Hawks Re-Sign Seth Lundy On Two-Way Deal
The Hawks have signed wing Seth Lundy to a two-way contract, according to a team press release.
The 46th overall pick in the 2023 draft after a four-year college career at Penn State, Lundy spent last season on a two-way contract with the Hawks. He appeared in nine games with Atlanta and 25 contests with the College Park Skyhawks.
Atlanta extended a qualifying offer to Lundy in late June, the equivalent of another two-way deal. He may have simply accepted that offer rather than negotiating a new two-way deal.
Lundy averaged just 5.8 minutes in his nine NBA appearances. In those 25 G League games (23 starts), the 6’4″ guard/forward averaged 20.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in 32.6 minutes. He shot 46.2% from the field and 40% on 3-point attempts.
The 24-year-old underwent ankle surgery in mid-May. The left ankle procedure removed a medial ankle bone spur.
Lundy won’t play in the Summer League but the expectation is that he’ll make a full recovery in time for the start of next season.
Timberwolves Sign Jesse Edwards To Two-Way Contract
The Timberwolves have signed center Jesse Edwards to a two-way contract, according to the NBA transactions log. The team has confirmed the signing in a press release.
Edwards participated in both the G League Elite Camp and the NBA’s combine but went undrafted last month. The 24-year-old spent four seasons at Syracuse, then finished up his college career at West Virginia. He played 23 games for the Mountaineers and averaged 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 28.3 minutes per game.
In his last season with the Orange, the seven-f00t Edwards averaged 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 32.6 minutes while making 32 starts.
The Amsterdam native suited up for the Netherlands Senior National Team during the 2023 World Cup qualifying tournament and the 2022 EuroBasket tournament.
The Timberwolves also have 2023 draft pick Jaylen Clark on a two-way deal but still have another slot available.
Pistons Claim Paul Reed Off Waivers
The Pistons are claiming former Sixers big man Paul Reed off waivers, The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweets. The Pistons have confirmed the move in a press release (Twitter link).
Reed was placed on waivers on Saturday when Philadelphia chose to sign free agent forward Caleb Martin. He had been due to clear waivers and become a free agent at 4:00 pm CT if he had gone unclaimed.
The Pistons will use some of their available cap room to claim Reed, who signed a three-year, $23,555,150 contract last summer with Philadelphia. Only the first year was guaranteed — his $7.7MM salary for next season remains non-guaranteed until early January, and his $8.1MM salary for 2025/26 will stay non-guaranteed as long as his team doesn’t advance to the second round of the playoffs.
The Pistons could retain Reed to compete with or back up incumbent center Jalen Duren, use Reed as a trade chip, or waive him again if they need to clear cap room to make another move.
Reed has evolved into a serviceable backup in the frontcourt over the past few seasons. In 2023/24, he averaged 7.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 1.0 blocks, appearing in all 82 of Philadelphia’s regular season games.
Northwest Notes: Murray, Hartenstein, Holmgren, Clark, Kessler, Saric
Jamal Murray and the Nuggets were reportedly progressing toward a four-year max extension agreement in late June. So what’s the holdup?
According to The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando, extension talks between the front office and the Nuggets’ point guard are temporarily on the backburner while Murray preparies for the Paris Olympics with Team Canada. The two sides will likely finalize an agreement after the Olympics are done, Durando adds. The only potential stumbling block could occur if Murray suffers a significant injury prior to signing an extension.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- New Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein is impressed by how the team has methodically been built into a potential powerhouse in the Western Conference, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. “I think they were doing it the right way,” said Hartenstein, who left the Knicks and signed a three-year, $87MM contract with OKC. “I feel like they weren’t trying to rush steps. I think every year you kind of saw them take the next step. I think every time you see them go on the court, there’s a certain competitiveness always to them. They’re very excited for each other, and I think in the NBA you don’t have that a lot where no matter who’s doing good, the whole team is excited for each other.”
- The Thunder‘s additions of Hartenstein and Alex Caruso should benefit Chet Holmgren, Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustated opines. Holmgren will have more freedom to show off his passing and play-making skills. It also opens up opportunities for Holmgren to play alongside another big man.
- The Timberwolves’ Jaylen Clark has been cleared to play in the Summer League after recovering last season from a ruptured left Achilles tendon, the team announced in a press release. Minnesota drafted Clark in the second round last year despite Clark’s injury, which he suffered while playing for UCLA. Clark told Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune he can be a defensive factor in the league. “I just want to re-establish myself as the best defender in my class,” he said. “I can guard way bigger than what I am, and I’ve improved my jump shot a whole bunch. I’m going to try to break the steals record like I did at my college.”
- Given his strong rookie season, Walker Kessler might seem a little out of place on the Jazz‘s Summer League squad. After a disappointing sophomore campaign, the third-year center wants to reestablish himself as a major defensive factor. He told the Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen that improving his body had been his No. 1 overall focus in the two months since the season ended. “I’m going into it with the mentality of, ‘I’m gonna be dominant.’ I’m gonna show what I’ve been working on and I’m looking forward to it,” Kessler said.
- The Nuggets viewed Dario Saric as a top-priority target and reached an agreement with the big man on a two-year, $10.6MM deal. Saric was unsure if he wanted to play in the NBA or Europe next season before choosing the Nuggets, according to Durando. Multiple NBA teams showed interest in him, as well as the Greek club Panathinaikos, but the Nuggets felt confident about landing Saric.
- The Timberwolves are looking toward rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr., 2023 second-round pick Leonard Miller and 2022 second-rounder Josh Minott to compete for rotation spots next season, according to Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “We got some holes right away that need to be plugged and there’s no doubt that they’re going to have to be filled by young players, whether it be these two guys [Dillingham and Shannon] or guys that have already been in the system, in the gym,” coach Chris Finch said. “That’s what we need to do. We’re excited about that challenge and we’re looking forward to these guys stepping up to it.”
New York Notes: Nets Rebuild, Bridges, Thomas, Brunson, Hartenstein
With the stash of assets acquired in the Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Mikal Bridges deals, Nets general manager Sean Marks doesn’t think the franchise will require a lengthy rebuild, according to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press.
“This build, do I think it’s going to take time? I mean, I think we’ll be strategic in it,” he said. “But I do think being in this market, with this amount of draft assets, we’ve done it before. And so again, I think, not that it’s going to be expedited by any means, but I don’t think it’s a long process, either.”
Marks clarified that Bridges did not request a trade, adding that New York’s offer was so strong, he couldn’t pass it up. Reports at the time of the deal suggested the forward was interested in joining the Knicks but didn’t necessarily ask to be traded there.
“I think it’s been reported that Mikal wanted to leave or requested a trade. That could not be further from the truth,” Marks said. “That’s just not in Mikal’s character. That’s not who he is and that definitely did not happen. He was told by me when I called him and let him know that we’re at the two-yard line.”
We have more on the New York teams:
- Nets guard Cam Thomas has joined Octagon as his representative, the agency tweets. Thomas is extension eligible this offseason, otherwise he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer. Thomas averaged 22.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 66 games last season.
- Jalen Brunson is pondering whether to sign an extension this summer, Fred Katz of The Athletic reports. Brunson could opt for long-term security now, instead of taking any chances by waiting until next offseason. He’s also well aware of how the new tax aprons could hamper the Knicks’ ability to make future moves. However, while he could ink a four-year extension this offseason worth around $156.5MM, he would be eligible to sign a max five-year contract worth a projected $269.1MM next summer. New York can put its extension offer on the table as early as this Friday and Brunson knows it’s coming, Katz writes.
- With Isaiah Hartenstein in Oklahoma City and several free agent centers already committed to other teams, where can the Knicks find depth in the middle? The New York Post’s Peter Botte takes a look at some other free agent big men still available, along with potential trades the front office could pursue to fill that need.
Grizzlies Sign Second-Round Pick Cam Spencer To Two-Way Deal
The Grizzlies have signed second-round pick Cam Spencer to a two-way contract, the team’s PR department tweets.
Memphis acquired Spencer’s draft rights in a four-team swap that featured the Pistons, Timberwolves and Raptors.
Spencer played a major role in UConn’s second consecutive national championship after transferring from Rutgers.
The No. 53 pick in the draft, Spencer started all 40 games for UConn last season and averaged 14.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 32.8 minutes. The 24-year-old, who was selected First Team All-Big East, shot 48.4% from the field, 44.0% from 3-point range and 91.1% from the free throw line.
Spencer fills the Grizzlies’ final open two-way slot. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Trey Jemison occupy the other two-way spots.
Kings Officially Acquire DeRozan, Spurs Get Barnes In Three-Team Swap
The blockbuster three-team deal involving DeMar DeRozan and Harrison Barnes is official, according to a Spurs press release, Kings press release, and Bulls press release.
The Spurs acquired Barnes from the Kings. In addition, San Antonio received the right to swap first-round picks with the Kings in 2031 while sending two-way player RaiQuan Gray to Chicago.
Additionally, the Spurs are waiving Charles Bassey to complete the trade, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. However, San Antonio is exploring ways to bring Bassey back in the fold.
Sacramento acquired DeRozan from the Bulls while sending Chris Duarte, two second-round picks and cash considerations to Chicago, along with Barnes and the 2031 pick swap to San Antonio.
The Bulls will waive Gray, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets.
The deal is a sign-and-trade for DeRozan, who ranked sixth on our list of the top 50 free agents for this summer. His new contract is worth approximately $76MM over three years, according to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link), who adds that the first two seasons are fully guaranteed with a partial guarantee for the final year.
The contract includes $49MM in guaranteed money over the first two seasons, per Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter link). It also features bonuses for being named an All-Star, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
The trade leaves the Kings hard-capped at the $178.1MM first apron, per cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Sacramento will also create a $5.9MM trade exception in the deal, Gozlan adds.
The 34-year-old DeRozan was extremely productive during his three seasons in Chicago, averaging 25.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game and finishing near the top in the Clutch Player of the Year balloting the past two seasons.
The six-time All-Star will now team with De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk and Keegan Murray on what should be one of the league’s most exciting offenses. The Kings will be counting on that group to lead them back to the playoffs after being eliminated in the play-in tournament last season.
Parting with DeRozan is the latest step in an offseason roster shakeup in Chicago, which has already traded Alex Caruso and lost Andre Drummond in free agency. The Bulls are shifting to a younger and less expensive roster in hopes of eventually rebuilding into a more competitive team.
Duarte, a 27-year-old swingman with three years of NBA experience, is the latest addition, but it’s uncertain how large his role will be. He appeared in 59 games with Sacramento last season, but averaged just 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per night.
Duarte is under contract for one more season at $5.9MM and is eligible for an extension through October 21. Chicago will create a significant trade exception in the deal $17.6MM trade exception in the deal, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).
Barnes joins Chris Paul as veteran offseason additions in San Antonio. The 32-year-old is extremely durable, playing in all 82 games the past two seasons. He can handle either forward spot and he figures to get plenty of open looks alongside Paul and Victor Wembanyama. Barnes averaged 12.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists last season with .474/.387/.801 shooting stats.
The Spurs will use their cap space to absorb Barnes’ $18MM salary for the upcoming season, Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps write in a full story on the trade. Barnes will make $19MM in 2025/26 before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Barnes’ contract includes a $3.7MM trade kicker that Sacramento will be responsible for, Marks adds (Twitter link), broken up into $1.85MM for each of the next two seasons. That number could be negotiated down, but only with Barnes’ consent.
Knicks Sign Ariel Hukporti On Two-Way Deal
8:06pm: The signing is official, the team’s PR department tweets. It’s a one-year deal, The Athletic’s Fred Katz tweets.
6:04pm: The Knicks are signing the last pick of the draft, Ariel Hukporti, to a two-way contract, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports (Twitter link).
The German-born big man spent the 2023/24 season in Australia with Melbourne United, averaging 8.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 1.5 BPG in 28 games (18.4 MPG).
New York made multiple trades in the second round and wound up with the final pick in the draft, where it snagged Hukporti. All of the Knicks’ two-way slots are open, though they have a two-way qualifying offer on the table for Jacob Toppin.
Pelicans Sign Yves Missi To Rookie Scale Contract
The Pelicans have signed first-round pick Yves Missi to a rookie scale contract, according to the NBA transactions log. The Pelicans confirmed the signing via a press release.
Missi, a big man out of Baylor, was the 21st pick of the draft. Assuming he received the maximum 120% of this year’s rookie scale salaries, Missi will make $3,193,200 in his first season. He can earn a total of $15,654,827 over the next four seasons.
Rookie scale contracts are guaranteed for the first two years, with team options on the third and fourth years.
In his lone college season, Missi averaged 10.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 22.9 minutes per game while appearing in 34 contests, including 32 starts.
With the departure of Jonas Valanciunas, Missi has an opportunity to earn minutes in his rookie campaign.
LeBron Was Willing To Give Bigger Discount For Impact Player
LeBron James took less than the maximum in his latest two-year contract with the Lakers in order to give the front office more financial flexibility. He cited his strong “working relationship” with the club in an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“We are in a relationship and anybody knows relationships, [knows that] it’s all about committing,” James said. “It’s also about doing things to help both sides. So, we’ve been in a working relationship going on seven years … so that’s what it’s about.”
According to McMenamin, James left nearly $3MM on the table in order to help L.A. avoid the second tax apron. James, who opted out of his previous contract prior to free agency, signed his two-year pact over the weekend.
Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, James’agent, told McMenamin that James was willing to take even less money to open up the $12.9MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception for the Lakers to use to try to sign an “impact player.” The players that they hoped could be attainable for the mid-level or via sign-and-trade included Klay Thompson, James Harden, Jonas Valanciunas and DeMar DeRozan. The Lakers weren’t able to land any of them.
“It takes two to tango,” James said. “I think our front office, our coaching staff, they tried to do the job that they wanted to do or tried to get guys to come and it didn’t happen. And that’s OK. That’s part of the business. I’ve been in this business long enough to know that sometimes it happens, sometimes it don’t. So we don’t sit here and lie about or cry about it. We move on and Klay’s a great player. Obviously DeMar’s a great player. Valanciunas was one of those guys who ended up going to Washington, was someone that was in talks with us, but we move on to see how we continue to get better.”
Unless they make a trade down the road, Lakers are basically running it back with virtually the same roster. Yet, James isn’t discouraged.
“We’ve done it before and we still have two guys who commit every single day with myself and (Anthony Davis). We commit to excellence and commit to win,” he said. “And we feel like any situation, any given year, we can put ourselves in a position to be able to succeed. And we’re not that far off. We were one year removed from the Western Conference Finals. Obviously, this year it didn’t go as well this past year. Didn’t go as well as we would like, but we’re not that far off.”
Of course, James has another reason to feel good about the front office. The Lakers drafted son Bronny James in the second round, which touched off a wave of criticism that he was undeserving of being selected. However, LeBron says his son simply ignores the outside noise.
“I don’t know if people really understand Bronny,” he said. “He doesn’t care. I actually care a little bit. When I came in [as a rookie], I wanted people to like me and some of the things that people were saying about me kind of bothered me early on in my career. … He doesn’t give a (bleep). He does not care about nobody. He doesn’t even listen to that stuff. He’s like the coolest. He’s like the complete opposite of his dad.