As we get deeper into the summer, the NBA world slows down, but there is still some intrigue in the free-agent and trade market. Some of this may drag out closer to the start of training camp, but here is the latest from the rumor mill.
Stephen Curry extension
When the Warriors came out as a loser in the LeBron James sweepstakes, that led some people to speculate about Stephen Curry's future: With the end of this Warriors era limping to the end, would he leave Golden State to chase a ring somewhere else?
No.
While some pundits looking to grab attention may talk about it, the idea of a Curry exit was never seriously entertained by other teams, league sources told NBC Sports. Every report out of the Bay Area has been about how the sides will talk extension when he becomes eligible on Aug. 29. Here is how ESPN’s Anthony Slater put it.
"There remains mutual interest in a Curry extension when he's eligible in late August, league sources said, but nearly the rest of the roster is vulnerable in the next calendar year."
The Warriors can re-sign Curry for up to two years, $135 million. The only questions are whether he will take that much or take a little less to give the Warriors flexibility, and whether he would delay signing that extension for the same reason, so the Warriors could round out the roster with more talent, then re-sign him using his Bird rights.
Curry is not leaving the Warriors, however.
Peyton Watson sign-and-trade
Denver is stuck. It is over the dreaded second apron of the luxury tax, facing a massive potential tax bill of over $100 million (on top of paying salaries), and it has yet to re-sign wing Peyton Watson, who emerged as a key player for the Nuggets last season. The Nuggets reportedly first offered Watson five years, $70 million, but he saw the team give Christian Braun — a guy Watson outplayed and in some ways supplanted in the Nuggets rotation last year — five years, $125 million a year ago, and Watson wants at least that.
Which is why Denver is listening to sign-and-trade offers. Michael Scotto at Hoopshype had the latest, including that Cleveland has called to talk sign-and-trade (something ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported as well). From Scotto:
The Denver Nuggets remain interested in retaining restricted free agent forward Peyton Watson amid sign-and-trade interest from the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, and Los Angeles Clippers.
Denver's price tag in any sign-and-trade scenario has shifted to at least one first-round pick and one notable player, per multiple reports, and confirmed by HoopsHype. As of now, the Bucks, Cavaliers, Hawks, and Clippers have not offered a first-round pick to the Nuggets in sign-and-trade discussions for Watson, league sources told HoopsHype.
Milwaukee also is willing to take on the salary of Zeke Nnaji, Scotto reports. Cleveland's sign-and-trade is going to be based around moving Max Strus ($16.7 million) and/or Dennis Schroder ($14.8 million).
Still looming over all of this, Watson could ultimately elect to play next season for the $6.5 million qualifying offer and become a free agent next summer, but with not a lot of teams lined up to have a lot of cap space next offseason that comes with its own risks.
Bennedict Mathurin sign-and-trade
The Clippers want to re-sign restricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin — he was fantastic for them after being traded to Los Angeles as part of the Ivica Zubac deal — but they are on hold as an organization waiting for the fallout from the Kawhi Leonard/Aspiration investigation.
In the absence of action, a number of teams have approached the Clippers about a sign-and-trade for Mathurin, reports Scotto at Hoopshype. Those teams include Chicago, New Orleans, Milwaukee and Dallas, according to multiple reports.
This could drag out for a while while the Clippers wait for things to play out. Mathurin averaged 17.4 points and 5.5 assists per game with the Clippers last season at a 56.1 true shooting percentage that is close to the league average.
Other free agency rumors
• While we talked about Cleveland having interest in Peyton Watson above, they also are eying Jonathan Kuminga (a much more complex sign-and-trade with Atlanta) and DeMar DeRozan, an unrestricted free agent, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (the Cleveland Plain Dealer). Adding DeRozan is the most straightforward option and would give the team a scoring punch off the bench in the regular season.
• All of those potential upgrades are why James Harden has yet to officially re-sign with the Cavaliers, they have a lot more financial flexibility now, after Harden opted out of the $42.3 million he was owed. While he will take less per year next season when he re-signs, this will be a multi-year deal that compensates him fairly and gives him more guaranteed money over the long term. The sides are talking according to multiple reports, but Harden is being patient to help out the team.
• Zach LaVine picked up his $49 million option with the Kings earlier this summer, but he is not in the Kings' long-term plans, something Kings insider James Ham said Thursday on ESPN 1320 Sacramento (hat tip Bleacher Report):
"They haven't promised him a starting job, they haven't promised him 'X' amount of minutes per game... We understand, you're making a business decision to accept $49 million. We also as a franchise have to make a business decision with regards to you, and what we're gonna do at our shooting guard position for the next five years. And that does not include you. So if it includes you part of the time this season that's one thing, but if it doesn't include you by game 20 or game 40, then it doesn't. We can try to find you a place to play.' But when LaVine accepted that $49 million, he accepted the reality that he is nearly untradable. And any trade that would happen should happen now, and if he's going to get bought out it should happen now."
