Trade & FA 2024-25:

[SleepingHero]

@wojespn
Free agent forward KJ Martin has agreed on a two-year, $16 million deal to return to the Philadelphia 76ers, Aaron Mintz and Andrew Morrison of
@caabasketball
tell ESPN.

[BigDirk41]

I think there is a legit chance Kyrie opts out and signs something like 100/3. 

1.) He´s unlikely to get more in FA. 
2.) He opts in, he´s probably looking at Klay/DeRozan type money in 2026, which then equals out to less than 100 over three years anyway.

Therefore I think the Mavs look at Kyrie as one salary cap massaging vehicle.

I don't think Kyrie resigns for 3/100. Unless he has some massive drop off, it will be 3/120 or more especially with the salary cap increasing with the new media deal.

[DanSchwartzgan]

I think there is a legit chance Kyrie opts out and signs something like 100/3. 

1.) He´s unlikely to get more in FA. 
2.) He opts in, he´s probably looking at Klay/DeRozan type money in 2026, which then equals out to less than 100 over three years anyway.

Therefore I think the Mavs look at Kyrie as one salary cap massaging vehicle.

We are on a similar page here.  3/$100mm is what I was thinking also.  My thought is that the third year might be guaranteed for only $10-$20 million so that if he only plays two years, the salary is similar to $40/year, but the cap impact in those years is only $30/year.

[Mavs2021]

We are on a similar page here.  3/$100mm is what I was thinking also.  My thought is that the third year might be guaranteed for only $10-$20 million so that if he only plays two years, the salary is similar to $40/year, but the cap impact in those years is only $30/year.

Well that will certainly be a tester for this new found Kyrie sanity. 

Funny/sad sidenote is that with the new CBA Cuban would finally been able to successfully implement his bargain bin summer shopping approach. It seems the bargain bin has become much larger and of higher quality. Likely wouldn´t help Cuban with his expert eye for talent, but it seems a more valid strategy now. 

For example the Pistons gave Harris 52/2. Very stupid. That is not a desirable contract, unless you think you can use it for a bigger trade. Neverthelss if you split that into Luke Kennard, Tyus Jones and Precious Achiuwa you have three very good roleplayers that make your team better, but are also very valuable for contenders in a deadline trade.

[DallasMaverick]

Well that will certainly be a tester for this new found Kyrie sanity. 

Funny/sad sidenote is that with the new CBA Cuban would finally been able to successfully implement his bargain bin summer shopping approach. It seems the bargain bin has become much larger and of higher quality. Likely wouldn´t help Cuban with his expert eye for talent, but it seems a more valid strategy now. 

For example the Pistons gave Harris 52/2. Very stupid. That is not a desirable contract, unless you think you can use it for a bigger trade. Neverthelss if you split that into Luke Kennard, Tyus Jones and Precious Achiuwa you have three very good roleplayers that make your team better, but are also very valuable for contenders in a deadline trade.

The problem with this thinking is that, if you have a bad contract, you either have to:

1. Take back an equally bad contract, or

2. Send assets so someone else will take your bad contract.

Bad contracts are bad.

[Mapka]

Well that will certainly be a tester for this new found Kyrie sanity. 

Funny/sad sidenote is that with the new CBA Cuban would finally been able to successfully implement his bargain bin summer shopping approach. It seems the bargain bin has become much larger and of higher quality. Likely wouldn´t help Cuban with his expert eye for talent, but it seems a more valid strategy now. 

For example the Pistons gave Harris 52/2. Very stupid. That is not a desirable contract, unless you think you can use it for a bigger trade. Neverthelss if you split that into Luke Kennard, Tyus Jones and Precious Achiuwa you have three very good roleplayers that make your team better, but are also very valuable for contenders in a deadline trade.

If you are a bad team, you have to overpay.
At some point in the rebuild you just have to win some games.
And if it's Tyrus 4/90 with a PO or Tobias 2/52 I don't know what I'd take.

[SkenfromLMF]

Yeah Detroit feels like Dallas trying to keep Eric Strickland back in the day and screaming at the world - WE HAVE MONEY!!!

[JamesConway912]

Per Dalton Trigg: Malachi Flynn has worked out with the Mavs

https://x.com/dalton_trigg/status/181228...26207?s=46&t=-bN4oD2OLU_Ue80HIM_CZQ

[SleepingHero]

NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral)
There is still ‘no market’ for Nikola Vucevic, per @JCowleyHoops

[Jym]

NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral)
There is still ‘no market’ for Nikola Vucevic, per @JCowleyHoops

" March 25, 2021: Traded by the Orlando Magic with Al-Farouq Aminu to the Chicago Bulls for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter, a 2021 1st round draft pick (Franz Wagner was later selected) and a 2023 1st round draft pick (Jett Howard was later selected)."

what a bad trade. was horrible the moment it happened 

[SleepingHero]

@ShamsCharania
The New Orleans Pelicans are signing 2022 second-round pick Karlo Matkovic to a three-year, $4.9 million contract, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium. The 6-foot-11 center out of Croatia reaches his rookie deal, adding frontcourt depth to Pelicans.



This does not seem like a deal that the pelicans would have made if they had another option at center lined up.

I think they are going to run with Theis as the starter for now.

[Chicagojk]

NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral)
There is still ‘no market’ for Nikola Vucevic, per @JCowleyHoops

Bulls are a mess.   They move Caruso and Derozan as sort of a mini rebuild but they almost appear to be in a worse place.   Vucevic was pretty bad last year.   With the previous cap, I could see someone offering junk to the bulls so the Bulls could properly tank.  With the new cap, it is hard to justify 21 million over the next two years for a declining player.   I think some team, maybe a pretty decent one, would have swallowed the bullet even if he cam off the bench in the past.

[Chicagojk]

@ShamsCharania
The New Orleans Pelicans are signing 2022 second-round pick Karlo Matkovic to a three-year, $4.9 million contract, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium. The 6-foot-11 center out of Croatia reaches his rookie deal, adding frontcourt depth to Pelicans.



This does not seem like a deal that the pelicans would have made if they had another option at center lined up.

I think they are going to run with Theis as the starter for now.

I watched part of a summer league game of his and thought he looked like an NBA player.  Pretty skilled and plays hard.  We will see how he develops with the real team.   This would be an ideal outcome for Melvin imo.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_...t-signings



Reactions and grades for the NBA's biggest signings.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

@ShamsCharania
The New Orleans Pelicans are signing 2022 second-round pick Karlo Matkovic to a three-year, $4.9 million contract, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium. The 6-foot-11 center out of Croatia reaches his rookie deal, adding frontcourt depth to Pelicans.



This does not seem like a deal that the pelicans would have made if they had another option at center lined up.

I think they are going to run with Theis as the starter for now.

Their 1st round pick, Yves Missi played pretty well at SL.  Not sure how soon he's in the mix at C. But I believe between the three of them, they won't shop for a another one.

[SleepingHero]

Shams released his article on the current FA landscape and provides some new takes on old rumors. Some excerpts below:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5638084...nba-notes/


Lauri Rumor:

The Golden State Warriors have been the most engaged team for Markkanen in recent weeks, as league sources tell The Athletic they have discussed a proposal around Moses Moody, multiple first-round picks, multiple pick swaps and multiple second-round picks. The Jazz, however, have asked for the bulk of young talent and capital the Warriors possess, including Moody, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, along with picks, which has been a non-starter thus far for Golden State, league sources said.
For Markkanen, a renegotiation-and-extension allows him to receive more money now. For him to reach his maximum salary in 2025-26, the Jazz would need to raise his 2024-25 salary to at least $33,138,600, which requires at least $15.09 million in cap space for the current season. One component to watch for: Markkanen is eligible to be traded next season if he signs the extension on the first day of eligibility Aug. 6 — but not tradable if signed after that date.

Brandon Ingram:

Multiple teams across the league believe the trade market is currently limited for Ingram, as two interested teams in Sacramento and San Antonio made offseason moves for forwards DeMar DeRozan and Harrison Barnes, respectively, and most teams are finalizing their rosters for the summer.

Westbrook:

The Clippers and Russell Westbrook plan to part ways this offseason, and the franchise continues to discuss trades for the former NBA MVP, team and league sources said. The Denver Nuggets are a front-runner to sign Westbrook if he becomes a free agent.

And finally Memphis:

The Grizzlies are discussing deals to move 2021 lottery draft pick Ziaire Williams, league sources said.

[SleepingHero]

NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral)
Report: Blazers want 2 1st-round picks from the Lakers in exchange for Jerami Grant https://thedunkcentral.com/report-blazer...ami-grant/

[mvossman]

NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral)
Report: Blazers want 2 1st-round picks from the Lakers in exchange for Jerami Grant https://thedunkcentral.com/report-blazer...ami-grant/

Explains why we moved on.  I think I prefer Klay for no firsts than Grant for two.

[KillerLeft]

NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral)
Report: Blazers want 2 1st-round picks from the Lakers in exchange for Jerami Grant https://thedunkcentral.com/report-blazer...ami-grant/

Old news. Grant won't be traded. Neither Dallas, LA or any other team pulled the trigger on that asking price, and if it's too steep for Dallas, it's for sure too steep for LA. The specific picks Portland is asking for are unprotected picks down the road. Both teams have a 2031 to offer, and the Lakers still have their 2029, while Dallas would've had to package the 2031 with one from the next couple of years (2025, I think). 

I could make an argument that this could be a good path for Dallas, because they're close, but they'd have then potentially had too much overlap between Grant and Washington, so it was probably for the best that they took the much safer path they did. LA, on the other hand, would be INSANE to give away an unprotected pick in either 2029 or 2031, let alone BOTH, for a player like Grant when LeBron is like 40 years old. I almost can't imagine a dumber move. 

Pretty clear Cronin feels just fine about going into the season with both Grant and Simons on their roster. Personally, I'd probably get what I could for them at this point, but that's not the approach he's taking. It seems like he'll sell them, but only if he gets a haul.

[michaeltex]

Thinking about the Lakers. (And I try very hard not to) But what is their path forward? They are pretty thin on assets with an aging LBJ and an injury-prone AD who is now on the wrong side of 30. Performance-wise, the team is either just out or just in the playoff/play-in ranks, which is mediocrity hell. Plus, given their swagger over the years, I suspect no other teams are really wishing to help them out.

So what? Ride LBJ ticket sales until he retires, then hope they can use his cap space to lure another star just because "It's LA, baby!"?