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Pelicans Officially Acquire Valanciunas, Graham In Three-Team Trade

August 7th, 2021 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have officially announced a pair of previously–reported trades, having combined their acquisitions of center Jonas Valanciunas and point guard Devonte’ Graham into a single transaction involving both the Grizzlies and Hornets. Memphis and Charlotte have put out press releases as well.

The details of the three-team deal are as follows:

To Pelicans:
- Valanciunas (from Grizzlies)
- Graham (sign-and-trade; from Hornets)
- The draft rights to Trey Murphy (No. 17 pick; from Grizzlies)
- The draft rights to Brandon Boston (No. 51 pick; from Grizzlies)
  - Note: Boston will be rerouted to the Clippers in a subsequent trade.
To Grizzlies:
- Eric Bledsoe (from Pelicans)
- Steven Adams (from Pelicans)
- The draft rights to Ziaire Williams (No. 10 pick; from Pelicans)
- The draft rights to Jared Butler (No. 40 pick; from Pelicans)
  - Note: Butler will be rerouted to the Jazz in a subsequent trade.
- The Lakers’ 2022 first-round pick (top-10 protected; from Pelicans)
To Hornets:
- Wesley Iwundu (from Pelicans)
- The Pelicans’ 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected; from Pelicans)
  - Note: If the Pelicans’ 2022 first-rounder falls in the top 14, the Hornets will instead receive New Orleans’ 2022 and 2024 second-round picks, per Rod Boone of SI.com.
- Cash (from Pelicans)
- The draft rights to Tyler Harvey (from Grizzlies)

The details of the three-team trade essentially line up with what was previously reported, with two new pieces added — Iwundu going from New Orleans to Charlotte and Harvey’s draft rights going from Memphis to Charlotte. Harvey was presumably only included to ensure that the Grizzlies and Hornets were “touching,” since otherwise Memphis would only have been exchanging assets with the Pelicans.

Looping their sign-and-trade acquisition of Graham into the trade suggests the Pelicans will operate over the cap, using Bledsoe’s and Adams’ outgoing salaries in order to match both Valanciunas and Graham instead of signing Graham into cap space.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), it also allows New Orleans to generate a $17MM+ trade exception in the deal. Only Bledsoe’s and Iwundu’s outgoing salaries are needed for matching purposes to take on Valanciunas and Graham, meaning the Pelicans’ new TPE is worth Adams’ salary ($17,073,171).

Graham reportedly signed a four-year, $47MM contract with the Pelicans as part of the trade. He and Tomas Satoransky appear set to play the majority of the minutes at point guard in New Orleans, barring further roster changes. The team is sending Lonzo Ball to Chicago in a separate sign-and-trade deal.

Graham made just 37.7% of his field goal attempts in 2020/21, but his three-point mark was a very respectable 37.5%. In addition to his ability to make threes, Graham is an above-average play-maker (6.5 APG over the last two seasons) and a respectable defender.

Swapping out Adams for Valanciunas should allow the Pelicans to improve their frontcourt spacing. Valanciunas isn’t exactly a long-distance marksman, but has a solid mid-range game and will shoot the occasional three-pointer, which should create more room for Zion Williamson to operate. The former No. 5 overall pick averaged an impressive 17.1 PPG and 12.5 RPG with a .592/.368/.773 shooting line in 62 games (28.3 MPG) this past season.

From the Grizzlies’ perspective, the deal was a way to improve their draft assets in both 2021 and 2022 as a result of their willingness to take on Adams’ and Bledsoe’s pricey contracts. The team moved up from No. 17 to No. 10 to snag Williams, and later flipped the No. 40 pick (Butler) to Utah in a separate trade to move up to No. 30 for Santi Aldama.

[RELATED: 2021 NBA Offseason Trades]

The Hornets, meanwhile, decided to move on from Graham and got a protected first-round pick from New Orleans in exchange for waiving their right to match an offer sheet for the restricted free agent. Iwundu’s guaranteed $1.82MM salary for 2021/22 will eat up a small amount of Charlotte’s cap room, but the team will still have enough flexibility to complete its signing of Kelly Oubre to a two-year deal in the range of $12-13MM per year.

Nets Sign Day’Ron Sharpe To Rookie Contract

August 6th, 2021 at 9:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have signed first-round pick Day’Ron Sharpe to his first NBA contract, the team announced on Friday in a press release.

The Suns drafted Sharpe with the No. 29 pick last week on behalf of the Nets, who had agreed on draft day to acquire that pick along with Jevon Carter in exchange for Landry Shamet. The trade couldn’t become official until today, and Brooklyn didn’t waste any time in locking up Sharpe to his rookie contract.

Sharpe, who declared for the draft after a single season at North Carolina, averaged 9.5 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 29 games (19.2 MPG) for the Tar Heels. The 6’11” center is one of five prospects selected by the Nets in this year’s draft and is the second one to officially sign with the club, joining fellow first-rounder Cameron Thomas.

As our breakdown of this year’s rookie scale salaries shows, Sharpe is on track to earn just over $2MM in his first NBA season is he receives the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale.

Five-Team Russell Westbrook, Spencer Dinwiddie Trade Now Official

August 6th, 2021 at 8:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The five-team trade involving the Lakers, Wizards, Nets, Spurs, and Pacers, headlined by Russell Westbrook (to Los Angeles) and Spencer Dinwiddie (to Washington) is now official, according to press releases from multiple clubs.

The deal began as a two-team trade sending Westbrook from the Wizards to the Lakers, an agreement that was completed around the start of the draft last Thursday. Later that night, the Wizards and Pacers agreed to a deal sending Aaron Holiday that would be folded into the Westbrook blockbuster.

Subsequently, during free agency, the Wizards and Dinwiddie wanted to find a way to get the point guard to D.C. and ultimately convinced the Nets to accommodate a sign-and-trade. The Spurs entered the mix late to accommodate Washington’s salary-dump of Chandler Hutchison.

Here’s the full breakdown of the deal, based on reports to date:

To Lakers:
- Russell Westbrook (from Wizards)
- The Bulls’ 2023 second-round pick (from Wizards)
- Either the Wizards’ or Grizzlies’ 2024 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Wizards)
- The Wizards’ 2028 second-round pick (from Wizards)
To Wizards:
- Spencer Dinwiddie (sign-and-trade; from Nets)
- Kyle Kuzma (from Lakers)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (from Lakers)
- Montrezl Harrell (from Lakers)
- Aaron Holiday (from Pacers)
- The draft rights to Isaiah Todd (No. 31 pick; from Pacers)
- Cash (from Pacers; $1MM, per Fred Katz of The Athletic)
To Nets:
- Either the Wizards’ or the Grizzlies’ 2024 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Wizards)
- The right to swap the Warriors’ 2025 second-round pick for the Wizards’ 2025 second-round pick (from Wizards)
- The draft rights to Nikola Milutinov (from Spurs)
To Spurs:
- Chandler Hutchison (from Wizards)
- Either the Bulls’, the Lakers’, or the Pistons 2022 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Wizards)
To Pacers:
- The draft rights to Isaiah Jackson (No. 22 pick; from Lakers)

The Nets also generated the most significant trade exception of any team in the deal — it’ll be worth about $11.5MM.

While it was a fairly minor move for Brooklyn, San Antonio, and Indiana, the deal will significantly reshape the Lakers’ and Wizards’ rosters for the 2021/22 season. Los Angeles consolidated its depth, acquiring a star player who wanted to team up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, then filled out its roster in free agency.

The Wizards, meanwhile, traded one star for several depth pieces and managed to replace their old point guard with one who will earn less than half of Westbrook’s salary for the next couple seasons. The deal should increase the club’s cap flexibility while fortifying its bench.

Nets Trade Landry Shamet To Suns For Jevon Carter, Day’Ron Sharpe

August 6th, 2021 at 11:38am CST by JD Shaw

AUGUST 6: The Suns have officially acquired Shamet from the Nets in exchange for Carter and the rights to Day’Ron Sharpe, the team announced in a press release.

JULY 29: The Nets have agreed to trade sharpshooter Landry Shamet to the Suns in exchange for Jevon Carter and the No. 29 pick in Thursday’s draft, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

As a result, Brooklyn now owns the 27th, 29th, 44th, 49th and 59th picks in the 2021 draft. Carter, a 6’1″ point guard, will provide backcourt depth behind the likes of Kyrie Irving and James Harden, assuming he stays with the team.

Phoenix wasn’t interested in using the No. 29 pick on a player who likely wouldn’t have played much, preferring to add a more proven veteran to the mix, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 tweets. The Suns are coming off their first NBA Finals berth since 1993 and third berth in franchise history.

Suns coach Monty Williams is a strong supporter of Shamet, dating back to when he coached him as an assistant with the Sixers, Wojnarowski notes (via Twitter). The 24-year-old Shamet averaged 9.3 points per game in 61 contests last season, shooting 41% from the floor and 39% from three-point range.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), the trade won’t be completed until August 6 at the earliest. Shamet’s salary will increase from $2MM to $3.76MM for next season, while Carter will make $3.65MM in 2021/22. Shamet also becomes eligible for a rookie-scale extension on August 6.

Nets Sign DeAndre’ Bembry

August 6th, 2021 at 11:38am CST by JD Shaw

AUGUST 8: The Nets have officially signed Bembry, the club announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 6: The Nets have reached a one-year agreement with free agent swingman DeAndre’ Bembry, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). While terms of the deal weren’t reported, Brooklyn is currently limited to minimum-salary commitments.

Bembry, who joins Patty Mills and James Johnson as veteran free agents to commit to Brooklyn this offseason, spent the 2020/21 season with the Raptors. He appeared in 51 games, averaging 5.7 points on 51% shooting from the floor and 26% shooting from deep, providing defensive versatility and athleticism off the bench. He was waived on Tuesday before his 2021/22 salary became guaranteed.

The 6’5″ Bembry was also the No. 21 pick of the 2016 NBA Draft. He spent the first four years of his career with Atlanta, mostly playing off the bench.

In addition to Bembry, Mills and Johnson, the Nets also reached new deals with two of their own free agents this summer: Blake Griffin and Bruce Brown. The team has built a formidable roster around the likes of Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant as it seeks its first-ever NBA championship.

Andre Iguodala Signs One-Year Deal With Warriors

August 6th, 2021 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 10: Igoudala’s new deal with the Warriors is now official, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 6: Free agent forward Andre Iguodala has agreed to return to the Warriors, telling Jonathan Abrams of The New York Times that he’ll sign a one-year deal with Golden State. His intention is to finish his career with the franchise.

According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), Iguodala – like fellow free agents Otto Porter and Nemanja Bjelica – will receive the veteran’s minimum from Golden State.

A report on Thursday indicated that Iguodala – who became a free agent after the Heat turned down his $15MM team option – had narrowed his choices down to the Warriors, Lakers, and Nets, while a follow-up report this morning from Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link) suggested the decision would likely come down to Brooklyn vs. Golden State.

In the end, the opportunity to reunite with the Warriors won out for the 37-year-old, who previously earned three titles with the team.

“Who would have thought I’d have the opportunity to go back to the place where I was able to have, whatever you want to call it, legacy years, in terms of the accomplishments, winning multiple championships, the relationships that I was able to build with some of my closest friends and teammates?” Iguodala said. “The relationship with the fans, the relationship with the Bay, the opportunity to end it here, was just something special.”

Iguodala, who routinely averaged between 15-20 points per game for the 76ers early in his NBA career, is no longer much of an offensive threat, having put up just 4.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.3 APG on .396/.323/.585 shooting in 84 games (20.9 MPG) over the last two seasons in Miami.

However, the veteran forward remains a reliable, versatile defender and brings veteran leadership to a locker room. He told Abrams that he’s looking forward to taking on a mentor role for the Warriors’ young players.

As for how much longer Iguodala plans to spend in the league before his retirement, that decision remains up in the air, as Abrams relays.

“I think I’ve got some more time left,” Iguodala said. “Where I’m comfortable at is I can decide when I’m ready to go. I think I want to leave with just a little bit left. I don’t want to go out on one leg. I know I’ve got a few more years. It’s just my decision whether it’s one or two or three or whatever it may be. I shouldn’t even say three. One or two.”

Free Agent Rumors: Iguodala, Oubre, Williams, Smith

August 5th, 2021 at 9:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

A reunion between the Warriors and defensive specialist Andre Iguodala could be in the works. Iguodala has narrowed his choices to his former team along with the Nets and Lakers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Iguodala, 37, played 63 regular-season games with the Heat this past season and averaged a modest 4.4 PPG in 21.3 MPG, with a majority of his field-goal attempts coming from beyond the arc. Iguodala won three rings in six seasons with the Warriors.

We have more free agent buzz:

Free agent forward Kelly Oubre is in discussions with the Hornets, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets. Oubre averaged 15.4 PPG and 6.0 RPG for Golden State last season but only made 31.6% of his 3-point attempts. The Hornets are also reportedly pondering an offer sheet to Bulls free agent Lauri Markkanen — with approximately $14MM in cap room remaining, they wouldn’t be able to sign both players unless one accepted a very team-friendly rate.
Before Lou Williams chose to return to the Hawks, the Lakers, Warriors and Bucks showed interest in the three-time Sixth Man of the Year award, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Williams opted for a one-year, $5MM agreement with Atlanta.
Free agent guard Dennis Smith Jr. won’t return to the Pistons, Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets. That’s no surprise, considering Detroit drafted Cade Cunningham with the No. 1 pick and reached an agreement with Cory Joseph after declining its team option on him.

Cameron Thomas Signs Rookie Contract With Nets

August 5th, 2021 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Cameron Thomas, the 27th overall pick in this year’s draft, has signed his rookie contract with the Nets, the team announced today in a press release.

While terms weren’t officially disclosed, we can project what Thomas will earn based on the NBA’s rookie scale. If he signed for the maximum allowable amount – as most first-rounders do – the 6’4″ guard will earn a first-year salary of $2.04MM and a four-year total of $10.46MM. The third and fourth years of the deal will be team options.

Thomas, who declared for the draft following his freshman season at LSU, was one of college basketball’s top scorers in 2020/21, averaging 23.0 points per contest in 29 games (34.0 MPG). Although the 19-year-old struggled a little with his shot from the floor (40.6%) and from beyond the three-point line (32.5%), his ability to get to the free throw line (7.6 attempts per game) and make his foul shots (88.2%) was a big plus.

Brooklyn entered draft night last Thursday with four picks and – somewhat surprisingly – kept all of them and agreed to acquire another, drafting five players in total. We should hear more in the coming days about the Nets finalizing deals with some of their other draftees.

Wizards Notes: Trade Negotiations, Dinwiddie, Kuzma, Neto, Avdija

August 5th, 2021 at 9:03am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets, who recognized that Bradley Beal wanted the Wizards to acquire Spencer Dinwiddie and knew they had some leverage in sign-and-trade talks, initially asked Washington for a first-round pick, reports Fred Katz of The Athletic. When they were unsuccessful, the Nets tried to get Washington to part with Deni Avdija or Rui Hachimura, according to Katz.

However, the Wizards held firm in those negotiations and ended up keeping their top assets, instead sending Brooklyn a future second-round pick and a second-round pick swap. The Nets will also generate an $11.5MM trade exception in the deal.

As Katz details, the Wizards also had to sweeten the deal for the Lakers to convince them to loop the Russell Westbrook trade agreement into Washington’s acquisition of Dinwiddie via sign-and-trade, which is why L.A. will be receiving three second-round selections from the Wizards instead of just two.

Finally, Katz reports that the final version of the complex five-team trade will see the Wizards acquire cash considerations from the Pacers. The full breakdown of the trade agreement can be seen on our offseason trade tracker.

Here’s more on the Wizards:

For much of this week, there had been a league-wide assumption that the Wizards may end up rerouting Kyle Kuzma to a new team as part of the Dinwiddie deal, but Washington never included him in trade discussions, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic, who notes that the club has significantly improved its depth with this week’s roster moves.
Raul Neto‘s new deal with the Wizards will be a one-year, minimum-salary contract, according to Katz. Neto will join Dinwiddie and Aaron Holiday on the club’s point guard depth chart.
Although Deni Avdija has been cleared for basketball activities, he’s not playing for the Wizards in Summer League, writes Katz. The club wants to limit the risk of a setback for 2020’s lottery pick, who is recovering from a right fibular hairline fracture.

Wizards To Acquire Spencer Dinwiddie Via Sign-And-Trade

August 4th, 2021 at 11:56pm CST by Luke Adams

11:56pm: The Spurs are sending the draft rights to 2015 first-round pick Nikola Milutinov to the Nets in the five-team trade, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). That will satisfy the “touching” requirements we outlined below and allow the deal to be officially completed once the moratorium ends on Friday.

Katz adds (via Twitter) that the Wizards have also agreed to trade one more second-round pick (Chicago’s 2023 selection) to the Lakers. Washington is giving up five second-round selections in the deal (three to the Lakers, one to the Spurs, and one to the Nets), as well as a second-round swap (to the Nets).

Finally, Katz reports that the third year of Dinwiddie’s contract will be partially guaranteed (Twitter link).

5:04pm: The Wizards and Spencer Dinwiddie are in agreement on a three-year, $62MM deal that will land the veteran point guard in Washington, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The club will acquire Dinwiddie from the Nets via sign-and-trade.

That $62MM figure had been expected for Dinwiddie’s deal with the Wizards, since it’s the most the team could pay him by looping his sign-and-trade into the larger Russell Westbrook deal with the Lakers, notes Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Charania (Twitter link), the Nets will receive a second-round pick and a draft-pick swap from the Wizards in the sign-and-trade agreement. The move will also create an $11.5MM trade exception for Brooklyn.

Additionally, the Wizards will trade Chandler Hutchison and a second-round pick to the Spurs as part of the multi-team deal, Charania reports (via Twitter). Moving Hutchison’s $4MM+ salary will allow Washington to remain out of tax territory for now, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) provides the details on the draft assets, reporting that the Wizards are sending a 2022 second-rounder to San Antonio and a 2024 second-rounder to Brooklyn, as well as a 2025 second-round pick swap to the Nets.

The 2022 second-round pick headed to San Antonio will be the most favorable of the Lakers’, Bulls’, and Pistons’ second-rounders, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

That 2025 swap will give Brooklyn a chance to send Golden State’s second-rounder to Washington in exchange for the Wizards’ 2025 second-rounder, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The 2024 second-rounder will be the more favorable of the Wizards’ and Grizzlies’ selections, Bontemps adds.

In total, Wojnarowski tweets, the deal will include five teams: the Wizards, Nets, Spurs, Lakers, and Pacers. The Westbrook trade agreement and the Wizards’ deal for Aaron Holiday will become part of this larger deal once it’s officially completed after the moratorium lifts on Friday.

Here’s what the full trade should look like, based on the details reported to date:

Wizards to acquire Dinwiddie (via sign-and-trade), Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Holiday, and the draft rights to Isaiah Todd (No. 31 pick).
Lakers to acquire Westbrook, either the Wizards’ or the Grizzlies’ 2024 second-round pick (whichever is less favorable; from Wizards), and the Wizards’ 2028 second-round pick.
Nets to acquire either the Wizards’ or the Grizzlies’ 2024 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable; from Wizards) and the right to swap their the Warriors’ 2025 second-round pick for the Wizards’ 2025 second-round pick.
Spurs to acquire Hutchison and either the Bulls’, Lakers,’, or Pistons 2022 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Wizards).
Pacers to acquire the draft rights to Isaiah Jackson (No. 22 pick).

As Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report points out (via Twitter), there will likely be at least one more piece involved between the Nets and Spurs in order to satisfy the rule that every team in a multi-team trade must “touch” two other teams in the deal. As reported so far, Brooklyn and San Antonio are each only receiving assets from (or sending an asset to) the Wizards. That last piece would likely be something minor, such as cash or the draft rights to a stashed player.

In Dinwiddie, the Wizards are getting a 28-year-old point guard who is coming off a lost season. He appeared in just three games before missing the rest of the 2020/21 campaign due to a partially torn ACL. However, Dinwiddie was reportedly cleared for all basketball activities in June and the expectation is that he’ll be good to go for the fall.

In his last full season, Dinwiddie averaged 20.6 PPG and 6.8 APG on .415/.308/.778 shooting in 64 games (31.2 MPG) for Brooklyn in 2019/20.

Word broke on Monday night that the Wizards and Dinwiddie were nearing an agreement, but the club didn’t have the cap space necessary to acquire him without getting the Nets’ cooperation in a sign-and-trade. Because Brooklyn didn’t want to take on any salary but wanted an asset or two for agreeing to play ball, it took all involved parties a couple days to work out the details of the deal that would get the point guard to D.C.