Hornets’ Miles Bridges Arrested For Felony Domestic Violence
Miles Bridges, who is set to hit restricted free agency after the Hornets tendered him a qualifying offer, was arrested on felony domestic violence charges in Los Angeles on Wednesday, according to TMZ Sports.
Bridges was allegedly involved in an argument with a woman that turned into a physical altercation, per TMZ. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ that the woman needed medical attention after they arrived at the scene.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, with Bridges initially leaving the scene and later turning himself into the police on Wednesday, at which point he was arrested. His bail was set at $130K and he has since been released, TMZ reports.
First and foremost, hopefully the alleged victim is okay and didn’t sustain any serious injuries.
It’s unclear if Bridges’ legal status will impact his upcoming contract situation, but obviously the allegations and charges are quite serious. Certainly, teams that may have been mulling a large offer sheet will think twice about doing so in light of his alleged behavior.
Bridges, 24, was expected to land one of the biggest paydays in free agency after a breakout fourth season saw him average career-highs in several categories, including points (20.2), rebounds (7.0) and assists (3.8). He appeared in 80 games (35.5 minutes per night) last season, all starts.
Thunder’s Luguentz Dort To Become Restricted Free Agent
The Thunder are declining the $1,930,681 team option on Luguentz Dort, making him a restricted free agent, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
A report last week indicated that Oklahoma City would pick up the option, with GM Sam Presti telling Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman that was the likely outcome.
“Obviously it’s our plan to exercise that pending anything different,” Presti said.
Evidently Presti has reevaluated that decision, which isn’t very surprising considering Dort would have drawn considerable interest on the open market as an unrestricted free agent in 2023. Declining the option and making him restricted gives the Thunder the ability to match any offer sheet he receives in a free agent market where not many teams have cap space.
The barrel-chested Dort, who turned 23 in April, has showed continuous improvement after going undrafted out of Arizona State in 2019. He averaged 17.2 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .404/.332/.843 shooting in 51 games (32.6 MPG) last season while playing solid, switchable defense.
Given his rate of improvement and the NBA’s ever-growing need for wings who can contribute on both ends of the court, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Dort sign a contract in the range of $15-20MM annually. Dort is ranked No. 9 on our list of top 50 free agents.
Patty Mills Declines Player Option, Becomes Free Agent
Nets guard Patty Mills has declined his $6.2MM player option for next season in order to become a free agent, league sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link).
Mills, 33, had a solid season in his first season with Brooklyn in 2021/22, averaging 11.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 2.3 APG on .408/.400/.814 shooting in 81 regular season games (48 starts, 29 MPG). He averaged career-highs in three-point makes and attempts, with 2.8 and 7.0, respectively.
Last season was the 13th of Mills’ lengthy NBA career, spending his first couple of seasons with Portland before a 10-year run with the Spurs that included an NBA Championship in 2014. The veteran guard also led the Australian national team to a Bronze Medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
While Mills isn’t quite as quick as he once was, he holds a career three-point percentage of 38.9% and figures to draw plenty of interest from contending teams. He should receive a contract similar in annual value to the one he declined (taxpayer mid-level exception), but he’ll likely be looking for a multiyear deal to maximize his earnings.
Kings Won’t Give Donte DiVincenzo Qualifying Offer
The Kings won’t tender a $6,602,272 qualifying offer to fourth-year guard Donte DiVincenzo, a league source tells James Ham of ESPN 1320 and The Kings Beat (Twitter link). As a result, DiVincenzo will become an unrestricted free agent.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirms the news (via Twitter), stating that DiVincenzo is expected to draw “significant interest” as a free agent. Sacramento remains interested in re-signing DiVincenzo despite declining the QO, according to Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 (KTXL) (Twitter link).
The 25-year-old had a down season in 2021/22 after returning from ankle surgery last June. He struggled to find his footing in 17 games (20.1 MPG) with the Bucks, averaging 7.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 1.7 APG on .331/.284/.852 shooting before being traded to the Kings at the deadline in February.
He played better in 25 games (26.6 MPG) for Sacramento, averaging 10.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.5 SPG on .362/.368/.839 shooting. While his field goal percentage seems alarmingly low, the majority of his shot attempts came from deep.
It’s a puzzling move for the Kings, who acquired DiVincenzo at the 2022 deadline when they traded away Marvin Bagley III. DiVincenzo would have been a fair value on a one-year, $6.6MM deal if he had accepted his qualifying offer — declining to issue it means the Kings won’t have the ability to unilaterally match any offer given to him.
A versatile defender with a high basketball IQ, DiVincenzo had reportedly grown frustrated with the team a couple of months ago, believing the Kings were attempting to lower the value of his QO by not starting him.
James Harden Declines Option, Plans To Remain With Sixers
Sixers guard James Harden is declining his $47,366,760 player option for the 2022/23 season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. However, Harden intends to re-sign with Philadelphia on a new contract that gives the team some added cap flexibility to improve its roster in free agency, Charania adds.
Multiple reports leading up to Harden’s free agency indicated that he would likely pick up his player option and then sign a short-term extension (possibly two years) with the Sixers.
However, in recent days, there has been increasing chatter about Philadelphia using its full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which would create a hard cap. That would have been difficult with Harden on the books for $47MM+.
If Harden returns on a new multiyear deal that starts no higher than $38MM or so, it would give the 76ers the flexibility to use both their full mid-level and the bi-annual exception, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
That would clear a path for Philadelphia to make its rumored three-year, $30MM offer to P.J. Tucker using the mid-level exception. Brian Windhorst of ESPN said during an appearance on NBA Today (video link) that the Sixers have been telling agents they’ll have the bi-annual exception available to use.
While Harden’s willingness to negotiate a new deal with a lower starting salary will benefit the Sixers in the short term, we’ll see what it means for the long term. The former MVP and the team may have reached an agreement to tack on an extra year or additional guaranteed money to his new deal in exchange for him turning down his option.
Harden, who was traded from Brooklyn to Philadelphia midway through the 2021/22 season, had a down year by his standards and was hampered by a hamstring injury. However, multiple sources tell Charania that the star guard has resumed his workout and on-court program much earlier than usual this offseason and has communicated to Sixers officials that he’s focused on winning a title next year.
Bobby Portis To Decline Option With Bucks
Bobby Portis has told the Bucks he will decline his $4.6MM option for next season, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 27-year-old forward will be an unrestricted free agent, but there’s a good chance he’ll stay in Milwaukee on a more lucrative deal, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who says Portis “seems destined” to sign a new contract worth more than $40MM over four years to remain with the Bucks.
The Bucks have Early Bird rights on Portis and can pay him up to $49MM over four seasons, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Marks adds that a new Early Bird contract must cover at least two seasons with no options in the second year.
Portis played an important role in Milwaukee’s title-winning team in 2020/21 and was just as valuable this past season. He moved into the starting lineup — starting 59 of the 72 games he played — and averaged a career-best 14.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per night.
Portis was the No. 13 player on our list of 2022’s top 50 free agents.
Jazz Hire Will Hardy As Head Coach
JUNE 29: The Jazz have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve hired Hardy as their new head coach.
“Will Hardy is one of the brightest young leaders in the NBA,” Ainge said in a statement. “He understands the importance of setting a vision and creating a culture for players. He places great value on communication, player development and creating the most productive environment for players to succeed. His experience on coaching staffs that have made the NBA Finals and with USA Basketball are invaluable and have helped prepare him for this moment. We couldn’t be more excited for Will to lead the Jazz moving forward.”
JUNE 28: Celtics assistant Will Hardy is closing in on a deal with the Jazz to become the team’s new head coach, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirms (via Twitter) that Hardy has been offered the job and is finalizing a deal with Utah.
Hardy, 34, will receive a five-year contract, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who notes that Hardy will become the youngest active head coach in the league.
Hardy joined the Spurs’ video room as an intern in 2010 and remained with the organization for more than a decade, earning a promotion to Gregg Popovich‘s coaching staff in 2015. He made the move to Boston to become an assistant under Ime Udoka a year ago and spent the 2021/22 season as a Celtics assistant before receiving head coaching consideration from the Kings in the spring.
Hardy, who played college ball at Williams College in Massachusetts, also earned some consideration as a head coaching candidate in 2020, having been linked to the Pacers, Knicks, and Thunder when they were conducting coaching searches.
Marc Stein reported last week that Jazz CEO Danny Ainge wanted to hire an up-and-coming first-time head coach to replace Quin Snyder, who stepped down earlier this month after eight seasons with Utah. Stein added that Utah’s front office was impressed by Hardy and Suns assistant Kevin Young.
A couple days after Stein’s report, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune wrote that Hardy was a leading candidate for the position, with the Jazz also strongly considering Young. Other finalists included Joe Mazzulla, Adrian Griffin, and Alex Jensen, all of whom met with Jazz ownership this week, sources tell Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
The Jazz have made the postseason six seasons in a row, with a regular season winning percentage no worse than .585 over that span, but have failed to advance past the second round in the West. Utah lost in the first round to Dallas this past season, even though Mavericks star Luka Doncic was injured and missed the first three games of the series.
Hiring a young coach makes sense for Utah, as the team is in somewhat of a transitional phase. The Jazz obviously want to take the next step and become a legitimate title contender, but if they decide to pivot into a rebuild at some point, they’ll already have a coach who has experience working with young players, as Hardy led the Spurs’ Summer League squad from 2015-18.
Rory Maher contributed to this story.
Knicks Among Teams To Inquire On Dejounte Murray
The Knicks are among the teams to inquire on Dejounte Murray and express interest in the Spurs‘ All-Star guard, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
Marc Stein previously reported of a belief that the Knicks could try to make a run at Murray, while Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report stated that league personnel began to mention Murray on Tuesday as New York’s next possible target.
The Knicks are still considered the strong frontrunners to sign Jalen Brunson in free agency, so the idea would be to acquire Murray in addition to Brunson, rather than in place of him. As Begley explains, some members of the organization are concerned about what a backcourt duo of Brunson and Evan Fournier would look like on defense and have discussed the potential fit of Brunson and Fournier.
While Murray’s defensive ability would make him a strong match alongside Brunson on that end of the court, it’s worth noting that he was the lead ball-handler in San Antonio this past season, with his usage rate increasing to a career-high 27.3%. As Fischer wrote earlier today, the Knicks are reportedly pitching Brunson on running the show in New York after he spent four years sharing point guard duties with Luka Doncic, so acquiring Murray may be at odds with that plan.
The Spurs are said to be seeking at least three or four first-round picks in any deal involving Murray, and the Knicks are well positioned to offer draft assets. New York has all of its own future first-round selections, plus protected 2023 first-rounders from Detroit, Washington, and Dallas, as well as a protected 2025 first-rounder from Milwaukee.
The Hawks have been the team most frequently linked to Murray as of late, while the Wizards are also reportedly among the clubs to inquire.
Latest On Kyrie Irving
It will take a cultural “reset” for Kyrie Irving to succeed with the Nets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojanrowski said in an appearance on “Get Up” Wednesday morning (video link).
Irving has opted in to his $36.9MM salary for next season, ending speculation that he might consider free agency, but his decision doesn’t seem to have settled anything in Brooklyn. Wojnarowski stated that rival teams will continue to monitor the Nets’ situation to see if they will consider trading Irving, either during the summer or once the season starts.
Woj also said the organization needs Irving and Kevin Durant to become team leaders heading into free agency and to help develop a plan for next season. Brooklyn has important decisions to make on a number of free agents, most notably Nic Claxton and possibly Patty Mills.
Appearing on the same show, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revealed that Nets owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks won’t accept a continuation of the atmosphere that surrounded the team this season. He adds that the permissive approach the Nets have taken with Irving over the past three years factored into extension talks.
“It wasn’t just about how Kyrie treated the vaccine mandate, it was about how he treated his teammates and how Kyrie Irving treated his coaches,” Windhorst said. “So part of this renegotiation wasn’t just gonna be about a contract extension. It was gonna be about a renegotiation of the way the team operated. And, by the way, this wasn’t a Kyrie Irving issue. The team gave Irving all of this leverage as the way they operated over the past three years.”
Windhorst noted that there’s an urgency that goes beyond Irving’s message of “see you in the fall” when he announced his opt-in decision. He stressed that Irving needs to engage with management now and prove that he’s able to move beyond the “status quo” that resulted in a first-round playoff sweep.
There’s more on the Irving situation:
- In a separate clip, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps called Irving’s extension negotiations an “acrimonious process” and debated with Windhorst about whether a deal with the Lakers involving Russell Westbrook and draft compensation could eventually become an option.
- The Lakers were considered the leaders in the effort to work out a sign-and-trade for Irving, but the Mavericks, Heat and Sixers investigated their options as well, Shams Charania of The Athletic said in an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (hat tip to Clutch Points).
- Irving posted a video Tuesday with his first comments since deciding to opt in, relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “This is a great moment in my spiritual path, being present enough to understand that it’s not me doing all this. At this point I’m being pushed in certain directions,” Irving said, adding, “You can’t be afraid to make mistakes, in private or out in the open. The mistakes that you do make, you’ve got to learn from them.”
NBA Salary Cap Projection For 2022/23 Increases
12:41pm: According to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), the new projections for 2022/23 are as follows:
- Salary cap: $123,655,000
- Luxury tax: $150,267,000
- Tax apron: $156,983,000
- Note: This would be the hard cap for teams that acquire a player via sign-and-trade, use the bi-annual exception, or use more than the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception.
The NBA will officially finalize the cap and tax numbers before free agency opens on Thursday evening.
12:05pm: The NBA’s salary cap projection for the 2022/23 season, which has been $122MM for months, has received a slight bump, according to reports from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report and Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter links).
Both Fischer and Bontemps suggest that the cap could come in at $123.6MM rather than $122MM. That would represent roughly a 10% increase over the $112,414,000 cap that applied to the 2021/22 season.
While a $1.6MM difference from the previous projection may not seem like a significant change, it’ll have an impact on players and teams around the league, especially since the projected luxury tax line and tax apron will increase along with the cap. Clubs that anticipated being be right around the tax will have a bit more breathing room, while those below the cap will have slightly more spending power.
It’s good news for players who have signed maximum-salary contracts that go into effect in 2022/23 or who are eligible for max deals as free agents. For instance, a potential five-year maximum-salary contract for Bradley Beal would be worth $250.9MM instead of $247.7MM; a five-year max deal for Zach LaVine would come in at a little over $215MM instead of $212.3MM.
The projections for minimum salaries, mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, and rookie scale salaries would also rise if the cap does.