Hornets Leaning Towards Scoot Henderson At No. 2?
Several recent reports have stated that the Hornets were favoring Alabama’s Brandon Miller at No. 2 overall in tonight’s draft, but G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson is building “serious momentum” with Charlotte for that selection, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Charania says the Hornets have been “torn” in the lead-up to the draft, with both players viewed as strong candidates. The organization has final meetings on Thursday to decide which prospect it will choose, Charania adds.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie recently placed Henderson at No. 2 in his latest mock draft, expressing skepticism that the Hornets were truly favoring Miller over Henderson.
President of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak said on Wednesday that the Hornets would be choosing between two players, and while he didn’t mention them by name, they’re widely expected to be Henderson and Miller. He also said they’d be taking the best player available approach, as David Newton of ESPN relays.
“I don’t think we’re at the stage where we’re good enough to focus on fit,” Kupchak said. “Next year, knock on wood, we’re healthy, we might be getting close where we could look a little bit more to fit.
“But right now, it’s about adding the best player that we could possibly add to the team. … We’re going to take the player that we feel is best for this organization going forward.”
Kupchak also said the team was open to trading the pick, though the offer would likely have to be overwhelming. As of yesterday, he anticipated keeping the valuable selection.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report is another talent evaluator who has been skeptical of the rumors that Miller was the leading candidate to go No. 2. He says many people seem to favor Henderson as the second-best prospect in the draft (Twitter links). According to Wasserman, league insiders haven’t been able to trace the source of Charlotte’s rumored preference for Miller, since the team is known for being pretty tight-lipped.
As Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports tweets, other lottery teams believe Henderson is still receiving strong consideration, buoyed by support from the Hornets’ new ownership group, which is led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, who are buying Michael Jordan‘s majority stake. However, Kupchak said at his press conference Wednesday that Jordan would have final say on basketball decisions, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
“Michael has the final say,” Kupchak said. “During the last month or two I would talk to Michael in the morning two or three times a week. With the sale of the organization, one of the new owners was in a couple of days ago and is in today, and I expect them to weigh in, whether it’s in-person or not.
“There’s a lot of texts going back and forth, there’s a lot of questions, there’s a lot of catch-up for a new owner. This is not a simple process. There’s a lot of research, testing, intel, opinion that goes into the decision. The new owners are catching up as quick as they can. So the debate will continue today, it might continue (Thursday), which is good. It’s healthy. I welcome that.”
Hawks, Pacers Active On Trade Market As De’Andre Hunter Deal Breaks Down
The Hawks are working to shake up their roster, but a potential deal with the Pacers appears to have fallen apart after the teams were moving toward an agreement Tuesday night, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
Atlanta would have sent De’Andre Hunter to Indiana in the proposed trade, sources tell Fischer. Although more details on the deal aren’t available, the Hawks reportedly want to move into the top 10 in the draft. Sources tell Fischer that the Pacers weren’t willing to part with the No. 7 pick to acquire Hunter.
Fischer adds that Indiana is in the market for a starting forward, and he hears that the team has reached out to the Warriors about Jonathan Kuminga. He adds that the Pacers may wait until free agency and target players such as Harrison Barnes, Kyle Kuzma and Grant Williams.
The Hawks are among the league’s most active teams in pre-draft trade talks, according to Fischer. He states that Hunter appears to be involved in most of the deals, but John Collins, Dejounte Murray and Clint Capela could be available as well.
Sources tell Fischer that Dallas might be open to trading the No. 10 pick in a package involving Atlanta’s No. 15 selection, depending on who’s still left on the board. Fischer hears that the Mavericks‘ willingness to move down may change if Cam Whitmore or Taylor Hendricks is still available.
The Hawks made several offers to the Raptors for Pascal Siakam, including at least one three-team deal, sources tell Fischer. Rival teams believe Toronto’s high asking price is the biggest impediment to a deal for either Siakam or OG Anunoby.
The Raptors seem to be considering moves both up and down the draft board, Fischer adds. He hears from sources that Toronto, which holds the No. 13 pick, has talked to the Magic about No. 11, the Warriors about No. 19 and the Nets, who have Nos. 21 and 22.
Khris Middleton Declining Player Option, Will Become Free Agent
Bucks wing Khris Middleton is declining his $40.4MM player option to become an unrestricted free agent, his agents tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Despite turning down the option, the three-time All-Star could still work out a new deal with Milwaukee, Woj adds (via Twitter).
Middleton, who turns 32 in August, had a disappointing regular season in 2022/23, appearing in just 33 games (24.3 minutes) while averaging 15.1 points, 4.9 assists and 4.2 rebounds on .436/.315/.902 shooting.
He had a strong playoff showing in Milwaukee’s first-round loss to Miami, however, averaging 23.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists on .465/.406/.867 shooting in five games.
Middleton battled persistent knee soreness throughout ’22/23, undergoing arthroscopic surgery to deal with the issue after the season ended. He also had wrist surgery last summer, which caused him to miss the first 20 games of last season.
The 39th pick of the 2012 draft by Detroit, Middleton didn’t play much as a rookie for the Pistons before he was traded to Milwaukee the following summer. He has emerged as one of the Bucks’ best players over the past decade, playing a key role in helping the club win the championship in ’20/21.
A recent report indicated that the Bucks plan to retain Middleton. League executives reportedly believe he could re-sign with Milwaukee on a four-year deal worth around $130MM.
Celtics, Wizards, Clippers Trade Talks Fall Through
The three-team trade that would have sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics, Malcolm Brogdon to the Clippers, and Marcus Morris, Amir Coffey, Danilo Gallinari and the No. 30 pick to the Wizards has fallen through and the clubs have decided to move on, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
While multiple reporters said the deal was nearing completion, Wojnarowski previously cautioned that there was more work to do to make an agreement official, and now the three-team trade has been shelved.
Sources tell Marc Stein that the Clippers had concerns over Brogdon’s medicals, which caused the three-team framework to collapse (Twitter link).
Brogdon, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, reportedly suffered a torn tendon in his right elbow during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Miami. He said after the Celtics’ season ended that he’d consider undergoing surgery on his shooting arm, though a report earlier today indicated he was optimistic about avoiding a procedure and would like to stay in Boston.
The Wizards are still working on a deal to send Porzingis to Boston, but the Clippers won’t be involved, according to both Wojnarowski and Stein.
It’s very rare for a details of a trade to emerge so publicly and seemingly be so close to the finish line and eventually fall through. Evidently the Clippers’ medical staff saw something they didn’t like though, so Boston decided to pivot and try to acquire Porzingis in new framework.
Brogdon has two years and $45MM left on his contract. It’s unclear if he’ll be involved in the new proposal.
Bulls’ Derrick Jones Jr. Declining 2023/24 Player Option
Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr. plans to decline his player option for 2023/24 to become an unrestricted free agent, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Jones signed a two-year, $6.56MM contract with Chicago last summer that includes an opt-out decision after year one. His option for ’23/24 is worth a guaranteed $3.36MM.
The move comes as something of a surprise, as the 26-year-old told K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago in April that he planned to pick up the option to stay with the Bulls.
“Like I told coach (Billy Donovan) and everybody else, I’m locked in for two years. I didn’t sign for two years for no reason. So I’m here for two years,” Jones said. “I just gotta sit down with my agent and talk to him, figure things out. But I don’t see why not. I got no other plans, yet.”
As Jones implied at the end of that statement, plans can change, especially as players get closer to free agency. He must be confident he can exceed his option as a free agent — it’s worth noting that a seven-year veteran like Jones would earn a projected $2.7MM on a veteran’s minimum contract.
The Bulls have Jones’ Bird rights if they want to re-sign him to a new contract.
Jones appeared in 64 games for the Bulls this past season, averaging 5.0 points and 2.4 rebounds and shooting .500/.338/.738 in 14.0 minutes per night. With the exception of his three-point percentage, those numbers were all down from the ones he posted during his first year in Chicago in ’21/22.
In fact, Jones’ minutes, points and rebounds were all down when compared to his previous four seasons after becoming a rotation regular with Miami in ’18/19. The high-flying Jones is known as a strong, versatile defensive player, though he doesn’t provide much scoring or play-making on the other end.
Jones isn’t the only Bull with a $3.36MM player option for 2023/24. As our list of free agents by team shows, veteran center Andre Drummond will have to make a decision on an identical option.
We’re tracking all of this year’s player option decisions right here.
Pacers Trading No. 29, No. 32 Picks To Nuggets
2:16pm: As Agness reported below, the Nuggets’ own 2024 pick won’t be involved in this trade, ESPN’s Bobby Marks confirms (via Twitter).
The 2024 first-rounder the Pacers will receive from the Nuggets will be the one Denver gets in its trade with Oklahoma City: The least favorable of the Thunder’s, Clippers’, Rockets’, and Jazz’s picks.
12:28pm: The Pacers and Nuggets have agreed to a draft-pick swap, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), who reports that Denver will receive the No. 29 and No. 32 picks in Thursday’s draft.
In exchange for those two selections, Indiana will receive the No. 40 pick in 2023 and the least favorable of the Nuggets’ 2024 first-rounders, per Wojnarowski.
This is the second draft-pick trade the Nuggets have agreed to this month as they look to fill out their 2023/24 roster with low-cost contributors. Denver previously agreed to send its 2029 first-rounder to Oklahoma City in exchange for this year’s No. 37 pick, the least favorable of the Thunder’s 2024 first-round picks, and a 2024 second-rounder.
As a result of their latest trade, the Nuggets will now control the 29th, 32nd, and 37th overall picks on Thursday, putting them in position to select multiple players who could contribute as rookies. The team drafted Christian Braun and Peyton Watson at No. 21 and No. 30 last year and is counting on those youngsters to play increased roles next season.
As for the Pacers, they also control the seventh, 26th, and 55th overall picks in this year’s draft, so there was an expectation that they’d move one or more of their five selections rather than keeping and using all of them. The Pacers still control four 2023 picks, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they made at least one more deal this week. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), they remain active in trade talks.
In addition to holding its own 2024 first-round pick, the ’24 first-round selection that Denver is getting from Oklahoma City is the least favorable of the following first-rounders:
- The Thunder’s pick.
- The Clippers’ pick.
- The Rockets’ pick (top-four protected).
- The Jazz’s pick (top-10 protected).
According to ESPN, the Nuggets will send either their own pick or the pick they get from the Thunder (whichever is least favorable) to Indiana. However, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link) hears that the Nuggets’ own pick isn’t involved, and Denver will simply reroute the pick they get from OKC on to the Pacers. We’ll wait for clarity on that point.
The full 2023 draft order can be viewed right here.
NBA Increases Salary Cap Projection For 2023/24
The NBA has updated its salary cap projection for the 2023/24 season, telling teams today that the cap is expected to be higher than previously anticipated, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Charania, the NBA’s updated projections call for a ’23/24 cap of $136MM, with a luxury tax line of $165MM.
The league previously estimated a $134MM cap with a tax threshold around $162MM.
The NBA and NBPA have agreed not to increase the salary cap by more than 10% per year. Because the 2022/23 cap was $123,655,000, the cap for ’23/24 can’t exceed $136,020,500. Based on Charania’s reporting, it sounds like this year’s cap bump might reach that maximum 10% increase, or at least come very close to it.
The new projections will give more wiggle room to clubs whose team salaries for 2023/24 project to be around the tax line or at or above one of the two tax aprons, which will be approximately $7MM and $17.5MM above the tax threshold. Teams that project to have cap space, meanwhile, should have a couple extra million dollars to work with as they weigh how to use that room.
Various exceptions that are tied to the salary cap, including the mid-level exception, bi-annual exception, and rookie scale, will get a slight bump based on the new cap projection. So will the minimum and maximum salaries, which means that players like Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, and Darius Garland will see their maximum-salary extensions increase by $3-4MM, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
The official cap figures for the coming league year are typically announced right near the end of June. However, when the NBA updates its projections this close to free agency, it’s safe to assume the actual numbers will be very similar to these estimates.
Nuggets’ Bruce Brown Declining 2023/24 Player Option
As expected, Nuggets guard Bruce Brown will turn down his player option for the 2023/24 season, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Rather than locking in a ’23/24 salary worth $6,802,950, Brown will hit the free agent market, where he’ll be able to sign a new deal with Denver or a rival suitor.
Brown, who signed with the Nuggets last summer following a two-year stint in Brooklyn, averaged a career-best 11.5 points per night on .483/.358/.758 shooting in 80 games (28.5 MPG) this past season.
The 26-year-old also contributed 4.1 RPG and 3.4 APG while handling a variety of defensive assignments. In the postseason, he played the most minutes of any Denver reserve, bumping his scoring average to 12.0 PPG while shooting 51.1% from the floor.
Because Brown signed with the Nuggets just one year ago, the team only holds his Non-Bird rights, giving them the ability to offer up to about $7.8MM, a 20% raise on his previous $6.5MM salary. The club intends to offer that full raise, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link).
The Nuggets could theoretically offer more than $7.8MM if they had cap room or the full mid-level exception available, but they project to be over the luxury tax line, limiting their spending flexibility.
Brown is considered likely to receive an offer in the neighborhood of the full mid-level ($12MM) from another team, but spoke after the Nuggets’ championship about his desire to remain in Denver, telling reporters that “money isn’t everything.” If he’s willing to accept a below-market salary in 2023/24, he could sign another one-plus-one deal, then opt out again in 2024 and sign a more lucrative, longer-term contract with the Nuggets once they hold his Early Bird rights.
We’re tracking all of this year’s player option decisions right here.
Sixers’ Harrell To Decline Option, Become Free Agent
Sixers big man Montrezl Harrell will turn down his minimum-salary player option for the 2023/24 season and become an unrestricted free agent, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT (Twitter link).
Harrell signed with Philadelphia last September on a two-year, minimum-salary contract that gave him the ability to opt out after the first season. The 29-year-old appeared in 57 games in 2022/23, averaging 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per night.
Prior to this season, Harrell had posted career averages of 12.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 21.5 MPG across 458 games, earning Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2020. His numbers this past season were his lowest since his rookie year (2015/16).
While Harrell’s modest production in Philadelphia won’t exactly line him up for a big payday this summer, his decision to opt out suggests he’s confident he’ll at least get another minimum-salary offer from an NBA team.
Assuming he gets a guaranteed minimum deal, the former Louisville standout will come out ahead, since his player option was worth $2,760,026 and his projected minimum salary on a new contract next season is $2,848,506.
As our tracker shows, Harrell is one of three Sixers with a player option for 2023/24. Danuel House exercised his $4.3MM option, while James Harden is expected to decline his $35.6MM option
Clippers Reportedly Gauging Paul George’s Trade Value
The Clippers have given off the impression during draft week discussions that they’re attempting to gauge Paul George‘s trade value, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post.
According to Stein, some rival teams believe the organization is giving serious consideration to breaking up the star duo of George and Kawhi Leonard, both of whom have struggled to stay on the court due to injury.
When George was on the court this past season, he posted his usually gaudy numbers — 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. However, George only appeared in 56 regular-season games. He has only played in 141 regular-season games over the past three seasons.
George has two years left on his contract. He’s locked into $45.64MM next season and holds a $48.8MM option for the 2024/25 season, when he’ll be 34 years old.
Stein identifies the Trail Blazers (as had previously been reported) and Rockets as potential suitors for George, who was acquired by the Clippers in the summer of 2019.
George would give Damian Lillard another All-Star level talent to work with in Portland. The Blazers could package the No. 3 pick with Anfernee Simons, among others, to match salaries in such a trade scenario.
The Rockets, who seem intent on bringing in some veteran impact players to help their young core, own the No. 4 pick and have the cap space to absorb a huge contract.