The 2021-22 season and NBA Draft are both in the books, and now all eyes are on the start of free agency. The speculation and rumors that surround free agency are what make this time of the year truly entertaining. This summer may not have some of the biggest names available on the free-agent market, but it's still going to be a hectic offseason. Hours before free agency officially kicked off, Kevin Durant requested a trade away from the Brooklyn Nets. One of the NBA's biggest superstars is now set to change teams this summer, and KD's trade request will undoubtedly impact how teams handle their offseason business.
NBA free agency will start Thursday at 6 p.m. ET, when teams can start negotiating deals with players. However, contracts won't actually be official until the moratorium period is lifted on July 6. The NBA has reportedly told teams that the salary cap for next season is projected to be set at $123.6 million, up $11.6 million from last year's $112 million cap figure. Zach LaVine and Deandre Ayton are among the top unrestricted free agents available this offseason. One name off the board is Jalen Brunson, who reportedly agreed to a four-year, $110M deal with the New York Knicks.
Not many gaudy deals should be expected this summer because as it stands right now, only five teams are projected to have significant cap space to work with. The Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks are all projected to have the most cap space available. Follow below for all the updates, rumors and key information as we inch closer to the start of NBA free agency.
James Harden opted out of his deal, while Russell Westbrook chose to opt into his deal.
Before free agency officially tips off at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, players and teams had to make decisions on contract options, qualifying offers, and contracts that were either partially or non-guaranteed. Here’s the low down on who’s staying and who could be going.
Player options
Kyrie Irving has opted into his deal for the 2022-23 season with Brooklyn.
These players had an option in the final year of their contract. If they exercised it, they were in for one more year. If they declined it, they become free agents on Aug. 1.
Exercised (under contract for one more year)
Thanasis Antetokounmpo (MIL)
Tony Bradley (CHI)
Trey Burke (DAL, traded to HOU)
Pat Connaughton (MIL)
JaMychal Green (DEN, traded to OKC)
Jeff Green (DEN)
Derrick Favors (OKC)
Kyrie Irving (BKN)
Cory Joseph (DET)
Svi Mykhailiuk (TOR)
Kendrick Nunn (LAL)
John Wall (HOU, waived)
Russell Westbrook (LAL)
Declined (free agents)
Nicolas Batum (LAC)
Bradley Beal (WAS)
James Harden (PHI)
Patty Mills (BKN)
Bobby Portis (MIL)
P.J. Tucker (MIA)
Team options
Wolves center Naz Reid will be back with the team for 2022-23 after the team picked up his option.
Here, the decision lies with the team. If they exercised the team option, they keep the player for another year. If they declined it, they allowed him to become a free agent.
Exercised (under contract for one more year)
Oshae Brissett (IND)
Hamidou Diallo (DET)
Wenyen Gabriel (LAL)
Stanley Johnson (LAL)
Trey Lyles (SAC)
Jalen McDaniels (CHA)
Shake Milton (PHI)
Juwan Morgan (BOS)
Jaylen Nowell (MIN)
Naz Reid (MIN)
Isaiah Roby (OKC)
Dean Wade (CLE)
Declined and extended
Robert Covington (LAC)
Ivica Zubac (LAC)
Before free agency began, the Clippers declined the options on Covington and Zubac, but extend their contracts beyond the 2022-23 season.
Declined (free agents)
Luguentz Dort (OKC – Restricted)
Carsen Edwards (DET)*
Kessler Edwards (BKN – Restricted)
Luka Garza (DET)*
Sam Hauser (BOS – Restricted)
Frank Jackson (DET)
Mike Muscala (OKC)
Jae’Sean Tate (HOU – Restricted)
* Edwards and Garza were eligible for restricted free agency, but in addition to declining their team options, the Pistons chose not to extend them qualifying offers (see below). So they’re unrestricted free agents.
Qualifying offers
Deandre Ayton and Anfernee Simons both received qualifying offers before free agency opened.
Some players were eligible for restricted free agency. This group includes 2018 first-round draft picks who had their third and fourth-year options picked up and just completed their rookie contract, as well as other players who have played three or fewer seasons in the league.
Restricted free agency allows the team to match any offer the player receives from another team. But in order to have that right, the team must have issued the player a qualifying offer by Thursday. If a qualifying offer wasn’t issued, that player is an unrestricted free agent instead.
The qualifying offer is binding as a one-year contract. If the player signs it, he’s under contract for next season. He could also sign an offer sheet from another team (which his team would have the ability to match), and he and his team could agree on a new, multi-year contract. The team also has the ability to rescind the qualifying offer going forward (the list below is as of June 30.)
Issued (restricted free agents)
Deandre Ayton (PHX)
Marvin Bagley (DET)
Miles Bridges (CHA)
Vlatko Cancar (DEN)
Nic Claxton (BKN)
Amir Coffey (LAC)
Anthony Gill (WAS)
Caleb Martin (MIA)
Cody Martin (CHA)
Jordan Nwora (MIL)
Collin Sexton (CLE)
Anfernee Simons (POR)
Lonnie Walker IV (SAS)
Joe Wieskamp (SAS)
Not issued (unrestricted free agents)
Mo Bamba (ORL)
Bol Bol (ORL)
Moses Brown (CLE)
Troy Brown (CHI)
Devontae Cacok (SAS)
Facundo Campazzo (DEN)
Donte DiVincenzo (SAC)
CJ Elleby (POR)
Bruno Fernando (HOU)
Trent Forrest (UTA)
Aaron Holiday (PHX)
Elijah Hughes (POR)
Kevin Knox (ATL)
Skylar Mays (ATL)
Josh Okogie (MIN)
Eric Paschall (UTA)
Matt Thomas (CHI)
Juan Toscano-Anderson (GSW)
Ish Wainright (PHX)
Two-way free agents
This past season was the fifth with two-way players that can go between the NBA roster and the G League. Some two-way players are still under contract for next season. Those that aren’t can be restricted free agents if they were on the NBA team’s active or inactive list for 15 or more days of the regular season, if (like non-two-way free agents) they’ve played less than three years in the league, and if they were issued qualifying offers.
Here’s a rundown of two-way free agents …
Restricted
Justin Champagnie (TOR)
Sharife Cooper (ATL)
David Duke Jr. (BKN)
Malcolm Hill (CHI)
David Johnson (TOR)
Nathan Knight (MIN)
RJ Nembhard (CLE)
Theo Pinson (DAL)
Neemias Queta (SAC)
Davon Reed (DEN)
Admiral Schofield (ORL)
Brodric Thomas (BOS)
Quinndary Weatherspoon (GSW)
Unrestricted
Keljin Blevins (POR)
Iggy Brazdeikis (ORL)
Chris Chiozza (GSW)
Gary Clark (NOP)
Tyler Cook (CHI)
Melvin Frazier Jr. (OKC)
Brandon Goodwin (CLE)
Jared Harper (NOP)
Nate Hinton (IND)
Markus Howard (DEN)
Mason Jones (LAL)
Arnoldas Kulboka (CHA)
Anthony Lamb (HOU)
Scottie Lewis (CHA)
Gabriel Lundberg (PHX)
Mac McClung (LAL)
Xavier Moon (LAC)
Jamorko Pickett (DET)
Yves Pons (MEM)
Myles Powell (PHI)
Trevelin Queen (HOU)
Matt Ryan (BOS)
Jay Scrubb (LAC)
D.J. Stewart (SAS)
Lindell Wigginton (MIL)
Cassius Winston (WAS)
Robert Woodard (SAS)
McKinley Wright IV (MIN)
Moses Wright (DAL)
Gabe York (IND)
Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges was arrested in Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon and booked on a felony domestic violence warrant, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
The LAPD did not release details on the charges, but it confirmed to ESPN that Bridges was released later Wednesday on $130,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on July 20.
"The Charlotte Hornets are aware of the situation involving Miles Bridges," the team said in a statement Thursday. "We are in the process of gathering additional information. We will have no further comment at this time."
Bridges, the Hornets' leading scorer last season, is set to become a restricted free agent and could command a max contract in the coming weeks. The news comes on the eve of NBA free agency, which begins Thursday night with teams able to speak with free agents.
Bridges, 24, averaged career highs with 20.2 points and 7.0 rebounds last season in what amounted to a breakout season for the four-year NBA veteran while playing alongside All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball.
Bridges, who played at Michigan State, is also a rapper who goes by the name RTB MB.
The Hornets extended Bridges a qualifying offer Tuesday, which allows them to a chance to match any offer sheet made by another team.
"As an organization, we love Miles,'' Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said Tuesday. "We are going to bring him back. He has been great for the franchise, and I believe, with his work ethic, he's only going to get better.''
Although the 6-foot-7, 225-pound player, who was the 12th pick in the 2018 NBA draft, said after the season that he wanted to return to the Hornets, Bridges recently changed his Twitter bio from "forward for the Charlotte Hornets'' to "It's me.''
Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges was arrested in Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon and booked on a felony domestic violence warrant, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
The LAPD did not release details on the charges, but it confirmed to ESPN that Bridges was released later Wednesday on $130,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on July 20.
"The Charlotte Hornets are aware of the situation involving Miles Bridges," the team said in a statement Thursday. "We are in the process of gathering additional information. We will have no further comment at this time."
Bridges, the Hornets' leading scorer last season, is set to become a restricted free agent and could command a max contract in the coming weeks. The news comes on the eve of NBA free agency, which begins Thursday night with teams able to speak with free agents.
Bridges, 24, averaged career highs with 20.2 points and 7.0 rebounds last season in what amounted to a breakout season for the four-year NBA veteran while playing alongside All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball.
Bridges, who played at Michigan State, is also a rapper who goes by the name RTB MB.
The Hornets extended Bridges a qualifying offer Tuesday, which allows them to a chance to match any offer sheet made by another team.
"As an organization, we love Miles,'' Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said Tuesday. "We are going to bring him back. He has been great for the franchise, and I believe, with his work ethic, he's only going to get better.''
Although the 6-foot-7, 225-pound player, who was the 12th pick in the 2018 NBA draft, said after the season that he wanted to return to the Hornets, Bridges recently changed his Twitter bio from "forward for the Charlotte Hornets'' to "It's me.''
Free agency in the NBA often gets described as and sometimes can seem like a frenzy. More often than not, though, there’s a method to the perceived madness, a pecking order that isn’t frenzied at all.
It typically is this simple: The big dogs eat first.
That’s not to say that secondary- or tertiary-level signings don’t happen, sometimes shotgun-style, in the minutes after negotiations officially (ahem) begin Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. What it does say is that the biggest names, in pursuits and decisions, drive the market and determine which dominoes fall next.
The marquee names heading into this year’s free-agent class are Zach LaVine, Bradley Beal, James Harden, Deandre Ayton and Kyrie Irving, the last of whom opted-in with Brooklyn but still could shiver some timbers before all is done.
Next in line – actually, jumping the line based on the headlines in recent days – were Jalen Brunson and John Wall. They represent two ends of the gotta-have-him, can’t-afford-him spectrum of free agency. Brunson, 25, drove up his value with his postseason play for Dallas to the point that the Knicks reportedly will offer him a four-year, $110 million package.
Wall, 31, valued by Washington three years ago at $170 million over four years, will have played just 40 games on that deal while reportedly giving up only $6 million in 2022-23 to wiggle out via buyout for a reset with the Clippers.
Others might nail down their futures before all five of the following get dealt with and pencil-locked up in the next week (nothing becomes official until the moratorium period ends July 6). But all sorts of subsequent calculations and opportunities such as extensions and salary-cap exceptions will be affected by the ripple effects of these five cases:
1. Is Irving’s situation settled?
Kyrie Irving said he is opting in to his 4th season with the Nets.
It would be nice if it were, with Kyrie Irving opting in mostly to address his unfinished business with the Brooklyn Nets, his title aspirations with buddy Kevin Durant and his professional reputation badly in need of repair. That would be one way to spin it. Another way, however, is that there was no way Irving was going to take a $31 million pay cut — from the $37 million in his player option to about $6 million available in some team’s midlevel player exception. Nothing wrong with that, except that the seven-time All-Star sure made a lot of noise about the other places he preferred to play. So whether he’ll dedicate this season to doing right by the Nets is a huge “if.” They are, after all, the team that refused to give him a max extension. One big domino impacted by this is the Los Angeles Lakers, who suddenly have to scramble to Plan B with the largely flawed possibility of Plan A gone.
2. Does Harden stay in Philadelphia?
James Harden’s decision this offseason will dictate much of the Sixers’ future.
Harden’s deadline to opt into his $47.3 million salary for the final season of his current deal was the same as Irving’s (5 p.m. ET Wednesday). Most speculation saw him doing so, then adding a two-year contract extension from the Sixers worth an estimated $102 million. The prospect of him opting out to seek a longer, bigger deal ($270 million, oh my) in a tight market — at 33, with much to prove after his post-Nets move to Philadelphia, especially in the playoffs (18.6 ppg, 40.5% FG) — was almost too wacky to consider. Except for the wrinkle in which doing so would free up money for boss Daryl Morey to lure their old pal P.J. Tucker from Miami, after which Harden’s new deal with the Sixers would fit around it. It’s unthinkable that Harden would not be in Philly going forward, given the ordeal and costs of the Ben Simmons trade. Like Irving and opted-in Lakers guard Russell Westbrook, his contract and obstinance have curtailed his marketability.
3. Who signs Ayton to an offer sheet?
Deandre Ayton is perhaps the top big man target in free agency this summer.
Unlike the others on this list, Ayton is mired in the muck of restricted free agency. It can be a very appealing muck worth as much as $177 million — or $131 million if it comes in a four-year offer sheet from an outside team. But it can lug a Trojan Horse’s worth of emotions, too. Will Ayton resent the Suns not signing him outright or extending him last year? Might he opt to play on a one-year, $16.4 million qualifying offer to become unrestricted next summer? It seemed the decision not to extend him before last season let a little air out of that joyful 2021 Finals run. Then there’s the need factor: If not Ayton as the Suns’ long-term solution at center, then who? Will GM James Jones seek a Kevon Looney-level replacement as a big man capable of staying in games in this downsized league? What Phoenix can spend for fresh help, while facing extensions to holdovers Devin Booker, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder, hinges on Ayton’s whereabouts.
4. Will LaVine stay with Chicago?
Zach LaVine is an unrestricted free agent for the 1st time in his career.
Everything in its place and time is the perspective to apply here. Had the Bulls agreed to the extension LaVine sought last offseason, they wouldn’t have been able to upgrade the roster around him as dramatically as they did, adding in particular Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso to aid in the leap from 10 games under .500 to 10 over, with a playoff berth, in 2021-22. Now Chicago won’t only be offering the springy, hitting-his-prime wing with a much heavier number — presumably the max offer of five years, $212 million — but he has a better crew with which to chase success. Assuming he’s fully recovered from his recent knee surgery, LaVine figures to be even more central to the Bulls’ attack, with DeRozan needing a lesser load. It doesn’t hurt that the other teams with the most money aren’t as attractive as winning destinations.
5. Is Beal sticking with the Wizards?
Bradley Beal could land a massive deal to remain in Washington.
Beal can land himself this summer’s whopper, a five-year, $242 million contract that will take him to age 34 (he turned 29 Tuesday) and demonstrate his buy-in to the Wizards’ plans under coach Wes Unseld Jr. and president Tommy Sheppard. He could leave outright for one season and $63 million less. Or he can fish for a sign-and-trade to another team that could fast-track any postseason ambitions (Beal played in 34 playoff games his first five seasons, just 11 in his past five). Better be careful, though: Whatever his new team gives up to get him could be sorely missed once Beal arrives (think Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks). From Washington’s standpoint, what’s worse: the Wizards without Beal in 2022-23 or with the guard in decline in 2026-27?
The Atlanta Hawks have been the topic of many trade rumors early during this NBA offseason, and the buzz isn’t slowing down with free agency set to kick off on Thursday evening. Free agency officially kicks off at 6 pm ET on June 30, and the Hawks may be in line to make big changes in the coming days. Let’s dive into all of the details leading into the madness.
Hawks Free Agents
The following players are free agents for Atlanta: Delon Wright, Gorgui Dieng, Lou Williams, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Kevin Knox II, Sharife Cooper and Skylar Mays. The Hawks have bird rights on Wright and Williams, and early bird rights on Mays.
Little to no money
The Hawks are well over the cap, even if they slash Danilo Gallinari ($5M buyout for his $21.5M 2022-23 contract) before free agency kicks off. Gallinari’s contract is supposed to be guaranteed if he’s not cut by midnight on Wednesday, but the team and the player may work out something and push that date back a bit, bumping up the buyout a bit for Gallinari in the process.
If they trade for someone like Dejounte Murray, they’ll need to do some additional maneuvering to get below the luxury tax, much less the cap. Even with the 10% cap spike, Atlanta will likely be relying on it’s $6.5 million tax mid level exception for any free agent additions.
The NBA's salary cap for the 2022-23 season is projected to come in at roughly $123.6 million, sources told ESPN. That is an $11.6 million increase from last year's salary cap figure of $112 million.
The easiest path to the Hawks improving next season would be to trade for someone like Murray while also re-signing Wright (via his bird rights) and potentially Luwawu-Cabarrot and/or Dieng as depth. Atlanta would then be able to attempt shed the contract of Bogdan Bogdanovic (or Kevin Huerter if that proves too difficult) with Murray and Wright in the fold.
The lack of financial wiggle room could also be one of the key motivating factors in the apparent shopping of forward John Collins. While Collins has been a productive player, he makes quite a bit of money and could potentially net a package of cheaper and younger pieces. The reports are all over there with Collins, but multiple league insiders have suggested a trade is more likely than not at this point for the forward.
De’Andre Hunter is also eligible for his rookie extension, so that could be another factor in the club’s long-term planning this offseason. There are many moving pieces for Atlanta this offseason, with potentially anyone on the roster outside of Trae Young and Hunter being suggested as available during various points of the offseason.
Potential targets
Obviously the Hawks are in the news for making a run at Murray via trade with the San Antonio Spurs, but their free agent targets will need to be at a more modest price point. Arguably, their No. 1 goal in free agency should be to sign Wright to long-term deal since they have bird rights and can go over the cap to retain him. Beyond that, Atlanta will be scouring the market for veteran pieces who fit well with Young & Co.
Tyus Jones, Patty Mills, Avery Bradley and Austin Rivers could be targets to replace Wright if he elects to go elsewhere in free agency, though some if not all of those guys are likely to have plenty of offers from other teams with contender aspirations.
On the wing, Josh Okogie, Rodney Hood and other bargain targets may make some sense to provide depth at that position. Okogie is a defensive minded, physical wing and a Georgia Tech product. Hood is more of an offensive player who is 6’8 and shoots it well from a bunch of spots on the floor. If the Hawks move on from Collins and/or Gallinari, they will need to plunge into the bargain power forward market likely as well.
The Hawks have also been rumored to have interest in Western Conference centers Deandre Ayton and Rudy Gobert, but until there’s more smoke that the Hawks are actually looking to move off the Clint Capela-Onyeka Okongwu pairing, it’s tough to see Atlanta trading in a bunch of assets for either one of those centers out west.
Reshuffling the deck
Atlanta appears to be on the verge of substantial changes after a disappointing 2021-22 season. The Hawks are currently long-shots at +6500 to win the 2022-23 title per Draft Kings, so it will be interesting to see how their moves in trades and free agency impact their title odds heading into training camp. After losing to the Miami Heat in 5 games during the 2022 postseason, the Atlanta front office appears motivated to retool things around their All-NBA guard.
The 2021-22 NBA season wrapped up earlier this month and free agency begins later this week.
Here’s a look at each former IU player who was in the league last season and what their future could look like moving forward:
OG Anunoby – Toronto
Statistically speaking, Anunoby just put together his best season as a pro. He did miss 34 games, but averaged a career-high 17.1 points in 36 minutes per game.
The 24-year-old earned $16 million last season, the first of a four-year contract extension that will net him $72 million over four years. The fourth year of the deal – the 2024-25 campaign – is a player option that would pay Anunoby $19.9 million.
While Anunoby has been frequently mentioned in trade rumors this offseason, the latest buzz from Jake Fischer of the Bleacher Report indicates the Raptors would only be interested in trading him for an elite center.
Eric Gordon – Houston
Gordon just wrapped up his 14th NBA season and averaged 13. points on 41.2 percent 3-point shooting for the rebuilding Rockets.
The Indianapolis native is entering the third season of a four-year contract extension that is worth $75 million. The upcoming season, however, is the last fully guaranteed year on Gordon’s deal. He is set to earn $19.1 million. For his career, Gordon has earned more than $157 million.
Given that Gordon’s age and salary don’t fit in with a Houston franchise that is building through the draft, he’s a name often brought up in trade discussions. According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the 76ers are attempting to acquire Gordon this offseason.
Victor Oladipo – Miami
The former IU All-American guard is an unrestricted free agent after finishing a one-year deal in Miami that paid him $2.3 million.
Oladipo played in just eight regular season games for the Heat after returning from an injury and then played in 15 playoff games for the Heat. In the playoffs, which included a trip to the Eastern Conference finals, Oladipo averaged 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 24.5 minutes per game.
According to this recent report from Fischer, Oladipo has interest from Washington, Denver and Detroit at the mid-level exception, which in the range of $6.4 million.
Thomas Bryant – Washington
Bryant, like Oladipo, is an unrestricted free agent. The 24-year old returned to the Wizards last season following a torn ACL that forced him to miss 72 games during the 2020-21 season. Bryant played in 27 games this past season for Washington and averaged 7.4 points and four rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game.
After completing a three-year, $25 million deal in Washington, Bryant has now earned $26.7 million in the NBA, which is impressive for a player who was picked in the second round just five years ago.
Given that he’s not a high priority target, Bryant will likely have to wait until some of the dust settles in free agency before finding his next home.
Romeo Langford – San Antonio
The former New Albany star will be entering his fourth NBA season and also the final guaranteed season of his rookie contract. Langford was traded from Boston last season along with Josh Richardson, a 2022 first-round draft pick (Blake Wesley) and a 2028 first-round pick swap in exchange for Derrick White.
Langford appeared in 44 gams last season for the Celtics, where he averaged 4.7 points and then just four games in San Antonio. He averaged just 2.8 points in 10.8 minutes per game for the Spurs.
His contract next season is guaranteed for $5.6 million, but where does Langford fit in San Antonio? The Spurs drafted two guards in Wesley and Malaki Branham and already have Devin Vassell and Josh Primo on the roster. Next season will be pivotal for Langford to prove himself after battling injuries and a lack of opportunity for the majority of his career in Boston.
Juwan Morgan – Boston
Undrafted out of college, Morgan made history back in the 2019-20 season when he started a playoff game as a rookie for the Jazz in the playoff bubble at Walt Disney World.
Over his three-year career, Morgan has appeared in 52 games, averaging 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. This past season, he signed a 2-year, $1.8 million deal with the Celtics with little guaranteed money. Morgan was on the bench for Boston’s playoff run and he has a club option for next season.
After spending the first eight seasons of his NBA career in Charlotte, Zeller left the Hornets last summer in free agency for a league minimum deal with Portland. After appearing in 27 games with the Trail Blazers, Zeller was waived after suffering a knee injury that required surgery.
The former No. 4 pick in the 2013 NBA draft has now earned $74.9 million over his nine-year career and could be a target for a team looking for depth at the center position.
Zeller, 29, has averaged 8.5 points and six rebounds over 494 career games.
The draft has come and gone. Now the most exciting part of the NBA offseason is set to start. Free agency is almost here, and unlike most years, the Spurs could be one of the major players in the market.
San Antonio could carve out some serious cap space, which would allow the front office to make all sorts of transactions. Things could get hectic soon, so here’s everything you need to know about where the Spurs stand heading into free agency, to help you keep up.
Spurs roster and cap space
The first question in everyone’s mind is how much cap space the Spurs will actually have. While there are some factors at play that could change things, here’s a basic cap breakdown:
Guaranteed or likely to be guaranteed contracts
Player
Contract
Player
Contract
Dejounte Murray
$16,571,120
Doug McDermott
$13,750,000
Josh Richardson
$12,196,094
Jakob Poeltl
$9,398,148
Zach Collins
$7,350,000
Romeo Langford
$5,634,257
Devin Vassell
$4,437,000
Jeremy Sochan*
$4,217,700
Joshua Primo
$4,144,320
Keldon Johnson
$3,873,024
Malaki Branham*
$2,436,900
Blake Wesley*
$2,353,680
Tre Jones**
$1,782,621
Total
$88,144,864
Spurs salary cap situation
*Assuming all rookies are signed to their rookie scale number and not to the 120% of the scale number, which is the maximum allowed.
**Assuming the Spurs keep Jones, which seems like a safe bet.
After signing the rookies and provided they keep Tre Jones, the Spurs will have 13 players under contract for around $88 million. The cap is set at $122 million. San Antonio could have around $34 million in cap space, which would be enough to sign a player with up to six years of service to a max contract. They should also be able to carve out enough room to offer a player with between seven and nine years of service a max salary starting at around $37 million by making a minor trade. Creating enough space to offer a 10+ year veteran a max starting at around $43 million, however, could be hard to do. Fortunately, in the state of the rebuild San Antonio is in, targeting older stars wouldn’t make sense anyway.
Spurs’ own free agents
Missing from that list above are a few players that could still be in the Spurs’ plans, some more notable than others. All of them would have to be renounced for the Spurs to maximize their cap space.
Joe Wieskamp will be a restricted free agent if the Spurs offer him a qualifying offer, but retaining him won’t likely be a priority. The same goes for Keita Bates-Diop and Jock Landale, who are in non-guaranteed contracts. Some of those guys might return, if the Spurs don’t make a big free agency splash, but they would quickly be renounced if the team needs all the room that it can get.
The big name to watch is Lonnie Walker IV. The Spurs can make Walker a restricted free agent by tendering a qualifying offer. If they do, they’ll be able to match any offer sheet Walker signs and retain him. They will have to do it before June 30, so we will know what they decided soon enough. Even if they don’t tender the QO, which would make Walker an unrestricted free agent, his cap hold worth over $13 million will still count against the cap unless they renounce him.
The good news is that the Spurs could test the waters before having to make a decision on Lonnie. Qualifying offers can be rescinded unilaterally by the team unless they are accepted, and it’s hard to imagine Walker immediately opting to do so, considering it would be worth around $6 million for just one year. Surely he will try to get more than that in the market. The Spurs can also wait until they figure out how they will use their cap space before renouncing the rights to Walker, so there is no huge rush.
Ayton, a 23-year-old center who has already been to the Finals with the Suns, will be a restricted free agent. Rumors suggest Phoenix might not be willing to offer him the full max, so trying to pry him away could be worth a shot. He has shown the ability to be a valuable offensive player who can take up space inside on defense. His lack of range extending to beyond the arc and his limited ability to defend in space are the biggest concerns on the court, but he has undeniable talent. Off the court, there have been some rumors about his focus, but the biggest potential red flag revolves around a reported clash with coach Monty Williams during Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Other expensive but talented young players that could be targets are guards Jalen Brunson (unrestricted) and Collin Sexton (restricted). Neither would make sense on a big contract if Dejounte Murray stays in San Antonio, but with reports that the Spurs are listening to offers regarding their All-Star point guard, both could be interesting replacements if a deal goes through. Brunson, 25, is two years older than Sexton but also more accomplished after helping the Mavericks make a deep run in the playoffs. Sexton is a more prolific scorer who averaged over 24 points in 2020/21 before missing most of last season with injury. If toughness and experience entice San Antonio, Brunson would be the right pick. If potential and go-to scoring is what the front office wants, Sexton would be the better option.
Beyond those three, there are players who might not be as exciting but could help plug holes or provide depth. If the Spurs want youth and athleticism at center, Nic Claxton, Mo Bamba and Mitchell Robinson could be good options option. If for some reason they want more guard depth, Donte DiVincenzo and Anfernee Simons could provide it. All of those young players will likely be restricted free agents.
If instead the Spurs want veterans to round out the roster, there will be plenty of unrestricted free agents available at every position.
Here’s a list of all the free agents from this class.
Trade targets
Right now there are not a lot of rumors involving the Spurs, except for the one about the talks with the Hawks and their interest in Dejounte Murray. We’ve already covered why nothing seems imminent, but things could change.
We’ll keep you updated if things progress or other credible rumors crop up.
The next few days could be key to determining what direction the Spurs pick going forward. They have cap space to make a big splash to improve their current core, and there are some interesting names available.
At the same time, they already have a lot of players under contract and they might decide to take a longer view in their rebuild. If that’s the case, there might some big moves coming, likely involving the veterans.
Whatever path they choose, it’s good to know they will have options.
(CNN)Public tours of the White House will resume a full operating schedule on July 19 for the first time since they were suspended in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the White House announced Monday.
Limited tours of the White House resumed earlier this year on Fridays and Saturdays but will be offered Tuesdays through Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET, excluding federal holidays, under the full operating schedule. The tours are free to the public and can be scheduled through the office of a member of Congress.
The White House says it will continue to monitor Covid-19 and operate based on guidance provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Face masks are not currently required for the tours. Anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19, has symptoms or has been exposed to the virus within 10 days of their scheduled tour is being told to stay home.
The White House has hosted several large-scale events at the White House in recent months, after being unable to do so for much of President Joe Biden's first year in office. The President and first lady Jill Biden welcomed thousands of guests to the South Lawn of the White House in April for the Easter Egg Roll, an annual holiday tradition that had been canceled for the past two years because of the pandemic. The White House also hosted spring garden tours this year, which were free and open to the public.
The Biden administration has been trying to move the country into a new phase of the pandemic that is less disruptive to Americans' daily lives.
A significant development in the nation's fight against Covid-19 came earlier this month, when the US Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorizations for the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines to include children as young as 6 months. Moderna's vaccine is now authorized for use in children 6 months through 17 years and Pfizer/BioNTech's for children 6 months through 4 years. About 17 million kids under age 5 are now are eligible for Covid-19 vaccines.
The Supreme Court ruled today that a high school football coach has a First Amendment right to lead a voluntary postgame prayer on the field and that a school district cannot punish him for it.
In a 6–3 decision, the Court determined that Joseph Kennedy, a former assistant coach at Bremerton High School in Washington state, was within his First Amendment rights and not acting in his capacity as a school official when he prayed on the 50-yard line at football games and permitted others (including students) to join him. As such, Kennedy was not causing the school to violate the Establishment Clause and endorse a particular religion.
The majority decision for Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch and joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh, leans heavily on evidence and statements that no student was coerced or ever said they felt coerced to participate in these postgame prayers. Gorsuch observes that it doesn't appear that the method that Kennedy engaged in prayer caused anybody to feel as though he were pushing his religion on students as a coach:
This Court has long recognized as well that "secondary school students are mature enough … to understand that a school does not endorse," let alone coerce them to participate in, "speech that it merely permits on a nondiscriminatory basis." … Of course, some will take offense to certain forms of speech or prayer they are sure to encounter in a society where those activities enjoy such robust constitutional protection. But "[o]ffense … does not equate to coercion."
Gorsuch rejects the idea that "any visible religious conduct by a teacher or coach should be deemed—without more and as a matter of law—impermissibly coercive on students" as "a sure sign that our Establishment Clause jurisprudence had gone off the rails." He argues that such a position isn't neutral at all. It would preference secular speech and repress religious speech, a violation of the First Amendment. He sees this case differently from other examples—like a member of a church reciting a prayer during a graduation speech or a school broadcasting a prayer over a public address system prior to a football game. Those were examples where the school was making religious expression a part of an event. Courts have seen this as an impermissible violation of the Establishment Clause. That's not what happened in this case.
That's how the majority sees the facts. But the dissenters in this case, justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Stephen Breyer, see the very details of what happened here differently from how Gorsuch presents them in the majority opinion. Gorsuch's opinion presents Kennedy as "engaging in a brief, quiet, personal religious observance." Sotomayor, who wrote the dissent, writes that this characterization is wrong, and Gorsuch's description essentially downplays any potential coercive impacts of the prayer:
To the degree the Court portrays petitioner Joseph Kennedy's prayers as private and quiet, it misconstrues the facts. The record reveals that Kennedy had a longstanding practice of conducting demonstrative prayers on the 50-yard line of the football field. Kennedy consistently invited others to join his prayers and for years led student athletes in prayer at the same time and location. The Court ignores this history.
Sotomayor's dissent includes actual embedded photographs of the prayers on the 50-yard line with the coach surrounded by players, showing that this isn't some quiet personal observance. He sought out media coverage for his prayers. The school district noted that despite Kennedy's insistence that he wasn't inviting others to pray with him, he had, in fact, done so on many previous occasions. The school district's messaging to Kennedy was consistent in that it held no objection to his religious beliefs or even to him praying while on duty as long as it didn't interfere with his job or suggest that the school endorsed his religion. In short, it seemed as though the school district was genuinely concerned that Kennedy's behavior would be seen as a violation of the Establishment Clause if they didn't clearly communicate established limits on what Kennedy was allowed to do.
She notes that Kennedy ignored attempts by the school district to try to come to some accommodation and instead turned to the press and made a big spectacle out of the prayers. Parents told the school district that their children participated in the prayers "solely to avoid separating themselves from the rest of the team."
Sotomayor sees a constitutional violation in this case, but it's not Kennedy's rights that were violated:
Properly understood, this case is not about the limits on an individual's ability to engage in private prayer at work. This case is about whether a school district is required to allow one of its employees to incorporate a public, communicative display of the employee's personal religious beliefs into a school event, where that display is recognizable as part of a longstanding practice of the employee ministering religion to students as the public watched. A school district is not required to permit such conduct; in fact, the Establishment Clause prohibits it from doing so.
In a way, the dramatic difference in the interpretation of the events is an example of the longstanding challenges in determining how to navigate what does and does not count as a government establishment of religion vs. private expression. It's extraordinary that both the majority and the minority opinion in this case believe that a First Amendment violation occurred here. But the majority sees Kennedy as the victim and the minority sees him as the cause.
It turns out that a lesser-noticed Supreme Court verdict from May held a sneak preview of what Gorsuch would be discussing in the majority opinion. In that case, Shurtleff v. Boston, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the City of Boston erred when it told a Christian group they couldn't participate in a program to fly their flag on the grounds of City Hall. In that case, it was clear that the flag program did not constitute an official endorsement by the city. By forbidding a religious group from participating, the city was discriminating against religion, not taking a neutral stance.
That decision against Boston was unanimous, but Gorsuch wrote a separate concurrence laying the blame for this conflict on a past Supreme Court decision, Lemon v. Kurtzman. That case from 1971 led to what has been called "the Lemon test," a three-pronged set of guidelines that were intended to help determine whether a government policy entangled the church with the state.
Gorsuch noted in the Shurtleff ruling that the Lemon test had instead introduced more chaos and caused more problems than it solved. The Boston case was telling because the city genuinely believed that it had to forbid the Christian group's flag or else the city would be violating the Establishment Clause. And yet, the city was wrong.
In today's case, the evidence is fairly clear that the school district wasn't anti-Christian—it genuinely believed it would be violating the Establishment Clause if they didn't put a stop to Kennedy's behavior. Three justices agreed with the school district.
Today's ruling replaces the Lemon test, which Gorsuch notes has frequently been ignored or criticized in previous rulings. Instead, the Court instructs that the Establishment Clause "must be interpreted by 'reference to historical practices and understandings'" and to set the line between what is and is not allowed to "accor[d] with history and faithfully reflec[t] the understanding of the Founding Fathers." These instructions draw from another court decision, Town of Greece v. Galloway, where the Supreme Court justices ruled, 5–4, that the town of Greece, New York, wasn't violating the Establishment Clause by opening meetings with a prayer from a volunteer chaplain.
It's not clear why Gorsuch thinks guidelines from a 5–4 decision in 2014 that asks people to interpret what the Founding Fathers would have wanted are going to cause less chaos than the Lemon test. Sotomayor's dissent worries that, in fact, abandoning the Lemon test is going to make the problem even worse:
Today's decision is particularly misguided because it elevates the religious rights of a school official, who voluntarily accepted public employment and the limits that public employment entails, over those of his students, who are required to attend school and who this Court has long recognized are particularly vulnerable and deserving of protection. In doing so, the Court sets us further down a perilous path in forcing States to entangle themselves with religion, with all of our rights hanging in the balance. As much as the Court protests otherwise, today's decision is no victory for religious liberty.
The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to force a Game 7 in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night in Game 6. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. Eastern.
The Lightning avoided elimination on Friday night thanks to a late goal by Ondrej Palat in a 3-2 win in Game 5. Jan Rutta and Nikita Kucherov also scored for Tampa Bay.
What: 2022 Stanley Cup Final Game 6.
Who: Colorado Avalanche at Tampa Bay Lightning. Colorado leads the series, 3-2.
Announcers: Sean McDonough, Ray Ferraro and Emily Kaplan.
Read some of what Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press wrote about the Avalanche being a road win away from their first Stanley Cup in 21 years.
Josh Manson still had his bags half-packed from the Colorado Avalanche’s last time on the road, when they returned home with the chance to win the Stanley Cup.
That didn’t happen, and now he and his teammates are confronted with Game 6 Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the arena they hoisted the Cup a year ago to become back-to-back champions.
Trying to win their first championship as a group and the organization’s first since 2001, the Avalanche know the immense challenge they have in front of them against a desperate opponent that has more experience this deep into the playoffs.
“You have to have that desperation because it’s the finals,” Manson said Saturday in Denver before flying to Tampa. “You can’t look at the amount of games that we have left. You have to be desperate every single game.”
Colorado would desperately like to avoid a second consecutive loss that sets up Game 7 back home Wednesday and Tampa Bay being one victory away from a three-peat. And it even has a recipe for handling this situation against a more seasoned playoff opponent.
That came in the second round when the Avalanche went up 3-1 in the second round against rival St. Louis — the last team to win the Cup before the Lightning’s run began in 2020. Much like Friday night, they lost a one-goal game at home to the Blues before bouncing back to close out the series on the road in St. Louis.
Manson said the Avalanche learned some desperation from that sequence, but the stakes are higher in the final with the Stanley Cup in the building.
“I know how much our guys want it now: They’ve worked for it,” coach Jared Bednar said. “There’s a certain amount of stress and anxiety that you have to try to put out of your head so you can bring your best performance.”
The Lightning know all about those mental gymnastics, including some new tricks they’ve picked up this postseason. The Eastern Conference final was the first time they trailed a series since getting swept in the first round in 2019 — the defeat that set the course for this run — and had not fallen behind 3-1 until now.
Having already staved off elimination once, and armed with the experience of winning 11 consecutive series, coach Jon Cooper and his team know exactly what to expect from each side in Game 6.
“There’s no doubt we’re better equipped in these situations because you kind of feel (like) you put yourself in the shoes of the other teams, too, and what they must be thinking, what you’re thinking when you’re in these situations and how games played out,” Cooper said. “It’s experience. ... And experience matters.”
Over the next week, as we prepare forNBA Free Agencyon June 30 at 9:00pm AZ time, Bright Side of the Sun will be exploring the market and proposing different additions to thePhoenix Sunsroster. Some will make sense. Others might not. But hopefully this year I finally get one right. Why? So I can softly whisper, “I told you so…”
Every offseason I put together a list of free agents who I believe could help the Phoenix Suns in their quest to climb the mountain to a championship. In years past I’ve suggested names like Serge Ibaka (he’s now too old and non-impactful) and Montrezl Harrell (drug trafficking charges anyone?). This offseason I’m trying out some new names.
And the first name on my list is 6’9” power forward/center Chris Boucher.
Phoenix needs assistance at the power forward position. You know it. I know it. The guy who patiently waited behind me at Costco this morning while I filled up my truck knows it. While we don’t know yet what the future holds for current starting PF Jae Crowder, who is entering the last year of a highly tradable $10M contract, we can start to let our minds wander.
Time to spin the “what if” wheel.
What if James Jones choses to use the Crowder contract in a trade to create Ayton cap space or upgrade an asset? What if he extends Cameron Johnson, knowing that his contract would kick in at the beginning of the 2023-24 season? What if Monty Williams want to have Cam Johnson as a starter?
Adding unrestricted free agent Chris Boucher could provide a solution to the backup power forward position that Cam Johnson vacates.
Boucher just completed his commitment to the Toronto Raptors, who paid him $13.5M over the past two seasons. The 29 year-old Canadian forward is slim in stature, weighing in at 200 pounds. What he lacks in size, he makes up for with length. Despite only starting in 9 of his 80 appearances last season, he was third in total rebounds for the Raps and second in offensive rebounds.
Geesh. If only the Suns needed help on the boards. Oh, wait! They does!
In 21.1 minutes last season, Boucher scored 9.4 points on 46.4% shooting. You’d lose three-point shooting depth from your backup PF – Chris shot 29.7% from deep on 2.9 attempts nightly – but his 6.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks would fortify your interior.
He is a defensive plus, posting a 105.7 DEFRTG last season, and he was second on the team with a 5.3 NETRTG.
The more I watch Boucher’s game, the more I want him in purple and orange.
What Boucher also possesses is a toughness and grit that coincides with the culture in Phoenix. He didn’t have an easy road to the NBA. He wasn’t drafted out of Oregon – a university he attended after earning his opportunity by playing at New Mexico Junior College and Northwest College in Wyoming. He came into the league at 25 years-old on a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors. He earned his minutes through dedication to his craft and studying the game.
He’s a grinder.
Joseph Strauss, writer for SB Nation’s Raptors HQ, noted that, “Boucher has spoken openly about his mid-season turnaround. In addition to studying film twice a day, the 6-foot-9 forward has credited pre-game meditation with helping to clear his mind. Ray Chow, athletic trainer for the Raptors, noticed that there was “so much going on in [Boucher’s] mind” while he was on the court, and suggested practicing meditation. From an outsider perspective, Boucher looked overly frustrated and at times checked out during the first couple months. Clearly, his new strategies helped him get back on track.”
That type of mental toughness coupled with physical acumen would be an ideal fit for Phoenix. The question becomes whether or not the Suns could make the math work. What is Boucher’s value?
Spin that “what if” wheel one more time and you might stumble across the correct combination that could lead to Boucher in Phoenix
What say you, Bright Side Nation? Should the Suns take a flyer on UFA Chris Boucher?
Poll
Would you like to see the Suns pursue Chris Boucher in free agency?
Still, a handful of stars will be available when the NBA's free agency officially opens for business on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET (Players and teams can agree to contracts during this moratorium period, but can't complete them until July 6.)
All-Stars Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine are the top players sure to be available, while Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets could change up free agency by declining his $36.9 million player option before Wednesday's deadline.
Beyond the stars and restricted free agents (headlined by Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton) is a group of useful role players whose decisions in the coming days could help shape the race for the 2023 title.
Here's a look at this summer's most important free agents:
Like Irving, Harden also has until Wednesday to decide on a player option. Because Harden is already making more than the maximum salary (his option is for $47.4 million), this decision really comes down to how the two sides want to structure his next contract.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that Harden is heading toward exercising the option and adding a short-term extension with Philadelphia in the wake of his February trade to the 76ers.
Kyrie Irving | PG | Brooklyn Nets
All eyes in the NBA are on Irving's decision over the next few days, both for how it will shape free agency and how it might affect the future of Brooklyn teammate Kevin Durant. Because only a handful of teams will have enough space to match Irving's $36.9 million player option, declining it likely won't allow Irving to command more on the open market. However, it opens up the nightmare scenario for the Nets if Irving signs elsewhere and leaves Brooklyn with nothing in return.
That threat could help Irving find a trade to a desired destination if he and the Nets are unable to agree on a new contract.
In Beal's case, a $36.4 million player option is much more certain to be declined. Even if Beal simply re-signs with the Wizards, he can increase his 2022-23 salary to the projected max of $42.7 million. Per Wojnarowski, Beal is very likely to decline the option and re-sign with Washington on a five-year deal worth a projected $248 million that would take him through age 33.
Because LaVine's last contract paid him like the starter he was rather than the All-Star he became, an extension was only realistic had the Bulls used cap space to renegotiate his contract rather than add Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan last summer. That's forced Chicago to sweat out LaVine's unrestricted free agency, though the team's ability to offer a fifth year (taking LaVine through age 32) provides a significant edge as the Bulls aim to re-sign him.
The top restricted free agents
Deandre Ayton | C | Phoenix Suns
After the Suns passed on an extending Ayton last fall, they now face a tough decision. They will have to match a max-type offer sheet to him in restricted free agency if they're unable to work out a mutually agreeable sign-and-trade that yields a replacement.
Ayton remains one of the NBA's great enigmas. Is he the multitalented center who provided a matchup edge for the Suns during their 2021 Finals run, or simply a product of the favorable environment alongside Chris Paul and Devin Booker?
The answer probably lies somewhere in between.
Ayton has shown more ability to stay on the court in the crucible of the playoffs than most 7-footers but his value is limited by the ease of finding contributors there. That could be reflected in free agency after the Detroit Pistons added center Jalen Duren in Thursday's NBA draft potentially removed the most likely contender for Ayton's services.
A breakthrough season for Bridges, who averaged a career-high 20.2 PPG, was well-timed for him to hit restricted free agency.
Suitors can feel good that Bridges' breakout season wasn't the product of any shooting luck, as his 3-point percentage declined to 33% after he hit 40% in 2020-21. Instead, Bridges showed massive growth creating offense for himself and others, something that's likely to carry over at age 24.
Given Bridges' ability to play either forward spot, he fits just about anywhere and would be my top target in free agency after the max players.
During 2020-21, Sexton ranked 18th in the NBA in scoring at 24.3 PPG. Of the 17 players ahead of him, 16 have been All-Stars, most perennially. Sexton accomplished that during a season where he turned 22 and typically players like that don't hit free agency.
But there is debate about Sexton being better suited as a microwave scorer off the bench like former Cleveland teammate Jordan Clarkson. In fairness, Sexton has already reached a higher level as a scorer. He pushed his usage near 30% in 2020-21 with above-average efficiency. The other sixth men he's often compared to -- Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams -- didn't hit that level until their late 20s at the earliest.
Sexton's free agency is complicated by how well the Cavaliers played in his absence after suffering a season-ending meniscus tear early last season. As a 6-foot-1 shooting guard, Sexton presents inevitable defensive challenges. Still, his scoring potential could lead to a payday soon.
Simons took full advantage of teammate Damian Lillard's injury to demonstrate that he's more than just the off-ball threat he was in 2020-21. Simons, who didn't turn 23 until earlier this month, got the keys to the Portland offense with Lillard sidelined and averaged 22.0 PPG and 5.5 APG with impressive efficiency (.600 true shooting percentage) in 30 starts.
The Blazers trading CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans opens the door to Simons taking over the McCollum role-playing off Lillard as a starting shooting guard and backing him up at the point.
Simons is all but certain to return to Portland. The question is just how close his new contract will be to the max for players with fewer than seven years of experience: a projected $30.5 million.
It's telling that the free agent drawing the most attention leading up to July 1 is a player who had come off the bench until last season and is entering his prime years (Brunson will turn 26 in August). Moving into the starting lineup alongside Luka Doncic, Brunson demonstrated he can be effective in a hybrid role initiating offense and spotting up around another creator (he's a 37% career 3-point shooter).
Perhaps most importantly, Brunson improved his performance in the playoffs. He averaged 21.6 PPG after a disappointing first-round series against the LA Clippers in 2021, which left observers wondering whether he could maintain his value against a top-tier defense.
Although the Mavericks have consistently indicated that re-signing Brunson is a priority, he's got a natural suitor in the New York Knicks, who recently hired his father (longtime NBA guard Rick Brunson) as an assistant coach -- the elder Brunson's third stop working for Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
New York's moves on draft night moved the Knicks one more cap-clearing deal away from being able to offer Brunson $100-plus million over four years, a deal Dallas would have to think hard about beating.
Since being waived by the Charlotte Hornets with two years left on his big-money contract, Batum has transformed his reputation into the kind of versatile wing every contender needs. Batum has played two seasons for the Clippers at the minimum and slightly more than minimum, while hitting 40% of his 3s while playing strong defense across multiple positions.
Batum is set to cash in, either by re-signing with the Clippers (who can now offer a multiyear deal starting at more than $10 million using early Bird rights) or heading elsewhere for a team's midlevel exception.
Nabbing Porter for the veteran's minimum last summer ultimately might have been the difference in the Warriors winning the title. Most of the other high-profile minimum signings for the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers flopped, but Porter's shooting, defensive versatility and high basketball IQ made him a perfect fit with Golden State. He ended up starting the last three games of the NBA Finals -- all Warriors wins.
Now, Golden State may have to pay more to bring back Porter. The Warriors are limited to offering 120% of his minimum salary using non-Bird rights but could also give him their taxpayer midlevel exception, which would be costly in terms of luxury tax -- particularly if Golden State also gives Gary Payton II a raise using Early Bird rights.
Less than a year ago, it was Tucker's addition at the trade deadline that helped lift the Milwaukee Bucks to the championship. The Bucks passed on bringing Tucker back, allowing him to leave for the rival Heat, where he again played a key role as Miami got within a game of the Finals. Tucker declined a $7.35 million player option and will hope for what might be his last big payday at age 35.
The Heat can offer a 20% raise using non-Bird rights. Would another contender be willing to use the projected $10.3 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception for Tucker? We'll find out soon.
Although Porter replaced Looney in Golden State's starting five to close the Finals, the veteran center -- somehow still just 26 years old -- remained a huge part of the Warriors' triumph. With other teams downsizing in the middle, Looney wreaked havoc on the offensive glass, pulling down nearly one-sixth of Golden State's playoff misses while on the court all by himself.
Looney is versatile enough defensively to avoid getting played off the floor, and would be difficult for the Warriors to replace. That should give him leverage for a raise off last year's $5.2 million salary.
Portland's deal for Jerami Grant set up nicely for Nurkic's chances of re-signing with the Blazers. Although the team could still hypothetically create around $10 million in cap space, Portland would get more spending power by re-signing Nurkic and staying over the cap to use the midlevel exception instead. Before the Blazers shut him down at the All-Star break due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Nurkic was averaging a double-double (15.0 PPG, 11.1 RPG) with the best scoring efficiency (.586 TS%) of his career.
Conversely to Nurkic and the Blazers, the Knicks planning to use cap space makes it more likely Robinson returns. Because he's an unrestricted free agent coming off a deal signed as a second-round pick that paid him the minimum salary last season, Robinson has a paltry $1.8 million cap hold.
New York can keep just that amount on the books while signing a free agent, then exceed the cap to pay Robinson any amount using full Bird rights. Robinson started a career-high 62 of his 72 games last season while shooting 76% from the field on a diet of primarily dunks -- highest in NBA history for a player with more than 250 shot attempts, per Stathead.com.
