- Former Louisville small forward Damion Lee has participated in workouts for the Clippers, Celtics, Suns, Spurs, Wizards, Jazz and Raptors, plus, he has upcoming visits scheduled with the Mavericks and Thunder, Kennedy tweets.
Kevin Durant and James Harden have been spotted hanging out together this week, but their social plans aren’t related at all to Durant’s free agency, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein. According to Stein, despite Harden’s presence in Houston and the team’s reported interest in Durant, the Rockets aren’t a club KD plans to seriously consider in free agency this summer.
Houston is one of many teams expected to make a run at Durant this offseason, joining the Warriors, Spurs, Heat, Celtics, Knicks, Lakers, and Wizards, among others. As has long been the case though, people around the NBA still believe the most likely scenario involves the Thunder star returning to Oklahoma City on a two-year deal with an opt-out after the first season.
Still, Durant is expected to be open to taking recruiting meetings, and we heard on Thursday that the Spurs and Warriors are among the clubs “planning big pitches.” Stein corroborates that report, suggesting that Golden State and San Antonio are considered by many executives around the league to be the two biggest threats to OKC.
While the NBA’s tampering rules don’t prevent Durant’s friends on rival teams, such as Harden, from spending time with him and perhaps making their own pitches this month, clubs won’t be able to formally pursue the seven-time All-Star until the new league year gets underway, three weeks from today.
Within his latest piece for Basketball Insiders, Steve Kyler examines a few of this year’s top free-agents-to-be, taking stock of their situations and passing along the latest notes and rumors he’s heard on each player. Here’s a round-up of some of the key info from Kyler’s piece:
- Even though Kevin Durant is considered most likely to return to the Thunder, he’s expected to take meetings, and Kyler hears that the Warriors and Spurs are “planning big pitches.” The belief around the NBA is that Durant will return to OKC on a deal that allows him to opt out in a year so that his free agency will line up with Russell Westbrook‘s and Serge Ibaka‘s in 2017.
- Sources close to Mike Conley‘s camp have suggested recently that Conley is “more open to new situations” than the Grizzlies would like. According to Kyler, those sources believe that the point guard wants to see signs that Memphis is serious about fortifying its roster with other pieces before committing to the team for the long term. Kyler identifies the “dark horse” in the Conley sweepstakes as the Spurs, who are believed to be willing to make some changes to their core if it means landing another high-level player.
- Hassan Whiteside is expected to land a maximum-salary contract, with the Lakers and Celtics among the teams believed to be interested. The Heat remain the favorites for the big man, but if they “try to play games,” Whiteside will shop around for other offers, according to Kyler.
- The Raptors and Knicks are among the clubs with interest in Nicolas Batum, but Batum will likely be in line for a max contract or something close to it, and the Hornets are viewed as the team most likely to accommodate such a deal.
- DeMar DeRozan is viewed as a near-lock to return to the Raptors on a max deal.
- Assuming they don’t land Durant, the Warriors sound prepared to keep their current roster intact, even if that means matching a “crazy offer sheet” for Harrison Barnes, writes Kyler.
- The odds of RFA-to-be Jordan Clarkson ending up with any team besides the Lakers are slim, but it’s possible his camp will seek out an offer sheet from another club if necessary, in order to get more favorable terms.
- The Thunder intend to hire Adrian Griffin as lead assistant to replace the departed Monty Williams on coach Billy Donovan‘s staff, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. Griffin served as an assistant coach on Scott Skiles‘ staff in Orlando this past season and was under consideration by the Magic to replace Skiles before Frank Vogel nabbed the post.
NBA draft day is fast approaching, with just 15 days remaining until the Sixers will be on the clock with the first overall pick. The salary cap and free agent contracts will be significantly on the rise this summer, but rookie contracts will remain relatively affordable, meaning we could see a handful of trades consummated during the draft, as teams look to acquire affordable young talent.
In those trade discussions, draft picks and veteran contracts figure to be the key pieces, but it’s also worth considering which teams have traded player exceptions to utilize. Could a team use a trade exception before it expires to acquire a player without sending out any salary? Perhaps, but of the five trade exceptions set to expire this month (before the July moratorium begins), none are particularly sizable, and there’s a good chance that all five will go unused.
The most noteworthy of the five expiring exceptions is the Thunder’s $2.75MM trade exception, set to expire on June 30th. There are plenty of players around the league earning less than that amount, and with Kevin Durant due for a new deal, Oklahoma City will be on the lookout for inexpensive talent to fill out the roster, so it’s possible the team makes use of it.
Here are all five trade exceptions set to expire later this month, sorted by amount:
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Amount: $2,750,000
- Obtained: Luke Ridnour (Raptors)
- Expires: 6/30/16
- Brooklyn Nets
- Amount: $1,357,080
- Obtained: Mason Plumlee (Trail Blazers)
- Expires: 6/26/16
- Charlotte Hornets
- Amount: $646,250
- Obtained: Matt Barnes (Grizzlies)
- Expires: 6/25/16
- Charlotte Hornets
- Amount: $548,000
- Obtained: Luke Ridnour (Thunder)
- Expires: 6/25/16
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Amount: $122,441
- Obtained: Jon Leuer (Suns)
- Initial amount: $967,500
- Used: James Ennis ($845,059)
- Expires: 6/26/16
For the complete list of outstanding trade exceptions around the NBA, including one held by the Cavaliers worth nearly $10MM, check out our full breakdown. And be sure to take a look at the Hoops Rumors Glossary entry on trade exceptions for a refresher on exactly how they work.
Unlike most NBA clubs, the Thunder likely don’t have any intention of using cap room this summer — with Kevin Durant eligible for free agency, the team figures to stay over the cap to re-sign him (and perhaps Dion Waiters). If Durant and Waiters both return and Oklahoma City makes another modest veteran addition to complement the current core, the Thunder could be one of the league’s only teams to approach the projected luxury tax threshold in 2016/17.
While the focus of this offseason will be on Durant, the Thunder have some other crucial long-term decisions to make. Steven Adams and Andre Roberson are extension-eligible this year, and their salaries will be on the rise. With new deals on the way a year from now for Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka as well, OKC almost certainly won’t be able to keep all of its key pieces, even with the salary cap spiking. Who stays and who ultimately goes? Durant will be the first piece of that puzzle to fall into place in the coming weeks, one way or the other.
See how Oklahoma City’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Russell Westbrook ($17,769,374)
- Enes Kanter ($17,145,838)
- Serge Ibaka ($12,250,000)
- Kyle Singler ($4,837,500)
- Nick Collison ($3,750,000)
- Steven Adams ($3,140,517)
- Andre Roberson ($2,183,072)
- Cameron Payne ($2,112,480)
- Mitch McGary ($1,526,040)
- Josh Huestis ($1,191,480)
- Total: $65,906,301
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Anthony Morrow ($3,488,000)
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Dion Waiters ($6,777,589/$12,846,075)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Kevin Durant ($25,894,800)1
- Randy Foye ($5,956,500)
- Nazr Mohammed ($980,431)
- Total: $32,831,731
Other Cap Holds
- Derek Fisher ($980,431)
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- The cap hold for Durant will be the maximum salary for a veteran of 7-9 seasons. The number shown here is an estimate based on the projected cap figure.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Kevin Durant‘s free agency will be one of the top NBA stories this offseason, and given how much speculation has surrounded his decision for the last several months, Thunder GM Sam Presti credits the star forward for blocking out the noise and focusing on the team (link via Royce Young of ESPN.com). Presti, who referred to Durant’s handling of the situation as “a tremendous example of a franchise player putting the franchise first,” also suggested that OKC should have an advantage of other suitors because the club has been able to make its pitch to Durant for the last nine years.
“We’ve had a relationship with Kevin in Oklahoma City for eight years, nine with this particular franchise, and we talk to him all the time,” the Thunder GM said. “I think when those [free agency] conversations occur, it’s really just a continuation of a dialogue that’s been going on for eight or nine years. It’s a chance to reflect and recognize that relationship and continue the conversations that we’ve had on going.”
- Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman (Twitter links) passes along Presti’s comments on restricted free agent Dion Waiters and Anthony Morrow, whose contract for 2016/17 is currently non-guaranteed. In Slater’s view, the Thunder GM sounds confident that both players will return to the club.
- Dion Waiters‘ future in Oklahoma City may be tied to Kevin Durant‘s, suggests Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Waiters will be a restricted free agent this summer, and if Durant re-signs, the Thunder won’t be able to afford a significant player to replace Waiters. Therefore, OKC is likely to match whatever offer Waiters gets, which Slater believes will be in the $12MM to $16MM range annually. However, if Durant leaves, the Thunder may not want to commit that much to Waiters. If Waiters really wants to stay in Oklahoma City, Slater says he should be willing to let the Durant process play out before accepting an offer.
Wizards point guard John Wall plans an aggressive approach to bring free agent Kevin Durant to Washington, writes Michael Lee of The Vertical. The Wizards are considered a contender for Durant because the Thunder star has roots in Washington and new coach Scott Brooks coached Durant in Oklahoma City. “I feel if [Brooks] can make a pitch, and I can make a pitch and [Durant] comes, it’s great,” Wall said. “I think we do need another star here, another great player to [get over] that next hump. You need three stars to win this league.”
Wall and Durant have formed a friendship over the years, and Wall has spoken publicly before about wanting to have Durant as a teammate. However, the formal sales pitch will have to wait. “If he comes, he comes, if not, got to make other plans,” Wall said. “But that’s something I haven’t talked to him about. I’m not willing to right now. He just came off a tough series. I’m trying to give him a couple of weeks, a month off, to think about what he wants to do.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Wizards free agent center Nene wants to continue his NBA career, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. The 33-year-old recently posted on Twitter that he’s “working hard every day & getting ready.” Michael expects Washington to part ways with Nene, who earned $13MM last season.
- Former Heat assistant David Fizdale got help from Erik Spoelstra as he prepared for his interview with the Grizzlies, relates Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. After Miami was eliminated from the playoffs, Fizdale and Spoelstra turned their attention to interview preparation. “We waited ’til it was over and we got the call the next day that I was going to interview,” Fizdale said. “And so Spo and I went into playoff prep mode. He rented a room in the Ritz-Carlton for me. We got the boards up. We got the computers open. And we just basically did a crash course on prepping me for the interview.”
- Briante Weber is expected to be with the Heat during summer league, but probably not during next season, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Weber played six games for Miami this season, but Jackson says the Heat consider him limited offensively and found he had trouble remembering plays. He is scheduled to make $875K in 2016/17, but only about a fourth of that is guaranteed.
Kevin Durant would give himself a better chance at winning a title if he were to leave the Thunder and join the Warriors or sign with an Eastern Conference team, Bill Simmons of The Ringer writes. Many believe that Durant will sign a two-year deal with OKC that contains a player option for year two, as was reported earlier this week.
Simmons offers an unconventional viewpoint on Durant’s impending decision. Two years ago, Durant signed a $300MM deal with Nike. At the time, he and LeBron James had the best selling sneakers among all NBA players, Simmons points out. The 2014 MVP then injured his foot and missed a significant amount of time during the 2014/15 campaign. Durant’s comeback 2015/16 season was overshadowed by Kobe Bryant‘s retirement and the Warriors’ historic 73-9 record. Now, the conversation is between Nike with James and the Jordan Brand and Under Armour with Stephen Curry, Simmons adds. Simmons argues that Durant, his representatives and Nike know they won’t be competing with the top brands unless Durant wins a ring or he leaves the Thunder and he speculates that if Nike had its way, Durant would sign elsewhere this summer.