I’m on my way to Las Vegas for Summer League for the third year in a row, and I had a funny interaction with a customs agent on my way through security. Upon hearing the purpose of my visit, she asked if I was playing in Summer League. I tried to politely laugh and say no, and she said, “I thought maybe you shoot threes.” Which, yeah, that’s a great response. I absolutely do not shoot threes – or shoot any shots, actual or metaphorical – unless I absolutely have to, but she had no way to know that. I must just look like someone with a smooth stroke.
Anyway, all of that is to say three things:
- I’ll be in Vegas covering Summer League once again, so expect the same content as from the last two summers. Will is going to have post-game reaction podcasts, too, and I think Colin is going to get his feet wet with some breakdowns.
- We’re getting close to finalizing details for the annual RR 3-on-3 tournament. We’re a little behind on that front due to a necessary venue change, but expect a sign-up post soon and a tournament in mid-to-late August.
- There is absolutely nothing free-agency related to talk about.
On that last note, today will be the last open thread of free agency. We always end them on the day the moratorium is lifted, and it seems especially timely this year given how little has happened, that the Raptors are expected to announce the Fred VanVleet signing Friday, and that I can’t imagine a weekend open thread during Summer League a week into free agency would do much for everyone. I’ll update this with signings throughout the day, and after today we’ll only hit you with the Raptors stuff.
Yesterday’s thread has an updated list of free agents and exceptions, by the way.
RAPTORS MOVES
RESOURCES & REQUIRED READING
If you haven’t yet, go and read my free agency primer, which goes into a lot of the details about the Raptors’ cap situations and what they can and can’t do. I’ve also written a bunch on cap specifics and the offseason in general. Hopefully somewhere within these links is an answer to any question you may have:
- Here at Raptors Republic…
- At The Athletic (RR readers can get 20 percent off a subscription here)…
- A salary cap Q&A as a follow-up to my primer
- A deep explainer on Fred VanVleet’s restricted free agency
- What a cold market could mean for the Raptors’ bargain bin options
- Which Raptors are most likely to stay and go
- What went into the decisions on qualifying offers
As a quick refresher, this is what the Raptors’ cap sheet looks at right this second:
To help calibrate for free agency, here’s a chart containing all of the maximums and exception amounts, based on the new $101,869,000 salary cap (note that for the minimum salaries, those deals can run longer if cap space is used, but they max out at two years if a team is using the minimum player salary exception):
Here are a few other very useful resources:
- Mark Deeks’ offseason manifesto
- Jared Dubin’s free agency guide
- Jeff Siegel’s 30 teams, 30 days series
- The Dunc’d On podcast’s mock offseason
- Zach Lowe’s pulse-of-the-league primer
- Basketball Insiders’ team salary pages
- Larry Coon’s CBAFAQ
RAPTORS RUMORS
A reminder: There is a ton of information to sort through this time of year. Some of it will be legitimate, some of it will be misinformation. Always consider the source, their track record, and why a player/agent/team may want information out in the world.
Thursday
- To come…
Wrap-up so far
- Everyone is saying encouraging things about the coaching and philosophy change at Vegas practices so far.
- There hasn’t been much outside of the Fred VanVleet deal, save for continued rumblings that everything – and everyone – is on the table for the Raptors.
- They were also said to have expressed interest in Ersan Ilyasova, who wound up back in Milwaukee for the 20th time on a three-year, $21-million deal the Raptors couldn’t beat on money or situation (Ilyasova still lives there).
- As I noted on Twitter earlier this week, Nick Nurse was overseas with Jonas Valanciunas and Jakob Poeltl as they participated in FIBA qualifiers. A random guess: He was also there speaking to some international coaches about joining his bench. Nurse was very in favor of adding Sarunas Jasikevicius to his staff, per a source, before Jasikevicius opted to stay in Lithuania with a major raise, and he’s stated his preference for experienced hands. Sergio Scariolo, Spain’s national team head coach, was linked to the Raptors earlier in the process. Another name to watch might be Andrea Trinchieri, who earned rave reviews for making the most of a small-budget situation with Brose Bamberg, similar to how Nurse first earned his reputation in England. Trinchieri also has a pretty robust resume, having won titles in Russia, Italy, and Germany, winning Coach of the Year three times across those levels and EuroCup. He’s also a free agent. Nate Bjorkgren and Matt Brase are two other names to watch as that search unfolds.
REPORTED AGREEMENTS/CLOSE – FRIDAY
The following deals have either been reported as done or in the finalization stages. Until noon on July 6, nothing is absolutely locked in (remember DeAndre Jordan?), but if it’s on this list, it’s done per a reporter on the trusted list.
Re-sign
- Ian Clark, Pelicans, 1 year, $1.8M (Michael Scotto)
New homes
- Zach LaVine, OFFER SHEET with Kings (Bulls have 48 hours to match), 4 years, $80M (Shams Charania)
- THE BULLS HAVE (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Kyle Anderson, OFFER SHEET with Grizzlies (Spurs have 48 hours to match), 4 years, $37.2M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Tony Parker, Hornets, 2 years, $10M (Nic Batum and Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Kyle O’Quinn, Pacers, 1 year, $4.5M (Shams Charania)
Trades & Other
- Dallas waived Kyle Collinsworth (Shams Charania)
Deals from Sunday-Thursday
The following deals were reported prior to Friday.
- Chris Paul, Rockets, 4 years, $160M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Devin Booker, Suns, 5 years, $158M extension (expected this weekend) (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- LeBron James, 4 years (3+PO), $153.3M (Klutch Sports)
- Nikola Jokic, Nuggets, 5 years, $148M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Paul George, Thunder, 4 years (3+PO), $137M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Aaron Gordon, Magic, 4 years, $64M (Shams Charania)
- Kevin Durant, Warriors, 2 years (1+PO), $61.5M (Shams Charania)
- Will Barton, Nuggets, 4 years (3+PO), $54M (Chris Mannix and Chris Haynes)
- Derrick Favors, Jazz, 2 years (2nd unguaranteed), $36M (Shams Sharania)
- Dante Exum, Jazz, 3 years, $33M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Jerami Grant, Thunder, 3 years (2+PO), $27M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Avery Bradley, Clippers, 2 years (2nd low guarantee), $25M (Shams Charania)
- DeAndre Jordan, Mavericks, 1 year, $24M (Marc Stein)
- Doug McDermott, Pacers, 3 years, $22M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Ersan Ilyasova, Bucks, 3 years (3rd unguaranteed), $21M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Julius Randle, Pelicans, 2 years (1+PO), $18M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Fred VanVleet, Raptors, 2 years, $18M (Shams Charania)
- Joe Harris, Nets, 2 years, $16M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Trevor Ariza, Suns, 1 year, $15M (Shams Charania)
- Tyreke Evans, Pacers, 1 year, $12M (Shams Charania)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lakers, 1 year, $12M (Chris Haynes)
- J.J. Redick, 76ers, 1 year, $12M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Marco Belinelli, Spurs, 2 years, $12M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Aron Baynes, Celtics, 2 years (1+PO), $11M (Shams Charania)
- Rudy Gay, Spurs, 1 year, $10M (Shams Charania)
- Rajon Rondo, Lakes, 1 year, $9M (Sam Amick and Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Glenn Robinson III, Pistons, 2 years (1+TO), $8.3M, (Shams Charania)
- Mario Hezonja, Knicks, 1 year, $6.5M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Seth Curry, Blazers, 2 years (1+PO), $6M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Anthony Tolliver, Timberwolves, 1 year, $5.8M (Shams Charania)
- Dwight Howard, Wizards, 1 year, $5.4M (Jared Weiss)
- DeMarcus Cousins, Warriors, 1 year, $5.3M (Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks, 1 year, $5M (Shams Charania)
- Lance Stephenson, Lakers, 1 year, $4.5M (Shams Charania and Chris Haynes)
- Nemanja Bjelica, 76ers, 1 year, $4.4M (Jake Fischer)
- Raul Neto, Jazz, 2 years (2nd unguaranteed), $4.4M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Ed Davis, Nets, 1 year, $4.4M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Nerlens Noel, Thunder, 2 years (1+PO), $3.3M (Shams Charania)
- Derrick Jones Jr., Heat, 2 years, $3.2M (Ira Winderman)
- Elfrid Payton, Pelicans, 1 year, $2.7M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Jeff Green, Wizards, 1 year, $2.5M (David Aldridge)
- Amir Johnson, 76ers, 1 year, $2.4M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Raymond Felton, Thunder, 1 year, $2.4M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Jose Calderon, Pistons, 1 year, $2.4M (Chris Haynes)
- JaVale McGee, Lakers, 1 year, $2.4M (Chris Haynes)
- Gerald Green, Rockets, 1 year, $2.4M (Mark Berman and Shams Charania)
- Derrick Rose, Timberwolves, 1 year, $2.4M (Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania)
- Ryan Broekhoff, Mavericks, 2 years (2nd unguaranteed), $2.4M (Shams Charania and Michael Scotto)
- Omri Casspi, Grizzlies, 1 year, $2.2M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Michael Carter-Williams, Rockets, 1 year, $1.8M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Mike Scott, Clippers, 1 year, $1.7M (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Kevon Looney, Warriors, 1 year, $1.6M (Chris Haynes)
- Nik Stauskas, Blazers, 1 year, $1.6M (Chris Haynes)
- Luke Kornet, Knicks, 1 year, $1.4M (Marc Berman)
- Isaiah Briscoe, Magic, TBD, TBD (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- Brad Wanamaker, Celtics, 1 year, $838K (Adrian Wojnarowski)
- The Pacers released Al Jefferson
- The Lakers renounced Julius Randle
- The Wizards claimed Thomas Bryant off waivers from the Lakers
- The 76ers acquired Wilson Chandler, a 2021 second-round pick, and the right to swap 2022 second-round picks from the Nuggets for “minimal” cash consideration. (Shams Charania, Adrian Wojnarowski, and Jake Fischer)
- The Nets will buy out Dwight Howard once that trade becomes official after the moratorium
- Houston is waiving Aaron Jackson (Shams Charania)
- Detroit is waiving Dwight Buycks (Michael Scotto)
