Offseason Thread

[Who]

Jabari Walker has agreed to a Two-Way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Walker appears in 60 games last season with the Portland Trail Blazers where he averaged 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes.

The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to sign De'Anthony Melton in free agency. Melton signed a one-year, $12.8 million deal with the Golden State Warriors last offseason, but he suffered an early season partially torn ACL.

If true, yet another defensive combo guard for LAL joining Gabe Vincent, Jordan Goodwin and Bronny.

Vlatko Cancar confirms he's leaving for Italy

Looking for a more important role, compared to his NBA run with the Nuggets, Olimpia Milan immediately drew his attention. "Milano came straight away, and they were eager to bring me in. And then, obviously, I got that feeling of being wanted and being important," he explained. - via EuroHoops.net

Cancar looked a half decent player when he was healthy. He just wasn't healthy often enough. Too many injuries.

[Who]

Malik Beasley, an NBA player under investigation in a federal gambling probe, had "financial issues" and struggled to pay back a $650,000 advance this year, according to a lawsuit filed by his former marketing agency.

The suit, filed in April by New York-based Hazan Sports Management Group, seeks $2.25 million in damages and legal fees from Beasley for breach of contract.

An attorney for Hazan Sports wrote that the firm "elected to take a chance and make a substantial investment of time, effort, and resources in a player with known issues (including and especially financial issues)" when it took Beasley on as a client in November 2023.

Beasley terminated the deal two years later on Feb. 27, according to the suit. Hazan Sports tried to recoup a $650,000 marketing advance "but received little more than drips and drabs of sporadic payments and vague promises to repay the balance over time," the suit alleges.

On June 11, an attorney for Hazan Sports requested an extension in the suit to allow the parties to work on a settlement. A potential deal was predicated on Beasley's financial liquidity, "which is directly related to the commencement of the National Basketball Association's ('NBA') free agency period," the attorney wrote.

Beasley, a free agent, was coming off a resurgent season with the Detroit Pistons and was in discussions with the team about a three-year, $42 million deal, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. The discussions have been put on hold, according to Charania. Beasley has earned nearly $60 million during his nine-year NBA career.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York is leading the gambling investigation, according to Haney. Beasley has not been charged with a crime. The gambling allegations are from the 2023-24 season when Beasley was with the Milwaukee Bucks, sources told ESPN.

"An investigation is not a charge," Haney told ESPN. "Malik is afforded the same right of the presumption of innocence as anyone else under the U.S. Constitution. As of now he has not been charged with anything."

[Who]

Jake Fischer: "Cam Thomas does not really have a market, to my understanding. Josh Giddy also - I think people know what his price tag, he would like it to be. We've heard he wants $30 million as well. I don't see a widespread market for that on the open market right now too."

Cam Thomas another combo guard that is finding little interest from teams around the league. Like C Sexton. Like CJ McCollum (twice).

ESPN's Brian Windhorst said from his understanding the two sides aren't coming to a deal "anytime soon" despite all reports suggesting Giddey is likely to stay in Chicago.

The Aussie delivered a cryptic message on Wednesday, posting a photo of himself in Bulls colours including an hourglass, indicating the time passing

[Who]

The Bradley Beal rumours are interesting.

- Lakers are talking about getting Beal. The rich getting richer. I don't like this for Beal because they already have 3 guys who create their own offense. He will be too far back in the pecking order.

- Bucks. I love this for Beal. I love this for MIL. A replacement for Lillard. A 2nd option for Giannis. The perimeter shot-creator MIL need to become a title contender.

- Pistons. I haven't seen them linked to Beal but I'd love to see them get involved. They were the only team without a legit 2nd option in the playoffs last season. They have since lost Malik Beasley and Dennis Schroder who were their 2nd and 3rd best offensive players. I love Beal for the Pistons. A true 2nd option for Cade. An upgrade on Jaden Ivey. DET were on a roll in the 2nd half of last season. I think Beal could make them a title contender. Especially given how weak the East is.

- Heat. I don't like this one. Too similar to T Herro. Beal will help them but probably not by much. Maybe they make the playoffs as a low seed or play-in team.

[mobilija]

Enjoy your running offseason updates Who! Thanks, TP!

[Indocelts]

The Bradley Beal rumours are interesting.

- Lakers are talking about getting Beal. The rich getting richer. I don't like this for Beal because they already have 3 guys who create their own offense. He will be too far back in the pecking order.

- Bucks. I love this for Beal. I love this for MIL. A replacement for Lillard. A 2nd option for Giannis. The perimeter shot-creator MIL need to become a title contender.

- Pistons. I haven't seen them linked to Beal but I'd love to see them get involved. They were the only team without a legit 2nd option in the playoffs last season. They have since lost Malik Beasley and Dennis Schroder who were their 2nd and 3rd best offensive players. I love Beal for the Pistons. A true 2nd option for Cade. An upgrade on Jaden Ivey. DET were on a roll in the 2nd half of last season. I think Beal could make them a title contender. Especially given how weak the East is.

- Heat. I don't like this one. Too similar to T Herro. Beal will help them but probably not by much. Maybe they make the playoffs as a low seed or play-in team.

Maybe Tatum can persuade his best buddy to join the Cs?  And Liliard too, all on very friendy discounts.

[Who]

Rough article on New Orleans Pelicans front office

"Man they were killing them up there," one agent told me, referring to rival front offices. "They think they (the Pelicans) got F'in idiots in charge. It got so bad, I just felt sorry." Teams were already jockeying for the privilege to conduct the first trade with the Pelicans as more than one executive jokingly expressed to me that the Pelicans are going to be their first call.

Pacers Trade - Draft Pick

It was the Indiana Pacers that ended up gaining the privilege of being first. When the Pelicans traded the lightly protected 2026 pick from the Pacers for the rights to pick 23 in this draft, rival executives raised their eyebrows. What was the rush to conduct this move while the Pacers were still in the finals - Just hours after Shams broke the trade, the Pacers announced Haliburton has been diagnosed with a calf strain. The optics pointed to a team that had been duped.

Haliburton would go on to tear his Achilles tendon just a few days later, lending credibility to criticisms being levied by rival teams regarding the Pelicans' decision making. The trade should have been executed after the finals. There was no reason the same deal would not have been on the table. The miscalculation was not a grave one, but it was one big enough to reinforce the priors for other teams - the Pelicans are a mark and do not understand risk.

Troy Weaver's Role

Everything that has transpired since the Pelicans traded with the Pacers has left rival executives questioning if Joe Dumars is taking an active role in the Pelicans decision making process.

 As the Pelicans would go on to acquire Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, Derik Queen, Micah Peavy, and Hunter Dickinson - a very clear through line to Troy Weaver would emerge. Every single player is one Troy spent a great deal of time with personally or scouted in close proximity to the DMV geographical area. "This has Troy written all over it, is Joe even in charge?" asked one executive incredulously after the Dickinson signing was announced.

Weaver, who by all accounts is an incredible talent evaluator, carries a reputation for poor asset management. His time in Detroit was marked by incredible draft hits, but also a remarkably poor handling of draft capital and cap space. Towards the end of Weaver's tenure in Detroit, another executive told me teams would call the Pistons regularly to see if they could secure a favorable deal.

Everyone was looking at Detroit saying "Detroit can help us out right??, then calling them and seeing if they can trick em into some BS."

This all culminated in Detroit winning 14 games in Weaver?s final season and featured a 28 game losing streak.

Derik Queen Trade

Sure enough, the league's collective belief on the Pelicans' lack of risk assessment would be proven true.

The Pelicans would trade the unprotected 2026 draft pick which was the better of their own and Milwaukee to move up 10 spots in the draft? to draft a player Troy Weaver was fixated on in Derik Queen.

In totality, the Pelicans traded away three shots at top 10 pick for the 13th overall pick. All three shots [Pacers pick, Bucks pick, Pelicans pick] featured a team with a starting point guard who had suffered a torn Achilles.

This part is hilarious

Suffice to say - the league was stunned, and so was Atlanta.

The Hawks could not believe their good fortune. While the Pelicans would spend the next 24 hours facing enormous backlash for their reckless decision making, Hawks executives weren't shy about sharing the details behind deal's lopsided structure with rival teams.

One Eastern executive with knowledge of how the conversation went from Atlanta's perspective described a perplexing scene.

When Senior Vice President Troy Weaver made the call to Atlanta's Bryson Graham, Graham couldn't believe what was actually being offered. Graham asked for clarification multiple times to confirm the unprotected pick was indeed part of the deal.

It got to the point where Hawks General Manager, Onsi Saleh, called Joe Dumars directly to confirm for himself. The Hawks waited nervously for Dumars to confirm, hoping he would not realize what was going on and walk the trade back.

But the Pelicans persisted and the Hawks got their steal.

Multiple calls to find out if the offer was legit or not. Atlanta couldn't believe their luck.

https://intheno.substack.com/p/queens-gambit-inside-the-pelicans

The writer ends on a more positive note

Additionally, this is a bet on Derik Queen. Conceptually, I am perfectly okay with throwing a dart on Queen. I wrote about it earlier, but he's kicked everyone's ass at every level. There are truly some freaky right tail outcomes with Queen which point to All-NBA level upside. If the Pelicans truly valued him as a top 5 player in this draft, then it's easy to look at the trade as the Pelicans trading 23 and a future pick for the 5th pick. Of course that is not what happened, but the cost is far more justifiable if you squint through that lens.

Look, I do think a lot of the online discourse has completely overlooked the idea of snagging Fears and Queen together. It seems evident the Pelicans had a top 5 valuation on both these players.

And a comparison to old friend Jrue Holiday's acquisition

In a weird way, I compare this move to when Dell Demps traded the 6th overall pick and a future first for Jrue Holiday.

The future first ended up turning into Dario Saric. Neither Nerlens Noel nor Saric ended up doing anything of note in Philadelphia, but Jrue went on to be a cherished player in New Orleans while also returning outstanding value in his eventual trade.

The writer finishes by saying he doesn't know if the speculation about Troy Weaver running the team is accurate or not but that is the way some people on the outside are viewing it.

Awesome article.

[Who]

The Orlando Magic and free agent big man Moe Wagner have agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract.

The Magic previously declined Wagner's team option this offseason, but had always planned to bring him back to Orlando.Wagner was in the midst of the best season of his career last year, when he tore his ACL just before Christmas.

The 28-year-old forward averaged 12.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game over 30 games off the Magic bench last season.

Good move for Orlando. Restores that depth at center. The three headed monster of Wendell Carter Jr (all rounder) - Goga Bitadze (defense) - Mo Wagner (offense).

I'd love to see Boston get a 3rd center. The thought of Amari Williams having to play at some point is frightening.

Magic Roster

G: J Suggs, Tyus Jones
G: D Bane, Anthony Black
F: F Wagner, J Isaac
F: P Banchero, T da Silva
C: W Carter Jr, Bitadze, Mo Wagner

Interesting 3rd stringers = Jase Richardson, Jett Howard, Noah Penda, Mo Wagner / Bitadze. Some good talent there. Jase Richardson looks like one to watch. Noah Penda is an interesting long term prospect who needs to improve his jumper. Jett Howard is the one I have the least confidence in and he was a late lottery pick (11th pick) 2 years ago. Deep bench. 13/14 players deep.

They could use more shooting on the bench wings though. A Black can't shoot. Jett Howard has yet to show he is an NBA player. Then the other guys are bigger PF type players. More height & muscle than skill. Not real wing players. That will continue to cause Orlando some problems. A trade to better balance their bench would be great. Trading J Isaac or T da Silva for a true SF/SG who is a legit shooter.

[Roy H.]

I'd love to see Boston get a 3rd center. The thought of Amari Williams having to play at some point is frightening.

I'd love to see Boston get a first center, lol.

[Phantom255x]

I'd love to see Boston get a 3rd center. The thought of Amari Williams having to play at some point is frightening.

I'd love to see Boston get a first center, lol.

Yeah I was gonna say, we have centers? 

[Birdman]

Anyone else believe in LeBron wants traded or lakers don?t want him? I might believe lakers like get rid of his contract & get lot younger guys

[SparzWizard]

Rough article on New Orleans Pelicans front office

"Man they were killing them up there," one agent told me, referring to rival front offices. "They think they (the Pelicans) got F'in idiots in charge. It got so bad, I just felt sorry." Teams were already jockeying for the privilege to conduct the first trade with the Pelicans as more than one executive jokingly expressed to me that the Pelicans are going to be their first call.

Pacers Trade - Draft Pick

It was the Indiana Pacers that ended up gaining the privilege of being first. When the Pelicans traded the lightly protected 2026 pick from the Pacers for the rights to pick 23 in this draft, rival executives raised their eyebrows. What was the rush to conduct this move while the Pacers were still in the finals - Just hours after Shams broke the trade, the Pacers announced Haliburton has been diagnosed with a calf strain. The optics pointed to a team that had been duped.

Haliburton would go on to tear his Achilles tendon just a few days later, lending credibility to criticisms being levied by rival teams regarding the Pelicans' decision making. The trade should have been executed after the finals. There was no reason the same deal would not have been on the table. The miscalculation was not a grave one, but it was one big enough to reinforce the priors for other teams - the Pelicans are a mark and do not understand risk.

Troy Weaver's Role

Everything that has transpired since the Pelicans traded with the Pacers has left rival executives questioning if Joe Dumars is taking an active role in the Pelicans decision making process.

 As the Pelicans would go on to acquire Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, Derik Queen, Micah Peavy, and Hunter Dickinson - a very clear through line to Troy Weaver would emerge. Every single player is one Troy spent a great deal of time with personally or scouted in close proximity to the DMV geographical area. "This has Troy written all over it, is Joe even in charge?" asked one executive incredulously after the Dickinson signing was announced.

Weaver, who by all accounts is an incredible talent evaluator, carries a reputation for poor asset management. His time in Detroit was marked by incredible draft hits, but also a remarkably poor handling of draft capital and cap space. Towards the end of Weaver's tenure in Detroit, another executive told me teams would call the Pistons regularly to see if they could secure a favorable deal.

Everyone was looking at Detroit saying "Detroit can help us out right??, then calling them and seeing if they can trick em into some BS."

This all culminated in Detroit winning 14 games in Weaver?s final season and featured a 28 game losing streak.

Derik Queen Trade

Sure enough, the league's collective belief on the Pelicans' lack of risk assessment would be proven true.

The Pelicans would trade the unprotected 2026 draft pick which was the better of their own and Milwaukee to move up 10 spots in the draft? to draft a player Troy Weaver was fixated on in Derik Queen.

In totality, the Pelicans traded away three shots at top 10 pick for the 13th overall pick. All three shots [Pacers pick, Bucks pick, Pelicans pick] featured a team with a starting point guard who had suffered a torn Achilles.

This part is hilarious

Suffice to say - the league was stunned, and so was Atlanta.

The Hawks could not believe their good fortune. While the Pelicans would spend the next 24 hours facing enormous backlash for their reckless decision making, Hawks executives weren't shy about sharing the details behind deal's lopsided structure with rival teams.

One Eastern executive with knowledge of how the conversation went from Atlanta's perspective described a perplexing scene.

When Senior Vice President Troy Weaver made the call to Atlanta's Bryson Graham, Graham couldn't believe what was actually being offered. Graham asked for clarification multiple times to confirm the unprotected pick was indeed part of the deal.

It got to the point where Hawks General Manager, Onsi Saleh, called Joe Dumars directly to confirm for himself. The Hawks waited nervously for Dumars to confirm, hoping he would not realize what was going on and walk the trade back.

But the Pelicans persisted and the Hawks got their steal.

Multiple calls to find out if the offer was legit or not. Atlanta couldn't believe their luck.

https://intheno.substack.com/p/queens-gambit-inside-the-pelicans

The writer ends on a more positive note

Additionally, this is a bet on Derik Queen. Conceptually, I am perfectly okay with throwing a dart on Queen. I wrote about it earlier, but he's kicked everyone's ass at every level. There are truly some freaky right tail outcomes with Queen which point to All-NBA level upside. If the Pelicans truly valued him as a top 5 player in this draft, then it's easy to look at the trade as the Pelicans trading 23 and a future pick for the 5th pick. Of course that is not what happened, but the cost is far more justifiable if you squint through that lens.

Look, I do think a lot of the online discourse has completely overlooked the idea of snagging Fears and Queen together. It seems evident the Pelicans had a top 5 valuation on both these players.

And a comparison to old friend Jrue Holiday's acquisition

In a weird way, I compare this move to when Dell Demps traded the 6th overall pick and a future first for Jrue Holiday.

The future first ended up turning into Dario Saric. Neither Nerlens Noel nor Saric ended up doing anything of note in Philadelphia, but Jrue went on to be a cherished player in New Orleans while also returning outstanding value in his eventual trade.

The writer finishes by saying he doesn't know if the speculation about Troy Weaver running the team is accurate or not but that is the way some people on the outside are viewing it.

Awesome article.

Atlanta owning New Orleans in basketball at least.