It’s August, a traditionally slow time in the league, both on the trade rumor mill and in NBA free agency. But there are some teams and players that need checking up on, so let’s get into it.
Bradley Beal is off the board as he is signing back with the Clippers after receiving multiple offers around the league. Beal was waiting on other opportunities–Miami was one–but eventually did not want to wait, and the Clippers offered a two-year deal worth $13 million. The contract is not fully guaranteed for next year, but Beal should be comfortable enough returning to LA that he feels he will be worth keeping around.
Assuming the Kawhi Leonard trade goes through, the Clippers have 16 players on the roster, and would have to make some adjustments–and that does not count Bennedict Mathurin. The team has a $17 million traded player exception it could still use to try to work a sign-and-trade for Peyton Watson of the Nuggets, though the Clippers are loathe to give up draft picks as they push toward a rebuild.
NBA Free Agency: Cavaliers’ 1st Move
The Cavaliers entered the day with only around $30 million to work with under the second apron just now, and needed to trade Dennis Schroder to create the $50 million they feel they’d need to sign Harden, add a wing, and finish the roster.
Now, they’ve done so, sort of. The Cavs are trading Schroder to the Hornets, but they’re taking money back–the $8 million contract of Tre Mann. When the money shakes out, it’s only about $7 million in savings. That’s $37 million. That could put the Cavaliers in line for Jonathan Kuminga, if he were willing to take a deal worth about $17 million and Harden were to drop down to #20 million. That’s likely out of Peyton Watson’s range.
Stay tuned as to whether the Cavaliers trade another player–maybe Max Strus– to create another swath of cap space and then finish off the roster.
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Chalk up another name to the 2027 NBA free-agent pool, as it appears that the Knicks and guard Miles McBride will not be coming to an agreement on a contract extension. A deal would have needed to happen by Tuesday to make McBride still be eligible to be traded before the February 11 trade deadline. It didn’t, and now the Knicks are likely to keep McBride as an expiring contract they could potentially use in a trade.
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The Mavericks are resisting the option of working on a buyout with guard Klay Thompson, as they have explored trade opportunities instead, hoping to get something back for Thompson. But that has not gone well thus far. Teams don’t want to give up anything to the Mavs if they know Thompson might be bought out, and the Mavericks don’t want to take on lengthy contracts in return (ie, Nikola Jovic from the Heat).
Thompson said during a Twitch stream: “I want to compete for a championship, not necessarily win one, but have the chance to go and try and get another one. I want to play a role on a team. Whether it’s this season or next season. That’s really my only goal.”
Some interesting nuggets can be taken from that: Wherever Thompson goes, he would like to sign for two seasons, and would he consider the Warriors and/or Lakers potential title contenders in two years? Those are two of his possible landing spots.
NBA Free Agency: Tough on the Oldies?
It was not a great week for NBA owners, as the Lakers were sold because of Mark Walter’s financial woes, and word hit that Suns owner Mat Ishbia’s mortgage company has also sustained major losses. All of this while one of the big summer storylines has been the way new Blazers owner Tom Dundon has already utterly alienated the fan base in Portland.
But agent Jeff Schwartz also took a shot at the players association after the sale of the Lakers. “Incredible, the Lakers sell for $12B, yet teams won’t spend on older vets because of current CBA rules,” Schwartz wrote in a statement from Excel Sports Management. “Thank you, Union.”
It was an odd statement. The CBA can certainly be criticized for its apron rules and the impact it has on team-by-team spending. It really has not stopped teams from signing older vets. Schwartz represents Russell Westbrook, who retired this week but had offers from Washington and Sacramento. He also represents Kevin Love, who is still a free agent but turns 38 next month and played only 37 games last year.
Again, there are plenty of reasons to criticize the players union, but Kevin Love being unsigned is not one of them.
Tough Going for Unsigned Restricted Free Agents
Jalen Duren, Pistons. If you want to know why the Pistons are bent on playing hardball with Duren, look around the NBA. Teams are terrified of sliding into the second apron, and we’ve seen the Celtics, the Thunder and the Knicks (soon the Nuggets, too) make significant roster decisions based on that barrier. The Pistons can’t pay Duren the max five-year, $287 million contract he is eligible for because that would be 30% of the salary cap. The Pistons are already paying Cade Cunningham more than 30% of the cap on his max contract, and estimates are that Ausar Thompson’s extension could be in the 20% range of the cap. Having three players make 80% of the cap is tough to do in today’s NBA–and it could mean Detroit plays hardball with Thompson as it is doing with Duren, maybe even going to restricted free agency.
Peyton Watson, Nuggets. There is movement in Watson’s situation, and he is the target for a continued Bucks push–Milwaukee has a traded player exception that could absorb a significant salary. They do not want to give up a first-round pick, however. TheClippers figure into this mess, too, as well as the Cavaliers. There is a chance that the Nuggets will try to keep Watson, but Denver would have to shed salary to make that happen and there aren’t many opportunities left for that.
Bennedict Mathurin, Clippers. There has been interest in Mathurin from a handful of teams, but any deal would need to be a sign-and-trade and that seems unlikely at this point. The Clippers might be more willing to move off of Mathurin if they knew what was happening with the Leonard trade, but even still, if they can get Mathurin at a bargain cost, they’d prefer to do that and trade him later.
GettyPeyton Watson #8 of the Denver Nuggets
NBA Free Agency Rumors: 20 Players Still Waiting to Sign
Kudos to James Harden, who has been serious about his determination to hold off on signing a new contract until the Cavaliers are done making their push for another young wing, either Jonathan Kuminga or Watson.
The 20 best left:
- James Harden.
- DeMar DeRozan.
- Jonathan Kuminga.
- Nick Richards.
- Bruce Brown.
- Russell Westbrook.
- Brandon Williams.
- Kelly Olynyk.
- Gabe Vincent.
- Ben Simmons.
- Cam Thomas.
- Kevin Love.
- Nicolas Batum.
- Vince Williams.
- Aaron Holiday.
- Seth Curry.
- Doug McDermott.
- Mason Plumlee.
- Bismack Biyombo.
- Jeff Green.
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