Nets Waive RaiQuan Gray
The Nets have officially waived forward RaiQuan Gray, the team announced today (Twitter link). Gray had been on a two-way contract with the team.
The 59th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Florida State, Gray spent his first professional season in the G League with the Long Island Nets. He signed a training camp contract with Brooklyn in the fall of 2022 but didn’t make the regular season roster and was cut before opening night, ultimately spending a second season in Long Island before being promoted to a two-way deal during the final week of the 2022/23 season in April.
After an underwhelming rookie season at the G League level, Gray emerged as a full-time starter this past year, averaging 15.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 2.6 APG with a .578/.382/.629 shooting line in 18 games (30.6 MPG).
Because the two-way deal he signed in the spring included a second year, Gray remained under contract with the Nets when the ’22/23 league year ended and the ’23/24 league year began. However, it seems he wasn’t in the team’s plans for the coming season after all.
With Gray on waivers, Brooklyn now has Jalen Wilson and Armoni Brooks, who signed with the team today, on two-way contracts.
Spurs Re-Sign Tre Jones To Two-Year Deal
JULY 18: Nearly three weeks after initially agreeing to terms with the Spurs, Jones has officially signed his new contract, the club announced today in a press release. The deal will eat up the remainder of San Antonio’s cap room, putting the team’s salary over the cap.
JUNE 30: Tre Jones is re-signing with the Spurs, having agreed to a two-year, $20MM contract, agent Kevin Bradbury tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Jones was a restricted free agent after San Antonio issued him a $5,216,324 qualifying offer. He didn’t need to sign an offer sheet from a rival team to nearly double that figure.
The 41st overall pick of the 2020 draft, the former Duke point guard has spent his entire pro career with the Spurs. He played sparingly as a rookie, had a regular bench role in 2021/22, and emerged as a full-time starter in ’22/23 after the club traded Dejounte Murray to Atlanta last summer.
In 68 games last season (29.2 MPG), Jones averaged 12.9 PPG, 6.6 APG, 3.6 RPG and 1.3 SPG on .459/.285/.860 shooting. I’m sure he’d like to boost that three-point percentage, but Jones provides value in other areas, including solid play-making while taking excellent care of the ball — he posted a 4.1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in ’22/23.
Still just 23 years old, Jones will hit unrestricted free agency in a couple years when he’s 25.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 7/18/2023
The transcript of our weekly Tuesday chat can be accessed here.
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Sixers Notes: Harden, Embiid, Petrusev, Siakam
There have been no signs of forward momentum in the Sixers‘ James Harden trade talks, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on the latest episode of his Lowe Post podcast.
“As far as I know, the Harden situation remains a total stalemate,” Lowe said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “There’s only really one team that he wants to go to. That team is the Clippers. Their level of engagement here to me is unclear slash not super enthusiastic.
“I don’t know what to make of the possibility that Harden would ever go back to Philly. I continue to hear from people who would know that the bridge is burned. But that’s what people who would know would say on July 17, with two months or whatever before training camp. I don’t know how this is going to resolve itself.”
Confirming that Harden “absolutely wants a trade to the Clippers,” Shams Charania of The Athletic says rival teams view Los Angeles as the only legitimate suitor for the former MVP at this point, so it may come down to the two sides seeing if they can meet in the middle. Chris Mannix of SI.com argues that the Sixers would be best off hanging onto Harden if the Clippers remain seemingly unwilling to put Terance Mann and what’s left of their first-round draft capital on the table.
Here’s more on the Sixers:
- Although Joel Embiid‘s comments about wanting to win a championship “whether it’s in Philly or anywhere else” raised some eyebrows, there’s no significant concern within the organization that the reigning MVP is looking for an exit ramp, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. In fact, a source tells Amick that the Sixers believe Embiid would like to be one of the rare stars who remains with the same team for his entire NBA career.
- Filip Petrusev‘s contract with the Sixers is a two-year deal that is partially guaranteed in 2023/24 and non-guaranteed for 2024/25, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
- Responding to a rumor that Philadelphia could be a potential landing spot for trade candidate Pascal Siakam, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com considers the fit, weighing whether it would make sense for the 76ers to pursue the star Raptors forward while acknowledging that such a deal is probably unlikely to come to fruition.
Evan Fournier Would Still Be “Very Surprised” To Be A Knick In 2023/24
Evan Fournier, who said in May that he didn’t expect to be back with the Knicks in 2023/24, has remained with the team through the draft and free agency. However, in an interview with Yann Ohnona of French outlet L’Equipe (subscription required), Fournier suggested he’d still be “very surprised” to open next season with the Knicks.
Given that he’s on a sizable expiring contract, Fournier would be a useful salary-matching piece in any major trade, so the Knicks will presumably be reluctant to simply cut him if no such deal materializes before the season begins. However, the 30-year-old – who started the first seven games of last season and then appeared in just 20 the rest of the way – certainly doesn’t sound like a player who’s excited about the idea of staying in New York.
Fournier’s comments to L’Equipe, as translated and relayed by BasketNews.com and Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, are candid and honest. The veteran swingman spoke about the experience of being benched last season, his relationship – or lack thereof – with head coach Tom Thibodeau, and what might be next for him.
Here are a few of the highlights:
On how he reacted to being pulled from the Knicks’ rotation last season:
“You want to spit on everyone. You have hatred. Derrick Rose (who was also benched) and I looked at each other and said to each other: ‘What the hell are we doing here?’ During the five-on-five practices, we were on the side like some prospects. Uncool times. And when I realized that wouldn’t change, I took things more slowly. I focused on myself and didn’t let the rest get to me anymore.”
On his rapport with Thibodeau:
“I have nothing to say because I have none. When he took me out of the (starting lineup), he just told me he was going to try something else. Then before the first game of a road trip, he announced to me that I was leaving the rotation, and ciao.”
On his current trade value:
“If you want to trade me for a good return, why didn’t you use me? I was coming off a season where I was the fourth-best 3-point shooter in the league (in total makes). Why not take advantage of it? Now they won’t get anything interesting and that’s normal because I couldn’t show anything (on the court).”
On what sort of effect staying with the Knicks would have on his career:
“If I stayed, it would be a disaster, sportingly, for my career, everything. A year without playing, I can manage. Two… that would be terrible.”
On whether he’d be interested in teaming up with fellow Frenchman Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio:
“I want a spot where I can have fun again, where I can be myself. Would their game be more suited to me? It’s not the Spurs of 2014 anymore but playing for (Gregg Popovich), learning from him, it would be a pleasure and an honor, for sure. … Being with Victor, looking at the (2024) Olympics, being able to start connecting on the court, that would be great.”
Montrezl Harrell Returns To Sixers On One-Year Deal
JULY 18: Harrell has officially re-signed with the Sixers, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
JULY 6: Free agent big man Montrezl Harrell is returning to the Sixers on a one-year contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter).
Harrell became a free agent when he declined his veteran’s minimum-salary option for next season. He settled for another veteran’s minimum contract that’s fully guaranteed, Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice tweets.
Because Harrell’s option salary had been based on a 5% raise and the cap increased by 10%, his new salary ($2.89MM) will top the one he would’ve received on his old contract ($2.76MM), so he made the right call to opt out. Philadelphia will carry a $2.02MM cap hit for the 29-year-old in 2023/24.
Harrell appeared in 57 games for the Sixers in 2022/23, averaging 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per night. He only appeared in two postseason games.
Prior to last season, Harrell had posted career averages of 12.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 21.5 MPG across 458 games, earning Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2020. His numbers this past season were his lowest since his rookie year (2015/16).
Harrell will once again fight for rotation minutes in Philadelphia, this time with Nick Nurse making those decisions.
The agreement between Harrell and the Sixers puts into question the status of restricted free agent Paul Reed. Philadelphia is adding another big man, Mohamed Bamba, on a one-year deal.
12 Two-Way Restricted Free Agents Remain Unsigned
The action on the NBA’s free agent market has slowed since the start of July, but there are still many FAs seeking new deals, including a notable group of under-the-radar players whose situations will need to be resolved in the coming days, weeks, and months.
A total of 12 two-way restricted free agents are still available, as our up-to-date list shows. Those players are as follows:
- Trent Forrest (Hawks)
- Theo Maledon (Hornets)
- Terry Taylor (Bulls)
- Lester Quinones (Warriors)
- Kendall Brown (Pacers)
- Jamal Cain (Heat)
- Matt Ryan (Timberwolves)
- Trevor Keels (Knicks)
- Duane Washington (Knicks)
- Dominick Barlow (Spurs)
- Jeff Dowtin (Raptors)
- Ron Harper Jr. (Raptors)
That group doesn’t include a 13th player, Neemias Queta, who is also a restricted free agent after finishing last season on a two-way deal. Although he remains eligible to sign another two-way contract, Queta was ineligible for a two-way qualifying offer after having played on a two-way with the Kings for consecutive seasons — his QO is a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a small ($75K) partial guarantee.
For the rest of these players, their qualifying offer is simply another one-year, two-way deal, which limits their leverage to negotiate a more lucrative standard contract.
Some two-way RFAs have managed to earn standard deals this offseason. A.J. Green of the Bucks was one. Julian Champagnie of the Spurs was another. Ty Jerome (Warriors) and Jack White (Nuggets) received standard contract offers from the Cavaliers and Thunder, respectively, that their former teams were unwilling to match, so Golden State and Denver simply withdrew their respective qualifying offers, making Jerome and White unrestricted free agents.
Offer sheets for two-way restricted free agents essentially never happen though. And in general, unless a team has earmarked a 15-man roster spot for a two-way free agent, it’s an uphill battle for these players to earn offseason promotions.
As a result, the majority of the dozen restricted free agents listed above will likely end up accepting their qualifying offers and hoping that their play in 2023/24 forces their clubs to find 15-man roster spots for them later in the season.
Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on this group to see if any of them can do better than another two-way — and to see how long some of them might be willing to wait in the hope of earning that opportunity.
Bucks Sign Jazian Gortman
The Bucks have signed rookie free agent Jazian Gortman, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions.
Gortman, 20, played for the YNG Dreamers in the Overtime Elite program before becoming draft-eligible this spring. He averaged 13.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.9 APG, and 2.5 SPG while shooting 45.3% from the floor and 80.8% from the free throw line.
After going undrafted, Gortman joined the Bucks’ Summer League team, though he saw limited action in Las Vegas, logging just 45 minutes across five games. He scored a total of 24 points on 10-of-24 shooting to go along with five assists and four rebounds.
While the exact details of the agreement aren’t yet known, RealGM doesn’t classify it as a multiyear or two-way contract, so by process of elimination, it sounds like it’s a one-year standard deal.
I’d expect the contract will be non-guaranteed and will include Exhibit 10 language, putting Gortman in position to either have it converted to a two-way deal or to become an affiliate player for the Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee’s G League team) if he’s waived.
Suns Notes: Roster, TPEs, Payne Trade Details, More
Once the Suns officially sign Bol Bol, their 15-man roster should be set for the regular season, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7. Phoenix will have 13 players on guaranteed salaries, with Jordan Goodwin on a partially guaranteed contract and Ish Wainright on a non-guaranteed deal.
While the Suns could make additional moves with their two-way contract slots – Saben Lee is currently the team’s only two-way player – Gambadoro doesn’t anticipate any more changes to the standard roster before the season begins. As he observes, a pair of recent trades replenished the club’s supply of second-round picks, so those second-rounders and a pair of traded player exceptions could be used during the season in order to seek out further upgrades to the roster.
Phoenix’s $5MM trade exception from last season’s Dario Saric deal will expire in February. The new $6.5MM TPE created in the Cameron Payne deal technically won’t expire until next July, but the team will only be able to use it up until the 2024 trade deadline, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
At the end of the 2023/24 regular season, more punitive restrictions for teams above the second tax apron will go into effect. One of those new rules will prohibit those teams from using trade exceptions.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Phoenix sent $5.7MM in cash to the Spurs in the Payne trade, according to Marks (Twitter link). Teams above the second tax apron also won’t be permitted to send out cash in trades after the ’23/24 regular season, so the Suns are taking advantage of the opportunity to do so while they still can.
- The 2024 second-rounder that the Suns acquired in the Payne deal is San Antonio’s own pick, per Marks (Twitter link). However, the Spurs already traded that 2024 second-rounder with top-54 protection to the Celtics — they put top-49 (and 55-60) protection on it in the deal with Phoenix, so the Suns will receive it only if it lands between 50-54.
- Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic shares five takeaways from the Las Vegas Summer League, while Gerald Bourguet of GoPHNX.com provides five takeaways from the club’s recent transactions.
- The Suns are moving forward with their transition to Gray Television for game broadcasts after Diamond Sports Group declined to make a counter-offer. Rankin has the details in a story for The Arizona Republic.
Atlantic Notes: Harden, Jokubaitis, Udofia, Andrade, Scrubb
A rift between James Harden and Sixers management stems from a disagreement over how his free agency was handled this summer, according to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com. While Harden and his reps don’t appear to have any ill will toward his teammates, the rift with management could get even uglier.
The relationship between Harden and top executive Daryl Morey is “essentially fractured,” Shams Charania said on The Rally (Twitter link). Harden believes Philadelphia never had any intention to give him a long-term offer. Harden turned down a $47MM+ player option and took a $14MM+ pay cut last summer to help the Sixers make roster moves.
In terms of moving Harden, the front office is holding out for a package that will allow the Sixers to remain a serious contender in the East, according to Neubeck. If they can’t get a top player in return, they at least want to pick up enough assets to execute a separate trade for another high-level player.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Rokas Jokubaitis, a Lithuanian guard whose rights are held by the Knicks, had the option on his contract picked up by FC Barcelona, according to BasketNews.com. He played all 39 games in the EuroLeague last season and averaged 5.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. The Knicks made Jokubaitis a draft-and-stash second-round pick in 2021.
- The G League’s Long Island Nets are hiring Mfon Udofia as the team’s head coach, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Udofia previously coached with the Nigerian National Team and was on the staff of the G League’s Agua Caliente Clippers last season.
- Former WNBA player Mery Andrade is spending the summer as a Celtics coaching intern and hopes to work her way up the NBA coaching ranks, she told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. She has been an assistant coach with Birmingham, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, for the last four seasons. “I want after my career as a coach that people, when they talk about me, is how many lives I touched, how good of a coach I was without putting the label ‘woman,’” she said. “Yes I am a woman but I don’t say, ‘You are a really good male coach.’ You are just a really good coach. That’s my goal, to touch as many lives as I can.”
- Jay Scrubb, who signed a two-way contract with the Celtics on Saturday, received the top grade in The Athletic’s Jared Weiss’ Summer League report card.