Southeast Notes: Hachimura, Petrucelli, McDaniels, Wizards
Regardless of how well Wizards newly-drafted rookie forward Rui Hachimura performs in the NBA moving forward, he’s already a superstar in his home country of Japan, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.
Hachimura, the first ever Japanese-born lottery pick in the NBA, has a rabid following that was on display Friday when the 21-year-old Gonzaga product was introduced by the Wizards. Per Hughes, there were over 40 members of the Japanese media in attendance from over 20 outlets, all excited for the opportunity to be a part of Hachimura’s press conference.
“I’m used to it. This is kind of small,” Hachimura joked about the media attention at the Wizards’ press conference. “When I was in Japan, there were couple of press conferences like this and there were more people.”
Because of his unique situation, Hachimura has the chance to be the most marketable player on the Wizards as a rookie, John Wall and Bradley Beal included. He already has endorsement deals with Air Jordan and Nissin Food Products, and one Japanese reporter even went as far as opining that Hachimura could be as big as MLB star Ichiro Suzuki one day. The Wizards certainly hope so.
There’s more from the Southeast Division this afternoon:
- JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors is reporting that free agent sharpshooter John Petrucelli has committed to play summer league with the Magic. Petrucelli, 26, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Magic in October, before being waived two days later.
- In some negative news coming out of Charlotte, Brendan Marks and Michael Gordon of The Charlotte Observer are reporting that Hornets second-round draft pick Jalen McDaniels was sued by two female high school classmates around six months ago. Criminal charges were not pursued, but the duo claim in a civil suit that McDaniels recorded them performing sexual acts without their consent.
- Columnist Jerry Brewer of The Washington Post opines that the Wizards will likely end up promoting from within and hire interim head of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard as Ernie Grunfeld‘s replacement.
Heat Notes: Riley, Whiteside, Dragic, Haslem
Heat president Pat Riley spoke about the state of the Heat recently, and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald passes along some of the more relevant take-aways from Riley’s comments.
Despite Justice Winslow‘s success running the point while Goran Dragic was injured last season, Riley expects Dragic to be the team’s starting point guard for the 2019/20 season. Riley also expects both Dion Waiters and James Johnson to come back strong from injuries and play a significant role.
Regarding first-round pick Tyler Herro, Riley said that the 19-year-old guard “has proven in his short time at Kentucky that he’s not only a great shooter, but he’s a competitor, he’s tough, and he can defend. We’re very excited to have him.”
Riley declined to comment on the 32nd overall pick KZ Okpala, as his rights are still owned by the Pacers. He likewise declined to speak about Bol Bol, as his rights are being traded to the Nuggets.
There’s more out of Miami this afternoon from Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel:
- Cap-strapped after both Hassan Whiteside and Dragic opted into their player options for the 2019/20 season, the Heat are in somewhat of a holding pattern until they are able to clear those two off their books in the summer of 2020. For now, Pat Riley seems keen on encouraging Heat fans to root their young team on towards a playoff berth next season (link).
- The Heat are likely to carry 14 players on their roster during the 2019/20 season in order to avoid the luxury tax, but will Udonis Haslem be that 14th-man (link)? It’s a possibility, and Haslem has said that his family with play a primary role in his retirement decision.
- The conundrum the Heat face with Whiteside next season is that while he may have the chance to stay healthy and rediscover his game, how does that help Miami if they’re not a championship contender (link)? Whiteside’s contract ends after the 2019/20 season, and if the Heat are serious about developing their young core, Whiteside doesn’t really have a place on the roster past this season, so letting him stuff the stat sheet on a mediocre team for one season really does the Heat no good.
Nuggets, Tyler Cook Agree To Deal
The Nuggets have reached a deal with undrafted Iowa forward Tyler Cook, reports Mike Hlas of The Gazette. Per Hlas, the contract will contain a partial guarantee, but the value of that guarantee is unknown at this time.
Cook, a early entry for the 2019 NBA Draft, averaged 14.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 2.4 APG in his junior year, while shooting 51.9% from the field. Unfortunately, Cook also posted a disappointing .143 three-point shooting percentage while in college, going 3-for-21 over three seasons in Iowa City.
Cook will not be joining the Nuggets for the 2019 NBA Summer League due to a high ankle sprain he suffered in a workout with the Pistons leading up to the draft, but he presumably expects to be ready for training camp. He worked out for the Nuggets back on May 22.
Five Key Stories: 6/15/19 – 6/22/19
If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
The Pelicans have reached an 
agreement to trade superstar big man Anthony Davis to the Lakers in exchange for guards Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, forward Brandon Ingram and three first-round picks, including the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft. As indicated below, the Pelicans then flipped the No. 4 overall pick to the Hawks for three additional top-35 picks and the removal of Solomon Hill‘s expiring contract from their books. The remaining two first-rounders include a 9-30 protected first-rounder in 2021, which becomes unprotected in 2022, and an unprotected first-rounder in 2024. Additionally, New Orleans will have the right to swap unprotected first-rounders in 2023 and the option to defer the 2024 pick until 2025. While this is quite an awfully large haul for the Lakers to give up, they immediately become championship contenders with Davis joining forces with LeBron James. While waiting to consummate the trade until July 30 would best suit the Lakers’ free agent capability, it appears as though the trade will become official on July 6, immediately after the July moratorium.
The Grizzlies and Jazz reached an agreement on a trade that will send standout point guard Mike Conley to Utah in exchange for Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, the No. 23 pick in this year’s draft (which Memphis used to move up and select Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke at No. 21), and the Jazz’ 2020 first-round pick. The 2020 first-rounder is protected for picks 1-7 and 15-30 in both 2020 and 2021, with lessened protections through 2024. The deal will be completed once the new league year begins in July, with Utah using cap room to absorb Conley’s $32.5MM salary. The Grizzlies are in position to create a massive $25MM traded player exception in the deal.
The relationship between Rockets guards James Harden and Chris Paul has been described by sources as “unsalvageable,” with neither future hall-of-famer interested in playing with the other any longer. General manager Daryl Morey has denied that Paul has requested a trade, but a plethora of reporting suggests that his may just be semantics, and that while Paul hasn’t technically requested a trade, he’s made it known he wants out. Apparently, the two stars not only dislike, but also have little respect for one another, which would seem to make it awfully difficult for the two to coexist moving forward.
As was widely expected, Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and R.J. Barrett went 1-2-3 to the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Knicks, respectively, in the 2019 NBA Draft. The big surprise of the night was Oregon’s Bol Bol, once reagrded as a top-5 prospect for his class, dropping all the way down to pick No. 44 in the second round.
As is customary on and around draft day every year, there were multiple trade agreements involving first round picks and/or current NBA players. Below are the most noteworthy of the bunch:
- The Pelicans have reached an agreement with the Hawks on a trade that will send the No. 4 overall pick (Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter), the 57th pick, a future second-round pick, and Solomon Hill‘s expiring contract to Atlanta in exchange for picks No. 8 (Texas’ Jaxson Hayes), No. 17 (Virginia Tech’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker), No. 35, and Cleveland’s heavily protected 2020 first-rounder
- The Timberwolves and Suns reached an agreement on a trade that will see the No. 6 overall selection (Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver) sent to Minnesota in exchange for the No. 11 pick (UNC’s Cameron Johnson) and forward Dario Saric.
- The Celtics have agreed to trade the No. 24 overall selection (Virginia’s Ty Jerome and big man Aron Baynes to the Suns in exchange for the Bucks’ 2020 first-round pick.
- In yet another move for the Suns, they traded forward T.J. Warren and the No. 32 overall pick to the Pacers in exchange for cash in what can only be considered a salary dump for Phoenix.
- In a cost-cutting move, the Bucks traded swingman Tony Snell and the No. 30 overall selection to the Pistons in exchange for forward Jon Leuer.
- The Sixers traded swingman Jonathon Simmons and the No. 42 overall pick to the Wizards for cash consideration.
Here are 12 more noteworthy headlines from the past week:
- Celtics center Al Horford will not pick up the 2019/20 player option on his contract, and Horford is likewise not expected to re-sign with the Celtics this summer.
- Pelicans forward Julius Randle will turn down his player option for next season and hit the free agent market.
- As expected, Bucks swingman Khris Middleton will opt out of his contract, declining his 2019/20 player option to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Kings forward Harrison Barnes has decided to turn down his player option for the 2019/20 season.
- Heat center Hassan Whiteside has opted in to the final season of his contract, where he will earn just under $27.1MM.
- Suns guard Tyler Johnson exercised his player option for the 2019/20 season. He will earn just over $19.2MM.
- Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has picked up his 2019/20 player option, which will see him earn $13MM next season.
- Mavericks big man Dwight Powell has officially exercised his player option for the 2019/20 season.
- The Nets will not make a qualifying offer to forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, thereby making him an unrestricted free agent.
- The Pelicans have picked up the 2020/21 team option for head coach Alvin Gentry.
- The Raptors and Clippers are still the frontrunners for the services of NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in free agency.
- The Pelicans exercised their team option on the $1.7MM contract of big man Jahlil Okafor.
Celtics Notes: Irving, Harrison, Free Agency
It seems pretty evident at this point that the Celtics and point guard Kyrie Irving will go their own ways this summer. And if prior reports weren’t enough to convince you, ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan’s report while appearing on the Hoop Collective podcast (h/t to Alexis Mansanarez of Sporting News) this week should do the trick.
Per MacMullan, by the time this past season ended, Irving had issues with the city of Boston itself, as well as head coach Brad Stevens, general manager Danny Ainge, and teammates Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown.
“I’ve been told this by many people: He didn’t like living in Boston,” MacMullan said. “He just didn’t. By the end, he had issues with Brad. By the end he had issues with Danny. By the end he had issues with pretty much all of us.”
There’s more news from Boston this weekend:
- With Al Horford poised to leave Boston in free agency and Aron Baynes in agreement to be traded to the Suns, the Celtics really need to focus on obtaining some more big men in free agency to help fill out the roster alongside Robert Williams and Guerschon Yabusele, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston.
- Should the Celtics strike out in free agency, a potential back-up plan is to absorb another team’s large, unwanted veteran contract with one season left on their deal in addition to attached future assets, per Brian Robb of Boston Sports Journal. One name that comes to mind is Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons.
- According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, free agent guard Aaron Harrison, who last played in the NBA for the Mavericks during the 2017/18 season, will join the Celtics for summer league play. Per Givony, Harrison is coming off an outstanding season in Turkey with Galatasaray, and he looks to be interested in turning that success into another NBA contract.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 6/15/19 – 6/22/19
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our segments and features from the past seven days:
- Arthur Hill and Chris Crouse made picks back-and-forth in this year’s 2019 NBA Mock Draft, correctly identifying the top 7 selections from the actual draft.
- Our Five Key Offseason Questions series focused on the following teams this week:
- We finished up our 2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest series with the NBA’s 2019 conference champions, the Golden State Warriors and NBA-champion Toronto Raptors.
- Chris Crouse also hosted a live chat during the 2019 NBA Draft. Check out the transcript, here.
- Our lone Community Shootaround discussion post this week addressed the draft, asking our readers to give us their initial assessments of the winners and losers from this year’s event.
Sixers Trade Jonathon Simmons, No. 42 Pick To Wizards
JUNE 21: The trade is official, according to a press release from the NBA.
JUNE 20: The Sixers are trading Jonathon Simmons and the No. 42 overall pick (Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield) to the Wizards for cash considerations, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, the Wizards are likely to acquire Simmons with the $6MM trade exception they created in the Otto Porter trade. Marks further notes that Simmons has $1MM in guaranteed salary for next season, with the $4.7MM in remaining salary for the 2019/20 season guaranteed if the 29-year-old guard is not waived by July 1.
The trade will enable the Sixers to create $1MM in more cap space in the unlikely event that Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris both leave in free agency.
Jazz Acquire No. 50 Pick From Pacers
JUNE 21: The trade is now official, according to an NBA press release. Indiana received a 2021 second-round pick and cash from the Jazz, tweets Agness.
JUNE 20: Scott Agness of The Athletic is reporting that the Pacers will trade the No. 50 pick in tonight’s draft to the Jazz in exchange for a future second-rounder.
It’s unclear what the incentive for Indiana was in the deal, but presumably the future pick is higher in the draft, or perhaps there is some cash going to the Pacers from the Jazz in addition to the future pick.
With the No. 50 selection, the Pacers selected Charleston forward Jarrell Brantley on behalf of the Jazz.
Lakers Acquire No. 46 Pick From Magic
11:07pm: The trade is official, according to the Magic, who announced that the pick they acquired is a 2020 second-rounder.
10:42pm: The Lakers, rumored to be interested in purchasing their way back into this year’s draft, have acquired the No. 46 overall pick from the Magic, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. The Magic will receive a future pick and cash considerations from the Lakers in return.
The Lakers need to get over the cap to finalize the Anthony Davis trade with the Pelicans in order to complete the deal on July 6.
With the No. 46 overall selection, the Magic selected Iowa State swingman Talen Horton-Tucker for the Lakers.
Is Pursuing A RFA Worth The Risk For Sixers?
The Sixers have said that their primary plan this summer is to re-sign both Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. But, it’s been reported that both players are open to looking at other options (the Clippers, Knicks, Lakers, and Nets come to mind).
If Butler or Harris end up signing elsewhere, Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon, Nets guard D’Angelo Russell, or Celtics guard Terry Rozier could be other options for Philadelphia. But, as Derek Bodner of The Athletic writes, pursuing a restricted free agent complicates matters.
In order to submit an offer sheet to Brogdon, Russell, or Rozier, the Sixers would first need to create the requisite cap space necessary to sign one of them. The cap holds of Butler and Harris combined with the 2019/20 salaries of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons eat up just under $88.5MM of a projected $109MM cap, leaving a little more than $20.5MM in cap space. Adding in the $1MM in guaranteed salary owed to Jonathan Simmons, the salaries for Zhaire Smith and Jonah Bolden, and six incomplete roster holds equates to about $99.6MM.
Therefore, even if the Sixers renounced all of their free agents besides Butler and Harris (which seems unlikely given they would ideally like to re-sign J.J. Redick as well), renounced all their exceptions, and traded the No. 24 overall pick, they’d still only have about $9.4MM in cap space, which is likely not enough to offer Brogdon, Russell, or Rozier a contract commensurate with their value.
As such, the Sixers would ultimately need to also renounce their rights to Harris or Butler in order to pursue one of the aforementioned guards. They won’t do this with Butler, so it would have to be Harris. But here’s the risk: even if the Sixers negotiate a deal with Brogdon, Russell, or Rozier right at 6:00pm on June 30, the Bucks, Nets, or Celtics (all Eastern Conference rivals to the Sixers) would have until 12:00pm on July 8 – two days after the July moratorium ends – to decide whether to match the Sixers’ offer for Brogdon.
In other words, the two-day deadline to match an offer sheet does not commence until the moratorium is over, and you can be sure Milwaukee, Boston, or Brooklyn would take all of their allotted time. During the time period between the Sixers’ agreement with Brogdon, Russell, or Rozier and the opposing team’s ultimate decision – 7 days and 18 hours – the Sixers’ cap space would be completely tied up. It’s entirely possible that both Harris and Redick sign elsewhere during this time, as deals often get done at a breakneck speed during the first week of free agency.
If the Bucks, Nets, or Celtics decline to match, no harm done. But what if they match the offer sheet? The Sixers are left with a relatively significant amount of cap space with no free agents left to sign. And even if Harris and Redick are still available, they may be frustrated/resentful by the Sixers’ decision to go after Brogdon, Russell, or Rozier at their expense.
Ultimately, a decision like this comes down to how much the Sixers like the player for whom they’re incurring the risk. If the Sixers think Brogdon, Russell, Rozier, or any other restricted free agent can put them over the top, the risk may be worthwhile. If the player being pursued is just another piece, however, the risk is probably too much to bear.