NBA Retains Updated Two-Way Contract Rules For 2022/23
JUNE 25: The league’s Board of Governors has formally approved a continuation of last season’s rules regarding two-way deals, Wojnarowski tweets.
JUNE 17: The NBA plans to keep the updated version of the two-way contract for 2022/23, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).
Two-way players will continue to earn half of the rookie minimum — projected to be $1,004,159 based on the latest salary cap estimate — so they’ll earn approximately $502K next season, assuming they stay on a two-way deal the entire league year.
Players on two-ways will still be limited to 50 games in the regular season and ineligible for the postseason, per Wojnarowski. In order to be eligible for the playoffs, players on two-way deals need to be converted to a standard contract. A total of 23 players received such a promotion this season, as shown by our tracker.
The league’s board of governors is expected to approve the updated two-way contract rules “in the coming days,” says Wojnarowski, who adds that the changes allow for greater roster flexibility in case of COVID-related interruptions.
The NBA previously approved increased salaries and more regular season games for two-way contracts due to COVID-19 outbreaks throughout the past two seasons. Each team is permitted a couple of two-way spots in addition to its 15-man roster.
Players with fewer than four years of NBA experience can sign a two-way contract with a team. However, teams cannot sign a player to a two-way contract for three seasons. The deals are limited to two years, and can’t include options.
Although two-way contracts can be for up to two years, a player who has three years of NBA experience can’t sign such a deal, since he’d have four years of service after the first season. As such, two-way contracts for players with three years of experience are limited to one year.
Hornets Hire Steve Clifford As Head Coach
6:27pm: The Hornets have officially named Clifford their head coach, per a team press release.
“We are pleased to welcome Steve back to our franchise,” said Kupchak. “We believe that his previous experience and coaching philosophy make him the best coach for our team. Steve has a proven track record of improving defenses and is detail oriented. He has a history of maximizing players’ talent and working with them to develop and expand their skill sets. Steve is committed to playing with the same offensive pace that our fans are accustomed to seeing the last few years. We are confident that he will be able to help our young players continue to grow as we look to take the next step as a team.”
4:33pm: The Hornets are hiring Steve Clifford to be their head coach for a second time, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Marc Stein reported yesterday morning that Clifford had unexpectedly emerged as a serious candidate to replace James Borrego, who was fired after the team lost in the play-in tournament for the second consecutive season. Roderick Boone and Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer reported this morning that Clifford met with GM Mitch Kupchak and owner Michael Jordan earlier this week.
Clifford will receive a “multi-year” contract, Boone tweets.
The Hornets were reportedly looking for a veteran head coach who could help improve the team’s defense, and Clifford has a long-held reputation as one of the better defensive tacticians in the league. Across his eight seasons as a head coach, Clifford’s clubs were top 10 in defensive rating five times.
Clifford, 60, previously coached the Hornets from 2013-18, compiling an overall record of 196-214. He took the club to the postseason in 2014 and 2016 — those are Charlotte’s only playoff appearances since 2010.
After his stint with the Hornets, Clifford was hired by Orlando to be their head coach, accumulating a 96-131 record from 2018-2021, including a couple of postseason trips in his first two seasons. His overall record with the Magic is a little deceptive, as Orlando pivoted into a full rebuild in his final season, when the team went 21-51.
Clifford was a long-time assistant prior to becoming a head coach, with stops in New York, Houston, Orlando and Los Angeles from 2000-2013. He was a consultant with the Nets last season.
Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, formerly the head coach of the Nets, had previously reached an agreement to become the Hornets’ new coach, but backed out of the deal and never signed the contract, thus re-starting the club’s coaching search.
Mike D’Antoni, who was said to be meeting with Jordan this week, was reportedly a finalist during both searches. There were conflicting reports on whether Terry Stotts was also a finalist before the team reached a deal with Atkinson — Stein wrote that D’Antoni was the “only other known finalist” at that point, but other outlets suggested he was still in the mix late in the process.
Grizzlies Trade De’Anthony Melton To Sixers For Roddy, Green
JUNE 24: The deal is now official, both teams announced in press releases.
JUNE 23: The Grizzlies and Sixers have agreed to a trade that will send the No. 23 pick in this year’s draft to Memphis and guard De’Anthony Melton to Philadelphia, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Danny Green is also headed to the Grizzlies in the swap, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com.
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Colorado State’s David Roddy will be Memphis’ pick at No. 23. Roddy had an excellent junior season for the Rams, averaging 19.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.2 SPG and 1.1 BPG on .571/.438/.691 shooting in 31 games (32.9 MPG).
In order for the trade to work, Green’s non-guaranteed contract will have to be partially guaranteed to at least $6.52MM for salary matching purposes, Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype tweets. Melton will earn $8.25MM next season and his $8MM salary in 2023/24 is partially guaranteed at $1.5MM.
As John Hollinger of The Athletic observes (via Twitter), the Sixers would lose the full mid-level exception with the deal unless they’re able to dump salary in subsequent moves, which could take them out of the running for P.J. Tucker, who is an unrestricted free agent after declining his player option.
Trading a guard in Melton and drafting a couple of forwards in Jake LaRavia and Roddy seems to indicate that Memphis wants to re-sign free agent Tyus Jones, who is one of the top point guards on the market. Jones has led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio for four straight seasons and set career highs in PPG (8.7) and 3PT% (.390) in 2021/22.
It was reported multiple times in the past couple weeks that the Sixers were dangling the No. 23 pick and Green’s expiring, non-guaranteed deal in an effort to add a win-now veteran, and they were able to acquire a talented young player in Melton, who had reportedly drawn considerable interest around the league.
Melton, 24, is a strong, versatile defender capable of playing both guard positions. In 73 regular season games this past season (22.7 MPG), he averaged 10.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.4 SPG on .404/.374/.750 shooting. He’s extension-eligible this offseason, although the Sixers might hold off on that decision.
Spurs Guaranteeing Zach Collins’ 2022/23 Salary
The Spurs have decided to guarantee Zach Collins‘ salary for the 2022/23 season, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link).
Collins signed a three-year, $22MM deal with San Antonio last summer, but only the first year was fully guaranteed. His 2022/23 salary of $7.35MM was partially guaranteed for half that figure ($3.675MM). Keeping him under contract through today’s salary guarantee deadline will ensure he receives the full amount. His $7.7MM cap hit for ’23/24 remains non-guaranteed.
A series of foot injuries have limited Collins to just 39 games since the start of the 2019/20 season, but 28 of those came for the Spurs in the second half of ’21/22. In those 28 appearances, he put up 7.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 17.9 minutes per contest, flashing some of the promise that made him the 10th overall pick in 2017.
Bartelstein is confident that bigger things are ahead for his client, as he said to Orsborn: “He is going to have an amazing summer and will take his game to another level next season.”
The Spurs now have nine players on fully guaranteed salaries for ’22/23, with Thursday’s three draft picks – Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, and Blake Wesley – expected to join that group. Keita Bates-Diop, Tre Jones, and Jock Landale remain under contract without full guarantees.
Knicks Gaining Momentum In Pursuit Of Jalen Brunson?
The Knicks are “gaining major momentum” in their pursuit of Mavericks free agent guard Jalen Brunson, league sources tell Marc Stein (Substack link).
As Stein notes, the Knicks began shedding 2022/23 salary on draft night when they agreed to send Kemba Walker ($9.2MM) to Detroit and moved off their first-round pick, removing a projected cap hold of $4.5MM from next season’s books. They don’t have enough cap room yet to make Brunson a competitive offer, but there’s a growing belief they’ll be able to get there, Stein writes.
Sources tell Stein that the Knicks appearing to be preparing an offer in the range of $100MM over four years for Brunson.
The Mavericks have long expressed confidence in their ability to re-sign Brunson, with president of basketball operations Nico Harrison repeating that refrain on draft night, telling reporters that the Knicks’ efforts to create cap room didn’t come as a surprise, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).
“Until he tells us that he doesn’t want to be here, we’re optimistic,” Harrison said.
However, according to Stein, the Mavs believed at the end of the season that a four-year offer in the range of $85-88MM would likely be enough to retain Brunson. That appears increasingly unlikely to be the case.
Dallas holds Brunson’s Bird rights and has the ability to offer any amount up to the maximum, plus a fifth year — the Knicks are limited to four years. But he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, so the Mavs won’t necessarily be able to retain him by matching or exceeding the Knicks’ offer.
Stein says there’s a growing belief among some people close to the situation that Brunson is interested in making the move to New York, where his former agent Leon Rose runs the Knicks’ front office and his father Rick Brunson was recently hired as an assistant coach.
According to Stein, the opportunity to take on a “new challenge and broadened responsibility” with the Knicks may appeal to the younger Brunson. Stein cites sources who say there’s “growing fear” within the Mavs’ organization about the point guard’s flight risk.
Rose virtually never holds media sessions and wouldn’t be able to publicly discuss Brunson anyway, but it’s worth noting that he put out an official statement on Friday discussing the Knicks’ draft-night moves — the phrase “increased financial flexibility” earned a prominent place in that statement explaining the team’s strategy (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).
Lonzo Ball Making Progress, But Status For Camp Is Uncertain
Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is hoping to get past the knee issues that disrupted his season, but general manager Marc Eversley mixed uncertainty with optimism when he talked about Ball’s condition Thursday night, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
Ball was in the middle of his first season with the Bulls when he suffered a torn left meniscus. He was given a six- to eight-week recovery timetable after undergoing surgery on January 28, but a bone bruise that happened before the meniscus tear kept him out of action through the playoffs. A report in late April suggested his recovery was at a “standstill.”
Eversley said he wasn’t sure when asked if Ball would be able to suit up for a game right now.
“That’s something we probably need to talk to the performance staff about,” Eversley responded. “That’s not a call I can make now. I can just tell you that he’s rehabbing and he’s making progress.”
Eversley also couldn’t guarantee that Ball will be ready for the start of training camp, adding, “I certainly hope so.”
Chicago was one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference before its season got derailed by injuries. Losing Ball was among the most costly as his defensive presence and relentless transition attacks were an important part of that early success.
The Bulls were 22-13 with Ball in the lineup, but only 24-23 without him. They slipped into the sixth seed and were eliminated by Milwaukee in five games.
Nets’ Outlook With Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant Remains “Murky”
After reporting on Thursday afternoon that Kevin Durant was weighing his future in Brooklyn, potentially opening the door for Kyrie Irving to leave the Nets this offseason, Shams Charania of The Athletic further addressed the situation during Thursday night’s draft.
“Kevin Durant, I’m told, is seriously mulling his future options with the franchise and there’s an expectation that that now opens up an opportunity for Kyrie Irving to now proceed to find a new home,” Charania said (video link via Stadium). “… Whether that’s an opt-in and trade, a sign-and-trade, an opt-out and sign as a free agent, Kyrie Irving, it appears, is going to find a new home. Kevin Durant has four years left on his contract with the Nets. His future right now is very much up in the air.”
Although Charania’s wording makes it sound as if Irving is more likely to depart Brooklyn than to return, Brian Lewis of The New York Post says Kyrie and the Nets are still believed to be seeking an agreement that will keep him with the team. According to Lewis, some people around the NBA believe the recent leaks are part of an “artfully crafted and well-coordinated bluff” from Irving’s camp.
Irving’s decision on his $36.9MM player option isn’t due until next Wednesday, so the two sides still have several days to try to find common ground. Kyrie is said to be looking for a long-term contract, while the Nets prefer a shorter-term deal. Team owner Joe Tsai has “fully supported” management’s stance against making a long-term commitment to Irving, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reported on Thursday that Irving has a list of at least six preferred destinations if he leaves the Nets, reiterated on ESPN’s Get Up on Friday (video link) that the Lakers appear to have the “most interest” in the seven-time All-Star.
However, given the Lakers’ lack of trade assets, Irving’s only real path to the team might be to opt out and sign for the $6.3MM taxpayer mid-level exception. Given that he and the Nets reached an impasse over how long his deal would be, it seems unlikely that he’d settle for a one-year deal and a $30MM pay cut.
According to Wojnarowski, a few of the other teams on Irving’s reported wish list – including the Mavericks, Clippers, and Sixers – are unlikely to have legitimate interest. The Knicks created some additional cap flexibility with their moves in Thursday’s draft, but are prioritizing free agent point guard Jalen Brunson over Irving, says Wojnarowski.
Still, despite an apparent lack of logical landing spots for Kyrie, Wojnarowski (video link) describes the Nets’ situation as “perilous” due to the ripple effect it could have on Irving’s good friend Durant. According to Woj, Durant isn’t a lock to request a trade if Irving leaves, but he’d want the Nets to show him that they could still build a championship-caliber roster around him.
“KD wanting to remain with the Nets is not necessarily contingent on if Kyrie Irving walks,” Wojnarowski said during a TV appearance, according to Lewis. “That, if he walks, he wants to see what the roster could still look like, how it could be reshaped, how it can still be a championship contender. (Durant is) starting that new four-year max deal. This isn’t the transfer portal. You don’t get to say where you’d like to go. So if he decided and wanted and asked for a trade — which I’m told he’s not told the Nets he’s going to do or is ready to do — he’s probably not going to have a lot of say in where he goes.
“So that has to be part of (Durant’s) thinking if he does ask out of Brooklyn,” Woj continued. “But right now, I still think there’s a pathway for the Nets, for Kyrie Irving, for Kevin Durant to find a way forward together. But it’s murky, and it’s uncertain. The future of this Nets organization very well is going to be determined here in the next several days to a week.”
Grizzlies Acquire No. 19 Pick Jake LaRavia From Wolves
JUNE 24: The trade is complete, the Grizzlies and Timberwolves announced in a pair of press releases. Officially, LaRavia’s draft rights head to Memphis along with a 2023 second-round pick in exchange for the draft rights to No. 22 pick Walker Kessler and No. 29 pick TyTy Washington.
It’s unclear if that ’23 second-rounder is Minnesota’s own or the Knicks’ second-round pick that the Wolves acquired earlier in the draft.
The Wolves are flipping Washington to the Rockets in a separate trade.
JUNE 23: The Grizzlies have agreed to acquire the No. 19 pick from the Timberwolves and will select Wake Forest forward Jake LaRavia, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). In exchange, Minnesota will receive the No. 22 and No. 29 selections in tonight’s draft, with the Grizzlies also gaining a second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).
It’s apparently a 2023 second-rounder, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune tweets.
LaRavia, who spent two seasons at Indiana State, moved up draft boards in recent weeks after averaging 14.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 3.7 APG for the Demon Deacons last season. With Kyle Anderson entering free agency, LaRavia could compete for a rotation spot in his rookie campaign.
He improved his stock during workouts, as he was originally projected as a borderline first-rounder.
Parlaying two first-rounders for the No. 19 selection doesn’t seem like great value, as Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian notes, but Grizzlies executive Zach Kleiman is unfazed by perceptions as long as he gets the player he wants. Kleiman has traded up for every pick on his watch with the exception of Ja Morant, Herrington adds (Twitter links).
Rockets Trade Christian Wood To Mavericks
JUNE 24: The trade is now official, the Mavericks announced in the early hours of Friday morning. Wood has officially landed in Dallas in exchange for Marjanovic, Brown, Burke, Chriss, and the draft rights to No. 26 overall pick Wendell Moore. Houston is flipping Moore to Minnesota in a separate deal.
JUNE 15: The Rockets are trading Christian Wood to the Mavericks in exchange for the No. 26 overall pick of the 2022 draft, Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
All five players are on expiring contracts in 2022/23, with the four Mavs players being sent out for salary-matching purposes. Wood will earn $14.3MM next season.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, the trade can’t be officially completed until draft night, which is June 23, because the Mavs owe a protected first-round pick to the Knicks in 2023. Six months after the trade is completed, Wood will be eligible to sign a contract extension worth up to $77MM over four years, says Marks.
Burke holds a $3.3MM player option for ’22/23 and will need to exercise the option in order for the trade to work, Marks notes (via Twitter), adding that rosters expanding to 20 in the offseason will allow the Rockets to take back four players in exchange for one. Burke will receive a trade bonus of $247,500 from Dallas as part of the deal, Marks relays in another tweet.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report indicated on Tuesday that the Mavericks were looking to trade their only draft pick, and they found a match in the rebuilding Rockets, who now control three first-round picks: Nos. 3, 17 and 26. The Rockets have multiple options to explore ahead of the draft. If they want to package Nos. 17 and 26 to move up a bit, they likely could.
The 26-year-old Wood is a very solid return for Dallas, even if he comes with some character concerns. The talented big man averaged 19.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 block in 109 games for Houston the past two seasons, posting a shooting line of .507/.384/.626.
The move definitely comes with risks for the Mavs, because Wood is a subpar defensive player and can be quite inconsistent, especially from an effort standpoint, from game-to-game. However, he’s on an expiring contract, which limits the risk, and is theoretically in a good situation with star Luka Doncic.
Mavs GM Nico Harrison said the team would be looking to acquire a quality big man who could provide rebounding and rim protection after the team lost in the Western Conference Finals. Wood fulfills the first criteria — he’s a good rebounder — but falls a bit short on the second, as he isn’t much of a deterrent at the basket.
According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), the Rockets wanted to move Wood in order to create more playing time for Alperen Sengun, who was a rookie this past season, and the No. 3 pick, who will likely be another big man. They’ll get a look at some veterans on expiring deals, but obviously the main appeal was the No. 26 pick and no long-term salary.
Chriss, who will make $2.19MM next season, underwent knee surgery on Wednesday and will be sidelined while rehabbing for the next couple months, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
2022 NBA Draft Results
The 2022 NBA draft is in the books, and we tracked all of this year’s picks in the space below, taking into account each trade agreed upon over the course of the draft.
Here are 2022’s NBA draft results:
First Round:
- Orlando Magic: Paolo Banchero, F, Duke (story)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Chet Holmgren, F, Gonzaga (story)
- Houston Rockets: Jabari Smith, F, Auburn (story)
- Sacramento Kings: Keegan Murray, F, Iowa (story)
- Detroit Pistons: Jaden Ivey, G, Purdue
- Indiana Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin, G/F, Arizona
- Portland Trail Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe, G, Kentucky
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Lakers): Dyson Daniels, G, G League Ignite
- San Antonio Spurs: Jeremy Sochan, F, Baylor
- Washington Wizards: Johnny Davis, G, Wisconsin
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Knicks): Ousmane Dieng, F, New Zealand Breakers
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Clippers): Jalen Williams, G, Santa Clara
- Detroit Pistons (from Hornets via Knicks): Jalen Duren, C, Memphis
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Ochai Agbaji, F, Kansas
- Charlotte Hornets (from Pelicans): Mark Williams, C, Duke
- Atlanta Hawks: AJ Griffin, F, Duke
- Houston Rockets (from Nets): Tari Eason, F, LSU
- Chicago Bulls: Dalen Terry, G, Arizona
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Timberwolves): Jake LaRavia, F, Wake Forest
- San Antonio Spurs (from Raptors): Malaki Branham, G/F, Ohio State
- Denver Nuggets: Christian Braun, G, Kansas
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Jazz via Grizzlies): Walker Kessler, C, Auburn
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Sixers): David Roddy, F, Colorado State
- Milwaukee Bucks: MarJon Beauchamp, G, G League Ignite
- San Antonio Spurs (from Celtics): Blake Wesley, G, Notre Dame
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Mavericks via Rockets): Wendell Moore, F, Duke
- Miami Heat: Nikola Jovic, F, Mega Mozzart
- Golden State Warriors: Patrick Baldwin Jr., F, Milwaukee
- Houston Rockets (from Grizzlies via Timberwolves): TyTy Washington, G, Kentucky
- Denver Nuggets (from Suns via Thunder): Peyton Watson, F, UCLA
Second Round:
- Indiana Pacers (from Rockets): Andrew Nembhard, G, Gonzaga
- Orlando Magic: Caleb Houstan, F, Michigan
- Toronto Raptors (from Pistons): Christian Koloko, F/C, Arizona
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Jaylin Williams, C, Arkansas
- Los Angeles Lakers (from Pacers via Magic): Max Christie, G, Michigan State
- Detroit Pistons (from Trail Blazers): Gabriele Procida, G, Fortitudo Bologna
- Dallas Mavericks (from Kings): Jaden Hardy, G, G League Ignite
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Lakers via Spurs): Kennedy Chandler, G, Tennessee
- Cleveland Cavaliers (from Spurs): Khalifa Diop, C, Gran Canaria
- Charlotte Hornets (from Wizards via Timberwolves): Bryce McGowens, G, Nebraska
- New Orleans Pelicans: E.J. Liddell, F, Ohio State
- New York Knicks: Trevor Keels, F, Duke
- Los Angeles Clippers: Moussa Diabate, F, Michigan
- Golden State Warriors (from Hawks): Ryan Rollins, G, Toledo
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Hornets): Josh Minott, F, Memphis
- Denver Nuggets (from Nets via Pistons and Trail Blazers): Ismael Kamagate, C, Paris
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Cavaliers): Vince Williams, F, VCU
- Indiana Pacers (from Timberwolves): Kendall Brown, F, Baylor
- Cleveland Cavaliers (from Bulls via Kings): Isaiah Mobley, F, USC
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Nuggets): Matteo Spagnolo, G, Cremona
- Atlanta Hawks (from Raptors via Warriors): Tyrese Martin, F, UConn
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Jazz): Karlo Matkovic, F, Mega Mozzart
- Boston Celtics: JD Davison, G, Alabama
- Washington Wizards (from Mavericks): Yannick Nzosa, C, Unicaja Malaga
- Golden State Warriors: Gui Santos, F, Minas
- Cleveland Cavaliers (from Heat): Luke Travers, G/F, Perth Wildcats
- Portland Trail Blazers (from Grizzlies): Jabari Walker, F, Colorado
- Milwaukee Bucks (from Suns via Pacers): Hugo Besson, G, New Zealand Breakers
Note: The Bucks and Heat forfeited their second-round picks due to free agency gun-jumping. They would have been No. 54 and No. 55, respectively.