Hayward Still Prefers Pacers, Knicks Remain In Hunt
Free agent forward Gordon Hayward prefers to land with the Pacers, but the Knicks have continued to express interest in his services as free agency progresses, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter links).
New York has so far offered lower figures than Indiana, who shares a mutual interest with Hayward, according to Stein. However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (hat-tip Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports) relayed that the Knicks are actually willing to offer more money — just fewer years on a deal.
In order for Hayward to receive an estimated four-year, $100MM deal from Indiana, a sign-and-trade must occur between the Celtics and Pacers. Boston has expressed interest in adding a center during free agency, and Indiana’s Myles Turner could be included in a potential deal between the teams.
Despite offering lower figures than Indiana, New York has shown a willingness to go beyond their initial two-year offer for Hayward, Stein reports. Hayward, who declined a $34.2MM player option with the Celtics to become an unrestricted free agent, is said to have a big admirer in Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, Stein adds.
Several teams are discussing sign-and-trade scenarios on the former NBA All-Star, according to Wojnarowski, which means a resolution may not come until the weekend. Hayward could also re-sign with the Celtics on a brand new deal, Wojnarowski cautions. Hayward averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game last season, shooting 50% from the floor and 38% from deep.
Bulls Sign Garrett Temple
NOVEMBER 28: The Bulls have officially signed Temple, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log.
NOVEMBER 20: Free agent Garrett Temple has agreed to a one-year, $5MM deal with the Bulls, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Temple played 62 games with the Nets this past season, choosing to leave Brooklyn after just one campaign on the team.
Temple, 34, will join a Bulls team in need of veteran leadership. Chicago finished with a 22-43 record last season, but the team dealt with several injuries and carries a talented, young roster entering the 2020-21 season.
Temple averaged a career-high 10.3 points per game last year, though he shot just 38% from the field and 33% from downtown. He’s made past stops with Houston, Sacramento, San Antonio, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Washington, Memphis and Los Angeles.
For Chicago, the team still has most of its players from last year under contract for next season. The club opted not to issue a qualifying offer to guard Kris Dunn, however, who started 32 of 51 games last season and remains an unrestricted free agent.
Nets Re-Sign Joe Harris To Four-Year Deal
NOVEMBER 23: The Nets have officially re-signed Harris, the team announced today in a press release.
“From the moment he arrived in Brooklyn, Joe has epitomized what it means to be a Net,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “On the court, Joe has improved every season, and he’s worked diligently over the past four years to become a core member of our team. He is an excellent teammate, and his approach to the game, along with his character, have had a positive impact on all facets of the organization. Off the court, Joe is an outstanding person, and he and his family have become integral parts of our Nets family.”
NOVEMBER 20: The Nets are re-signing free agent Joe Harris to a four-year, $75MM deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The news of Harris returning to Brooklyn was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Harris, one of the league’s top three-point shooters, will help spread the floor alongside the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant next season. He averaged 14.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 30.8 minutes per game last year, shooting 49% from the field and 42% from 3-point range.
In addition to Harris, Irving and Durant, Brooklyn also has Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan on its roster entering the 2020/21 season. The team is widely expected to be at the forefront of contention in the Eastern Conference.
The Nets lost swingman Garrett Temple in free agency, who agreed to a one-year contract with Chicago. Plagued by injuries, Brooklyn finished with just a 35-37 record last season, the seventh-best in the East.
Harris’ deal will have luxury-tax implications for the Nets, who project to be well over the tax threshold in 2020/21 and figure to face significant penalties. While those penalties will be reduced if the NBA falls short of its revenue projections, Brooklyn’s current projected tax bill is $47.5MM, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blazers Re-Sign Rodney Hood
NOVEMBER 22: Hood’s new deal is official, according to the Trail Blazers, who announced the signing in a press release.
“Rodney played a critical role in our run to the Western Conference Finals in 2018-19 and was off to a great start last year prior to his season being cut short due to injury,” president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement. “Now fully healthy we expect him to make an immediate impact and are pleased he chose to stay in Portland.”
NOVEMBER 20: The Blazers have agreed to a two-year, $21MM deal with free agent Rodney Hood, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Hood will return to Portland for a third straight season.
For Hood, the second season of his deal is non-guaranteed, Wojnarowski adds. He declined a $6MM player option to become a free agent earlier this week.
Hood, 28, missed much of last season after suffering a torn Achilles’ tendon in December. In the 21 games he did play, he averaged 11 points, 3.4 rebounds and 29.5 minutes per game, proving his worth as a scorer alongside Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
The Blazers also traded for Robert Covington and Enes Kanter over the past week, setting their sights on contending next season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Magic Sign Dwayne Bacon To Two-Year Deal
NOVEMBER 24: The Magic have made it official with Bacon, issuing a press release to formally announce his deal.
NOVEMBER 20: The Magic are signing free agent guard Dwayne Bacon to a two-year deal, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
The agreement includes a team option in the second season, with all indications being that Bacon will sign for the minimum salary exception, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.
Bacon spent last season with the Hornets, who declined to extend him a qualifying offer this week. He averaged 5.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 17.6 in 39 games, shooting just 35% from the floor.
Bacon, 25, was the No. 40 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He’s spent the past three seasons with Charlotte, appearing in a total of 135 games. The move to Orlando will reunite him with former Hornets head coach Steve Clifford.
Orlando finished with the eighth-best record in the Eastern Conference last season at 33-40. The team sports a young nucleus that includes Aaron Gordon, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba, along with veterans such as Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross.
Heat Re-Sign Goran Dragic
NOVEMBER 22: The first free agent to reach a deal on Friday has now officially signed his new contract, as the Heat issued a press release confirming Dragic’s deal.
“It was essential for us to bring Goran back,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “He is part of our team, part of our culture and part of our family. He provides backcourt veteran leadership and can still play at a very high level. I’m glad to have him back in the fold.”
NOVEMBER 20: The Heat are re-signing free agent point guard Goran Dragic, he announced on social media today. The deal is a two-year agreement with a team option in the second season, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press tweets.
Shams Charania of The Athletic adds (via Twitter) that the agreement is worth $37.4MM, while Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports that the deal will pay Dragic $18MM in 2020-21 and $19.5MM in 2020-21.
Dragic, 34, will enter his seventh campaign with the Heat. He was originally acquired via trade back in 2015, mostly serving as starting point guard ever since.
Dragic was a key cog in Miami’s postseason run this year, averaging 19.1 points and 4.4 assists per game. He also shot 44% from the field and 35% from behind-the-arc during those games, proving his worth as a veteran piece on the court and off.
The Heat also agreed to re-sign Meyers Leonard early in free agency. Miami strategically included team options in both players’ deals, working to preserve salary-cap space for the summer of 2021.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Greg Whittington Eyeing NBA Deal
Free agent Greg Whittington is eyeing an NBA deal after spending the past three years overseas, he told Hoops Rumors in a phone interview.
Whittington, a 6-foot-9 forward, is expected to join the league for the 2020/21 season following impressive stints in Turkey and Israel over the past two years. Multiple contenders have expressed interest in his services, according to his agent, Jerry Dianis.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment. We worked hard to get here,” Whittington said. “We’ve received interest from multiple teams, but we have one on our list that could be the one. I’m just trying to keep my focus and keep working hard. Whatever we do in free agency, I just want to bring that championship-level attitude to a team, help them win and keep working.”
For Whittington, 27, a return to the NBA would mark his first stint in America since helping the Sioux Falls Skyforce — G League affiliate of the Heat — win a championship during the 2015/16 season. This past year, he posted averages of 12.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 14 EuroCup contests with Galatasaray, shooting an impressive 52.8% from 3-point range. He also received both forward of the year and All-EuroCup All-Imports Team honors.
The season before, he averaged a respectable 18.4 points per game in Israel, shooting 41.5% from deep while leading the country in rebounding (9.6 per contest). His consistent play has intrigued NBA teams as free agency nears.
“Greg’s performed in the brightest of lights and received top-of-the-line accolades this past year,” Dianis said. “Because of his versatility — a 6-foot-9, jumbo wing that could play on both sides of the ball — he’s ready to contribute to an NBA roster today.
“Greg’s a flat-out hooper. There’s not much on the basketball court he can’t do.”
Whittington spent the offseason working on his strength, three-point shooting and ball-handling, he said, and will enter unrestricted free agency without any buyout provisions. The veteran forward turned down offers from multiple overseas teams during the summer, formally declaring his intentions for the NBA.
“During my time overseas, I learned that the culture changes everywhere in life,” Whittington said. “And then, on the court, you have to be focused and bring it every night. You figure out quickly that some leagues are just as tough as being in the NBA — they don’t have a three-second violation, for example. Everybody’s (in the paint) helping.
“I’ve matured by learning how to sharpen up my moves, be quicker and not take too much time. Getting to your spot before the defense could help, because they’re already there to help (overseas). So I learned that you have to be one or two steps ahead of the defense at every moment.”
Whittington is expected to take the next step in his basketball journey during free agency. He went undrafted back in 2015 after spending two seasons at Georgetown, later joining the Heat for Summer League and attending training camp with the team that fall. In addition to Turkey, he’s also held stints in Australia, Sioux Falls, Japan and Israel, carrying what he’s learned throughout every stop in his career.
Free agency is set to open on Friday at 5:00pm CT, with players allowed to sign their respective contracts starting Sunday at 11:01am. The 2020/21 regular season will tip-off on December 22.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Heat, Goodwin, Magic
The Hornets hold the No. 3 pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft, an event that’s becoming increasingly important for the franchise, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes.
Depending on whether they keep their pick and who gets drafted before No. 3, the Hornets will have the ability to draft Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman or LaMelo Ball — all of which are recognized as intriguing options to lead the franchise forward.
“You know, we’re not good enough right now to win a bunch of games, to get into the playoffs and to advance,” general manager Mitch Kupchak said, explaining the importance of drafting wisely for the future.
Charlotte plans to draft the best player available regardless of position, according to Kupchak. The team finished with a 23-42 record last season and is also said to have interest in trading for disgruntled Rockets star Russell Westbrook.
“We are going to have to draft for the best player that we feel could be a 10- to 12-year starter,” Kupchak proclaimed.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division today:
- With the hopes of signing Giannis Antetokounmpo next offseason potentially starting to fade, the Heat could benefit from pivoting their attention to Danilo Gallinari, Bryan Toporek of Forbes writes. Antetokounmpo has the option of signing a five-year, $228MM supermax extension with the Bucks, who elevated their roster by acquiring Jrue Holiday and Bogdan Bogdanovic earlier this week. Gallinari will enter unrestricted free agency on Friday and shared mutual interest with the Heat on a trade last February, but Miami was unwilling to extend the 32-year-old and surrender cap space. He averaged 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 29.6 minutes per game with the Thunder last season, shooting 40.5% from three-point range.
- The Hawks currently have Brandon Goodwin in their plans for next season, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic writes. Goodwin has just $100K guaranteed on his $1.7MM deal, which Atlanta could choose to fully guarantee in the coming days. He averaged 6.1 points in 12.6 minutes off the bench in 2019/20.
- The Magic are entering the draft in need of an offensive spark, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Orlando owns the No. 15 selection this year and recently signed 2019 first-round pick Chuma Okeke, who missed the season due to torn ACL rehab. The team also owns the No. 45 pick in the second round of the event.
Northwest Notes: Daigneault, Nuggets, Blazers, Holiday, Jazz
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault took a rather unique path toward his new position, starting out as a manager at UConn several years ago, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes.
“I’ve been with people that have definitely seen potential in me and definitely believe in me,” Daigneault said, “but they’ve given me these opportunities well before I’ve earned them. They’ve invested rather than rewarded.”
Oklahoma City promoted Daigneault, 35, as the franchise’s new coach this month, making him the second-youngest head coach in the league besides Minnesota’s Ryan Saunders. He first joined the organization in 2014 as head coach of the team’s G League affiliate.
“When Sam called me and offered me the job the other day,” Daigneault said, “I was just so overwhelmed thinking about all the people that have had their fingerprints on my life and career.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division tonight:
- Mike Singer of the Denver Post explores the Nuggets‘ thinking ahead of the draft, with team president Tim Connelly offering his own perspective on the upcoming event. “Collectively teams are probably less certain what might be happening around them, what other teams are thinking, because we’ve lacked those avenues to get together and talk about what this team’s doing, that team’s doing,” Connelly said. “It should make for a fun night. There’s some clarity on the very top of the draft, and then after that, it’ll largely be a free-for-all.”
- The Trail Blazers have expressed interest in Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, according to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor (Twitter link). O’Connor added that a potential trade between the teams remains unlikely, however, citing Portland’s lack of potential assets to include in an offer.
- Sarah Todd of the Deseret News examines five prospects the Jazz should consider in Wednesday’s NBA draft. Utah owns the No. 23 pick this year, which could be used on a player such as Tyler Bey (Colorado) or Robert Woodard II (Mississippi State).
Otto Porter Jr. To Exercise 2020/21 Option
Bulls forward Otto Porter Jr. plans to pick up his $28.4MM player option and return to Chicago for the 2020/21 season, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes tweets.
Porter, a seven-year NBA veteran, holds career averages of 11.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He was acquired by the Bulls in February of 2019 in exchange for Jabari Parker, Bobby Portis and a 2023 second-round pick.
Viewed as the Bulls’ answer at small forward, Porter was limited to just 14 games in 2019/20 due to a foot injury. Now, his future in Chicago is up in the air — if he remains on the roster through next season, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent in 2021.
Chicago could have multiple players enter restricted free agency later this week, including Kris Dunn ($7MM qualifying offer), Denzel Valentine ($4.69MM) and Shaquille Harrison ($2MM).
The team finished with a 22-43 record last season, good for fifth-worst in the Eastern Conference.