How Kevin Durant Made the Biggest Move in Nba Free Agencyã¢â‚¬â€again
2018 Northward.B.A. Free Agency: Before LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Paul George Fabricated Waves
Make sense of the start of Northward.B.A. free agency past thinking most information technology this manner: The final few weeks accept been the longest Christmas Eve ever, with trade and signing rumors popping up like stolen peeks in the presents closet. Christmas arrived in the wee hours of Sunday morning, but information technology didn't really begin until Santa Claus arrived — and this summer, similar most summers, the bearded man everyone was waiting for is named LeBron James.
All eyes were on James, who joined the Los Angeles Lakers on a 4-yr deal worth $154 million, and at present they will fixate on Kawhi Leonard, who is reportedly interested in the Lakers too.
Leading up to James's agreement with the Lakers, Paul George agreed to re-sign with the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder on a — very surprising — four-year $137 million deal. Then at that place's Kevin Durant, who plans to sign a 2-year maximum bargain with the Golden Land Warriors. He'll take a thespian option for the second yr, according to New York Times columnist Marc Stein.
Free agency officially opened Sunday at 12:01 a.m. Eastern. Teams can begin negotiating with players and attain exact agreements, but nothing can be signed until July 6.
Here's what happened in the showtime few hours of free agency:
Is Boogie a Big-Plenty Proper noun for Lakers Fans?
The New Orleans Pelicans would surely like to have DeMarcus Cousins back next season — Anthony Davis has fabricated that clear — simply now the Lakers are trying to pull the sometime Sacramento King dorsum to California:
Marc Stein: The Lakers are in the midst of the most unsuccessful run in franchise history — five consecutive non-playoff seasons and counting. But all is not lost in Lakerland. 50.A. is the overwhelming favorite in Las Vegas to win the LeBron James Sweepstakes and just might sign DeMarcus Cousins to a lucrative one-yr deal to gamble on the All-Star big human being who is still in the midst of his rehabilitation from a season-ending Achilles tear.
LeBron and Boogie?
Could Lakers fans alive with that equally their summer afterwards all the talk of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard?
Benjamin Hoffman: Wilt Chamberlain. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Oscar Robertson. Elgin Baylor. Charles Barkley. Those are the five players other than DeMarcus Cousins to finish a season with averages in excess of 25 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists a game. When people talk about Boogie they bring upwardly the drama, on and off the court. They bring up the fouls, the messy breakup with Sacramento and the discussion "frustrating" gets thrown around a lot. But if you want to talk nigh pure talent, there are few men in the history of the game that tin match his size and skill.
The size, though, is the really intriguing thing for Cousins as he is reportedly meeting with the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers to determine on where he volition play next season. Coming off a rupture of his Achilles' tendon, there is no existent fashion of knowing how a player as immense as Cousins will react. Someone as lithe and athletic as Kobe Bryant struggled to come back from the injury — though Bryant was far older than the 27-year-sometime Cousins — and with a listed weight of 270 pounds, that is a lot of work for a tendon that volition never again be 100 percentage.
The only players of a similar size who have sustained a similar injury and come back are Mehmet Okur and Maurice Taylor and both of them essentially had their careers ruined. Absolutely neither of those players was even close to as athletic as Cousins, but while it is easy to see why teams would be all-in on the talented big man, there is plenty of historical testify that his road back to superstardom is going to be a rough one.
Robbing the Piggy Bank to Pay Paul
Marc Stein: One disclaimer on Oklahoma Metropolis'southward evening of triumph: The Thunder's luxury-tax pecker will be ENORMOUS when the signings of Paul George and Jerami Grant are fabricated official. As covered in the well-nigh recent edition of The Times' weekly N.B.A. newsletter, Thunder officials are going to have to give real thought to releasing Anthony with the waive-and-stretch provision. Information technology's besides tardily for deep math, but the savings could exceed the $ninety 1000000 threshold for next season.
NINETY million, people.
In that location are long-term implications to going the waive-and-stretch route with Anthony, since it would stick the Thunder with a salary-cap hit of $9.3 million over the next three seasons, but the immediate savings are then steep that the organization might not accept a choice.
No Discussion from LeBron
The residue of the Due north.B.A. hasn't waited for LeBron's announcement to make their own moves, every bit many expected. Merely the teams who want to sign him — they're the ones waiting:
Sixers Strike Out With Vets
Marc Stein: Quietly a crude night for the 76ers. Ersan Ilyasova is leaving Philadelphia to return to Milwaukee. Marco Belinelli is leaving Philadelphia to launch his own reunion tour with San Antonio. So the Sixers, just similar that, lost ii of the key veteran additions that a young squad so badly needed.
Reports via ESPN.
Timberwolves Want to Lock Downwards Jimmy Butler
Marc Stein: Equally with other top gratis agents in 2019, more money is available to Butler if he plays out his contract and proceeds to the open market next summer, only Minnesota's bid to sign him is no surprise. Butler and a Karl-Anthony Towns extension are the Wolves' off-season priorities.
Benjamin Hoffman: At that place is no guarantee that Jimmy Butler will take the contract extension the Minnesota Timberwolves are reported to have offered, but it is not difficult, at all, to come across why they are trying. Two years ago, even with Tom Thibodeau at the captain, the T'Wolves seemed lost and needed someone on the court to implement their passenger vehicle's plans. Butler, who Thibodeau had personally molded into a star in Chicago, was the perfect fit.
With Butler in boondocks, only about anybody on the roster seemed to of a sudden be better at their jobs, even if a guy like Karl-Anthony Towns saw his scoring average go down a little.
Andrew Wiggins will keep to confound the game's number-crunchers, and the want to make the team a retirement domicile for all of Thibodeau'south old players from Chicago — bringing dorsum Derrick Rose is a bad move, but their rumored interest in Joakim Noah is far worse — has been overindulged. But if they tin can continue Butler around, let Towns develop even more, and hopefully at some point learn to trust Tyus Jones, the Timberwolves are easily a 50-plus win team, and would be the kind of team that could step into a Western Conference finals spot, or even the N.B.A. finals, if the top contenders had some poor luck with injuries.
Rockets Lose a Fly
Trevor Ariza struggled from the field in the playoffs, shooting simply 28.six pct on 3-pointers, just he has made some primal plays for Houston. And now information technology looks like he's moving on:
Marc Stein: Actually interesting nighttime in Houston. The Rockets managed to secure an understanding to bring back Chris Paul on a iv-year, $160 million contract — 1 flavour and $45 million less than Paul, 33, could have commanded. Simply they've also lost a key veteran to a squad non known as much of a gratis-agent player in recent seasons: Phoenix. The Suns snagged Trevor Ariza with a fatty one-year offer worth $15 meg that has to widen the gap slightly betwixt the Rockets and the Western Conference champion Warriors.
Benjamin Hoffman: The Suns have stockpiled quite a collection of enormously talented youngsters who hope to grow into i of the league's better cores over the next few seasons, just with the signing of Trevor Ariza, Tyson Chandler, the team'southward elder statesman, will have someone to talk to.
Ariza, a 33-year-sometime frontward, has spent the last four seasons with the Houston Rockets. He'due south a three-and-D specialist who has lost a stride or two but was still a productive player for a terrific team last twelvemonth, and probably has plenty in the tank to help teach the immature Suns how to win. Appearing in but 67 games last flavor is a chip of a reddish flag, equally are his rebounding and assistance averages having declined on a per-minute footing, simply he agreed to simply a 1-yr contract, so at the very least the Suns will be able to get rid of him next yr if the decline steepens.
If he's healthy and motivated, the bargain volition well-nigh certainly be positive for Phoenix, and at that place'south near no way it is a negative considering the short commitment. If anything, it's a major blow to Houston, a squad that doesn't accept the financial flexibility to easily replace a player of Ariza's skill prepare.
Paul George Deal is a Stunner
Earlier reports had George staying with the Thunder on a two-yr deal, with a player option on the second year. Now a report from Adrian Wojnarowski at ESPN has him signing up for four years, with an option to leave after iii.
Paul George Staying in OKC
The band is back together, at least for now. It looks like Paul George is sticking with Russell Westbrook in OKC:
Carmelo Anthony has already opted in for the coming flavour.
Benjamin Hoffman: Everyone knew Paul George was going to Los Angeles, but it turns out everyone can exist wrong. The tranquility forward liked playing with Russell Westbrook — and in that location is plenty of statistical bear witness that Westbrook did everything he could to make George's life on the court easier — and the atmosphere may have appealed to him more than the thought of going into the pressure level-cooker of Los Angeles where non only would he be playing in his hometown, only he would be on a team where annihilation less than a title would be a total failure.
The problem, of course, is that the Thunder were a mess last season. Carmelo Anthony didn't deserve to be on the court with Westbrook and George — and he has been fairly emphatic well-nigh not considering himself to exist a role player off the demote — and a team that seemed like it could be special ended up losing in the same round of the playoffs that it had in the yr before it acquired George and Anthony.
While maybe not being on equal footing with Gilded State or Houston, there is still reason for optimism for this move. Andre Roberson, the eye and soul of Oklahoma City's defense, will be back adjacent year, and should the Thunder turn Anthony into a bench scorer (or utilize the stretch provision to release him), they could dramatically increase their efficiency. Westbrook's flaws may continue to haunt them, and the team may exist consigned to being a fairly good second-tier squad, merely George will proceed to be a star and Westbrook will go on to make that like shooting fish in a barrel for him. And that'south not nix.
Marc Stein: So many moves are happening that I'm certain yous're struggling to keep up. But you take to take a step back in admiration of what the Thunder pulled off tonight. They didn't just convince Paul George to spurn the Lakers — and maybe LeBron James. George committed to a 4-year deal with the Thunder that ways he will be with them through at to the lowest degree the side by side three seasons. For Thunder General Manager Sam Presti and the much-maligned Russell Westbrook, this dark is a huge triumph. The conventional wisdom around the league held that any deal George took from the Thunder would comprise an selection to return to complimentary agency subsequently two seasons and thus position the former Indiana Pacer to sign the highest possible max deal.
Checkbooks Are Out
Marc Stein: Money is then tight in this marketplace that we're seeing lots of verbal agreements struck tonight even though LeBron James has yet to formally announce his free-amanuensis conclusion. It's a reflection of just how limited teams' ability to spend is.
Must Be in Texas …
DeAndre Jordan is dorsum on his emoji game, suggesting he will indeed be signing with the Dallas Mavericks:
Benjamin Hoffman: DeAndre Jordan like-minded to a bargain with the Mavericks — over again — is a lot of things. Master among them is it being fairly funny considering the entire history of their relationship (we're still waiting for the sources confirming Marker Cuban was driving around Houston looking for him). Just it's likewise not probable to exist all that important.
Hashemite kingdom of jordan, who is 29, is certainly all the same productive, only he'due south lost some of his defensive border, even if his rebounding has stayed strong. At his peak he averaged 2.3 blocks a game over a three-season flow — in which his defensive rating was a stellar 98 in each season — but last season he was down to 0.nine blocks a game and his defensive rating had shot up to 105.
A lineup of Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Harrison Barnes and the immature guard duo of Dennis Smith Jr. and Luka Doncic should be a lot of fun to watch, and will certainly ameliorate on the Mavericks' 24-win showing last year, but information technology would be irresponsible to pretend this makes them whatsoever sort of real contender in the Westward.
Report: Chris Paul Signing 4-Twelvemonth, $160M Houston Rockets Deal
ESPN is reporting that Paul is re-signing with the Rockets.
Here's what Paul is saying:
Paul, 33, has spent 13 seasons in the league: six with the Hornets (then in New Orleans) and six with the Los Angeles Clippers before joining James Harden and the Rockets for 2017-18.
Benjamin Hoffman: At exactly midnight, Chris Paul posted confirmation that he was staying in Houston, with the deal believed to be a iv-yr max contract for $160 meg.
Information technology'due south not hard to see why the Rockets would want to bring him back after the veteran baby-sit helped lead them to the best record in the N.B.A. — and perhaps more of import, they are well aware how much they fell apart once he was injured during the Western Briefing finals — but this motility carries some chance considering Paul's historic period and injury history.
The point guard simply turned 33 on May half-dozen and has missed a combined 45 regular flavor games over the final 2 years. Information technology's hard to believe that in the second half of this contract, when he'due south 35 and 36, he'll be able to justify the $forty million-plus he'll be earning a yr.
Merely this move is about the next ii years, and the combination of Paul and James Harden will keep to make the squad the greatest threat to the Gilt State Warriors in the Western Conference (barring something similar a super team developing around LeBron James in Los Angeles).
Stein: DeAndre Jordan Coming together With Mavs at Midnight
Marc Stein: Sources close to DeAndre Hashemite kingdom of jordan say he is eager to bring together the Mavericks and has fabricated that known to some of his potential new teammates, having declined his $24.i million option with the Clippers for side by side flavor to ensure he had the ability to country in Dallas.
No Room for LeBron in L.A.?
What to Await every bit the N.B.A. Free Agency Period Begins
• Warriors frontwards Kevin Durant plans to remain in Gilt State on a two-year deal that will pay him $thirty million in the coming season and allow him to become a free amanuensis over again in July 2019, New York Times columnist Marc Stein reported late Saturday night. [Read the total story here.]
• Yes, we're all waiting to hear about LeBron, just in that location are other big names to keep your ears open up for: Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and DeMarcus Cousins.
[Read: The N.B.A. Has the Hottest Stove. LeBron James Is the Flame.]
• Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook and team officials are, according to multiple reports, hosting a political party Saturday dark to convince George, who is a free agent, to re-sign with the team. George, a Southern California native, has been open nigh his desire to play in Los Angeles.
• San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard wants out. The Spurs have been fighting to repair their relationship with him, even sending Coach Gregg Popovich to San Diego to talk to the sometime Defensive Player of the Twelvemonth, just lately, they seem to be realizing that information technology's time to let Leonard go.
[Read: San Antonio Spurs Most Set to Cut Ties With Kawhi Leonard]
• Multiple reports say LeBron plans to join the Los Angeles Lakers, whether or not Leonard and George are headed that way, too. Here'due south what it means to have James on your team — or have him leave:
[Read: How LeBron James Controls Fortunes]
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/sports/nba-free-agency-lebron-james-updates.html
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