More new exclusive NBA chatter on free agency, trades and the coaching carousel
Clippers, 76ers, Knicks, Nuggets, Warriors, Lakers, Mavericks and a slew of big-name players attached to many of those teams ... all are featured in my latest around-the-league NBA notes
Around-the-league NBA notes on a Sunday?
Even after more than 1,500 words' worth of around-the-league NBA on Saturday?
Of course! As it should be.
It's a must this time of year.
To the latest from my notebook ...
Some short-but-important updates on the LA Clippers' Paul George:
🏀 One team described George to me as "the domino who will make it all go when he falls."
🏀 I am struggling to pinpoint third-party teams that put much stock in the recent leakage suggesting that the 76ers have cooled on the idea of pursuing George. Only the Sixers know their true intentions, but let's just say there will be a healthy bit of skepticism leaguewide about the Sixers bowing out completely until PG-13 has either come to terms with the Clippers or landed somewhere other than Philly.
🏀 More sources than not we've consulted believe George's preference, as a proud Southern California native, continues to be re-signing with the Clippers, but the incumbent team's apparent reluctance to extend George a longer or richer deal than Kawhi Leonard's recent three-year contract extension in the $150 million range has put George's future in legitimate flux.
🏀 Another trusted source has advised me to keep the Knicks on the list as a potential trade suitor for George if the All-NBA swingman indeed opts into the final season of his current contract at $48.8 million. That step would position George to push for a trade to another team.
Among the players who will be most in demand after George lands, league sources say, is Denver's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Sources say Philadelphia and Orlando are weighing runs at Caldwell-Pope with their cap space if, as increasingly expected, he declines his $15.4 million player option with the Nuggets to enter free agency and field richer offers.
My podcast partner Chris Haynes reported Friday on his Bleacher Report live stream that Caldwell-Pope is likely to become an unrestricted free agent in a week if KCP and the Nuggets don't come to terms on an extension before the marketplace opens next Sunday at 6 PM ET. An extension would take Denver into second-apron luxury tax territory.
The Sixers, of course, can also go the trade route to make use of their forthcoming $60-plus million in cap space if George is truly off the table and if the next-best free agents on the wing — such Caldwell-Pope and New York's OG Anunoby — have other plans. The Knicks, despite some recent murmurs about Anunoby considering his options elsewhere, have been painted as a strong favorite to re-sign the former Toronto Raptor since acquiring him in late December.
New Orleans' Brandon Ingram and even Miami's Jimmy Butler have come up as potential Philly trade targets ... although Ingram's availability via trade is far more clear-cut than Butler's at the moment. Another variable whenever Ingram, Butler or Chicago Bulls free agent-to-be DeMar DeRozan is mentioned as a potential Sixer — none of them shoot 3s with the sort of consistency and/or volume that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is believed to be seeking.
The lone certainty in the City of Brotherly Love entering a critical 10 days or so for a franchise that has not advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 2001?
It's considered a leaguewide lock that the Sixers will secure All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey on a max five-year contract extension worth nearly $205 million after completing their other summer moves. Maxey's current cap hold of $13 million is a key element of the Sixers' ability to operate with so much cap space.
This is a big week for Chris Paul's future.
The 39-year-old's $30 million contract for next season becomes guaranteed if he is on Golden State's roster or another team's after June 28 … as in Friday. If the team that has Paul on its roster Friday wants to be completely free of the salary obligation, he can be released and proceed to the open market with a chance to choose his next destination.
The Warriors, league sources say, have continued to explore their trade options with Paul's trade-friendly contract in conjunction with Wednesday's draft as well as the prospect of pushing the Friday deadline into July if Paul is amenable to that amendment (as covered here previously). Count on Paul's situation being one of the prime topics raised Monday afternoon when Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. holds a pre-draft news conference — after Dunleavy, of course, is quizzed on free agent-to-be Klay Thompson's future with the only team Thompson has ever known.
I keep hearing that Paul, if he actually makes to free agency at some point, would draw interest from the Clippers as well as the Lakers. Paul's desire to play as close to his L.A.-based family as possible is well-known, but I'm told interest in bringing him to the Lakers might not be unanimous within the organization despite Paul's well-chronicled friendship with LeBron James.
I've been hearing for weeks now that the Clippers — even though Russell Westbrook possesses a $4 million player option for next season — have interest in both Paul and Kyle Lowry to supply backcourt depth. Lowry, though, is a Philadelphia native who is widely expected to re-sign with the 76ers.
We wrote Saturday about the Mavericks' plans to trade Tim Hardaway Jr.
It would appear, according to his Hall of Fame father Tim Hardaway Sr., that Dallas' Hardaway is more than prepared for the possibility.
On his Instagram page, in a since-deleted comment, Hardaway Sr. responded to a suggestion that the Mavericks are looking to trade his son with considerable candor, posting: "Yes they are. And we want to have a new opportunity to shine. We didn't like what happen[ed]. We are ready to go."
Hardaway Jr., 32, is entering the final season of his current contract at $16.2 million.
Stan Van Gundy is a natural target for JJ Redick's first coaching staff with the Lakers given Van Gundy's head coaching experience, his reputation for building defenses and, of course, his history with Redick after serving as his first NBA coach in Orlando.
Van Gundy, though, recently revealed in a podcast interview with Dan Le Batard that he worked this entire season while dealing with intense grief after the death of his wife Kim last August. The 64-year-old former Heat/Magic/Pistons/Pelicans coach worked as a game analyst for TNT all the way into the Western Conference finals, but it is unknown whether Van Gundy is prepared to return to rigors of day-to-day coaching.
The entire powerful interview can be watched here:
Marc, how could a cap space team like the Sixers weaponize their current cap space to get a player like OG or Immanuel Quickley? In other words, could they front load a deal in a way where it would be extremely putative for the competing team to match? For example could they offer Quickley a deal averaging $35 million a year, but pays $50 million in the first year. Same might be true for OG to push the Knicks above the apron…
Adding a second luxury tax tier without cutting back on what top players earn could make more teams act like Klay Thompson and Paul George’s situations. Teams will start being more careful about handing out big contracts in terms of both money and length. We might not see more players like Chris Paul getting huge deals years after their prime.
I think the next great teams will come from players willing to take less money to team up, like Wade, LeBron, and Bosh did in Miami. Right now, the way salaries are structured is really squeezing the middle-of-the-pack guys.