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Pre-Camp Roster Snapshot: Northwest Division

September 5th, 2022 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at each NBA team’s current roster situation, evaluating which clubs still have some moves to make and which ones seem most prepared for training camp to begin.

This series is meant to provide a snapshot of each team’s roster at this time, so these articles won’t be updated in the coming weeks as more signings, trades, and cuts are made. You can follow our roster counts page to keep tabs on teams’ open spots as opening night nears.

We’re wrapping up our pre-camp Roster Snapshot series today with the Northwest Division. Let’s dive in…

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets don’t really need to make any roster moves between now and the start of training camp. Their projected 15-man regular season roster looks set, as do their two-way slots — Gillespie suffered a major leg injury, but Denver reportedly intends to hang onto him as he recovers.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Knight, Nowell, and Rivers look like pretty safe bets to join the 12 players with guaranteed salaries on the 15-man regular season roster, but that’s not set in stone yet. The partial guarantees owed to Rivers ($650K) and Knight ($350K) are modest enough that the Wolves could theoretically go in a different direction without being on the hook for much money.

Still, a player like Elleby or Garza would probably have to really impress Minnesota in training camp and the preseason in order to make the regular season squad.

Oklahoma City Thunder

With 17 players on guaranteed contracts and Krejci owed a $782K partial guarantee, the Thunder will have to trade or release at least three players on standard deals before opening night. Bazley, Favors, Jerome, Maledon, and Krejci are among those whose roster spots may not be 100% guaranteed quite yet.

Additionally, while Oklahoma City doesn’t have a two-way opening, it wouldn’t be a shock if the team makes a change to one of its two-way slots in the next month and a half. A player in the second year of a two-way contract, like Waters, often has a tenuous hold on his spot if he hasn’t yet proven himself as a rotation player.

Portland Trail Blazers

Having moved out of luxury tax territory by a hair, the Trail Blazers are unlikely to fill their 15th roster spot, which would put them back in the tax. But they do still have a two-way spot to fill — Miller, Rhoden, Cacok, and Sarr would all be eligible to have their Exhibit 10 contracts converted into two-way deals, so there could be an open competition in camp.

Utah Jazz

Having acquired more players than they sent out in the Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and Patrick Beverley trades, the Jazz now have a roster logjam to clear. They’ll have to trade or waive at least two more players with guaranteed contracts before the regular season tips off.

It’s hard to say at this point whose roster spots might be in danger, since there are still several trade candidates on Utah’s roster, including Beasley, Bogdanovic, Bolmaro, Clarkson, Conley, Gay, and Johnson. If multiple players from that group are on the move in the coming weeks, the issue may ultimately sort itself out (for instance, trading three players in exchange for Russell Westbrook and draft compensation would quickly clear the excess).

Previously:

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Trade Breakdown: Patrick Beverley To Lakers

September 5th, 2022 at 8:01am CST by Rory Maher

This is the tenth installment in our series breaking down the major trades of the 2022 offseason. As opposed to giving out grades, this series will explore why the teams were motivated to make the moves. Let’s dive into a deal between the Lakers and Jazz…

On August 25, the Jazz traded Patrick Beverley to the Lakers in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson. Both Beverley and Johnson are on expiring deals, while Horton-Tucker has a player option for 2023/24.

The Lakers’ Perspective:

Marc Stein reported last week that the Lakers were initially reluctant to trade Horton-Tucker for Beverley as the front office was emphasizing youth and athleticism to revamp the roster after a disappointing ‘21/22 season that saw L.A. go 33-49 and miss out on the postseason. However, after LeBron James signed an extension, the team felt more comfortable making a win-now move to improve its roster.

Horton-Tucker is still just 21 years old, so he certainly has some untapped upside. The problem is, while he possesses some unique attributes, he needs the ball in his hands to be most effective on offense, and with ball-dominant players like James and Russell Westbrook on the roster, those opportunities were always going to be limited.

Complicating matters further is the fact that Horton-Tucker has been a poor outside shooter to this point (26.9% on three-pointers last season, 27.6% for his career), which hurt the team’s offensive spacing. He has the tools to be a good defender, but he was inconsistent on that end as well, which isn’t unusual for a young player.

Johnson was mainly included in the deal for salary-matching purposes, as the Lakers needed to add another $75K to Horton-Tucker’s salary to make the trade legal. He played with good energy and effort last season, but he’s a very limited offensive player who is about league-average defensively, so it’s not like he’ll be sorely missed.

At 34 years old, Beverley is probably past his peak, but he’s certainly a short-term upgrade and a much better fit for the way the Lakers’ roster is constructed. He’s the exact type of guard who has typically thrived alongside James throughout his career, fitting the mold of a three-and-D player who doesn’t need the ball to be effective.

Beverley certainly isn’t the most talented scorer, with a career average of 8.8 points per game. But while he has his share of limitations on offense, he’s self-aware and typically doesn’t try to do too much, which is a valuable trait in a role player.

Beverley holds a career mark of 37.8% from beyond the arc, which is above average, and he’s even better from the corners, nailing 40% of those shots in his career. Corner threes are particularly important for floor spacing, so he should help in that regard.

Beverley also takes care of the ball, posting a 3.54-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in ’21/22, and is a tenacious offensive rebounder, creating extra possessions seemingly out of nowhere.

Defense has been Beverley’s calling card throughout his career and is the main reason why he’s about to enter his 11th NBA season. He has been selected to three All-Defensive Teams, the last coming in ’19/20, and though he isn’t quite as good as he once was, he’s still a major backcourt upgrade on that end.

Beverley also brings a relentless energy, effort, toughness and competitiveness that’s hard to quantify with stats, but is certainly impactful. That’s part of the reason why his teams have made the postseason in eight of his ten seasons.

A hard-nosed (at times reckless) playing style has led to Beverley sustaining several injuries, which has to be a significant concern for the Lakers after having James and Anthony Davis miss significant chunks of the last two seasons. Over the past five years, Beverley has appeared in just 235 of a possible 390 regular season contests, which is just over 60%.

Beverley’s expiring deal will pay him $13MM in ‘22/23, and the Lakers will hold his Bird rights, so they’ll be able to go over the salary cap to re-sign him next summer if both parties are amenable to that arrangement.

The Jazz’s Perspective:

Prioritizing minutes for an aging veteran when your team is in the midst of a full-fledged rebuild — a direction made even more evident by trading Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland — doesn’t make sense, and the Jazz realized that pretty quickly, moving on from Beverley less than two months after landing him in the Rudy Gobert blockbuster with Minnesota.

That’s not to say Utah didn’t value Beverley, but he’s a player who actually helps you win games, and the Jazz appear to be trying to lose as many games as possible next season to get the best chance of landing a top prospect like Victor Wembanyama.

What does make sense is taking an upside swing on a developmental prospect like Horton-Tucker, who was one of the youngest players in his draft class (46th overall pick in 2019). Now entering his fourth season, Horton-Tucker is still younger than several incoming rookies, including No. 14 overall pick Ochai Agbaji, whom the Jazz just acquired in the Mitchell deal.

As previously mentioned, Horton-Tucker (also known as THT) has some unique qualities. Standing 6’4″ and weighing 234 pounds, he has a broad-shouldered, strong frame. He also possesses a freakish 7’1″ wingspan, and the combination of his strength and length allows him to do some things that other players are not physically capable of.

Just because he was a poor fit with the Lakers doesn’t mean he lacks talent, and Horton-Tucker certainly has a chance to be a better player than Beverley ever was. The Jazz are betting that giving him a runway for a bigger role might bring out the best in him, allowing Utah to reap the long-term rewards.

Horton-Tucker is not a three-and-D player, but that’s what the Lakers needed him to be, so that’s the role they asked him to play. He is, however, a skilled play-maker, showcasing a knack for getting into the lane with an array of behind-the-backs, crossovers and spin moves. He’s particularly adept at changing pace on the fly, which is a difficult skill to teach.

A solid but unspectacular athlete, Horton-Tucker’s primary attribute at this point is his ability to get to his spots, especially around the basket, though he hasn’t been the best at converting when he does — he shot 57% at the rim last season, which was in the 31st percentile of all players, per DunksAndThrees.com. Like Beverley, Horton-Tucker is a Chicago native who plays with a physical edge and a level of fearlessness that’s impressive to watch.

He has shown some nascent ability as a passer as well, especially off a live dribble, and could realistically average five-plus assists for Utah considering the lack of quality passers on the roster, especially if Mike Conley is traded. Horton-Tucker is also a solid off-ball cutter, something he was able to showcase a bit more a couple of years ago when playing with Marc Gasol, an excellent passing center who could space the floor.

Horton-Tucker needs work defensively — he has the physical tools to be effective, but he’s prone to mistakes, especially off the ball. He’s often slow to rotate as a help defender and is a little reach-happy on the ball, but those are fixable errors.

THT has an $11MM player option for ‘23/24, and there’s a reasonable chance that he picks it up, depending on how he performs next season. The Jazz will have his Bird rights if they’d like to keep him around.

The eighth pick of the 2015 draft, Johnson hasn’t developed into the player scouts thought he could be, and he’s unlikely to have much of a role for Utah. With the Mitchell deal complete, the Jazz will have 17 players on guaranteed deals, and that number needs to be cut down to 15 by the start of the regular season, so Johnson’s spot on the roster is far from secure.

Neither Horton-Tucker (-0.5) nor Johnson (-0.2) made much of an impact on winning last season, with both ranking in the bottom 100 in the league in value over replacement player, per Basketball-Reference. Beverley, meanwhile, recorded a career-best 1.7 VORP, good for 65th in the NBA.

There are several other advanced stats that indicate the same thing, with Beverley posting more win shares (4.1) than THT and Johnson combined (2.9). Beverley’s estimated plus/minus was +2.0, which ranked 68th in the league, per DunksAndThrees.com, while Horton-Tucker (-2.4, ranked 327th) and Johnson (-1.2, ranked 248th) were both net negatives by that metric. I could go on, but you get the point.

Ultimately, considering the Jazz are trying to lose in ’22/23 and the Lakers are trying to win, it was a logical trade for both sides.

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Northwest Notes: Sexton, Jazz Vets, Jokic, Favors

September 4th, 2022 at 2:43pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Details have emerged on the new contract signed by combo guard Collin Sexton, a key return piece from the Jazz‘s trade of All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link), Sexton agreed to a four-year, $70.95MM guaranteed deal as part of a sign-and-trade with the team that drafted him in the 2018 lottery, the Cavaliers.

Marks reveals that Sexton will earn $16.5MM during the 2022/23 season, with 5% salary bumps in each subsequent season, ending in an $18.975MM cap hit in 2025/26. Marks notes that the deal includes $500K in annual unlikely incentives — if all were reached, the 6’1″ guard would earn a total of $72.95MM over four years.

Sexton, still just 23, missed all but 11 games in 2021/22, after which control of the Cavaliers’ offense landed primarily at the feet of eventual 2022 All-Star point guard Darius Garland. In his 11 healthy games, all starts, Sexton averaged 16.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.1 APG and 0.9 SPG.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

  • Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets that he is skeptical of the Nuggets being able to land any Jazz veterans. Utah appears to be open to trading all of the older players on its roster for future draft picks and younger pieces, having already made four such deals thus far this offseason, including of its two 2022 All-Stars, Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Wind notes that, among Utah’s older players, jump-shooting power forward Bojan Bogdanovic would help Denver the most.
  • Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, the reigning two-time NBA MVP, is looking to tear it up overseas in EuroBasket for the Serbian national team, writes Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Jokic, along with fellow All-NBA European stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, is set to play five group stage games before even getting to elimination rounds.
  • Following the Jazz’s aforementioned decision to enact a roster teardown and accrue future assets to kick off a rebuild, it seems likely that the heavily protected 2024 first-round draft pick included as part of last year’s trade of bench big man Derrick Favors from Utah to the Thunder will remain with Utah, writes Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman. The selection is top-1o protected from 2024-25, and then top-eight protected through 2026. If it lands in its protected range for all three years, it would stay with the Jazz and the Thunder wouldn’t get anything.
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Northwest Notes: A-Rod, Garnett, Nuggets, Mitchell

September 3rd, 2022 at 9:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

The sale of the Timberwolves shouldn’t be considered in jeopardy because of Alex Rodriguez’s reported financial situation, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Krawczynski talked to multiple sources who still expect the transaction to be completed as originally drawn up, even though a New York Post story this week questioned whether Rodriguez will have the money for his share of the next payment.

Rodriguez and Marc Lore have a unique arrangement with current owner Glen Taylor in which they are taking over full ownership on an installment plan. The next payment is due at the end of this year and the final one must be made by December 31, 2023. Krawczynski says there has been skepticism in some parts of the league about Lore and Rodriguez since the deal was announced, but there’s no immediate reason to believe they’ll miss either payment.

Krawczynski also notes that the duo has earned Taylor’s trust, as he empowered them to recruit president of basketball operations Tim Connelly away from Denver and gave them a voice on the Rudy Gobert trade.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Timberwolves, including Lore and Rodriguez, want to fix their relationship with Kevin Garnett and eventually retire his jersey, Krawczynski adds. The former All-Star may get the chance to buy a small piece of the team, although Krawczynski hasn’t heard of any “substantive discussions” toward that end. Garnett has also discussed being part of an ownership group for an expansion team in Seattle.
  • The Nuggets traded for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and signed Bruce Brown this offseason because of their projected fit alongside Nikola Jokic, assistant general manager Tommy Balcetis said in an interview with Fastbreak on Fan Nation. “Getting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown are both moves that really stand out for us because they are two players who understand their roles and are tailor-made to play with someone like Nikola,” Balcetis said. “… With Kentavious, his abilities to shoot and defend at a high level are what separate him from others who play his position. Bruce is a versatile guy on both ends of the floor that will fit into any role we need him in as well.”
  • The Jazz offered a farewell message to Donovan Mitchell after his trade to the Cavaliers became official today (Twitter link). “We got to watch you light up the league as a rookie and cheer you on as you became a perennial All-Star,” it read. “We witnessed you embrace and serve our community while standing for what’s right and uniting Jazz fans everywhere. Thank you for all the good you did here @spidadmitchell.”
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Knicks Rumors: Mitchell, Rosas, Barrett, Grimes

September 3rd, 2022 at 8:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks believe they could have topped the offer that sent Donovan Mitchell to the Cavaliers, but they never got the chance to make a counterproposal, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Talks with the Jazz were on hold after word leaked late Monday night about an extension agreement with RJ Barrett. The Knicks were hoping to resume negotiations, but Utah reached a deal with Cleveland before that could happen.

Some members of the Knicks didn’t feel like they got “a fair shake” in the trade talks, and Bondy wonders whether the experience is related to the team’s high-profile appearance at a Jazz-Mavericks playoff game in April. New York, which was known to have interest in both Mitchell and Jalen Brunson, whom it ultimately signed, sent executives William Wesley and Allan Houston to the game, along with Julius Randle. They all sat at courtside, which reportedly upset officials from both Utah and Dallas.

The Knicks could have offered the Jazz more draft assets than they got from Cleveland, and they believe their early offers that centered on Barrett and first-round picks were better than the final deal. Bondy states that it’s unlikely that Utah executive Danny Ainge would sabotage a deal because of bitterness over the playoff stunt or a feud with CAA, but Bondy notes that Ainge only made one trade with the Knicks during his 18 years in the Celtics’ front office.

There’s more from New York:

  • Gersson Rosas, who serves as senior basketball advisor with the Knicks, handled most of the negotiations with Utah, sources tell Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Rosas has a friendly relationship with Jazz general manager Justin Zanik, so they did most of the talking instead of Ainge and Knicks president Leon Rose, according to Washburn’s sources. Although Rosas didn’t complete the deal, the report shows that he has assumed more than just an advisory role with the franchise.
  • The Knicks’ decision to give Barrett an extension was in reaction to the failed talks with the Jazz, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. A league source tells Berman that under normal circumstances, the team would have preferred to watch Barrett go through training camp before discussing the extension or possibly even wait until he hit restricted free agency next summer. The Knicks drafted Barrett before Rose and Wesley joined the organization. “They didn’t want to pay RJ now, they like RJ, but he’s not one of their guys,’’ Berman’s source said. “The preference was to trade him in a Donovan deal. … If they got Donovan without Barrett in the deal, they weren’t going to pay RJ now.’’ 
  • New York’s priority in trade talks was keeping Quentin Grimes, states David Aldridge of The Athletic. Aldridge recommends that the Knicks should dip into their stockpile of draft assets to try to get Myles Turner and Buddy Hield from the Pacers.
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Mitchell Thanks Snyder, Fans On Instagram

September 3rd, 2022 at 8:36am CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Donovan Mitchell thanked former Jazz coach Quin Snyder and Utah fans in an Instagram post as he waits for the blockbuster deal with the Cavaliers to become official. “Thank you for the memories and the incredible times… you guys watched me grow up on and off the floor… Coach Quin thank you for giving me the opportunity and trusting me to lead this team for the past 5 years‼️”
  • Grading the impending deal, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News gives the Jazz a B-plus and the Cavs a B. Todd notes the Jazz accomplished their goal of trying to get younger and to come away with some assets for future use. There’s also the possibility of Mitchell or some of Cleveland’s other stars eventually bolting in free agency, which would make those unprotected picks and pick swaps even more valuable.
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Lakers Interested In Jazz Vets, Hope To Preserve 2023 Cap Room

September 2nd, 2022 at 8:24pm CST by Rory Maher

The Lakers have “some interest” in Jazz veterans Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson, but are still trying to maintain their cap room for 2023, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports (Twitter links). The Lakers currently project to have about $30MM in cap room next summer.

As Zillgitt observes, Conley’s $24.36MM salary for 2023/24 is partially guaranteed at $14.32MM, while Clarkson has a player option worth $14.26MM, which may affect how much interest L.A. has in the two guards.

Bogdanovic is on a $19.55MM expiring contract, and several teams are reportedly pursuing the 33-year-old forward, a talented scorer and shooter who has converted at least 38.7% of his three-point tries in each of the last five seasons.

In order to match salaries, Russell Westbrook‘s $47.1MM expiring deal would have to be sent to Utah, because the Lakers don’t have any tradable mid-sized contracts. If they don’t want to take on money beyond next season, a package of Bogdanovic, Malik Beasley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker theoretically works for salary-matching purposes, and all are on expiring or pseudo-expiring deals (there’s a ’23/24 team option for Beasley at $16.52MM).

However, it’s unclear if the Lakers would be interested in that scenario, considering the Jazz might ask for both of the Lakers’ available first-round picks (2027 and 2029). Utah is in the middle of a roster teardown, with a particular emphasis on accumulating unprotected first-rounders.

In other Lakers-related news, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reassesses the team’s depth chart and rotation after acquiring Patrick Beverley from Utah in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson. Sources tell Buha that Thomas Bryant and Austin Reaves have been “standout performers” in offseason workouts, and Buha currently has both players slotted in the starting lineup at center and shooting guard, respectively.

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More Mitchell Trade Notes: Draft Picks, Knicks, Reactions

September 2nd, 2022 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Discussing the Donovan Mitchell trade on the latest episode of his Please Don’t Aggregate This podcast, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report notes that the far-off nature of the unprotected first-round picks in the Cavaliers‘ offer (2025, 2027, and 2029) was one reason why the Jazz preferred that package to New York’s. While the Knicks were offering a pair of unprotected first-rounders, those picks would have conveyed earlier, per Fischer.

The further down the road a draft pick is, the more volatile its potential position is, since it’s far easier to forecast how a team will perform during the next year or two than six or seven years from now. In other words, the Jazz have a better chance of striking gold on a first-round pick in 2027 or 2029 than they would have on a 2023 or 2024 pick.

Here’s more on the Mitchell blockbuster:

  • Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype takes a closer look at a few specific details of the Mitchell trade, explaining how the “base year compensation” rule affects Collin Sexton, examining Utah’s proximity to the luxury tax line, and breaking down the Jazz’s new 2023 cap room projection.
  • Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post doesn’t blame the Knicks for not going all-in for Mitchell, but he suggests the pressure is building on team president Leon Rose to make good use of all the extra draft assets he has acquired in recent years. Dan Devine of The Ringer, meanwhile, says Knicks fans will have to hope that Rose’s patience and willingness to stick to his plan is eventually rewarded.
  • Although he acknowledges it’s possible that the Knicks, Cavaliers, and Jazz might regret the decisions they made this week a few years from now, John Hollinger of The Athletic says he likes what all three teams did. As Hollinger outlines, the difference between the Cavs’ and Knicks’ current states made it more palatable for Cleveland to meet Utah’s asking price than it would’ve been for New York.
  • Chris Mannix of SI.com makes a similar case to Hollinger’s, arguing that Knicks fans should be just as happy about not acquiring Mitchell as Cavaliers fans should be about landing him. Cleveland is closer to championship contention than New York, according to Mannix, who writes that paying an extravagant price for Mitchell might’ve ultimately set the Knicks back.
  • Gordon Monson of The Salt Lake Tribune pens a farewell to Mitchell on behalf of Utah, where the young guard evolved into a star during the first five years of his career.
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Jazz Continue To Engage In Trade Discussions

September 2nd, 2022 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have traded three starters from last year’s roster so far this offseason, but even after moving Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and Royce O’Neale for a boatload of draft picks, the team isn’t necessarily done with its offseason work.

According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, the Jazz continue to engage in trade conversations about a number of their remaining veterans, including Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson.

In the latest episode of his Please Don’t Aggregate This podcast, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report confirms that Bogdanovic, Conley, and Clarkson are “definitely on the trade block.” Fischer says he has also gotten the impression that the Jazz would “love to move off” Rudy Gay and has heard Leandro Bolmaro‘s name come up in some trade rumors.

Even beyond those five players, Utah would likely be willing to listen to inquiries on many others members of their roster, including Malik Beasley, according to Fischer. Jarred Vanderbilt is another player the club could theoretically move, though Fischer says a team might have to “knock Utah’s socks off” to acquire the young forward.

Based on the deals they’ve made so far this summer, it’s safe to assume the Jazz would be prioritizing draft assets as they continue to gauge the trade market.

Among Utah’s veterans, Bogdanovic might be the one with the most trade value. He’s on a reasonable $19.55MM expiring contract and is a talented frontcourt scorer, having averaged 18.4 PPG over the last three seasons (204 games) with the Jazz. The 33-year-old forward is also a major threat from beyond the arc — he has made at least 38.7% of his three-point tries in each of the last five seasons.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reported on Thursday that the Suns had inquired on Bogdanovic, but Phoenix is hardly the only team with interest. Gambadoro tweeted late last night that several teams, including the Lakers, are eyeing Bogdanovic.

Any trade sending Bogdanovic to the Lakers would have to involve Russell Westbrook for salary-matching purposes, and would require at least one or two other players to go to Los Angeles — the Jazz would likely try to pry away the Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in that scenario, though L.A. has been reluctant to attach more than one first-rounder to Westbrook.

Bogdanovic’s cap hit of nearly $20MM will make it tricky for certain teams to seriously pursue him. For instance, while he might be a good fit in Boston following Danilo Gallinari‘s injury, the Celtics probably can’t make a viable offer for him that doesn’t include at least one key rotation player whose value matches or exceeds Bogdanovic’s.

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Knicks Notes: Reddish, Barrett, Mitchell

September 2nd, 2022 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Following up on a Marc Berman report from Thursday, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News confirms that Knicks forward Cam Reddish would like a change of scenery.

“It’s clear Cam has no place (with the Knicks),” Bondy’s source said, adding that the former lottery pick would prefer to be relocated.

After Berman published his report on Thursday, Reddish responded to an Instagram comment claiming that he requested a trade and seemingly disputed that notion: “When I do that? Y’all be trippin.”

Still, as Bondy observes (via Twitter), wanting a change of scenery and formally requesting a trade are two different things. Even if Reddish hasn’t done the latter, we now have multiple reports suggesting he’s hoping for the former.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • RJ Barrett‘s new four-year extension with New York has a standard rising structure, starting at about $23.9MM in 2023/24 and increasing to $29.6MM by the fourth year, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. According to Marks, Barrett will have $3MM in annual incentives — $1MM apiece for making an All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive team.
  • On his latest Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst claimed that the Knicks’ decision to halt Mitchell trade talks earlier this week and sign Barrett to an extension “created an incredible amount of animus” between the Knicks and Jazz (hat tip to RealGM). Barrett’s new deal complicated the salary-matching possibilities between the Knicks and Jazz due to the poison pill provision, and would’ve forced the two teams to reset their negotiations.
  • The Knicks planned to continue pursuing Donovan Mitchell after agreeing on Monday to extend Barrett, but the Jazz began on Tuesday to focus on their discussions with the Cavaliers and never circled back to the Knicks before agreeing to a deal with Cleveland, says ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
  • Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report argues that the Knicks were wise to resist meeting Utah’s asking price for Mitchell, calling it a “disciplined” decision not to push so many of their chips into the middle of the table. Not everyone was as enthusiastic about New York’s decision though. “Who are they saving their picks for?” one player agent said to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. “(The Knicks) don’t really have the patience to build through the draft. Are they getting someone better than Donovan?”
  • In case you missed it, we passed along several reports earlier today on what the Knicks had been offering for Mitchell.
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