Wizards Agree To Trade Russell Westbrook To Lakers
7:18pm: The Wizards and Lakers have agreed to terms on a Westbrook trade, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
In addition to Westbrook, the Lakers will receive a 2024 second-round pick and a 2028 second-rounder in exchange for Kuzma, Harrell, Caldwell-Pope, and the No. 22 pick.
Reports have suggested that the trade isn’t viewed as a precursor a deal involving Beal, who still reportedly wants to remain with the Wizards.
4:49pm: Confirming that the Lakers and Wizards are moving toward a Westbrook deal, Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times tweets that there are still ongoing discussions between the two teams about the draft assets involved — the Wizards could end up sending the Lakers a second-round pick, says Turner.
Meanwhile, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report tweets that a deal may not be officially completed until the new league year begins next week. It could grow into a larger multi-team trade during free agency, Fischer suggests.
4:30pm: The Lakers and Wizards are nearing a deal to trade Westbrook for Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope, Harrell, and L.A.’s No. 22 overall pick, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). However, Woj cautions that no agreement is in place yet (Twitter link).
4:20pm: The Lakers and Wizards are engaged in discussions about a possible trade that would send Southern California native and former UCLA star Russell Westbrook back home, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
As Charania explains, Westbrook would like to be moved elsewhere and the Lakers are his preferred landing spot. The two teams are talking about a deal that would involve Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell, according to Charania (Twitter link), who says the Lakers’ No. 22 pick could also be in play.
The Lakers have also discussed those players and their first-round pick with the Kings in conversations about a possible Buddy Hield trade. It’s hard to see how L.A. would be able to acquire both Westbrook and Hield, so if both Sacramento and Washington are on board with working toward a deal, the Lakers will have to choose which player to pursue.
It sounds for now like Westbrook is the Lakers’ primary focus, according to Charania (Twitter link), who classifies the club’s talks with the Wizards as “serious.”
The Lakers were linked to Westbrook last week, as the team is in the market for a play-making point guard to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. If they’re able to complete a deal for Westbrook, it would reduce the Lakers’ need to re-sign Dennis Schröder, though it wouldn’t necessarily create any additional cap obstacles to doing so.
As for the Wizards, if they move forward with trading Westbrook, the big question will be how it affects Bradley Beal, who was rumored to be mulling his future this past week. For what it’s worth, Caldwell-Pope is very close friends with Beal, notes Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski suggests (via Twitter) that the Wizards’ goal would be to keep Beal, using the trade to create some future cap flexibility to continue adding talent around him.
Rockets Take Jalen Green With Second Pick
Jalen Green, the dynamic shooting guard from G League Ignite, is headed to the Rockets with the second pick in this year’s draft. The 19-year-old bypassed college basketball to get a year of seasoning in the G League while waiting to become eligible for the draft.
He was the first high school prospect to join the new developmental team, and he quickly established himself as an offensive force. In 15 games in the Orlando bubble, he averaged 17.9 points per game while shooting 46.1% from the floor and 36.5% from three-point range. He had a 30-point effort in a playoff loss to Raptors 905.
Green joins a Houston team that has needed scoring punch from its backcourt ever since trading James Harden to Brooklyn in January. Green may not start right away, with veteran guards John Wall and Eric Gordon on the roster, but he will be the centerpiece of the rebuilding effort for a team that went 17-55 this season.
The Rockets looked closely at USC’s Evan Mobley and Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs before deciding on Green. The Pistons reportedly gave Green strong consideration for the top overall pick before opting for Cade Cunningham.
Pistons Draft Cade Cunningham With No. 1 Pick
7:09pm: The Pistons have officially drafted Cunningham.
12:42pm: The Pistons have decided to select Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham with the top pick in tonight’s draft, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
That was the expected outcome ever since Detroit won the draft lottery, but apparently the final decision wasn’t made until Thursday morning. Team officials traveled to New York on Wednesday to meet with Cunningham one more time, then finalized the decision to draft him during meetings earlier today, Wojnarowski reports in another tweet.
In a press conference earlier this week, Detroit general manager Troy Weaver said the team hadn’t made a final decision on whether the team would choose Cunningham, with Jalen Green also still in the mix and trade offers coming in.
It’s still not out of the question that the Pistons could trade the pick if they get an offer that’s too good to refuse, but otherwise Cunningham will be in a Detroit uniform next season, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Cunningham has been the consensus top pick for months among draft experts and the Pistons continued to field trade inquiries leading up to the draft. He’ll immediately become the face of a franchise that went into rebuild mode prior to the 2020 trade deadline, a process that accelerated when Weaver remade the roster after becoming the top executive in the franchise’s front office.
Given his status as the likely top pick, Cunningham only visited the Pistons prior to the draft. Cunningham attended a Tigers game, met with the team’s brass, and did a light workout early last week. He came away impressed by the team’s front office and coaching staff, as well as the city.
“The organization has a lot of great people within it,” Cunningham said last week. “I mean, starting from the owners, Troy Weaver is a great GM, and then, you know, all the way down. They got just great people throughout. So I learned a lot on my visit. If they take me, I’ll definitely be excited to be there.”
Potential Westbrook Deal Not Viewed As Precursor To Beal Trade
The Wizards are reportedly engaged in serious talks to send Russell Westbrook to the Lakers, but that doesn’t mean Washington is looking to trade its other star guard too. According to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link), a Westbrook deal isn’t viewed as a precursor to a Bradley Beal trade.
The idea behind a Westbrook trade for Washington would be to add some solid role-playing veterans around Beal and to unlock future cap flexibility to continue adding pieces around the NBA’s second-leading scorer, as both David Aldridge of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN have noted (Twitter links). Getting off of Westbrook’s $47MM+ salary for 2022/23 would put the Wizards in position to open up a significant chunk of cap room next summer.
While we don’t know for sure that Beal will be moved by that pitch, Marcus Thompson of The Athletic tweets that – based on what he’s hearing – the All-NBA guard will opt to remain in Washington.
Beal remains under contract with the Wizards for one more season before facing a player option decision in 2022, so even if he decides to stick with the franchise for the time being, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll have a long-term future in D.C.
For now though, it appears the most likely outcome is that Beal will be patient as Washington reshapes the roster around him and will assess how the new group looks in 2021/22. We will, of course, provide updates if and when that changes.
Montrezl Harrell To Exercise 2021/22 Player Option
Lakers center Montrezl Harrell is picking up his $9.72MM option for the 2021/22 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Harrell signed a two-year deal worth the mid-level exception last offseason with the Lakers. That deal included a guaranteed first year and a player option in year two.
The 27-year-old had an up-and-down season in Los Angeles, as his averages dipped to 13.5 PPG and 6.2 RPG following a 2019/20 campaign in which he put up 18.6 PPG and 7.1 RPG and won Sixth Man of the Year honors for the Clippers.
Harrell’s fit with the Lakers wasn’t quite as smooth as it had been with the Clippers. He virtually felt out of the rotation during the playoffs, logging just 39 total minutes in the team’s six-game series vs. Phoenix.
With no guarantee that he’d match or top his option salary on the open market, Harrell is opting in for 2021/22, but he may not be a Laker much longer.
The Kings and Lakers have reportedly made progress on a trade that would send Buddy Hield to L.A. in a package that includes Harrell, the No. 22 pick, and either Kyle Kuzma or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. That deal hasn’t been agreed to yet, but Harrell’s opt-in clears the path for it to be completed, and there’s been momentum toward that happening, Woj reports (via Twitter).
If Harrell is traded to Sacramento, he’d likely assume the rim-running center role that Richaun Holmes played this past season. The Kings are interested in re-signing Holmes but have limited cap flexibility to do so and will face competition for him on the free agent market.
Sacramento isn’t the only possible destination for Harrell, however. The Lakers have reportedly also gained serious traction on a deal with the Wizards for Russell Westbrook. If L.A. goes in that direction instead, Harrell could join Thomas Bryant in Washington’s frontcourt.
Warriors Reject Sixers’ Offer Of Simmons For Wiseman, Wiggins, Picks
The Warriors rejected a trade proposal from the Sixers that would’ve sent Ben Simmons to Golden State for Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, the No. 7 and No. 14 picks in the draft, plus two future first-round picks, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
Golden State, who Pompey notes “basically assumed the Sixers’ offer as a joke,” is known to be open to discussing trades ahead of Thursday’s draft, but likely not for the price detailed above.
Pompey also confirmed a report from The Ringer that mentioned Philadelphia asked for four first-round picks, three first-round pick swaps, and a young player from the Spurs in exchange for Simmons. A league executive was cited in Pompey’s report calling the Sixers’ offers “totally outlandish” to this point.
Simmons, 25, is known for being one of the league’s top defenders and passers, but his shooting and half-court creation inconsistencies are well-documented. As of now, he and his camp remain “in step” with a potential trade during the offseason, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Spurs Eyeing Kyle Kuzma
The Spurs are believed to be interested in working with the Lakers on a potential sign-and-trade involving DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Kuzma, Marc Stein reports (via Twitter).
DeRozan, a Compton, California native, is reportedly interested in joining Los Angeles once he becomes a free agent. The Spurs could acquire Kuzma in a sign-and-trade scenario, though Stein notes the Lakers’ talks with the Kings have been the most serious.
Sacramento and Los Angeles have discussed a trade centered around Kuzma and Buddy Hield. Hield has spent the past five seasons with the Kings, averaging 16.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 34.3 minutes per game in 2020/21. He also shot 39% from three-point range.
As Stein mentions, while Hield would be an excellent acquisition for the Lakers, any deal could depend on whether Montrezl Harrell exercises his $9.72MM player option for next season. The 27-year-old big man has a July 31 deadline for that option.
Kuzma is under contract with the Lakers next season and the following at $13MM. He also holds a $13MM player option for the 2023/24 campaign.
Pelicans Trade No. 53 Pick To Sixers
9:22am: The Pelicans received $2MM in cash from the Sixers in exchange for the No. 53 pick, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
9:10am: The Pelicans have traded the No. 53 pick in Thursday’s draft to the Sixers in exchange for cash considerations, New Orleans announced today (via Twitter).
This sort of deal typically happens during the draft when teams have a better sense of which players will be on the board, but this pick will change hands more than 12 hours before it’s actually used.
The Pelicans still have the 17th, 35th, 43rd, and 51st overall picks in the 2021 NBA draft. The team likely recognized it wouldn’t be making all five selections and decided to make an early move with the lowest of those picks. If New Orleans needs to add a second-rounder as a sweetener in a separate deal, the club still has three picks this year and several in future seasons that would work.
As for the 76ers, they now control the 28th, 50th, and 53rd picks in this year’s draft. If Philadelphia expects to be a taxpayer in 2021/22, using second-round picks on players who will earn the rookie minimum is a good way to ensure the final couple roster spots don’t add substantially to the team’s tax bill. But we’ll have to see what the Sixers have in mind with those second-rounders — it’s possible one or both could be flipped in another deal.
It’s not clear yet how much it cost the 76ers to buy the Pelicans’ pick. The Sixers sent a conditional $2MM to the Thunder in a deal near the start of the 2020/21 league year, so they were capped at sending out about $3.6MM before the ’21/22 league year begins.
Terrence Ross Receiving Trade Interest
Several teams have been in contact with the Magic to discuss potential trades involving guard/forward Terrence Ross, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
As Begley explains, rival clubs believe the Magic would be open to moving Ross, given their pivot to a full rebuild earlier the year. Ross was essentially the only high-priced Orlando veteran who stayed put at the trade deadline, as Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier were sent to new teams.
Ross, 30, established a new career high in 2020/21 by averaging 15.6 points per game in 46 contests (29.3 MPG). His three-point percentage dipped to 33.7%, but he has been a reliable outside shooter throughout his career, having converted 37.0% of his attempts prior to last season.
Ross is under contract for two more seasons. He’s owed $12.5MM next season and $11.5MM in 2022/23 before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
Begley doesn’t have information on which teams, specifically, have talked to the Magic about Ross, but he speculates that the Knicks could be a fit, given their surplus of draft picks and cap room. Some of New York’s top three-point marksmen – including Reggie Bullock and Alec Burks – are free agents, so the club will certainly be in the market for shooting.
Latest On Lakers’ Buddy Hield Trade Talks
A weekend report indicated that the Lakers and Kings have discussed a potential trade centered around Buddy Hield, and it sounds like those talks may be gaining some momentum.
After Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on Wednesday that the Hield scenario is the “most promising” of the possible deals the Lakers are pursuing, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer wrote late last night that L.A. has stepped up its efforts to get something done, adding that the talks have gained “real traction.”
According to O’Connor, the Lakers’ offer to the Kings would include the No. 22 pick in tonight’s draft, along with Montrezl Harrell and either Kyle Kuzma or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Harrell technically isn’t eligible to be traded at this point, since he has yet to make a decision on his $9.7MM player option for the 2021/22 season. He’d have to pick up that option to be dealt, so he’ll have to consider several factors — if he opts out, he’d get to choose his next team, but he may not be able to match his option salary, whereas if he opts in, he may immediately be dealt to Sacramento or another team.
As O’Connor outlines, the proposed trade makes some sense for both teams. The Lakers could use a sharpshooter and secondary play-maker on the wing, and Hield certainly fits that bill, having knocked down 4.0 three-pointers per game at a 39.1% clip in 2020/21. His contract is pricey, but not especially unfavorable for a shooter of his caliber — he’s owed $62.5MM over the next three years, and his salary declines each season.
As for the Kings, they still have interest in re-signing center Richaun Holmes, but Holmes is believed to be seeking a four-year, $80MM deal, according to James Ham of NBC Sports California. Armed with only the big man’s Early Bird rights, Sacramento will have a very hard time getting anywhere near that asking price without dumping some salary to create cap space. If the Kings expect to lose Holmes, they could view Harrell as a solid alternative to step into that role of a rim-running center.
O’Connor’s report suggests the Kings would likely prefer Kuzma to Caldwell-Pope as the second player in the deal, but either one would fit into Sacramento’s rotation. Caldwell-Pope could play a three-and-D role, while Kuzma would see minutes at the four. The Kings are reportedly exploring trading Marvin Bagley III, which would open up more playing time in the frontcourt for a player like Kuzma.
The Lakers have shopped Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope to many teams around the NBA this month, per a weekend report. According to J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link), the Pacers, Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Jazz, and Knicks are among the teams that have been offered Kuzma in various trade scenarios.
If the Lakers and Kings want to move forward on a deal involving Hield, we can probably expect an agreement to be reached later today so that Sacramento is the team making the No. 22 pick. In that scenario, the deal may not be made official until the new league year begins next week for cap reasons.