Latest On Kevin Durant
After speaking to “a couple” NBA general managers, Marc J. Spears of ESPN (video link via Talkin NBA) outlined during an appearance on NBA Today what sort of return the Nets are seeking as they explore the trade market for Kevin Durant.
“A young or future All-Star,” Spears said, “lots of picks, the ability to swap picks, and another starter.”
Spears went on to say that Durant “might not have as much control of the situation as one would think,” not only because he has four years left on his contract but because there are so many teams involved in the bidding. According to Spears, about half the league’s clubs remain interested.
Here’s more on Durant:
- Sam Amick of The Athletic explains that Phoenix is Durant’s preferred destination in part because of his close relationship with Monty Williams, who was an assistant for the Thunder in 2015/16. The bond between the two men grew deeper after Williams’ wife was killed in a car accident in February 2016, Amick writes.
- While Phoenix may be atop Durant’s wish list, Amick has gotten the sense that the Nets would want something more – or something “different” – than a Suns package headlined by Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges. Cameron Johnson is a player who might help move the needle for the Nets, Amick adds. However, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) suggests that any deal between the Suns and Nets would likely see Phoenix giving up the maximum amount of first-round picks (four) and pick swaps (three).
- The Heat are also on Durant’s wish list, but Amick says the former MVP would only want to play on a Miami team that features Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry. Amick is understandably skeptical that a package centered around Tyler Herro would gain any momentum.
- The Nets have been “emboldened” by the returns in the Rudy Gobert and Dejounte Murray trades, which both included multiple unprotected first-round picks, Adrian Wojnarowski said during an appearance on ESPN’s televised NBA Free Agency Special on Friday evening. Wojnarowski added that he doesn’t believe the Nets are in any rush to make a deal, since they want to fully assess all their options.
- Wojnarowski also said during ESPN’s NBA Free Agency Special (video link) that he believes the Raptors are “lurking” as a possible suitor for Durant, given their combination of players and draft picks, as well as their track record for making this sort of deal (for Kawhi Leonard in 2018).
Jusuf Nurkic Signs Four-Year Deal With Trail Blazers
JULY 6: The Trail Blazers put out a press release officially announcing Nurkic’s new contract. The announcement included a statement from GM Joe Cronin, who said it was “incredibly important” to bring back the veteran center as a key piece of the team’s core.
“Nurk’s physicality, rebounding prowess and defensive acumen make him an integral part of what we do on both sides of the ball,” Cronin said.
JULY 1: The Trail Blazers will re-sign center Jusuf Nurkic at $70MM over four seasons, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Nurkic’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, confirmed the agreement.
The deal shows that Nurkic is still viewed as part of the future in Portland. There had been speculation around the trade deadline that he might be moved as part of a rebuild, but the Blazers have been heading in the other direction, making roster moves aimed at a quick return to contention.
Nurkic, 27, averaged 15.0 points and 11.1 rebounds last season, but he was sidelined by plantar fasciitis in mid-February. With Portland well out of the playoff race, the team opted to not have Nurkic try to return for the end of the season.
Nurkic started his NBA career with the Nuggets, but was traded to the Blazers in 2017 after Nikola Jokic emerged as a star in Denver. He overcame a compound fracture of his left tibia and fibula in 2019 and was fully healthy heading into last season.
Re-signing Nurkic ends any interest that Portland may have had in the Suns’ Deandre Ayton. The Blazers had been mentioned as a possible destination for the free agent center.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report first reported earlier in the week that a four-year deal in the range of $17MM per year for Nurkic and the Blazers was a likely outcome. It’s a pay raise for the big man, whose last contract was worth $48MM over four years.
Portland has been busy so far in free agency, reaching multiyear agreements with Anfernee Simons and Gary Payton II in addition to Nurkic.
Raptors Sign Otto Porter To Two-Year Deal
JULY 6: The Raptors have sent out a press release officially announcing the signing of Porter. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca recently reported, the two-year deal will be worth $12.4MM.
JULY 1: On the heels of winning a championship with Golden State, free agent forward Otto Porter has agreed to a two-year deal with the Raptors, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who reports that the second year of Porter’s new contract will be a player option.
Porter, 29, averaged 8.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.5 APG, and 1.1 SPG in a part-time role with the Warriors this past season, posting a shooting line of .464/.370/.803 in 63 games (22.2 MPG). He was also a regular part of the rotation during the club’s playoff run, appearing in 19 games and logging 19.5 minutes per contest.
The third overall pick in the 2013 draft, Porter has long been considered a solid three-and-D forward with good size. He signed a maximum-salary offer sheet as a restricted free agent in 2017, but battled injuries over the course of the deal, bouncing around from Washington to Chicago to Orlando, and ultimately had to settle for a minimum-salary contract with the Warriors last summer.
Golden State had another minimum-salary offer on the table to Porter this offseason, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), but after rebuilding his value on the champion Warriors, the former Georgetown star figures to get a earn more than that on his deal with the Raptors. Terms aren’t yet known, but Toronto has its mid-level exception available.
The Raptors are already loaded at the forward spot, but have committed to playing a relatively positionless style, and Porter – who has a career .398 3PT% – fits the team’s need for outside shooting.
Porter’s wife is from Toronto, which was one factor in his free agency decision, tweets Haynes.
Nets Are Seeking “Historic Haul” For Kevin Durant
There was a “ferocity” in the Nets‘ front office Thursday night as numerous teams called with trade offers for Kevin Durant, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Sports Center (Twitter link).
The response around the league to Durant’s trade request was immediate and intense as more than half the league made inquiries. Wojnarowski said it created an unprecedented situation as some teams called Brooklyn with offers and then called back later to increase those offers without getting a counter from the Nets.
“There’s never quite been a player of Durant’s stature at this point in his career available for a trade, certainly in the modern era,” Wojnarowski said, adding that Brooklyn is aiming for a “historic haul” in return.
He reports that the Nets are basing their asking price on what the Clippers gave up to Oklahoma City for Paul George (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and five first-round picks) and what the Lakers paid to New Orleans for Anthony Davis (Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks).
The Nets “want more than that,” Wojnarowski said.
There’s more on Durant:
- Watching the Warriors win the championship played a role in Durant’s desire to leave Brooklyn, Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s “Get Up.” It contributed to the narrative that Durant can’t win on his own and that he’s trapped in a dysfunctional situation with the Nets. Durant reportedly asked for “a change of scenery” when he met with ownership on Thursday.
- Appearing this morning on ESPN’s “KJM,” Brian Windhorst cited a “high-90 percent chance” that the Nets will honor Durant’s trade request and said any deal involving Kyrie Irving will probably have to wait until Durant is moved. Irving only wants to go to the Lakers, but that means the Nets would have to take Russell Westbrook, who makes about $11MM more than Irving, and working out other compensation for Brooklyn won’t be easy.
- On “Get Up,” Windhorst projected that the Durant trade will involve at least three teams. He cites a potential Nets-Suns deal, saying the match isn’t perfect and both teams will likely make calls to expand the trade and see if they can get assets that they want. Windhorst adds that could “freeze business for a while” around the league as multiple teams consider getting involved. One advantage for Phoenix, Windhorst notes, is that it has control of all its future draft picks and can offer up to four draft choices and three pick swaps. That could encourage several teams to help facilitate a Durant deal. Phoenix is believed to be Durant’s preferred landing spot.
Nuggets Sign Bruce Brown To Two-Year Deal
JULY 7: The deal is now official, the Nuggets announced in a press release.
JULY 1: The Nuggets have reached an agreement to sign free agent wing Bruce Brown to a two-year, $13MM+ contract, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal will include a second-year player option, Andrews adds (via Twitter).
Denver appears likely to use the taxpayer portion of its mid-level exception to complete the signing — a two-year deal worth the full taxpayer MLE would come in at around $13.3MM.
Brown became eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer after accepting his $4.7MM qualifying offer from Brooklyn a year ago. He spent his first two NBA seasons in Detroit from 2018-20 and has been a Net for the last two years.
Brown does a little bit of everything on the court, playing and guarding multiple positions while providing some scoring (9.0 PPG), play-making (2.1 APG), rebounding (4.8 RPG), and even three-point shooting (40.4%) in 2021/22.
The 25-year-old is the type of player who doesn’t need the ball on offense and can switch onto virtually anyone defensively, making him an ideal fit for a Nuggets team that has been looking to upgrade its defense around stars Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr.
According to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link), the Nuggets had Brown high on their list of targets and love his defensive versatility. As Singer notes (via Twitter), it looks like Brown will essentially take Austin Rivers‘ place on the roster, since Denver now has a projected 14 players under contract for 2022/23, plus restricted free agent Vlatko Cancar.
Cavaliers Sign Ricky Rubio To Three-Year Deal
JULY 8: The Cavaliers have officially signed Rubio, the team announced in a press release. As we previously relayed, the team used its mid-level exception to complete the deal after a sign-and-trade didn’t materialize.
JULY 1: The Cavaliers have reached an agreement to bring back free agent point guard Ricky Rubio on a three-year, $18.4MM contract, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The third year will be partially guaranteed, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Based on the financial details reported by Haynes, it appears Cleveland will use a portion of its mid-level exception to sign Rubio. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) was the first to report the two sides were nearing a deal.
Cleveland acquired Rubio from Minnesota in a 2021 offseason trade and he played a key role in the Cavs’ first-half success this past season. Despite serving primarily as a reserve, the 31-year-old averaged a career-high 13.1 PPG to go along with 6.6 APG and 4.1 RPG in 34 games (28.5 MPG).
However, Rubio’s season came to an early end when he tore his left ACL in December. The Cavs subsequently used his expiring contract as a salary-matching piece in their trade for Caris LeVert, resulting in Rubio finishing the season with the Pacers.
There had been reports throughout the offseason indicating that there was mutual interest in a reunion between the Spaniard and the Cavs — that reunion has now come to fruition.
ACL tears can sideline NBA players for a full calendar year or more, and even when they return to the court, it often takes them some time to get back to full speed, so expectations for Rubio in 2022/23 – especially in the first half – should be tempered.
Given that Cleveland agreed to a three-year deal though, it seems as if the team is counting on him to be around for the long haul and will be patient as he recovers from his knee injury and gets his feet back under him.
Once Rubio is healthy, he figures to once again slot into the backup point guard role behind All-Star guard Darius Garland.
NBA 2022 Free Agency: Day 1 Recap
It was a very busy first day of NBA free agency on Thursday. By our count, a total of 38 free agents have agreed to new deals since the negotiating period officially began at 5:00 pm CT, while seven more players either signed or agreed to contract extensions.
However, all of those deals were overshadowed by the drama in Brooklyn, where Kevin Durant reportedly asked the Nets to trade him. With Durant’s situation unresolved, we could be in for some serious fireworks in the coming days.
In the meantime, listed below are all the free agent agreements, contract extensions, trades, and other notable news items from the first day of free agency.
Free agent agreements:
These deals aren’t yet official, so the reported terms could change — or agreements could fall through altogether. Generally speaking though, teams and players are on track to finalize these agreements sometime after the moratorium ends on July 6.
Note: Some of these salary figures may include options, incentives, or non-guaranteed money.
Bradley Beal, Wizards agree to five-year, $251.02MM (maximum-salary) contract.- Jalen Brunson, Knicks agree to four-year, $104MM contract.
- Anfernee Simons, Trail Blazers agree to four-year, $100MM contract.
- Luguentz Dort, Thunder agree to five-year, $87.5MM contract.
- Bobby Portis, Bucks agree to four-year, $48.58MM contract.
- Marvin Bagley III, Pistons agree to three-year, $37MM contract.
- Chris Boucher, Raptors agree to three-year, $35.25MM contract.
- P.J. Tucker, Sixers agree to three-year, $33.04MM contract.
- Tyus Jones, Grizzlies agree to two-year, $30MM contract.
- Gary Payton II, Trail Blazers finalizing three-year, $28MM contract.
- Jae’Sean Tate, Rockets agree to three-year, $22.1MM contract.
- Nicolas Batum, Clippers agree to two-year, $22MM contract.
- Mohamed Bamba, Magic agree to two-year, $21MM contract.
- JaVale McGee, Mavericks agree to three-year, $20.1MM contract.
- Nic Claxton, Nets agree to two-year, $20MM contract.
- Malik Monk, Kings agree to two-year, $19MM contract.
- Kyle Anderson, Timberwolves agree to two-year, $18MM contract.
- Isaiah Hartenstein, Knicks agree to two-year, $16.7MM contract.
- Delon Wright, Wizards agree to two-year, $16MM contract.
- Patty Mills, Nets agree to two-year, $14.49MM contract.
- Victor Oladipo, Heat agree to one-year, $11MM contract.
- Amir Coffey, Clippers agree to three-year, $11MM contract.
- Dewayne Dedmon, Heat agree to two-year, $9MM contract.
- Danuel House, Sixers agree to two-year, $8.42MM contract.
- Andre Drummond, Bulls agree to two-year, $6.6MM contract.
- Joe Ingles, Bucks agree to one-year, $6.48MM contract.
- Lonnie Walker, Lakers agree to one-year, $6.48MM contract.
- Kevin Knox, Pistons agree to two-year, $6MM contract.
- Jevon Carter, Bucks agree to two-year, $4.6MM contract.
- Damian Jones, Lakers agree to two-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Trevelin Queen, Sixers agree to two-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Troy Brown, Lakers agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- DeAndre Jordan, Nuggets agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Mike Muscala, Thunder agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Juan Toscano-Anderson, Lakers agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Anthony Gill, Wizards agree to two-year contract.
- Davon Reed, Nuggets agree to two-year contract.
- Wesley Matthews, Bucks agree to one-year contract.
Contract extensions:
Nikola Jokic, Nuggets agree to five-year, super-max veteran extension.- Devin Booker, Suns agree to four-year, super-max veteran extension.
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves agree to four-year, super-max veteran extension.
- Ja Morant, Grizzlies agree to five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension.
- Gary Harris, Magic officially complete two-year, $26MM veteran extension.
- Taurean Prince, Timberwolves officially complete two-year, $16MM veteran extension.
- Thaddeus Young, Raptors officially complete two-year, $16MM veteran extension.
Trades:
- The Jazz traded Royce O’Neale to the Nets in exchange for either the Rockets’, Nets’, or Sixers’ 2023 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
- The Hawks and Spurs officially completed their trade sending Dejounte Murray and Jock Landale to Atlanta for Danilo Gallinari and three first-round picks and a first-round pick swap. Gallinari is expected to be waived.
Other news:
- The Pistons and Kemba Walker are finalizing a buyout agreement.
- The Jazz waived Juancho Hernangomez.
- Former Sixers head coach Brett Brown rejoined Gregg Popovich‘s Spurs staff as an assistant.
As active as the first day of free agency was, several of this year’s top free agents don’t yet have deals in place, including Zach LaVine, James Harden, and Deandre Ayton. Our full free agent list is here.
Trail Blazers Sign Gary Payton II To Three-Year Deal
JULY 6: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Payton, according to a press release from the team.
“We are excited to have Gary join us in Portland,” general manager Joe Cronin said. “Gary brings an elite defensive acumen and championship pedigree that will be essential to how we play basketball. His competitiveness and toughness will accent Coach (Chauncey) Billups’ style of play.”
JULY 1: The Trail Blazers are finalizing a three-year contract agreement with free agent guard Gary Payton II, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the deal is expected to be worth $28MM. It will include a player option and incentives, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report first reported that Portland was in hot pursuit of Payton with a deal believed to be worth in the range of $8MM annually. The price tag reported by Charania comes in a little higher than that, as the Blazers have apparently committed to using most of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign the 29-year-old.
Payton, who has never signed an NBA contract worth more than the minimum salary, caught on as the Warriors’ 15th man last fall, then secured a regular spot in the rotation, carving out a niche as a defensive stopper.
While most of Payton’s value stems from his ability to slow down perimeter scorers, he had his best offensive season in 2021/22 too, chipping in 7.1 PPG in just 17.6 MPG and shooting an impressive 61.6% from the floor. He played a key role in the Warriors’ championship run, returning from a fractured elbow in the NBA Finals to defend the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart.
As Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets, Golden State wanted to bring back Payton but was unwilling to match Portland’s offer, which would have cost the Warriors exponentially more due to the subsequent luxury tax penalties.
Payton is on track to join a Portland team that has made it a priority this offseason to upgrade its defense and struck a deal last week to acquire forward Jerami Grant from Detroit. The Blazers were also linked earlier today to versatile free agent wing Bruce Brown, but he may be out of their price range now that they’re using their MLE on Payton.
Warriors, Nets, Clippers Top Taxpaying Teams For 2021/22
The 2021/22 NBA season was a record-setting one for luxury tax payments.
According to data from Albert Nahmad of HeatHoops.com and Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype, the league’s previous single-year record for total luxury tax payments was $173.3MM, back in 2002/03.
This season, the Warriors‘ tax penalties alone nearly matched that league-wide record. And they were joined by six other taxpayers whose combined end-of-season bills shattered the previous record even without Golden State’s help.
Here’s the complete breakdown of the seven taxpaying teams, courtesy of Eric Pincus of SportsBusinessClassroom.com:
- Golden State Warriors: $170,331,194
- Brooklyn Nets: $97,711,261
- Los Angeles Clippers: $83,114,692
- Milwaukee Bucks: $52,037,160
- Los Angeles Lakers: $45,117,195
- Utah Jazz: $18,833,260
- Philadelphia 76ers: $13,876,624
All told, the seven teams paid a staggering combined total of $481,021,386.
Half of that total will be dispersed to the league’s non-taxpayers, which means that 23 teams will receive $10,456,987 each. The league will get the remaining $240,510,693 to help fund its revenue sharing program, says Pincus.
These numbers make it more obvious why a team like the Celtics made a concerted effort to get out of luxury tax territory at the trade deadline. A tax bill of $2MM or so wouldn’t break the bank for Boston’s ownership group, but the C’s generated more than just $2MM in savings by ducking below the tax line — they’re now one of the 23 teams that will receive a $10MM+ windfall.
Having said that, the Celtics gladly would have paid the tax penalty had they won the championship — Jaylen Brown would have received a bonus in that scenario, which would have pushed them over the line.
It’s worth noting that the Warriors are the only one of these seven taxpayers who were subject to “repeater” penalties this season, so it’s not as if those more punitive repeater penalties fueled this year’s record-setting totals. Even without the repeater penalties, the Dubs would have owed approximately $131MM in taxes.
The majority of these teams project to be taxpayers again in 2022/23.
Gary Harris Signs Two-Year Extension With Magic
7:59pm: The Magic have officially issued a press release announcing that the team’s contract extension with Harris is done (Twitter link).
7:53pm: Veteran Magic shooting guard Gary Harris will return to Orlando, per Jeff Zillgit of USA Today Sports (via Twitter). Agents Austin Brown and Aaron Mintz inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) that the two sides have agreed to a two-season, $26MM contract extension.
The 27-year-old spent his first 6.5 NBA seasons in Denver after the Nuggets traded for his draft rights in 2014. Harris quickly became a valuable two-way starter with the Nuggets beginning in the 2015/16 season. His availability began to be hampered by injury issues towards the end of his Denver tenure. The 6’4″ wing holds career averages of 11.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.2 SPG, plus shooting splits of .448/.363/.812.
Denver eventually included Harris in its 2021 trade for forward Aaron Gordon. During his first full season with a lottery-bound 22-60 Magic club in 2021/22, Harris proved to be a solid veteran presence on both sides of the ball, averaging 11.1 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.0 SPG, plus a .434/.384/.874 slash line.
Because the calendar has yet to roll over to July 1, the NBA technically remains in the 2021/22 season. Thus, Harris was still extension-eligible today and won’t actually become a free agent. He’ll also remain trade-eligible after signing the extension, since it doesn’t exceed the CBA’s extend-and-trade limits.
Harris had previously been signed to a four-year, $84MM extension deal while with the Nuggets.