One week out from the NBA Draft, rumors around trades and free agency are coming fast. Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the name most often discussed — get the latest on his potential trade here — but there is much more going on as well. Here are some of the latest news and notes.
Is Trae Young available?
All indications out of Washington have been that it plans to get Trae Young to reject his $49 million player option and get the All-Star point guard to sign a longer-term extension at a lower per-year number.
That said, teams are eying a potential Young trade, including the Miami Heat, who see him as a “big fish” backup if they strike out on landing Giannis Antetokounmpo, reports Jake Fischer at The Stein Line.
That all seems a little odd after there was virtually no market for Young at the trade deadline, and the Wizards got him for a song. Fischer notes that the changed lottery rules — where the teams with the three worst records have a worse chance of landing the No. 1 pick than seeds 4-10 — have increased the value of a floor-raiser like Young.
The key thing to watch: If Young picks up that $49 million player option — which he has to do by draft day next Tuesday — it’s a sign he’s about to be traded.
Miami also has its eye on Kawhi Leonard — if he becomes available, he is not currently — and Ja Morant as big swings if they miss out on Antetokounmpo.
Kessler, Jazz at “odds”
Being a restricted free agent sucks, especially if the team holding a player’s rights makes it known they plan to match any offer.
Enter Walker Kessler. The Utah Jazz big man will be a restricted free agent (once the Jazz extend a $7.1 million qualifying offer), and a number of teams have interest in the 24-year-old. However, he is frustrated by the way the Jazz are handling the situation, reports Sam Amick at The Athletic.
Kessler… was already known to be frustrated by Utah’s choice not to offer him an extension last summer. And now, with the Jazz choosing to leverage the realities of restricted free agency against him as a way to minimize his market, sources say he is strongly considering the prospect of a basketball future outside Utah. Yet, as is always the case with restricted free agents, it’s never quite that simple. Kessler can either strike a deal with the Jazz, sign an offer sheet with another team (starting on July 1) that Utah could match, find a suitable sign-and-trade option for both parties or sign the qualifying offer (worth $14.6 million) for next season as a pathway to unrestricted free agency next summer. Whatever route he ultimately takes, this much is clear: Kessler is currently disenchanted with the Jazz franchise.
Welcome to Negotiations 101. Kessler and his agent want as big a deal as they can get from the Jazz, so the goal is to create leverage — and an unhappy player who might take an offer from another team, or hold a grudge long term, is some leverage. Will Kessler be able to get the size of offer he wants from a team with cap space, like the Lakers? Maybe, but those teams are not tying up their cap space for a couple of days unless they believe Utah will not match the offer. There is no reason to believe that.
Ultimately, Kessler and the Jazz will settle on a number and go from there. If Kessler can be the anchor at the five this team needs next to Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen, then he will have a lot more leverage on a future contract.
Nuggets want to keep Gordon, trade Braun
There is going to be some re-shuffling in Denver this summer. Peyton Watson is a restricted free agent and his absence during the playoffs showed how vital it is for this team to re-sign him. With Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray both making $50+ million next season, the Nuggets are already flirting with the second tax apron before re-signing Watson, which means shedding some salary.
Teams are calling about Aaron Gordon but the Nuggets are more interested in trading Christian Braun, reports Marc Stein at The Stein Line.
I’m told Aaron Gordon, who turns 31 in September, is the Denver veteran drawing the strongest external trade interest. Next season will be the first on a three-year, $103.6 million contract extension … League sources say that the Nuggets’ preferred course for a roster shakeup is finding a trade market for Christian Braun rather than entertaining deals that involve Gordon or Jamal Murray after Murray’s first All-Star season, but those efforts are rife with challenges.
A lot of teams would love to trade for Gordon for the same reason Denver can’t afford to let him go — Gordon is the ultimate glue guy, a two-way four that was critical to their championship run. The market for Braun will not be as strong, but he is a plus defender on the perimeter who averaged 12 points a game last season and is a career 36.5% from 3-point range — he can help a lot of teams. He’s also locked into a fully guaranteed contract with four years and $103.4 million remaining.
One way or another, Denver has to get under the second tax apron and create some flexibility.
Other trade notes:
• Cleveland, a team over the second apron last season, is looking to trim some salary and, with that, is seeing what the trade market looks for veteran guard Dennis Schroder, reports ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Schroder is set to make $14.8 million next season and $15.5 million the season after, but only $4.4 million of that second season is guaranteed.
• No, Oklahoma City is not trying to trade Chet Holmgren. It’s not on the table. That was never logical or on the table, but when a few teams did call, they were shot down quickly, something Zach Lowe noted on his podcast.
• One trade the Thunder are looking to make is moving the No. 17 pick in this year’s draft, with multiple reports that they are looking to move on from that selection. They likely keep the No. 12 pick.
• There are more signs out of Dallas that the Mavericks plan to keep Kyrie Irving, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
• League sources keep telling NBC Sports to expect that the Lakers will re-sign Austin Reaves despite rumors of other teams expressing interest. The only question is the final number.
