Knicks Still Cautious About Dealing Draft Assets For Donovan Mitchell
The Knicks and Jazz recently renewed trade talks regarding Donovan Mitchell, but New York remains cautious about parting with a huge number of future assets to acquire the All-Star guard, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Multiple sources tell Berman that the Knicks recoiled from the original demands by Utah team president Danny Ainge, who asked for seven first-round picks in addition to young players on controllable contracts. Talks remained dormant for a while, but the teams have re-engaged each other.
According to Berman, New York’s front office believes adding Mitchell would improve the team by about 10 wins, taking it to the 47-victory level. The concern is that there would be no way to improve beyond that if the franchise gives up a significant number of its draft assets.
“Getting from 47 wins to 57 wins, that’s harder than 37 to 47,’’ a coaching source told Berman.
Berman notes that the Knicks traded this year’s first-round pick to clear cap room to add free agent guard Jalen Brunson, and the team could be in danger of losing another selection if the NBA determines that tampering occurred in the Brunson signing.
Coach Tom Thibodeau is strongly interested in adding Mitchell, Berman adds, but he’s staying out of the spotlight while the process plays out. Berman cites a belief around the league that Thibodeau would prefer to part with RJ Barrett in a Mitchell trade rather than give up second-year guard Quentin Grimes, who’s a better defender and long-distance shooter. Berman hears that Ainge is “hot to acquire” Grimes for Utah’s rebuilding project, and Berman’s source says Grimes wouldn’t be opposed to leaving instead of having no chance to start behind a Brunson-Mitchell backcourt.
Barrett, who averaged 20.0 PPG last season, is eligible for a rookie scale extension until October 17.
Facundo Campazzo Hopes For Another NBA Opportunity
Facundo Campazzo, who spent the past two years with the Nuggets, still has hopes of getting an NBA offer for the upcoming season.
In an interview with Diego Morini of La Nacion, Campazzo said he has an opportunity to return to Real Madrid, where he played for six seasons before coming to Denver. However, he’s determined not to let his NBA career end so quickly.
“I think I showed that I can compete when I’m well,” Campazzo said. “When they give me confidence and I feel part of the rotation. In fact, the first-year playoffs I started in everything but the last game. And in the regular season I played a lot. … I’m not saying no to Real Madrid. What I’m saying is that my attention and energy is on the NBA. My first choice is that, that’s the message. I feel like an NBA player and I want to stay at that level.”
The 31-year-old point guard signed a two-year deal with the Nuggets in 2020 after a successful career with both Real Madrid in Spain and Peñarol in Argentina. He played in 65 games in each of his two NBA seasons with averages of 5.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per night.
Campazzo’s immediate focus is the Argentinian national team, which has two World Cup qualifying games later this month, followed by the AmeriCup tournament in September. By that time, he hopes to have an agreement in place to attend training camp with an NBA team.
“There are times when I get a little anxious,” Campazzo admitted. “But I warn that many players who are now free agents also have the same thing happening to them. It’s unusual for everyone. I have my anxious moments, where I have a hard time sleeping, but I usually try to be calm. These are things I can’t control. When they ask me what’s going on or where I’m going to play, that’s when anxiety wins me the most, because I start to imagine and think about the situation. But since I’m active, I train, I go from one place to the other, it’s like I have a clear head.”
LeBron James Among NBA Stars in Seattle Pro-Am League
LeBron James highlights a list of NBA players who will participate in a Seattle pro-am league later today, according to NBA.com.
The league is called “The CrawsOver” in honor of founder Jamal Crawford, a Seattle native and longtime NBA player. Announcing James’ participation on Twitter, Crawford promises it will be “a day like we’ve never seen.”
“A lot of kids in this area especially have only seen their favorite players whether it be on TV or on video games,” Crawford said on ESPN’s “NBA Today” (Twitter link). “To see their favorite players right there in person, to reach out and touch them. And they may have interaction with you. If you’re a kid working to get better and to dream about being on that level, that makes your dreams more realistic.”
Crawford added that he asks the area kids which NBA players they would like to see and he tries to get them to attend.
James also tweeted about the event, noting that it’s his first game in Seattle in more than 15 years. He was the featured attraction last month in the pro-am Drew League in Los Angeles, which marked his first public game since the NBA season ended.
Established stars such as Jayson Tatum, Dejounte Murray, Isaiah Thomas and Aaron Gordon are also scheduled to play today, along with first-round picks Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Tari Eason and MarJon Beauchamp. There could be an opportunity for Murray and Banchero to renew their rivalry that began with an incident at Thomas’ pro-am game two weeks ago.
Fans can watch the game live on both the NBA app and NBA.com. It’s scheduled to tip off at 8:30 PM Eastern Time.
Gustavo Ayon Announces Retirement
Veteran center Gustavo Ayon has announced his retirement from professional basketball, as relayed by EuroHoops. Ayon will have a farewell game on Sunday in Guadalajara, Mexico.
“It did not take long,” Ayon said about deciding to retire, according to EuroHoops. “Throughout my career, I learned to take care of my body, when I could be effective and when I couldn’t. I need more than 24 hours to recover after a game. I am retiring fully and at a good level as a player.”
Ayon, who went undrafted in 2007, made his NBA debut in 2012 and played in 135 total regular season games, making stops with New Orleans, Orlando, Milwaukee and Atlanta. The 37-year-old held per-game averages of 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds during those outings, playing an average of 16.5 minutes.
In addition to his NBA experience, Ayon spent many years competing in international leagues. He played in Mexico from 2006-09, Spain from 2009-11 and 2014-19, and Russia in 2019/20 before returning to Mexico to finish his career.
“I wanted to play basketball and be successful in teams having an important individual role,” Ayon said. “For me, that is much better than playing for 10 or 15 years in the NBA,”
Latest On Kyrie Irving, Lakers
Echoing an Adrian Wojnarowski report from earlier this week, Marc Stein confirms in his latest Substack article that the Lakers have assured LeBron James they’re willing to give up their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in a trade that can help make the team a legitimate contender again.
Because they traded their 2024 first-round pick to New Orleans and gave the Pelicans the option to defer that pick to 2025, the Lakers are ineligible to trade a first-rounder earlier than 2027 due to the Stepien rule, which prohibits teams from leaving themselves without a first-round pick in consecutive future drafts.
However, L.A. could move its 2027 and 2029 picks without violating that rule, and Stein is the second reporter this week to suggest the club would be willing to surrender both those first-rounders in a trade for Nets guard Kyrie Irving. The seven-time All-Star is believed to be at or near the top of James’ wish list, with one report indicating that LeBron was “privately adamant” prior to signing his extension about wanting the Lakers to trade for his former teammate.
Crucially, Stein notes that it’s unclear whether or not the Lakers would insist on protecting those two first-round picks — that’s an important factor, since obviously a pair of lottery-protected first-rounders wouldn’t be nearly as valuable as two unprotected selections.
In any case, the Nets have thus far “steadfastly rejected” the concept of an Irving/Russell Westbrook swap that involves them acquire those two Lakers’ first-rounders, according to Stein, who says that Brooklyn apparently remains focused on acquiring win-now assets in any Kyrie trade.
While it’s possible that position eventually changes, especially if the Nets end up moving Kevin Durant, it appears for now that any trade sending Irving to L.A. would require a third team to take Westbrook and those draft picks and send win-now pieces to Brooklyn, Stein writes.
The Nets’ aversion to a Westbrook/Irving deal may also be linked to their desire to simply keep their current roster intact, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggested during an appearance on Get Up on Thursday (video link). Even though Kyrie seriously explored finding a new home before exercising his player option and Durant has demanded a trade, Brooklyn hasn’t shown any urgency to break up its core.
“I think Kyrie is invested in being a Brooklyn Net next year,” Windhorst said. “Obviously there was some turmoil with his contract extension not happening. He realizes his best path going forward to get the contract he wants in Brooklyn or elsewhere is to have a very good season. From what I can gather, it appears that he and the Nets are looking forward to meeting up in training camp.
“Now, whether Kevin Durant is there and his level of buy-in, that’s the big question,” Windhorst continued. “But right now, I think the Nets want to run this team back, and they’re hoping that Kevin Durant agrees. The way that they’re conducting trade talks and the prices that they are asking has teams out there thinking they don’t really want to trade Kevin Durant anyway, they want to bring this team back. We’ll see if Durant goes along with that, come training camp.”
Isaac Bonga Signs With Bayern Munich
Free agent forward Isaac Bonga is headed back overseas, having signed a two-year contract with Bayern Munich, the German team announced today in a press release.
The 39th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, Bonga spent time with the Lakers, Wizards, and Raptors over the past four seasons, averaging 3.1 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 143 total games (13.1 MPG).
Although he spent the entire 2021/22 season in Toronto, Bonga played an extremely limited role, logging just 69 total minutes in 15 appearances. He saw more action in the G League, putting up 12.7 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 3.5 APG in 25 regular season contests (26.9 MPG) for the Raptors 905, Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate.
According to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, who first reported Bonga’s agreement with Bayern Munich, the 22-year-old drew some NBA interest as a free agent this summer. However, given how little he played at the NBA level last season, Bonga presumably recognized that a return to Europe would be his best chance at guaranteed money and a more expansive role.
Bonga was born in Germany and began his professional career in his home country, playing for Skyliners Frankfurt’s reserve team from 2016-18. This time around, he’ll be competing in a pair of Europe’s top leagues — Bayern Munich is a member of both Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the EuroLeague.
LeBron James Signs Extension With Lakers
AUGUST 18: The Lakers have officially signed James to an extension, the team announced (Twitter link via Marc Stein).
AUGUST 17: Superstar forward LeBron James has agreed to a contract extension with the Lakers, agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
It’ll be a new two-year, maximum-salary deal that includes a second-year player option, per Wojnarowski. That means James is now under contract with the Lakers through at least the 2023/24 season, with an option on ’24/25. The agreement also includes a 15% trade kicker, Woj adds.
James is earning $44,474,988 in 2022/23, which exceeds the standard maximum of $43,279,250 for a player with 10-plus years of NBA experience. Because he’s still eligible for a 5% raise on a new extension, LeBron’s 2023/24 salary will likely be $46,698,737. His ’24/25 player option will be worth $50,434,636, an 8% raise on the first year of his extension, for a total two-year value of $97,133,373.
The value of James’ extension could increase further if the NBA salary cap for ’23/24 comes in higher than anticipated. The cap is currently projected to be $133MM, but if it ends up exceeding $133,425,000, LeBron’s starting salary on the extension would instead be worth 35% of the cap.
[RELATED: 2022/23 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]
James became eligible for a new two-year extension on August 4. He was ineligible to sign a deal longer than that due to the NBA’s Over-38 rule.
Despite his new eligibility, there was a sense that James wouldn’t rush into a new deal right away. The four-time MVP would have been able to retain leverage and perhaps wield more influence on the Lakers’ roster moves by holding off on that commitment. Taking that route would also have given LeBron a chance to assess the team’s roster additions – and new head coach Darvin Ham – during the 2022/23 season.
However, it appears that James was comfortable renewing his commitment to the Lakers despite last season’s disappointing 33-49 showing and lingering questions about the roster. The new deal will give LeBron the opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent at age 39, at which point he’s expected to try to team up with his son Bronny James, who would be draft-eligible no earlier than 2024.
While the Lakers almost certainly wouldn’t have considered moving him anyway, James’ extension will make him ineligible to be traded during the 2022/23 season — he can’t be dealt for six months after signing the contract, since it exceeds the NBA’s “extend-and-trade” restrictions.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) previously noted, the Lakers’ potential 2023 cap room won’t be affected in any real way by James’ new extension, since his free agent cap hold would have been equivalent to his extension salary. Los Angeles projects to have over $20MM in room next summer when several contracts – including Russell Westbrook‘s – expire, which will open up some options for the team but won’t be enough for another maximum-salary player.
James’ new deal makes him the highest-paid player in NBA history in terms of total earnings, at least for the time being, Marks tweets. Assuming LeBron’s deal ends up being worth $97.1MM, he’ll be at $532MM in career earnings, surpassing Kevin Durant‘s $508MM.
Woj: Lakers Willing To Trade Two First-Round Picks
The Lakers remain active in trade talks and would part with their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in the right deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said in an appearance on Sports Center (video link).
Those picks “have a lot of value in the marketplace” if they’re unprotected, Wojnarowski states. He adds that L.A. would be willing to give them up in a trade for Kyrie Irving, but the Nets haven’t been interested.
The Lakers have also engaged in “on and off again” talks with the Pacers about Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, sources tell Wojnarowski, but L.A. wouldn’t trade both future first-rounders in that deal.
Russell Westbrook would have to be included in either trade with Brooklyn or Indiana to help match salaries.
The Lakers are hoping to add outside shooting and size before the regular season begins in October, per Wojnarowski. However, holding on to their draft picks gives them the ability to do something later in the season if a better opportunity arises.
Woj also addresses LeBron James‘ decision to accept a contract extension, saying it eases the pressure on the front office to make a trade right away. He adds that James decided to take the extension after examining the free agent market in 2023 and not seeing a scenario he prefers to staying with the Lakers.
2022/23 NBA Schedules By Team
The NBA has officially unveiled its full regular season schedule for 2022/23.
The season will begin on Tuesday, October 18 and wrap up Sunday, April 9. The play-in tournament will take place from April 11-14, with the playoffs beginning on April 15.
The league’s announcement highlighted the fact that the estimated average miles traveled per team in 2022/23 has been reduced to 41,000, which is a new record low since the NBA has had 30 teams and played an 82-game season.
The league also confirmed several previously reported marquee matchups, including its five-game Christmas Day slate, an opening night doubleheader of Sixers at Celtics and Lakers at Warriors, and games taking place in Mexico City and Paris.
Listed below are links to the full 2022/23 season schedules for each NBA team, organized by conference and division. The team-by-team schedules for ’22/23 can also be viewed in a single document right here, while the full schedule by date can be viewed here.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
Pacific Division
Southwest Division
Tyler Herro Unfazed By Rumors, Unsure Regarding Extension
Heat guard Tyler Herro shrugged off questions Tuesday about potentially being traded, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.
Herro was making an appearance for his foundation in Miami. His name has popped up prominently as the potential centerpiece of a Heat trade package for a star like Kevin Durant or Donovan Mitchell.
“I mean ever since I’ve been here, my name has been in rumors. So rumors, they don’t bother me,” he said. “Whether I’m on the Heat or somewhere else, I’m getting ready for the season.”
Herro’s future with the franchise is cloudy, even if he’s still on the roster when training camp opens. He’s eligible for a rookie scale extension prior to opening night.
Miami could offer him a max five-year deal worth up to a projected $193MM or a four-year deal worth less than the max. If he signs an extension, it will be more difficult for the team to trade the reigning Sixth Man of the Year. Herro professed ignorance regarding the state of any negotiations.
“I mean, I know as much as you know,” he said. “I’m just waiting on my turn and we’ll see what happens. There’s a deadline, but I’m going to let my agent take care of that and see what happens.”
If Herro winds up elsewhere, he vows to remains productive.
“Like I said, whatever team I’m on, I’m ready to play,” he said.