Knicks, Lakers Exploring JaVale McGee Trade
As the Lakers look to clear some salary to strengthen their offer to free agent center Marc Gasol, the Knicks have emerged as a potential trade partner in a possible deal involving JaVale McGee, sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
Due to their hard-cap constraints, the Lakers are probably limited to only offering Gasol a one-year, minimum-salary deal for the time being. Clearing some salary would allow them to offer Gasol more than the minimum if the Raptors are willing to do a sign-and-trade. It would also allow them to offer a two-year minimum deal (which carries a higher first-year cap hit), as John Hollinger of The Athletic notes (via Twitter).
If the Knicks are going to take on McGee’s contract using their cap room, they’ll need some sort of sweetener. As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype points out (via Twitter), New York got two second-round picks from Utah for taking on Ed Davis‘ $5MM expiring deal and would likely seek a similar haul for accepting McGee’s $4.2MM expiring contract.
The Lakers, who will probably only make a deal if they have an agreement lined up with Gasol (or another free agent), would have to decide how much they’re willing to pay in extra assets to upgrade from McGee at center.
The Knicks have been prioritizing 2023 second-round picks in trades this week, having already acquired – or agreed to acquire – three of them. The team reportedly expects that to be the first draft that high school players will once again permitted to enter, which would make for an extra-talented class. I imagine if a McGee deal gets done between the two teams, the Knicks may well come out of it with the Lakers’ 2023 second-rounder.
Thunder Complete Trade Sending Kelly Oubre To Warriors
NOVEMBER 22, 2:43pm: Erik Horne of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that the Warriors’ first-round pick headed to Oklahoma City will be top-20 protected. If it doesn’t convey, per Horne, the Thunder will instead receive Minnesota’s 2021 second-round pick (along with the Nuggets’ 2021 second-rounder, which they’ll get either way).
NOVEMBER 22, 2:27pm: The trade is now official, the Thunder announced in a press release. Oubre is headed to Golden State in exchange for the Warriors’ protected 2021 first-round pick and Denver’s 2021 second-round pick, per the team.
NOVEMBER 19, 8:10pm: The Thunder and Warriors are finalizing a swap that will send Oubre to Golden State in exchange for the Warriors’ protected 2021 first-round pick, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets that it has top-20 protection.
The Thunder will create a trade exception worth Oubre’s $14.4MM salary, assuming they intend to remain over the cap as they complete their offseason moves.
NOVEMBER 19, 3:55pm: The Thunder are engaged in serious talks about a trade that would send Kelly Oubre to the Warriors, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The two sides are nearing an agreement, adds Adrian Wojnarowsi of ESPN (Twitter link).
It remains to be seen what the Thunder would acquire in a deal involving Oubre, but it’s a safe bet that GM Sam Presti would be looking to add at least one more future draft pick to his constantly-growing collection of them.
A deal sending Oubre to Golden State would almost certainly see the Warriors absorb his $14.4MM salary using the team’s $17.2MM trade exception. That exception allows the Dubs to acquire up to $17.2MM in salary without sending out any salary themselves.
Although a trade along these lines has long been the subject of speculation, it’s still a little surprising that the Warriors are willing to take on the increased tax bill that adding Oubre’s salary would create. As Bobby Marks of ESPN explains (via Twitter), based on current projections, Oubre would increase Golden State’s projected tax payment by about $68MM, resulting in a total increase of over $82MM after taking into account his actual salary.
The Warriors would likely get a bit of a break on that, since the NBA has said tax penalties will be reduced by the same amount that the league falls short of its revenue projection in 2020/21, but it’s still a massive commitment by the franchise.
However, Warriors ownership has exhibited a willingness to spend, and Oubre – who turns 25 next month – is a logical addition for a team that needed help on the wing even before word broke that Klay Thompson had suffered a torn Achilles.
In 2019/20, Oubre averaged a career-high 18.7 PPG in 56 games (34.5 MPG) for the Suns, chipping in 6.4 RPG and 1.3 SPG with a .453/.352/.780 shooting line. Phoenix, recognizing he wasn’t part of the team’s long-term plans, sent him to Oklahoma City in the Chris Paul blockbuster earlier this week.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mavericks Re-Sign Willie Cauley-Stein To Two-Year Deal
DECEMBER 1: The Mavericks have made it official, formally announcing that they’ve re-signed Cauley-Stein.
NOVEMBER 22: The Mavericks have agreed to bring back veteran center Willie Cauley-Stein, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Cauley-Stein will sign a two-year contract worth $8.2MM. This signing would most likely be achieved via Dallas’s mid-level exception.
Charania adds (via Twitter) that there will be a second-year team option on Cauley-Stein’s contract, and notes that Dallas pivoted to a new deal with the big man after falling out of the mix for Marc Gasol.
Sources tell Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) that the Mavericks are “most likely done” with their offseason dealmaking, but caution that “in this crazy environment you never know.” The club’s biggest new offseason addition is swingman Josh Richardson, brought in via a trade with the Sixers for Seth Curry that also yielded the rights to rookie guard Tyler Bey.
Cauley-Stein, 27, played 13 games for the Mavericks last season, averaging 5.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 0.8 BPG in 12.1 MPG. Dallas traded for the 7′ center after starter Dwight Powell went down with an Achilles tear in January. Power forward/centers Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber will be ahead of Cauley-Stein in the center rotation.
Luke Adams contributed to this report. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Marc Gasol Narrowing Focus To Lakers, Raptors
Free agent center Marc Gasol is narrowing his focus to the Lakers and Raptors, according to Shams Charnia of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Warriors were among the teams also expressing interest in Gasol, but it sounds as if they’re no longer in the mix. The Mavericks also aren’t considered a probable destination anymore, Charania adds, noting that Dallas had been in the running up until now (Twitter link).
The Raptors hold Gasol’s Bird rights and are well positioned to offer him a lucrative one-year deal for 2020/21. Toronto should be especially motivated to bring back its starting center, having lost Serge Ibaka to the Clippers. If both Gasol and Ibaka depart, 2019 second-rounder Dewan Hernandez would be the only center under contract for the Raptors, since their other big man – Chris Boucher – is a restricted free agent.
While the Raptors can offer Gasol more money for next season, the Lakers are working the marketplace to try to find a way to improve their offer, per Charania. For the time being, they’d be limited to the veteran’s minimum, since they’ve already signed Wesley Matthews using the bi-annual exception and intend to use the full mid-level exception to Montrezl Harrell.
If the Lakers can shed some salary – and if the Raptors or Clippers are willing to cooperate – a sign-and-trade deal for either Gasol or Harrell could help keep the MLE open for the other. Los Angeles is exploring trading away JaVale McGee and his $4.2MM cap hit, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Should the Lakers snatch Gasol away from Toronto, the Raptors may shift their attention to a Lakers free agent, according to Stein, who reports (via Twitter) that Toronto has “strong interest” in forward Markieff Morris.
Bucks, D.J. Augustin Agree To Three-Year Deal
NOVEMBER 22, 12:51pm: The third year of Augustin’s new contract won’t be guaranteed, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link).
NOVEMBER 21, 11:19am: The Bucks and free agent point guard D.J. Augustin have agreed to a deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Augustin will sign a three-year, $21MM contract.
Augustin, 33, averaged 10.5 PPG and 4.6 APG on .399/.348/.890 shooting in 57 games (24.9 MPG) as the Magic’s primary backup point guard in 2019/20. Those shooting rates were off his usual marks — in the two previous seasons, he had made 46.2% of his shots from the field and 42.0% of his three-pointers.
In Milwaukee, Augustin will get the opportunity to play alongside impact players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton, so the Bucks are presumably hoping that – with plenty of open looks – the veteran point guard will improve upon last year’s shooting numbers.
Augustin will also be able to take on some ball-handling and play-making duties in Milwaukee’s rotation, playing a similar role to the one that Bogdan Bogdanovic might have if his reported sign-and-trade deal with the Bucks hadn’t fallen apart earlier in the week.
The Bucks will sign Augustin using a portion of their mid-level exception. Milwaukee is also reportedly using its bi-annual exception to sign Bobby Portis, meaning the team will be hard-capped at $138.93MM for the 2020/21 league year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Trail Blazers, Rockets Complete Robert Covington Trade
NOVEMBER 22: The deal is now official, according to a press release from the Trail Blazers. Covington goes to Portland in exchange for Ariza, the draft rights to No. 16 pick Isaiah Stewart, and the Blazers’ protected 2021 first-round pick.
Houston can now flip Ariza and Stewart to the Pistons, who will in turn send Ariza to Oklahoma City.
NOVEMBER 16: The Rockets and Trail Blazers are finalizing an agreement on a trade that will send forward Robert Covington to Portland, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). In exchange for Covington, Houston will acquire forward Trevor Ariza, the No. 16 pick in the 2020 draft, and Portland’s protected 2021 first-round selection, sources tell Wojnarowski.
While Covington isn’t the Rocket whose name has been mentioned most frequently in trade rumors during the last week or two, the fact that Houston is willing to move him indicates the team is no longer satisfied to simply run it back for the 2020/21 season. James Harden and Russell Westbrook are, of course, both reportedly hoping to be dealt this fall, so we’ll have to wait to see if this trade is a precursor to larger moves for the Rockets.
It was only nine months ago that the Rockets surrendered Clint Capela and a first-round pick in a four-team deal to acquire Covington, a three-and-D wing whom the team viewed as an ideal fit for its system. The 29-year-old did fit in well in Houston, averaging 11.6 PPG and 8.0 RPG in 22 games (33.0 MPG) down the stretch, though he struggled with his shot (.392 FG%, .315 3PT%). Covington was more reliable in the postseason, making 50.0% of his three-point attempts.
Ariza, who also plays a three-and-D role, is no stranger to Houston, having had two previous stints with the organization. Although he’s 35 years old, Ariza was still a solid contributor in Portland last season, averaging 11.0 PPG and 4.8 RPG with a .491/.400/.872 shooting line in 21 games (33.4 MPG) after being acquired in a trade-deadline deal. He opted out of the NBA’s restart this summer in Orlando.
Covington ($12.1MM) and Ariza ($12.8MM) have similar salaries for the 2020/21 season, though Ariza’s money is mostly non-guaranteed. It’ll need to be guaranteed for salary-matching purposes, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. While Ariza’s deal is set to expire a year from now, Covington’s contract is a little more team-friendly, running through 2022.
Covington’s age, contract, and versatility were all presumably factors in Portland’s decision to give up its next two first-round picks along with Ariza to land him. The veteran forward will join a lineup that will also feature Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic. Rodney Hood, Gary Trent Jr., and Zach Collins are among the candidates to fill out an impressive starting five.
The trade will have to be officially completed after the Blazers pick at No. 16 on behalf of the Rockets on Wednesday, since teams aren’t allowed to leave themselves with no first-round picks in two consecutive future drafts. Once the 2020 draft is over, Portland will be able to trade its 2021 pick.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hawks Sign Bogdanovic To Offer Sheet; Kings Leaning Toward Not Matching
NOVEMBER 24, 7:05pm: The Kings are still discussing whether to match Atlanta’s offer sheet but are leaning strongly towards not matching, Amick tweets.
NOVEMBER 22, 12:11pm: The Hawks have sent Bogdanovic’s signed offer sheet to the Kings, who will now have until Tuesday night to decide whether or not to match it, reports Amick (Twitter link).
The deal includes a fourth-year player option and a 15% trade kicker, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. That trade kicker is structured so that the team trading away Bogdanovic while he’s on this contract would have to pay the bonus, Stein adds (via Twitter).
NOVEMBER 22, 11:17am: The Hawks are submitting an offer sheet for Kings restricted free agent swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link). Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported on Friday that Atlanta was expected to sign Bogdanovic to an offer sheet.
The deal will be worth $72MM over four years, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (Twitter link). That’s the exact price we’d heard connected to Bogdanovic for the last several days.
Once Bogdanovic officially signs the offer sheet, the Kings will have two days to make a decision on whether or not to match it. As Amick notes (via Twitter), the Hawks likely wouldn’t be prepared to move forward on the offer sheet unless they felt pretty confident about its chances of not being matched.
Earlier this week, it appeared that Bogdanovic would join the Bucks in a sign-and-trade agreement that packaged him and Justin James to Milwaukee for Donte DiVincenzo, D.J. Wilson, and Ersan Ilyasova. However, a couple days after it was first reported, that deal fell apart amid rumors that Bogdanovic himself hadn’t agree to sign with Milwaukee.
Since word of the deal broke several days before free agency opened, there was speculation that the NBA may have intervened due to perceived tampering and/or circumvention. That hasn’t been confirmed at all, though the league did open an investigation into the situation.
The Bucks ultimately moved on from their pursuit of Bogdanovic, opening the door for the Hawks – one of the few teams with significant cap room – to make a run at him. Atlanta has already had a successful free agency period, having struck deals with Danilo Gallinari, Rajon Rondo, and Kris Dunn. If they can land Bogdanovic, it would represent another upgrade on a core that already features Trae Young, John Collins, and Clint Capela.
While there’s still a chance the Kings could match the Hawks’ offer so as not to lose a key asset for nothing, the team may have tipped its hand when its reported agreement with the Bucks broke. That deal was a signal that Sacramento wasn’t necessarily intent on retaining the RFA swingman, who would add another expensive multiyear contract to a cap sheet that already features pricey long-term deals for Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield, and – starting in 2021/22 – De’Aaron Fox.
After their deal with the Bucks was scuttled, the Kings reportedly explored other sign-and-trade scenarios involving Bogdanovic, with the Lakers and Pacers among the teams believed to have interest. However, any deal would’ve come with cap- and compensation-related challenges, whereas Atlanta had the flexibility to simply sign Bogdanovic outright to an offer sheet.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA 2020 Free Agency: Day 2 Recap
The list of available NBA free agents continued to shrink on Saturday, which was technically the first full day of 2020’s free agent period. Over two dozen more standard contracts were agreed upon over the course of the day.
Listed below are Saturday’s notable contract and news items. For the most part, these deals aren’t yet official, so the reported terms could change — or agreements could fall through altogether. Generally speaking though, teams and players are on track to finalize these deals sometime after the moratorium ends on Sunday.
Here are Saturday’s noteworthy contract agreements and signings:
- Gordon Hayward, Hornets agree to four-year, $120MM deal.
- Fred VanVleet, Raptors agree to four-year, $85MM deal.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lakers agree to three-year, $40MM deal.
- De’Anthony Melton, Grizzlies agree to four-year, $35MM deal.
- Jae Crowder, Suns agree to three-year, $29.2MM deal.
- D.J. Augustin, Bucks agree to three-year, $21MM deal.
- Serge Ibaka, Clippers agree to two-year, $19MM deal.
- Tristan Thompson, Celtics agree to two-year, $19MM deal.
- Rajon Rondo, Hawks agree to two-year, $15MM deal.
- Avery Bradley, Heat agree to two-year, $11.6MM deal.
- Jevon Carter, Suns agree to three-year, $11.5MM deal.
- Paul Millsap, Nuggets agree to one-year, $10MM deal.
- Kris Dunn, Hawks agree to two-year, $10MM deal.
- John Konchar, Grizzlies agree to four-year, $9MM deal.
- Bobby Portis, Bucks agree to two-year, $7.4MM deal.
- Michael Carter-Williams, Magic agree to two-year, $6MM deal.
- Elfrid Payton, Knicks agree to one-year, $5MM deal.
- Nerlens Noel, Knicks agree to one-year, $5MM deal.
- Denzel Valentine signs one-year, $4.64MM qualifying offer with Bulls.
- Gary Clark, Magic agree to two-year, $4.1MM deal.
- Maurice Harkless, Heat agree to one-year, $3.6MM deal.
- Brad Wanamaker, Warriors agree to one-year, $2.3MM deal.
- Wesley Iwundu, Mavericks agree to two-year, minimum-salary deal.
- Carmelo Anthony, Trail Blazers agree to one-year, minimum-salary deal.
- Jeff Green, Nets agree to one-year, minimum-salary deal.
- Raul Neto, Wizards agree to one-year, minimum-salary deal.
- Jeff Teague, Celtics agree to one-year deal (terms unknown).
Here are a few more of the day’s noteworthy headlines:
- The NBA and NBPA set a December 1 deadline for players with COVID-19 concerns to opt out of the 2020/21 season.
- The Warriors formally requested a disabled player exception in response to Klay Thompson‘s season-ending Achilles tear.
- The Hornets will use the stretch provision on Nicolas Batum to create the cap room necessary to sign Gordon Hayward… unless perhaps they can work out a sign-and-trade agreement with the Celtics.
- Bogdan Bogdanovic is one of the most popular free agents still on the market and is said to be receiving interest from the Hawks and possibly the Pacers.
Previously:
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Serge Ibaka Signs With Clippers
NOVEMBER 25: The Clippers have officially signed Ibaka, the team announced in a press release.
NOVEMBER 21: The Clippers will sign free agent big man Serge Ibaka, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that Ibaka will receive $19MM over two years on his new deal, signaling that Los Angeles will use its full mid-level exception to complete the signing. Charania adds (via Twitter) that the contract will feature a second-year player option.
The agreement represents a major coup for the Clippers, who lost center Montrezl Harrell to the rival Lakers early in free agency and saw power forward JaMychal Green leave for a deal in Denver. Ibaka, who can play either the four or five, will help replenish the team’s frontcourt depth, giving L.A. a big man who can knock down outside shots on offense and protect the rim on defense.
After starting his career in Oklahoma City and spending a brief stint in Orlando during the 2016/17 season, Ibaka has been in Toronto for the last three-and-half seasons, winning a title with the Raptors (with Kawhi Leonard) in 2019. This past season, he averaged 15.4 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 1.4 APG with an impressive .512/.385/.718 shooting line in 55 games (27.0 MPG).
By committing their full mid-level exception to Ibaka, the Clippers will hard-cap themselves for the 2020/21 league year and they don’t have a whole lot of wiggle room below the $138.93MM apron. However, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (via Twitter), the club can create a little extra breathing room by waiving non-guaranteed contracts for Joakim Noah and Justin Patton. Bringing back Noah on a new one-year, minimum-salary deal would cost the team about $1MM less than his current deal.
The Clippers remain in the market for a play-making guard and another big man, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. However, the team will likely be limited to minimum-salary offers or perhaps a portion of the bi-annual exception.
The Raptors, one of the many teams that made an effort to sign Ibaka, were believed to be averse to offering multiyear money, since it would compromise their projected cap room for the summer of 2021. They reportedly offered the big man a one-year, $12MM deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Clippers Pursuing Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol
The Clippers are in the running to sign Serge Ibaka or Marc Gasol away from the Raptors, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. Sources tell Stein that adding Gasol is considered more realistic because of the intense competition to land Ibaka, led by Toronto and the Nets.
The Lakers would also like to add another big man, Stein notes, but they’re financially limited after signing Montrezl Harrell and re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. It appears the Lakers would be limited to a veteran’s minimum offer.
The Clippers need reinforcements in the front court after losing Harrell and JaMychal Green on the first night of free agency. L.A. kept midseason pick-up Marcus Morris, giving him $64MM over four seasons.
The Raptors should have an edge in the competition for Ibaka, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. The Nets are limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.7MM, and although the Clippers have the full MLE of $9.3MM, Toronto is expected to make a larger offer, although only for one year to preserve cap room for next summer’s free agent market.
Ibaka, 31, averaged 15.4 points and 8.2 rebounds in 55 games last season. Gasol, 35, averaged 7.5 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 44 games.