Taurean Prince Signs Two-Year Extension With Timberwolves
JUNE 30: Prince’s extension is now official, according to the Timberwolves (Twitter link).
JUNE 28: Taurean Prince is returning to the Timberwolves on a two-year, $16MM extension, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Prince was headed to unrestricted free agency but had expressed a strong desire to remain in Minnesota, and the team is locking up to an extension that will keep him off the market.
Shortly after the season, Prince said he planned to return, adding that the strong camaraderie in the Wolves’ locker room is something he hasn’t experienced since college. He praised head coach Chris Finch, comparing him to Mike Budenholzer, who coached Prince in Atlanta at the start of his NBA career.
The second year of Prince’s new contract will be non-guaranteed, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. It’ll represent a slight pay cut for Prince, who signed a two-year, $25.25MM contract with Brooklyn in 2019 and earned $13.3MM this past season.
Prince averaged 7.3 PPG and 2.5 RPG on .454/.376/.756 shooting in 69 regular season games (17.1 MPG) during his first year in Minnesota. The Wolves held his Bird rights, so they had the ability to go over the cap to re-sign him without using any other exceptions.
Jazz Waive Juancho Hernangomez
4:03pm: The Jazz have officially waived Hernangomez, the team announced in a press release.
3:01pm: The Jazz are waiving forward Juancho Hernangomez, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Tony Jones (Twitter link).
His $7,307,130 salary for next season would have fully guaranteed if he had remained on the roster beyond Thursday. The move was expected and gives Utah more room to manuever as it reshapes its roster.
Hernangomez, 26, played for three teams while getting dealt four times last season. He played 18 games with Boston, five with San Antonio and 17 with the Jazz. He saw action in 17 games with Utah, including nine starts, and averaged 6.2 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 17.5 MPG.
Western Notes: McGee, Towns, Wiseman, Williamson, Trent Jr.
JaVale McGee could wind up with another Western Conference contender next season. The Mavericks are very interested in the veteran free agent center and could offer him the two-year deal he’s seeking, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM tweets. McGee, 34, averaged 9.2 PPG and 6.7 RPG for the Suns last season while appearing in 74 regular season contests.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- The biggest priority for the Timberwolves this summer is to lock up Karl-Anthony Towns with an extension, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reports. Towns is eligible for an extension of up to four years and roughly $211MM. “I can’t wait to sit down with him and his representation ASAP and keep this thing going,” new president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said. “He’s special and deserves everything that is going to come his way.”
- James Wiseman would actually benefit if the Warriors are able to re-sign free agent Kevon Looney, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. Their skill sets would mesh as the team’s center duo and it would ease the pressure on Wiseman, allowing him to focus on his development.
- The Pelicans’ extension talks with Zion Williamson could take some time to sort out, as Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times Picayune explains. The two sides need to figure out is how much of the extension will be fully guaranteed. Clark’s sources believe there is a possibility that negotiations could drag on longer than anticipated due of this issue. Williamson sat out last season due to a foot injury.
- The Jazz have expressed interest in Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr., according to Ian Begley of SNY TV. Trent’s cap hit for next season is $17.5MM and he has an $18.5+MM option for 2023/24. He averaged 18.3 PPG in 35 MPG last season.
Spurs Expected To Waive Danilo Gallinari
The Spurs are expected to waive forward Danilo Gallinari now that their blockbuster trade with the Hawks is official, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Gallinari is part of the Dejounte Murray deal. His partial guarantee was increased in order to complete the trade.
His $21.45MM salary next season had only been partially guaranteed for $5MM. His partial guarantee is believed to have been increased by an additional $5-6MM or so to match Murray’s incoming salary. San Antonio will get some cap relief by waiving him before his full salary becomes guaranteed.
Gallinari, 33, is expected to draw interest from contenders in both conferences. The Bulls, Celtics, and Heat are among the teams that have already been linked to him, and Gallinari has interest in those clubs, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, who tweets that the forward will be seeking mid-level type money.
Gallinari is a 38.1% career 3-point shooter and has averaged double digits in points since his second NBA season. He averaged 11.7 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 25.3 MPG over 66 regular season games (18 starts) last season.
Brett Brown Returns To Spurs As Assistant
Brett Brown has returned to the Spurs as an assistant coach, the team announced in a press release.
Brown was on Gregg Popovich’s staff in San Antonio for 11 seasons from 2002-13, first as the club’s director of player development, then as an assistant coach.
“I’m thrilled to be able to hire such a good coach, human being and dinner partner,” Popovich said.
Brown left San Antonio to become the head coach with the Sixers. He patrolled Philadelphia’s sidelines through the 2019/20 season.
Brown joins Mitch Johnson and Matt Nielsen on Popovich’s staff. Given that Popovich is 73, it’s fair to wonder if Brown will emerge as a candidate to eventually replace Popovich when he retires.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 6/30/2022
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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.