Heat Officially Sign Keshad Johnson To Two-Way Deal
The Heat have become the first NBA team to officially fill all three of their two-way contract slots for the 2024/25 season after announcing in a press release that they’ve signed forward Keshad Johnson to a two-way deal.
A 6’7″ swingman who went undrafted last week out of Arizona, Johnson played for San Diego State across his first four seasons of NCAA eligibility before using his “super-senior” season to transfer to the Wildcats.
In 2023/24, he posted averages of 11.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks per game, with a shooting line of .530/.387/.710. He reached a two-way agreement with the Heat shortly after the end of Thursday’s draft.
Johnson joins Zyon Pullin and Dru Smith as Miami’s two-way players, with all three formally signing their contracts today. While the July moratorium prevents teams from officially finalizing trades and some forms of signings, two-way deals can be completed during the moratorium period.
Since two-way contracts don’t count against the salary cap and carry little guaranteed money, it’s not a lock that Johnson, Pullin, and Smith will still occupy those slots by opening night — especially since Miami still has two-way qualifying offers out to Cole Swider and Alondes Williams. But it looks like the trio currently under contract should at least have an opportunity to begin the season on Miami’s 18-man roster.
Clippers To Sign Kris Dunn
8:36pm: The Clippers are exploring possible sign-and-trade scenarios to bring in Dunn from the Jazz, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). A sign-and-trade would open up a wider salary range for Dunn.
7:38pm: The Clippers have agreed to sign free agent guard Kris Dunn, league sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
The fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft, Dunn didn’t live up to his draft billing in Minnesota or Chicago during the early years of his career, but has evolved into a solid rotation piece in recent years. He spent the past two seasons in Utah, where he provided solid, versatile defense in the Jazz’s backcourt and earned praise from head coach Will Hardy for his voice in the locker room.
In 88 total appearances (35 starts) across two seasons in Utah, Dunn averaged 7.4 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .497/.395/.741.
Dunn was frequently mentioned within the last week as a potential free agent target for the Suns, with Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports reporting (via Twitter) that the 30-year-old was atop the club’s wish list as it sought a point guard. Instead, he’ll head to one of Phoenix’s division rivals, joining a Clippers team that seems prepared to move on from backup point guard Russell Westbrook.
While the details of Dunn’s contract aren’t known, the over-the-cap Clippers are believed to be devoting most of their mid-level exception to Derrick Jones and their bi-annual exception to Nicolas Batum. Unless Los Angeles plans to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal for one or more of its free agent additions, that would leave either the leftover portion of the MLE or a minimum-salary contract for Dunn.
Heat Re-Sign Dru Smith To Two-Way Contract
The Heat have re-signed guard Dru Smith to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.
Smith, who began last season on Miami’s 15-man roster, appeared in just nine games before a major ACL injury cut his season short and led to his eventual release. Smith suffered that injury in Cleveland when he fell awkwardly into the bench area, prompting the Heat to contact the NBA to express concerns with what they viewed as an unsafe drop-off along the sidelines.
Smith was playing well in limited minutes prior to the injury, averaging 4.3 points, 1.6 assists, and 1.6 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .455/.412/1.000. He also appeared in 15 NBA regular season games in 2022/23 with the Heat and Nets.
Outside of his half-season stint in Brooklyn to close out the ’22/23 season, Smith has spent much of his professional career bouncing on and off the Heat’s roster since going undrafted out of Missouri in 2021. He has been waived by Miami four separate times since 2021, but is back under contract with the team heading into ’23/24.
The Heat also officially signed undrafted rookie Zyon Pullin to a two-way contract today. Another undrafted free agent, Keshad Johnson, is expected to occupy Miami’s third two-way slot.
Fischer’s Latest: Markkanen, Isaac, DeRozan, Lakers, D-Lo, Nets
The Jazz are “welcoming” inquiries on Lauri Markkanen, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who wonders if Utah’s offseason could play out like Brooklyn’s has. The Nets agreed to trade Mikal Bridges after efforts to pair him with an impact player came up short. Utah has also explored the trade market for a possible second star to complement Markkanen, talking to Brooklyn about Bridges (as previously reported) and to the Hawks about both Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, sources tell Fischer.
While it’s possible the Jazz will follow the Nets’ lead, selling off their lone star after failing to land another one, they don’t appear eager to part with Markkanen. According to Fischer, the Jazz have conveyed that they remain interested in renegotiating and extending Markkanen’s contract later this offseason and that listening to every offer for the star forward is just about due diligence.
As reported earlier today, both the Warriors and Spurs have interest in Markkanen, Fischer confirms, naming the Kings and Timberwolves as a couple more teams to watch. However, Sacramento’s reluctance to put Keegan Murray on the table in trade scenarios – which NBA personnel believe would be necessary to land Markkanen – may result in the Kings shifting their trade focus to Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, Fischer writes. As for the Wolves, they’re operating over the second apron and barely have any future draft capital available, so it’s hard to envision a way for them to make a serious play for Markkanen.
Here’s more from Fischer:
- The Magic may not end up using all of their cap room on free agents or trades — according to Fischer (Twitter link), they’re working on possibly renegotiating and extending forward Jonathan Isaac‘s contract. A team with cap space can use it to give a player a raise on his current-year salary, then reduce his salary by up to 40% in the first year of an extension, so Orlando may be looking at essentially giving Isaac a bonus this season to get him a team-friendly deal beginning in 2025/26.
- Although LeBron James has expressed a willingness to take a pay cut if it allows the Lakers to bring in an impact player, Fischer writes that the team seems to be running out of potential targets – and time – to make that happen. The Lakers “hold an affinity” for DeMar DeRozan, but they’d likely have to incorporate a third team to move off some salary, including perhaps D’Angelo Russell or Gabe Vincent, to have a shot at DeRozan, according to Fischer.
- The Nets could be a trade destination for Russell. Sources tell Fischer that Brooklyn has been open to the idea of a reunion with Russell since February’s trade deadline.
- If Klay Thompson had re-signed with the Warriors, the plan was to bring him off the bench next season behind second-year guard Brandin Podziemski, according to Fischer. Thompson appears likely to be a starter in Dallas.
Mavericks To Acquire Klay Thompson In Three-Team Sign-And-Trade
6:49pm: The Warriors will receive a pair of second-round picks from Dallas to complete the Thompson sign-and-trade, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Wojnarowski (Twitter links).
One of those picks will be the Mavs’ own 2031 second-rounder, Woj adds (via Twitter). The other will be the least favorable of the Sixers’ and Nuggets’ 2025 second-rounders, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. That 2025 pick belonged to the Hornets, so it appears one of the second-rounders Charlotte is sending to Dallas is immediately being rerouted to Golden State.
Combining all of today’s reporting, it sounds like the trade will break down as follows:
- Mavericks to acquire Thompson (via sign-and-trade) and a future second-round pick (from Hornets).
- Hornets to acquire Green (into cap room).
- Warriors to acquire either the Nuggets’ or Sixers’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Hornets) and the Mavericks’ 2031 second-round pick, in addition to generating a trade exception worth about $16MM.
1:34pm: After spending his first 13 NBA seasons with the Warriors, Klay Thompson is reportedly headed to Dallas. Thompson intends to sign a three-year, $50MM contract with the Mavericks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).
As Wojnarowski outlines, the plan is for the Mavs to acquire Thompson from Golden State in a three-team sign-and-trade, with swingman Josh Green heading from Dallas to the Hornets in the deal.
The Warriors and Mavericks are still working through the sign-and-trade details, according to reports from Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter links), who both say that the deal isn’t considered done from Golden State’s perspective.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports tweets that there’s a framework in place for a deal sending Green to Charlotte, while Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link) also hears that the Hornets are in agreement on their part of the deal.
As Marc Stein tweets, it sounds like Thompson, the Mavs, and the Hornets are all on board, with just the Warriors left to sign off. Golden State doesn’t want to take back salary in the transaction, Stein adds.
Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that the Hornets will be sending Dallas a pair of second-round picks for Green and that one of those second-rounders may be rerouted to Golden State.
The 11th pick of the 2011 draft, Thompson is one of the most accomplished shooters in league history, ranking sixth all-time in three-pointers made. The 34-year-old, who has knocked down 41.3% of his attempts from long distance over the course of his career, made five All-Star teams and won four championships with the Warriors.
While Thompson has remained an extremely productive rotation player, averaging 17.9 points per game with a .387 3PT% in 77 games (29.7 MPG) this past season, he has lost a step since suffering a torn ACL in 2019 and a torn Achilles in 2020. He was removed from the starting lineup in Golden State this season and his relationship with the franchise appeared to fray leading up to the expiration of his contract, resulting in Saturday’s news that he intended to leave the Warriors for a new team.
Thompson reportedly intended to talk to the Lakers, Clippers, and Sixers in addition to the Mavs when free agency opened on Sunday, with the Magic among the other teams said to have interest in the veteran sharpshooter. According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Thompson had four-years offers worth more overall money available, but the opportunity to win another championship and the difference in state taxes were among the factors that made him choose Dallas.
Thompson will give the Mavs another shooter on the wing alongside star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. So far this offseason, the team has essentially swapped out three wings – Tim Hardaway, Derrick Jones, and now Green – for three new ones: Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes.
Assuming the deal is completed as reported, the Mavs’ team salary will be a few million above the tax line and about $3MM below the first apron, which will be their hard cap, per cap experts Bobby Marks of ESPN and Yossi Gozlan (Twitter links).
The Hornets were interested in Green back at the trade deadline when they worked out a separate deal with Dallas involving P.J. Washington, notes Fischer (via Twitter). They’ll get their man now and – based on the details reported so far – figure to operate as an under-the-cap team in order to take the incoming salaries of both Green and Reggie Jackson, whom they’re acquiring in a trade with Denver.
The Warriors, meanwhile, will be in position to create a trade exception worth Thompson’s new salary if they don’t take back any contracts in the deal. With Thompson and Chris Paul off their books for 2024/25, the Dubs have some newfound financial flexibility and appear poised to use their full mid-level exception to sign free agent guard De’Anthony Melton.
Heat Officially Sign Zyon Pullin To Two-Way Contract
The Heat have officially signed undrafted rookie free agent Zyon Pullin to a two-way contract, the team confirmed in a press release. Reporting after last week’s draft indicated the two sides had reached an agreement.
A 6’4″ guard out of Florida, Pullin played for UC Riverside from 2019-23 before transferring to the Gators for his super-senior year. He was an All-SEC honoree in 2023/24 after averaging 15.5 points, 4.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per contest in 33 games (27 starts), with a shooting line of .444/.449/.847.
Miami also reportedly reached a two-way agreement with Arizona forward Keshad Johnson, so he and Pullin appear poised to fill two of the team’s three two-way slots heading into the fall.
While many transactions can’t be completed during the NBA’s ongoing moratorium period, two-way signings are among the moves that can be officially finalized, so we’ll likely see plenty of them announced in the coming days.
Rockets Re-Sign Aaron Holiday
JULY 6: The Rockets have officially re-signed Holiday, per the NBA’s transaction log.
JULY 1: The Rockets and veteran guard Aaron Holiday have struck a new deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Holiday is signing a two-year, $10MM contract to remain in Houston. The second year will be a team option, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
The younger brother of fellow NBAers Jrue Holiday and Justin Holiday, Aaron played a regular rotation role off the bench in Houston last season, averaging 6.6 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.6 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game across 78 appearances. He posted a solid shooting line of .446/.387/.921.
After spending his first three NBA seasons in Indiana, Holiday has bounced around the league in recent years, spending time in Washington, Phoenix, and Atlanta in addition to Houston. This will be the first time since his Pacers days that the 27-year-old will return to a team for a second season.
Because he signed as a free agent with the Rockets last season, Holiday only has Non-Bird rights this summer, meaning the team can’t give him a deal worth more than 20% above the veteran’s minimum without using a different exception. As a result, Houston has to dip into either its mid-level exception or bi-annual exception to complete the signing.
Using the non-taxpayer MLE to sign Holiday to a starting salary worth a little less than $5MM would leave the Rockets with about $8MM of that exception left over. Using the bi-annual exception would result in a maximum two-year total of about $9.57MM for Holiday and would leave the MLE untouched. Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears the club plans to take the latter route, using the BAE to bring back the reserve guard.
Bucks Sign Delon Wright To One-Year Deal
JULY 7: Wright has officially signed with the Bucks, according to the NBA’s transaction log.
JULY 1: The Bucks and free agent guard Delon Wright have agreed to a one-year contract, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Wojnarowski pegs the value of the deal at $3.3MM. As a second-apron team, Milwaukee has no access to the mid-level or bi-annual exception and can only offer veteran-minimum contracts to outside free agents. Since Wright has nine years of NBA experience, his contract figures to actually be right around $3MM, as our breakdown of this year’s minimum salaries shows.
Wright, 32, has played for eight teams across his nine NBA seasons, including the Wizards and Heat in 2023/24. He averaged 4.5 points, 2.5 assists, and 1.8 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game across 47 total appearances for the two clubs last season, then took on an increased role in the postseason for Miami, averaging 8.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 1.8 APG in 26.8 MPG while making 6-of-10 three-pointers.
While Wright is a solid ball-handler and will make the occasional outside shot (.354 career 3PT% on 1.9 attempts per game), his value stems more from his play on the other side of the ball. His size and length are above average for a guard, and he’s comfortable switching and defending multiple positions.
While there’s no confirmation yet that Patrick Beverley won’t be back with the Bucks, Wright could end up playing a similar role to the one Beverley did, providing the team with a defensive-minded backup for Damian Lillard at the point.
FA/Trade Rumors: Lakers, Klay, Mavs, DeRozan, Markkanen, Bey, Bullock
LeBron James and agent Rich Paul talked to the Lakers last week and conveyed that the star forward would be willing to accept a pay cut in 2024/25 in the event that the team was able to land one of the players on a “short list” of free agent targets, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst confirmed on Monday’s Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link).
Previous reporting identified three of those possible Lakers targets as James Harden, Klay Thompson, and Jonas Valanciunas. Of the three, only Thompson is still on the board after Harden reached a deal to re-sign with the Clippers and Valanciunas agreed to terms with the Wizards, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on SportsCenter on Sunday night (YouTube link) that James called Thompson right when free agency opened.
The Mavericks continue to be considered a strong contender for Thompson, but would have to negotiate a sign-and-trade agreement with the Warriors in order to acquire him into the $16MM+ trade exception they’re creating in the Tim Hardaway Jr. deal. According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link), a third team may be needed in that scenario to take on an outgoing player from Dallas. While Begley doesn’t mention any specific names, that outgoing Mavs player would almost certainly be either Josh Green or Maxi Kleber.
Even if Thompson ends up in Dallas, the Lakers may still have other names on that “short list” of targets that the team discussed with James, per Windhorst.
“I think there’s more than three,” Windhorst said on the Hoop Collective podcast. “I think DeMar DeRozan is on that list as well, and there may be another one or so.”
Here are a few more trade and free agency rumors from around the NBA:
- During that same episode of the Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), Windhorst suggested that teams who have talked to the Jazz believe Lauri Markkanen could be had for the right price. According to Windhorst, the Warriors are “definitely investigating” Markkanen and the Spurs may also be among the teams with interest. “The teams who are negotiating with the Jazz do think there’s a good chance they’re going to move him,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “Sometimes, (Jazz CEO) Danny Ainge will act like he’s going to do a trade and then there’s no trade. Maybe that will happen again here. But the teams negotiating think (he’s available).”
- Despite not tendering him a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent, the Hawks remain in discussions with forward Saddiq Bey, according to Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks and Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links). Bey will likely miss most or all of next season due to a torn ACL, so if Atlanta wants to keep him, it makes more sense to discuss a longer-term deal without the risk that the 25-year-old will accept his one-year, $8.5MM QO.
- Free agent wing Reggie Bullock has met with the Suns, Nuggets, Clippers, and Sixers so far in free agency, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says the veteran swingman is expected to talk to more teams in the coming days. Bullock’s market figures to be for the vet minimum.
Blazers Re-Sign Justin Minaya To Two-Way Contract
Justin Minaya, who spent last season in Portland on a two-way contract, is returning to the Trail Blazers on a new two-way deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal is official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
Minaya, 25, appeared in 34 games for the Blazers last season, but played a very limited role. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per contest, shooting just 29.7% from the field and 24.5% from beyond the three-point line.
The 6’5″ forward, known more as a defender than a scorer, was more effective in the G League for the Rip City Remix, appearing in 20 Showcase Cup and regular season games and averaging 13.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.5 SPG with a .438/.336/.606 shooting line.
The Blazers didn’t issue Minaya a qualifying offer prior to Saturday’s deadline, but evidently still want him in the organization going forward. He’ll fill one of Portland’s three two-way slots, and Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link) says he wouldn’t be surprised if big man Ibou Badji ends up filling one of the other two-way openings.