7/19-7/23 Basketball News
Miles Bridges is facing one felony count of injuring a child's parent and two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death. He was arraigned Wednesday. If convicted he faces up to 11 years and 8 months in prison. Bridges pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning in Los Angeles County Superior Court. His next court date is August 19.
Update: The Hornets did not withdraw Miles Bridges’ $7.92 million qualifying offer (according to Marc Stein).
Hornets statement:
TRANSACTIONS:
J.J. Barea, 38, has retired. H/t Dalton Trigg.
The 76ers and free agent James Harden agreed to a 2 year $68.6 million deal to re-sign, 2nd year player option (according to Woj).
The Thunder bought out JaMychal Green. He gave up $2.63 million (the veteran's minimum) (according to Keith Smith) and will sign for the minimum with the Warriors (according to Woj). It’s expected to be for 1 year (according to Brett Siegel).
Part of the reason why the Nuggets were willing to trade JaMychal Green to the Thunder was because of his down season from three - 26.6% (according to Anthony Slater).
The Pacers and Andrew Nembhard agreed to a 4 year $8.6 million deal, with $6.4 million guaranteed in the first 3 years, the most ever for a collegiate 2nd rounder. His agents at Life Sports Agency are Jaafar Choufani and Todd Ramasar. H/t Jonathan Givony.
The Pacers plan to sign Kendall Brown to a two-way contract (according to Zach Pearson of The Mad Ants).
The Raptors and Jeff Dowtin Jr. of the G-League team the Lakeland Magic agreed to a two-way contract (according to Shams). He played for them in Summer League.
The Timberwolves and free agent AJ Lawson agreed to a two-way contract (according to Shams).
The Pelicans and undrafted free agent Daeqwon Plowden agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal (according to Will Guillory). He played for them in Summer League.
The Lakers did not extend a $1.62 million two-way qualifying offer to Mac McClung. He instead played for the Warriors in Summer League and has now agreed to a 1 year standard non-guaranteed deal (not an Exhibit 10) with Golden State. H/t Shams.
The Celtics' $17.14 million Evan Fournier TPE expired.
Thunder stash PG Vasilijie Micic will play for Turkish team Anadolu Efes again next season. He was the 52nd pick in 2014.
Free agent Gabriel "Iffe" Lundberg signed with Italian team Virtus Bologna. His deal is the most lucrative ever for a Danish player (according to Emiliano Carchia).
Free agent Donta Hall re-signed with Monaco on a 3 year deal.
Free agent Kyle Guy signed a 1 year deal with Spanish team Joventut Badalona.
Free agent Chinanu Onuaku signed with Italian team Dinamo Sassari.
Keldon Johnson's 4 year contract extension with the Spurs is worth $74 million. There is $1.5 million of bonuses each season that would make it worth $80 million total. The deal descends in value (according to Jake Fischer).
Jalen Brunson's 4 year $104 million deal with the Knicks (4th year player option) that descends in value has a 10% trade kicker (according to Ian Begley).
Isaiah Hartenstein's 2 year $16.7 million deal with the Knicks has a 5% trade kicker, and with bonuses, it's worth $18.1 million (according to Begley).
Chima Moneke's deal with the Kings is a 2 year minimum deal, 1st year partially guaranteed for $250k ($500k on opening night), 2nd year non-guaranteed with an early guarantee date plus playing time and team wins triggers (according to Keith Smith).
Jaylin Williams' 4 year $8.2 million deal with the Thunder uses part of the MLE. The first two years are fully guaranteed. The last two years are non-guaranteed and the 4th year also has a team option (according to Smith).
G-League Ignite 2023 commit 5 star SF Matas Buzelis will play for the Lithuanian National Team.
TRADE RUMORS:
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving know that a trade from the Nets is unlikely at the moment and have accepted the reality that they may not be dealt anytime soon (according to Adam Zagoria).
A league executive who spoke with Brett Siegel said that the trade market for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving is dead after the inflation that has hit the market since the Rudy Gobert trade.
The persistent scuttle around the league is that teams interested in Kevin Durant fear their ability to keep him happy more than his age. One Western Conference official pointed out everything the Nets gave him (according to Marc Stein).
Jordan Poole has been rumored as a potential trade piece in a theoretical Warriors trade with the Nets for Kevin Durant, but there's been little traction between the two teams and Golden State hasn't been characterized as making serious overtures (according to Jake Fischer). Bob Myers said that he likes the team where it's currently at.
The Heat have prioritized pursuing a trade for Kevin Durant over Donovan Mitchell (per Fischer). A scout who spoke with Barry Jackson said that from his relationship with team president Pat Riley he believes that Miami would include Bam Adebayo in a trade for KD if given the opportunity.
Knicks personnel have projected confidence in being able to trade with the Jazz for Donovan Mitchell without giving up RJ Barrett. Utah isn't enamored by signing Barrett to a sizable contract extension (according to Fischer).
However, a Knicks trade for Donovan Mitchell is not imminent (according to Steve Popper).
League personnel characterize Jae Crowder and Dario Saric as trade candidates entering the season for the Suns to clear wiggle room on the books (according to Fischer).
An executive on a playoff team who spoke with Mike Vorkunov said that the trade value of 1st round picks is not changing significantly but it is shifting.
CONTRACT EXTENSIONS:
Early indications are that the Hawks and De'Andre Hunter have not found much progress in contract extension talks, as they are about $20 million apart over a 4 year deal. A team cap strategist said the injury concerns are very real (according to Jake Fischer).
There's a greater sense of optimism among NBA executives that the Heat and Tyler Herro will agree to a contract extension before the season than the Knicks and RJ Barrett, with one assistant GM pointing out how Miami always seems to pay their guys (according to Fischer).
Cap experts projected that Robert Williams' contract extension with the Celtics last summer (4 yr $48 million guaranteed plus $6 million in unlikely incentives) can set a benchmark for Grant Williams, but rival executives are skeptical that Boston would be willing to spend much more on Grant than Rob (according to Fischer).
The team cap strategist who spoke with Fischer questioned the upside in the Warriors signing Jordan Poole to a contract extension now.
The 76ers and Matisse Thybulle have not had traction on contract extension talks (according to Fischer).
RECRUITING:
2023 4 star C Ugonna Kingsley, the #1 recruit in his class from Connecticut, reclassified to 2022 (according to Andrew Slater). He is expected to decide early next week. Sings have been pointing toward him committing to Kentucky in recent months (according to Travis Branham).
French SF-SG Sidy Cissoko (2004) signed with the G-League Ignite. He is a projected 2023 1st round pick. The Ignite is eyeing several additional international signings from Europe, the NBA Academy and the U.S. high school system (according to Jonathan Givony).
2023 4 star PG Dai Dai Ames, the #1 recruit in his class from Illinois, committed to Kansas State. H/t Joe Tipton.
2023 5 star SF Justin Edwards, the #1 SF in his class and the #1 recruit from Pennsylvania in his class, has his decision Monday between Kentucky and Tennessee coming at 7PM ET. H/t Travis Branham.
2023 5 star PF-SF Kwame Evans Jr., the #2 recruit in his class the #1 PF in his class, and the #1 recruit in his class from Florida, will commit on August 2, his birthday. H/t Joe Tipton.
2023 4 star SF Scotty Middleton, who is committing on August 6, has cut his list from 5 to 3: UConn, Ohio State, and Seton Hall. H/t Eric Bossi.
2023 4 star SG Jaime Kaiser said that he will commit before the school year. He said the top 5 schools he probably feels most prioritized by are Maryland, UCLA, Indiana, Virginia, and Miami. H/t Travis Branham. 24/7 Crystal Ball says 100% UMD (8 confidence - 2 predictions 9 & 7).
2023 4 star C Assane Diop is down to 8 schools: Auburn, Arkansas, BYU, Seton Hall, Kansas State, Arizona State, Ohio State, and Colorado. H/t Joe Tipton.
Assane Diop's cousin is 2023 5 star C Baye Fall, the #1 C in his class and the #1 recruit in his class from Colorado. The two have said that they'd like to play together at the next level if possible. H/t Tipton. 24/7 lists Arkansas as the favorite for Fall and Rivals Future Cast says 100% Arkansas (2 predictions).
2025 PF Cameron Boozer, the son of Carlos Boozer, said that he is all in on going to college as of now. The G-League Ignite has been watching him recently. H/t Jamie Shaw.
COACHING/FRONT OFFICE:
The Celtics are promoting assistant coach Joe Mazzulla to a role as an assistant coach on the bench. H/t Adam Himmelsbach.
The Hawks hired Nets player development assistant coach Kyle Korver as director of player affairs and development. He played for them from 2012-17, being named an All-Star and winning the NBA Sportsmanship Award in 2015.
UAB and head coach Andy Kennedy signed a 1 year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
South Carolina State hired West Virginia assistant coach Erik Martin as head coach.
West Virginia promoted Josh Eilert from assistant athletics director for basketball operations to assistant coach.Saint Louis hired Will Bailey, a new assistant coach for UMass, as an assistant coach. He previously worked for head coach Travis Ford at SLU as an assistant coach from 2016-2020.
Haralabos Voulgaris received multiple NBA offers after his Mavericks contract expired in October 2021 but he spent last season focused on getting into soccer ownership and has now become principal owner of CD Castellón in the Spanish third division (according to Marc Stein).
BUSINESS:
The 76ers revealed plans to build a privately-funded $1.3 billion sports and entertainment arena known as 76 Place by the 2031-32 season in the heart of downtown Philadephia: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34274259/philadelphia-76ers-13-billion-project-calls-downtown-arena-2031-32
Update: The Big 12 and Pac-12 will not partner as talks among the two conferences have ended after no strong revenue driver emerged in three lengthy Zoom calls to explore options over the past couple weeks. Big-12 officials told Pac-12 officials Monday they're no longer interested (according to Pete Thamel).
TNT analyst Charles Barkley could leave Inside the NBA to pursue a media position for LIV Golf (according to the Dan Patrick show).
The NBA fined Warriors owner Joe Lacob $500k for his recent comments on the Point Forward Podcast discussing the league's CBA talks, with Lacob calling the luxury tax system very unfair (according to Woj).
AGENTS:
Russell Westbrook is strongly considering signing on with Excel Sports Management (according to Quinton Mayo).
Jeff Withey signed on with You First (according to Guido Guida).
Adam Mokoka signed on with agent Oliver Mazet of Maz Sports Agency (according to Guida).
Undrafted free agent Au'Diese Toney has signed on with agent Daryl Graham of G.A.M.E. (according to Guida).
Free agent Sedrick Barefield signed on with agent Deshaun Harris of Intrusive Sports (according to Guida).
Free agent Kaleb Johnson signed on with Dragon Basketball Agency (according to Guida).
Idaho senior SG Nolan Bertain signed on with Pressiona (according to Guida).
INJURIES:
Shaedon Sharpe (shoulder) underwent further evaluation and he will continue rehabilitation and will not require surgery. He is expected to be available for training camp.
PJ Hall of Clemson had knee surgery and there’s optimism that he’ll be back sometime in November. H/t Jeff Goodman.
Skyy Clark (ACL) of Illinois’ recovery was been incredible and he has been wreaking havoc on the court in practice (according to Jake Weingarten).
TRANSFERS:
UMass grad transfer CJ Kelly committed to UCF.
Oklahoma’s Grant Sherfield, a two-time commit, has received a waiver from the NCAA and is eligible for the 2022-23 season (according to Jon Rothstein).
OTHER:
Bones Hyland has added 6 lbs. of muscle so far this offseason and is working out twice a day to get prepared for a larger role (according to Michael Scotto).
Follow me on Twitter @kylecohennba.