Free Agent Rumors: Dinwiddie, Schröder, Oubre, Cauley-Stein
The idea of Nets free agent Spencer Dinwiddie replacing Russell Westbrook as the Wizards‘ point guard seems to be gaining momentum.
After multiple reporters mentioned the Dinwiddie-to-D.C. possibility earlier in the week, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer writes today that with Chris Paul likely to return to the Suns, Dinwiddie is expected to be the next free agent point guard off the board. A sign-and-trade that sends either Kyle Kuzma or Montrezl Harrell to the Nets and Dinwiddie to the Wizards is a real possibility, Fischer suggests.
Fischer adds that the Nets are continuing to look for ways to move off of DeAndre Jordan‘s contract.
We have more free agency rumors:
- According to Zach Lowe of ESPN neither the Wizards nor the Kings are interested in a sign-and-trade for Dennis Schröder. That means Buddy Hield may be out as an option for the Lakers, and it will be a challenge to expand the Lakers/Wizards blockbuster any further using Schröder. As Lowe notes, a handful of teams in need of a point guard have ample cap space, so there will be few paths for the Lakers to recoup value for losing Schröder.
- Kelly Oubre has interest in the Spurs and believes his career could flourish under Gregg Popovich and the team’s renowned development staff, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. If the Spurs renounce some of their current free agents, they’d have more than enough space to make a big free agent signing, though it’s unclear whether Oubre would be at the top of their list, especially given his skill-set/positional overlap with Keldon Johnson.
- The Mavericks are leaning toward picking up the $4.1MM team option on center Willie Cauley-Stein, which would keep him off the free agent market, tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. MacMahon writes that Dallas likes the young rim-running big man, but the decision will ultimately hinge on whether or not an opportunity comes up that requires the team to move on from Cauley-Stein.
Wizards Issue QOs To Mathews, Winston; Will Make Bonga UFA
The Wizards will not issue a qualifying offer to Isaac Bonga, thereby making him an unrestricted free agent, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
The 6’8″ point forward saw his playing time cut nearly in half from the 2019/2020 season to last year. Despite the flashes of potential he showed, the Wizards now find themselves with a logjam of forwards, and Bonga appears to be the odd man out. His QO would’ve been worth about $2.08MM.
The Wizards are, however, extending qualifying offers to guards Garrison Mathews and Cassius Winston, according to a tweet from The Athletic’s Fred Katz. Both players finished the season on two-way contracts with Washington.
Mathews, who went undrafted in 2019, was a revelation as a feisty sharp-shooter for the Wizards this season, and even started 24 games. Winston, last year’s No. 53 overall pick, wasn’t able to crack Washington’s rotation in a major way during his rookie year, but the accomplished collegiate point guard has potential as a shooter and pick and roll play-maker, and the Wizards have need of guards.
Mathews’ qualifying offer will be a standard minimum-salary contract with a small partial guarantee, while Winston’s will be another two-way deal.
Pelicans Extend Qualifying Offers To Ball, Hart
The Pelicans have extended qualifying offers to Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, making them restricted free agents this summer, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN.
Ball’s qualifying offer is worth about $14.36MM, while Hart’s is approximately $5.24MM. Those are one-year contract offers that could theoretically be accepted, but Ball and Hart will likely earn more lucrative multiyear deals in free agency.
As long as the Pelicans keep those qualifying offers on the table, they’ll have the ability to match any offer sheet signed by Ball or Hart, and would have the leverage necessary to negotiate a sign-and-trade.
It remains unclear whether either Ball or Hart will return to New Orleans. The Pelicans’ agreement to trade Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams creates some cap flexibility for a bigger free agent acquisition, and the team is said to be eyeing Kyle Lowry and other point guards, including Spencer Dinwiddie.
Ball is unlikely to return if the Pelicans land one of those targets, since he’d probably need to be renounced to clear the necessary cap space. But if New Orleans strikes out on the free agent market, it will be interesting to see how the club handles Ball’s situation. He has been linked to the Bulls, Celtics, Raptors, Pacers, and Knicks, among other teams.
The Pelicans could potentially clear enough space to land a top free agent point guard without renouncing Hart, so he looks – for now – like a decent bet to return to the team.
Luke Adams contributed to this story.
Celtics Rumors: Richardson Trade, Fournier, Thompson, Parker
The Celtics may have been quiet on draft night, but they’re making noise now. After agreeing to trade Tristan Thompson for the Hawks’ Kris Dunn and Bruno Fernando and sending Moses Brown to the Mavericks for Josh Richardson, the Celtics have given themselves some extra flexibility from both a financial and roster perspective, writes The Athletic’s Jared Weiss.
Evan Fournier‘s market seems to be in the range of $12-$20MM per year, according to Weiss, who points out that dealing for Richardson affords the Celtics the option of walking away if the bidding war gets too rich for them. It sounds like that’s a very realistic possibility, as Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald hears from a source that Boston is unwilling to meet Fournier’s asking price of $80MM over four years.
“It’s not looking good,” Murphy’s source said of the Celtics’ negotiations with Fournier.
Meanwhile, there’s no guarantee that the Celtics will hang onto Dunn, according to Weiss, who says the former lottery pick could be flipped again. Weiss suggests that two viable options for dealing Dunn could be to the Cavaliers – along with one of the Celtics’ young players – in a deal for Larry Nance Jr., or to the Pelicans – with Marcus Smart – in a Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade.
We have more rumors on the Celtics:
- According to Weiss, while Thompson was beloved by teammates, he butted heads with the coaching staff and the organization throughout the year and was widely expected to be moved this offseason.
- In the same piece, Weiss cites The Athletic’s Danny Leroux, who explains that the Celtics now project to be about $4.36MM below the tax line if Jabari Parker (who has a non-guaranteed contract) is waived.
- The Celtics wanted to send more guaranteed money to the Mavericks in the Josh Richardson deal, but Dallas initially didn’t want to take any money back, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Moses Brown was the compromise found, given the low guarantee on his deal ($500K).
- Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets that the Celtics’ front office, especially Brad Stevens, has long been a fan of Richardson, who will be looking to get back on track in Boston after a down year in Dallas.
Northwest Notes: Wolves, J. Butler, Mudiay, Favors
The Timberwolves‘ second stint with former No. 5 overall pick Ricky Rubio wasn’t the fairy tale reunion either side hoped for, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic in a breakdown of the team’s trade with Cleveland and what it means for the Wolves moving forward.
While the Wolves are receiving solid three-and-D wing Taurean Prince as the return for Rubio, Krawczynski writes that Prince isn’t viewed as the solution to the team’s long-running search for a starting power forward, but rather as a rotation wing.
One benefit to the deal is an added $4.8MM in cap flexibility, which could allow the Wolves to use their entire taxpayer mid-level exception while possibly adding last year’s first round pick Leandro Bolmaro as well. Kracwzynski writes that the team explored trades into the draft and for Hawksforward Danilo Gallinari, but in the end were satisfied with the return of Prince.
We have more news from around the Northwest Division:
- Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune details the Jazz‘s excitement upon trading down in the draft to land Baylor guard Jared Butler with the 40th pick, as well as two future second rounders. Butler, whom Utah was initially targeting in the first round, is viewed as someone who can play off the bench immediately, or even fill in should the Jazz lose Mike Conley to free agency.
- Veteran point guard Emmanuel Mudiay will play for the Trail Blazers during Summer League, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The former No. 7 pick has bounced around the league since being traded from the team that drafted him, the Nuggets, to the Knicks in 2018, but the 25-year-old will be looking for a chance to get his career back on track with a strong showing in Las Vegas.
- Derrick Favors was caught off-guard by the trade that will send him from the Jazz to the Thunder,writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. “Honestly, I’m still trying to process what happened,” Favors said. “It was tough to go to New Orleans, but I thought that there was a chance that I would come back to Utah. Now, I know this is it. So, there’s a lot to think about and a lot to work out.”
Lakers Notes: Trade Obstacles, Hollins, Penberthy, Workouts
The Lakers’ desire to land another big star is well-documented at this point, but their ability to actually make the money work is another matter altogether.
Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register goes through the obstacles facing the Lakers in a variety of different high-profile moves, such as a trade for Russell Westbrook or a sign-and-trade of Dennis Schroder for Kyle Lowry. Goon also discusses the idea of stars like Chris Paul, DeMar DeRozan, or Kyle Lowry taking pay cuts to play with LeBron James, explaining why it’s unlikely.
Lastly, Goon touches on the reports that the Lakers have been shopping a package of Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope all over the league, and how poorly that reflects on the strength of that trade offer.
We have more from the Lakers:
- Lionel Hollins will no longer be an assistant coach for the Lakers, reports Jovan Buha of The Athletic (via Twitter). Hollins’ contract expired without the team and him coming to an agreement on an extension. Kyle Goon tweets that Hollins indicated he would be open to coaching again in the right opportunity.
- With the departure of Hollins, shooting coach Mike Penberthy is being promoted to a front-of-bench coaching position on head coach Frank Vogel‘s staff, Buha and Sam Amick write in a piece for The Athletic. Penberthy was offered a similar position on Jason Kidd‘s staff with the Mavericks before the Lakers matched their offer. Buha and Amick write that it’s unclear if the Lakers will add another assistant coach this offseason.
- The Lakers worked out five prospects today, according to Lakers reporter Brad Turner: MaCio Teague, Spencer Littleson, Jose Alvarado, Brandon Boston Jr., and Moses Wright. Of the five, Boston is the highest-ranked, and could be an option either at 22 or if the Lakers look to trade back from 22 into the top of the second round in order to save money.
Kings Tender Qualifying Offer to Terence Davis
The Kings have officially tendered a qualifying offer to Terence Davis, making him a restricted free agent, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), Davis’ QO is worth nearly $1.9MM. The Kings hold his Early Bird rights, giving the team the ability to offer him a starting salary worth up to about $10.4MM on a deal of at least two years.
While it’s unlikely Davis receives that max number, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee reported earlier this month that the former undrafted free agent is seeking a contract worth upwards of $9MM per year.
Davis averaged 11.1 PPG and 3.7 RPG while shooting over 37% from three in his 27 games with the Kings, and showed some moments of good defensive ability. The Kings are in a tight financial spot, so it will be important for them to figure out how much they value Davis’ contributions as a bench guard should he receive the type of offer he’s looking for.
“It’s looking really good for me. I would say this is some of the best basketball I’ve played in my career, even in college,” Davis said at the end of the season, when asked about the chances of staying with the Kings long-term. “This is a stretch of some of the best games I’ve played in my entire life.”
Southeast Notes: Artificial Intelligence, Beal, Hornets, Hawks
The Magic, like every other NBA team, didn’t have a chance to scout prospects in person for most of this year. But Orlando has one tool at their disposal that other teams don’t, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic: an Artificial Intelligence system called AutoStats.
AutoStats works similarly to the tracking program Second Spectrum, but without requiring the same specialized set-up, instead working off a basic broadcast to compile physical data and analyze it. Because of an agreement reached with the team in 2019, the Magic have exclusive rights to the technology.
“It helps us get a better read on everything that the naked eye may miss,” said President of Basketball Ops Jeff Weltman. “It’s very powerful information. It’s what drives most of NBA analytics. So to have the next best thing applied to colleges, where it’s typically unavailable to most teams, we believe that is a significant competitive advantage.”
How it will effect the Magic’s draft decision-making process remains to be seen.
We have more from around the Southeast Division:
- In the view of David Aldridge of The Athletic, it’s time for either Bradley Beal or the Wizards to be the bad guy and throw in the towel on this partnership. Aldridge contends that there’s no realistic path for Beal to contention as long as he stays in Washington, and despite his continued loyalty to the franchise he’s been with since he was 19, competing at the highest level is still a priority. Aldridge touches on the reported interest from the Warriors and Raptors, and adds that a Beal trade would almost certainly necessitate moving Russell Westbrook as well.
- The Hornets held a pre-draft workout for center Day’Ron Sharpe today, per a team PR tweet. Sharpe is considered a fringe first/second-round pick, and though the Hornets only have two very late second-round picks, it’s possible they could consider a move into the first half of the second round to try to address their glaring hole at center.
- The Hawks have hired Steve Gansey to be the head coach of their G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, reports Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Gansey spent the past five seasons as the head coach of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
Pelicans Notes: Lowry, Playoffs, Griffin, Williamson
Now that the dust has settled on Monday’s Grizzlies-Pelicans trade, William Guillory of The Athletic takes a look at why the Pelicans made the move, what it means for the future, and the man assumed to be at the center of the sudden push for cap space: Kyle Lowry.
After getting off of the contracts for Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams, the Pelicans project to have about $22MM in cap space, and if they renounce Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and their remaining free agents, that number could climb to $36MM, more than enough to make a competitive offer to Lowry.
But despite the obvious on-court and leadership appeal of Lowry, Guillory preaches caution when thinking that Lowry could have the same impact that, say, Chris Paul had on the Suns. Lowry, while a great player in his own right, has been limited by injuries the last three seasons, and doesn’t have quite the same track record of raising a team’s expectations as Paul.
Guillory also points out that because of the reported interest in Lowry from teams like the Sixers, Heat and Lakers, it’s likely that New Orleans, which is not a prime free agent destination, would have to overpay for the 35-year-old guard.
We have more news from the Pelicans:
- New head coach Willie Green just finished a miracle run to the Finals with the Suns, and he’s looking to see a similar leap with the Pelicans next year, writes ESPN’s Andrew Lopez. “We’re really close to taking the next step,” Green said. “I believe going into next season that’s our goal, that’s our mindset. That’s what makes us a sleeping giant. We have two young All-Stars. Putting a lot of talent around those guys and really just making this team go.”
- Within the same piece from Lopez, executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin lays out what he considered his vision for the offseason: “What we hope we’re able to do in the coming weeks in the offseason and heading up through the following years is build a sustainable winner that’s rooted in that gratitude and joyfulness led by Willie Green and the players… that leadership voice, that shooting we need to put around our great young stars. We’re heading towards that.”
- While gameplans and racking up wins may be part of Green’s agenda, one priority stands out above all others, writes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst: ensuring Zion Williamson wants to stay in New Orleans long-term. Green has the reputation of creating deep bonds with his players, but this will be a new challenge as a first-time coach of a superstar in a small market. Williamson reportedly had some concerns with former head coach Stan Van Gundy, making Green’s ability to be a player’s coach even more crucial.
Thunder Expected To Make Tony Bradley Unrestricted Free Agent
The Thunder are not expected to extend a qualifying offer to 23-year-old center Tony Bradley, thereby making him an unrestricted free agent, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic.
The 6’10” center was drafted by the Jazz with the 28th pick in 2017, following his NCAA title with the UNC Tar Heels. He spent three years with Utah before being traded to the Pistons on the night of the 2020 draft and subsequently rerouted to the Sixers.
Bradley averaged 8.7 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 18 minutes per night for the Thunder in 22 games this season, proving himself a capable backup center. However, it doesn’t appear he’s part of Oklahoma City’s plans going forward.
Jones writes that Bradley is expected to have multiple suitors in unrestricted free agency.