Category: News

Chris Boucher has carved out a nice role with the Toronto Raptors over the last few years. After breaking into the league as a member of the Golden State Warriors, Boucher joined as a raw-but-interesting member of the roster that brought a championship to Toronto and has turned into an important member of the Raptors’ frontcourt rotation, a long and rangy defender who is able to hit shots on the other end of the floor.

Boucher was slated to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, but within an hour of players and teams being able to come to terms on contracts, the Raptors made it a point to keep him around. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Toronto came to terms on an extension with Boucher that will keep him north of the border for the next three years for $35.25 million over the life of the deal.

There’s no word on whether or not the entire deal is guaranteed or if there are any team or player options. Boucher appeared in 80 games for the Raptors last season and earned a spot in the starting lineup in nine of them. In 21.1 minutes per game, Boucher scored 9.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from three.

For years, Joe Ingles was one of the steady hands for the Utah Jazz, providing three-point shooting and secondary ball-handling on the wing for the perennial playoff squad. Last year, though, Ingles was dealt at the deadline after suffering a torn ACL, as Utah sent him to Portland where he rehabbed in an effort to get another piece to help their playoff chances immediately.

As Ingles prepares for a return to the court next season, he will join a different playoff contender, this time venturing East to Milwaukee where he will join the Bucks on a one-year deal worth $6.5 million (the taxpayer mid-level) as was made public by the most reliable of sources: his wife, Renae.

Ingles averaged 7.2 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.9 rebounds on 40.4/34.7/77.3 shooting splits in 45 games prior to his injury in Utah last season, and given that he suffered the injury on January 30, one would expect he won’t play for the Bucks until close to the midseason mark, if not wait until after the All-Star break.

It’s a strong fit between player and team, as the Bucks are not in particular need of Ingles’ services in the regular season to get themselves in strong playoff position, but as this past postseason showed, are very much in need of another shooter and scoring threat on the wing come playoff time. Ingles figures to provide that and is a bit of insurance for if Grayson Allen once again struggles come playoff time, as the Bucks mostly are running it back after re-signing Bobby Portis, Jevon Carter, and Wesley Matthews.

While free agency and high-profile trade rumors often dominate the news cycle in the NBA world in late June and early July, stars can also impact the landscape by inking lucrative contract extensions with incumbent franchises. Reigning two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic is a prominent example in 2022, agreeing to a gigantic extension with the Nuggets, and Shams Charania of The Athletic now brings word that All-NBA guard Devin Booker will be adding four years and more than $200 million to his contract with the Phoenix Suns.

Booker, who was already signed through the end of the 2023-24 season at nearly $70 million combined, will be under contract through the end of the 2027-28 campaign with this extension. As Charania notes, Booker’s deal is not yet signed, but it makes perfect sense for Phoenix to lengthen the agreement after Booker’s breakout season that netted first team All-NBA honors.

The 25-year-old guard averaged a career-best 26.8 points per game this season, also posting a career high with five rebounds per contest. Booker’s defense has also improved over the course of his career in Phoenix, and the Suns have benefitted greatly from Booker as the franchise centerpiece.

Phoenix’s overall work of the offseason is far from done as the franchise navigates treacherous waters with Deandre Ayton’s looming free agency and other considerations, but Booker is a key domino and he will seemingly be in a Suns uniform for a long time.

Luguentz Dort has been one of the bright spots for the Oklahoma City Thunder over the last few seasons. The former second-round pick has a case for being the team’s second-best player as they have gone through their rebuild behind only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and after hitting restricted free agency this summer, the belief was that the team would take care of him and keep him as part of what is being build in Oklahoma City.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Dort didn’t just get taken care of — he got a gigantic payday that will keep him with the franchise for the foreseeable future. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Dort and the Thunder came to terms on a 5-year contract extension that will pay him $87.5 million over the life of the deal.

Dort showed some promise as a rookie, most notably when he scored 30 points in an elimination game between the Thunder and the Houston Rockets, and has seen his role grow with the team over the each of the last two seasons. Last season, Dort put up career-best marks almost across the board, as he started all 51 games in which he appeared and averaged 17.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 32.6 minutes per game.

It doesn’t seem to be the likeliest outcome, but it is possible that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving remain teammates outside of Brooklyn.

On ESPN’s free agency special, Brian Windhorst said that it’s “been floated” that other teams think it’s possible that the Los Angeles Lakers would “potentially have a package” to acquire both. He also added that’s there’s not enough information to really know if this deal has any legs. That seemingly ended Richard Jefferson, with Jefferson saying “I will retire from this show if KD, and Kyrie, and Bron are in L.A.” When asked what he’d do if he retired from TV, he said he’d become a referee.

A Lakers trade for both Durant and Irving would have to be seismic. It would certainly have to involve Russell Westbrook, but maybe also involve Anthony Davis for salary purposes. And would the Nets even want Westbrook? Would a third team need to get involved? And, on top of that, how would the sides even decide who has to send picks one way or the other?

Jefferson’s reaction here is frankly the right one. This is so implausible that it’s a NBA 2K trade more than it is something grounded in reality. To pull it off would be so complicated and convoluted to pull off that it almost rules it out from happening. Even if it makes sense for the Lakers to maybe explore it and go all-in on a title chase while they still have LeBron James, pulling out a deal to get both is just crazy, crazy enough to maybe make Jefferson retire from his ESPN gig if it were to happen.

Bobby Portis became an immediate fan favorite in Milwaukee during the Bucks championship season, and cemented his status as a beloved figure with the franchise when he took a two-year deal worth just over $8 million to come back last summer.

That deal was a precursor to this summer when the Bucks could go over the cap to retain him using his early Bird rights, as Portis opted out of his player option for next season and quickly agreed to return to Milwaukee on a 4-year, $49 million contract when free agency opened.

This was always the expectation for the Bucks, and they’ve now accomplished their top priority on their free agency check list. Portis averaged 14.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game last season, taking on a much larger role with Brook Lopez hurt most of the year, and maintained strong efficiency in an expanded role, with a 47.9/39.3/75.2 shooting split in the 2021-22 season. The Bucks figure to mostly run things back, with some minor shifts via minimum deals, but it’s hard to blame them given their success the past two seasons — and how close they were to beating the Celtics even without Khris Middleton.

Portis returning was the first step and now he is handsomely rewarded for his loyalty and performance the past two seasons.

There aren’t many backup point guards who provide the steadiness that Tyus Jones brings the Memphis Grizzlies. Throughout his NBA career — whether it has been as a member of the Grizzlies or the Houston Rockets — Jones has been one of the league’s best backup options, and there was a belief that he might leave the Grizzlies as a free agent this summer in search of a starting gig.

Shortly after the free agency period opened on Thursday afternoon, Memphis got some good news about the future of their backcourt and their highly-regarded bench lineups: Jones has decided to stick around. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Jones and the team have come to terms on a 2-year contract extension that will pay him $30 million.

Jones was excellent during the 2021-22 campaign last season whenever Ja Morant was not able to play, whether that was because he was resting during a game or had to sit out altogether. Now, the Grizzlies will not have to worry about figuring out what they’re going to do when Morant is off the floor going forward, because the former Duke standout is going to be in town for the next few seasons.

Jones averaged 8.7 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds on 45.1/39.0/81.8 shooting splits in 73 games with the Grizzlies last season.

Mo Bamba entered the 2022 offseason a restricted free agent, and was one of the more interesting guys on the market. The No. 6 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft played the best basketball of his young career during the 2021-22 campaign for the Orlando Magic, and this summer, the 24-year-old big man hit free agency.

Whether the Magic opted to keep him around or another team decided to scoop him up, Bamba looked primed to build on what he did last year and take another step towards his considerable potential. After the Magic declined to extend the qualifying offer to Bamba, there were rumblings he might have interest from other teams on the unrestricted market, but it seems that was simply the Magic clearing the way for them to make a deal with the young center as soon as free agency opened, re-signing him on a two-year, $21 million deal.

After injuries and a particularly nasty bout with COVID impacted Bamba his first three seasons, the former Texas Longhorn played more than ever during the 2021-22 campaign and saw himself put up a career year. Bamba appeared in 71 games for the Magic with 69 of them coming as a member of the starting lineup. He averaged 10.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 25.7 minutes per game while hitting 38.1 percent of his attempts from behind the three-point line.

Nicolas Batum looked like injuries had sapped much of what he had left in the tank during the end of his time with the Charlotte Hornets, which parted ways with him ahead of the 2020 NBA season. Once the dust settled, Batum signed a 1-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, turned into a reliable piece for them, and signed another 1-year deal at the conclusion of last season.

While Batum hit free agency once again this summer, the Clippers decided to make sure he doesn’t have to go through it again in 2023. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the three-and-D wing who has turned into an important part of the team’s rotation will return to Los Angles on a 2-year contract that will pay him $22 million.

Batum has carved out a role in the team’s starting line, and his ability to hit catch-and-shoot threes on one end while providing stingy defense on the other has made him a snug fit alongside Paul George and, when he’s been healthy, Kawhi Leonard. For a team with championship aspirations next year, keeping Batum around was assuredly a priority.

Batum averaged 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game on 46.3/40.0/65.8 shooting splits last season with the Clippers.

A wild transaction cycle is in the center of the frame in the NBA world as July arrives. From Kevin Durant’s trade request to a blockbuster deal between the Spurs and Hawks to send Dejounte Murray to Atlanta and myriad other moves, basketball observers are busy with the frenzy but, on Thursday evening, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported interesting and potentially concerning injury news with regard to the Memphis Grizzlies. Wojnarowski noted that standout big man Jaren Jackson Jr. will be sidelined for at least four months after undergoing foot surgery to address a stress fracture, with the Grizzlies then releasing an official statement confirming the details.

Given the timing of the announcement, a four-to-six month timeline would place the start of the 2022-23 season very much in question for Jackson. Even a four-month recovery would cause Jackson Jr. to miss opening night, and a six-month timetable would keep him out until January. Fortunately, the Grizzlies have considerable depth on their roster and big-picture aspirations that should not be curtailed by an early-season absence for Jackson Jr., but he also has a history of injury concerns.

Jackson Jr. enjoyed his best season as a professional in 2021-22, leading the league in blocking 2.3 shots per game and averaging 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest. The 22-year-old also began to realize the considerable defensive potential that made him a top-five pick in 2018, and he is a foundational piece alongside Ja Morant in what Memphis is building after a tremendous 2021-22 campaign. In his absence, the Grizzlies can lean on the likes of Brandon Clark, Xavier Tillman, and first-round picks David Roddy and Jake Laravia, but Memphis will not be at its best until Jackson can return at 100 percent.