Free Agent Notes: Melton, Warriors, Horford, Hayes-Davis
There was chatter early in the free agent period connecting De’Anthony Melton to the Lakers, but that talk has “cooled” in recent days, according to Jovan Buha, who said during a Monday live-stream (YouTube link) that the free agent guard has been more frequently connected to the Warriors as of late.
NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link) confirms as much, citing league sources who say that Golden State has emerged as a “strong contender” to sign Melton.
The Warriors used their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Melton to a one-year contract in free agency last season, but he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in just his sixth game with his new team. Prior to the injury, the 27-year-old was looking like an ideal fit in Golden State’s backcourt, with an average of 10.3 points per game and a .371 3PT%, albeit in a very small sample size.
Here are a few more free agent notes from around the NBA:
- Big man Al Horford is another free agent who has been frequently connected to the Warriors. According to Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog (Twitter link), Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens acknowledged on Tuesday that it’s “unlikely” Horford returns to Boston, though Stevens did say the team made offers to both him and Luke Kornet (who signed with San Antonio).
- Veteran forward Nigel Hayes-Davis and Fenerbahce have officially parted ways, the Turkish team announced (via Twitter). The move paves the way for Hayes-Davis to get his FIBA letter of clearance and officially finalize his reported agreement with the Suns. Hayes-Davis reportedly turned down a lucrative offer from Fenerbahce that would have made him one of the EuroLeague’s highest-paid players.
- Chris Herring, Zach Kram, Bobby Marks, and Kevin Pelton of ESPN broke down some of their favorite – and least favorite – moves of the free agent period so far, with Kornet to the Spurs, Brook Lopez to the Clippers, and Dorian Finney-Smith to the Rockets among the signings that earned kudos.
Where Things Stand In NBA Free Agency
We’re now into the second week of the NBA’s 2025/26 league year, and while free agency has been resolved for many top players, there are still a number of intriguing names who don’t yet have new contract agreements in place.
Let’s check in on where things stand for some of those players…
The restricted free agents
While they’re not the only four restricted free agents still on the board, there are four names who make up the top tier of notable unsigned RFAs, with each of them ranking among our top 10 free agents as of June 30. Those four players are Josh Giddey (Bulls), Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors), Quentin Grimes (Sixers), and Cam Thomas (Nets).
The restricted free agent market will likely play out very slowly this summer, given that there are essentially no teams (with the possible exception of Brooklyn) in position to sign any one of those players to the kind of offer sheet that would give the player’s current team pause. Here’s what we know about each of those four RFAs:
Josh Giddey (Bulls)
The expectation is that Giddey will remain in Chicago, so it’ll just be a matter of figuring out exactly what his next contract looks like. His camp is reportedly hoping to match (or, presumably, exceed) the five-year, $150MM extension that Jalen Suggs signed with Orlando last fall. Whether the Bulls are willing to go that high in terms of annual salary and/or years remains to be seen.
Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors)
The Kings, Wizards, Heat, Bulls, Bucks, and Nets were among the teams said last week to have expressed varying level of interest in a sign-and-trade deal for Kuminga. However, some of those teams have since made moves that will make Kuminga a less appealing – or practical – fit.
Sacramento has reportedly been the most aggressive suitor for Kuminga so far, having “floated” the idea a package that included 2024 first-rounder Devin Carter and two second-round picks.
But with no deal imminent, the expectation is that the 22-year-old and his camp will meet at the Las Vegas Summer League with interested teams, including the Warriors. A return to Golden State remains very much in play despite Kuminga’s up-and-down tenure in Golden State so far.
Quentin Grimes (Sixers)
The Sixers remain very confident that they’ll re-sign Grimes sooner or later and have “splashed cold water” on possible sign-and-trade scenarios, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic. As with Giddey, it seems like the main question with Grimes isn’t where he’ll end up, but what his new contract with his current team will look like.
Cam Thomas (Nets)
We’ve heard very little since free agency opened about Thomas. In a Bleacher Report stream last Thursday (YouTube link), NBA insider Jake Fischer said the Nets guard “does not really have a market, to my understanding.”
Brooklyn is the only team in the league operating below the minimum salary floor, so it’s not as if the Nets are going to be outbid by a rival suitor — it certainly seems as if the only way Thomas ends up on a new team this offseason is if Brooklyn doesn’t want to bring him back.
The veteran unrestricted free agents
The next four highest-ranked unsigned players from our top-50 list after those four restricted free agents are long-tenured veterans. Here’s what we know about those players:
Chris Paul
The Clippers, Suns, and Bucks have been the teams most frequently linked to Paul in recent days. Milwaukee probably offers the best path to a starting role, which is something that’s reportedly important to the longtime NBA point guard, but he also wants to be close to his family in Los Angeles, which could give an edge to those two Western Conference teams.
Russell Westbrook
Another L.A. native who would reportedly like to play closer to home, Westbrook was said to be drawing legitimate interest from the Kings, but that was when it looked like Sacramento was going to trade Malik Monk. If that doesn’t happen, there may not be a spot on the Kings’ backcourt (or on the team’s cap) for Westbrook.
Al Horford
While Horford has been linked to several teams in the last week or two, the one constant has been the Warriors, who continue to look like the frontrunner to land the big man if he doesn’t retire. Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link) reported on Monday that Horford continued to mull his options, with no deal imminent.
I suspect Golden State wants to resolve its Kuminga situation before officially committing its taxpayer mid-level exception to Horford, since doing so would hard-cap the team at the second tax apron and potentially complicate its ability to match an aggressive offer sheet for Kuminga.
Malcolm Brogdon
Reporting on Monday indicated that the Clippers, Suns, Lakers, Warriors, Timberwolves, Bucks, Pelicans, and Kings have all conveyed at least some level of interest in Brogdon. With some other higher-profile guards still out there, Brogdon may be the Plan B for some teams, which would mean he’d have to wait for some of those other players to commit before his options really crystalize.
The two veteran guards who aren’t yet free agents
Damian Lillard is currently on waivers and Bradley Beal is still working on a buyout with the Suns, but the expectation is that both players will reach unrestricted free agency pretty soon.
Lillard is a bit of a wild card, since he’s likely to miss the 2025/26 season due to an Achilles tear. He hasn’t ruled out the possibility of signing with a team sooner rather than later, and there will certainly be no shortage of clubs who would welcome the opportunity to help him with his rehab process and get a leg up on retaining him for ’26/27. But he’s not the type of player who will help a team win in the short term.
Beal, on the other hand, is coming off a pretty solid offensive season and would become a much more valuable investment if he’s on a contract that’s closer to his minimum salary than his maximum. The Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, Timberwolves, and Warriors are among the teams believed to have interest in signing Beal.
With many of those clubs also eyeing Paul, Brogdon, or other guards, Beal may be the first domino to fall — if and when he finds a new team, the ones that miss out can shift their focus elsewhere in earnest. The Clippers are rumored to the favorites for Beal, per Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.
The trades that aren’t yet official
As our full breakdown of this offseason’s trades shows, there are only two agreed-upon deals that aren’t yet official: Denver’s acquisition of Cameron Johnson from the Nets, plus the Jonas Valanciunas/Dario Saric swap between the Nuggets and Kings.
There has been speculation that the Nuggets will combine both of those agreements into a single transaction to avoid creating a hard cap at the first tax apron. At the very least, as NBA insider Marc Stein tweets, Denver needs to get the Johnson/Michael Porter Jr. trade done before the deal with the Kings in order to be able to get below the first apron. That will allow the Nuggets to take back more salary than they send out for Saric.
The Nets may be thoroughly exploring scenarios for how to take full advantage of their current cap room before they finalize that trade with the Nuggets, since it will cut into their space significantly — swapping Johnson for Porter will use up $17MM+ of their room.
The delay on these deals is not an indication that the Valanciunas/Saric deal won’t eventually be finalized. Multiple reports have indicated it remains on track, despite Valanciunas’ reported desire to get out of his NBA contract and sign with the Greek team Panathinaikos. Multiple reports, including another one from Stein on Monday night (Twitter link), have also indicated that the Nuggets have told the veteran center they intend to keep him and want him to honor his contract.
For what it’s worth, a report from SDNA in Greece indicates that Panathinaikos was assured by Valanciunas’ representation that the Nuggets would let him out of his NBA deal and was surprised to find out that Denver hadn’t signed off on that plan at all.
Although those two Denver deals are the only ones we know about that aren’t official, that doesn’t mean there won’t be more trades still to come — the Clippers, Heat, and Jazz, for instance, agreed to a three-team trade on Monday and finalized it later in the day. It’s possible that more deals could be around the corner as teams and executives congregate for Summer League action.
Free Agent Rumors: Guards, Kuminga, Pacers, Hayes
An expectation that Bradley Beal will soon become an unrestricted free agent is affecting the markets for free agent guards Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Malcolm Brogdon, who are drawing interest from many of the same teams, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
According to Fischer, the Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, and Timberwolves are among the teams expected to have interest in signing Beal if and when he finalizes a buyout agreement with the Suns, which seems increasingly likely. A previous report also identified the Warriors as a possible suitor for Beal, with the Heat viewed as less likely after their trade for Norman Powell.
The Clippers and Bucks are known to have interest in Paul, Fischer points out, so if Beal ends up with one of those teams, it would likely rule that club out for CP3, perhaps increasing the odds of the 40-year-old reuniting with the Suns.
As for Brogdon, he has the Clippers, Suns, Lakers, Warriors, Timberwolves, and Bucks are also among the teams that have registered some level of interest in him, along with the Pelicans and Kings, Fischer reports.
Free agents like De’Anthony Melton and Ben Simmons may also find themselves involved in this game of backcourt musical chairs, according to Fischer, who suggests that their potential landing spots should become more clearer once one or two of those top guards – starting with Beal – finds a new home.
Here are a few more notes on free agents from around the NBA:
- There was no traction on the Jonathan Kuminga front over the weekend, sources tell Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Slater, the Kings have been the most aggressive suitor for the Warriors restricted free agent so far, but nothing has come close. In fact, the market for all of the top restricted free agents remains “ice cold,” Slater adds.
- The Pacers are expected to reunite with a pair of familiar faces to fill out their frontcourt. Speaking to reporters today, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said the club is planning to re-sign James Wiseman and that things are trending in the right direction with restricted free agent Isaiah Jackson (Twitter links via Tony East).
- Veteran center Jaxson Hayes gave up his right to veto a trade this season when he re-signed with the Lakers, reports Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link). By default, a player re-signing with his previous team on a one-year contract gets a de facto no-trade clause, but a team can ask a player to waive that right as part of his new deal.
Pacific Notes: Collins, Beal, Warriors, Kuminga, Suns
The Clippers view John Collins as their likely starter at power forward, according to Law Murray and John Hollinger of The Athletic. Collins, who is being acquired from Utah in a three-team trade, brings an athletic presence to L.A.’s frontcourt and adds more size to a team that had trouble matching up with Denver in its first-round playoff series.
Collins can be effective next to starting center Ivica Zubac, the authors note, and provides a good complement to backup Brook Lopez, a free agent addition who can space the floor for Collins to operate in the low post. Having more reliable big men also means less time at power forward for Kawhi Leonard and less responsibility for James Harden to guard opposing fours.
Norman Powell, who’s being sent to Miami in the deal, put together an outstanding offensive season, but he was less effective after the All-Star break, Murray and Hollinger observe. Some of the decline was because he was slowed by knee and hamstring issues, while Leonard’s return from injury also contributed. The authors state that Powell’s age, availability and fit all made the Clippers hesitant to give him an extension heading into the upcoming season.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers might pursue Bradley Beal if he reaches a buyout agreement with the Suns, but they’ll be limited because they only have $5.3MM of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception left to offer, notes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Scotto lists Malcolm Brogdon and Chris Paul as other free agent guards the Clippers have expressed interest in.
- The Warriors are also viewed as a potential landing spot for Beal, league sources tell Grant Afseth of RG. Golden State is still considered a strong candidate to add Boston center Al Horford, while landing Beal would provide another proven scoring threat to ease the Burden on Stephen Curry. The Warriors are also trying to determine how to handle restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, and Afseth echoes a recent report that sign-and-trade talks with the Kings and other teams haven’t resulted in much progress.
- Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic looks at how the Suns are planning to rebuild around Devin Booker, who’s expected to receive a two-year, $150MM extension this summer.
Seven-Team Kevin Durant Trade Officially Finalized
The seven-team trade that sends star forward Kevin Durant and free agent big man Clint Capela (via sign-and-trade) to Houston is now official, according to press releases from several teams, including the Rockets.
“Having played against Kevin and coached him before, I know he’s the type of competitor who fits with what we’ve been building here in Houston,” head coach Ime Udoka said in a statement. “His skill level, love of basketball, and dedication to his craft have made him one of the most respected players of his generation, and my staff and I are excited to work with him.”
The move sets a new NBA record for most teams involved in a single trade. The terms of the deal are as follows:
- Rockets acquire:
- Kevin Durant (from Suns)
- Clint Capela (sign-and-trade; from Hawks)
- Suns acquire:
- Jalen Green (from Rockets)
- Dillon Brooks (from Rockets)
- Daeqwon Plowden (from Hawks)
- The draft rights to Khaman Maluach (No. 10 pick; from Rockets)
- The draft rights to Rasheer Fleming (No. 31 pick; from Timberwolves)
- The draft rights to Koby Brea (No. 41 pick; from Warriors)
- Either the Thunder’s, Mavericks’, or Sixers’ 2026 second-round pick (whichever is second-most favorable; from Rockets)
- Lakers acquire:
- The draft rights to Adou Thiero (No. 36 pick; from Nets)
- Warriors acquire:
- The draft rights to Alex Toohey (No. 52 pick; from Suns) and the draft rights to Jahmai Mashack (No. 59 pick; from Rockets)
- Note: Mashack’s rights will be sent to the Grizzlies in a subsequent trade.
- The draft rights to Alex Toohey (No. 52 pick; from Suns) and the draft rights to Jahmai Mashack (No. 59 pick; from Rockets)
- Timberwolves acquire:
- The draft rights to Rocco Zikarsky (No. 45 pick; from Lakers)
- Either the Warriors’ or Nuggets’ 2026 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Suns)
- Either the Suns’ or Rockets’ 2032 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Suns/Rockets)
- Note: The Suns, not the Rockets, retain the least favorable of the two picks.
- Cash (from Lakers).
- Note: $3.25MM, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
- Nets acquire:
- Either the Clippers’ 2026 second-round pick or the most favorable of the Celtics’, Pacers’, and Heat’s 2026 second-round picks (whichever is least favorable; from Rockets)
- The Celtics’ 2030 second-round pick (from Rockets)
- Hawks acquire:
- David Roddy (from Rockets)
- The right to swap their own 2031 second-round pick for the Rockets’ 2031 second-round pick (56-60 protected; from Rockets)
- Cash (from Rockets)
- Note: $85,300, per Marks (Twitter link).
Word first broke on Wednesday that the Durant trade was being expanded to be completed as a seven-team deal. For the most part, it was just a matter of folding separate draft-night trade agreements into a single transaction.
In addition to the original Durant blockbuster (story), this transaction incorporates trade agreements between the Suns and Nets (story), Suns and Warriors (story), Suns and Timberwolves (story), and Lakers and Timberwolves (story), as well as the sign-and-trade deal sending Capela from the Hawks to the Rockets (story).
The only two new additions to this deal are Plowden and Roddy, who are both entering the second year of two-way contracts. The addition of Plowden ensures that the Hawks are “touching” a second team besides Houston in the deal. He’s being waived by the Suns, reports Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
In exchange for sending out Plowden, the Hawks are filling that newly opened two-way slot with Roddy, a former first-round pick who spent more than half of the 2024/25 season in Atlanta on a standard contract.
Attaching the Capela sign-and-trade deal into this transaction has cap-related benefits for the Rockets, who would otherwise have had to send out a separate matching salary in order to sign Capela to his reported three-year, $21MM deal.
However, for the most part, amalgamating all those draft-night deals is just about streamlining the process for several teams, allowing them to take part in (or wait out) fewer trade calls and get their newly acquired rookies under contract sooner.
Stein’s Latest: Valanciunas, Horford, Ham, Suns, Reid, More
After reporting on Saturday that the Nuggets plan to go through with their trade for Jonas Valanciunas despite the veteran center’s interest in signing with EuroLeague club Panathinaikos, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reiterates in his latest Substack post that Denver’s front office is “determined to enforce” Valanciunas’ contract and “optimistic” the Lithuanian big man will be a Nugget in 2025/26.
As Stein explains, even if Valanciunas agreed to give back his entire $10.4MM salary for next season in a buyout, which would give the Nuggets enough cap space below the luxury tax line to use the full mid-level exception, Denver still wouldn’t have an easy way to find another backup center, with most of the top free agents already off the board.
Having access to the full MLE would theoretically give the Nuggets the ability to offer a lucrative contract to Al Horford, who is still a free agent, but Stein continues to hear the 39-year-old big man is “destined” to sign with the Warriors, who can currently only offer him the taxpayer version of the MLE.
Valanciunas doesn’t have the ability to unilaterally terminate his contract, and the Nuggets don’t have to accept a buyout even if he did forfeit his entire salary, Stein notes. One source Stein spoke to said a resolution remains uncertain but acknowledged that Valanciunas might have to remain with Denver despite his apparent desire to return to Europe.
Here’s more from Stein:
- The Suns and Knicks are both looking for a top assistant coach and have expressed interest in trying to lure Darvin Ham away from the Bucks, per Stein. However, Milwaukee is “determined to keep” Ham unless he gets the chance to become a head coach again elsewhere. Stein points out that joining Phoenix or New York would be a lateral move for Ham, since he’s already the Bucks’ top assistant, and says Milwaukee “loves having Ham back” after his two-year stint as the Lakers’ top coach.
- The Grizzlies are another team in search of a No. 1 assistant under new head coach Tuomas Iisalo, Stein adds.
- Before trading for Mark Williams and drafting Khaman Maluach, the Suns tried to pursue a sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves for Naz Reid, according to Stein, who writes that Reid’s new five-year, $125MM contract with Minnesota is believed to have played a factor in Myles Turner‘s decision to leave the Pacers for the Bucks in free agency. Indiana reportedly never offered Turner a deal as lucrative as Reid received from the Wolves.
Free Agency Notes: Yabusele, Knicks, Kings, Beasley, Turner
Guerschon Yabusele‘s two-year deal with the Knicks won’t use the full taxpayer mid-level exception, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link).
Yabusele’s slight discount will give New York the ability to fill out its 13th and 14th roster spots with one veteran-minimum contract and one rookie-minimum contract for one of the team’s (current or past) second-round picks while remaining below the team’s hard cap at the second tax apron.
[RELATED: NBA Minimum Salaries For 2025/26]
If Yabusele had received the full taxpayer mid-level, the Knicks would have been roughly $3.53MM below the second apron, so they could have signed one veteran-minimum player ($2.3MM) or one rookie-minimum player ($1.27MM), but not both until after the regular season began.
According to Bondy (Twitter link), Yabusele’s deal with the Knicks should still comfortably exceed the salary the Sixers offered him. Bondy says that Philadelphia’s offer – which Yabusele referred to as “really low” – as being worth the “$2.6MM minimum,” but the Frenchman’s minimum salary this season would actually be $2.4MM, so it’s possible Philadelphia went a little above that amount using his Non-Bird rights.
The 76ers likely didn’t want to hard-cap themselves by using any portion of their taxpayer mid-level exception before Quentin Grimes‘ restricted free agency is resolved.
Here are a few more notes and rumors related to free agency:
- Reporting out of Sacramento earlier this week seemed to suggest the Kings were aggressively pursuing Warriors restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, but subsequent reports have suggested nothing is close on that front. According to Matt George of ABC 10 in Sacramento (Twitter link), while the Kings still have interest in Kuminga, they’d be content to complete their Dennis Schröder acquisition and Jonas Valanciunas and then bring that roster into next season. That roster would include both Malik Monk and Devin Carter, who have both been the subject of trade rumors.
- While news of the federal investigation into Malik Beasley for gambling allegations didn’t go public until June 29, the NBA reached out to the Pistons “several” days before free agency opened to let the club know about it, per Mike Vorkunov, Jon Krawczynski, and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. The two sides had been in talks on a three-year, $42MM contract that would’ve included a third-year team option, but it now seems unlikely that any team would move forward on a deal with Beasley until that investigation is resolved (assuming he’s cleared).
- The Bucks‘ four-year, $107MM agreement with Myles Turner has been the most surprising deal of free agency so far. Eric Nehm of The Athletic takes a closer look at just what it means for Milwaukee, breaking down Turner’s fit with the team at both ends of the court. While Turner has a similar skill set to former starting center Brook Lopez, the former Pacer is younger, more athletic, and more mobile, which should allow him to make a greater impact than Lopez as a screener and defender, Nehm writes.
Cap Observations: KD Trade, Valanciunas, Kings, H. Gonzalez
As we catch our breath on the Fourth of July and await updates on the top remaining free agents - including an intriguing group of restricted free agents and veteran unrestricted free agents like Al Horford, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook - we're taking a look back at a few of the intriguing stories from the past few days.
In the space below, we're exploring what the seven-team Kevin Durant figures to look like, why the Nuggets and Kings are still moving forward with their Jonas Valanciunas/Dario Saric swap amid rumors about Valanciunas wanting to play in Greece, what the rumors about Sacramento's interest in Jonathan Kuminga suggest, and more.
Let's dive in...
Wizards Among Teams Eyeing Jonathan Kuminga
The Wizards are the latest potential suitor to emerge in the Jonathan Kuminga sweepstakes, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who reports that Washington has entered the picture within the last 24 hours. The idea of the 22-year-old forward fitting into the Wizards’ rebuild has “gained real momentum,” sources tell Slater.
In addition to Washington, the Kings, Heat, Bulls, Bucks, and Nets have all expressed “varying levels” of interest in the Warriors‘ restricted free agent, Slater writes.
Confirming prior reporting out of Sacramento, Slater says the Kings floated an offer that would include 2024 first-round pick Devin Carter, veteran forward Dario Saric, and a pair of second-round picks. However, Golden State views that as a “buy-low” attempt, per Slater, who suggests the Pacific rivals haven’t gained any real traction.
Both the Warriors and Kuminga appear willing to be patient in the hopes of getting what they want out of the process, Slater explains. From the team’s perspective, that would mean acquiring a promising young player and a first-round pick in any sign-and-trade scenario. For Kuminga, the goal is ending up in a situation where he feels he has the full support of an organization and its coaching staff and can be a featured part of a team’s core.
If there’s no resolution by the time the Las Vegas Summer League tips off next week, the tentative plan is for Kuminga’s camp to have in-person meetings with interested teams in Vegas, Slater notes.
One of those meetings could involved the Warriors. As Slater details, the idea of the former No. 7 overall pick working out a deal to remain in Golden State isn’t off the table, so there has been talk of Kuminga, agent Aaron Turner, head coach Steve Kerr, and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. sitting down together in Vegas to discuss what a reunion might look like.
Kuminga appeared in just 47 games in 2024/25, having missed more than two months due to a badly sprained ankle. He had an inconsistent role when healthy, averaging 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 24.3 minutes per game, with a .454/.305/.668 shooting line.
Although he was out of the Warriors’ rotation entirely for some key games at the end of the regular season and in the postseason, Kuminga averaged 24.3 points per game on .554/.389/.720 shooting in his final four playoff games vs. Minnesota after Stephen Curry injured his hamstring, providing a reminder of his offensive upside ahead of his restricted free agency.
Pacific Notes: Horford, Warriors, Reaves, Luka, Ayton, Huntley
Teams around the NBA widely believe that free agent big man Al Horford will end up on the Warriors, Jake Fischer said during on a Bleacher Report stream on Thursday (YouTube link).
Appearing on SportsCenter, ESPN’s Shams Charania confirmed that the Warriors are “hopeful” about where they stand in the Horford sweepstakes, but cautioned that a decision may not be imminent and that there’s no guarantee the 39-year-old will continue his playing career.
“I’m told he is reviewing multiple options, including the Warriors, the Lakers, but also retirement,” Charania said, per RealGM. “He is 39 years old. He just finished season 18. I’m told it would be a surprise if he makes a final decision by this weekend. He certainly has earned the right to make a decision at his own time.”
Charania made his comments before the Lakers agreed to bring back free agent center Jaxson Hayes, so it’s unclear whether or not they’re still in play for Horford.
If they do want to add more frontcourt depth, the Lakers could open up a 15-man roster spot by moving off Shake Milton‘s non-guaranteed contract and would have $5.1MM in bi-annual exception money to offer Horford, though there has been chatter linking De’Anthony Melton to that roster spot, as Dan Woike of The Athletic tweets.
Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:
- The Warriors are in the market for a veteran big man in large part because long-tenured center Kevon Looney is headed to New Orleans. Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic takes a look back at what Looney meant to Golden State, referring to him as the team’s “backbone.”
- Austin Reaves‘ agent, Aaron Reilly, denied a report from John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter video link), who claimed that Reaves and LeBron James don’t like playing with newest Lakers star Luka Doncic. “Austin has nothing but the utmost respect for Luka and truly enjoys playing alongside him,” Reilly said, per Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation (Twitter link). “Any suggestion to the contrary is completely false. He’s excited to be on the court with Luka—both now and in the future.
- While Deandre Ayton is getting a second-year player option on his new deal with the Lakers, neither side wants him to exercise it, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic, who explains that both Ayton and the Lakers are hoping he far outperforms that the value of that option (in the $8.4MM range) and can command a significant raise in free agency next summer. Team sources are confident the Lakers have the right coaching staff to make it happen, Woike writes, noting that JJ Redick has a reputation for relating to players and assistant Scott Brooks previously worked with Ayton in Portland.
- The Suns‘ two-way contract with undrafted rookie forward CJ Huntley will cover two seasons, Hoops Rumors has learned.