of The 2024 NBA Draft is nearing its end.somehow 55th pick It exceeded the mark worthy of first place. The Knicks have already made a bold move to acquire Mikal Bridges this offseason. He would be a real threat to the Celtics.
NBA free agency hasn't even started yet. It officially starts at 6pm ET on Sunday, but of course the NBA is a cheating league, so talks are already underway, rumors are flying, and some deals have already been made. Here's the latest on NBA free agency rumors.
• Chris Paul, Warriors agree to postpone his guarantee date until Sunday. In a sign that the Warriors are exploring a trade involving Chris Paul, the Warriors and CP3 agreed to a deferral of his $30 million contract guarantee until Sunday. The news was reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Paul's guarantee expired today (Friday, June 28), and Golden State would have let him go if it came down to it. Paul will get some money for agreeing to this, but it's also in his own interest.
ESPN sources: Golden State and Chris Paul are looking to postpone the date on which $30 million in his 2024-2025 contract will be guaranteed until the start of free agency on Sunday. The deadline was originally today, giving the Warriors time to continue evaluating a trade.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2024
Golden State will look very different next season. Klay Thompson will be on another team (it'll be weird to see him in any other uniform) and Paul will likely be gone. The question is who will come in to replace them. Don't be surprised if a big trade happens.
• Paul George remains the biggest influence on the free agent market. George wants the maximum four-year, $221 contract the Clippers can offer him. That's not up for negotiation, but it's no secret. Tomer Atherly, a well-connected figure at ClutchPoint, agreed..
The Clippers' offer to George remains a three-year deal, slightly lower than the three-year, $149 million extension Kawhi Leonard signed in January 2024, league sources told ClutchPoints. Leonard took a roughly $10 million pay cut over the life of his contract and opted to decline his 2024-25 option to sign one less year for a total of three years…
That never happened, and in recent weeks it has become increasingly likely that George will either opt in to the final year of his contract and work out a trade to a team that offers him the four-year deal he desires, or opt out and test the free-agent market. Either way, it appears his time with the Clippers is coming to an end.
League sources NBC spoke with are leaning toward an opt-in and trade scenario. The question is which team will offer a package of players and draft picks (worth a total of $48 million in salary) and the Clippers will agree to it. Will a deal be made with the Warriors (Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and draft picks) or will Steve Ballmer and company veto a trade for their division? Many questions remain.
• LeBron James will opt out of his $51.4 million contract and then re-sign with the Lakers. History suggests that LeBron James will use this summer's potential free agency as a way to force the Lakers to upgrade their roster in the short term, do whatever else he wants (such as hire a specific coach or make a specific draft pick at No. 55), and then re-sign with the team. TNT/Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes said in a chat on Friday.and that was the expectation of many around the league. If he opts out and re-signs, the most the Lakers could offer him is three years and $162 million (down from the $164 million he could have offered if he opted in) and the Lakers could give him a no-trade clause. There's also speculation that LeBron could accept less than the maximum and the Lakers could use the full mid-level exception to add players to the roster. He may want to win, but that would be out of character for him based on his past actions.
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone around the league who thinks LeBron is going to leave the Lakers. It's considered a foregone conclusion.
• Charlotte waived Seth Curry but is expected to re-sign the shooter. Seth Curry, one of the league's best pure shooters, has a $4 million team option this season and Charlotte opted to waive him, but they are hoping to bring him back, Wojnarowski reports.
ESPN Source: The Charlotte Hornets have waived guard Seth Curry, but both sides are interested in continuing discussions about a new contract in July's free agency. The team is due today to guarantee Curry's contract for the 2024-2025 season. pic.twitter.com/o1qIwpanIy
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2024
• D'Angelo Russell is gaining momentum to exercise his $18.7 million option and remain with the Lakers. Nothing is certain on this point, but the momentum may have shifted in Russell's direction to exercise his option and remain with the Lakers. ESPN's Brian Windhorst talks on “First Take.”
“To be honest with you, I'm not really sure what's going to happen going forward. About a month ago, I thought DeAngelo would opt out of his contract. Now, I think it's more likely he'll opt out because the market isn't as good. We'll talk about that later, but right now I'm leaning in that direction.”
Russell likely believed he could get a multi-year deal worth more than $20 million per season, but that may not happen. So he can return to the Lakers for $18.7 million and prove his worth. Russell can score, averaging 18 points and 6.3 assists per game last season, but there are doubts around the league about how much he can elevate those around him. Changes are coming for the Lakers, and it will be interesting to see if Russell is one of them.
• Toronto will exercise Bruce Brown's $23 million option. The second year of Bruce Brown's two-year, $45 million contract was a team option, the deal that lured Brown away from the Nuggets. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Raptors, who acquired Brown from the Pacers in the Pascal Siakam trade, will likely pick up that option. This will hopefully be a bounce-back year for Brown, while his salary will make him valuable in any trade the Raptors consider this summer and into next season.
• James Borrego withdrew from the running for the Pistons coaching job. This isn't a direct free agent rumor, but it's interesting. From the moment Monty Williams was fired, Borrego was a top candidate for Detroit due to his connection with new GM Trajan Langdon in New Orleans. Now comes the report from Chris Haynes that Borrego has backed out of Detroit. It's interesting. It could be a face-saving move for Borrego since the Pistons were looking to hire someone else, or it could be something else entirely. Let's hope another top assistant like Mika Nori (Minnesota) or Sean Sweeney (Dallas) gets the job.
• P.J. Tucker remains with the Clippers. As expected, P.J. Tucker picked up his $11.5 million player option.
• Evan Fournier will not return to the Pistons. The Pistons also understandably won't exercise Evan Fournier's $19 million team option, as he is expected to return to play in Europe.
• Jason Richardson returns to the Heat. Josh Richardson will exercise his $3 million player option to return to Miami, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. Richardson missed the final few months of the season with a shoulder injury.