Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 6/30/2022
The transcript from our weekly live Thursday chat can be found here.
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Rockets Decline Jae’Sean Tate’s Option, Issue QO
JUNE 29: The Rockets have declined their option on Tate and issued him a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
It’s an unexpected move, given that Tate would have been extension-eligible if Houston had picked up his option and would still have been on track for restricted free agency in 2023 if the two sides hadn’t agreed to a new deal.
Presumably, the decision signals the Rockets are confident they’ll be able to lock up Tate to a new multiyear contract on terms they like. Charania says the two sides have “mutual interest” in reaching an agreement.
JUNE 25: As anticipated, the Rockets are picking up the option on Jae’Sean Tate‘s contract for next season, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Tate will earn $1,782,621 next season, according to Spotrac.
It was a mere formality that Houston would exercise that option on a rotation player. Tate started 77 of 78 games in which he appeared last season, averaging 11.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 2.8 APG.
Tate will now be a restricted free agent next summer.
Bulls Center Tony Bradley Opts In For 2022/23
JUNE 29: Bradley’s opt-in is official, according to RealGM’s transactions log.
JUNE 28: Bulls center Tony Bradley is exercising his $2MM player option for next season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Bradley’s decision has some cap implications, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks explains (Twitter link). Chicago now has 11 players on guaranteed contracts totaling $103MM.
However, Zach LaVine‘s $29.25MM cap hold moves the Bulls over the salary cap threshold. Assuming LaVine re-signs on a maximum-salary deal, the Bulls would have the full $10.5MM mid-level exception available, but using all of it would likely push them into luxury tax territory.
Bradley’s exact opt-in salary is $2,036,318, less than the projected minimum of $2,104,726 he could receive if he declines the option and signs a new deal. That suggests Bradley wasn’t confident about receiving another guaranteed contract in free agency.
Bradley, who entered the league during the 2017/18 season, appeared in 55 regular season games last season, including seven starts. He averaged 3.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 10.0 MPG.
Central Notes: Pacers Rookies, Stephenson, Cavs’ Targets, Sexton, Garland
The Pacers wound up with three players in the draft — lottery pick Bennedict Mathurin and second-rounders Andrew Nembhard and Kendall Brown. Team president Kevin Pritchard has high hopes for the trio, Bob Kravitz of The Athletic writes.
“One of the things I’m absolutely convinced of, these three young men will be a part of this organization for a long time,” Pritchard said. “We wanted to get more athletic, more dynamic and bring some intelligence. All three demonstrated that athleticism and drive to win. The one common denominator is, they all love to play.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- The Pacers shouldn’t bring back free agent Lance Stephenson, James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star argues. Stephenson is most comfortable with the ball in his hands and the team has an overload of guards and wings — most notably Tyrese Haliburton, T.J. McConnell and Chris Duarte — who are ballhandlers. They added two more in the draft.
- Ricky Rubio, Delon Wright and Tyus Jones are some of the free agents the Cavaliers might consider to back up starting point guard Darius Garland, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic writes.
- Collin Sexton has received a qualifying offer from the Cavaliers, making him a restricted free agent. Garland, who like Sexton is represented by Rich Paul, likes Sexton personally and wants to continue playing with him in Cleveland, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Pacific Notes: Wall, George, Mutombo, Ayers, Looney, Payton II, Kings
John Wall is expected to sign with the Clippers once he clears waivers and he’ll be joining a close friend in Los Angeles, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times writes. Paul George formed a strong bond with Wall early in their NBA careers and they’ve both dealt with major injuries.
“He’s somebody I’m always going to root for,” George said during Wall’s first season in Houston. “He’s a brother to me, and I couldn’t be more happy to see him back on the floor and doing what he loves to do, and continuing to make those plays that everyone loves him for.” Wall didn’t get a chance to make those plays last season as he sat out while Houston developed its young backcourt.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- The Suns officially announced the addition of Patrick Mutombo as an assistant to head coach Monty Williams in a press release. Phoenix’s decision to hire Mutombo was reported two weeks ago. Mutombo joins Phoenix following two seasons as the head coach of the Raptors’ G League affiliate, Raptors 905. The Suns also announced that Randy Ayers will transition from assistant coach to coaching advisor on the team’s staff.
- Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II are considered top tier priorities among the Warriors’ own free agents, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Johnson breaks down all of the team’s free agents into tiers, with Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica at the second level.
- The Kings decided to exercise their option on Trey Lyles but they could still seek forward depth in free agency. James Ham of the Kings Beat breaks down 12 potential targets, including T.J. Warren and Derrick Jones Jr.
Heat Willing To Give Tucker Guaranteed Three-Year Deal
The Heat are willing to give impending free agent P.J. Tucker a guaranteed three-year deal but don’t want to invest their full mid-level exception on the veteran forward, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.
Using the full mid-level ($10.3MM) would push Miami into a hard cap situation, which would seriously curtail its ability to make other moves. The Heat instead plan to offer Tucker the maximum allowable three years using the Non-Bird exception. The contract would include a starting salary of $8.4MM and would be worth about $26.5MM in total.
Tucker is declining his $7.35MM option in order to enter unrestricted free agency. The Sixers have emerged as the frontrunners for Tucker, reportedly ready to offer him a three-year contract worth $27MM with incentives that could increase the value to $30MM.
If the non-taxpayer mid-level exception is used on Tucker, the Heat would only be able to offer restricted free agent Caleb Martin or any outside free agent their $4.1MM bi-annual exception or a minimum-salary deal, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald notes.
Pistons To Decline Options On Garza, Edwards
The Pistons will not pick up the team options of center Luka Garza and guard Carsen Edwards, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets.
The option on Garza, a second-r0und pick last season, is worth $1,563,518. The option figure for Edwards, who joined the Pistons late last season, is $1,815,677.
Edwards also confirms that Detroit will decline the $3,150,000 option on Frank Jackson‘s contract, which he previously reported was likely.
Technically, Detroit could make Garza and Edwards restricted free agents by extending qualifying offers, but that’s unlikely given the team could have retained either player at a low-cost figure. The Pistons are projected to have more cap space than any other team in free agency and these moves open up a little more room to make a splash.
Garza, who starred at Iowa, appeared in 32 games (five starts) last season, averaging 5.8 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 12.2 MPG. The addition of lottery pick Jalen Duren increased the possibility that Garza would be let go.
Edwards spent the bulk of last season in the G League before appearing in four games with Detroit in April.
Hornets’ Bouknight Undergoes Hand Surgery
Hornets guard James Bouknight underwent surgery on Monday to repair a tendon in his fifth digit on his right hand, the team announced in a press release.
Bouknight will not participate in the summer league next month.
The 11th pick of last year’s draft, Bouknight had a disappointing rookie campaign. He only made 31 appearances last season, averaging 4.6 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 8.9 MPG. He missed games due to wrist, neck and elbow injuries.
He also had a sideline altercation with now former head coach James Borrego in early February.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Brandon Valentine at Novant Health Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital in consultation with Hornets team physician Dr. Marcus Cook.
John Wall Finalizes Buyout, Intends To Join Clippers
JUNE 28: The Rockets have officially announced their buyout agreement with Wall, issuing a statement thanking him for his professionalism and wishing him the best. The point guard is now on track to clear waivers on Thursday.
JUNE 27: John Wall is finalizing a buyout with the Rockets and will become an unrestricted free agent, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Wall’s agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports is meeting with Rockets GM Rafael Stone on Tuesday to complete the buyout, sources told Haynes.
Wall intends to joins the Clippers once he clears waivers, though other teams are also calling, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
There had been momentum toward a buyout or trade after Wall picked up his $47.4MM player option for the 2022/23 season last week. The size of Wall’s contract made it very difficult to find a suitable trade partner.
Wall is giving back $6.5MM in order to part ways with Houston and sign with the team of his choice, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. That’s approximately the same amount as a taxpayer mid-level exception, which suggests that’s likely what he’ll get from the Clippers, MacMahon adds (via Twitter).
Wall has played in just 72 regular season contests since the 2017/2018 season. He put up solid numbers during 40 games with Houston in ’20/21, averaging 20.6 PPG and 6.9 APG, though he shot a career-worst 40.4% from the field. His production peaked in ’16/17, when he averaged 23.1 and 10.7 APG for Washington. His career was sidetracked by heel surgery and a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Last season, the rebuilding Rockets, who were intent on starting a young starting backcourt of Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr., reached an agreement with Wall to allow him to remain away from the team. Wall collected $44.3MM during his agreed-upon exile.
Western Notes: Looney, Payton, Wolves, Mavs’ Targets, Rockets
The Warriors have made re-signed center Kevon Looney their top free agent priority and are expected to meet with his agent, Todd Ramasar, in the early hours of free agency, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Gary Payton II profiles as the Warriors’ second-most important priority but he’ll have other suitors, with the Mavericks expected to be among them, per Slater. Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damion Lee are the players most vulnerable to losing their roster spots, Slater adds.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- The Timberwolves wound up with two first-round draft picks but it won’t alter their plans for free agency, according to Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. GM Tim Connelly said they’ll be looking for players who can make an immediate impact. “I don’t think it has a huge impact,” Connelly said. “Again, the draft is for the next two, three, four, five, six, seven years.”
- While re-signing Jalen Brunson looms as their top free agent priority, the Mavericks could go shopping for other free agents. Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News looks at some other potential targets, including Gary Harris, Otto Porter Jr. and Goran Dragic.
- By reaching a buyout agreement with John Wall, the Rockets now have 18 players on the roster, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. They’re $30MM below the luxury tax threshold, with Eric Gordon — a prime trade candidate — as the lone player earning more than $10MM.