Tyler Johnson Picks Up Player Option
As expected, Tyler Johnson has exercised his player option for the 2019/20 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Johnson will make approximately $19.25MM next year.
Back in 2016, the Nets presented Johnson with a backloaded, four-year, $50MM offer sheet, which was designed to make it difficult for Miami to match. However, the contract didn’t deter the Heat from keeping Johnson.
Johnson continued playing in Miami until February of this past year. The Suns then traded for Johnson as Miami was looking to clear some salary. Johnson suited up for 13 games for Phoenix, starting 12 of them at point guard.
Hoops Rumors’ 2019 NBA Draft Live Chat
The 2019 NBA Draft is here! In addition to our standard coverage of the NBA, we’ll be hosting a live chat to discuss all the player movement and selections from around the league.
Believe a team is drafting a prospect too high? Concerned that your favorite player has been overlooked? Feeling good about a trade (looking at you Pelicans fans) or upset with your team for making a move?
We’ve got you covered on everything going on around the NBA! We’re starting at 6:30 pm CT through the first round!
Central Notes: Garland, Bulls, GRIII, Cavs
The Bulls‘ reported interest in Darius Garland may be a smokescreen, one source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. That source believes Chicago is more focused on forwards like De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, or Sekou Doumbouya.
Garland is expected to be selected with the No. 4 overall pick in tonight’s draft, so the Bulls would need to put together a package that entices the Pelicans in order to land him, assuming their interest is real. Even if Chicago managed to add Garland, the team would look to bring in a veteran point guard, a source tells Cowley.
Patrick Beverley could be an addition this offseason, as there are reports of mutual interest between him and the Bulls. Chicago wants to add depth, so the club could sign multiple players in free agency. Cowley names Ish Smith and Cory Joseph as potential targets in addition to Beverley.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- The Pistons will likely decline Glenn Robinson III‘s team option for the 2019/20 season, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free press tweets. A source also told James Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the option is unlikely to be picked up. The Michigan product would have earned slightly below $4.3MM next season if the option was exercised.
- Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is out of the hospital and will undergo “intensive” rehab, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com relays on Twitter. Gilbert suffered a stroke late last month.
- The Cavaliers have hired Jazz assistant Antonio Lang as an assistant coach on John Beilein‘s new staff, per the team’s website. Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link) first reported that Cleveland was prying Lang from Utah.
Western Notes: Rockets, No. 4, Davis, Holiday
Houston intends to aggressively pursue Jimmy Butler in free agency and Kelly Iko of The Athletic hears that the Rockets will be just as determined to land Butler now as they were in prior to Minnesota dealing him to the Sixers. GM Daryl Morey reportedly offered four first-round picks in exchange for Butler during the season.
It’s no secret that the Rockets are looking to shake up their roster this offseason. They continue to discuss trades involving Clint Capela, and Iko hears that they’ve discussed sending him to the Pelicans for the No. 4 overall pick. In that scenario, Houston would look to insert that pick into a package in order to land another player.
Here’s more from Houston and rest of the Western Conference:
- The Rockets had interested in trading for Anthony Davis and reached out to the Pelicans prior to New Orleans making the deal with the Lakers. Houston was aware that it wasn’t high on Davis’ preferences and that a trade was not likely to happen.
- The Lakers could have asked Davis if he’d waive his trade bonus of roughly $4.1MM in order to make salary-matching easier, but they never broached it during negotiations, league sources tell Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Los Angeles is still attempting to maximize its cap room for an additional star after agreeing to the Davis deal.
- Several NBA executives are skeptical that the Lakers can build a title-winning team around Davis and LeBron James after the haul they just gave up, Beck relays in the same piece. “[The] Lakers overpaid by a significant margin, given the conditions,” one executive said, adding, “Never let your GM be in a spot where he needs to make a trade to save his job.”
- The Suns are not interested in Aaron Holiday, Phoenix-based radio host John Gambadoro tweets. J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star identified the Suns as one of a handful of teams that has interest in acquiring the Pacers point guard, mentioning the Timberwolves, Bulls, and Hawks as well.
Eastern Notes: Davis, Knicks, Wizards
Ed Davis knows what he wants in free agency, as he tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
“First is the money,” Davis said. “Then, two is fit. Then, if it’s a playoff team or a non-playoff team or an old team or young team. Whatever fits best for you. The last thing I guess is the city, but for sure a guy like me is definitely the money for sure.
“A lot of guys won’t say it, but trust me, 99.9 percent of the guys it’s about money just like for your job. You’re going where the money is at. People look at us athletes and think that we’re not supposed to take what’s best for us. It’s definitely about the money.”
Davis played for the Nets last season under a one-year deal worth slightly under $4.45MM. Brooklyn signed him via the room exception and Davis received Hoops Rumors’ award for the best player on that type of deal.
“Hopefully I get a pay raise,” Davis said. “Don’t we all want a pay raise? I’ve been talking to my agent, and we’ll see what’s going to happen in July. Hopefully, I’m back in Brooklyn. But if not, I definitely enjoyed my time there, and I appreciate every minute that I had in Brooklyn. I’m still working out there every day right now. We’ll see what happens. It’s a business. You know how it goes.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Davis wants the Nets to pass up on Kyrie Irving and bring back D’Angelo Russell, as Scotto passes along (same piece). “I don’t know if them two [Irving and Russell] can work or however it’s going to go,” Davis said. “I thought D’Angelo did a hell of a job, and I thought he was going to be the starting point guard for the future for Brooklyn, but like I said, you know how things go. That’s why Sean and Kenny [Atkinson) get paid the big bucks to figure out things like that. I wish it was D’Angelo and I hope things work out for him. They will, but I don’t know Kyrie, so I’m all for DLo.”
- The Knicks are not expected to pursue second-tier max free agents if they strike out on the top stars, Brian Windhorst said on ESPN (video link). “I don’t expect them to chase a Tobias Harris or Khris Middleton type of player, or Jimmy Butler. I think they’re going to try to get Durant and if they can’t get Durant, they’re going to move on with RJ Barrett as the centerpiece of their team moving forward,” Windhorst said.
- Windhorst hears (separate video link) that the Wizards were interested in Toronto executive Masai Ujiri but will not pursue him, echoing what owner Ted Leonsis said recently.
- Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post wonders what is going on in the Wizards‘ front office. The team doesn’t currently have a team president and doesn’t plan on adding one before free agency begins.
Kyle Korver Likely To Return For 17th Season
Kyle Korver has yet to officially announce a decision on his future, but Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link) hears from a source that the sharpshooter is likely to play at least one more season. It’s possible that the 38-year-old continues playing for two more years, Stein adds.
Back in April, it sounded as if Korver was seriously considering hanging up his jersey after 16 years in the NBA.
“There’s a real cost as you get older,” Korver said at the end of Utah’s season. “There’s what you need to put into the game, but there’s also a family cost. That’s probably where I’m at is weighing that cost.”
Korver’s contract runs for one more year, paying him $7.5MM as part of the deal he signed with the Cavaliers in 2017. That figure is only partially guaranteed for $3.44MM up until July 7, however.
Korver will head to Memphis in the Mike Conley deal, which will be completed once the new league year officially begins on July 6. If the rebuilding Grizzlies don’t have Korver in their plans for next season, it’s possible he’ll be flipped to another team or bought out before his salary becomes fully guaranteed, allowing him to join a contender.
Celtics Preparing For An Offseason Of Change
Slightly over a year ago, the overachieving Celtics were competing with LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the conference finals. The landscape in the Eastern Conference has changed dramatically over the ensuing 13 months and Boston has not been left out of the league-wide shake-up.
The franchise is now operating as if Kyrie Irving and Al Horford won’t be back. Irving has been in communication with the Celtics since the season ended and the point guard has been “forthright” about his intentions, sending both public and private signals that he’ll be departing in free agency, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Brooklyn will likely be Irving’s next destination.
Early in the season, Irving declared to a packed crowd at the TD Garden that he would be re-signing the club once his contract expired. That was before a 2018/19 season in which ‘chemistry’ became a buzzword akin to the words ‘disrupter’ or ‘synergy’ in corporate speak.
A number of factors contributed to the uneasiness in Boston’s locker room. Jackie MacMullan (via Dane Delgado of NBC Sports) hears that coach Brad Stevens’ dedication to Gordon Hayward caused some issues. Stevens wanted Hayward to regain confidence and he gave the wing opportunity after opportunity on the court to show his pre-injury form.
Stevens has a history with Hayward from their Butler University days, though the coach would have taken the same approach with any player coming back from a major injury. Hayward continued to struggle, proving he wasn’t ready for the minutes and with many mouths left unfed, the crabs-in-a-barrel mentality festered.
Next season, different elements will contribute to the team’s locker room chemistry. Hayward will outlast Irving in Boston, as the veteran wing has two more years left on his deal (the final year is a player option worth slightly less than $34.2MM). Horford appears set to be elsewhere, and new faces will surround the tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as the team hopes of remaining competitive in an enhanced Eastern Conference.
Last spring, the narrative out of Boston centered around how the team was ready to compete in the present but was also built for the future. The Celtics’ story is a lesson in never underestimating how much things can change in just one year.
Five Key Offseason Questions: Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers took two major in-season gambles during the 2018/19 campaign, plucking Jimmy Butler from Minnesota and putting together a package of assets to acquire Tobias Harris from the Clippers.
The team’s five starters played in just 10 regular season games together due to various injuries and rest management. Those five saw their playoff run cut short in the second round after playing only 11 postseason games together as a group. The organization longs for an opportunity to get a larger sample size on its collection of talent.
Here are five key questions facing the franchise this summer:
1. How many starters will the Sixers bring back?
Philadelphia will face immense competition for Butler, Harris, and J.J. Redick on the free agent market.
Multiple teams are expected to offer Harris a max deal, with the Nets standing out as a noteworthy threat. The interest between Harris and Brooklyn is reportedly mutual. The Grizzlies, Jazz, Mavericks, Kings, and Pacers have all been linked to Harris as well.
Butler is confident he’ll also receive a full max and the Lakers will be among the teams looking to swoop in and steal the four-time All-Star. GM Elton Brand plans on doing everything he can to bring Butler back.
Redick’s underwhelming playoffs aside, his shooting will be coveted by many teams in the league. He made just over $12MM last year, though it’s unclear what the price range for him will be going forward as he prepares to enter his age-35 season.
The Sixers will be among the offseason winners if they can bring back all five starters and supplement them with an additional role player or two. Of the three pending free agents, I’d speculate Butler is the most likely to leave.
Stein’s Latest: Durant, Irving, Leonard, Conley
Kevin Durant has long been rumored to end up on the Knicks this summer. Even some within the Warriors’ organization believed that KD would head to the Big Apple, though Marc Stein of the New York Times hears that Golden State’s brass is now cautiously optimistic about convincing Durant to stay.
Durant’s rehab with the Warriors would come with more stability from a logistical standpoint. He would venture on his comeback journey with a staff he’s familiar with rather than entering a new environment in New York or Brooklyn.
The Knicks still desire to sign both Durant and Kyrie Irving, and they have the cap space to pursue both. Stein passes along more on the upcoming offseason in his latest piece:
- The Nets believe that Irving is leaning toward signing with them. Stein hears that Spencer Dinwiddie has been heavily involved in the recruiting of Kyrie.
- Most within the league believe the Clippers remain the favorites to sign Kawhi Leonard, Stein writes. The Raptors are not out of the running, as the team up north has a chance to convince Leonard to sign a short-term deal, presumably a two-year contract with a player option on the second year.
- Many rival teams expect the Grizzlies to trade Mike Conley soon, with the Jazz being the frontrunner. One scenario Stein hears is Utah sending a package headlined by the No. 23 overall pick and a future pick to Memphis in exchange for the point guard.
Multiple Teams Interested In Bobby Portis
The man that bet on himself this season is in position to cash in. The Lakers, Clippers, Jazz, Bucks, Magic and Knicks are among the teams expected to have interest in Bobby Portis, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports reports.
Portis turned down an extension with the Bulls earlier this season and was rumored to be seeking a deal worth $16MM annually. While it’s not clear what kind of deal Portis receive in restricted free agency, it will certainly be a raise on his 2018/19 salary of approximately $2.5MM.
The Wizards are likely to extend a qualifying offer to Portis, which will be worth about $3.6MM.
The Bulls—the franchise that drafted Portis with the No.22 overall pick in the 2015 draft—traded him to the Wizards along with Jabari Parker for Otto Porter Jr. prior to the trade deadline. Washington is expected to decline Parker’s $20MM team option for next season, though even if both players signed elsewhere, the Wizards will have trouble carving out cap room.
[RELATED: 2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Washington Wizards]
The franchise is looking at approximately $89MM in guaranteed salary on the books for next season. The team will have a version of the mid-level at its disposal (the taxpayer’s MLE if over the projected $132MM) and the bi-annual exception will be available if it can stay below that tax line.