Kings Notes: Monk, DeRozan, Triano, Markkanen
Malik Monk might have found a better offer on the open market but he was content to stay with the Kings on a four-year, $78MM contract. Monk choose comfort over a few more dollar signs.
“It just felt right. Everything felt right,” Monk told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee and other media members. “I don’t go anywhere and feel uncomfortable. I go everywhere and feel comfortable, and that’s a home, I feel like, so I’m back.”
Monk might have received close to $25MM per year and a starting role with some teams. Instead, he’ll likely resume his role as sixth man on the Kings. Monk informed the team 10 days before free agency began that he was staying put.
“Being a team player,” Monk said. “I could have took my money somewhere, but it felt like home here. Letting the organization know early was the least I could do, for sure, because we need a few more pieces and they’re looking for a few more pieces, so I think they’re doing their job.”
We have more on the Kings:
- The Athletic’s John Hollinger is conflicted over the Kings’ decision to pursue a sign-and-trade for DeMar DeRozan. The addition of DeRozan probably doesn’t vault them into the top five in the Western Conference, even during the regular season, Hollinger opines. However, they’re too good to tank, so there’s nothing wrong with upgrading the team methodically for a future run at the title.
- The team’s recruitment of DeRozan included having Jay Triano, the Kings’ lead assistant coach and DeRozan’s first NBA head coach, at the airport, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. De’Aaron Fox also played a key role in DeRozan’s recruitment. DeRozan agreed to a three-year, $74MM deal with the third season partially guaranteed.
- In the same story, Slater notes that the Kings made a strong pitch early last week to acquire the Jazz’sLauri Markkanen in a trade. However, they were unwilling to give up Keegan Murray in a proposed deal. Instead, they made a substantial picks-based offer. They put a deadline on pursuing a trade with Utah and the Jazz didn’t meet it. There’s growing skepticism league-wide that Jazz executive Danny Ainge will actually move Markkanen, Slater adds.
Spurs Officially Sign Chris Paul
The Spurs have officially signed 11-time All-NBA guard Chris Paul, according to a team press release relayed by ESPN’s Andrew Lopez (Twitter link).
Paul’s intention to sign with San Antonio was made public a week ago. The contract will reportedly be a one-year deal worth more than $11MM.
Paul was waived by the Warriors at the start of free agency. The 12-time All-Star figures to be a natural, if short-term, pick-and-roll partner for Victor Wembanyama.
Paul came off the bench a majority of the season for Golden State but will likely start for the Spurs. San Antonio used a variety of players to initiate the offense in Wembanyama’s rookie season with Tre Jones getting a majority of the starts at that position. Still, given that the Spurs seemed reluctant to make Jones their starter and didn’t do so until January, it seems unlikely that he would get the nod in next year’s starting five over the veteran Paul.
San Antonio’s cap space gave it an advantage over some other potential suitors for Paul. Golden State had to make a decision prior to free agency whether to guarantee Paul’s $30MM salary for the 2024/25 season. The Warriors were unsuccessful in their attempts to include Paul’s contract in a blockbuster deal, including a potential swap with the Clippers for Paul George.
Paul, who turned 39 in May, remained productive in 2023/24, averaging 9.2 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per game in 58 appearances (18 starts) for the Warriors. He posted a shooting line of .441/.371/.827.
Heat’s Bam Adebayo Signs Three-Year Max Extension
JULY 6: Adebayo has officially signed his maximum-salary extension with the Heat, the team announced in a press release. It includes a player option for the 2028/29 season, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
JUNE 26: Heat big man Bam Adebayo intends to sign a three-year contract extension, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reports (Twitter link). It’ll be a maximum-salary extension, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Adebayo has two years left on his contract. He’s due to make $34,848,340 next season and $37,096,620 in 2025/26. The extension would take the 26-year-old through the 2028/29 season. He can sign the deal on July 6, by league rule, according to Reynolds.
Adebayo averaged 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game this past season. His value goes well beyond offensive numbers. The Heat star has made the NBA’s All-Defensive team in each of the last five seasons, earning a First Team selection for the first time in 2023/24.
Adebayo could have waited until next offseason with the hope of making an All-NBA team or winning Defensive Player of the Year. In that scenario, he would have become eligible for a five-year super-max extension worth as much as $346MM, cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes (Twitter link).
Assuming a $141MM cap in 2024/25, with 10% raises in each of the next two seasons, Adebayo would earn a $51,183,000 in 2026/27; $55,277,640 in ’27/28; and $59,372,280 in ’28/29, for a total of $165,832,920.
While those salary numbers are eye-popping, Adebayo could have been eligible for even bigger salaries had he delayed an extension with the aim of making an All-NBA team, so this could turn out to be a team-friendly deal. Adebayo, who turns 27 next month, has spent his entire seven-year career with Miami.
Magic Renegotiate, Extend Jonathan Isaac’s Contract
JULY 6: The renegotiation and extension of Isaac’s contract is now official, the Magic announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), Orlando bumped up Isaac’s salary to $25MM this season. That figure will be fully guaranteed, as will his $15MM salary in 2025/26. His $14.5MM salary in ’26/27 will be partially guaranteed for $8MM, while the last two years ($15MM and $14.5MM, respectively) will be non-guaranteed.
In total, it appears the forward received $66.6MM in new money and $84MM overall (including his original $17.4MM salary for the coming season). Of that $84MM, $48MM is guaranteed.
JULY 2: The Magic have agreed to renegotiate and extend Jonathan Isaac‘s contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who tweets that the deal will be for five years and $84MM.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports first reported on Monday that the Magic were exploring a renegotiation and extension for the veteran forward.
Isaac had a non-guaranteed $17.4MM salary for next season, which was due to be fully guaranteed in January, so his new deal likely includes $66MM+ in new money.
The breakdown for the deal hasn’t been made public yet, but a team is permitted to use cap room to renegotiate a contract in order to give a player a current-year raise and Orlando has a chunk of room left over following a series of free agent agreements with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Moritz Wagner, Goga Bitadze, and Gary Harris.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Renegotiations]
The Magic could reduce Isaac’s salary by up to 40% in the first year of an extension, so it looks like they’ll essentially give him a bonus this season in order to lock him up to a more team-friendly (possibly descending) deal beginning in 2025/26.
The No. 6 pick of the 2017 draft, Isaac missed two seasons and most of the 2022/23 campaign while recovering from a torn ACL. He appeared in 58 games last season and averaged 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks to help Orlando reach the playoffs. He also appeared in seven postseason contests, including three starts, while averaging 6.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.
A talented, versatile defender, Isaac will once again back up at the power forward spot and can also slide over to the center position.
It’s unclear whether or not Isaac’s new extension will include injury-related language protecting the team like his current deal did, but it at least seems unlikely that all four years will be fully guaranteed.
Lakers Sign Blake Hinson, Armel Traore To Two-Way Deals
July 4: The two-way contracts for Hinson and Traore are official, per NBA.com’s transactions log. Hinson received a two-year deal, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
June 27: The Lakers have reached two-way contract agreements with Pittsburgh’s Blake Hinson and French forward Armel Traore, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports (Twitter links). Both players went undrafted.
Hinson, a 6’8” wing, played two seasons with the Panthers after a two-season stay at Ole Miss. He also spent some time at Iowa State but didn’t play there.
Hinson, 24, put up impressive stats in his senior year, averaging 18.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He shot 45.4% from the field and 42.1% on three-point attempts. The three-point shooting came at a high volume — he averaged 7.9 attempts per game.
Traore, 21, played for Ada Blois in the LNB Pro A league last season. He averaged 10.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He posted 16 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block in a game against the G League Ignite last summer. Traore profiles as a potential three-and-D wing.
Atlantic Notes: Brissett, Springer, Walsh, Gordon, Knicks Rotation
The Celtics have one remaining roster spot after agreeing to re-sign Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman. The team has interest in bringing back wing Oshae Brissett, who declined his $2.5MM player option. However, Brissett is still seeking out another team that can offer more playing time, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reports.
The Celtics still have the option to bring back Brissett on a veteran’s minimum deal or with Non-Bird rights.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- In the same story, Himmelsbach reports that Jaden Springer and Jordan Walsh are expected to be on the Celtics’ Summer League roster. Current two-way player Drew Peterson, former two-way player JD Davison, draft picks Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson, and possibly Neemias Queta could also participate.
- Eric Gordon is playing for the Bahamas in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Spain. Gordon said his decision to sign with the Sixers on a minimum-salary deal was based partly on their chances of winning a title, Ben Istvan of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. “Sixers fans should be happy,” the veteran guard said. “We’re going to be a team to be reckoned with, and we look forward to trying to win a championship next year.”
- In a subscriber-only story, the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy takes a look at how the Knicks’ rotation might shake out with the addition of Mikal Bridges.
Southwest Notes: Green, Morris, Thompson, Sengun
Klay Thompson‘s departure to Dallas broke up Golden State’s longtime big three. It almost happened last summer, according to Draymond Green. In an episode of his podcast (Twitter video link), Green revealed that he briefly thought he would be joining the Grizzlies as a free agent in 2023.
“I called Klay, and I called Steph (Curry), separate calls, and Steve (Kerr) and I was just telling them like ‘Yo, I’m leaving. I’m going to Memphis,’” he said.
Green wound up re-signing with the Warriors on a four-year, $100MM contract.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Free agent Markieff Morris hinted on Twitter (link) he’s planning to return to the Mavericks. “I’m coming back. I want bro to come with me,” he said in a reply to a fan urging him to re-sign with Dallas. His “bro,” naturally, is Marcus Morris, who is also a free agent. Markieff Morris, 34, appeared in 26 regular-season games and one postseason contest last season.
- Thompson’s decision to join the Mavericks ends a lengthy history of the franchise falling short in its efforts to attract quality free agents, The Athletic’s Tim Cato opines. The reason why Thompson wanted to go there is that the franchise’s image has changed. There’s a newfound belief that Dallas offers a family atmosphere and comfort alongside its basketball success, Cato concludes.
- The Rockets could follow the Sixers’ blueprint for creating max cap space, John Hollinger of The Athletic writes. If they forgo rookie scale extensions for Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun and keep cap holds on the duo next offseason as restricted free agents, Houston can make other roster moves to generate max or near-max cap space. The Rockets would have to decline team options on Fred VanVleet and Aaron Holiday and waive Jock Landale to do so, Hollinger writes. The Sixers put Tyrese Maxey‘s extension on hold until this summer and cleared as much space as possible. They wound up winning the Paul George sweepstakes.
Second-Round Pick Mogbo Agrees To Three-Year Deal With Raptors
The Raptors have agreed to a three-year, $6.11MM contract with forward Jonathan Mogbo, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports (Twitter link).
It’s the maximum amount allowed under the current CBA’s second-round exception, as our breakdown shows. Mogbo will earn about $1.86MM as a rookie, which is equivalent to this year’s minimum salary for a player who already has one year of NBA experience. The third year will be a team option.
Mogbo played last season with San Francisco, averaging 14.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks. With the draft split into two rounds last month, Mogbo was the first pick of the second round.
Toronto resisted offers for the pick because they liked Mogbo’s versatility. He’s also a childhood friend of franchise player Scottie Barnes.
Under the previous CBA, over-the-cap teams would have needed to use a chunk of their mid-level exception to give a second-round pick like Mogbo a third year, as we outline in our glossary entry on the second-round pick exception.
Mason Plumlee Signs One-Year Deal With Suns
JULY 3: Plumlee has officially signed with the Suns, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
JUNE 30: The Suns have reached a one-year agreement with free agent center Mason Plumlee, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. He’ll be signing for the 10-year veteran’s minimum worth approximately $3.3MM, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
Phoenix entered the market looking for frontcourt depth after Drew Eubanks declined his player option in order to test the free agent waters.
Plumlee will be playing for his seventh team since entering the league during the 2013/14 season. He has had stints with Brooklyn, Portland, Denver, Detroit, Charlotte and the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Hornets dealt him to the Clippers at the 2023 trade deadline. This past season, Plumlee appeared in 46 games (11 starts) and averaged 5.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 14.7 minutes per game.
Plumlee is a traditional center who doesn’t venture outside the arc but he’s always been a solid rebounder, passer and screener. A notoriously poor free throw shooter, he’s improved in that aspect during the last two seasons. Plumlee sank 70.7% of his attempts last season.
Phoenix is operating over the second tax apron and can only offer minimum deals to free agents. The Clippers will now be looking for a replacement for Plumlee.
Central Notes: Smith, LaVine, Mitchell, Rivers, Bucks’ Staff, Wright
On the surface, the Bulls’ three-year agreement with free agent Jalen Smith may not seem like a big deal. But The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry believes the former Pacers big man could be due for a breakout season.
Smith fits into the Bulls’ aim of getting younger and more athletic. He’s adept at rim-running and offensive rebounding and he’ll improve their interior defense, Mayberry writes, adding that Smith could even become the starter if Nikola Vucevic is dealt.
We have more from the Central Division:
- An NBA insider tells The Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley that the relationship between Zach LaVine and the Bulls’ top brass is completely shattered and “filled with mistrust.” The Bulls are trying hard to move LaVine and his big contract. If they fail in those efforts before training camp, the front office and ownership would consider that the worst-case scenario.
- With the Cavaliers getting Donovan Mitchell to agree to an extension, the gamble they made in agreeing to that blockbuster 2022 deal with Utah has paid off for the team and the city, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic opines. Mitchell’s presence in the Cleveland lineup will keep it in contention for the foreseeable future, he adds.
- The Bucks have salary-cap issues and will have to rely more on their younger players to fill in the gaps. Coach Doc Rivers isn’t fazed by that prospect, he told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We wanted young talent. We did,” Rivers said. “We think that skill development in our league is becoming more and more important. The more of the young talent you can get to bring up with the veteran talent, the better. And that’s what we’re going to do all summer. Free agency is here right now, and now we’re looking for other guys, more veterans, to add to the mix. I like the mix of guys I think we’re going to end up with and it’s exactly the ratio that we want right now.”
- The Bucks have finalized their coaching staff, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. The Bucks have hired Darvin Ham, Greg Buckner, Jason Love and Spencer Rivers as additions to the staff this summer. Dave Joerger, Rex Kalamian, Pete Dominguez, Joe Prunty and Vin Baker will remain on Rivers’ staff.
- The Bucks are adding veteran guard Delon Wright on a one-year deal and Nehm takes a closer look at what he could bring to the rotation.