Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Durant, Brogdon, Melton, Knicks
The potential price tag for acquiring Kevin Durant isn’t what should matter most to the Raptors, argues Scott Stinson of The National Post, who says that determining whether Durant would actually be motivated and invested in playing for Toronto should be the most important factor for the team’s lead decision-makers.
As Stinson writes, Durant’s motivation in asking for a trade out of Brooklyn remains a bit nebulous, especially since he just signed a four-year extension last August. That should concern vice chairman and president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, because dealing for a superstar who might not be engaged or on the same page as the club could be disastrous, according to Stinson.
Drawing parallels between Ujiri’s trade for Kawhi Leonard in the 2018 offseason to the Durant sweepstakes now doesn’t make sense, per Stinson, because the situations aren’t similar.
Leonard was coming off an injury that caused him to miss almost the entire 2017/18 season, was on an expiring contract, and the Raptors teams led by Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan had been given ample time to breakthrough in the East, but couldn’t get past LeBron James. The Raptors finished second in the East in the two years after Leonard left Toronto, so obviously the team remained competitive and didn’t mortgage its future to acquire him, Stinson writes.
Durant, on the other hand, has four years remaining on his deal, so obviously it will cost significantly more to land him, plus the current version of the Raptors is ascendant, with Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent Jr., and Precious Achiuwa among the new additions who made significant contributions to a team that improved its win total from 27 to 48. Dealing away from an emerging core only for Durant to balk at the idea of staying could put Toronto in a hole that would be difficult to climb out of, says Stinson.
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- Could a lesser role on the Celtics benefit Malcolm Brogdon from a health perspective? “The knock against him coming out of college is that he had terrible knees,” a rival general manager told Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “I mean, some of the examinations were really suspect in terms of how long his lower body would be able to take NBA pounding. So that’s why he ended up going in the second round, because he was damn near red-flagged. So the fact of the matter is he’s probably better off coming off the bench with limited minutes, trying to be impactful in 18 rather than trying to play 30 and always being injured. The question becomes how he’ll accept that.” Boston reportedly views Brogdon as a sixth man, and he said shortly after the deal was announced that he’s motivated to win a championship and is willing to sacrifice his individual stats for the betterment of the team.
- De’Anthony Melton believes he’s a “great fit” for the Sixers, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscriber link). “Once I saw the team, I’m like, ‘OK, that’s a great spot,'” Melton told The Inquirer by phone last week. “That’s a great fit for me. … I understand what this team needs. I understand what this team is trying to do. I’m ready for the task at hand. I’m ready for whatever’s to come.” Melton was acquired from the Grizzlies in exchange for the No. 23 pick (David Roddy) and Danny Green in a draft-day swap.
- Signing free agent guard Jalen Brunson was a solid move for the Knicks but they still look like a play-in team on paper, Ian O’Connor of The New York Post opines. According to O’Connor, while Brunson is a good player and the best point guard the Knicks will employ in years, neither he nor RJ Barrett or Julius Randle are capable of being the best — or second-best — players on a championship-caliber team, and unless something drastic changes, New York will begin 2022/23 as “just another barely relevant club.”
And-Ones: Walton Jr., Yat, FA Winners/Losers, GL Ignite
The Sydney Kings of the Australian NBL have signed guard Derrick Walton Jr. to a one-year deal that includes NBA outs, the team announced in a press release.
After going undrafted out of Michigan in 2017, Walton signed a two-way deal with Miami and appeared in 16 games. He’s bounced around a bit in subsequent years, appearing in a total of 45 NBA games with the Heat, Clippers and Pistons, holding career averages of 2.2 PPG and 1.4 APG in 11.2 MPG.
Walton, 27, spent the majority of last season with Detroit’s G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, averaging 16.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 9.5 APG and 1.5 SPG on .505/.386/.813 shooting in 25 regular season games (36 MPG). He also had a brief 10-day hardship stint with his hometown Pistons, averaging 6.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 7.3 APG and 2.3 SPG on .231/.231/1.000 shooting in three games.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Kok Yat, who wasn’t selected in the 2022 draft a couple of weeks ago and became an unrestricted free agent, plans to return to Overtime Elite next season, a source tells ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link). Yat’s deal with OTE includes a free out that can be used at any time to sign a two-way or 10-day contract with NBA teams, per Givony. Yat is ranked No. 36 on ESPN’s list of the best undrafted prospects.
- Cydney Henderson and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (subscriber link) list their early winners and losers of free agency thus far. According to Henderson and Zillgitt, the Warriors and Nets are among the early losers, while the Timberwolves and Sixers are among the early winners.
- Sources tell Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link) that the G League Ignite could be on the move. The Ignite squad is currently headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, but “are likely” relocating to Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas, says Spears.
Grizzlies Sign Kennedy Chandler To Four-Year Deal
JULY 6: The Grizzlies have officially signed Chandler, according to the transactions log at NBA.com.
JULY 5: The Grizzlies are signing second-round pick Kennedy Chandler to a four-year, $7.1MM contract, his agent Ryan Davis tells Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
According to Charania, Chandler’s rookie contract contains $4.94MM in guaranteed money, which is the most an American second-rounder has ever received.
A four-year, minimum-salary contract would have been worth $6.94MM, so Chandler will likely receive a little more than the minimum in his rookie season.
The Grizzlies acquired Chandler in a draft-day trade from the Spurs in exchange for the Lakers’ 2024 second-round pick and cash. He was the 38th selection of the 2022 NBA draft.
Chandler was ranked 20th on ESPN’s big board prior to the draft, so he slid a bit to fall into the second round. The Memphis native averaged 13.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.7 APG and 2.2 SPG on .464/.383/.606 shooting in 34 games (30.8 MPG) as a freshman for Tennessee this past season.
Although he stands just 6’0″, Chandler is an excellent athlete and has a reputation as a strong defender. The 19-year-old recorded the highest max vertical leap (41.5″) and the second-fastest shuttle run (2.89) among all participants who were tested at the NBA draft combine in May.
Chandler is a true point guard, capable of distributing and getting to his spots at a high level. He’s currently starting for Memphis’ Summer League squad against Philadelphia in Salt Lake City, recording six points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks through nearly three quarters of action, per ESPN.
As Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian observes (Twitter links), Chandler’s deal is pretty similar to the contract Xavier Tillman received from the Grizzlies as the 35th pick in 2020 ($6.5MM over four years, with $4.6MM guaranteed). The Grizzlies had to use part of their mid-level exception to give Chandler a four-year deal, Herrington notes.
Mavericks Sign Jaden Hardy To Three-Year Deal
JULY 7: The Mavericks have officially signed Hardy, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
JULY 5: The Mavericks are signing second-round pick Jaden Hardy to a three-year contract, league sources tell longtime reporter Marc Stein (Twitter links).
As Stein explains, the Mavs had hoped to sign Hardy to a four-year deal, but because they project to be a taxpaying team next season, they will be limited to three years instead of four. According to Stein, Dallas is using slightly more than $1MM of its taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Hardy, the portion the team withheld in its deal with veteran JaVale McGee.
Hardy, who turns 20 today, was the 37th overall pick of the June 23 draft. The Mavericks traded their 2024 and 2028 second-rounders to move into the draft and acquire Hardy, whom the Mavs reportedly had 19th on their board, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
A five-star recruit exiting high school and at one point a projected top-five pick, Hardy spent last season with the G League Ignite, posting solid averages of 17.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.2 APG in 12 games (32.2 MPG). However, his offensive efficiency (3.5 turnovers per game and .351/.269/.882 shooting splits) and lackluster defense caused his draft stock to slide, as he was rated as a late first-rounder by ESPN before being selected 37th overall.
Once the signings of Hardy, McGee and Theo Pinson become official, the Mavs will have 14 of their 15 standard roster spots filled.
Bucks Waive Rayjon Tucker, Luca Vildoza
The Bucks have waived Rayjon Tucker and Luca Vildoza, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).
The three-year, minimum-salary deal that Tucker signed with the Bucks at the end of last season was non-guaranteed entering the offseason, as was the two-year deal that Vildoza signed, so Milwaukee won’t face any financial penalties for releasing either player. Vildoza’s contract would have been partially guaranteed for $500K had he made it to the start of the 2022/23 regular season with the Bucks.
The 24-year-old Tucker went undrafted out of Little Rock in 2019 and spent most of the 2019/20 season with the Jazz, then signed a two-way contract with the Sixers in January 2021 and got a 10-day deal from the Nuggets in December 2021. Tucker was signed by the Bucks with a couple of days left in the ’21/22 regular season and played in two games, plus eight postseason appearances at the end of lopsided games.
Tucker has appeared in a total of 39 NBA games across three seasons, averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.0 RPG in just 7.7 minutes per contest. He has been much more active in the G League during that span, having played for the Salt Lake City Stars, the Wisconsin Herd, and the Delaware Blue Coats. In 27 regular season games this past season for the Herd (the Bucks’ NBAGL affiliate), the wing averaged an impressive 21.1 PPG on 53% shooting. He also chipped in 7.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.2 SPG.
Vildoza, 26, played internationally in Spain for several seasons prior to reaching a buyout to sign with the Knicks in May 2021. His four-year deal with New York was non-guaranteed beyond the end of that season, and the team ended up waiving him before he underwent foot surgery last October.
The Argentinian guard is reportedly fully healthy and recovered from the surgery, but he has yet to make his regular season debut. He did, however, make seven very brief postseason appearances with the Bucks, his only official NBA action to date beyond Summer League.
After re-signing the majority of their own free agents and agreeing to a deal with Joe Ingles, the Bucks will tentatively have 14 players on their roster once first-round pick MarJon Beauchamp is signed to his rookie deal. The 15th spot could be reserved for restricted free agent Jordan Nwora, assuming the two sides can find a deal that works for both parties.
Spurs Claim Isaiah Roby Off Waivers
The Spurs have used a waiver claim to add Isaiah Roby to their roster, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein was the first to report (via Twitter) that there was a “strong expectation leaguewide” that Roby would be claimed on the waiver wire.
As Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report previously noted, Roby earned more than the minimum salary in the first year of his four-year contract with the Thunder, so the Spurs will have to use some of their cap space to absorb his $1,930,681 salary for 2022/23. Waivers claims are rare for non-minimum players, but Roby has shown some promise, so San Antonio will be taking a relatively cheap flier on him contributing next season.
In his third season with the Thunder in ’21/22, the 6’8″ Roby averaged a career-best 10.1 PPG along with 4.8 RPG on .514/.444/.672 shooting in 45 games (21.1 MPG). Oklahoma City had previously picked up his club option, but then the Thunder waived him before his contract would have become fully guaranteed. Because his salary guarantee deadline was July 3, his $1.93MM will now be fully guaranteed.
The Spurs recently agreed to sign Gorgui Dieng and now added Roby, so clearly adding frontcourt depth was a priority with their final roster spots. Once all of San Antonio’s first-round picks are signed to their rookie deals (only Blake Wesley has been signed thus far, but the other two should be formalities), the Spurs will tentatively have a full 15-man roster.
Even accounting for the new additions, the Spurs still have well over $30MM in cap room this offseason, so they have plenty of options to work with going forward.
Nets Sign Alondes Williams To Two-Way Deal
JULY 4: Williams’ two-way deal with the Nets is now official, the team announced today in a press release.
As our tracker shows, Brooklyn’s other two-way slot remains open, though the club has a two-way qualifying offer out to David Duke.
JUNE 24: The Nets are signing Alondes Williams to a two-way deal, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
The 6’5″ guard averaged 18.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.2 APG and 1.2 SPG on .507/.282/.691 shooting as a junior for Wake Forest in 2021/22. He spent his first two college seasons with Oklahoma prior to transferring to the Demon Deacons.
Williams won ACC Player of the Year and was selected to the All-ACC First Team for his strong performance this past season. He was ranked 59th on ESPN’s big board prior to the draft, so he was considered a fringe second-round pick, but ultimately went undrafted and landed in Brooklyn.
Julian Champagnie Signs Two-Way Deal With Sixers
JULY 2: Champagnie’s contract is official, the team announced in an email.
JUNE 24: St. John’s swingman Julian Champagnie is signing a two-way deal with the Sixers, a source tells Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com (Twitter link).
In 31 games (34.2 MPG) as a junior for the Red Storm last season, Champagnie averaged an impressive 19.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.0 SPG and 1.1 BPG. His shooting numbers were less impressive, as his .414/.337/.781 slash line was down from two seasons ago, when he shot .433/.380/.887.
Champagnie, the twin brother of Raptors two-way wing Justin Champagnie, was a All-Big East First Team selection each of the past two seasons.
Southwest Notes: Spurs, Murray, Rockets, Tate, Zion
Spurs general manager Brian Wright said it was tough to see Dejounte Murray go after the team helped him develop over the past six years, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. The Spurs drafted Murray with the 29th pick of the 2016 draft.
“We’ve watched him grow from his rookie year to being an All-Star last year,” Wright said in a news conference to announce the finalization of the trade that sent Murray to Atlanta. “You wish this job was full of easy decisions. The reality is, there’s a lot of hard decisions.”
Murray enjoyed a breakout season in 2021/22, averaging 21.1 PPG, 9.2 APG, 8.3 RPG, and a league-leading 2.0 SPG with a shooting line of .462/.327/.794 in 68 games (34.8 MPG). The 25-year-old was the runner-up for the Most Improved Player award.
San Antonio received three first-round picks and a pick swap in the deal, and while Wright certainly wasn’t in a celebratory mood, he said the offer from the Hawks was too good to pass up.
“We just got to the place where the deal was the right thing to do,” Wright said.
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Jae’Sean Tate‘s new three-year contract with the Rockets contains a team option in the final year, sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Tate will earn $7MM in 2022/23 and $6.5MM in ’23/24, and the deal also includes a bonus tied to how many games the team wins, Iko reports. The 26-year-old Tate averaged 11.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 2.8 APG on .498/.312/.707 shooting in 78 games (26.4 MPG) this season.
- Rafael Stone, the general manager of the Rockets, chose to acquire multiple unprotected first-round picks and pick swaps when he sent James Harden to the Nets. That decision looks like a wise one now that Kevin Durant has requested a trade out of Brooklyn, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, who details why he thinks the move might pay off for Houston — depending on what the Nets get in return for the superstar forward.
- The news that the Pelicans are nearing an agreement on a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension with Zion Williamson brings welcome stability to New Orleans, per William Guillory of The Athletic. As Guillory writes, the Pelicans have dealt with all kinds of turmoil over the years, the most recent being the rampant speculation that Williamson would request a trade or decide against signing a rookie contract extension, which obviously isn’t the case. Once the deal is officially inked, the franchise will have all of its core players signed for the next few years, and the terrific rookie class from ’21/22 to grow alongside them.
Suns Sign Damion Lee To One-Year Deal
The Suns have signed Damion Lee to a contract, per NBA.com’s official transactions log.
Because the deal is already official, we can deduce it’s a minimum-salary pact, since those can be signed during the July moratorium. The contract will be for one year, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Lee, 29, went undrafted out of Louisville in 2016. He made his rookie debut with the Hawks in 2017/18, first signing a 10-day deal and then a rest-of-season contract, appearing in 15 games for Atlanta.
Lee has spent the last four seasons with the Warriors, winning a title with Golden State this season. In 201 regular season games (20.6 MPG) with the Warriors, Lee averaged 8.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG on .437/.366/.880 shooting.
While Lee isn’t a great defensive player, he is an impressive shot-maker when he gets rolling, capable of scoring points in bunches. Lee joins Gary Payton II, Otto Porter, Nemanja Bjelica and Juan Toscano-Anderson as role players who are departing the defending champions.
Phoenix gets a decent depth piece at shooting guard, although Lee probably won’t receive many minutes behind star Devin Booker.