Pacers Sign Tyrese Haliburton To Rookie Scale Max Extension
JULY 6: The Pacers have officially Haliburton to his maximum-salary rookie scale extension, the team announced today.
The contract doesn’t feature a player option, but does have a 15% trade kicker, according to Tony East of SI.com (Twitter link), who confirms that a spot on any of the three All-NBA teams next season will bump Haliburton up to the full 30% max.
JUNE 30: Point guard Tyrese Haliburton is signing a five-year, rookie scale max extension with the Pacers, agents Dave Spahn and Aaron Mintz tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
As a designated rookie, Haliburton will earn at least 25% of the 2024/25 salary cap, which is when his extension will officially kick in. However, Wojnarowski suggests the contract will feature Rose rule language that could boost the value to 30% of the cap over five years.
To receive the 30% max, Haliburton will have to meet one of three performance criteria next season: All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year, or MVP. If he earns one of those honors and the cap increases by 10% in ’24/25, Haliburton’s deal would be worth $260MM.
The 23-year-old averaged 20.7 PPG, 10.4 APG, 3.7 RPG and 1.6 SPG on an excellent .490/.400/.871 shooting line in 56 games (33.6 MPG) in ’22/23, earning his first All-Star nod in the process. The former first-round pick just finished his third season, making him eligible for a rookie scale extension.
Several draft analysts had Haliburton high on their boards, but he wound up falling to the Kings at No. 12 overall in 2020. He played very well in his stint with Sacramento, but his fit with fellow point guard De’Aaron Fox was less than perfect, particularly defensively, so the Kings memorably traded him in February 2022 for a package headlined by big man Domantas Sabonis.
The deal has worked out well for both teams. Sabonis helped the Kings break their record-long playoff drought, while Haliburton has shined in a featured role with Indiana.
Advanced stats nearly universally say Haliburton has been the top player from the 2020 draft class through three seasons. His efficiency and excellent decision-making stand out.
The 23-year-old only averaged 2.5 turnovers per game last season, good for a 4.15-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio – an top-tier mark. Indiana went 28-28 with him in the lineup, versus 7-19 without him.
The Pacers are looking to take a step forward in ’23/24, which will be the final year of Haliburton’s rookie deal. They agreed to two-year, $45MM contract with Bruce Brown, who helped the Nuggets win their first championship in June, and have their eyes set on the playoffs.
Scotto’s Latest: Beasley, Bucks, Plumlee, Spurs, McDaniels, McLemore
Before he agreed to join the Bucks on a minimum-salary deal, free agent swingman Malik Beasley received interest from several teams, including the Mavericks, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. According to Scotto, Dallas considered the possibility of acquiring Beasley from the Lakers via sign-and-trade, but it didn’t work out.
New Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin was a factor in getting Beasley to Milwaukee, having spoken to the veteran wing during the team’s recruiting pitch, sources tell Scotto.
The Bucks currently have 12 players pencil in for standard contracts in 2023/24. Scotto hears that Thanasis Antetokounmpo and No. 36 pick Andre Jackson are candidates to end up on the 15-man roster. The team also needs to decide what type of contract No. 58 pick Chris Livingston will sign, Scotto notes. Currently, Lindell Wigginton and Omari Moore are on two-way contracts with Milwaukee, leaving one open two-way slot.
Here’s more from Scotto:
- Veteran center Mason Plumlee drew interest in free agency from a number of playoff teams, including the Warriors and Hawks, before deciding to remain with the Clippers, league sources tell Scotto.
- The Spurs, having already agreed to get involved in deals that will land them Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, and Reggie Bullock, remain open to taking on unwanted contracts in order to add more draft assets, reports Scotto.
- Before signing forward Jalen McDaniels as a free agent, the Raptors tried to trade for him multiple times, including at the 2023 deadline, according to Scotto, who says Toronto has been closely monitoring McDaniels since he was at San Diego State.
- Veteran guard Ben McLemore, who was out of the NBA last season, will work out for multiple NBA teams during the Las Vegas Summer League, per Scotto. McLemore played in China last season after averaging 10.2 PPG in 64 games for Portland in 2021/22.
- In case you missed it, we also rounded up several Knicks-related rumors from Scotto.
Nets Officially Trade Patty Mills To Rockets
JULY 7: The pick the Nets received in the trade is their own 2024 second-rounder with top-55 protection, reports Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Houston acquired Brooklyn’s 2024 second-rounder in a prior trade and will retain it if it lands between 31-55 next June.
JULY 6: The Nets and Rockets have officially completed their trade sending guard Patty Mills to Houston, according to a pair of press releases from the clubs.
Along with Mills, Houston acquired the Bucks’ 2028 second-round pick. The Rockets sent a protected future second-rounder to Brooklyn. While the exact details on that pick aren’t known, it’ll have top-55 protection, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
Mills will only be a Rocket temporarily. He’s being flipped to the Thunder as part of Houston’s Dillon Brooks sign-and-trade acquisition, as Adrian Wojnarowski first reported over the weekend.
Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) suggests Oklahoma City will be receiving three second-round picks as part of its deal for Mills, though we’re still waiting for clarity on the full terms of that trade agreement. According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Rockets will actually send two second-round picks to Oklahoma City and will amend the terms of a previously traded second-rounder.
A veteran combo guard who will turn 35 next month, Mills was no longer a major part of the Nets’ rotation last season — his 14.3 minutes per game represented his lowest average since the 2012/13 season. He averaged 6.2 points and 1.4 assists in 40 appearances, with a shooting line of .411/.366/.833.
“Patty was an exemplary representative of the Nets during his two years in Brooklyn, both for his contributions on the court and his impact in the community,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “We thank Patty for all he has brought to our organization and wish him and Alyssa nothing but the best in their next chapter.”
Mills is earning $6.8MM on an expiring contract in 2023/24. By acquiring him using cap space and using him as a salary-matching piece in a subsequent deal, the Rockets will be able to preserve a bigger chunk of cap room before eventually abiding by salary-matching rules to go over the cap in their sign-and-trade for Brooks. That deal is expected to involve four or five teams, including the Grizzlies and Hawks — as noted above, the full details aren’t yet known.
It’s not clear if the Thunder plan to hang onto Mills once they acquire him. If they cut him, he’d be eligible to sign with any team besides Houston (including Brooklyn).
Aaron Holiday Signs One-Year Contract With Rockets
JULY 10: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
JULY 6: Aaron Holiday is signing a one-year contract with the Rockets, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported earlier today that the Hornets and Rockets were among the teams interested in the free agent guard.
Holiday spent his first three NBA seasons with the Pacers, the team that selected him 23rd overall in the 2018 draft. He was sent to the Wizards two years ago as part of the massive five-team deal that saw Russell Westbrook head to the Lakers, and was later sent to the Suns at the 2022 trade deadline for cash.
Phoenix chose not to give Holiday a qualifying offer last summer in order to make him a restricted free agent, and he wound up signing a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum with the Hawks. Kelly Iko of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the combo guard will once again be on a minimum-salary contract.
The Rockets were on the lookout for guard depth after trading TyTy Washington and Josh Christopher (to different teams) and releasing Daishen Nix, Iko adds (Twitter link).
Holiday, 26, appeared in 63 games for the Hawks in 2022/23, but his role was quite limited, averaging career lows in points (3.9) and assists (1.4) in 13.4 minutes per contest. The 6’0″ guard is a 37.7% career three-point shooter and converted 36 of his 88 attempts last season (40.9%).
Knicks Rumors: George, Barrett, Hart, Embiid, Roby, Quickley
On June 22, the night of last month’s draft, the Knicks contemplated sending the Clippers a trade package that featured Obi Toppin, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier and three first-round picks in exchange for star forward Paul George, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
When New York later agreed to trade Toppin to the Pacers for a couple second-rounders, the Clippers briefly brought up RJ Barrett to take his place in the aforementioned trade framework, says Scotto. The Knicks balked at that proposal, believing the asking was price too steep for George, who will make $45.64MM in 2023/24 and is eligible for an extension this offseason, per Scotto.
The Knicks control multiple protected first-round picks from other teams, so it’s unclear whether the first-rounders Scotto mentioned were protected in some fashion or were their own unprotected picks. Either way, apparently the talks didn’t advance.
Still, the Knicks remain on the lookout for a third star to complement Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, according to Scotto.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, Josh Hart will sign a long-term extension with the Knicks in August once he becomes eligible. His maximum extension number would be $81MM over four years, and Begley hears the veteran wing will receive “slightly less” than that figure. It seems highly likely that Hart exercised his player option in order to give the team more financial flexibility in free agency, with a handshake agreement on an extension.
- Begley hears from sources who say the Knicks haven’t budged on their asking prices for star players on the trade market, including Damian Lillard and James Harden, and both players are unlikely to wind up in New York. Like Zach Lowe of ESPN, Begley continues to hear the Knicks might be eyeing Joel Embiid in the future.
- Prior to using their mid-level exception to sign Donte DiVincenzo, the Knicks were interested in several unrestricted free agents, including Bruce Brown, Max Strus and Yuta Watanabe, Scotto states. Brown signed with the Pacers; Strus landed in Cleveland via sign-and-trade; and Watanabe signed with Phoenix.
- Losing Toppin means New York has rotation minutes available at backup power forward. Scotto hears Isaiah Roby will be given an opportunity to win the job, with Hart an option in small-ball lineups. Roby signed with the Knicks on the last day of the ’22/23 regular season, receiving a significant upfront payment ($400K) that suggested he could be in the team’s future plans.
- Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Immanuel Quickley‘s floor in a rookie scale extension is expected to be $20MM annually, and Scotto’s sources say the Knicks would consider a deal in that range. However, if the two sides don’t reach an agreement and Quickley continues to improve next season, Scotto says New York might contemplate using him as part of a trade package for a star.
Heat Trade Victor Oladipo To Thunder
JULY 6: The Heat have officially traded Oladipo to the Thunder along with Miami’s own second-round picks in 2029 and 2030, the team announced (via Twitter). According to the Thunder’s own press release, Miami acquired cash in the deal.
JUNE 30: The Heat are offloading reserve shooting guard Victor Oladipo to the Thunder, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Thunder will receive a pair of second-round picks from the Heat as part of the trade agreement, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The Heat, meanwhile, will net a $9.45MM trade exception by flipping his salary. Miami also still has a $4.7MM trade exception from its February deal of big man Dewayne Dedmon.
Earlier this week, the injury-plagued former All-Star picked up his player option for the 2023/24 season. Oladipo tore his left knee patellar tendon during Miami’s first round matchup against the Bucks.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN details (via Twitter), the Thunder will absorb Oladipo’s salary into its available cap space. After the deal, Oklahoma City should still have an estimated $7.2MM in available money at its disposal, as well as the $7.8MM room exception. The club currently has 16 players under contract, and will need to make more moves to reduce its head count to 15 for its standard roster this fall.
With 11 players currently signed, meanwhile, the Heat now have $172MM in committed salary. While Miami is in the luxury tax, this move shifts the team $6.5MM beneath the highly punitive second tax apron. As Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link) notes, the team is in better position to use its $5MM taxpayer mid-level exception, but still may have to shed a little salary to do so.
Should the 31-year-old Oladipo remain with the Thunder, it would represent his second tour of duty with the team. After being drafted by the Magic with the second overall pick out of Indiana in 2013, he spent three seasons with Orlando before being dealt to Oklahoma City in 2016. The Thunder flipped him to the Pacers as part of the Paul George trade the following summer. With the Pacers, Oladipo blossomed into a two-time All-Star thanks to a versatile scoring touch and stellar perimeter defense.
His major lower body injury issues first began to plague him in Indiana, and he has since been trying to find his footing as a defense-first role player with the Rockets and Heat. During his 42 healthy regular season contests with Miami in 2022/23, the 6’4″ vet averaged 10.7 PPG, 3.5 APG, 3.0 RPG and 1.4 SPG in 26.3 MPG, mostly off the Heat bench.
Mavericks Trade Davis Bertans, Cason Wallace To Thunder
JULY 6: The Mavericks have officially acquired Lively’s rights in exchange for Bertans and the rights to Wallace, the team announced today (via Twitter).
JUNE 22: The Mavericks and Thunder have agreed to a trade, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Davis Bertans and the No. 10 pick are headed to Oklahoma City in exchange for the No. 12 pick.
The Thunder selected Kentucky guard Cason Wallace at No. 10, Charania adds, while Dallas will get off Bertans’ pricey multiyear contract. The No. 12 pick that Dallas acquired was used on Duke big man Dereck Lively II, Shams Charania of The Stadium tweets.
The Mavericks will generate a $17MM trade exception with this trade, according to Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link). They’ll now be approximately $74MM under to projected luxury tax line, which will help them make other moves, such as re-signing Kyrie Irving.
[UPDATE: Mavs to use trade exception to acquire Richaun Holmes]
The Mavs were looking to move down in the lottery, get off a bad contract and acquire a veteran starter, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). They accomplished the first two goals with this deal. They also add a promising young rim protector in Lively, who will fill a hole in the Dallas frontcourt with the team considered unlikely to re-sign big man Christian Wood.
Bertans had a career year in 2019/20 with the Wizards and cashed in with a five-year, $80MM deal. Dallas acquired Bertans as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade with Washington.
The Thunder now pick up the two remaining years left on his deal — $17MM next season and $16MM in 2024/25 with an early termination option. The final year is only partially guaranteed for $5MM.
Oklahoma City’s desire to move up was motivated by the concern that another team might jump the Thunder by making a trade with Orlando, which held the No. 11 pick, Jeremy Woo of ESPN tweets. The Raptors, who held the No. 13 selection, were a potential trade-up suitor for Wallace.
Nets Trade Joe Harris To Pistons
JULY 6: The trade is official, the Nets and Pistons confirmed in a pair of press releases. Detroit received Harris, the Mavericks’ 2027 second-round pick, and the Bucks’ 2029 second-rounder from Brooklyn in exchange for cash ($110K).
JUNE 30: The Nets have reached an agreement on a trade that will send Joe Harris to the Pistons, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), Brooklyn will also send two second-round picks to Detroit in the deal and will generate a traded player exception worth $19.9MM, the amount of Harris’ 2023/24 salary.
The picks being acquired by the Pistons are the Mavericks’ 2027 second-rounder and the Bucks’ 2029 second-rounder, per Charania (Twitter link).
No players are going from Detroit to Brooklyn in the trade, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. The Pistons are instead sending the Nets $110K to complete the deal, per Edwards (Twitter link). That’s the minimum amount of cash a team can include in a trade.
While the deal looks like a simple salary dump on the surface, it’s a fascinating agreement that will have a major ripple effect on both teams’ offseasons. The Pistons had frequently been cited as a potential suitor for Nets restricted free agent Cameron Johnson in the weeks leading up to free agency and there had been a belief that they could make life difficult on Brooklyn by signing the forward to a lucrative offer sheet.
By convincing the Pistons to take Harris instead, the Nets will gain more financial flexibility to re-sign Johnson and stay out of luxury tax territory. They also may take their biggest competitor for Johnson’s services out of the mix, since Harris will take up a significant chunk of Detroit’s cap room and will reduce the need for the Pistons to go out and acquire another sharpshooter.
It’s not a bad arrangement from the Pistons’ perspective either. Rather than potentially overpaying Johnson on a four-year, nine-figure offer sheet and hoping the Nets won’t match it, they’ll get one of the NBA’s best outside shooters on a short-term contract, retaining long-term flexibility and picking up a pair of future second-rounders in the process.
[UPDATE: Nets, Cameron Johnson agree to four-year deal]
Injuries limited Harris to just 14 games in 2021/22, and he played a reduced role when he returned to action this past season, averaging just 20.6 minutes per game, his lowest mark since ’15/16. However, he remains as effective as ever from beyond the arc, knocking down 42.6% of his three-point attempts in 74 games last season. He has now hit at least 42.4% of his threes in five straight seasons, leading the NBA in three-point percentage twice during that time.
Atlantic Notes: Beverley, Sumner, Harden, G. Williams, Raptors
In his latest podcast, Patrick Beverley said he consulted with former Sixers coach Doc Rivers before deciding to sign with Philadelphia (video link from Barstool Sports). Beverley describes Rivers as a “mentor” and said he often reaches out to him before making important decisions.
“This is a Hall of Fame coach who just got fired, and his exact words: ‘I love Philadelphia for you; they need you,'” Beverley said. “‘You will be great with Joel (Embiid). James (Harden), he respects you, you will be great with him. If I had you last season, we would have been a different team.'”
Beverley, who agreed to a one-year, minimum-salary deal, said he was planning to talk to the Celtics and Wizards, but changed his mind after getting Rivers’ endorsement of the Sixers.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Nets and guard Edmond Sumner have agreed to push back his salary guarantee date, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Sumner’s $2,239,943 non-guaranteed salary for 2023/24 had previously been on track to fully guarantee if he wasn’t waived today, as our tracker shows. His new guarantee date is July 15, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
- Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey showed good judgment by not letting his fondness for Harden affect what’s best for the team, writes Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Morey has a long relationship with Harden going back to Houston, but he wasn’t willing to give the 34-year-old former MVP the pricey long-term contract he wanted. Hayes states that the first indication that Morey wouldn’t give in to Harden came when he hired Nick Nurse as his new head coach instead of Mike D’Antoni, a longtime Harden favorite.
- Under different circumstances, the Celtics might have been willing to give Grant Williams the four-year, $54MM deal he received from the Mavericks, suggests Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Forsberg believes the Celtics would have paid that price for Williams before last season started or if they had been able to unload Malcolm Brogdon‘s salary. But the addition of Kristaps Porzingis affected Boston’s financial picture and likely would have reduced Williams’ role on the team. Forsberg points out that the Celtics are about $7MM below the second apron and have limited options to replace Williams, which should result in more playing time for Sam Hauser and other young players.
- Eric Koreen of The Athletic looks at potential deals for the Raptors after losing point guards Fred VanVleet and Dalano Banton in free agency. The most prominent name is Brogdon, whom Koreen believes might be available in exchange for Gary Trent Jr. Koreen also eyes trades involving Delon Wright, Ricky Rubio, Devonte’ Graham, Payton Pritchard, Killian Hayes, Cole Anthony and Kira Lewis.
NBA’s 2023 July Moratorium Ends
The NBA’s 2023 July moratorium has officially ended, as of 11:00am central time, meaning teams are now allowed to conduct official business. The moratorium is the period at the start of the NBA league year when teams are permitted to agree to trades and free agent contracts, but can’t yet formally finalize them.
[RELATED: 2023 NBA Free Agent Tracker]
There are a number of types of deals that can be finalized during the moratorium, as we’ve seen this week. Teams can sign first- or second-round picks to their rookie contracts, two-way contracts can be made official, and players signing minimum-salary contracts can also finalize those deals. Still, most of the deals agreed upon since June 30 are not yet official.
Although the end of the moratorium signals the beginning of official business for many teams, those teams aren’t obligated to immediately finalize deals reached during the moratorium. Salary-cap machinations and intertwined trades mean that patience will be required on certain moves.
The Rockets, for instance, will acquire Dillon Brooks via sign-and-trade, but doing so will use up most of the team’s remaining cap room, so Houston will likely want to use that room before going over the cap to complete its acquisition of Brooks.
[RELATED: 2023 NBA Offseason Trades]
Now that the moratorium has lifted, we’ll be updating our stories of contract and trade agreements to reflect when they become official.
For top headlines from the last week, like the deals involving Fred VanVleet, Kyrie Irving, Jerami Grant, and other big-name free agents, we’ll bump those stories to the top of the site or publish new stories so you don’t miss news of them becoming official. Completed trades will also be moved to the top of the site.
However, since we don’t want to bury new news amidst confirmation of old signings, our stories on smaller deals won’t be moved to the top of our feed unless there are new developments or details.