the 22-year-old, but Derek Bodner of The Athletic argue that the deal could turn into a bargain.
Simmons’ 2020/21 salary (estimated to start at $29.25MM) currently places him 30th among his NBA peers that season. Surely other players will sign top-end deals next summer, dropping him lower in the rankings.
The point guard still needs to further develop his jumper to become great, Bodner cautions. However, Simmons has all the tools to easily become a top-10 talent for the Sixers and should that happen, he would be severely underpaid.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- If J.R. Smith signs with another team, the Cavaliers will recoup the $500K they agreed to give him for extending his guaranteed date via setoff, ESPN Bobby Marks notes on Twitter. Cleveland waived Smith on Monday.
- The Cavaliers didn’t play Collin Sexton in Summer League because the point guard didn’t have much to gain from the experience, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com explains. The level of competition in Las Vegas and Utah isn’t very high and it was much more prudent to allow Sexton to join the team in those locations but not risk injury during live action.
- The Cavaliers are fans of Jaron Blossomgame, who played for their Summer League team, Fedor relays in the same piece. Blossomgame spent time with the club under a two-way deal in 2018/19 and is a candidate for a roster spot this upcoming season.
Knicks Sign Marcus Morris
JULY 16: Morris has officially signed with the Knicks, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
JULY 11: The Knicks have agreed to a one-year, $15MM deal with Marcus Morris, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). Morris had previously come to an agreement with the Spurs but chose not to honor the verbal agreement.
San Antonio was planning on using its mid-level exception to sign Morris and turned its DeMarre Carroll acquisition into a sign-and-trade in order to accommodate Morris on a two-year deal worth approximately $19MM. The Spurs traded away Davis Bertans as part of the Carroll sign-and-trade.
“I had to make this decision based on the best situation for me and my family,” Morris said (via Charania). “This is no knock on the Spurs. I have respect for them.”
New York had the flexibility to add Morris after renegotiating its deal with Reggie Bullock. Bullock agreed to terms with the Knicks on a two-year, $21MM pact, but the franchise nixed that deal over health concerns. Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets that New York plans to amend the agreement with Bullock.
Morris, who earned the No. 22 spot on our list of this offseason’s top 50 free agents, was the most notable name still on the board. The 29-year-old had a solid year in Boston as the Celtics’ primary starting forward in 2018/19, averaging 13.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.5 APG with a .447/.375/.844 shooting line. He’ll join a Knicks frontcourt that also features newly-added veterans like Bobby Portis, Julius Randle, and Taj Gibson in addition to incumbent youngsters Mitchell Robinson and Kevin Knox.
The move to sign Morris exhausts New York’s cap room. The team has the room exception available to sign Bullock or another free agent.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bucks Sign Center Robin Lopez
JULY 12, 10:18pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
JUNE 30, 10:47pm: The Bucks are signing Robin Lopez, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Milwaukee re-signed his brother, Brook Lopez, earlier today.
Lopez will make approximately $9.77MM over the next two seasons, as Milwaukee is signing him via the room exception. The Bucks will not have access to any other exceptions this offseason, having used their bi-annual exception last offseason.
Lopez spent last season in Chicago, though for a large part of the year, it seems the team would work out a buyout arrangement with the big man and allow him to sign on with a contender. That never occurred and Lopez finished out his contract with the Bulls.
The Knicks were reportedly interested in signing Lopez to back up Mitchell Robinson. The center spent time with the team earlier in his career. He inked a four-year deal with the franchise when Phil Jackson was running the show in New York.