Month: August 2021

The Dallas Mavericks were active in the opening minutes of NBA free agency on Monday evening. Dallas moved swiftly to retain incumbent shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. on a four-year deal worth more than $70 million, and the Mavericks also retained the services of Boban Marjanovic and Sterling Brown to beef up their overall depth. Then, Dallas was linked to veteran swingman Reggie Bullock, with Marc Stein reporting that the Mavericks and Bullock were close on a deal.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon then confirmed a deal was done, and, eventually, Shams Charania came through with the details on the deal — 3 years, $30.5 million.

The 30-year-old Bullock spent the last two seasons with the New York Knicks and enjoyed the best season of his career in 2020-21. Bullock made 64 starts for New York, and he averaged 10.9 points per game while shooting 41 percent from three-point range and contributing to a strong defense. While he is by no means a star, Bullock is the kind of player that any team aiming to contend would be interested in, particularly if he can continue to stay as healthy and productive as he was last season.

For the Mavericks, this is another high-end shooter to pair with Luka Doncic, and Bullock takes very little off the table. He won’t singlehandedly change the team’s fortunes, but it is (very) difficult to stop Dallas when surrounding Doncic with a balanced floor, and Bullock is the exact kind of player who can shine next to a star creator.

The last few years have seen Derrick Rose rebound on the court to be not just a useful reserve point guard, but this past season he was the best player for the New York Knicks in their postseason series with the Atlanta Hawks. Rose averaged 14.9 points and 4.2 assists per game this season in New York after an early trade from Detroit, posting career-best shooting efficiency at 48.7 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from three in 35 games with the Knicks.

He was even better in the playoffs, and while there are questions exactly how sustainable that level of performance could be, he figured to get plenty of looks from teams looking to upgrade their backcourt rotation, even in a robust point guard market this summer. With that as the backdrop, the former NBA MVP could have secured a substantial contract in free agency but, instead of leaving New York, he will be sticking around on a three-year deal worth $43 million.

Rose will turn 33 years old before the start of the season, and it is certainly possible that he could be declining in the near future. If he produces at the level that he did in 2020-21, though, this level of investment is perfectly fine for Rose, and he brings an element that no one on New York’s current roster can replicate.

From the Knicks side, they continue an exceptionally busy first day of free agency. New York retained both Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel on multi-year pacts, in addition to making a big splash with a massive deal for Evan Fournier. The Knicks took a step forward last season and, at least through the prism of their free agent moves, they don’t intend to retreat for 2021-22.

The Los Angeles Lakers are undergoing a significant roster overhaul after their first round loss last season, starting with the blockbuster trade that brought Russell Westbrook back home to L.A., but one that is set to continue through free agency.

Among the many players who are free agents for the Lakers is Alex Caruso, who has become a crucial piece in Los Angeles for his terrific backcourt defense off the bench.Caruso’s three-point shooting in the regular season a year ago (40.1 percent) also offered some optimism that he can become an off-ball shooting threat, although he couldn’t sustain that in the postseason. Caruso isn’t in the top tier of free agent point guards, but for teams already flush with scorers looking for more balance in their backcourt, he figured to have plenty of options if he wanted to leave L.A. — or L.A. wasn’t willing to pay him.

On Monday, Caruso indeed chose to leave L.A., which apparently wasn’t willing to meet the price that the Chicago Bulls put up of four years, $37 million, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Caruso will reunite with Lonzo Ball, who was signed and traded to Chicago earlier in the evening, to form a new backcourt pairing that offers the Bulls some intriguing defensive options next to Zach LaVine. Caruso is the replacement for Tomas Satoransky, who was sent to New Orleans in the Ball deal, and gives them a much needed point of attack defender (Ball is a much more effective off-ball defender than on). If the shooting from last regular season can become the norm or something close to it, Caruso’s deal could look like a steal. If not, he is at minimum the best perimeter defender the Bulls have now and that is always helpful when crafting a team around an offensive superstar like LaVine.

It’s not often that someone who averaged a rather modest 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game is one of the most coveted free agents on the market, but for the top contenders in the NBA going into the 2021-22 season, few players are higher on more free agency boards than Nic Batum.

After joining the Clippers on a minimum deal following a buyout from Charlotte, Batum emerged as an ideal small-ball big, playing spectacular defense while offering some needed tertiary creation, timely off-ball movement cutting, and terrific shooting. Batum posted 46.4/40.4/82.8 shooting splits in Los Angeles this past season, and in doing so he became a prized veteran target for just about every team with a mid-level to spend and championship dreams.

Ultimately, Batum chose to return to the Clippers on a deal first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.

There is at least some risk with Batum, particularly when remembering that he was virtually a non-entity at the end of his tenure in Charlotte. However, that risk is mitigated by his return to Los Angeles, with the Clippers finding a way to maximize his talents during a playoff push and plenty of minutes to fill due to the injury absence of Kawhi Leonard next season.

The expectation is that Batum is returning to the Clippers on the taxpayer mid-level, although the exact dollar figure hasn’t been reported, which has to feel like a steal for L.A. as their best hopes this offseason was to simply keep everyone together.

Evan Fournier had an up-and-down 2020-21 season. He battled some early injuries, but averaged 19 points per game in Orlando prior to the trade deadline where he was sent to Boston to hopefully bolster their wing rotation for a late run. However, just as he was getting settled, a bout with COVID kept him from playing with the Celtics for nine games and it took him another couple weeks to get back to looking like his normal self.

Once he was mostly recovered, he showed why Boston traded for him in the first place, averaging 19.9 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game in the final seven games of the regular season. In the playoffs, he continued to play solidly, particularly showing his value as a shooter at 43.3 percent against Brooklyn. That shooting, which has now sat at or above 40 percent from three for two straight seasons, made him among the more intriguing wings on the market.

On Monday, the New York Knicks nabbed Fournier off the market after reportedly agreed to a 4-year, $78 million deal with the French star, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Making the deal a bit more palatable is that it reportedly has a team option on the fourth year, meaning it is, effectively, a 3-year, $59.5 million deal.

It is a hefty sum for Fournier as the Knicks are hoping he can provide them with some needed perimeter scoring. The question is whether Fournier addresses their need for more creation on the perimeter, as he is more of a secondary or tertiary creator and an excellent spot-up shooter. For Fournier, it’s a terrific deal in a market that saw a lot of the cap space evaporate early on, as he cashes in and heads to New York.

When the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook, the immediate conversation was about how exactly the Lakers new Big 3 would fit together. There are the obvious positives, in that Westbrook gives the Lakers a much-needed second playmaker next to LeBron, but the lack of perimeter shooting in that group certainly raised questions. Immediately fans started calling for L.A. to find shooters in free agency as they went on the hunt for veteran minimum signings, and the Lakers listened with their first two pick ups on Monday.

More than a decade after Trevor Ariza played with the Lakers from 2006-2008, the veteran wing is making his return to L.A. as the first of what will be a parade of veteran minimum signings from the Lakers this year, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Ariza, who most recently played for the Heat, will provide L.A. with some needed wing and frontcourt depth, and while he’s not an elite shooter, he is a more than capable spot-up threat who will help space the floor for the Lakers new Big 3. In Miami a year ago, Ariza averaged 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, shooting 35 percent from three in his 30 appearances with the Heat. He has always been a player that has performed best when on good teams, and for that reason, the Lakers have reason to believe they’ll be getting the best of the veteran.

Joining Ariza will be Wayne Ellington, likewise a former Laker who will come to L.A. to do one thing: shoot the ball.

Ellington shot 42.2 percent from three in Detroit last season and on a Lakers team desperate for floor spacers now that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is in Washington, Ellington’s presence will be a welcome sight in L.A. There was also the question of center depth with Montrezl Harrell gone and Andre Drummond hitting free agency, so the Lakers brought back an old friend in Dwight Howard.

Dwight was great for the Lakers in their championship run in 2020 and they’ll hope his return to L.A. will allow them to hit the ground running once again. There are still more additions to be made for the Lakers, but these three provide a solid start to what figures to be a parade of veteran minimum signings this offseason.

While the Toronto Raptors opted to keep Kyle Lowry at the NBA trade deadline, they did decide to make one pretty major deal when they turned Norman Powell into Gary Trent Jr. Powell had a productive career with the team, but Trent gave them a young player they could get a look at before he hit restricted free agency this summer.

Trent didn’t just make the most of the opportunity, he straight up turned himself into an invaluable member of their long-term plans. As a result, Trent and the Raptors came to terms on a new contract, one that will reportedly pay him $54 million over three seasons.

A high-volume shooter during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers, Trent got to show off a bit more of his offensive repertoire once he joined the Raptors. The results couldn’t have been more encouraging, as Trent became a member of Toronto’s starting lineup and averaged 16.2 points in 31.8 minutes per game while hitting 35.5 percent of his 7.3 attempts a night from three. Included in this was a career-high 44 point outing, which was tied for the second-highest scoring output in a single game for a Raptors player last season.

Trent also extracts a significant concession in nabbing the player option. Given his current age of 22, Trent has the potential to hit the free agent market again at just 24 years old and, if he performs well in Toronto, that could set up another lucrative payday. In contrast, he has another $18 million secured if he’d like to pick up that player option, and this is a good bit of business for both sides.

A year ago, Bobby Portis’ future was extremely unclear. He always had offensive talent and an intensity that was undeniable, but channeling that into positive contributions for a winner was a real question mark. After signing with Milwaukee for just over $3 million, he was given a chance to prove he could do just that, and he gave the Bucks more than they could’ve hoped for as a key contributor on their championship winning team.

Portis averaged 11.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game on an outrageous 52.3/47.1/74.0 shooting split that was, by far, the best of his career. In the playoffs, he continued that stellar play as Brook Lopez’s backup, offering the Bucks a small-ball option at the five to change up looks and go super-switching on defense rather than their traditional drop coverage. Having that versatility paid off in a title and Portis became a fan favorite in Milwaukee, with fans chanting “Bobby! Bobby!” to him during the trophy ceremony.

That performance also meant Portis was going to have a difficult decision in free agency after declining his player option. He could stay in Milwaukee where he’s beloved on the taxpayer mid-level or he could go elsewhere, possibly for significantly more money. In the end, Portis chose to go with his heart, returning to Milwaukee on a reported 2-year, $9 million deal that lets him enter free agency again next season, per Shams Charania.

Shams reports that Portis turned down more lucrative offers from Dallas and Miami to stay in Milwaukee, where he will be treated like a king for the next season and hope to replicate his sensational performance to have the chance to make more money next summer. For the Bucks, its a huge step towards bringing the band back for a run at a repeat, with PJ Tucker their next priority.

Portis made the announcement official with an Instagram video and a caption that said, “Run that sh*t back!”

The 2020-21 season was kind to Doug McDermott. The 29-year-old forward enjoyed the most productive season of his NBA career, setting career highs in minutes per game and starts while functioning as a key cog for the Indiana Pacers. This was also well-timed for McDermott as he hit unrestricted free agency and, on Monday evening, the former Creighton star reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs worth $42 million in total.

At this early stage, further details on McDermott’s contract are limited but, regardless of structure, this is a nice payday for the sharpshooter. McDermott does have an underrated arsenal as a shot creator, but he is best known for his marksmanship, connecting on 40.7 percent of his three-pointers over seven NBA seasons. In 2020-21, he also produced a career-best 53.2 percent from the floor to go along with personal-best marks in scoring (13.6 points per game) and assists (3.3 per game).

McDermott will definitely fill a role for the Spurs, as San Antonio is loaded in the backcourt but less so with players of McDermott’s size at either forward spot. San Antonio may have overpaid a touch for the privilege of adding a big-time shooter, but that was an area in which they were lacking as the 2021-22 season approached, and the Spurs still have a bundle of salary cap flexibility after entering the offseason with nearly $50 million in room.

Jeff Green entered this offseason as one of a number of veteran wings that would have an interesting decision to make, as most every contender would happily welcome him in on a minimum contract, but after overperforming on a minimum last year in Brooklyn, no one would blame him for seeking a bigger deal this summer.

Green averaged 11 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for the Nets last season, most impressively shooting a career-best 41.2 percent from three-point range, enjoying a role as a small-ball four spacing the floor for Brooklyn’s Big 3. Green was linked to just about every contender this offseason, but ultimately chose to go to Denver, where they offered him a two-year, $10 million deal to take part of their mid-level, according to ESPN’s Malika Andrews.

To start free agency, Denver had focused on getting the band back together with a three-year deal for Will Barton and a two-year deal for JaMychal Green, but still kept their mid-level open to add a little more outside help. The result is Jeff Green’s deal that will pay him better than what Brooklyn or either of the L.A. clubs were going to be offering him, while giving Denver more frontcourt help around and behind Nikola Jokic. It also seems to indicate that Paul Millsap might be on his way out of Denver, as the Greens now occupy two key rotation spots in the frontcourt.