Northwest Notes: Anderson, Jazz, Dundon, Caruso, Hartenstein
It’s rare for a player added on the buyout market to make a significant impact on his new team, but the Timberwolves believe Kyle Anderson is capable of doing just that, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Besides the fact that the 32-year-old is very familiar with the Wolves, whom he played for from 2022-24, the team also has a need for a versatile wing like Anderson, according to head coach Chris Finch.
“We’re very comfortable, I think, in what he can do and how he fits into us,” Finch said. “We need more connectors, more play-makers. We’ll put the ball in his hands. We’ll treat him like a point guard. Defensively, he gives us versatility, switching, intelligence. He’s a great quarterback of the defense.”
Anderson left Minnesota in free agency in 2024 with the Wolves facing a cap crunch. He received a three-year, $27MM deal from Golden State that his former team likely wasn’t in position to offer, but his time with the Warriors didn’t last long. Anderson was traded from Golden State to Miami to Utah to Memphis in the past two seasons, and after being let go by the Grizzlies, he jumped at the chance to rejoin the Wolves.
“With Kyle, it feels good that A) he had such a great experience here, B) he went on and was rewarded for that experience financially, which we always root for, and C) he wanted to come back because he enjoyed being here, and his family enjoyed being here,” Finch said. “The circle is complete in that regard, and hopefully we can all benefit from it in these last 20 games and in the playoffs.”
We have more from around the Northwest:
- Anderson, who appeared in 20 games with the Jazz this season before being dealt to Memphis, admitted he didn’t love playing for a team that was more focused on preserving its top-eight protected 2026 first-round pick than making the playoffs. “I had a lot of fun in the organization and everybody in the organization was awesome,” Anderson said (Twitter video link via Andrew Dukowitz of Zone Coverage). “Obviously, playing not to win (a championship) is tricky and tough, and I didn’t enjoy it personally, but the staff and the players, I loved the players… the people in the organization were awesome, nothing bad to say about them.”
- Tom Dundon, whose purchase of the Trail Blazers is expected to close at some point in the coming weeks, has reached a deal to sell a 12.5% stake in the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes at a valuation of $2.66 billion, according to Scott Soshnick, Eben Novy-Williams, and Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. It’s unclear, per Sportico, whether the timing of the transaction means Dundon is seeking additional liquidity as he prepares to finalize the Blazers sale.
- The Thunder earned their fourth consecutive victory on Wednesday, beating the Knicks 103-100 on the second night of a road back-to-back. However, they didn’t leave New York unscathed. As Marc Stein tweets, both Alex Caruso (left hip contusion) and Isaiah Hartenstein (left calf tightness) exited early and were ruled out for the rest of the night. It remains to be seen whether they’ll miss more time as a result of those injuries.
Kyle Anderson Signs With Wolves After Grizzlies Buyout
March 2: Anderson has officially signed with the Timberwolves, according to a team press release.
February 26: Veteran forward Kyle Anderson has agreed to a buyout with the Grizzlies and intends to sign with the Timberwolves after he clears waivers, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Anderson has been placed on waivers following his buyout agreement, the Grizzlies confirmed (via Twitter).
As Charania notes, Anderson previously played two seasons in Minnesota, including helping the Wolves reach the Western Conference finals in 2023/24.
Anderson opened the season with Utah, appearing in 20 games prior to being traded to Memphis earlier this month in the Jaren Jackson Jr. blockbuster. The 32-year-old’s second stint with the rebuilding Grizzlies will be very brief (he appeared in four games), as he’ll return to a Minnesota team hoping to make another deep playoff run.
According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter links), at least one other contending team was eyeing Anderson, who is a 12-year veteran. He was a locker-room leader in his first stint with the Timberwolves and amicably parted ways with the organization in 2024 (via sign-and-trade), Krawczynski adds.
Known for his versatility and solid defense, Anderson has averaged 7.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 20.4 minutes per game across his 24 appearances this season. He has shot 56.3% from the field and 67.4% from the free throw line.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Anderson was under contract through next season, but his $9.7MM salary for 2026/27 was non-guaranteed. He was still owed $2.3MM of his $9.2MM salary for this season, per Marks.
Anderson will be the latest addition for the Wolves, who traded for Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips at the deadline, re-signed Mike Conley after trading him (he was involved in a second deal before being waived), and added Jules Bernard on a two-way contract, Marks notes (via Twitter).
As we relayed in a separate story, Memphis will fill Anderson’s roster spot by signing veteran big man Taj Gibson, who had been out of the league this season until now.
Northwest Notes: S. Jones, Jay. Williams, Anderson, Henderson
The Nuggets would have liked to sign two-way standout Spencer Jones to a team-friendly multiyear deal when they promoted him to the standard roster from his two-way contract earlier this month, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required).
However, Denver’s ability to make it worth Jones’ while was limited due to the team’s proximity to the tax line, and the second-year forward decided to bet on himself by not settling for a below-market offer. The Nuggets ended up doing a straight conversion of the 24-year-old two-way deal, which means he’ll earn the veteran’s minimum for the rest of the season but will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
“It was preferred (this way). I kind of wanted the optionality,” Jones said, per Durando. “And I love Denver. But I just wanted to keep the optionality open. I was happy they were able to let me do that. I’m really happy with the decision. Like I said, I love it here. Definitely want to stay here.”
While Jones’ rest-of-season minimum salary is modest by NBA standards ($623,967), it’s about the same amount he would’ve received if he had spent the entire season on his two-way contract ($636,435). And now he’ll no longer be restricted by a 50-game regular season limit and playoff ineligibility.
“It’s great to not have that little asterisk with the two-way anymore,” he said. “To fully feel like you’re part of the team. Obviously, everybody had embraced me (before), but it’s nice to get that contractually.”
Here are a few more notes from around the Northwest:
- With six regulars, including big men Chet Holmgren (low back spasms) and Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus injury management) inactive on Wednesday, the Thunder still made the East-leading Pistons work hard to earn an eight-point win. As Rylan Stiles of SI.com notes, that was in large part due to the efforts of fill-in center Jaylin Williams, who had a career night with 30 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Head coach Mark Daigneault described Williams’ performance as “unreal” and praised a few other role players, including Kenrich Williams and Brooks Barnhizer, adding, “It’s a game we can feel really good about despite the loss.”
- Timberwolves players are “elated” that Kyle Anderson will be rejoining the team after he clears waivers, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who tweets that Anthony Edwards was FaceTiming with his former teammate on the way to the arena on Thursday. Anderson, who agreed to a buyout with Memphis and was placed on waivers, was a Timberwolf for two seasons from 2022-24.
- With leading scorer Deni Avdija in and out of the lineup due to a back issue and Shaedon Sharpe possibly done for the season, the Trail Blazers will be relying heavily on Scoot Henderson during the home stretch as they try to secure a playoff berth, writes Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report (Substack link). Henderson has shown little rust since returning from a hamstring tear on February 6, Highkin notes, scoring double-digit points in each of his first eight games back. The former No. 3 overall pick could set himself up well in rookie scale extension talks this offseason with a strong finish to the season.
Nuggets Among Teams Interested In Mavs’ Khris Middleton
Veteran small forward Khris Middleton tells Marc Stein of The Stein Line he’s still evaluating his options ahead of Sunday’s deadline to be waived by one team and remain eligible to appear in the postseason for another club (Twitter links).
According to Stein, Middleton’s is considering whether he wants to stay with the Mavericks for the rest of the season or reach a buyout agreement with Dallas in order to sign with a playoff team. The Nuggets are among the teams with interest in the 34-year-old, league sources tell Stein.
Middleton stressed to Stein that he’s “grateful for the warm welcome he’s received in Dallas.” As Stein reported on Tuesday, the Mavs have essentially left the buyout decision up to Middleton and his camp and would happily retain him for the remainder of the season if he opts to go that route.
Bennett Durando of The Denver Post confirms (via Twitter) that the Nuggets are intrigued by Middleton, adding that Denver also showed interest in Kyle Anderson, who will sign with the Timberwolves after a buyout with Memphis. The Nuggets are searching for size on the wing and ball-handling, Durando reports.
Middleton, who has dealt with injuries in recent years, is no longer the same player who earned All-Star berths three times in four years from 2019-22, but he has performed pretty well since he arrived in Dallas in the Anthony Davis trade. In 39 total games this season, Middleton has averaged 10.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 24.2 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .441/.336/.851.
In the event of a buyout, Middleton would be ineligible to sign with Cleveland, Golden State, or New York, since clubs operating over either tax apron aren’t permitted to sign a player waived during the season who had been earning more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1MM). Middleton’s $33.3MM expiring salary far exceeds that figure.
It’s also worth noting that Middleton would forfeit his Bird rights if he agrees to a buyout. While he’ll certainly have to take a pay cut this summer either way, retaining those Bird rights would likely put him in a better position to avoid settling for the veteran’s minimum or something close to it.
Grizzlies’ Kleiman Talks Deadline Moves, Cites Change In ‘Organizational Direction’
It was less than one year ago that Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman definitely stated “we are not trading” Ja Morant and referred to speculation from rival executives about a deal involving the star point guard a “fantasy.”
The Grizzlies didn’t move Morant at Thursday’s deadline, but they reportedly attempted to do so and plan to renew those efforts this summer. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Kleiman was less inclined than he was last February to make any definitive statements about Morant’s future, but he acknowledged that the team’s direction has changed drastically within the past 12 months, per Jonah Dylan of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“We’ve been incredibly supportive of Ja for many years,” Kleiman said. “This is about organization direction, though. This is not about Ja in particular. I understand that Ja is Ja and there’s more attention kind of paid to that. But all of this is grounded in organizational direction and building a team that we believe can achieve the highest level of success in this league.”
As Dylan observes, Kleiman repeatedly cited a change in “organizational direction” when discussing the next steps in Memphis and the trade that sent Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah this week. The Grizzlies moved Jackson after having traded Desmond Bane to Orlando last summer, seemingly paving the way to fully break up their former “big three” by dealing Morant next.
While there has been some speculation that the relationship between the team and the star point guard is shaky and could get worse now that his days in Memphis appear numbered, Kleiman downplayed the idea that there’s friction between Morant’s camp and the Grizzlies.
“I think we’ve been incredibly supportive of Ja,” he said. “Because Ja is Ja, there’s a lot of attention paid to Ja and everything around him. I honestly think a lot of it is overblown. I’ve had open, constructive, honest conversation with Ja and his camp and I’m going to continue to.”
Here’s more on the Grizzlies:
- Kleiman made it clear during Friday’s media session that the Grizzlies are “turning the page” and building around their young players, including Zach Edey, Cedric Coward, Jaylen Wells, and Cam Spencer, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I’m not going to sit here and crown any of them and say they’re going to be the next this, they’re going to be the next that, but we have a critical mass of players that fit the identity that we’re going for,” Kleiman said. “They’re tough-minded, they’re physically tough, they’re unselfish (and) they play the right way. I think they fit the way the NBA is going if you look at teams that are achieving the highest level of success this season.”
- Kleiman also singled out 2025 first-round pick Walter Clayton, one of four players who came over from Utah in the Jackson trade, as a player the Grizzlies like and who could be part of the club’s core going forward, Cole notes. “He fits the characteristics we are looking for,” Kleiman said. “Physically tough, tough-minded, smart, (and a) winner.”
- Although the Grizzlies are going through a roster reset, they don’t envision this as the beginning of a long, “drawn-out” rebuild, as Dylan relays. “I don’t think this is some five-year, try-to-be-terrible (process),” Kleiman said. “I don’t believe in that method of team building. Between the assets that we’ve accumulated and the players that we have, we’re very optimistic about what we have.”
- There are “conversations ongoing” about how the Grizzlies will use the 15-man roster spot they opened on Friday when they waived Eric Gordon, according to Kleiman (via Cole), but he acknowledged that addressing the frontcourt will likely be a priority. With Edey and Brandon Clarke recovering from injuries, Memphis doesn’t currently have any healthy centers
- New additions Clayton, Kyle Anderson, and Taylor Hendricks aren’t listed on Memphis’ injury report for Friday’s game vs. Portland and should be available to make their debuts, according to Cole. Of course, it’ll be a Grizzlies return rather than a Grizzlies debut for Anderson, who played for the team from 2018-22.
Grizzlies Trade Jaren Jackson Jr. To Jazz
The Grizzlies and Jazz have finalized a blockbuster trade that sends former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. from Memphis to Utah along with wings John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. and center Jock Landale.
In exchange, the Grizzlies have acquired guard Walter Clayton, swingman Kyle Anderson, forwards Taylor Hendricks and Georges Niang, and three future first-round picks.
Those three first-rounders headed to the Grizzlies in the deal are the Lakers’ 2027 pick (top-four protected), either the Cavaliers’, Timberwolves’, or Jazz’s own 2027 pick (whichever is most favorable), and the Suns’ 2031 pick (unprotected).
It’s a shocking move for a couple reasons. For one, multiple reports ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline suggested that Memphis had no interest in moving Jackson and hoped to hang onto – and build around – the big man going forward.
Additionally, while there were multiple teams said to be inquiring on Jackson’s availability in the hopes that the Grizzlies changed their mind, there was no indication that the Jazz were among those teams or that they’d be looking to use their stash of future draft picks to make this sort of move this week. Entering Tuesday’s games, Utah holds a 15-35 record, which is the sixth-worst mark in the NBA.
However, the move for Jackson suggests first-year president of basketball operations Austin Ainge and the Jazz are preparing to take a step forward next season. League sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the team doesn’t plan to trade forward Lauri Markkanen and still wants to re-sign center Walker Kessler in restricted free agency this summer. Utah envisions a frontcourt made up of Markkanen, Jackson, and Kessler, Jones explains.
Third-year guard Keyonte George and 2025 lottery pick Ace Bailey are among the other long-term building blocks in Utah, where the Jazz still control at least one first-round pick in every future draft, starting in 2026. Notably, that 2026 first-rounder will be sent to Oklahoma City if it lands outside the top eight — the Jazz are still in a fairly strong position to hang onto it, since there’s a 4.5-game gap between them and the NBA’s seventh- and eighth-worst teams (the 18-29 Bucks and 19-30 Mavericks).
As for the Grizzlies, we’d heard for weeks that they were open to trading two-time All-Star Ja Morant, but it wasn’t clear whether they intended to retool around Jackson or fully rebuild around a younger core headlined by Cedric Coward, Zach Edey, and Jaylen Wells. Now we have our answer.
While Clayton and Hendricks are just 22 years old and could carve out places in the Grizzlies’ long-term plans, the return for Jackson is primarily about adding three more first-round picks to an ever-growing collection of draft assets and creating additional cap flexibility in the present and future. The Grizzlies now control 12 first-rounders in the next seven drafts, notes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Twitter link).
Jackson renegotiated and extended his contract with Memphis last offseason and will earn $205MM over the next four years after this one. He’s the only player of the eight involved in this trade who is owed guaranteed money beyond next season, and taking on his long-term deal will likely eliminate Utah’s cap room this summer.
In terms of 2025/26 money, Utah will be taking advantage of its significant breathing room below the luxury tax line by increasing its payroll by more than $18MM — the Jazz are sending out a combined $27.5MM in salary and taking back roughly $45.8MM.
As Gozlan tweets, the Jazz will use their four outgoing players to legally match Jackson’s $35MM cap hit, then take the other three incoming players into existing traded player exceptions (or a portion of their mid-level, if they prefer to preserve their bigger TPE).
Memphis, meanwhile, will create a record-setting trade exception worth nearly $28.9MM, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) first broke the news of the deal, with Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link) providing the details on the draft picks involved. The Jazz officially confirmed the news in a press release.
Northwest Notes: McDaniels, Thunder, Jazz, Conley
Jaden McDaniels‘ name has popped up in rumors surrounding the Timberwolves‘ pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, but on Thursday night’s win over the Thunder, he showed just how valuable he is to Minnesota in his own right, writes Jon Krawczynski for The Athletic.
The sixth-year wing is averaging career-highs in points (14.9) and assists (2.9) per game, as well as three-point percentage (44.5%), free throw attempts per game (2.5) and free throw percentage (84.9%). He has also missed just two games this season after playing all 82 last year, and has only made fewer than 70 appearances once in his career (in a COVID-shortened season).
Most importantly, McDaniels has the support of the team around him.
“He’s my favorite player in the league,” star Anthony Edwards said about him. “I love everything about Jaden, everything that he does on the court, defensively, offensively, for us as a team, on the bench, he’s always cheering his teammates on no matter how the game goes for him.”
Both Edwards and head coach Chris Finch have discussed how hard he grinds to fix the holes in his game and the business-like approach he takes to his career.
“He’s an incredible worker,” Finch said. “He’s like a machine every day.”
Krawczynski writes that any Antetokounmpo deal for the Wolves would likely require McDaniels to be moved, either to the Bucks or to a third team, but should no deal come to pass, McDaniels has become the piece the Wolves need him to be at exactly the right time.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder are unlikely to make a major shake-up move at the trade deadline, with most reports indicating that 22-year-old wing Ousmane Dieng is the most likely player on the team to be moved. That said, the team could still use some frontcourt insurance depth, especially with Isaiah Hartenstein in and out of the lineup with injuries, Rylan Stiles writes for Sports Illustrated. In his breakdown of seven potential trade targets, Stiles primarily focuses on depth big men who are unlikely to be overly coveted by their team. Kevin Love (Jazz), Nick Richards (Suns), Bobby Portis (Bucks), and Jock Landale (Grizzlies) are three veterans he believes could be acquired for little more than Dieng and second-round picks, of which the team is loaded. He also looks at the Nets‘ Day’Ron Sharpe, a productive per-minute big man whom Stiles notes could fit into Oklahoma City’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception before the club decides what to do with his team option in the summer. As a more ambitious target, Stiles notes that Trey Murphy III (Pelicans) would make an excellent stylistic fit, but the cost to acquire him would likely be more than the Thunder are willing to pay in-season.
- The Jazz are also not expected to make any major moves by the deadline, Andy Larson writes for the Salt Lake City Tribune. Notably, that means that unless Utah is blown away by a godfather offer, Lauri Markkanen is expected to remain a part of the team’s core moving forward. While Jusuf Nurkic was considered a clear trade candidate coming into the year, his solid play within coach Will Hardy‘s system has the team trying to figure out how he can fit into the team’s outlook moving forward rather than gauging what they can get for him in a deal, Larson reports. Nurkic is averaging a career-high 5.0 assists per game, along with his 11.2 points per game, his best mark since the 2022/23 season. Larson notes that Love and Kyle Anderson could be moved in deals, as both have been in and out of the rotation, and that rather than acting as sellers, the Jazz could be in a position to take bad money in order to add more assets to their substantial draft pick collection. He lists D’Angelo Russell of the Mavericks and Maxi Kleber of the Lakers as two such players they could receive draft compensation to take on.
- Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley wants to keep playing past this season, but doesn’t know if he’ll be able to do so, according to Dane Moore (Twitter video link). “Honestly, every game I play from here on out I think about, ‘Is this my last game?‘” Conley said. “I know I want to play more years, but you just never know how things work… I’m just gonna go out there and have fun and not take things for granted.“
Afseth’s Latest: Spurs, Giannis, J. Johnson, Jazz, Bey
The Spurs have flashed tantalizing potential this season with a 21-7 start and a run to the NBA Cup championship game, but league sources who spoke to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal don’t expect San Antonio to make the sort of significant in-season trade that would compromise the club’s future flexibility.
“They’re not going to sit around being satisfied, but I don’t see them making a move like trading for Giannis (Antetokounmpo),” a source told Afseth. “There are more reasonable options out there. They can be patient and opportunistic.”
According to Afseth, the expectation is that the Spurs will focus on internal growth of their young core this season while preserving their most valuable long-term assets. Still, he says some rival teams have wondered whether San Antonio would be willing to sacrifice some of those assets for another high-level role player who would complement the current group.
“They have the assets to make a trade like Orlando did to add Desmond Bane,” a source said. “It’d have to be someone that fits their timeline. Someone like a Trey Murphy III, for example, could be a strong fit.”
Here are a few more items of interest from Afseth’s latest round-up:
- If Antetokounmpo is made available this season, many of the top suitors for the Bucks star are expected to be Eastern Conference clubs, says Afseth. That group includes the Heat, Knicks, Hawks, and Raptors, though rival executives are skeptical that New York would want to break up its roster during the season and Atlanta isn’t expected to make forward Jalen Johnson available, Afseth notes.
- While both Afseth and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) say that hanging onto their top-eight protected 2026 first-round pick is a priority for the Jazz, Fischer writes that Utah also wants to “establish a winning environment” sooner rather than later. Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George – along with 2026 restricted free agent Walker Kessler – are viewed as cornerstones for the Jazz, with Kyle Anderson, Jusuf Nurkic, Kevin Love, and Georges Niang considered potential in-season trade candidates, per Afseth. Afseth adds that both management and ownership have confidence that Will Hardy is the right head coach to guide the team out of its rebuilding stage.
- Pelicans forward Saddiq Bey is increasingly piquing the interest of teams in need of help on the wing, according to Afseth, who published a full story on Sunday examining Bey’s return to action this season following a torn ACL. The 26-year-old is averaging 15.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game through 29 outings (21 starts) for New Orleans.
Injury Notes: Jazz, Williams, Sheppard, Furphy
The Jazz are getting closer to full health, tweets Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. According to Larsen, Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, and Kyle Filipowski, who missed the start of training camp due to lower back, left shoulder, and left wrist injuries, respectively, were full participants in practice on Sunday.
The three big men were unavailable for Utah’s opening two preseason matchups, but are gearing up for their returns. Markkanen previously stated that while his injury was minor, he wasn’t sure of his exact timetable for return.
Larsen also notes that Kyle Anderson, who played at least 14 minutes in each of the opening preseason games, was not able to suit up for practice due to right knee tendinitis.
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- Vince Williams Jr. missed the Grizzlies‘ game against the Hawks on Friday night, but according to head coach Tuomas Iisalo, his absence wasn’t a cause for concern. Iisalo said the decision was made because of “small precautions,” according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter), and added that it was “nothing serious at this moment.”
- Ben Sheppard has been absent from each of the Pacers‘ two preseason games so far and is doubtful for Monday’s upcoming tilt against the Spurs, reports Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). According to coach Rick Carlisle, Sheppard is still working his way back to being a full practice participant. The Pacers are very light on healthy guards at the moment; in addition to Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana is already missing T.J. McConnell, who will be out at least a month with a hamstring injury, as well as 2025 draft pick Kam Jones, who is sidelined due to a back injury.
- Pacers sophomore Johnny Furphy is joining Sheppard on the injury report after he sprained his left ankle in Saturday’s contest with the Thunder, Dopirak writes. Furphy’s recovery timeline has not been reported yet, nor has the severity of the sprain.
Norman Powell To Heat, John Collins To Clippers In Three-Team Trade
4:21 pm: The three-team trade is official, according to a press release from the Jazz.
9:27 am: The Clippers, Jazz and Heat have reached an agreement on a three-team trade, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal will send Norman Powell to Miami, John Collins to L.A. and Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a 2027 Clippers second-round pick to Utah.
Powell is coming off the best scoring season of his career and will bring more offensive punch to Miami’s backcourt. After finishing fourth in the Sixth Man of the Year balloting in consecutive seasons, Powell was moved into the starting lineup and responded by averaging 21.8 points per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 41.8% from three-point range.
Powell, 32, will make $20.5MM next season before becoming a free agent in 2026. He’s eligible for a three-year extension worth $77.4MM. Those limits would increase to $128.5MM over four years in six months.
The Clippers were reluctant to give Powell a long-term extension, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). With Kawhi Leonard and James Harden both signed through 2026/27, the team is preserving cap space for 2027 free agency.
Miami will use the expanded traded player exception to acquire Powell, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (Twitter link), hard-capping them at the first tax apron, and will be $1.3MM over the luxury tax line once the deal is complete.
Miami will be just $3.9MM away from that first-apron threshold once the trade is complete, so it won’t be able to use the full taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.7MM, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link), who also speculates that acquiring Powell means the team is probably no longer a logical fit for Bradley Beal, who is believed to be nearing a buyout with Phoenix.
Collins, 27, will bring more frontcourt depth to a Clippers team that recently added Brook Lopez in free agency. Collins has been a starter in Utah since being acquired from Atlanta two years ago, but he was limited to 40 games last season. He has one year left on his contract at $26.6MM and can sign an extension worth up to $100.5MM over three years, per Marks. While a massive payday is unlikely for Collins, it’s worth noting those extension limits would increase six months after the trade to $166.7MM over four years.
L.A. is now $6.7MM below the first apron with $5.3MM of its mid-level exception remaining, according to Gozlan (Twitter link). With their top three-point shooter now gone, Gozlan expects the Clippers to be in the market for Beal.
Anderson, 31, has been a useful contributor on contending teams throughout his career, but it’s not clear how he fits in with the rebuilding Jazz. His contract covers two more seasons at $9.2MM and $9.7MM, but 2026/27 is non-guaranteed. Love, who’ll turn 37 in September, has a $4.15MM expiring deal and will likely become a buyout candidate.
Gozlan notes that Utah can create a $26.6MM trade exception by using the mid-level exception to take on Anderson and Love (Twitter link). Alternatively, the Jazz could create roughly $22MM in cap space by waiving the non-guaranteed contracts of KJ Martin ($8MM) and Jaden Springer ($2.4MM) and could be in position to make a play for one of the remaining free agents.
It sounds like Utah will continue operating over the cap, going the trade exception route, tweets Marks.