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Celtics To Trade Holiday To Blazers For Simons, Second-Round Picks

June 23rd, 2025 at 10:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics and Trail Blazers have agreed to a trade that will send Jrue Holiday to Portland in exchange for Anfernee Simons and a pair of second-round picks, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The second-rounders going to Boston will be the Knicks’ 2030 pick and the Trail Blazers’ own 2031 selection, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).

The move comes less than two years after the teams got together to make a trade sending Holiday from Portland to Boston in October 2023. In that deal, the Blazers – who had just acquired Holiday from the Bucks in the Damian Lillard blockbuster, acquired Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, and two future first-round picks from the Celtics.

Holiday helped the Celtics win a championship in 2024, but had seen his role dialed back significantly since arriving in Boston, having taken a back seat offensively to higher scorers like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, and even Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard.

In 2024/25, Holiday averaged just 11.1 points per game, his lowest mark since his rookie year in 2009/10. He also contributed 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 steals in 30.6 minutes per night, along with a .443/.353/.909 shooting line in 62 outings (all starts).

Given Holiday’s relatively modest role in Boston and a contract that will pay him $32.4MM next season and $104.4MM in total over the next three years, he was considered a strong trade candidate this summer for a Celtics team looking to reduce its payroll.

Boston will do just that in this deal, as Simons is on track to earn approximately $27.7MM in 2025/26, which is the final year of his contract. Although that’s only about $4.7MM less than what Holiday will make, the swap will generate a projected $40MM+ in tax savings for the Celtics, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Boston is deep in luxury-tax territory and will face more punitive “repeater” taxpayer penalties next season.

The Celtics are still projected to be about $18MM above the second tax apron for ’25/26, per Marks, but they continue to engage in trade discussions involving other players on their roster, sources tell Charania (Twitter link), so more cost-cutting moves are likely coming.

Besides saving some money in the trade, Boston will add a talented 26-year-old guard in Simons, who has averaged 19.9 points and 4.5 assists per game with a .436/.381/.901 shooting line over the past four seasons in Portland since taking on a featured role with the club. Simons should help make up some of the offense the Celtics lost when Tatum went down this spring with an Achilles tear that is expected to sideline him for most or all of next season. Simons will also be eligible to sign a contract extension with the C’s beginning in July.

The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, will bring in a defensive-minded veteran who will help shore up the team’s perimeter defense while serving as a veteran mentor for Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, two young guards still on their rookie scale contracts. Holiday turned 35 earlier this month and the back end of his contract could become cumbersome, but Portland presumably believes he can help the team take another step forward after it improved from 21 wins in 2023/24 to 36 victories this past season.

Although Simons was the Blazers’ leading scorer last season, the team had a better net rating when he was off the court (-0.2) than when he was on it (-4.6) and went 8-4 in games he didn’t play.

Assuming the trade doesn’t expand to include additional pieces, the Blazers will become hard-capped at the first tax apron for the 2025/26 league year as a result of taking back more salary than they send out in this deal. The team projects to be roughly $6.6MM below the luxury tax line and $14.7MM below the first apron once the move is finalized, notes Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

The Kings, Raptors, and Mavericks were among the other teams who had interest in Holiday, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. They’ll have to look elsewhere for point guard help now, as the Blazers intend to hang onto Holiday in the hopes of making a push for a playoff spot next season, per Fischer (Twitter link).

Mavericks, Daniel Gafford Agree To Three-Year Extension

June 23rd, 2025 at 6:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks center Daniel Gafford intends to sign a three-year contract extension, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports. The contract is worth approximately $54MM, Marc Stein tweets.

The extension, which will become official in July, does not include an option in the final year, Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal tweets. It’s fully guaranteed and will feature a 5% trade kicker, adds Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Gafford has one year and $14,386,320 remaining on the three-year contract he signed while a member of the Wizards. His new extension will run through the 2028/29 season.

Gafford appeared in 57 games this season, including 31 starts. He averaged a career-best 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per contest. Gafford is a bit undersized at center, listed at 6’10”, but has consistently been one of the NBA’s top shot-blockers since he entered the league in 2019.

Most of the shots that Gafford takes on offense are off lob passes or offensive rebounds. He has a career 70.9% field goal percentage.

The reasonably priced extension could make Gafford a trade chip if Dallas feels the need to trade a big man to balance its roster. As cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets, Gafford should remain trade-eligible after signing the extension, since his new contract won’t exceed the extend-and-trade limits (20% first-year raise; 5% subsequent raises; four total years, including the current contract). If he were to receive more than $54.3MM on the three-year deal, he would be ineligible to be dealt for six months.

If Gafford remains with the Mavericks, he should be one of the team’s top frontcourt reserves off the bench along with P.J. Washington, presuming that Dereck Lively, Anthony Davis and top pick Cooper Flagg will start.

Bulls’ Jevon Carter Picking Up 2025/26 Option

June 23rd, 2025 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Bulls point guard Jevon Carter is exercising his player option for the 2025/26 season, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). The move will lock in a salary worth $6,809,524.

Carter, who signed a three-year, $19.5MM contract with the Bulls after enjoying a career year in Milwaukee in 2022/23, hasn’t played a major role during his first two seasons in Chicago, having had a hard time earning consistent minutes in a crowded backcourt. Josh Giddey, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Lonzo Ball, and Tre Jones were all ahead of him on the depth chart this past season.

Carter has averaged 4.7 points, 1.2 assists, and 0.9 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game in total 108 outings since becoming a Bull, with a subpar shooting line of .378/.330/.706. He posted averages of 8.0 PPG, 2.4 APG, and 2.5 RPG in 22.3 MPG on .423/.421/.816 shooting in his final season with the Bucks.

While Carter doesn’t project to have a clearer path to playing time in Chicago in 2025/26, there’s some uncertainty surrounding a few of the Bulls’ guards. Giddey will be a restricted free agent, Jones will be an unrestricted free agent, and White, Dosunmu, and Ball will also be on expiring or pseudo-expiring contracts. One or two of those players could emerge as trade candidates, though Carter figures to be on the trade block himself, since his $6.8MM cap hit could help grease the wheels on a deal.

As our tracker shows, Carter is the only Bull who had a player option decision to make this month.

Wizards’ Khris Middleton Opts In For 2025/26

June 23rd, 2025 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Wizards forward Khris Middleton has exercised his player option for the 2025/26 season, postponing his free agency until next summer, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

Middleton, who will turn 34 in August, was always expected to take this route, since his option will pay him $33,345,679 next season. That’s significantly more than he would’ve earned next season if he had opted for free agency, given his health issues in recent years.

A three-time All-Star between 2019 and 2022 and a key member of the Bucks team that won a title in 2021, Middleton has been slowed by wrist, knee, and ankle injuries over the past three seasons, having appeared in just 125 total regular season games since the fall of 2022. He has averaged 14.1 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game with a .472/.356/.863 shooting line during that stretch.

Middleton showed during the 2023 and 2024 playoffs that he can still be dangerous when he’s at full health, having averaged 24.3 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 5.4 APG on .475/.381/.883 shooting in 11 games across those two brief postseason runs. However, his inability to stay healthy and perform at that level consistently – combined with his sizable contract – prompted the Bucks to trade him to Washington at the 2025 trade deadline in February.

While Middleton is a Wizard for now, the odds are probably against him spending the full 2025/26 season in D.C. with a rebuilding team. His big expiring contract could come in handy for salary-matching purposes in a trade, either this summer or during the season, if Washington hangs onto him into the fall in the hopes of rebuilding his value. If the forward has another down year and is still on the Wizards’ roster after the trade deadline, a buyout could be in play at that point.

Even with Middleton’s $33MM+ salary locked in, the Wizards project to operate comfortably below the luxury tax line this season.

Rockets Trading For Suns’ Kevin Durant

June 22nd, 2025 at 12:30pm CST by Rory Maher

The Rockets are acquiring Kevin Durant from the Suns in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th pick in the 2025 draft, and five second-rounders, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

The Heat were the other finalist for Durant, sources tell Charania.

According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), who reported this morning that Phoenix was “very close” to trading Durant, the second-round selections the Suns will receive are the 59th pick in this year’s draft, two picks in 2026, Boston’s selection in 2030, and Houston’s pick in 2032.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, the blockbuster trade cannot be formally completed until July 6 due to the poison pill provision affecting Green’s rookie scale extension.

Durant, who turns 37 years old in September, has been on the trade block for months after Phoenix nearly sent him to Golden State prior to the February deadline, a move that reportedly fell apart after the former NBA MVP didn’t want to return to the Warriors, especially during the season. Four months later, he’ll be heading to Houston, one of three teams said to be on his wish list, along with San Antonio and Miami.

Although Durant will be entering his 19th NBA season this fall, he continues to perform at an All-NBA level. In 62 games for the Suns this past season, he averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 36.5 minutes per game, with an impressive shooting line of .527/.430/.839.

In Durant, Houston now has a star capable of creating his own shot and generating half-court offense, which was an issue for the team during its first-round playoff loss to Golden State this spring. While Green was Houston’s leading scorer during the regular season, he struggled in his first appearance on the postseason stage — he poured in 38 points in Game 2 but failed to score more than 12 points in any of the series’ other six games.

Still, Green is just 23 years old, so he has the potential to continue improving and expanding his game after averaging 20.1 points per contest on .422/.342/.799 shooting in his first four NBA seasons.

According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), although Jabari Smith Jr. was among the young Rockets players the Suns were reportedly interested in, Houston was insistent on only doing a Durant trade if Green was the only member of its young core it gave up.

Phoenix now has a crowded shooting guard depth chart, with Green joining Devin Booker and Bradley Beal on the roster, but Gambadoro tweets that there are no plans to flip Green to another team and that he’ll play alongside Booker in the Suns’ backcourt. There has been an expectation that Beal won’t return to the club next season, though his contract (which includes a no-trade clause) will make him difficult to move.

Besides Green, the Suns are also adding a solid defensive wing in Brooks and a lottery pick in this week’s draft, which will put them in position to add another promising young prospect to their core.

Durant will be on an expiring $54.7MM contract, so the Rockets will likely make an effort to extend his deal beyond 2025/26. As Marks tweets, the star forward will be eligible for a two-year extension worth roughly $122MM as of July 6. If he were to wait six months, his maximum extension would be worth a little more, though the difference would be minimal (approximately $2MM).

Green’s three-year, $105.3MM rookie scale extension will go into effect this July. That deal includes a third-year player option and a 10% trade kicker, though that bonus will likely have to be eliminated or amended in order to make this trade work, Marks notes.

Brooks, who is on a descending contract, is owed about $41.1MM in base salary over the next two seasons, with an additional $2MM in incentives ($1MM per year) for making the first round of the playoffs.

Because Houston achieved that feat this season and Phoenix didn’t, that bonus will change from “likely to be earned” to “unlikely” as a result of the trade, reducing Brooks’ 2025/26 cap hit by $1MM. That will be a key to making the trade legal for the Suns, who can’t take back more salary than they send out as long as they continue to operate over the second tax apron, Marks adds (via Twitter).

According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter links), the Heat improved their offer for Durant in recent days and received consideration from the Suns, but their offer ultimately couldn’t compete with Houston’s. Jackson suggests Miami was unwilling to include multiple first-round picks and young players in its package, while Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link) hears that the Heat’s unwillingness to include center Kel’el Ware was among the sticking points that led to Phoenix going in a different direction.

The Timberwolves were also involved in the Durant sweepstakes, but with no assurances from Durant that he actually wanted to be in Minnesota, they seemingly didn’t get all that close to making a deal, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

The Spurs, Raptors, and Clippers were among the other teams who were said to have interest in Durant before the Suns reached an agreement with the Rockets.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Nuggets’ Dario Saric Picks Up Player Option

June 22nd, 2025 at 12:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nuggets reserve big man Dario Saric has picked up his $5.4MM player option for the 2025/26 season, sources inform Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link).

Saric was inked to a two-year, $10.6MM deal last summer via Denver’s taxpayer mid-level exception. He was a relative disappointment, and quickly fell out of the team’s rotation.

The 31-year-old played just 16 regular season contests, averaging 3.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.4 APG in 13.1 MPG. He was out of David Adelman‘s playoff lineups entirely. Instead, power forward Aaron Gordon was often used as a small-ball center to back up three-time MVP starting five Nikola Jokic in the postseason.

Saric’s deadline to make a decision on the contract was June 29. Denver’s new-look front office, led by interim general manager Ben Tenzer, presumably isn’t surprised that he opted to lock in the security of the deal, since he would’ve been unlikely to earn more than the veteran’s minimum in free agency this summer.

For his career, the 6’10” big man boasts averages of 10.4 PPG and 5.3 RPG, and is a 36% three-point shooter on 3.6 triple tries a night. He could have some intriguing upside to another team, if Denver can find a destination to reroute his salary this offseason, but he’ll have negative value on the trade market.

Bucks’ Pat Connaughton Opts In For 2025/26

June 21st, 2025 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Bucks guard/forward Pat Connaughton has picked up his 2025/26 player option, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The move locks in Connaughton’s salary of $9,423,869 for next season and puts him on track to reach unrestricted free agency in 2026.

Connaughton’s option decision comes as no surprise. He played a key role on Milwaukee’s championship team in 2020/21 and had a career year in ’21/22, when he averaged 9.9 points per game on .458/.395/.833 shooting, but his playing time and his production have dropped off significantly since then.

This past season, the 32-year-old wing averaged just 5.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 14.7 minutes per game across 41 outings. His 32.1% three-point percentage was his worst mark since his rookie year in 2015/16.

Since Connaughton wasn’t going to receive a starting salary of $9.4MM if he had become a free agent, it makes sense for him to take the guaranteed money by exercising his option.

Now, the decision on Connaughton’s future is back in the Bucks’ hands. He’ll likely be a trade candidate on that $9.4MM expiring contract as Milwaukee looks to reshape its roster and remain in the playoff picture while Damian Lillard recovers from an Achilles tear. Given his drop-off in minutes and effectiveness, Connaughton won’t have any trade value on his own, but his deal could be used for salary-matching purposes.

As our player option tracker shows, Connaughton is one of three Bucks players with an option decision to make this month. Bobby Portis ($13.45MM) and Kevin Porter Jr. ($2.55MM) are viewed as good bets to opt out in search of more lucrative multiyear deals.

Mavs’ Dwight Powell Picks Up Player Option

June 21st, 2025 at 2:26pm CST by Eli Cohen

June 21: Powell has officially exercised his option, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).

June 20: Mavericks center Dwight Powell is exercising his player option for the 2025/26 season, reports Mark Stein of The Stein Line (via Twitter). Powell had until Tuesday to make a decision on the option, which will pay him $4MM next season.

Powell, Dallas’ longest-tenured player, appeared in 55 games for head coach Jason Kidd last season, averaging 2.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assist per game in 10.0 minutes per night.

Powell has been with the Mavericks since the 2014/15 season, when he was traded from Boston to Dallas in a mid-season deal. He was a regular starter for the club as recently as the 2022/23 season, but has seen his playing time decline within the last couple years.

The Mavericks have Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford all currently under contract at the center position and are on track to draft Cooper Flagg, who is expected to play minutes at power forward.

Powell’s return will give the Mavericks some depth in case of injury, as well as a veteran who can help instill Kidd’s schemes, assuming he remains on the roster. The big man, who will turn 34 next month, could also end up becoming a trade candidate if the team faces a cap or roster crunch this summer.

If he plays out his contract, Powell will be extension-eligible during the 2025/26 season and would become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Powell is one of two Mavs who holds a player option for ’25/26. Teammate Kyrie Irving also has a decision due by Tuesday.

Pelicans, Pacers Complete Draft-Pick Swap

June 17th, 2025 at 2:23pm CST by Luke Adams

2:23 pm: The trade is official, the Pelicans confirmed in a press release.

12:51 pm: The Pelicans and Pacers have agreed to a trade, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that Indiana is sending the No. 23 overall pick in this year’s draft to New Orleans, along with the draft rights to 2023 second-round pick Mojave King.

In exchange, the Pelicans will trade Indiana’s 2026 first-round pick back to the Pacers. That pick, which was originally sent to Toronto with top-four protection as part of the Pascal Siakam blockbuster at the 2024 deadline, was flipped to New Orleans at the 2025 deadline in the Brandon Ingram deal.

The deal will give the Pelicans some extra ammunition in this year’s draft. New Orleans also controls the No. 7 overall pick but previously traded away its second-rounder. The Pelicans will now have an opportunity to add two of the top 23 players from the 2025 draft pool, assuming the front office hangs onto both picks.

King, who was the 47th overall pick in the 2023 draft, has played in the G League, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico in the past two years. Although he’s not considered an elite draft-and-stash prospect, the 6’5″ guard is still just 23 years old, so it’s not out of the question that he’ll sign an NBA contract at some point.

As for the Pacers, the deal accomplishing two things. For one, it will remove a cap hold of roughly $3.24MM from their books for 2025/26, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That will give the team slightly more cap flexibility as it looks to re-sign Myles Turner without going too deep into luxury-tax territory.

Additionally, as Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports tweets, the move will free up more of the Pacers’ future first-rounders for trade purposes. Previously, due to the Stepien rule that prevents teams from leaving themselves without a pick in the first round of consecutive future drafts, the Pacers wouldn’t have been able to offer more than two first-rounders unconditionally in any trade package. Now they could offer up to four (2026, 2028, 2030, and 2032).

While teams typically aren’t permitted to make trades between the in-season trade deadline and the end of their season, the Pacers can make this deal while they remain alive in the NBA Finals because it doesn’t involve any players on their 15-man roster.

Magic Declining Options On Gary Harris, Cory Joseph

June 16th, 2025 at 9:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Magic are declining their options on the contracts of guards Gary Harris and Cory Joseph for next season, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Harris’ team option is worth $7.5MM, while Joseph’s is equivalent to his minimum salary ($3.47MM).

Neither move comes as a surprise. Harris, 30, had a limited role this season and once again battled injuries. He saw action in just 48 games this season, averaging just 3.0 points in 14.8 minutes.

In previous seasons, Harris was at least a part-time starter. He recently expressed a desire to stay in Orlando, but if he does, it’ll come at a reduced salary.

“I love Orlando,” Harris said earlier in the spring. “My kids love it here. It’s been great to be a part of what we’ve been building here in this city, but you know how the league is. There’s a lot uncertain. You never know what’s going to happen. So all I can do is control what I can, continue to put the work in [and] stay ready for whatever the future may hold. But I definitely love my time here in Orlando, so we’ll see if it continues.”

Joseph, 33, received some unexpected playing time due to injuries. He averaged 3.5 points and 1.4 assists in 12.2 minutes per game, appearing in 50 contests (16 starts).

These moves are a byproduct of the Desmond Bane blockbuster trade with the Grizzlies. Orlando will presumably be looking to stay below the luxury tax line and avoid operating in apron territory — declining these options will assist that cause. Bane has a $36.7MM salary for next season.