NBA 2021 Free Agency: Day 4 Recap
With cap space drying up around the NBA and guaranteed roster spots increasingly harder to come by, the rate of free agent agreements has slowed significantly since Monday night.
We’re still waiting for a handful of notable free agents to find homes, including Dennis Schröder, Lauri Markkanen, and Reggie Jackson. The exact details of the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade deal between the Heat and Raptors remain a mystery. And technically, Kawhi Leonard is still on the board, though we’re mostly wondering what his new contract with the Clippers will look like, not whether he’ll actually change teams.
In the meantime, there were a few stories worth highlighting from Thursday, including new deals for this year’s Most Improved Player and a former Executive of the Year.
Let’s round up the highlights from Day 4 of NBA free agency…
Julius Randle and the Knicks agreed to a four-year contract extension worth at least $106.4MM.- The Raptors signed Masai Ujiri to a multiyear extension and gave him a new title in addition to team president: Vice chairman.
- The Hornets and Kelly Oubre have agreed to a two-year, $26MM+ deal.
- The Raptors agreed to re-sign Khem Birch to a three-year, $20MM deal and agreed to a two-year deal with Ishmail Wainright.
- Lou Williams and the Hawks agreed to a one-year, $5MM deal.
- The Suns agreed to re-sign Frank Kaminsky to a one-year, minimum-salary deal and are reportedly nearing an agreement with Elfrid Payton on a one-year deal.
- The Wizards waived Caleb Homesley and made Garrison Mathews an unrestricted free agent.
The free agency moratorium will lift on Friday at 11:00am CT, at which point this week’s free agent deals and trade agreements will start becoming official.
We can still expect new deals to be reported on a daily basis for a little while, but since they’re not coming in at the same fast and furious pace they were earlier in the week, this will likely be our last daily roundup of 2021’s free agent action unless Friday is especially busy. Be sure to check our tracker to keep up with the latest deals.
Previously:
Raptors Re-Sign Khem Birch To Three-Year Contract
AUGUST 6: The Raptors have made it official with Birch, formally issuing a press release to confirm his new deal.
AUGUST 5: The Raptors have reached a three-year contract agreement with one of their own free agents, center Khem Birch, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
The deal will be worth $20MM. Toronto only held Non-Bird rights on Birch, so it will likely use part of its mid-level exception to re-sign Birch. It’s also conceivable that the Raptors could open up sufficient cap room to make it happen, but if they take back Goran Dragic or another high-salary player in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade with Miami, they’ll need to use the mid-level.
Birch joined the Raptors in April after the rebuilding Magic bought him out. He started 17 of 19 regular-season appearances with the Raptors, averaging 11.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG and 1.2 BPG in 30.4 MPG. The 28-year-old Birch played his first three-and-a-half NBA seasons with Orlando but was mainly used off the bench.
The Raptors waived Aron Baynes on Wednesday, so Birch could compete with Chris Boucher for a starting role with the club.
Raptors Extend, Promote Masai Ujiri
5:09pm: The Raptors have officially announced Ujiri’s new deal and new title, announcing in a press release that he has signed a multiyear contract to become the team’s vice chairman and president.
“Great sportsmen impact their games. Great leaders impact their communities. Masai Ujiri does both, and we’re very pleased he is returning to the Raptors as vice-chairman and president,” Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment chairman Larry Tanenbaum said in a statement. “Masai and MLSE share the goals of bringing another NBA Championship to Toronto, and off the court, working towards making our city, country and world a better place. These are exciting times, and we look forward to all that comes next for our team, for Masai and for his family. Masai, we’re glad you’re staying home.”
1:29pm: The Raptors are losing six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry to the Heat this week, but they’ve reached an agreement to lock up their other key free agent, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
According to Wojnarowski, Toronto’s president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri has agreed to a “significant” new deal with the franchise that will give him the title of vice chairman in addition to team president. The Raptors posted a video to their Twitter account alluding to the new deal with Ujiri, whose previous contract had been about to expire.
“I love being the leader of the Toronto Raptors and I’m here to stay,” Ujiri said in the video.
Ujiri, who won the NBA’s Executive of the Year award in 2013 with the Nuggets, was hired as the Raptors’ head of basketball operations that same year and spearheaded the turnaround of a club that had missed the playoffs in five straight seasons prior to his arrival.
Ujiri and his front office have displayed a knack over the years of finding hidden gems in the draft class, including Pascal Siakam (No. 27 pick), Norman Powell (No. 46 pick), and Fred VanVleet (undrafted free agent). He also memorably acquired Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs during the 2018 offseason, a move that pushed the Raptors over the top for the first championship in team history.
There was some uncertainty about what Ujiri’s future held when he didn’t agree to an extension with the Raptors a year or two before his contract expired, but he continued his usual work in the draft and free agency this summer, signaling that he had no plans to leave the organization. According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Ujiri is staying in Toronto despite being courted by multiple franchises “beyond (the) NBA’s boundaries.”
George Hill Signs With Bucks
AUGUST 6: Hill’s deal with the Bucks is now official, according to the team (Twitter link).
AUGUST 5: Having cleared waivers, Hill is now on track to sign with the Bucks, according to Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that the guard will sign a two-year, $8MM contract with Milwaukee. That money will come out of the team’s mid-level exception.
Both years of the deal will be guaranteed, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
AUGUST 3: Veteran point guard George Hill, who was released on Tuesday by the Sixers, intends to rejoin the Bucks after he clears waivers later this week, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While it’s still possible that Hill could be claimed on waivers by a team with cap room or a large trade exception, it’s unlikely that any club would want to guarantee his $10MM+ salary, so it’s a safe bet he’ll become a free agent.
Hill played for the Bucks in 2019/20, averaging 9.4 PPG and 3.1 APG with a league-high .460 3PT% in 59 games as the club’s third guard. However, he became expendable when his contract was needed for salary-matching purposes in the Jrue Holiday trade.
Hill, who was sent to Oklahoma City in that Holiday blockbuster, averaged 8.7 PPG and 2.4 APG on .482/.388/.800 shooting in 30 total contests (22.4 MPG) for the Thunder and Sixers this past season.
He didn’t make much of an impact in the postseason for Philadelphia, with just 4.7 PPG and 1.5 APG in 12 playoff games (17.1 MPG). The 76ers opted to waive him before his salary for 2021/22 became fully guaranteed.
The Bucks are now eyeing deals with two veterans who are currently on waivers. A report earlier on Tuesday indicated that Milwaukee is expected to sign Rodney Hood, who was cut today by Toronto.
Hornets Considering Offer Sheet For Lauri Markkanen
The Hornets, one of the NBA’s only teams that still has cap space available, have “strong” interest in a potential offer sheet for Bulls restricted free agent forward Lauri Markkanen, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
By my unofficial count, Charlotte currently has about $14MM in projected cap room and could increase that number slightly by waiving one or more of the non-guaranteed contracts on the team’s books (Cody Martin, Caleb Martin, and Jalen McDaniels). That would likely be enough space to make a competitive bid for Markkanen and put pressure on the Bulls, who have the ability to match any offer sheet he signs.
Chicago will be hard-capped as a result of the club’s sign-and-trade deals for Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan. Accommodating a significant salary for Markkanen would potentially push the club into the tax and close to that hard cap. ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) said following the DeRozan agreement on Tuesday that the Bulls’ team salary was about $19.5MM below the tax line and $26MM below the hard cap, with six open roster spots.
The seventh overall pick in the 2017 draft, Markkanen showed a ton of promise during his first two NBA seasons, posting a career-high 18.7 PPG and 9.0 RPG on .430/.361/.872 shooting in 52 games (32.3 MPG) in 2018/19. However, his development trajectory has leveled off since then, as he has battled a series of injuries and given the Bulls up-and-down production.
Still, the Finnish forward is only 24 years old and is a legitimate floor-spacing big man, having knocked down 40.2% of his three-point attempts this past season. Charlotte has plenty of talent in its backcourt (LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, James Bouknight) and on the wing (Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington) and may view Markkanen as a nice fit up front.
If the Hornets is worried about a potential offer sheet being matched and the Bulls don’t want to risk losing Markkanen for nothing, the two sides could engage in sign-and-trade talks to ensure the seven-footer ends up in Charlotte and Chicago gets a minor asset or two in return for agreeing to let him walk. However, if Markkanen officially signs an offer sheet with the Hornets, a sign-and-trade would no longer be possible.
A restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet during the moratorium period, but the two-day matching clock doesn’t begin until the moratorium ends, so there’s no rush for Charlotte to get Markkanen to sign on the dotted line today.
For what it’s worth, a report earlier this week stated that the Spurs had interest in Markkanen in the DeRozan sign-and-trade, but weren’t comfortable meeting his asking price.
Hawks Sign Lou Williams To One-Year Deal
AUGUST 6: The Hawks have officially signed Williams, according to a press release from the team.
AUGUST 5: After a successful late-season run with the Hawks in 2020/21, veteran guard Lou Williams has agreed to re-sign with the team on a one-year, $5MM deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
Williams, a three-time winner of the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, began the 2020/21 season with the Clippers, but was sent to Atlanta in a deadline deal involving Rajon Rondo when the Clips determined their backcourt needed more of a play-maker than a scorer.
Having spent the last three-and-a-half seasons in Los Angeles and having won two Sixth Man awards with the franchise, Williams was hit hard by the trade and admitted he contemplated retirement upon being sent to the Hawks. However, his arrival and his strong play in Atlanta helped push the team to the No. 5 seed in the East and the third round of the playoffs.
Williams averaged 10.0 PPG and 3.4 APG on .389/.444/.870 shooting in 24 regular season contests (21.0 MPG) for the Hawks, then put up 7.7 PPG and 2.2 APG on .455/.433/.963 shooting in 18 playoff games (15.4 MPG).
The Pacers, Bucks, and Heat were among the other teams linked to Williams during free agency, but a reunion with the Hawks was always viewed as a realistic possibility. While the 34-year-old won’t get the multiyear deal he’d reportedly been seeking, his $5MM salary will be nearly double the veteran’s minimum.
The Hawks had Williams’ Bird rights, so they won’t have to use cap room or a mid-level exception to re-sign him.
Wizards To Acquire Spencer Dinwiddie Via Sign-And-Trade
11:56pm: The Spurs are sending the draft rights to 2015 first-round pick Nikola Milutinov to the Nets in the five-team trade, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). That will satisfy the “touching” requirements we outlined below and allow the deal to be officially completed once the moratorium ends on Friday.
Katz adds (via Twitter) that the Wizards have also agreed to trade one more second-round pick (Chicago’s 2023 selection) to the Lakers. Washington is giving up five second-round selections in the deal (three to the Lakers, one to the Spurs, and one to the Nets), as well as a second-round swap (to the Nets).
Finally, Katz reports that the third year of Dinwiddie’s contract will be partially guaranteed (Twitter link).
5:04pm: The Wizards and Spencer Dinwiddie are in agreement on a three-year, $62MM deal that will land the veteran point guard in Washington, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The club will acquire Dinwiddie from the Nets via sign-and-trade.
That $62MM figure had been expected for Dinwiddie’s deal with the Wizards, since it’s the most the team could pay him by looping his sign-and-trade into the larger Russell Westbrook deal with the Lakers, notes Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Charania (Twitter link), the Nets will receive a second-round pick and a draft-pick swap from the Wizards in the sign-and-trade agreement. The move will also create an $11.5MM trade exception for Brooklyn.
Additionally, the Wizards will trade Chandler Hutchison and a second-round pick to the Spurs as part of the multi-team deal, Charania reports (via Twitter). Moving Hutchison’s $4MM+ salary will allow Washington to remain out of tax territory for now, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) provides the details on the draft assets, reporting that the Wizards are sending a 2022 second-rounder to San Antonio and a 2024 second-rounder to Brooklyn, as well as a 2025 second-round pick swap to the Nets.
The 2022 second-round pick headed to San Antonio will be the most favorable of the Lakers’, Bulls’, and Pistons’ second-rounders, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.
That 2025 swap will give Brooklyn a chance to send Golden State’s second-rounder to Washington in exchange for the Wizards’ 2025 second-rounder, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The 2024 second-rounder will be the more favorable of the Wizards’ and Grizzlies’ selections, Bontemps adds.
In total, Wojnarowski tweets, the deal will include five teams: the Wizards, Nets, Spurs, Lakers, and Pacers. The Westbrook trade agreement and the Wizards’ deal for Aaron Holiday will become part of this larger deal once it’s officially completed after the moratorium lifts on Friday.
Here’s what the full trade should look like, based on the details reported to date:
- Wizards to acquire Dinwiddie (via sign-and-trade), Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Holiday, and the draft rights to Isaiah Todd (No. 31 pick).
- Lakers to acquire Westbrook, either the Wizards’ or the Grizzlies’ 2024 second-round pick (whichever is less favorable; from Wizards), and the Wizards’ 2028 second-round pick.
- Nets to acquire either the Wizards’ or the Grizzlies’ 2024 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable; from Wizards) and the right to swap their the Warriors’ 2025 second-round pick for the Wizards’ 2025 second-round pick.
- Spurs to acquire Hutchison and either the Bulls’, Lakers,’, or Pistons 2022 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Wizards).
- Pacers to acquire the draft rights to Isaiah Jackson (No. 22 pick).
As Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report points out (via Twitter), there will likely be at least one more piece involved between the Nets and Spurs in order to satisfy the rule that every team in a multi-team trade must “touch” two other teams in the deal. As reported so far, Brooklyn and San Antonio are each only receiving assets from (or sending an asset to) the Wizards. That last piece would likely be something minor, such as cash or the draft rights to a stashed player.
In Dinwiddie, the Wizards are getting a 28-year-old point guard who is coming off a lost season. He appeared in just three games before missing the rest of the 2020/21 campaign due to a partially torn ACL. However, Dinwiddie was reportedly cleared for all basketball activities in June and the expectation is that he’ll be good to go for the fall.
In his last full season, Dinwiddie averaged 20.6 PPG and 6.8 APG on .415/.308/.778 shooting in 64 games (31.2 MPG) for Brooklyn in 2019/20.
Word broke on Monday night that the Wizards and Dinwiddie were nearing an agreement, but the club didn’t have the cap space necessary to acquire him without getting the Nets’ cooperation in a sign-and-trade. Because Brooklyn didn’t want to take on any salary but wanted an asset or two for agreeing to play ball, it took all involved parties a couple days to work out the details of the deal that would get the point guard to D.C.
Sixers Re-Sign Danny Green
AUGUST 7: The Sixers have officially re-signed Green, the team announced today in a press release.
“Bringing Danny back was a top priority for our organization this offseason,” president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “He has proven to be an important leader on and off the floor, and he knows what it takes to win an NBA title as a three-time champion. We are very happy that he’ll continue to remain a crucial part of the 76ers.”
AUGUST 4: The Sixers have agreed to terms with veteran swingman Danny Green on a two-year deal that will bring him back to Philadelphia, according to his Inside The Green Room podcast co-host Harrison Sanford (Twitter link). A league source confirms the news to veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Because the 76ers have Early Bird rights on Green, they won’t need to use their mid-level exception to complete the signing.
Agent Raymond Brothers tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that the 34-year-old’s new deal won’t include any options. However, a follow-up tweet from Sanford suggests the second year will be non-guaranteed, with a July 1, 2022 guarantee date.
According to Sanford (Twitter link), Green had discussions with the Nets, Celtics, Bucks, Bulls, and Warriors, among other teams, during free agency this week. He turned down a two-year offer from the Cavaliers, Sanford adds.
A 12-year NBA veteran who has won titles with three different teams, Green started all 69 games he played for Philadelphia in 2020/21, averaging 9.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 1.3 SPG with a .412/.405/.775 shooting line in 28.0 MPG.
Green has long been a reliable three-and-D wing, having knocked down 40.1% of his career attempts from beyond the arc.
The Sixers waived George Hill this week and lost Dwight Howard to the Lakers, but have now lined up deals to bring back both Green and Furkan Korkmaz. The club also signed Andre Drummond to a minimum-salary contract on Wednesday and has agreed to a deal with forward Georges Niang.
LaMarcus Aldridge Seriously Considering NBA Comeback
Veteran big man LaMarcus Aldridge, who announced his retirement in the spring due to a heart-related health scare, is seriously contemplating the possibility of returning to the NBA, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).
As Wojnarowski explains, Aldridge would require team medical clearance in order to sign a contract and take the court again. He hasn’t made a final decision yet on whether or not to attempt a comeback, but he’s expected to have discussions with teams in the coming weeks, sources tell ESPN.
Aldridge released a Twitter statement on April 15 explaining that he had decided to end his career after experiencing an irregular heartbeat during his last game. He had dealt with heart issues before, being diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome during his rookie season in 2007 and missing time due to a heart arrhythmia in 2017.
In a June interview, Aldridge said he felt his heart racing on the morning of his final game, but believed it would go back to normal once he got on the court.
“It was still off after the game, but at like two, three in the morning, it got really, really crazy,” Aldridge recalled. “My heart was beating really crazy, and that’s when it got really bad for me. From two to five in the morning, I was just trying to evoke some breathing and then around 5:30 or so, I texted the team doctor and I went to the hospital. It was probably the scariest night ever.”
The retirement announcement was shocking because Aldridge had been with the Nets for less than three weeks. He chose to come to Brooklyn after reaching a buyout agreement with the Spurs in late March. Aldridge had been shut down in San Antonio while the team searched for a trade partner. He played just five games for Brooklyn, averaging 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 26 minutes per night.
“It was very tough. I definitely wasn’t ready to hang it up and I still felt like I had more to give to a team and I feel I had a lot to give to the Nets,” Aldridge said. … “Basically, that night being so freaked out — and knowing I have kids, my mom, a lot of people depending on me and a lot of people that I want to see going forward — I just felt like I was blessed by God to play 15 years with this condition, and I didn’t want to push it anymore.”
Aldridge’s situation is similar to that of former Heat big man Chris Bosh, who had to end his career because of a recurring issue with blood clots. Bosh also wanted to attempt a comeback, but was never able to get medical clearance. However, Aldridge elected to retire on his own, while the decision for Bosh was made by the Miami medical staff.
If Aldridge can get medically cleared to play again, he could be a valuable addition for a contender, even at age 36. He was effective for the Spurs last season, starting 18 games at center and averaging 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds, before the franchise opted to give more time to younger players.
Trail Blazers Sign Cody Zeller
AUGUST 4: The Trail Blazers have issued a press release formally announcing the signing of Zeller. Because it’s a one-year, minimum-salary contract, it can be completed during the free agency moratorium.
AUGUST 2: Free agent center Cody Zeller has agreed to a one-year deal with the Trail Blazers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. It’ll be a minimum-salary contract, reports Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (via Twitter).
Zeller has spent his entire eight-year career with the Hornets. He averaged 9.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.8 APG in 20.9 MPG last season, though he only appeared in 48 games due to a hand fracture suffered during the season opener.
Zeller admitted prior to free agency he wasn’t sure what to expect.
“I think the biggest thing is just being somewhere where I’m valued. I just want to win,” Zeller said.
Zeller will presumably back up Jusuf Nurkic, unless Portland makes some other moves.