Contract Details: Poeltl, Strus, Love, Robinson, Walsh, R. Lopez
Jakob Poeltl‘s four-year contract with the Raptors has a flat base value of $19.5MM per year, for a total of $78MM, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. There are $500K in annual incentives currently considered unlikely to be earned — if Poeltl maxes out those bonuses, it’ll be worth $80MM. As previously reported, the fourth year is a player option.
Murphy adds that Jalen McDaniels‘ two-year deal is, as expected, worth the full amount of the bi-annual exception and is fully guaranteed, with no options on the second year.
Here are a few more details on recently signed contracts that Hoops Rumors can confirm:
- Max Strus‘ four-year contract with the Cavaliers, which has a total value of $62.3MM, has a first-year salary of $14,487,684. That means the trade exception created by the Heat in the sign-and-trade deal is worth $7,243,842, half of Strus’ salary, due to base year compensation rules.
- Kevin Love‘s two-year deal with the Heat is worth the full Non-Bird amount — $3.84MM in year one and $4.03MM in year two (with a player option). That represents 120% of his minimum salary.
- Orlando Robinson‘s two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Heat is only partially guaranteed for $75K in 2023/24. That guarantee will increase to $425K if he remains under contract through the start of the regular season and to $850K if he’s not waived on or before December 1. Because Robinson’s current guarantee is only $75K, he’d be eligible for a two-way deal if he’s waived before the regular season.
- Jordan Walsh‘s four-year deal with the Celtics is worth the minimum in all four seasons. It’s fully guaranteed in the first two years, with a $200K partial guarantee in year three.
- Robin Lopez‘s minimum-salary contract with the Bucks is for one year.
- We’re continuing to update our free agent tracker and our list of draft pick signings with contract details as we learn them.
Thunder Sign Cason Wallace, Keyontae Johnson
The Thunder have signed Cason Wallace to his rookie scale contract, the team announced in a press release.
Wallace, who was the 10th overall pick in last month’s draft, was acquired via trade from Dallas. Oklahoma City took on Davis Bertans‘ contract in order to move up two spots and select the former Kentucky guard (the Thunder sent the Mavs the 12th pick to complete the deal).
Wallace, 19, has a reputation as a strong defensive player. He averaged 11.7 PPG, 4.3 APG, 3.7 RPG and 2.0 SPG on .446/.346/.757 shooting in 32 games (32.2 MPG) as a freshman last season for the Wildcats.
As our list of rookie scale salaries shows, Wallace will earn about $5.3MM as a rookie in 2023/24. That’s assuming he received 120% of his draft slot, which virtually every first-rounder does. Like all first-round picks, Wallace’s first two years are guaranteed, with team options in years three and four.
The Thunder have also signed second-round pick Keyontae Johnson to a two-way contract, per the team. Johnson, selected 50th overall, averaged 17.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.1 APG and 1.0 SPG on .516/.405/.715 shooting in 36 games (34.1 MPG) for Kansas State in ’22/23. Head of basketball operations Sam Presti previously said the plan was for Johnson to ink a two-way deal.
Jazz Renegotiate, Extend Jordan Clarkson’s Contract
JULY 7: Clarkson’s renegotiated and extended contract is now official, per the Jazz.
JULY 2: After picking up his 2023/24 option last week to remain in Utah, Jordan Clarkson will commit to the team for a couple more seasons, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Clarkson and the Jazz are finalizing a renegotiation and extension that will give him a raise in 2023/24 and will add two new years to his current contract, his agents at Klutch Sports tell Charania.
The deal will be worth $55MM, Charania adds. Based on the wording of his report, it’s unclear if that $55MM is all new money or if it includes Clarkson’s preexisting $14.3MM salary for 2023/24 — I’d assume the latter unless we hear otherwise, since agents leaking word of an agreement typically frame it in the most flattering light.
As we outlined on Saturday when Domantas Sabonis completed a similar deal with the Kings, contract renegotiations in the NBA are rare, since they can only be completed when a team has cap space and intends to increase a player’s salary rather than reducing it. Like Sacramento with Sabonis, Utah has the cap room necessary to give Clarkson’s current-year salary a bump and negotiate an extension off that new cap hit.
Interestingly, without a renegotiation, the maximum two-year extension Utah could give Clarkson would be worth about $41.5MM — when added to his current $14.3MM salary, that would also work out to just over $55MM.
By forgoing a traditional ascending extension structure and renegotiating his current-year salary to give him an immediate raise, the Jazz may end up paying the veteran guard the same amount of money overall while applying more of it to the 2023/24 cap in order to maximize future flexibility. An extension signed signed as part of a renegotiation can decline by as much as 40% in the first season.
Clarkson, 31, entered Utah’s starting lineup in 2022/23 after coming off the bench as a microwave scorer for most of his nine-year NBA career. In 61 games (32.6 MPG) in 2022/23, he averaged 20.8 points, 4.4 assists, and 4.0 rebounds with a shooting line of .444/.338/.816.
The Jazz, who are acquiring John Collins into their cap room in a trade with Atlanta, still projected to have nearly $15MM in cap room available after completing that deal, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Whether or not they have more room to operate after the Clarkson renegotiation will depend on how much money they add to his 2023/24 salary, as well as the team’s plans for players on non-guaranteed contracts like Luka Samanic and Vernon Carey.
Clarkson is the third player to agree to renegotiate his contract in 2023, joining Sabonis and Pacers center Myles Turner. Prior to Turner, no player had renegotiated a deal since Robert Covington in 2017.
Wolves’ Mike Conley Wins 2022/23 Sportsmanship Award
Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley has won the Sportsmanship Award for the 2022/23 season, the NBA announced in a press release.
According to the NBA, each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award. It was then narrowed down to six finalists — one from each division — by a panel of league executives. Finally, current players voted for the winner.
As the full voting results show, Conley narrowly edged Boban Marjanovic for his fourth award, which is the most in league history — he had previously been tied with Grant Hill at three apiece. The annual award is “designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA.
The other four finalists, listed in order of the voting results, were Darius Garland, Bam Adebayo, Harrison Barnes and Jalen Brunson.
Conley, 35, appeared in 67 games for Utah and Minnesota in ’22/23, having been traded in February. The steady veteran averaged a combined 11.9 PPG, 6.7 APG, 2.7 RPG and 1.1 SPG on .428/.385/.834 shooting in 30.3 MPG.
The Sportsmanship Award trophy is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96.
Jazz Waive Vernon Carey Jr.
The Jazz are waiving big man Vernon Carey Jr., reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The move is official, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
The 32nd overall pick of the 2020 draft after one college season at Duke, Carey spent his rookie season with the Hornets, who shipped him to the Wizards at the 2022 trade deadline. He has barely played at the NBA level over the past three seasons, appearing in 37 total games for 187 minutes, including 28 minutes over 11 games with Washington last season.
Carey did have a solid stint with Washington’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, in 2022/23. He averaged 20.7 PPG 8.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.9 BPG in 14 regular season games (27.6 MPG).
The 22-year-old was waived by the Wizards at the beginning of March and signed a multiyear deal with the Jazz during the season’s final weekend. His minimum-salary contract for ’23/24 was non-guaranteed, so Utah won’t have any cap charge for releasing him.
And-Ones: Howard, Team USA, F. Jackson, Zikarsky
Longtime NBA center Dwight Howard was out of the league during the 2022/23 season, which he spent in Taiwan. However, he still believes he can be a productive player in an NBA rotation, he said during a wide-ranging interview with Zion Olojede of Complex.com.
“I know that there’s at least 15 to 20 teams that I could play for,” Howard said. “And I know there’s teams that got great starting centers, but I know I could be a great backup center. I know I can provide a team with 25 minutes of dominant basketball. And that’s not even scoring, that’s just playing defense, locking people up, protecting the paint, rebounding, and finishing around the basket. I’ve had my fun in the game. I just want to go out like a champ like I’m supposed to.”
Referencing a June interview in which Howard said he’d love to join the Kings, Olojede asked the three-time Defensive Player of the Year which five teams he believes would be good matches for him.
“Okay, you got Miami Heat. You got obviously, the Lakers. The Warriors,” Howard said. “The Kings. But the Kings, I would say the Kings got a couple centers so they probably wouldn’t. But the Kings. The Hawks. I’m from Atlanta, go back home with the Hawks.”
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Discussing his roster for the upcoming FIBA World Cup for the first time on Friday, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr said he plans to lean heavily on Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and Nets forward Mikal Bridges. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes, Kerr envisions Brunson having “a pretty big role” and intends to rely on Bridges defensively to match up against opponents’ high-scoring wings.
- Veteran NBA guard Frank Jackson, who had a brief stint with the Jazz this past season, will continue his career overseas, having signed a deal with French team ASVEL, per a press release. Jackson had appeared in 214 career regular season NBA games since being drafted in 2017.
- Rocco Zikarsky, a 7’3″ Australian big man, has decided to forgo a move to the NCAA in favor of joining the Brisbane Bullets as part of the National Basketball League’s Next Stars program, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Zikarsky, who will turn 17 next week, won’t be draft-eligible until at least 2025, but is considered one of the world’s best basketball prospects, per Givony.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic doesn’t want to go so far as to call them the “losers” of free agency, but has questions about the offseason moves made so far by the Raptors, Pelicans, Kings, Trail Blazers, and Nuggets.
Miles Bridges Signs Hornets’ Qualifying Offer
JULY 7: In a press release confirming that Bridges has signed his qualifying offer to return with the Hornets, president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak and Bridges himself both put out statements.
“Throughout this process, we have taken a measured and serious approach,” Kupchak said. “Several factors played a part in our decision to bring Miles back, including the conclusion of the legal process, the results of the NBA’s investigation and Miles’ commitment to counseling and community service. Our five-year relationship with Miles has allowed for open and honest dialogue. He has shown remorse, indicated that he has learned from this situation and expressed that it will not happen again. We look forward to Miles rejoining our team.”
Bridges statement reads as follows:
“I sincerely apologize for the pain, embarrassment and disappointment that last year’s incident caused so many people. Time away from the game allowed me to reflect, immerse myself in therapy and prioritize becoming a better person – someone my family and peers can be proud of. I’m grateful to the Hornets and the NBA community for giving me a second chance – most people don’t ever get one and I understand those questioning whether I deserve one. I will do everything I can to earn back the trust and confidence of my teammates, coaches, the Hornets organization and staff, fans, and the Charlotte community. I’m ready to return to work and can’t wait to rejoin my Hornets teammates.”
JULY 2: Restricted free agent Miles Bridges hasn’t been receiving the types of contract offers he was hoping for from the Hornets, so has signed his $7,921,300 qualifying offer in order to become an unrestricted free agent next year, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, signing the one-year qualifying offer would give Bridges the power to veto trades. However, if he were to approve a trade, the team that acquires him would lose his Bird rights.
Shams Charania of The Athletic hears (via Twitter) that a final contract offer was presented on Sunday before talks broke down, but he doesn’t clarify whether that offer came from Charlotte or Bridges’ camp — or perhaps both.
The 25-year-old forward sat out the entire 2022/23 season after facing a felony domestic violence charge. He agreed to a plea deal and was subsequently suspended by the NBA, who will require him to sit out the first 10 games of ’23/24.
Prior to that incident, Bridges was viewed as one of the top free agents of the 2022 class, having averaged 20.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 3.8 APG on 49.1% shooting in 80 games (35.5 MPG) in ’21/22.
Leading into free agency, it was impossible to know exactly how the Hornets and the rest of the NBA would value the former lottery pick, who was selected 12th overall in the 2018 draft. As valuable as Bridges can be on the court, the repugnant behavior he was accused of away from it likely gave potential suitors pause about pursuing him to represent their franchise.
Clearly, the Hornets had the leverage in contract negotiations after Bridges missed the entire season, which made him ineligible to be signed-and-traded. None of the teams with cap room decided to pursue him, but maybe that will change in 2024 if he has a strong season without further legal trouble.
Bridges was No. 8 on our list of 2023’s top 50 free agents.
Knicks Trade Obi Toppin To Pacers
JULY 7: The trade is official, the Knicks announced today in a press release (Twitter link). Toppin has been traded into the Pacers’ cap room in exchange for the two second-round picks described below.
JULY 6: The Knicks will receive either the Suns’ or Pacers’ 2028 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) and either the Pacers’ or Wizards’ 2029 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) for Toppin, reports Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
JULY 1: The Knicks and Pacers are finalizing a trade that will send forward Obi Toppin to Indiana, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Wojnarowski, the Knicks will acquire a pair of second-round picks in exchange for Toppin, who was the eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft.
Marc Stein and Ian Begley of SNY.tv reported prior to free agency that the Pacers were talking to the Knicks about Toppin and had emerged as the leading candidate to land him. It’s a logical fit, since Indiana has the cap room necessary to acquire the 25-year-old’s $6.8MM expiring contract without sending out any salary and has been in the market for another power forward.
While lottery pick Jarace Walker figures to see minutes for the Pacers as a rookie, Toppin should have an opportunity to play a bigger role in Indiana than he did in New York, where he spent the majority of his first three NBA seasons backing up Julius Randle.
In 139 games for the Knicks since the start of 2021/22, Toppin has averaged 8.2 PPG and 3.3 RPG on .491/.329/.772 shooting in 139 games (16.4 MPG). He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, or restricted free agency in 2024 if he doesn’t sign a new deal before then.
It’s a somewhat disappointing outcome for the Knicks, whose lottery pick from three years ago will now turn into a pair of second-rounders. However, the move will help create some additional spending flexibility below the tax apron for the club, potentially opening up the full mid-level exception. It’ll also generate a $6.8MM trade exception and contribute a couple more draft assets to New York’s ever-growing stash.
Timberwolves Sign Jaylen Clark To Two-Way Contract
Former UCLA wing Jaylen Clark has officially signed his first NBA contract, having inked a two-way deal with the Timberwolves, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
Clark had a big junior year for the Bruins in 2022/23, increasing his scoring average to 13.0 PPG while also contributing 6.0 RPG and 2.6 SPG in 30 contests (30.5 MPG). He was named to the All-Pac-12 team and was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Clark, who injured his Achilles earlier this year and underwent surgery after the season, isn’t expected to be ready for the start of his rookie year. However, Minnesota is optimistic about what he’ll be able to bring to the team once he’s healthy — after selecting him with the No. 53 pick last month, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly referred to Clark as “the best perimeter defender in the draft.”
Luka Garza holds one of the two-way contract slots for the Timberwolves, so they have one opening remaining. The best candidate to fill it is Matt Ryan, who is still a restricted free agent after receiving a two-way qualifying offer in June.
Of the 58 players selected in the 2023 draft, 38 have now officially signed NBA contracts, as our tracker shows.
Trade/FA Rumors: Lillard, LaVine, Sixers, Reed, Reaves, Spurs
The Trail Blazers are believed to be seeking a package in the neighborhood of four first-round picks and two quality players in exchange for Damian Lillard, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian, who spoke to Lillard’s agent Aaron Goodwin about the negotiations. Goodwin reiterated that he’s telling other teams that his client only wants to play for the Heat.
“It’s not fair to a team to allow them to engage in a negotiation that could be futile in the end,” Goodwin told Fentress.
While Lillard may be focused on the Heat, it would require the involvement of at least one more team for the Blazers to get a package anywhere near the level they’re looking for. Having traded its 2025 first-round pick to Oklahoma City, Miami can only currently offer two first-rounders.
As we wait to see if negotiations between Portland and Miami gather any momentum with teams convening at the Las Vegas Summer League, here are a few more trade and free agency rumors from around the NBA:
- League sources tell K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago that Zach LaVine‘s name has come up in preliminary trade discussions with both the Sixers and Trail Blazers. Neither of those conversations gained traction, according to Johnson, who hears that the Bulls‘ asking price for LaVine has been “extremely high.” Still, Johnson says the team has “fluctuated in its belief in LaVine’s consistency as a lead option.”
- Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com hears from sources familiar with the situation that the conversations between the Sixers and Bulls were really just “check-in” talks prior to the draft and didn’t evolve beyond that. So there’s no indication at this point that any multi-team deal involving LaVine and James Harden is on the way, Neubeck writes.
- The Sixers‘ deals with centers Mohamed Bamba and Montrezl Harrell haven’t diminished their desire to retain restricted free agent Paul Reed, a team source tells Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
- The Spurs legitimately considered the possibility of an offer sheet for restricted free agent guard Austin Reaves, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his Lowe Post podcast. The Lakers ultimately re-signed Reaves on a four-year, $54MM deal, which was the most that they could give him directly — another team could’ve tested Los Angeles’ resolve by making a four-year offer worth up to $102MM. “I know San Antonio was going back and forth on it and for whatever reason didn’t do it,” Lowe said.