Heat Would Be Interested In James Harden Trade
Miami would pursue a trade for Rockets star James Harden if the opportunity arises, a source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The former MVP reportedly expanded his list of preferred options this week, with the Heat and Bucks joining the Nets and Sixers.
According to the source, at least two members of Miami’s management team have “substantial interest” in adding Harden and there’s no significant opposition to the move. Outsiders have raised concerns that Harden’s ball-dominant style might not fit the Heat’s philosophy, but the belief among the front office is that Harden plays that way because that’s how the offense in Houston is structured.
The Rockets haven’t committed to putting Harden on the market, but the source says the Heat would be among the teams to make an offer in Houston moves in that direction. The source adds that Miami would be willing to include Tyler Herro to get a deal done. The Heat prefer to keep Herro, who made a huge impact during his rookie season, but recognize that players of Harden’s caliber are hard to obtain.
Assessing the situation this week, ESPN’s Zach Lowe suggested Herro is better than any single player that Brooklyn would be willing to part with, though he believes the Rockets would lean toward Ben Simmons if Philadelphia makes him available. Lowe adds that he doesn’t think “any substantive talks have happened with any teams” regarding a Harden trade.
Jackson notes that Miami has financial restrictions to consider. Because the Heat are above the salary cap, they would have to send out close to the $41.2MM that Harden earns this season. League rules state that Miami can take back as much as 125% of the salaries it parts with in the deal, plus $1ooK. Andre Iguodala ($15MM) and Kelly Olynyk ($12.6MM) would likely have to be included in any offer, Jackson states.
Goran Dragic, Meyers Leonard and Udonis Haslem, who all re-signed with the Heat over the offseason, have veto power over trades and can’t be moved before February 6. Free agent additions Avery Bradley and Maurice Harkless also can’t be traded until that date.
Jackson sees Miami’s best offer as Herro, two players from the group of Precious Achiuwa, Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson, along with Olynyk and Iguodala to match salaries and first-round picks in 2025 and 2027. The Heat and Thunder would have to remove protections on the first-rounder Miami owes Oklahoma City in 2023 for that deal to be possible.
Kris Dunn To Miss At Least Three Games
Hawks guard Kris Dunn will miss at least the first three games of the regular season with what the team describes in a press release as a right knee cartilage disruption.
Dunn will be “reviewed” on December 28 and a status update will be provided at that time. The Hawks open the season on December 23 against Dunn’s former team, the Bulls. They’ll also play the Grizzlies (Dec. 26), Pistons (Dec.28) and Nets (Dec. 3o) this month.
Dunn has begun participating in individual workouts with contact and is progressing toward live team practice. One of several free agent signings the Hawks made in recent weeks, Dunn inked a two-year, $10MM contract with a second-year player option.
In the short run, Atlanta has enough guard depth to make up for his absence. Noted for his defensive prowess, Dunn is expected to play a key reserve role as a combo guard.
A former fifth overall pick, Dunn averaged 7.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 3.4 APG on .444/.259/.741 shooting in 51 games (24.9 MPG) last season for Chicago. The Bulls decided not to make him a restricted free agent, passing on their qualifying offer.
The press release also provided an update on lottery pick Onyeka Okongwu, who is dealing with inflammation of the sesamoid bone in his left foot. The former USC big man has begun participating in modified team practice with contact and is progressing towards unlimited team practice. He will be reviewed on December 18.
NBA To Expand Active Rosters, Permanently Adopt Coach’s Challenge
The NBA’s Competition Committee has unanimously recommended increasing the number of players who dress for games from 13 to 15 for the 2020/21 season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Additionally, the committee has recommended officially and permanently adopting the coach’s challenge, Charania adds in a separate tweet. An official coach’s challenge has been a long time coming, as it was eyed for the 2019/20 season and then implemented on a one-year trial basis.
The rules regarding coach’s challenges will remain unchanged for the time being. Two suggestions discussion by the Competition Committee included giving teams a second challenge if the first is successful, or allowing teams to get back their timeout after a successful challenge, per Charana.
The NBA’s Board of Governors (all 30 team owners, their representatives, and commissioner Adam Silver) are scheduled to meet on Dec. 17 to approve the changes.
With the season scheduled to begin on Dec. 22, approval of these changes would go into effect less than a week after the governors meet.
Sixers Viewed As Most Likely Trade Destination For Harden?
Philadelphia is considered the most likely landing spot for James Harden if and when the Rockets decide to trade him, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links).
As Stein explains, the Rockets are insisting for now that they won’t move Harden and the Sixers are saying they won’t move Ben Simmons, so nothing is imminent. However, sources tell Stein that the familiarity between the two front offices will be important in trade talks and can help defuse lingering tension related to Daryl Morey‘s departure from Houston.
The 76ers are one of the four teams believed to be among Harden’s list of preferred destinations, along with the Nets, Heat, and Bucks. Of those four clubs, Philadelphia is best positioned to meet Houston’s reported asking price of an All-Star caliber franchise cornerstone in return for Harden.
New Sixers head coach Doc Rivers has reportedly made it clear – both publicly and privately – that he wants an opportunity to see if he can maximize the on-court fit of Simmons and star center Joel Embiid, something former coach Brett Brown was never quite able to do.
As such, Morey and the 76ers are unlikely to be open to offering Simmons to the Rockets anytime soon. However, if no player as valuable as the 24-year-old is on the table from any other suitors, it makes sense for Houston to wait to see whether or not Simmons’ fit with Embiid improves — if it doesn’t, it’s possible the Sixers would make the former No. 1 overall pick available.
Without Simmons in their offer, it’s hard to see how the Sixers could put together a compelling package for Harden, so if Morey ultimately decides to hang onto the fifth-year guard, the Rockets will almost certainly have to look elsewhere.
Grizzlies Waive Mario Hezonja, Sign Ahmad Caver
1:14pm: The Grizzlies have officially waived Hezonja, the team confirmed in a press release. Additionally, Memphis announced that it has signed free agent guard Ahmad Caver to fill the newly-opened roster spot.
Terms of Caver’s deal weren’t disclosed, but it’s likely an Exhibit 10 contract designed to get him a $50K bonus if he plays for the Memphis Hustle in the G League again this season, as he did last year.
12:50pm: The Grizzlies are waiving veteran forward Mario Hezonja, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Hezonja, 25, averaged 4.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .422/.308/.814 shooting in 53 games (16.4 MPG) for Portland last season. After he exercised his minimum-salary player option for 2020/21, he was sent to Memphis in a three-team trade that saw the Trail Blazers acquire Enes Kanter.
The Grizzlies were carrying 17 players with guaranteed contracts into training camp, leaving Hezonja and Marko Guduric as the likely odd men out for the regular season. Neither player was in camp with the club.
Hezonja hasn’t developed into a reliable and productive rotation player since being selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2015 draft, but being cut by the Grizzlies doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t play in the NBA at all this season. According to Charania, multiple teams are expected to express interest in the Croatian once he clears waivers and training camp ends.
Clippers Sign Paul George To Four-Year Max Extension
The Clippers and Paul George have completed an extension that will keep the star forward under contract for four additional years beyond 2020/21, agent Aaron Mintz tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Clippers have officially announced George’s new deal.
The four-year extension – which will go into effect in 2021/22, replacing George’s current player option – will be worth the maximum salary and will include a new player option for the ’24/25 season, according to Wojnarowski.
The four-year extension projects to be worth approximately $176.3MM, assuming a 3% salary cap increase for next season. After earning about $35.5MM in 2020/21, George would receive a projected $39.3MM in the first year of his new deal, with 8% annual raises from there. The final-year player option would be worth $48.8MM. Those figures would all be a little higher if the cap increases by more than 3%.
“This is an important moment for our franchise and our fans, to secure a long-term commitment from one of the premier two-way players in the NBA,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement. “We aspire to create a destination for players, an environment where they can succeed and enjoy their success. We’re delighted by Paul’s pride in representing Clippers fans, honored that he trusts the organization with this chapter of his career, and share in his relentless pursuit of championships.”
Although George only joined the Clippers in 2019, he was eligible to sign a veteran contract extension because it has been more than two years since he signed his current contract with the Thunder.
The move comes on the heels of George telling reporters that he’d like to retire as a Clipper. This doesn’t necessarily assure him of that — he could be traded before 2025, and even if he plays out his full contract with the Clippers, he’ll be 35 years old when it expires, so he could sign elsewhere at that point to continue his career.
Still, the extension means that George – like LeBron James, who also recently completed an extension – will no longer have the opportunity to become a free agent in 2021. His teammate Kawhi Leonard can still opt out next year and will be ineligible to sign an extension before then, but there has been no indication that the two-time Finals MVP plans to leave Los Angeles. The Clippers appear fully committed to continuing to build around the Leonard/George duo.
[RELATED: 2020/21 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]
George averaged 21.5 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 48 regular season games in his first season as a Clipper in 2019/20. Those numbers were his lowest in five years, but he was also coming off shoulder surgery and was limited to 29.6 minutes per contest, his lowest-full season average since his rookie year. He’s believed to be 100% healthy this year and will look to recapture the form that made him a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA player.
As a result of signing a new contract that exceeds the extend-and-trade limits, George will be ineligible to be traded during the 2020/21 regular season, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eight New Players Test Positive For COVID-19 Since Dec. 2
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association announced today that eight new players have returned positive tests for the coronavirus since their last update on December 2.
The league and the players’ union announced last Wednesday that 48 players has tested positive for COVID-19 during the initial round of testing prior to training camp from November 24-30.
This week’s update represents a step in the right direction, though without a bubble in place to essentially eliminate the spread of the virus, it’s a safe bet that positive tests will continue to be reported in the coming weeks, especially with teams starting to travel to other markets for preseason games this weekend.
[RELATED: NBA Not Setting Specific Rules For When To Postpone, Cancel Games]
The players who have returned confirmed positive tests are isolating themselves until they receive clearance based on the rules and guidelines that have been established by the NBA.
Timberwolves, GM Scott Layden Part Ways
The Timberwolves and general manager Scott Layden have parted ways, sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
As Krawczynski writes, Layden – who was hired as Minnesota’s GM in 2016 when Tom Thibodeau was the team’s president of basketball operations – had one year left on his contract with the franchise, but the two sides decided it was the right time to go their separate ways.
Although Layden stuck with the Wolves following the hiring of Gersson Rosas as the team’s new president of basketball operations in 2019, his role was reportedly reduced last season, as he focused primarily on scouting and worked out of New York rather than Minnesota.
The logistical challenges posed by Layden not being based in the Twin Cities played a part in his departure, according to Krawczynski, who notes that the NBA’s coronavirus protocols would’ve made it tricky for the GM to travel back and forth to be around the team this season without going through isolation procedures each time.
Layden’s early exit will also save him and the team from negotiating to extend the end of his contract, which had been set to expire in April when the regular season would normally wrap up, says Krawczynski.
The Wolves recently added another respected voice to their front office, hiring Rudy Tomjanovich as a player personnel consultant.
Bucks, Heat Also Among Harden’s Preferred Trade Destinations
James Harden now has the Bucks and Heat among his preferred trade destinations, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Milwaukee and Miami join Brooklyn and Philadelphia as the top landing spots on Harden’s wish list.
As we observed on Tuesday when we wrote about Harden adding the Sixers to his list of preferred destinations, the Rockets are under no obligation to send the former MVP to one of the teams on his list, since he has multiple years left on his contract and doesn’t have the ability to veto trades. However, it’s possible those clubs would be more willing to offer significant packages for Harden if they know he wants to play for them.
Neither Milwaukee nor Miami looks like an ideal trade partner for Houston, however, given the Rockets’ asking price of an All-Star caliber player plus several young players and/or draft picks. Both the Bucks and Heat have traded away multiple future first-round picks and/or pick swaps, compromising their ability to build an offer heavy on draft assets.
As for potential centerpieces, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo would presumably be off the table in any deal with Miami, while Milwaukee obviously isn’t moving Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks have other former All-Stars in Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, but neither is on a particularly team-friendly contract — Middleton is owed $147MM over four years, while Holiday can reach free agency in 2021. Tyler Herro would be an intriguing target in any deal with the Heat, but has only played one season, so the Rockets would have to be awfully high on his potential to accept a package built around him.
The Nets and 76ers are still atop Harden’s wish list, according to Charania, who says the 31-year-old has been “resigned to the belief” that he can no longer compete for a championship in Houston.
However, Charania hears that the Rockets have no interest in a Brooklyn offer that doesn’t include Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving. A Sixers offer would likely have to include Ben Simmons, but new head coach Doc Rivers has “privately made clear” that he wants an opportunity to try to maximize the potential of the Simmons/Joel Embiid duo, Charania writes.
General manager Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia front office, having added sharpshooters Seth Curry and Danny Green to complement Simmons and Embiid, appear committed to keeping their two young stars for the time being.
Harden is currently going through the NBA’s coronavirus testing process and will have to register six negative tests before he’s cleared to practice with the Rockets. According to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, Harden only requires three negative tests to begin individual workouts, and Charania suggests the superstar guard is expected to have a workout in front of team personnel soon.
According to Charania, Harden has “maintained a dialogue” with trusted Rockets assistant coach John Lucas, even as he has been non-communicative at times with the club’s front office.
Nuggets Sign Monte Morris To Three-Year Extension
DECEMBER 9: Morris has officially signed his extension, the Nuggets announced today in a press release.
DECEMBER 7: The Nuggets have agreed to a three-year, $27MM extension with guard Monte Morris, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The deal will be fully guaranteed and includes incentives that could bump the value to $9.4MM annually, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets.
Morris would have been an unrestricted free agent next offseason without an extension. That’s because Morris was credited with a year of service under CBA rules when he signed a two-way contract in 2017, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter links).
It’ll be a big raise for Morris, who is due to make $1,723,707 in the upcoming season.
Morris appeared in three games during the 2017/18 season and has become a valuable member of the rotation the past two seasons. He appeared in all 82 regular-season games during the 2018/19 season and 73, including 12 starts, last season. He has averaged 9.6 PPG and 3.5 APG in 23.0 MPG in those 158 appearances.
He averaged 9.1 PPG and 2.7 APG during 19 postseason games in Orlando during Denver’s run to the Western Conference Finals.
Denver signed Euro star Facundo Campazzo last month as another option behind starting point man Jamal Murray but the extension displays the Nuggets’ commitment to Morris.
Morris’ extension will make him ineligible to be traded before the 2021 trade deadline, as Marks explains (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.