Free agency starts / reported signings (merged)

[gouki88]

Why would Golden State sign Cory Joseph?

They have Steph Curry, Chris Paul and Gary Payton II. C Joseph is going to be their 4th choice PG.

Are they planning on using Gary Payton II as a two guard? Or Steph as a two guard alongside CP3 at point? It looks like they are planning something here.

Payton is definitely a 2 guard to me. It’s a weird, tiny team.

Paul / Joseph
Curry / Payton II / Podziemski
Klay / Moody
Wiggins / Kuminga
Green / Looney

Is that their depth chart?

Could be. I'd love to see them bench Klay and start Looney instead.

Lot of trade talk around Kuminga still.

They need to trade Klay. So much of that lineup dysfunction is about trying to fit him in. Everything would get easier without him on the team.

Wonder what Klay’s trade market would be like. He’s no longer a very strong defender, but is obviously a legendary shooter with endless off-ball movement.

It’s a very unbalanced group. Small, no interior scoring whatsoever. Just odd

[jay]

I guess when you have Steph Curry - who cares about defense or rebounding.

[Who]

Chicago applying for the Disabled Player's Exception for Lonzo Ball. That is half of Lonzo's salary which amounts to $10.2mil. They could get a good player with that.

I'd love to see Chicago add a legit forward to play alongside DeRozan. They are too small with DeRozan and Pat Williams. They need some legit size and defense next to DeRozan ... and LaVine ... and Vucevic. Similar to how Denver needed someone like Aaron Gordon next to Jokic and MPJ. Chicago needs their own version of that. Of Aaron Gordon. A glue guy defensive forward who plays with physicality.

[Celtics2021]

Apparently the Rockets have about $12.5 million more in cap if they order their transactions correctly.  We’ll see what they do with it, and if they create any additional space with another small dump.

[Who]

Interesting summary by a Wolves beat writer on their recent transactions

It’s pretty clear that Alexander-Walker was a top priority based on how fast Minnesota managed to retain his services after not extending him a qualifying offer. It’ll be a 2-year, $9 million deal, according to a source, a reward for Alexander-Walker carving out a niche after the Timberwolves acquired him at the trade deadline.

Not only did he average 6.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23 games to close out the regular season, more importantly, Alexander-Walker filled a valuable role in the playoff series against the Denver Nuggets. He’s a solid defender with the ability to knock down the outside jumper and should be a key reserve for Minnesota next season.

That the Timberwolves were able to add Milton on a 2-year, $10 million deal, according to a source, roughly an hour later was viewed as a steal given the money being thrown around elsewhere. He will instantly become an important bench player for Minnesota after averaging 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 76 games with the Philadelphia 76ers last season while shooting nearly 38% from three-point range.

As for Brown, he played 76 games for the Los Angeles Lakers last season, averaging 7.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He started 45 games in that span, as well, while shooting 38% from beyond the arc. It’ll be a 2-year, $8 million deal for Brown with a team option, according to a source, and he will likely spend most of his time coming off the bench for the Timberwolves.

These moves aren’t considered a big splash by any stretch of the imagination.

Still, they are a perfect example of good value while being up against the salary cap

I'm not sure how much I trust NAW. Last year was the first year he came close to shooting the ball well enough to stay on the floor. A positive sign of progress? Or fake hope? I don't know.

Milton has been just about adequate for Philly when I saw him play. Troy Brown has some upside to him. I like his defense and he has shown good improvement in his three point shot. I am surprised LAL didn't keep him.

[action781]

Chicago applying for the Disabled Player's Exception for Lonzo Ball. That is half of Lonzo's salary which amounts to $10.2mil. They could get a good player with that.

I'd love to see Chicago add a legit forward to play alongside DeRozan. They are too small with DeRozan and Pat Williams. They need some legit size and defense next to DeRozan ... and LaVine ... and Vucevic. Similar to how Denver needed someone like Aaron Gordon next to Jokic and MPJ. Chicago needs their own version of that. Of Aaron Gordon. A glue guy defensive forward who plays with physicality.

I think that's who they are hoping Pat Williams can become?

I personally think Chicago needs to blow it up and do it quickly.  This team is going nowhere fast and DeRozan is probably losing trade value by the month.

I could see the 76ers, Knicks, Hawks, Grizzlies, and Kings all being bidders for Derozan.

[goCeltics]

Apparently the Rockets have about $12.5 million more in cap if they order their transactions correctly.  We’ll see what they do with it, and if they create any additional space with another small dump.

So if they give as Sengun, we could trade them Grant in exchange and they could pay him starting at 16 million.

I think they are planning something cause they dumped a bunch of contracts, I suspect it would be for PJ Washington and not Grant. It would sense of the rumors of the Hornets preparing an offer sheet for Grant.

[Who]

Shane Young
@YoungNBA


Eric Gordon scored 1.34 points per spot-up possession with the Clippers, ranking in the 97th percentile across the league.

Don’t mind me, just stating some facts 🙃

[Goldstar88]

Apparently the Rockets have about $12.5 million more in cap if they order their transactions correctly.  We’ll see what they do with it, and if they create any additional space with another small dump.

So if they give as Sengun, we could trade them Grant in exchange and they could pay him starting at 16 million.

I think they are planning something cause they dumped a bunch of contracts, I suspect it would be for PJ Washington and not Grant. It would sense of the rumors of the Hornets preparing an offer sheet for Grant.

And why would Houston give the Celtics their 20 year old starting center who averaged 15/9/4 last year? 

[goCeltics]

Apparently the Rockets have about $12.5 million more in cap if they order their transactions correctly.  We’ll see what they do with it, and if they create any additional space with another small dump.

So if they give as Sengun, we could trade them Grant in exchange and they could pay him starting at 16 million.

I think they are planning something cause they dumped a bunch of contracts, I suspect it would be for PJ Washington and not Grant. It would sense of the rumors of the Hornets preparing an offer sheet for Grant.

And why would Houston give the Celtics their 20 year old starting center who averaged 15/9/4 last year? 

he sucks defensively, and Ime might hate his game, which might make it a bad move

[Who]

Some interesting info / stats on Bruce Brown and the Nuggets

... the Big Honey provides teammates instant elevation, a star who makes role players good and good players great. Every rotation the Joker touches turns to gold, with running mates looking anywhere from 15% to 30% better than they might if paired with any other big man in the game.

To both the eyes and the metrics, Brown and Jokic went together like a hammer and pick. Per NBA.com tracking data, the Nuggets posted a 120.1 offensive rating — as, in points per 100 possessions — whenever the two were on the floor together during the regular season, with a plus-9.4 net rating as a duo. The net rating for that tandem in the postseason hopped up to a plus-10.4, with an offensive rating of 117.3, during that 20-game sprint to glory.

Brown’s on-off plus/minus during the playoffs, a Basketball Reference stat that measures his team’s success whenever a player’s on the floor, was a plus-4.4 net — that was the third-highest total of any Nuggets rotation regular, trailing only Aaron Gordon (plus-20.6!) and Jamal Murray (plus-9.9). When you go with everything, almost anything works.

Just interesting to see the success of the Brown & Jokic pairing in stats as well as how well Bruce Brown did in his own individual plus minus.

I particularly like that last line "When you go with everything, almost anything work." Fits Bruce Brown to a tee.

[Who]

Here’s another hidden part of all this. Do you know who absolutely loves Miles Bridges? LaMelo Ball.

The Hornets want to keep Ball around long-term, and Ball, in turn, wants to keep Bridges around long-term. This is far from a secret inside the organization.

Ball believes having Bridges on the court — the high-flying leaper who dunks so many of Ball’s lob passes — is key to Charlotte not going 27-55 once again this season. You want to keep your 21-year-old star happy, especially if you want to keep your star in Charlotte when he reaches free agency.

Part of an article in the Charlotte Observer where the columnist says he is not happy about Miles Bridges returning (due to the domestic violence). Also talked about Charlotte already ceded the moral high ground by selecting Brandon Miller #2 overall when it came to deciding whether Miles Bridges should play for the team again.

I thought this segment above was very interesting. Not so much the rest of the article.

[celticinorlando]

Shams Charania
@ShamsCharania
·
2m
Free agent point guard Dalano Banton has agreed to a two-year contract with the Boston Celtics, sources tell
@TheAthletic
 
@Stadum
. Agent Aaron Turner of
@VerusTeam
 negotiated the deal.

[celticinorlando]

Boston has 4 Pg's on the roster now (5 if you include Davison)....No chance they are carrying all of them into the season.

Blanton is anywhere from 6'7 to 6'9 with a long wingspan. Seems like a guy that cover multiple positions. Not sure you get any scoring out of him.

But the Celtics are long with him, Brissett and Walsh coming on. Seems Blanton or Walsh might be 2 way contract guys

[keevsnick]

Anthony Edwards signs his designated rookie max extension, a deal that could reach 260/5, according to WOJ.

The 260 would be the 30% max which would kick in if he makes All-NBA next year, same as LaMelo and Halliburton's extensions.