Bill Russell passed away peacefully at 88. Rest in Peace.
The Kremlin warned last Thursday that a possible Russian prisoner swap with the United States involving Brittney Griner needs to be negotiated quietly without fanfare. H/t ESPN.
TRANSACTIONS:
The Warriors and Ryan Rollins signed a deal. It's a 3 year $4.8 million deal, first two years fully guaranteed, year three has a significant partial guarantee. H/t Shams. The deal uses part of the MLE (according to Anthony Slater).
The Timberwolves and free agent Eric Paschall agreed to a 1 year deal (according to Woj). It's a two-way contract (according to Darren Wolfson).
The Raptors waived Armoni Brooks and his deal partially guaranteed for $50k.
The Magic and free agent Zavier Simpson agreed to a deal. His agent is Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports Management. It's an Exhibit 10 deal (according to Chris Haynes). He played for them in Summer League.
The Kings and free agent Matthew Dellavedova signed a deal. It's a 1 year partially guaranteed deal (according to Michael Scotto).
Update: Gabe Brown's agreement with the Thunder was just Summer League. Brown and the Nuggets have agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal (according to Adam Zagoria).
The Mavericks did not extend a $1.6 million qualifying offer to Moses Wright. He signed with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese CBA.
Thon Maker of the G-League team the Long Island Nets signed with the Fujian Sturgeons of the CBA.
Free agent Semi Ojeleye signed a 2 year deal with Italian team Virtus Bologna of the EuroLeague.
Kevin Hervey and Virtus Bologna parted ways.
Free agent Wayne Selden Jr. signed with Italian team Tezenis Verona.
Undrafted Kai Sotto will return to the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian NBL this season.
Free agent Tyler Johnson signed a 1 year deal with the Brisbane Bullets of the NBL.
Free agent Mangok Mathiang signed with the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL.
Free agent Jaylen Adams signed with Serbian team KK Crvena zvezda. He was the 2022 NBL MVP, an NBL champion, and All-NBL First-Team.
Free agent Carsen Edwards signed with Turkish team Fenerbahce.
Free agent Tarik Black signed a 1 year deal with Greek team Olympiacos.
The protections in the Pelicans' 5 year $193 million maximum designated rookie contract extension that could be worth up to $231 million with Zion Williamson are escalators for All-NBA or MVP next season, and de-escalators tied to his conditioning. Zion could lose guaranteed money if the sum of his weight and body fat percentage is not below 295. He will have periodic weigh-ins (according to Christian Clark).
Zion Williamson, who was listed at 284 lbs. last season, has exceeded 300 lbs. multiple times throughout his career (according to Will Guillory).
The NBA opened an investigation into the 76ers for possible tampering, with early contact centered on James Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Danuel House Jr. The Sixers are cooperating with the league (according to Woj).
One of the central questions of the NBA's investigation of Philadelphia is James Harden's decision to opt-out of his player option and re-sign for less money, with questions around the league about whether there is a handshake agreement already on a future contract (per Woj).
TRADE RUMORS:
The Lakers have received trade calls on LeBron James but there has never been any indication they would even contemplate the idea. He remains extremely happy in Los Angeles and he and his family have grown increasingly entrenched in Southern California (according to Marc Stein).
The prevailing thinking in league circles is that the only chance for LeBron James to push for a Lakers exit would be to play alongside Bronny James, who will be eligible for the 2024 draft (per Stein).
LeBron James' 15-year-old son Bryce James is now 6'6".
Some executives who spoke with Michael Scotto said that the 4 years remaining on Kevin Durant's contract could be viewed as a concern.
The thought among some executives is that most players past 30 may not end up being worth the large contracts they're commanding because they're more injury prone having played substantial minutes in their career. Some execs have questioned what the Trail Blazers' contract extension with Damian Lillard will look like on the back end of the deal (per Scotto).
Some executives around the league don't believe it's a lock that the Nets trade Kevin Durant. There's a thought that Ben Simmons will guard the best player 1-4. The Nets want him to get easy looks in transition from Kyrie Irving and KD (per Scotto).
The Pelicans have not offered Brandon Ingram in a trade for Kevin Durant (per Scotto).
Celtics head coach Ime Udoka enjoyed coaching Kevin Durant during their time together with the Nets. Brooklyn GM Sean Marks has long been a fan of Marcus Smart from afar (per Scotto).
There's a school of thought from some that the Nets could get under the luxury tax by trading both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving (per Scotto).
LeBron James still badly wants Kyrie Irving to take Russell Westbrook's place in Los Angeles (according to Marc Stein).
An NBA agent who spoke with Eric Pincus said that the Lakers should be patient in trading Russell Westbrook as he'll become easier to trade closer to the trade deadline with Los Angeles responsible for more than half of his salary.
An NBA executive who spoke with Pincus said that trading for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner would only add a 5% chance the Lakers win a championship and that that's probably worth one protected 1st round pick but certainly not two.
The Jazz and Knicks haven't discussed a Donovan Mitchell in over a couple weeks and Utah has continued talks with other teams like the Wizards and Hornets (according to Shams).
However, it’s unclear how Washington would be able to trade for Donovan Mitchell and there’s no chance they’d be able to beat a Knicks offer due to a lack of picks (according to Quinton Mayo).
It seems like the Jazz prefer Derrick Rose as the Knicks' veteran salary piece to match Donovan Mitchell's salary in a trade (according to Jake Fischer).
If the Knicks trade for Donovan Mitchell, the chances that Julius Randle remains on the roster soon after are slim-to-none (according to Tommy Dee).
New York’s ideal roster scenario is trading for Donovan Mitchell, trading Julius Randle for a shorter contract like Russell Westbrook, then signing free agent Carmelo Anthony (per Dee).
When Utah had initially asked the Knicks about a trade package that included RJ Barrett for Donovan Mitchell, members of the Jazz organization were making educated guesses/projections on what a contract extension for Barrett may look like. Around the same time, some with the Jazz ranked Barrett among the best potential players they could get in a trade with New York (according to Ian Begley).
Myles Turner has no interest in staying with the Pacers (according to Bob Kravitz). Turner denied this via Twitter:
Some people around the league suggested that the Heat could probably get Davis Bertans if they traded Duncan Robinson straight up (according to Greg Sylvander).
RECRUITING/TRANSFERS:
2022 3 star PF-C Mady Traore committed to NC State. H/t Cory Smith of Pack Pride.
2023 PF Antonio Chol reclassified to 2022, where he is a 3 star, and committed to Rutgers.
2023 5 star PF-C Xavier Booker, the #3 recruit in his class, #1 PF in his class, and #1 recruit in his class from Indiana, committed to Michigan State. H/t Joe Tipton.
2023 4 star SF-PF Devin Royal committed to his hometown team Ohio State. H/t Tipton.
2023 3 star SG Jaydon Young committed to Virginia Tech. H/t Tipton.
2023 3 star SF Ty Pence announced via Twitter that he committed to his hometown team Illinois State.
2023 3 star SG Cameron Christie committed to Minnesota. H/t Tipton. He is the younger brother of Max Christie.
2023 3 star PG Markus Burton committed to Notre Dame. H/t Dushawn London.
2024 5 star PF-C Jayden Williams signed with the OTE in a deal that maintains his NCAA eligibility.
2023 4 star PG Trey Green announced via Twitter that he will announce his commitment Saturday. 24/7 Crystal Ball says 100% Xavier (7 confidence - 3 predictions). Rivals Future Casty says 100% Xavier (3 predictions). He won the Peach Jam Championship and MVP with MOKAN Elite.
2023 3 star SF Jordan Burks is down to 6 options: Mississippi State, Missouri, Texas Tech, Eastern Michigan, Ole Miss, and the G-League Ignite. He will announce his decision on August 11, his birthday. H/t Joe Tipton.
2023 4 star PF Al Amadou announced via Twitter that he has a top 5 of Miami, Saint John's, San Diego, Georgia Tech, and Marquette. He will commit on the 18th. 24/7 Crystal Ball says 100% Marquette (7 confidence - 2 predictions). He has a good idea where he wants to go. H/t Dushawn London.
2023 4 star SG-PG Freddie Dilione said that he wants to decide very soon but isn't going to rush anything. H/t London.
2023 4 star SF Andrej Stojakovic is down to 6 schools: Duke, Oregon, Stanford, Texas, UCLA, and Virginia. He said that he is feeling good about deciding right before the early signing period. H/t Travis Branham.
2023 4 star SG RJ Jones, the #1 recruit in his class from Texas, announced via Twitter that he is down to 6 schools: Boise State, Colorado, Kansas State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M. 24/7 Crystal Ball says 100% KSU (5 confidence - 1 prediction). Rivals Future Cast says 100% KSU (1 prediction).
2023 4 star SF Kaden Cooper is down to 10 schools: Gonzaga, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, LSU, Kansas State, Kansas, Texas, Alabama, Memphis, and Georgia Tech. H/t Joe Tipton.
St. Bonaventure transfer Quadry Adams announced via Instagram that he committed to Sacramento State.
COACHING:
The Kings hired Dutch Gaitley as assistant coach and director of player development.
Boise State and head coach Leon Rice signed a 5 year contract extension through 2027. The deal is worth $5 million (according to B.J. Rains of BNN Bronco Nation).
Kansas State hired Texas assistant coach Ulric Maligi as associate head coach.
Kansas State hired Link Academy head coach Rodney Perry as an assistant coach.
Kansas State hired Alcorn State associate head coach Marco Borne as chief of staff.New Mexico is hiring Fresno State associate head coach Tarvish Felton as an assistant coach (according to Jon Rothstein).
Texas hired Brandon Chappell, an assistant coach for UNLV, as an assistant coach.
FRONT OFFICE:
Shaun Hickombottom, director of team services and player development for the Bulls, joined On Time Agency.
The Bulls hired Shaquin Albrow as senior manager of team services and player development.The Bulls promoted assistant general manager Steve Weinman to vice president of basketball strategy and analytics.
The Bulls promoted vice president of player personnel Pat Connelly to assistant general manager.
The Bulls promoted Faizan Hasany from coordinator of basketball analytics to manager of basketball strategy and analytics.
The Bulls promoted Steve Pankow from assistant equipment manager to head equipment manager and travel coordinator.
In addition to his role as Chicago's director of basketball operations, the Bulls have named Chigozie Umeadi the general manager of their G-League affiliate the Windy City Bulls.The Bulls promoted Josh Malone from director of basketball operations of the Windy City Bulls to Windy City assistant general manager.
The Jazz hired Katie Benzan as basketball operations specialist.
FREE AGENCY:
Multiple people in the Cavaliers organization would take Caris LeVert over restricted free agent Collin Sexton and liked what they saw of Caris and Darius Garland together (according to Chris Fedor).
Free agent Blake Griffin liked a Tweet about returning to the Clippers:
Taiwanese team Kaoshiung Steelers are trying to recruit free agent Jeremy Lin.
Grant Williams has a voice in the Celtics' locker room (according to Michael Scotto).
Steph Curry: “I don't want to leave [the Warriors] ever. I want this to be my one and only home.” H/t NBC Sports Bay Area & CA.
Draymond Green tried recruiting DeMar DeRozan to the Warriors in 2021 free agency and DeRozan's response was “F— no, I’m not coming there.”
BUSINESS:
TNT analyst Charles Barkley said that after talks with LIV Golf he has decided to stay with Turner for the rest of his TV career. H/t NY Post.
PAC-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said that they are actively exploring expansion opportunities. H/t Pete Thamel.
DRAFT:
Paolo Banchero is finalizing an endorsement deal with Jordan Brand (according to Shams).
Right now it sounds like French PF Victor Wembanyama (2004), Scoot Henderson of the G-League Ignite, and the OTE Thompson twins, Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson, are kind of leading the pack of the 2023 draft class (according to Jake Fischer).
INJURIES:
Collin Gillespie had surgery last Friday night to repair a fractured lower left leg he suffered that week and he is out indefinitely.
Keegan Murray had a minor procedure on his right wrist to clean out some loose bodies. He is expected to make a quick recovery and it won't impact his rookie season. He's on the court shooting with his left hand (according to James Ham).
Billy Donovan said that Lonzo Ball (meniscus surgery) continues to improve and is moving in a very positive direction. H/t Andy Katz.
Robert Cowherd (meniscus), Josh Mballa (knee), Daeshun Ruffin (ACL), and Robert Allen (ACL) of Ole Miss are out for the team’s foreign tour.
Javonte Perkins (knee) of Saint Louis has been fully cleared for SLU’s foreign tour this summer.
Jalen Celestine of Cal had knee surgery and will miss the start of the season.
AGENTS:
Undrafted free agent Dallas Walton signed on with Players Group (according to Guido Guida).
Northwestern senior SF Elyjah Williams signed on with GoEmpire Group. (according to Guida).
Lamar senior PG Davion Buster signed on with agent George Drakakis of Dragon Basketball Agency (according to Guida).
Follow me on Twitter @kylecohennba.
I feel like Zion could be an all-time great if he stayed healthy and in-shape. Sadly, there’s little chance of this.