Wizards, Pelicans, Rockets Compete Three-Team Trade
As expected, the Wizards have rolled a pair of trade agreements with the Pelicans and Rockets into the same deal, officially completing the two deals as a single three-team transaction, per a press release from New Orleans.
The terms of the trade are as follows:
Wizards acquire CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, Cam Whitmore, and the Bulls’ 2027 second-round pick (from Pelicans).- Pelicans acquire Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, and the draft rights to Micah Peavy (No. 40 pick).
- Rockets acquire the draft rights to Mojave King, the Bulls’ 2026 second-round pick (from Wizards) and the Kings’ 2029 second-round pick (from Wizards).
The original trade agreement between Washington and New Orleans was reached on June 24, a day before the first round of the draft, with the Whitmore deal between Houston and Washington just agreed upon yesterday.
It was beneficial for the Wizards to combine the two deals into a single trade because they were sending out any matching salary to the Rockets for Whitmore. While they could have used one of several cap exceptions they had on hand to take on Whitmore’s $3.54MM salary for 2025/26, including him in this deal allows them to use their 125% allowance for Poole’s and Bey’s outgoing salary to acquire him, McCollum, and Olynyk.
The only new part of this deal is the Rockets acquiring the draft rights to King from New Orleans, which was necessary to ensure that Houston and New Orleans were “touching” as part of the three-team deal.
You can read our original story on the Wizards/Pelicans deal headlined by McCollum and Poole here, while our report on the Wizards’ deal for Whitmore is here.
Resolution On Bradley Beal Expected Soon
The Suns‘ Bradley Beal era may be nearing an end. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM in Phoenix (Twitter link) anticipates the two sides will come to a “decision and resolution” on Beal’s future within the next 24-48 hours.
Phoenix has been reportedly been discussing a buyout with the former three-time All-Star guard. The Heat and Bucks are rumored to have interest if the 6’4″ vet does indeed become a free agent.
Beal is still under contract for two more years at an exorbitant sticker price of $110.8MM and has a prohibitive no-trade clause in his deal, which has given him major leverage in dictating his fate. The Suns made him available prior to the trade deadline and did so again this offseason, but have had no luck finding a suitable deal.
Beal hasn’t appeared in more than 60 games across any of the past six seasons, missing an average of 26.5 contests a year in that span. When healthy, he’s a solid scorer, although he struggled to mesh with All-Stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker during his time in Phoenix.
As a member of the 36-46 Suns in 2024/25, Beal appeared in just 53 contests but averaged 17.0 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per contest, with a strong shooting line of .497/.386/.803. Former head coach Mike Budenholzer tinkered with Beal’s place in his rotation, moving him back and forth between the starting lineup and a reserve role.
Resolution on Beal’s situation doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be waived, though it seems like the most probable outcome. He must agree to give up at least $13.8MM in a buyout for the Suns to be permitted to stretch his remaining salary across five seasons, as we detailed earlier this week. That scenario would create huge cap flexibility and tax savings for Phoenix this season, allowing the club to move from above the second tax apron to below the luxury tax line.
The Suns could also waive Beal and carry his remaining salary on their books for the next two seasons, without stretching it. The other alternative would be to reach a decision to have him start the season on the roster.
If Beal reaches free agency, the Bucks may be more motivated than the Heat to make another splashy signing this summer, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald suggests (Twitter link).
Milwaukee has been extremely aggressive in its efforts to build a contender around two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in the wake of a devastating Achilles tendon tear injury to his All-Star running mate Damian Lillard. The Bucks ultimately opted to stretch-and-waive Lillard’s contract in order to sign ex-Pacers center Myles Turner to a lucrative free agent deal, but the team still could use some veteran leadership in the backcourt.
Stein’s Latest: Valanciunas, Horford, Ham, Suns, Reid, More
After reporting on Saturday that the Nuggets plan to go through with their trade for Jonas Valanciunas despite the veteran center’s interest in signing with EuroLeague club Panathinaikos, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reiterates in his latest Substack post that Denver’s front office is “determined to enforce” Valanciunas’ contract and “optimistic” the Lithuanian big man will be a Nugget in 2025/26.
As Stein explains, even if Valanciunas agreed to give back his entire $10.4MM salary for next season in a buyout, which would give the Nuggets enough cap space below the luxury tax line to use the full mid-level exception, Denver still wouldn’t have an easy way to find another backup center, with most of the top free agents already off the board.
Having access to the full MLE would theoretically give the Nuggets the ability to offer a lucrative contract to Al Horford, who is still a free agent, but Stein continues to hear the 39-year-old big man is “destined” to sign with the Warriors, who can currently only offer him the taxpayer version of the MLE.
Valanciunas doesn’t have the ability to unilaterally terminate his contract, and the Nuggets don’t have to accept a buyout even if he did forfeit his entire salary, Stein notes. One source Stein spoke to said a resolution remains uncertain but acknowledged that Valanciunas might have to remain with Denver despite his apparent desire to return to Europe.
Here’s more from Stein:
- The Suns and Knicks are both looking for a top assistant coach and have expressed interest in trying to lure Darvin Ham away from the Bucks, per Stein. However, Milwaukee is “determined to keep” Ham unless he gets the chance to become a head coach again elsewhere. Stein points out that joining Phoenix or New York would be a lateral move for Ham, since he’s already the Bucks’ top assistant, and says Milwaukee “loves having Ham back” after his two-year stint as the Lakers’ top coach.
- The Grizzlies are another team in search of a No. 1 assistant under new head coach Tuomas Iisalo, Stein adds.
- Before trading for Mark Williams and drafting Khaman Maluach, the Suns tried to pursue a sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves for Naz Reid, according to Stein, who writes that Reid’s new five-year, $125MM contract with Minnesota is believed to have played a factor in Myles Turner‘s decision to leave the Pacers for the Bucks in free agency. Indiana reportedly never offered Turner a deal as lucrative as Reid received from the Wolves.
NBA’s 2025 July Moratorium Ends
The NBA’s 2025 July moratorium has officially ended, as of 11:00 am Central time, meaning teams are now allowed to conduct all 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: 2025 NBA Free Agent Tracker]
There are a number of types of deals that can be completed during the moratorium, as we’ve seen since Tuesday. 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, the majority of the deals agreed upon since the end of the NBA Finals 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 Grizzlies, for instance, are signing Santi Aldama to a three-year, $52.5MM contract, but doing so will increase his cap charge from approximately $11.9MM (his cap hold) to over $16MM (his new starting salary). Memphis will wait until it has used up all its cap room and then will go over the cap to complete that signing, so as not to unnecessarily sacrifice needed space.
[RELATED: 2025 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.
Although we typically bump our stories on trades or contract agreements to the top of the site once they’re made official, we don’t want to flood our front page with “old” news today. Instead, we’ll be publishing and updating a single article that tracks which previously reported agreements are officially finalized today, linking back to our original stories on those deals.
If there’s a new development that changes a transaction in a meaningful way – such as multiple trade agreements being rolled into a single deal or a player signing a contract for different terms than initially reported – we’ll provide a separate update on those, either via a new story or by pushing our original story to the top of the site.
Lakers Notes: Ayton, Brooks, Robinson, Summer League
Former Lakers big man and longtime radio analyst Mychal Thompson thinks fellow Bahamian Deandre Ayton will be the “perfect center” for Los Angeles, he tells Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.
Still, Thompson readily acknowledges that Ayton has “underachieved” to this point in his career and says it’s up to the 26-year-old to show he can consistently play at a high level.
“They’re not wrong to say, ‘Show me.’” Thompson said of skeptical fans. “I don’t blame them for saying that because (Ayton has) shown glimpses of how good he can be. He’s an All-Star talent, but he has to do it over an 82-game schedule and do it consistently. So I don’t blame people for being a little skeptical about him. But I have faith in him. I know he’s going to prove to everybody how good he is.”
Here are a few more notes on the Lakers:
- In addition to star guard Luka Doncic, assistant coach Scott Brooks is believed to have advocated for the Lakers to sign Ayton, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link). Brooks coached Ayton for one season in Portland. Stein also hears that Ayton requested the buyout he agreed to with the Trail Blazers.
- The Lakers are hiring Justin Robinson as a player development coach, Duke’s men’s basketball program announced (via Twitter). Robinson spent five seasons at Duke as a player, finishing out his career in 2019/20. The 28-year-old played three professional seasons in Montenegro and Israel before returning to Duke as a coach — his title was director of player development — in November 2023. Lakers head coach JJ Redick is a former Blue Devil, so he’s undoubtedly familiar with Robinson, who is the son of Hall of Famer David Robinson.
- Former Laker Cole Swider and ex-Bulls guard DJ Steward were standout performers in the Lakers’ first summer league game on Saturday, a loss to Golden State at the California Classic. Micheel Alharazy of The Los Angeles Times has the story and the quotes.
2025 NBA Draft Pick Signings
Free agent and trade news has generated the biggest NBA headlines over the last couple weeks, but teams around the league are also taking care of the rookies they drafted on June 25 and 26, signing them to their first NBA contracts. Because cap holds for first-round picks count for 120% of the rookie scale amount instead of 100%, there’s little incentive for teams to wait to lock up their first-rounders.
For first-round picks, rookie contracts are fairly rigid, having essentially been predetermined. The NBA’s rookie-scale structure dictates that first-rounders will be signed to four-year deals, which include two guaranteed years, then team options in years three and four.
The value of those contracts depends on where a player was drafted. This year, No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg is in line for a four-year deal worth nearly $63MM, which represents the maximum allowable 120% of his scale amount. No. 30 pick Yanic Konan Niederhauser, on the other hand, is eligible for a four-year contract worth just over $14MM.
The full breakdown of this year’s first-round rookie salaries and contracts can be found right here — if you see a first-rounder listed below as “signed,” you can assume his contract looks like that, unless otherwise indicated.
Second-round picks, meanwhile, aren’t assured of two guaranteed seasons, though some players will receive them. The NBA’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement introduced a new salary cap exception for second-rounders, which will allow teams to sign those players to contracts of up to four years with a starting salary worth up to the equivalent to the minimum for a two-year veteran. In the past, such a deal would have required cap room or another exception, such as the mid-level.
Some second-rounders won’t sign standard NBA deals immediately. They may get two-way contracts, play in the G League, or head overseas to refine their games while their NBA teams retain their rights. We’ll make note of that below too, wherever it’s applicable.
Here’s a breakdown of 2025’s draft pick signings. This list will continue to be updated as more draftees sign their first NBA contracts:
First round
- Dallas Mavericks: Cooper Flagg, F, Duke: Signed
- San Antonio Spurs: Dylan Harper, G, Rutgers: Signed
- Philadelphia 76ers: VJ Edgecombe, G, Baylor: Signed
- Charlotte Hornets: Kon Knueppel, G/F, Duke: Signed
- Utah Jazz: Ace Bailey, F, Rutgers: Signed
- Washington Wizards: Tre Johnson, G, Texas: Signed
- New Orleans Pelicans: Jeremiah Fears, G, Oklahoma: Signed
- Brooklyn Nets: Egor Demin, G/F, BYU: Signed
- Toronto Raptors: Collin Murray-Boyles, F/C, South Carolina: Signed
- Phoenix Suns: Khaman Maluach, C, Duke: Signed
- Memphis Grizzlies: Cedric Coward, F, Washington State: Signed
- Chicago Bulls: Noa Essengue, F, Ratiopharm Ulm: Signed
- New Orleans Pelicans: Derik Queen, C, Maryland: Signed
- San Antonio Spurs: Carter Bryant, F, Arizona: Signed
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Thomas Sorber, C, Georgetown: Signed
- Portland Trail Blazers: Yang Hansen, C, Qingado: Signed
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Joan Beringer, C, Cedevita Olimpija: Signed
- Utah Jazz: Walter Clayton Jr., G, Florida: Signed
- Brooklyn Nets: Nolan Traore, G, Saint-Quentin: Signed
- Miami Heat: Kasparas Jakucionis, G, Illinois: Signed
- Washington Wizards: Will Riley, G/F, Illinois: Signed
- Brooklyn Nets: Drake Powell, G/F, North Carolina: Signed
- Atlanta Hawks: Asa Newell, F/C, Georgia: Signed
- Sacramento Kings: Nique Clifford, G, Colorado State: Signed
- Orlando Magic: Jase Richardson, G, Michigan State: Signed
- Brooklyn Nets: Ben Saraf, G, Ratiopharm Ulm: Signed
- Brooklyn Nets: Danny Wolf, F, Michigan: Signed
- Boston Celtics: Hugo Gonzalez, G/F, Real Madrid: Signed
- Charlotte Hornets: Liam McNeeley, G/F, UConn: Signed
- Los Angeles Clippers: Yanic Konan Niederhauser, C, Penn State: Signed
Second round
- Phoenix Suns: Rasheer Fleming, F, Saint Joseph’s: Signed
- Four years, $8.69MM. First three years guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Orlando Magic: Noah Penda, F, Le Mans: Signed
- Four years, $8.69MM. First two years guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Charlotte Hornets: Sion James, F, Duke: Signed
- Four years, $9.97MM. First two years guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Charlotte Hornets: Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton: Signed
- Four years, $9.97MM. First two years guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Philadelphia 76ers: Johni Broome, C, Auburn: Signed
- Four years, $8.69MM. First two years guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Los Angeles Lakers: Adou Thiero, F, Arkansas: Signed
- Three years, $5.95MM. First two years guaranteed. Third-year team option.
- Detroit Pistons: Chaz Lanier, G, Tennessee: Signed
- Four years, $8.79MM. First two years guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Indiana Pacers: Kam Jones, G, Marquette: Signed
- Four years, $8.69MM. First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Toronto Raptors: Alijah Martin, G, Florida: Signed
- Two-way contract.
- New Orleans Pelicans: Micah Peavy, G/F, Georgetown: Signed
- Four years, $8.69MM. First two years guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Phoenix Suns: Koby Brea, G/F, Kentucky: Signed
- Two-way contract.
- Sacramento Kings: Maxime Raynaud, C, Stanford: Signed
- Three years, $5.95MM. First two years guaranteed. Third-year team option.
- Washington Wizards: Jamir Watkins, G/F, Florida State: Signed
- Two-way contract.
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Brooks Barnhizer, F, Northwestern: Signed
- Two-way contract.
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Rocco Zikarsky, C, Brisbane: Signed
- Two-way contract (two years).
- Boston Celtics: Amari Williams, C, Kentucky: Signed
- Two-way contract.
- Milwaukee Bucks: Bogoljub Markovic, F/C, Mega Basket: Will play overseas
- Memphis Grizzlies: Javon Small, G, West Virginia: Signed
- Two-way contract (two years).
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Tyrese Proctor, G, Duke: Signed
- Four years, $8.69MM. First two years guaranteed. Third year partially guaranteed ($500K). Fourth-year team option.
- Los Angeles Clippers: Kobe Sanders, G/F, Nevada: Signed
- Two-way contract (two years).
- New York Knicks: Mohamed Diawara, F, Cholet: Signed
- One year, non-guaranteed minimum salary (Exhibit 10 contract).
- Golden State Warriors: Alex Toohey, F, Sydney: Signed
- Two-way contract.
- Utah Jazz: John Tonje, F, Wisconsin: Signed
- Two-way contract.
- Indiana Pacers: Taelon Peter, G, Liberty: Signed
- Two-way contract (two years).
- Chicago Bulls: Lachlan Olbrich, F/C, Illawarra: Signed
- Two-way contract.
- Golden State Warriors: Will Richard, G, Florida: Signed
- Four years, $8.69MM. First two years guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Boston Celtics: Max Shulga, G, VCU: Signed
- Two-way contract.
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Saliou Niang, G/F, Trento: Will play overseas
- Memphis Grizzlies: Jahmai Mashack, G/F, Tennessee: Will play in G League
Wizards’ Tre Johnson Signs Rookie Scale Contract
The Wizards have officially signed No. 6 overall pick Tre Johnson to a rookie scale contract, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
A 6’6″ shooting guard with a 6’10” wingspan, Johnson averaged 19.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists on .427/.397/.871 shooting in 33 games (34.7 MPG) as a freshman for Texas in 2024/25.
The 19-year-old was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and made the All-SEC second team in his lone college season. While there have been some questions about Johnson’s inconsistent engagement level on defense, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the Dallas native is one of the best shooters and scorers in this year’s draft class.
As our breakdown of this year’s rookie scale shows, Johnson will likely earn $8.2MM as a rookie and $37.4MM over the course of his four-year rookie contract, with the final two seasons being team options.
Washington has yet to sign No. 21 overall pick Will Riley, but that transaction should be completed in the coming days.
Southeast Notes: Jakucionis, Adebayo, Bufkin, Prunty
Heat guard Kasparas Jakucionis got off to a rough start in his Summer League debut, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The 20th overall pick struggled with his shot Saturday in a victory over San Antonio in the California Classic, going 1-of-7 from the field and 0-of-4 from three-point range. He also committed three turnovers in 22 minutes of action.
“Today was my first game and it was different,” Jakucionis said. “The game style and everything is different. But I’m happy with the team’s performance. I think we played pretty good. We had good effort, we shared the ball well and we played as a team.”
Even though he only finished with one assist, Jakucionis made several nice passes to teammates who weren’t able to hit their shots, Chiang adds. Jakucionis was one of the highest-usage guards in college basketball at Illinois last season, but Miami tried him both on and off the ball in Saturday’s game.
“I think Kas was very steady,” Summer League coach Eric Glass said. “That’s the one thing I’ve noticed about him. Even through the training camp we had, there were never really any high moments, any low moments, he was just super steady, super solid. And I thought that’s what he brought us today.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Heat should consider trading Bam Adebayo, who’s starting to seem out of place on an increasingly young roster, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Adebayo is close to his 28th birthday and is entering the final season before his extension kicks in. Winderman states that it will be tough to justify paying Adebayo $51MM during the 2026/27 season without a competitive team around him.
- The Hawks are eager to see how Kobe Bufkin looks during Summer League after recovering from January shoulder surgery, per Grant Afseth of RG. Bufkin may not play the entire schedule in Las Vegas, but Afseth hears that he’s been impressive in scrimmages since receiving medical clearance to resume playing. Sources tell Afseth that Atlanta has refused multiple trade offers for Bufkin, including one from Sacramento that was reported this week.
- Bucks assistant Joe Prunty is set to join the Magic‘s coaching staff, sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link). Prunty began his coaching career in 1996 and has spent time as an interim head coach in Atlanta and Milwaukee.
Southwest Notes: Durant, Finney-Smith, Roddy, Shammgod, Pelicans
Trading for Kevin Durant and adding Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency should solve the outside shooting woes that have bogged down the Rockets‘ offense, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. He notes that Houston went just 5-of-17 from beyond the arc in a Game 7 loss to Golden State while averaging just 78.0 points per 100 half-court plays. Management believed the team had become too reliant on scoring off the offensive glass and needed to find a way to stretch opposing defenses.
Durant, who remains one of the league’s top shooters at age 36, should go a long way toward fixing the problem. Iko notes that Phoenix managed to be a top-10 half-court team last season, which is largely due to Durant’s brilliance. He should provide the lion’s share of Houston’s offense, with elite athletes surrounding him to keep opposing defenses honest.
Finney-Smith posted two huge games against the Rockets in March and April, Iko adds, going a combined 12-of-20 from three-point range. Iko cites statistics from Cleaning the Glass showing that Finney-Smith’s on-off numbers were +10.8 during his time with Brooklyn last season and +9.3 with Los Angeles. Iko expects the Rockets to see fewer zones with Durant and Finney-Smith on hand to counter them.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Rockets two-way player David Roddy appears to be headed to the Hawks as compensation for Clint Capela when a seven-team deal becomes official on Sunday, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Roddy began last season with Atlanta before being waived at the trade deadline.
- God Shammgod talked to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News about his decision to leave the Mavericks‘ coaching staff and join his friend Jamahl Mosley with the Magic. Shammgod is among four assistants Dallas is losing this offseason. He has been with the organization since 2016 and said he never expected to make such a move a month ago. “I’ve been very fortunate, being under a great coach like Rick Carlisle, and then going to another good coach like (Jason Kidd) and being a part of one of the best organizations in the world,” Shammgod said. “And Mark Cuban, you know, probably one of the greatest owners in sports — but, to me, an even better person. There will always be a love relationship for me here in Dallas. I just appreciate everything Dallas did for me, as a coach and as a person.”
- New Pelicans head of basketball operations Joe Dumars is taking a huge chance that the young roster he has assembled can be a playoff contender, observes William Guillory of The Athletic. If it doesn’t work out, Guillory believes Dumars will be facing a full rebuild that could include trading Zion Williamson and firing coach Willie Green.
Atlantic Notes: Bona, Grimes, Lillard, Knicks
Adem Bona was one of the few bright spots in a disastrous year for the Sixers, and the rookie center is eager to get an early start on next season tonight in the Salt Lake City Summer League, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Injuries to Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond and others created unexpected playing time for Bona, who appeared in 58 games, including 11 starts, while averaging 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per night.
“I’m going into my sophomore year,” he said. “You can only go up from here, like learning from mistakes and stuff like that. Yeah, I’m really excited to see what this upcoming year has to hold for the team and also being a part of it.”
Tonight’s game against the host Jazz features a matchup of top-five picks VJ Edgecombe, whom the Sixers took at No. 3, and Ace Bailey, who fell out of favor in Philadelphia after he canceled a scheduled workout in hopes of being selected by another team. Sixers fans will also get their first look at Auburn big man Johni Broome, a national Player of the Year candidate who was selected in the second round.
“I feel like our skill sets complement each other,” Bona said. “Me and Johni, we cannot wait to be able to share the floor together, to be about to operate on the low block together, high low, sometimes space the floor. So I think that’s the goal, to work together, to be able to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and try to complement each other while we’re on the floor, and my goal is always to be able to help the team, even if I share the floor with Joel. I’m going to do my part.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- There has been “little to no movement” so far regarding restricted free agent guard Quentin Grimes and the Sixers, sources tell Kelly Iko and Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). Iko adds that the two sides “are hoping to continue communications” in the next few days. Grimes reportedly wants to average $25MM per season in his next contract.
- Signing Damian Lillard could help the Celtics return to title contention in 2026/27, states Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. A source tells Washburn that Boston is among the cities Lillard would consider and the team has interest in the high-scoring guard, who may not play this season due to a torn Achilles. Washburn recalls that Lillard didn’t want to join the Celtics when trade rumors began to surface a few years ago, but he has since developed a friendship with Jayson Tatum. Boston has the $5.7MM taxpayer midlevel exception to offer.
- Steve Popper of Newsday doesn’t believe the Knicks should get involved if the Lakers decide to trade LeBron James. Popper contends it would be a mistake to part with Karl-Anthony Towns or multiple rotation players to match James’ $52.6MM salary, adding that the team should preserve its resources in case Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes available.