Atlantic Notes: Dragic, Irving, Bogdanovic, Raptors, Sixers
Goran Dragic admitted in a recent interview with Zoran Mijatović of Slovenian outlet Vecer that his stint with the Nets last season was a difficult one, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
“I already talked to Chicago last year, but then things unfortunately took a different direction,” Dragic said, via Google Translate. “Well, not unfortunately, it just happened as it did and I chose Brooklyn. Last year I decided the way I did.
“I played with some stars, like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and I have to admit that it was quite difficult because the focus was not the team, but more the individual performances of the individuals,” Dragic said.
The veteran guard decided not to join the Mavericks because there wasn’t a path to regular playing time, but he’s happy he signed with the Bulls in free agency.
“It was really tough last year, but that’s part of the sport. I’m happy that I came to the club environment that I wanted, in which I know that I will play, where I can get to consistency again, and that’s what I’m most happy about,” Dragic said, per Lewis.
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- In an appearance on Get Up (video link), ESPN’s Nick Friedell said he “would be very surprised if (the Nets) dropped (Kyrie Irving) back in to start training camp.” Friedell, who covers the Nets for ESPN, also said he thinks Durant will start the season with Brooklyn.
- ESPN’s Tim MacMahon recently relayed on The Lowe Post podcast that the Raptors might be interested in Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic (hat tip to RealGM). “If the Jazz and Raptors do a trade, I think Bogdanovic would be the guy going to Toronto, not Donovan Mitchell,” said MacMahon. “Just saying.” “Spicy,” replied Zach Lowe. “I’ve heard rumblings there,” added MacMahon. “Nothing imminent or anything close to it. I think he’s a guy… the Raptors can certainly use a 6’8″ shooter like Bogdanovic. For the Jazz in a rebuild, they’re obviously trying to move him.” Bogdanovic holds a career three-point percentage of 39.2% and Toronto was 20th in the league in three-point shooting last season at 34.9%, so he could be a decent fit with the Raptors. The 33-year-old is on an expiring contract worth $19.5MM next season, so matching his salary might be a little difficult, assuming Toronto is interested.
- Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com covers a number of topics related to the Sixers in his latest mailbag column. He believes free agent acquisition P.J. Tucker projects to be a starter next season, joining incumbent starters James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid.
Pacers Waive Duane Washington, Three Others
7:18pm: The four cuts are now official, according to a press release from the Pacers.
3:15pm: The Pacers are waiving Duane Washington and using the waive-and-stretch provision on Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan and Nik Stauskas in order to create the necessary cap space to sign Deandre Ayton to a maximum-salary offer sheet, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Washington, 22, went undrafted last year after three college seasons with Ohio State. He signed a two-way contract with the Pacers and had a productive rookie season, appearing in 48 games (20.2 MPG) while averaging 9.9 PPG, 1.7 RPG and 1.8 APG on .404/.377/.754 shooting. More than half of his field goal attempts came from beyond the arc.
Washington received a promotion at the end of the season when his two-way deal was converted to a standard contract, but his salary for next season was non-guaranteed. He and the team previously agreed to push back his guarantee date from July 6 until July 15, so he’ll be released one day in advance of that deadline.
Fitts, Morgan and Stauskas were all sent to Indiana for salary-matching purposes as part of the trade that saw Malcolm Brogdon head to Boston. Each of the three players received significant guarantees on their minimum-salary contracts in order to complete the trade, but obviously none of them were part of Indiana’s long-term plans.
The stretch provision allows teams to pay players they waive over multiple years. In this case, the three salaries will be spread out over three seasons, because they were all waived between July 1 and August 31 and only had one year on their contracts.
Of the four players being waived, Washington seems like the best bet to immediately find a new team, whether it’s via waiver claim or a new deal after clearing waivers. Despite being a rookie, he had the most productive season in 2021/22, even if it was due in part to Indiana’s disappointing season that saw the team finish with a 25-57 record.
Kevin Durant Rumors: Leverage, Raptors, Bridges, Suns
Appearing on NBA Today on Wednesday (video link), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said the Nets have been been “really turned off” by the offers they’ve received for Kevin Durant thus far.
“If some of the trade packages that have been floated to me are true, I agree with them, I think that they should expect more for Kevin Durant with four years left on his contract,” Windhorst said. “But the other teams in the league just don’t believe that the Nets have a lot of leverage here… and the offers they are making are reflective of that belief.”
As Windhorst details, the Nets are acting as though they’re fine with holding onto Durant into the season if acceptable offers aren’t presented. As of yesterday, Windhorst said that he wasn’t “sensing any traction” on a potential trade.
A source tells Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca that Brooklyn has an “unreasonably high” asking price for the star forward, and the Raptors have been unwilling to include Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes or the maximum amount of first-round picks in any Durant offer to this point. The two sides have had preliminary discussions regarding Durant, but nothing serious.
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports that there has been talk during Summer League indicating that the Suns have been reluctant to include Mikal Bridges in a package for Durant, which is part of the reason why there has been no headway on a deal. Those around the league refer to Bridges as the “key piece” in any offer.
Frankly, if those rumors are true, it sounds like Windhorst might be right about the lack of suitable offers for Durant.
If Bridges hasn’t been included, then the Suns aren’t serious about acquiring Durant at this stage. Bridges is a high-quality role player and a very good defender, but Durant is an all-time great.
The Raptors have other possible pieces to dangle, like Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr. and Precious Achiuwa — so their reluctance to include Barnes or the full complement of future first-rounders is more understandable. I don’t include Fred VanVleet in that group because I don’t think Toronto would consider moving him — he’s too important to the team’s culture, plus his on-court production improves nearly every season.
Even if he’s entering his age-34 season, Durant performed at an MVP-caliber level when he was healthy last season, averaging 29.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 6.4 APG on .518/.383/.910 shooting in 55 games (37.2 MPG). He’s a 12-time All-Star, a four-time scoring champion, has been named to 10 All-NBA teams, is a former MVP and a two-time Finals MVP — a résumé doesn’t get much more stacked than that.
Central Notes: Ayton, Nesmith, Pacers, Ivey, Pistons
On a Tuesday appearance on 107.5 The Fan, ESPN’s Bobby Marks detailed a couple ways the Pacers can create enough cap space to sign Suns center Deandre Ayton, the top restricted free agent on the market, to a maximum-salary offer sheet. Indiana is currently about $26.4MM under the cap, but needs to get to $31MM to sign Ayton to a max deal.
“You’d have to waive a (non-guaranteed) player like Duane Washington Jr. and then you’d have to either make a trade or you would have to use the waive and stretch provision on a couple players, maybe the couple players you got in the Celtics trade,” Marks said, per James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. “The challenge becomes if Phoenix matches (an offer sheet for Ayton), you can’t go back and take back those waivers. So you run the risk of losing three players to waivers on an offer sheet that likely would get matched.”
Marks believes the Suns would match the deal so they wouldn’t lose Ayton for nothing, even though he wouldn’t be trade-eligible for several months. As Boyd details, the three players Marks was referring to that came from the Celtics are Juwan Morgan, Nik Stauskas and Malik Fitts.
Boyd says Goga Bitadze might be a player the Pacers could deal away to give Ayton the offer sheet — Bitadze will make $4.765MM next season. However, as Boyd points out, the Pacers haven’t signed a restricted free agent to an offer sheet since 2013, and it was a very modest deal, relatively, for Chris Copeland.
A more viable alternative for Indiana to land Ayton might be a sign-and-trade for Myles Turner, which has been the subject of multiple rumors, but Marks wondered if Turner alone would be enough for Phoenix.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Aaron Nesmith, another player in the trade with Boston that sent Malcolm Brogdon to the Celtics, said he was “completely caught off guard” when he heard the news, but the Pacers had their eye on him for a while and he’ll get a bigger opportunity with Indiana, writes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Indiana’s brass told Nesmith to focus on honing a specific skill set. “To play free, be a good 3-and-D guy and I could be a top-notch 3-and-D guy in this league, so that’s the focus,” Nesmith said, per Agness. “That’s what we’re going to work for and that’s what I’m going to become.”
- The Pacers announced that they’re withholding first-rounder Bennedict Mathurin for the remainder of Las Vegas Summer League due to a sore left big toe. He was the No. 6 pick of last month’s draft. Second-year players Terry Taylor and Isaiah Jackson will also be out. Summer League ends on July 17, so I’m sure it’s just for precautionary reasons.
- Jaden Ivey, the No. 5 pick of the draft, showed the Pistons flashes of his enormous upside in his brief Summer League action before suffering a sprained ankle, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Cade Cunningham, Detroit’s No. 1 overall pick last year, said on a recent NBA TV appearance that he was looking forward to playing with his new backcourt partner. “Definitely excited to play with him,” Cunningham said. “He’s so talented, brings so much to the team. Just the way he plays the game, trying to play the right way, trying to play for his teammates, spread the ball. It’s all exciting. Being able to take the court with him is exciting and it’s coming soon. I’m excited, man.”
Jazz, Knicks Discussing Donovan Mitchell Trade
The Jazz and Knicks are discussing a deal that would send Donovan Mitchell to New York, sources tell Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic.
According to The Athletic’s duo, the Jazz are listening to offers from multiple teams, but the Knicks have become the “focused destination.” Both teams have discussed the framework of a potential deal in the past 24 hours, Charania and Jones report.
New York possesses several future first-round picks and young players to package for the three-time All-Star, including second-year guard Quentin Grimes, whom the Jazz are believed to be interested in, sources tell The Athletic. Grimes was the No. 25 pick of the 2021 draft, shot 38.1% from three-point range as a rookie while playing solid defense, and has had a strong Summer League performance in Las Vegas over the past week.
Utah is focused on a return centered around draft picks and players on rookie scale contracts, per Charania and Jones. Ian Begley of SNY.tv reported earlier today that the Jazz were keying in on a draft pick-centric package.
After Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report said the Jazz are open to moving any of the players acquired from the Timberwolves, Charania and Jones go a step further, saying that there are no untouchable players on Utah’s roster, and all of the team’s veterans have been made available. Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley and Jordan Clarkson have all drawn interest in trade talks, sources tell The Athletic.
The Jazz apparently view draft picks as the best way to rebuild the roster, with CEO Danny Ainge recently discussing the subject of the team’s limitations following the Rudy Gobert trade.
“You’re over the tax, no draft picks, and our team loses in the first round,” Ainge said on Saturday. “It wasn’t fun for us. We want it to be fun for our fans and our players, but we just haven’t had much flexibility to do anything over the last little while.”
The Knicks are motivated to present a “significant package” for Mitchell, according to Charania and Jones, but as Begley wrote, they’re wary of giving up too much because they want to have enough depth to be a contender in the East.
The Athletic’s duo says there’s “incredible interest” on the Knicks’ side to bring the 25-year-old home to New York, where Mitchell spends a lot of time in the offseason. Still, the Jazz have a high asking price for the talented guard, so it remains to be seen what a potential deal might ultimately look like.
And-Ones: Koufos, Nunnally, Embiid, ABA
Veteran center Kosta Koufos, who played 11 years in the NBA from 2008-2019, is finalizing a contract to join the London Lions of the British Basketball League, sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Across 686 career games, including 229 starts, Koufos averaged 5.7 points and 5 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per night while playing solid defense. He played for Utah, Minnesota, Denver, Memphis and Sacramento during his time in the league.
The 33-year-old made a couple of international stops with CSKA Moscow in 2019/20 and Olympiacos in ’20/21, per Basketball-Reference. Both teams compete in the EuroLeague. Last season he was a veteran mentor for the G League Ignite.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA forward James Nunnally has signed with Serbian club Partizan Belgrade, according to Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando. The 31-year-old played parts of three seasons in the league for five teams, most recently with the Pelicans in ’20/21. He only played in 37 career games with modest averages of 8.5 MPG and 2.6 PPG, but he has had a lengthy and productive career overseas, with career averages of 12.1 PPG and 3.1 RPG on an impressive shooting line of .471/.437/.896. He played in Israel last season for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
- Joel Embiid has reportedly been granted French citizenship, clearing the way for him to join France’s national team in international competition, writes Antigoni Zachari of Eurohoops.net. The original report came from French outlet BeBasket.fr. The French team’s frontcourt could feature a staggering amount of size and talent in future competitions if Embiid participates, with the center potentially joining three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama, the projected first overall pick of the 2023 draft.
- After reporting in February of last year that the NBA was in discussions with the Dropping Dimes Foundation about potentially assisting more than 100 remaining American Basketball Association players, many of whom are struggling financially and are in dire need of pensions, Dana Hunsinger Benbow of The Indianapolis Star writes that the NBA’s Board of Governors voted yesterday to pay the ABA players $24.5MM. According to Hunsinger Benbow, approximately 115 players are eligible for the payout, which the league is calling “recognition payments” instead of pensions. In order to be eligible, the players must have played at least three years in the ABA or at least three combined years in the ABA and NBA while never receiving a pension from the NBA. The players will receive $3,828 annually for each year they played in the league, for a minimum of $11,484 per year, Hunsinger Benbow reports. The funding for the payments will be split 50-50 between the NBA and the Players Association.
Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Sumner, Sims, Mazzulla
There will be quite the competition for the Raptors‘ final roster spots, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Although rookie Christian Koloko still hasn’t been signed, he seems like a safe bet to be the 13th player on a standard deal, per Lewenberg.
“He does what he does very well and we probably don’t need him to do much more than that,” head coach Nick Nurse told TSN. “I love the way he runs, his feet are great, he’s blocking shots, screening OK and he’s got a pretty decent, safe pair of hands. And it’s probably a good roster fit.”
The 7’1″ center was the 33rd pick of last month’s draft. Second-year guard/forward Dalano Banton also has a good chance to be on the opening night roster, Lewenberg writes.
That leaves Justin Champagnie, D.J. Wilson, Armoni Brooks, David Johnson and Ron Harper Jr. battling it out for the final few roster spots. Toronto is expected to sign Harper to a two-way deal but he could earn a promotion if he impresses in training camp, according to Lewenberg, who notes that there’s also a chance the Raptors could waive Svi Mykhailiuk, who exercised his minimum-salary player option last month, in order to keep more than one of that group on a standard deal.
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently reported that guard Edmond Sumner signed a two-year, minimum-salary deal with the Nets, and the second year is non-guaranteed. Ian Begley of SNY.tv provides more details about Sumner’s contract (via Twitter), reporting that the first years isn’tfully guaranteed either. Sumner’s 2022/23 guarantee will increase from $250K to $500K if he’s on the opening night roster, and the second season becomes fully guaranteed once the free agency moratorium lifts in 2023. That typically occurs on July 6.
- As Fred Katz of The Athletic recently relayed, Jericho Sims‘ new contract with the Knicks is fully guaranteed at $2K above the minimum in ’22/23, the second year is at the minimum and partially guaranteed for $600K, and the final year is a team option for the minimum with a $651,180 partial guarantee. Begley reports (Twitter link) that the $600K in year two increases to $1.2MM if Sims is still on the roster by mid-July 2023, and the deal becomes fully guaranteed in mid-August ’23. The same structure applies to the third year, with the $651,180 increasing to $1.3MM in mid-July ’24 and a full guarantee in mid-August ’24.
- Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said he will be promoting Joe Mazzulla to a role on the bench in place of Will Hardy, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Mazzulla recently interviewed for Utah’s head coaching vacancy, which ultimately went to Hardy. He also interviewed for Boston’s job last summer.
Trail Blazers Sign Second-Rounder Jabari Walker
The Trail Blazers have signed second-round pick Jabari Walker to a standard contract, the team announced in a press release.
Walker, who turns 20 later this month, was the 57th pick of last month’s draft after two seasons at Colorado. In 33 games (28.1 MPG) for the Buffaloes last season, Walker averaged 14.6 PPG and 9.4 RPG on .461/.346/.784 shooting, earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors in the process.
The 6’9″ forward has had a stellar Summer League with Portland thus far, posting averages of 13.0 PPG and 8.3 RPG on .682/.375/.667 shooting in three games (19.6 MPG).
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Blazers had a small portion of their mid-level exception remaining to give Walker a contract that exceeds two years if they wanted to. Most of their mid-level was used to sign Gary Payton II.
Portland now has 15 players on standard deals, with one two-way spot still open. Although his last name is quite common, it’s worth noting that Walker is the son of former NBA player Samaki Walker.
As Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report tweets, the younger Walker recently said his father taught him one of the keys to having a long career is to understand his role.
“My dad taught me that a ‘role player’ isn’t a bad thing. You can make a lot of money being a role player. You can be a starter being a role player. A lot of people don’t embrace that. So that’s going to be an advantage for me,” he said.
Donovan Mitchell Rumors: Picks, Knicks, Barrett, Nets
Teams monitoring the Donovan Mitchell situation believe Utah is looking for a package headlined by draft picks in exchange for the star guard, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
Those same teams say the Jazz are looking for deal similar in scope to what they received for Rudy Gobert, which was unprotected first-round picks in 2023, 2025, and 2027, along with a top-five protected 2029 first-round pick and the right to swap first-rounders in 2026. Utah also received Minnesota’s 2022 first-rounder, Walker Kessler, as well as Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Leandro Bolmaro.
As Begley observes, the Knicks have the capability to meet the Jazz’s first-round pick criteria, which might give them a leg up over other suitors like the Heat.
Having said that, the Knicks are leery of trading away the kind of compensation Utah got for Gobert because they believe they wouldn’t have a good enough roster remaining to be a contender. Including RJ Barrett might be a non-starter for New York, as the Knicks have no interest in dealing the 22-year-old wing, Begley reports.
It’s unclear if Utah would even be interested in Barrett, considering he’s eligible for a rookie scale extension and could be in line for a large payday. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report said at the end of June that there was “mutual interest” between the Knicks and Barrett in coming to terms on an extension, and Begley reiterates that the two sides are “optimistic” about a deal coming together.
According to Begley, the Nets also have interest in Mitchell, but the designated rookie rule complicates matters, because they already have Ben Simmons.
In his examination of where Mitchell might land, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer believes that sending Simmons and picks to Utah might appeal to the Jazz. However, the Nets would be wise to stand pat on the trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Simmons if they want to contend, because that is their best pathway to a title, O’Connor says.
And-Ones: Napier, Drell, 2023 Mock Draft, Contracts
Shabazz Napier is signing with Serbian club Crvena Zvezda, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net.
Napier, the 24th pick of the 2014 draft, last played with the Wizards in 2020. He played a total of 345 regular season games across six seasons in the NBA, with career averages of 7.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists on .397/.345/.815 shooting.
The point guard has been inactive since he departed the NBA, Askounis writes, saying that Napier signed a one-year deal with Zenit Saint Petersburg last summer but suffered an injury that forced him out of action, and then when he was going to rejoin the team in February, Russia invaded Ukraine, so he opted to leave.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Estonian swingman Henri Drell, currently playing for the Bulls in Summer League, is hoping to show that he can be a complementary player in the NBA, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “I want to show that I can be a reliable NBA role player,” Drell said. “I can do everything on the floor. I can support the stars. I can defend. I can shoot. And I can pass. So I feel like this is what I have to show.” Drell spent last season in the G League with the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s affiliate.
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic recently released his 2023 mock draft, with French phenom Victor Wembanyama going No. 1, followed by G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson at No. 2.
- Kevin Durant asking for a trade from the Nets with four years remaining on his contract is the latest in a trend of stars asking out with multiple years left on their deals, notes Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. However, it seems unlikely that the league will do anything about it going forward, even if it might be a point of contention during CBA negotiations, considering teams can essentially trade players at any time (certain limitations notwithstanding).