Wizards, Bradley Beal Discussing Trade Scenarios
As potential suitors get in touch with the Wizards about Bradley Beal, the team’s new-look front office – led by president Michael Winger – is staying in “close contact” with Beal’s agent Mark Bartelstein to discuss potential trade scenarios, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
According to Shams Charania and Josh Robbins of The Athletic, the Wizards and Beal have an understanding that they’ll work together to find a deal that sends the three-time All-Star to a contender if the team decides to rebuild its roster.
The reports from ESPN and The Athletic don’t come as a real surprise. When Winger was named the Wizards’ new head of basketball operations last month, reports indicated that team owner Ted Leonsis was open to a rebuild if that’s the path that Winger wanted to take. And given that Beal is the only NBA player with a full no-trade clause, the team would have no choice but to work with the 29-year-old and his camp if it wants to deal him as part of a roster reset.
According to both Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s duo, it remains unclear whether Winger will decide to reshape Washington’s roster, so there’s no guarantee that Beal will be on the move this offseason. But the two sides intend to work amicably on next steps, per The Athletic. Discussions about Beal’s future in D.C. are expected to become more frequent in the coming weeks, sources tell ESPN.
Beal’s value will be limited not just by his no-trade clause, which allows him to essentially choose his new team, but by his recent injury history, his dip in production, and his massive contract.
The former third overall pick has played just 90 games across the last two seasons and has seen his scoring average dip to 23.2 points per game during that time (he averaged 31.3 PPG in 2020/21). However, he signed a maximum-salary contract as a free agent last summer and is owed nearly $208MM over the next four years. He also has a 15% trade kicker, though his salary in 2023/24 will likely be above the league-wide max, so that kicker wouldn’t be applied.
During a TV appearance on Wednesday (YouTube link), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said he thinks the return in any trade involving Beal would surprise people based on how low it might be. As Windhorst points out, Beal’s no-trade clause doesn’t just let him pick his landing spot — it also lets him approve the package he gets dealt for, since he’d have veto power if he thinks his new team is giving up too much.
Miami and Philadelphia are among the teams that have been linked to Beal in the past, and the Heat are expected to be a “prominent” suitor for him if he’s available this summer, per Charania and Robbins. Previous reporting indicated that the Heat are prepared to peruse the trade market in search of a star in the coming weeks.
In addition to Beal, a pair of other key Wizards players have uncertain futures in D.C. Both Kyle Kuzma ($13MM) and Kristaps Porzingis ($36MM) hold players options for 2023/24. Kuzma is considered a lock to opt out and become a free agent, while Porzingis’ decision is TBD.
Official Early Entrants List For 2023 NBA Draft
The NBA has officially announced that 44 additional early entrant prospects withdrew from the draft before Monday’s deadline, leaving a total of 92 eligible to be selected in this year’s draft.
Of those draft-eligible early entrants, 84 are players from colleges (40 seniors and 44 underclassmen), while the remaining eight are international prospects.
This year’s 92 early entrants falls well short of the record set in 2021 (217), as well as the 2022 total (149). Of course, there are still more early entrants than there are slots available in next Thursday’s draft. With two teams’ second-round picks forfeited due to past free agency violations, there will be just 58 players drafted on June 22.
[RELATED: Full 2023 NBA Draft Order]
A total of 242 prospects initially declared as early entrants, with more than 100 of those players removing their names from consideration prior to the NCAA’s May 31 withdrawal deadline to retain their college eligibility.
Here’s the complete list of early entrant prospects eligible for the 2023 NBA draft:
College seniors:
- Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, F, Memphis
- Damezi Anderson, F, Detroit
- Chase Audige, G, Northwestern
- Grant Basile, F, Virginia Tech
- Manny Bates, F, Butler
- Damion Baugh, G, TCU
- Kobe Brown, F, Missouri
- Toumani Camara, F, Dayton
- Tyger Campbell, G, UCLA
- Yuri Collins, G, Saint Louis
- Alou Dillon, F, Purdue-Northwest
- Tosan Evbuomwan, F, Princeton
- Adam Flagler, G, Baylor
- Armaan Franklin, G, Virginia
- Myron Gardner, G/F, Little Rock
- De’Vion Harmon, G, Texas Tech
- Joey Hauser, F, Michigan State
- Trayce Jackson-Davis, F, Indiana
- Jaime Jaquez, G, UCLA
- Keyontae Johnson, F, Kansas State
- Jackson Kenyon, F, Miami (OH)
- Seth Lundy, F, Penn State
- Demetrius Mims, G, Gannon (PA)
- Omari Moore, F, San Jose State
- Landers Nolley, G/F, Cincinnati
- Jack Nunge, F/C, Xavier
- Nick Ongenda, C, DePaul
- Uros Plavsic, C, Tennessee
- Terry Roberts, G, Georgia
- Marcus Sasser, G, Houston
- Ben Sheppard, G, Belmont
- Grant Sherfield, G, Oklahoma
- Dontrell Shuler, G, Cal State San Bernardino
- Malachi Smith, G, Gonzaga
- Justice Sueing, F, Ohio State
- Drew Timme, F/C, Gonzaga
- Jacob Toppin, F, Kentucky
- Oscar Tshiebwe, F/C, Kentucky
- Tyler Willoughby, G, Voorhees (SC)
- Isaiah Wong, G, Miami
College underclassmen:
- Marcus Bagley, F, Arizona State (sophomore)
- Amari Bailey, G, UCLA (freshman)
- Emoni Bates, G/F, Eastern Michigan (sophomore)
- Charles Bediako, C, Alabama (sophomore)
- Anthony Black, G, Arkansas (freshman)
- Kobe Bufkin, G, Michigan (sophomore)
- Jaylen Clark, G, UCLA (junior)
- Noah Clowney, F, Alabama (freshman)
- Ricky Council IV, G, Arkansas (junior)
- Gradey Dick, G, Kansas (freshman)
- Alex Fudge, F, Florida (sophomore)
- Keyonte George, G, Baylor (freshman)
- Wendell Green, G, Auburn (junior)
- Mouhamed Gueye, F/C, Washington State (sophomore)
- Jordan Hawkins, G, Connecticut (sophomore)
- Taylor Hendricks, F, UCF (freshman)
- Jalen Hood-Schifino, G, Indiana (freshman)
- Jett Howard, G, Michigan (freshman)
- Andre Jackson, G, UConn (junior)
- G.G. Jackson, F, South Carolina (freshman)
- Colby Jones, G, Xavier (junior)
- Maxwell Lewis, F, Pepperdine (sophomore)
- Dereck Lively II, C, Duke (freshman)
- Chris Livingston, F, Kentucky (freshman)
- Mike Miles, G, TCU (junior)
- Brandon Miller, F, Alabama (freshman)
- Kris Murray, F, Iowa (junior)
- Julian Phillips, F, Tennessee (freshman)
- Brandin Podziemski, G, Santa Clara (sophomore)
- Justin Powell, G, Washington State (junior)
- Olivier-Maxence Prosper, F, Marquette (junior)
- Adama Sanogo, F/C, UConn (junior)
- Brice Sensabaugh, F, Ohio State (freshman)
- Nick Smith Jr., G, Arkansas (freshman)
- Terquavion Smith, G, NC State (sophomore)
- Julian Strawther, G/F, Gonzaga (junior)
- Azuolas Tubelis, F, Arizona (junior)
- Jarace Walker, F, Houston (freshman)
- Cason Wallace, G, Kentucky (freshman)
- Jordan Walsh, F, Arkansas (freshman)
- Dariq Whitehead, G/F, Duke (freshman)
- Cam Whitmore, F, Villanova (freshman)
- Jalen Wilson, F, Kansas (junior)
- Tyrese Wineglass, G, Southwestern Adventist (TX) (junior)
International players:
Note: The country indicates where the player had been playing, not necessarily where he was born.
- Bilal Coulibaly, F, France (born 2004)
- Nadir Hifi, G/F, France (born 2002)
- James Nnaji, C, Spain (born 2004)
- Rayan Rupert, G/F, Australia (born 2004)
- Marcio Santos, F/C, Brazil (born 2002)
- Enzo Shahrvin, F, France (born 2003)
- Tristan Vukcevic, F/C, Serbia (born 2003)
- Victor Wembanyama, C, France (born 2004)
There are also a handful of prospects whom the NBA doesn’t technically consider early entrants, but who became automatically eligible for the draft before what would have been their senior season at college. Here are a few of the most notable players in that group:
- Scoot Henderson, G, G League Ignite (born 2004)
- Leonard Miller, F, G League Ignite (born 2003)
- Amen Thompson, G, Overtime Elite (born 2003)
- Ausar Thompson, G/F, Overtime Elite (born 2003)
For the full list of the players who declared for the draft and then withdrew, click here.
Ekpe Udoh Retiring As Player, Joining Hawks’ Coaching Staff
Former NBA big man Ekpe Udoh is transitioning into the next phase of his career, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Udoh is joining the Hawks as a member of Quin Snyder‘s coaching staff.
Udoh hasn’t been on an NBA roster since 2019, but he continued to play internationally in recent years, suiting up for teams in China, Italy, and Japan. As Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets, the 36-year-old played for the Japanese club Kyoto Hannaryz earlier this year, but has opted to retire as a player and will pivot to coaching.
The sixth overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, Udoh began his career in Golden State and made stops in Milwaukee, Los Angeles (with the Clippers), and Utah from 2010-19. The 6’10” center also played in Israel and Turkey during that period, winning a EuroLeague title in 2017 with Fenerbahce. He made the All-EuroLeague First Team that year after leading the league in rebounds and blocked shots.
In 384 career NBA regular season games, Udoh averaged a modest 3.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 14.8 minutes per night. He also made 16 appearances in the postseason, but never played a major role, averaging just 5.8 MPG in those contests. Of his 400 total NBA games, 122 came for the Jazz under Snyder, who was the team’s head coach at the time.
The Hawks are also adding Bryan George to their coaching staff as a video coordinator with a focus on player development, tweets Jeff Schultz of The Athletic. George had been an assistant coach for ASVEL in France.
Raptors Hire Darko Rajakovic As Head Coach
JUNE 13: The Raptors have officially hired Rajakovic, issuing a press release to formally announce their new head coach.
“We’re entering a new era – one where we are embracing new ideas, a new attitude, and now a new head coach – but our goals remain the same. A championship. Winning,” Ujiri said in a statement. “Darko shares those goals, and our belief in culture, professionalism, and hard work. His commitment to both learning and teaching our game is elite, and we are all very excited to welcome him to the Raptors family.”
JUNE 10: Grizzlies assistant coach Darko Rajakovic is getting a new job.
Sources inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that the Raptors have offered Rajakovic their vacant head coaching position, and are currently in the process of ironing out terms on a deal.
Toronto team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster fired former head coach Nick Nurse in April after he spent 10 years with the franchise, including five in that role. Nurse led the Raptors to their first-ever title during his debut season as the team’s head coach in 2018/19.
Rajakovic, who originally hails from Serbia and coached in the Spanish EBA League before arriving stateside, got his feet wet in the NBA while working as a scouting consultant and Summer League assistant coach for the Spurs from 2004-11.
He then served as the head coach of the Tulsa 66ers, the then-D League affiliate club of the Thunder. The team has since been rechristened the Oklahoma City Blue, and of course the D League has become the G League in the intervening seasons.
Rajakovic subsequently served as an assistant coach under Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan with the Thunder from 2014-19, then worked with the Suns during the 2019/20 season on the staff of Monty Williams. He joined Taylor Jenkins‘ bench in 2020 with Memphis and soon graduated to become Jenkins’ lead assistant coach.
According to Wojnarowski, Toronto was looking for a head coach that could function either in leading a veteran-laden roster back to the playoffs or in developing a younger core.
Wojnarowski names Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson and Bucks assistant Charles Lee as two other finalists who were given serious consideration.
The Raptors’ opening had been the final available head coaching vacancy on the market this year.
Bruce Brown: “I Want To Stay” With Nuggets
In the wake of the Nuggets‘ championship-clinching victory on Monday, Bruce Brown‘s teammates were effusive in their praise of the versatile guard, predicting a significant payday for the 26-year-old this summer in free agency. However, Brown told Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscription required) that he won’t necessarily accept the biggest offer he gets on the open market.
“I want to stay,” Brown said. “… It’s a perfect fit. And money is not everything. The money will come. So I’m not worried about that right now.”
Brown, who signed a two-year contract with the Nuggets last offseason, holds a $6.8MM player option for 2023/24. If he turns down that option, Denver would only hold his Non-Bird rights and would be limited to offering him a starting salary of $7.8MM — that figure represents a 20% raise off his current $6.5MM salary.
The Nuggets could theoretically use the mid-level exception to offer up to $12.2MM, but they’re extremely unlikely to have the full MLE available since their team salary projects to be over the luxury tax line. ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) expects rival suitors to be willing to offer at least the MLE amount of $12.2MM, and possibly more than that. Brown’s teammates are also forecasting a substantial raise based on his play in the regular season and postseason.
“Bruce has been huge for us all playoffs,” Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said after Monday’s win. “We’re excited for him because he’s going to get paid. He’s going to get paid. … We just kept telling him be aggressive, even though his first half didn’t go amazing making shots-wise. He hit that big bucket down the stretch, made those two free throws. He was amazing for us all playoffs. It wasn’t just tonight.”
In 80 regular season appearances for the Nuggets, Brown averaged a career-best 11.5 points per night on .483/.358/.758 shooting. He also contributed 4.1 RPG and 3.4 APG while handling a variety of defensive assignments. In the playoffs, he bumped his scoring average to 12.0 PPG while shooting 51.1% from the floor. On Monday, the five-year veteran made a key basket late in the game’s closing minutes to give Denver the lead, then knocked down two free throws with 14 seconds left to clinch the victory.
One option for Brown would be to decline his player option, sign another one-plus-one deal with a first-year salary of $7.8MM, then opt out again in 2024 in order to sign a more lucrative, longer-term deal with the Nuggets. Bobby Portis took this route in Milwaukee after winning a title with the Bucks, accepting a below-market deal in 2021 and then inking a four-year, $48.6MM contract in 2022 once the team had his Early Bird rights.
We’ll see if Brown wants to take a similar path once he’s not still basking in the fresh glow of a title. But on Monday, at least, he sounded genuinely enthusiastic about remaining in Denver.
“That’s insane,” he said of the Nuggets’ 16-4 playoff record, per Singer. “That doesn’t happen. … Why not run it back?”
Nuggets Win First Title, Jokic Named MVP
The Nuggets secured their first championship on Monday night, completing a 4-1 series victory over the Heat with a 94-89 victory. The Nuggets joined the NBA in 1976 after the league’s merger with the ABA.
Nikola Jokic, the league’s two-time Most Valuable Player in the regular season, was named the MVP of the Finals, NBA Communications tweets. He had 28 points, 16 rebounds and four assists in the clinching victory. For the series, Jokic averaged 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists per night.
Jokic and the team’s other star, Jamal Murray, carried the Nuggets throughout the playoffs. However, the team’s role players made some of the biggest plays in Game 5.
Bruce Brown had the go-ahead put-back in the late going and hit clinching free throws. In between, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had a key steal and made two clutch free throws.
Denver is well-positioned to make a run at back-to-back titles and beyond. Jokic, Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. are all signed through at least the 2024/25 season. Caldwell-Pope has two more years left on his contract, though he can opt out next summer.
There’s a good chance Brown will go elsewhere. He will almost certainly decline his $6.8MM option and the team doesn’t own his Bird rights, limiting its ability to offer much of a raise.
Jeff Green and a handful of other veteran reserves will be unrestricted free agents, though the Nuggets have some quality young players on rookie contracts poised to take on bigger roles, including Christian Braun and Peyton Watson.
The Heat have some key players entering free agency, most notably Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Kevin Love.
With the Finals decided, the 2023 NBA offseason is officially underway. The draft will be held in 10 days with free agency beginning the following week.
Tyler Herro Available To Play In Game 5
6:11pm: Herro is available tonight, according to Erik Spoelstra, but the coach wouldn’t commit to playing him, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.
“It’s all hands on deck,” Spoelstra said. “We’re going with our normal rotation, and then we’ll see how things play out.”
11:34am: The Heat have changed Tyler Herro‘s status to questionable for tonight’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals (Twitter link), prompting speculation that he might be ready to return from hand surgery.
Herro is expected to be in uniform and will attempt to play, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Team officials are hoping that he doesn’t suffer a setback before tip-off and that he can manage the pain in his right hand, Woj adds.
The shooting guard has been sidelined since April 16 when he broke two fingers in the opener of Miami’s first-round series with Milwaukee. He had surgery five days later and was projected to miss at least six weeks.
Herro was originally listed as out for Game 5, but he was able to participate in another full-contact practice session on Sunday. His performance apparently convinced team officials that he’s ready to attempt a comeback.
The Heat need a boost in three-point shooting from their backcourt after Gabe Vincent and Max Strus misfired badly in Game 3 and 4. They combined to shoot 4-of-27 from the field in the two losses at Miami while scoring a total of 12 points.
Pelicans Looking To Move Up Draft, Eye Scoot Henderson
The Pelicans are looking to trade up to the No. 2 or No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 draft with their sights set on G League guard Scoot Henderson, Shams Charania of The Stadium and The Athletic reports (Twitter video link).
New Orleans is among several teams seriously pursuing that No. 2 overall pick, according to Charania. The Hornets hold the No. 2 selection and worked out Henderson on Sunday. The 6’2″ guard averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals for the Ignite in 19 games this season. Henderson’s spotty 3-point shooting (27.5%) didn’t hurt his draft stock. He was shut down in mid-March by the Ignite.
New Orleans already has CJ McCollum at the point, though he could swing to the shooting guard spot as he did in Portland. The Pelicans drafted Dyson Daniels with the No. 8 pick last June, but Daniels posted modest stats in 59 games during his first NBA season. They also have Kira Lewis Jr., a 2020 lottery pick who returned from a major knee injury to appear in 25 games this season.
The Pelicans hold the No. 14 pick and have a bevy of future first-rounders owed to them, which they could dangle to Charlotte or the Trail Blazers, who hold the No. 3 selection. The Lakers owe New Orleans their unprotected 2024 first-rounder, which can be deferred until 2025. The Bucks owe the Pelicans their unprotected 2027 first-round pick. New Orleans also has the right to swap 2024 and 2026 first-rounders with Milwaukee.
Beyond those draft assets and McCollum, the Pelicans could offer either of their other stars (Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram) or some other young talents (Trey Murphy III, Herbert Jones). It remains to be seen what type of package the Hornets (or Blazers) would pursue in order to part with their high lottery pick.
Fred VanVleet Declines Player Option, Will Become UFA
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet has turned down his $22.8MM player option for next season and will become an unrestricted free agent, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Sources tell Wojnarowski that VanVleet would be willing to consider a new deal to stay in Toronto. However, he’ll be one of the top names on the free agent market and is expected to be targeted by plenty of teams with cap space and others that might be interested working out a sign-and-trade.
Wojnarowski notes that several contending teams talked to the Raptors about trading for VanVleet before the February deadline, adding that many of those teams will continue to pursue the 29-year-old guard once free agency beings on June 30.
Teams with ample cap space such as the Rockets and Magic are expected to have interest in VanVleet, which could price some other competitors out of the market, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
An All-Star during the 2021/22 season, VanVleet has played his entire career in Toronto after joining the team when he went undrafted in 2016. He emerged as a full-time starter in his fourth NBA season and was part of the 2019 squad that captured the only NBA title in Raptors history.
Along with scoring 19.3 PPG this season, VanVleet averaged a career-best 7.2 assists per game and ranked in the top 10 in the league in assists-to-turnover ratio. He was also third in the NBA in steals with 1.8 per game and first in deflections.
Most players have until June 29 to make option decisions for next season, but VanVleet’s deadline was Wednesday, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Teammate Gary Trent Jr. also has until Wednesday to decide on his $18.6MM option for 2023/24.
VanVleet is still eligible for an extension, Marks adds, but the Raptors can only offer $114MM over four years under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (Twitter link). Changes to the new CBA, which takes effect July 1, would have increased that maximum extension to $133MM with a starting salary of $29.8MM, but VanVleet will be a free agent by that point, making him eligible for a projected maximum salary of $40.2MM.
Warriors Aren’t Shopping Jordan Poole
There’s no guarantee that Jordan Poole will be on the Warriors‘ roster next season, but the front office isn’t actively shopping him and there’s not a demand from ownership to reduce salary, sources tell Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Slater states that nobody from Poole’s camp has received an indication that he will be traded this summer.
Golden State officials would probably listen to trade offers for Poole, Slater adds, but the organization doesn’t mind bringing back the core of the team for another season. The strictest penalties for high-spending teams in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement won’t take effect until the 2024/25 season, and Klay Thompson‘s $43MM salary will be off the books by then.
The four-year, $123MM extension that Poole received last fall will kick in next season, raising his salary from $3.9MM to $27.4MM and providing another financial challenge for a team that’s already well into luxury tax territory. Re-signing Draymond Green could push the organization’s total bill for tax and salaries to more than $400MM. Even so, Slater’s sources say the Warriors aren’t looking at salary-dump trades this offseason and the goal of any moves will be to make the team more competitive.
Poole had a down year after helping Golden State win the NBA title in 2022, leading some observers to question whether he’s able to live up to his new contract. He averaged a career-high 20.4 PPG, but he shot just 43% from the field and 33.6% from three point-range. He saw his playing time fluctuate, both in the regular season and playoffs, and was particularly ineffective during the second-round loss to the Lakers.
However, Poole has strong supporters in Kirk Lacob and Mike Dunleavy Jr., who are running the team ahead of the impending departure of general manager Bob Myers. Lacob and Dunleavy were both strong supporters of giving Poole his extension, according to Slater, who notes that during his time as a scout, Dunleavy was a proponent of drafting Poole in the first round in 2019.
The Warriors still haven’t named a formal replacement for Myers, Slater adds, but Lacob and Dunleavy are expected to eventually have their roles elevated and will continue running the team.