Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[Mavs2021]

You know it´s time to retire, when you get replaced by Ben Simmons.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Teams across the league are intrigued by how, or if, the 34-year-old Kyrie Irving fits into the Mavericks' long-term plans as the franchise prioritizes building around its teenage prodigy. A healthy Irving, who has averaged 25.5 points and 5.1 assists per game in a Mavs uniform, could be a prime target for contenders before the trade deadline if new Dallas president Masai Ujiri is willing to engage in those discussions. -- Tim MacMahon

ESPN

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Shams Charania: The New Orleans Pelicans are trading Jordan Hawkins, Micah Peavy, a future second-round pick, and a future second-round pick swap to the Memphis Grizzlies for AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson, sources tell ESPN. Trade Mechanics: Taj Gibson will have $200K of his contract guaranteed. That way, his and AJ Johnson's contracts match salary for Jordan Hawkins. MEM will bring Micah Peavy in via the $4.3M Ja Morant TPE. Marc Stein: Reported July 23 below that New Orleans was working to trade Jordan Hawkins to Memphis. Now that AJ Johnson’s contract can be aggregated, that trade finally happens today and will provide the Pels nearly $6 million in savings to proceed with the addition of Bennedict Mathurin.



x.com

[DanSchwartzgan]

Teams across the league are intrigued by how, or if, the 34-year-old Kyrie Irving fits into the Mavericks' long-term plans as the franchise prioritizes building around its teenage prodigy. A healthy Irving, who has averaged 25.5 points and 5.1 assists per game in a Mavs uniform, could be a prime target for contenders before the trade deadline if new Dallas president Masai Ujiri is willing to engage in those discussions. -- Tim MacMahon

ESPN

That is his historical MO.  The question is who and how much.  Job #1 is to get Flagg’s long term Robin.  Turning Kyrie into that or the assets that get you that has always made more sense than keeping Kyrie past next summer.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

James Ham: "Scott Perry went and had dinner with Jalen Duren in Miami early in free agency. I will tell you, if you're Jalen Duren and his representative, I would look at the Sacramento Kings and know they can get up to max cap space next summer. Zach LaVine is coming off the books. Scott Perry is completely turning the franchise over, and I can tell you he has Jalen Duren's name in highlighter pen, looking at next summer's free agency, if Duren is willing to take the qualifying offer."

[HoosierDaddyKid]

James Ham: "The (Hoop Collective) trio talked about the fact that Sabonis is similar in a lot of ways to Trae Young. They are all-star-level players, but they don't fit every team, especially because of their defensive weakness. I would add their defensive weakness and their gigantic salaries, which Trae Young faces as well. The Kings, of course, had been offered Trae Young at one point in exchange for Zach LaVine. LaVine to Atlanta and Trae Young to the Sacramento Kings. The Kings said no to that deal, from what I know, very specifically according to a source of mine. They said no because they knew that the second he got off a plane, he would want an extension, and the Kings were not fully prepared to be in the long-term Trae Young business."

YouTube

[HoosierDaddyKid]

According to his godfather, David Patrick, who currently serves as an associate head coach at Arizona State, Simmons' hunger for basketball appears to be returning to the level it was during his best years with the Philadelphia 76ers. Patrick also suggested that Simmons has become much more comfortable shooting from deep, confidently taking threes in live situations without worrying about whether they go in. "His hunger for the game is back," Patrick said on the Matt & Kayla Show on Sactown Sports 1140. "He comes to camp, he's shooting threes in live play, doesn't care whether they make or miss… That swagger, that confidence that he once had, is back," he added.

BasketNews

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Sam Amick on Jalen Duren's contract status with the Pistons: "There is a gap. It's not as big as I thought it was before having a few recent conversations. It seems like there's a window here to get something done and put him back in a Pistons jersey. I think what's interesting is that the QO has become such a nuclear option for players and also for teams that it's fair to wonder, like, man, if they can't completely bridge that gap, how do both sides feel about the QO? Because even from a human standpoint, we haven't seen a lot of people successfully take that route."

[Smitty]

Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer)
Prime among reasons why Kawhi Leonard's trade to Toronto has yet to be finalized: Sources tell @TheSteinLine and me the Clippers are still working through their new front office structure after NBA suspensions for Steve Ballmer, Lawrence Frank.

[WillE]

Shams Charania
The New Orleans Pelicans have traded Jordan Hawkins, Micah Peavy, a future second-round draft pick and a future second-round pick swap to the Memphis Grizzlies for AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4986...layer-deal

[Scott41theMavs]

James Ham: "Scott Perry went and had dinner with Jalen Duren in Miami early in free agency. I will tell you, if you're Jalen Duren and his representative, I would look at the Sacramento Kings and know they can get up to max cap space next summer. Zach LaVine is coming off the books. Scott Perry is completely turning the franchise over, and I can tell you he has Jalen Duren's name in highlighter pen, looking at next summer's free agency, if Duren is willing to take the qualifying offer."

Yeah, but then he'd have to be a Kang. Pistons at $35 mil AAV >>>>>>>>>>>> Kangz at $40 mil AAV.

[DallasMaverick]

According to his godfather, David Patrick, who currently serves as an associate head coach at Arizona State, Simmons' hunger for basketball appears to be returning to the level it was during his best years with the Philadelphia 76ers. Patrick also suggested that Simmons has become much more comfortable shooting from deep, confidently taking threes in live situations without worrying about whether they go in. "His hunger for the game is back," Patrick said on the Matt & Kayla Show on Sactown Sports 1140. "He comes to camp, he's shooting threes in live play, doesn't care whether they make or miss… That swagger, that confidence that he once had, is back," he added.

BasketNews

Wow! Great news!

Are there some workout videos we could watch to validate all that?

[Scott41theMavs]

Wow! Great news!

Are there some workout videos we could watch to validate all that?

Good one.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

The Los Angeles Clippers have no current plans to immediately flip Brandon Ingram and recover assets following the NBA's massive punishment. "I don't think that's anything being discussed at this moment right now," NBA insider Jake Fischer said on Bleacher Report. "Could they potentially do that somewhere this season or further down the line? Certainly. But I've been given no indication that the Clippers are actively looking to move Brandon Ingram at this period."

BasketNews

[Chicagojk]

[PTFO] The NBA was looking forward to settling and negotiating down the Clippers' punishment. The Clippers fundamentally refused to settle, and undercut the investigation at every turn, giving the version of their defense to ESPN as the NBA's findings

*********************
Looks like a costly mistake.    Punishment would have been much less.

[KillerLeft]

[PTFO] The NBA was looking forward to settling and negotiating down the Clippers' punishment. The Clippers fundamentally refused to settle, and undercut the investigation at every turn, giving the version of their defense to ESPN as the NBA's findings

*********************
Looks like a costly mistake.    Punishment would have been much less.

This is pretty much what I assumed, that the ESPN article was basically a Clippers PR dump. Shame on ESPN for falling for it, basically.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Taj Gibson has been waived by the New Orleans Pelicans. Gibson was acquired by the Pelicans on Tuesday from the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the Jordan Hawkins trade.

RealGM

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that the Los Angeles Clippers helped arrange secret sponsorship contracts for the star player Kawhi Leonard that circumvented the salary cap, according to people briefed on the matter. The investigation is in its earliest stages and is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, which has a long history of investigating the NBA and professional sports, according to two people. The authorities began scrutinizing the matter before the N.B.A. leveled a series of severe punishments last week against the Clippers, its owner, and two top executives after a law firm working for the N.B.A. and its commissioner, Adam Silver, concluded that the team had engaged in a wide-ranging effort to break its rules. The Clippers and Mr. Ballmer are still trying to figure out how to respond to the punishments from the N.B.A. Among the potential moves they are considering is whether to bring a lawsuit against the league, asking a judge to issue a restraining order, the two people said. The people briefed on the matter cautioned that it was uncertain whether the investigation would lead to criminal charges or even result in evidence being presented to a grand jury. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a continuing investigation.

New York Times

[KillerLeft]

Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that the Los Angeles Clippers helped arrange secret sponsorship contracts for the star player Kawhi Leonard that circumvented the salary cap, according to people briefed on the matter. The investigation is in its earliest stages and is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, which has a long history of investigating the NBA and professional sports, according to two people. The authorities began scrutinizing the matter before the N.B.A. leveled a series of severe punishments last week against the Clippers, its owner, and two top executives after a law firm working for the N.B.A. and its commissioner, Adam Silver, concluded that the team had engaged in a wide-ranging effort to break its rules. The Clippers and Mr. Ballmer are still trying to figure out how to respond to the punishments from the N.B.A. Among the potential moves they are considering is whether to bring a lawsuit against the league, asking a judge to issue a restraining order, the two people said. The people briefed on the matter cautioned that it was uncertain whether the investigation would lead to criminal charges or even result in evidence being presented to a grand jury. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a continuing investigation.

New York Times

I think this is “don’t test us, Steve, because it could get much worse.”

[cow]

Steve Ballmer raked over the coals, you love to see it.