Adam Silver Talks Free Agency, Trade Requests, More
After a frenzied “pre-agency” period this summer which saw a number of high-profile free agents reportedly reach contract agreements with teams even before free agency officially opened on the evening of June 30, commissioner Adam Silver told reporters on Tuesday night that the NBA has some “work to do” on the rules surrounding free agency and tampering.
“It’s still the same principles of fair balance of power and a sense that it’s a level playing field,” Silver said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I think that’s what teams want to know. I think they’re put in difficult situations because when they’re sitting across from a player and – whether it’s conversations that are happening earlier than they should or frankly things are being discussed that don’t fall squarely within the Collective Bargaining Agreement – it puts teams in a very difficult position because they are reading or hearing that other teams are doing other things to compete.”
As Bontemps details, Silver acknowledged that the NBA’s current tampering rules can be difficult to enforce, and that the league should be focused on establishing rules that can be enforced — otherwise, there’s little point in having them in place.
“I think the sense in the room was we should revisit those rules, think about what does make sense for our teams so that ultimately we can create a level playing field among the teams and that the partner teams have confidence that their competitors are adhering to the same set of rules they are,” Silver said.
Silver weighed in on several other topics during his Las Vegas press conference on Tuesday, so we’ll round up a few of the highlights, via Bontemps, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, and Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
On star players asking to be traded:
“It concerns all of us. I mean, it falls in the same category of issues of the so-called rule of law within a sports league. You have a contract and it needs to be meaningful on both sides. On one hand, there’s an expectation if you have a contract and it’s guaranteed that the team is going to meet the terms of the contract, and the expectation on the other side is the player is going to meet the terms of the contract.
“I will say, without getting into any specific circumstances, trade demands are disheartening. They’re disheartening to the team. They’re disheartening to the community and don’t serve the player well. The players care about their reputations just as much. And so that’s an issue that needs to be addressed.”
On many of 2019’s very best free agents choosing to go to big markets (Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers; Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to the Nets):
“I think you have unique circumstances with those players and those teams. But I think it speaks to the fact that the significance of these brands, the fact that the Nets and Clippers have put themselves in position over the last few years to be attractive to top free agents. So I think at the end of the day, it’s positive for the league.
“… I’m mindful of this notion of balance of power, and I think it applies in many different ways. An appropriate balance of power between the teams and the players, an appropriate balance of power I’d say among all our 30 teams, big markets, small markets, some markets that are perceived as being more attractive than others, tax issues, climate issues. At the end of the day, you want to make sure you have a league where every team is in a position to compete.”
On draft-night trades that aren’t yet official, resulting in draftees wearing the wrong team’s hat and – in some cases – not being on the right team by the start of Summer League:
“We’ve got to fix that. We talk about being fan-friendly, and that isn’t fan-friendly.”
And-Ones: Durant, Westbrook, Stoudemire
Many assume that Kevin Durant will miss the entire 2019/20 season, but it appears that’s not a given quite yet. GM Sean Marks said it’s “too early” to make a definitive timeline on Durant’s Nets debut.
“A timeline will be given in due time, but as of now, we’re certainly not going to comment on when or if and make any sort of hypotheticals. It’s too early,” Marks said (via Nets Daily).
Durant is familiar with the medical staff in Brooklyn. Dr. Martin O’Malley, a foot and ankle specialist who is the team’s orthopaedic surgeon, performed the surgery to repair Durant’s Achilles. Despite the connection, the former MVP’s decision to join the Nets caught many in the basketball world by surprise, including some within Brooklyn’s front office.
“The Instagram post that he put up [announcing he’d sign with the Nets], we were all sitting in the office. We all got that in real time with you guys. We weren’t even sure if we were getting a meeting that night or if it was going to be a telephone conversation,” Marks said of finding out about Durant’s decision. The GM added that he hadn’t even spoken to Durant’s business partner Rich Kleiman yet.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Magic are unlikely to have interest in Russell Westbrook, Josh Robbins of The Athletic relays (Twitter link). The long-time Thunder point guard is reportedly open to a trade.
- Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer believes Marvin Williams is the veteran on the Hornets‘ roster most likely to be traded. Williams is making $15MM next season and Bonnell thinks the power forward’s game would mesh well with nearly every roster in the league.
- Amar’e Stoudemire, who worked out in front of a number of teams this week, is serious about returning to the NBA. “I was never really done,’’ Stoudemire said, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. “I took kind of a sabbatical leave and I went to go learn over in Israel for two and a half years or so. So I went there and when I was still learning, I was able to also play basketball and keep myself in shape. I always stayed in top shape. I didn’t really remove myself too far from being in basketball shape.”
Wilson Chandler Signs One-Year Deal With Nets
JULY 8, 10:02pm: The signing is official, the team’s PR department tweets.
JULY 2, 8:05pm: The Nets have reached an agreement to sign free agent forward Wilson Chandler, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links), who reports that the veteran will sign a one-year contract with the team.
Chandler will receive a minimum-salary deal, since Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan will take up Brooklyn’s cap space and Garrett Temple will be signed using the team’s room exception. Michael Scotto of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that the one-year contract will be worth $2,564,753, Chandler’s minimum salary for 2019/20.
Chandler, 32, had a down year for the Sixers and Clippers in 2018/19, averaging a career-worst 6.0 PPG with 4.2 RPG in 51 games (23.1 MPG). However, he still knocked down 37.3% of his three-point attempts and should be a solid addition to Brooklyn’s bench.
The Nets’ frontcourt has lost DeMarre Carroll and Jared Dudley so far this summer, so Chandler figures to take on some of the minutes that those two veterans played.
Pinson Signs Two-Year Deal With Nets
10:52pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
9:56pm: The Nets and Theo Pinson have reached an agreement on a two-year contract, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.
The news comes one day after Brooklyn rescinded its qualifying offer to Pinson, making the shooting guard an unrestricted free agent.
Undrafted out of North Carolina, Pinson joined the Nets for training camp last season on an Exhibit 10 contract and earned a roster spot as a two-way player. His deal was converted to a standard NBA contract shortly before the end of the regular season.
Pinson appeared in 18 NBA games in his first season, averaging 4.5 PPG in 11.7 minutes per night. He posted a 20.7/5.9/6.1 line in 34 G League games with the Long Island Nets.
Atlantic Contract Notes: Durant, Jordan, Claxton, Milton, Brazdeikis
Kevin Durant‘s max contract with the Nets includes $4.3MM in likely bonuses, according to Jeff Siegel of EarlyBirdRights.com. It’s not clear how those bonuses can be earned but if they’re based on individual statistics, he can’t reach them next season due to his Achilles injury. His deal also includes a full 15% trade kicker. DeAndre Jordan‘s salary with Brooklyn starts at 9.9MM, rises 5% in the second year, dips back down to 9.9MM, then drops slightly in the fourth year for a total of 40MM, Siegel adds (Twitter links).
We have more contractual news from around the Atlantic Division:
- The timeline of the Nets’ moves in free agency – signing Kyrie Irving and Jordan to free agent deals using salary-cap room and then acting like a team over the cap to pull off the Durant sign-and-trade with Golden State — also allowed them to give Nicolas Claxton a three-year contract, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Without room, Claxton’s fully guaranteed deal would have been limited to two years. The University of Georgia big man was the first pick of the second round.
- Shake Milton‘s four-year minimum contract with the Sixers includes a team option in the final year and is otherwise fully guaranteed, Siegel tweets. The shooting guard played last season on a two-way contract, splitting his time between the Sixers and their G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.
- Knicks rookie forward Ignas Brazdeikis received a three-year minimum deal, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Brazdeikis will make approximately $900K as a rookie, $1.5MM in his second year and $1.8MM in his third season (team option).
- The Celtics have been exploring a variety of contract terms with second-round pick Carsen Edwards, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe tweets. The negotiations with the Purdue guard include guaranteed amounts.
Nets, Warriors Complete Durant, Russell Sign-And-Trade
JULY 8: The first-round pick going to Brooklyn in the deal is the Warriors’ 2020 pick, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic, who tweets that it will be top-20 protected. If it falls in that range – and it very well could, given Golden State’s roster changes – the Nets would instead receive the Warriors’ 2025 second-round pick, per Scotto.
JULY 7: The Nets and Warriors have officially completed the sign-and-trade deal that sends Kevin Durant and a protected 2020 first-round pick to Brooklyn in exchange for D’Angelo Russell, Treveon Graham, and Shabazz Napier, the two teams announced in a pair of press releases.
“Kevin is a champion, perennial All-Star and one of the great players of this, or any, generation,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “Adding a player of Kevin’s caliber to our organization elevates our ability to compete with the elite teams in this league. His tremendous abilities and dedication to his craft have made him as talented an offensive player our game has ever seen and we, as well as all of Brooklyn, are thrilled to welcome Kevin and his family to the Nets.”
Durant initially agreed to sign with the Nets outright using their cap room, but the Warriors engaged them in discussions last Sunday night and eventually agreed to a deal that would include a pair of sign-and-trades — Durant to Brooklyn and D’Angelo Russell to Golden State. Russell, a restricted free agent, became expendable when the Nets finalized agreements with Durant and Kyrie Irving.
“We’re excited to add a player of D’Angelo’s ability to our roster,” Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers said in his team’s announcement. “He’s coming off an All-Star season with the Nets and we feel, at the age of 23, his best basketball is certainly ahead of him in regards to his career trajectory.”
In order to incentivize the Nets to accommodate the Russell sign-and-trade, the Warriors sent a future draft pick to Brooklyn, and will also take on Graham and Napier — those two players will be flipped to Minnesota in a subsequent deal.
Durant, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, isn’t expected to be ready to return until the 2020/21 season, but the Nets have him the long-term — he reportedly agreed to a four-year contract (with a fourth-year player option) that will be worth the maximum salary, or possibly slightly below it to accommodate DeAndre Jordan‘s deal with the club.
Meanwhile, the Warriors will be hard-capped at $138.9MM as a result of acquiring Russell via sign-and-trade, which will limit their ability to make roster moves during the 2019/20 league year. The club already had to send Andre Iguodala and his $17MM+ salary to Memphis in a cost-cutting measure.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Knicks Notes: Portis, Randle, Smith Jr., Westbrook
The way free agency played out came as no surprise to newly acquired Knicks big man Bobby Portis, relays Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Portis said was certain in February that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were planning to team up in Brooklyn for the Nets.
“We all knew that. Everybody knew that,” he said. “I just don’t think the media knew that. Us basketball players, we all knew that. … I’m not going to leak my source. But we all know where they were going.”
That decision eliminated one possibility for Portis, who wanted to play in New York. He said the Bucks, Wizards, Clippers and Lakers were among the teams that expressed interest, but his first choice was the Knicks, who needed help in their frontcourt. Portis was primarily a power forward in Chicago and a center in Washington and feels comfortable at either position.
“I’m (gonna) be playing in a beautiful city for the New York Knicks,” he said. “That’s a dream come true. … Being able to have a chance to play in Madison Square Garden for 41-plus nights, it’s a thrill. It’s what everybody dreams of as a kid. I’m ecstatic.”
There’s more today from New York City:
- A “dream come true” is also how Julius Randle described his opportunity with the Knicks to Marc Berman of The New York Post. With a three-year, $61MM deal, Randle is the only one of New York’s six free agent additions to get a contract guaranteed beyond one season. “I had a lot of options,” Randle said. “I felt this opportunity for me was the greatest opportunity. The whole fan base that’s staving and hungry to win more than (any team) in the NBA.”
- The Knicks are coming off a 17-win season and didn’t make the splash in free agency that fans were hoping for, but Dennis Smith Jr. expressed confidence to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News that they can be a playoff team. He cites not only an upgraded roster, but his own improved jump shot. Bondy notes that Smith is going to be challenged for the starting point guard role by the newly signed Elfrid Payton, who was drafted in Orlando by Knicks GM Scott Perry.
- Russell Westbrook‘s age, salary and lack of efficiency make him too much of a risk for the Knicks, argues Tommy Beer of Forbes. New York has been among the teams rumored to have interest in Westbrook since news of the Paul George trade broke yesterday, but its free agents signings will make it difficult to put together a deal until they’re all eligible to be traded on December 15.
Free Agency Notes: Cap Holds, Williams, Magic, Wizards
Nearly half the teams in the NBA renounced their rights to multiple free agents this week as they prepared to make new roster moves official, per RealGM’s transactions log. In some cases, like when the Clippers renounced the rights to Garrett Temple and Wilson Chandler, those free agents already new homes lined up, and removing their cap holds was simply a formality to create cap room for incoming additions.
In other cases, the housekeeping moves were a bit more noteworthy. The Pacers, for instance, renounced Darren Collison‘s Bird rights, so if the 31-year-old – who announced his retirement before the start of free agency – ever attempts an NBA comeback, Indiana will no longer have a leg up to re-acquire him.
Besides those two teams, the Hawks, Bucks, Nets, Jazz, Sixers, Clippers, Pelicans, Lakers, Kings, Celtics, Wizards, and Bulls also renounced various free agents, according to RealGM’s log.
Here are a few more notes related to free agency:
- The Lakers have withdrawn their qualifying offer to two-way player Johnathan Williams and renounced his rights, according to RealGM. That doesn’t preclude the Lakers from bringing back Williams on a new two-way deal, but he’ll be able to sign outright with a new team if he so chooses.
- At least nine teams are now confirmed to attend the Amar’e Stoudemire/Monta Ellis workout taking place in Las Vegas on Monday, tweets Jordan Schultz of ESPN. We previously relayed word of Stoudemire’s and Ellis’ attempts to make NBA comebacks.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks provides salary cap updates on a pair of Southeast teams, tweeting that the Magic and Wizards are both safely out of luxury tax territory for now. According to Marks (Twitter links), Orlando has $3.5MM in breathing room under the tax line, counting Khem Birch‘s $1.8MM cap hold, while Washington is about $4MM below that threshold after cutting Jonathon Simmons.
Nets Sign Nicolas Claxton
Second-round pick Nicolas Claxton has signed a multi-year deal with the Nets, the team announced in a press release.
A power forward/center out of Georgia, Claxton was taken with the 31st pick in last month’s draft and should provide front-court depth behind Jarrett Allen and newly signed DeAndre Jordan.
A sophomore, Claxton was a second team All-SEC selection, leading the Bulldogs in scoring, rebounding and steals. He also blocked 2.5 shots per game, ranking him 10th in the nation.
Nets Rescind QO For Theo Pinson
To free up cap room for their free agent signings, the Nets have withdrawn their qualifying offer for Theo Pinson, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. The rookie shooting guard is now an unrestricted free agent.
Undrafted out of North Carolina, Pinson joined the Nets for training camp on an Exhibit 10 contract and earned a roster spot as a two-way player. His deal was converted to a standard NBA contract shortly before the end of the season in April.
Pinson appeared in 18 NBA games in his first season, averaging 4.5 PPG in 11.7 minutes per night. He posted a 20.7/5.9/6.1 line in 34 G League games.