Month: July 2022

The Los Angeles Lakers have moved quickly in free agency to try and fill out their roster, with their biggest move being signing Lonnie Walker IV to the taxpayer mid-level, leaving them with just minimum contracts the rest of the way.

After signing Troy Brown Jr. to one of those minimum deals, the Lakers added former Warriors fan-favorite Juan Toscano-Anderson on a minimum deal, bringing him south to L.A. to bring some additional defensive toughness to their wing rotation.

Toscano-Anderson averaged 4.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game for the Warriors last season, and while he won’t do much to bring more shooting to the Lakers, their clear priority was to get younger, faster, and more athletic on defense this summer. Darvin Ham harped on wanting to bring the Lakers defense back to being among the league’s best, and he needed versatile wing defenders to have a chance at that, and with Walker, Brown, and Toscano-Anderson they’ve at least attempted to do so.

Filling out a roster around three max veterans is tricky, particularly if the effort is to get younger as not a lot of young players want to take minimum contracts, but the Lakers have opened free agency with a flurry of Klutch signees to bring a bit of youth to a veteran squad.

The Dallas Mavericks had an excellent season during the first year of Jason Kidd’s tenure at the helm, making a surprise run to the Western Conference Finals behind the magic that Luka Doncic can provide. Despite the fact that the team lost Jalen Brunson in free agency, it was expected they’d go into this summer looking to upgrade around Doncic with the hopes of getting over that hump and returning to the NBA Finals.

Time will tell if they can find someone who can replace Brunson, but according to multiple media reports, Dallas has made it a point to bolster its center rotation by bringing back an old friend. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that JaVale McGee, who previously suited up for the team during the 2015-16 campaign, is returning to Dallas.

McGee, who suited up for a Phoenix Suns team that the Mavs beat in the playoffs last season, will get the full taxpayer midlevel to join a frontcourt that includes Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell, and the recently-acquired Christian Wood, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

McGee, one of the most well-traveled centers in the NBA, averaged 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds on 62.9 percent shooting (69.9 from the line) in 74 games for the Suns last season.

Beyonce has fans of all ages, races, identities, and really any other characteristic used to label someone. This week’s example of her ubiquity comes in the form of a child singing along to her recent single “Break My Soul.” The young man took a break from his cheese puffs to dance with excitement before requesting his Alexa to turn the music up when the upbeat jam turned on. He then went on to sing along to its chorus, repeating “You won’t break my soul” and adding an emphatic “Everybody.” As the male voice in the background sings “Release your mind, release your job,” it appears the young man is trying to free himself of the shackles of whatever job is weighing him down. The kid gets it.

Beyonce released “Break My Soul” on June 20, coincidentally following Drake’s full dance album Honestly, Nevermind, ahead of her upcoming album Renaissance Part 1 which is set to release on July 29. “Break My Soul” featured contributions from The-Dream, Big Freedia, and her husband Jay-Z. Renaissance will mark Beyonce’s first proper solo album release since 2016’s Lemonade, though she did provide Everything Is Love in 2018 in collaboration with Hov plus Homecoming: The Live Album and The Lion King: The Gift in 2019.

Check out the charming young man’s karaoke performance of “Break My Soul” above.

The Brooklyn Nets have a whole lot on their plates this offseason. Despite Kyrie Irving picking up his player option and expressing his intention to play for the team this season, Kevin Durant’s trade request has thrown the team into a state of turmoil. The future of both stars is now up in the air, and there’s no telling exactly what the future holds for a franchise that has aspirations of winning a championship.

Whatever the team will look like next year will include Nic Claxton. The No. 31 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Claxton has turned his special physical tools into an increasingly important role in Brooklyn during each of his first three seasons in the Association. That, unsurprisingly, turned him into a guy who was viewed as someone who could interest teams during the 2022 offseason, as Claxton hit restricted free agency.

Brooklyn decided to not let him get away. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Claxton and the Nets came to terms on a 2-year contract extension that will pay him $20 million over the life of the deal.

Claxton posted a number of career-best marks for the Nets during the 2021-22 season, appearing in 47 games with 19 starts and averaging 8.7 points and 5.6 rebounds on 67.4 percent shooting from the field in 20.7 minutes per game.

Hours before NBA Free Agency was set to open on June 30, future Hall of Fame forward Kevin Durant threw the entire league into chaos by requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. No matter where Durant eventually lands, the Nets will command a king’s ransom for his services, but the rest of Brooklyn’s roster is also in a period of uncertainty until the big dominoes fall. In the midst of that odd situation, veteran guard Patty Mills elected to decline a player option that would have paid him $6.2 million for the 2022-23 season, setting up unrestricted free agency. However, Mills will reportedly stick around Brooklyn on a two-year deal that will pay him $14.5 million.

From a financial standpoint, this is a success for Mills, adding salary for 2022-23 and locking in another year for the 33-year-old. Though it remains to be seen what the roster will be like around Mills, the 6’1 veteran remains an incredibly valuable offensive player. Mills connected on 40 percent of his three-point attempts a season ago, boosting his career mark to 38.9 percent, and Mills averaged 11.4 points per game while appearing in 81 contests.

While Mills is somewhat duplicative with Seth Curry as smaller perimeter shooters with defensive questions, the $7.25 million average annual salary is certainly appropriate for what he brings. Mills is also a steadying presence that is well-liked in the league, and the Nets are bringing at least some modicum of stability to a chaotic situation by bringing him back into the fold.

Few guys have taken a more unique path to the NBA than Houston Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate. After four years at Ohio State, Tate spent time in Belgium and Australia before the Rockets decided to take a chance on him in the lead-up to the 2020 campaign. It’s paid off for them in a big way, and as a result, Tate is getting paid.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Tate and the Rockets came to terms on a new 3-year deal that will pay him $22.1 million.

Tate, who was a first-team All-Rookie selection at the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign, hit restricted free agency this offseason, and as Charania noted, is set to make get quite the raise on what he was in line to get if stayed on his old deal.

Tate’s strength and tenacity on the defensive end of the floor have made him an interesting piece on that end of the floor for the Rockets, while he’s managed to provide some scoring, rebounding, and playmaking. He appeared in 78 games last season with 77 of those coming in the starting lineup, averaging 11.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 0.9 steals in 26.4 minutes per game while connecting on 49.8 percent of his attempts from the field.

As the San Antonio Spurs officially embrace a complete rebuild after trading Dejounte Murray for picks, their top free agent, Lonnie Walker IV found himself seeking a new team after the Spurs rescinded their qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Walker appeared in 70 games for the Spurs last season with six starts and averaged 12.1 points per game, a career-high, on 40.7 percent shooting from the field and 31.4 percent shooting from three, showing some positive signs on both ends of the floor. The Los Angeles Lakers, who lost Malik Monk to the Kings in free agency, decided to swoop in on Walker and replicate the success they had in a similar situation with Monk last year after the Hornets failed to extend him a QO. However, this time it cost the Lakers their only real way of improving the roster significantly, as they’ll bank heavily on Walker being a key contributor by giving him a one year deal for the taxpayer mid-level exception.

That’s certainly showing their belief in Walker to bring them some much-needed assistance on the wing, and while he won’t provide the shooting of Monk, he’s a terrific athlete and on a team with aging veteran stars, that’s incredibly valuable for the Lakers. The rest of L.A.’s moves now figure to be via minimum deals and, potentially, a trade to shake things up.