NBA Updates PH – Here are some news, thoughts, and rumors as NBA free agency gets ready to start on Friday, featuring exciting updates on NBA free agents.
This week, when Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said again in public that Portland wants to build a team around Damian Lillard, a few heads turned. Still, rival executives think that the Blazers will need more in the next few days to meet Lillard’s stated desire to play for a winner. They think that Damian Lillard and the Blazers will eventually agree that it’s best for both teams to move on.
So how will Portland look? Even though the team and Damian Lillard will work together on any move, the Trail Blazers will want the best possible return. Sources told Sports Illustrated that Portland is on the fence about Tyler Herro. He just started the first year of a four-year deal worth $130 million.
Brooklyn has the most draft cash to offer because it has a lot of Suns picks from a long time ago. And the Blazers could take a chance on Ben Simmons, whose deal is better than it used to be ($77 million over the next two seasons). Several more teams from the Eastern Conference, like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, could also be in the running.
Don’t expect a quick conclusion. Damian Lillard doesn’t want to ask to be traded, and the Blazers don’t like how it would look to trade their star player. But Portland did the right thing when it chose Scoot Henderson with the third pick last week.
This is part of the team’s plan to get younger. They might have to double down on free agency when the dust settles on free agency. Damian Lillard averaged a career-high 32.2 points last season, but he’s 32 years old and has $216 million left on his deal for the next four years. If he gets hurt, his value will drop to its lowest point. If you don’t trade Damian Lillard before next season, you’re taking a huge risk.
All of the signs still point to Draymond Green signing a new deal with the Golden State Warriors soon after free agency starts. In the past few days, Draymond Green has been linked to other teams. Some, like Sacramento and Detroit, have enough cap space to give him a big deal.
Others, like Portland and Dallas, don’t. Still, when he opted out of the last year of his contract with the Warriors, Draymond Green’s goal was to get back on a new one, and Golden State is on the same page. When it traded Jordan Poole last week, it gave itself some long-term freedom, which Draymond Green and the Warriors both liked.
In the next few days, we will finally know the answer to one of the most interesting questions: Does James Harden want to play for the Rockets again? Or was Houston Harden’s leverage to get Philadelphia to give him a bigger contract?
Sources told S.I. that the Rockets’ front office, including owner Tilman Fertitta, his son Patrick Fertitta, and general manager Rafael Stone, all agreed that the team should go after Harden last season. It needs to be clarified if Houston’s draft, especially the pick of 20-year-old playmaker Amen Thompson, changed that idea, but the Rockets plan to go hard after veterans when free agency starts because they have $61 million in salary cap space. Executives from other teams think that Houston will try to sign Fred VanVleet, who will make between $25 million and $30 million per season on the open market.
And Philadelphia? The 76ers want Harden back, but if Houston makes an offer, it could force Philly to decide how long they want to spend on the soon-to-be-34-year-old Harden.
The Lakers have been making it clear that they will match any offer for restricted NBA free agents Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. GM Rob Pelinka is firm in his view that consistency gives L.A. the best chance to get better. It needs to be clarified if that also applies to D’Angelo Russell. If the Lakers cut ties with Russell, Malik Beasley (who has a $16.5 million team option), and Mo Bamba (who has a $10.3 million non guaranteed deal), they could free up as much as $17 million in salary cap space. That’s not enough to go after Kyrie Irving, but it would give L.A. a chance at one of the many mid-level NBA free agents.
Will Deandre Ayton play for the Suns in their first game? Over the past week, Phoenix has talked about Ayton with several teams, and there were reports that a deal was almost made with Dallas on draft night. The Suns have been trying to get multiple rotation players in trade for Ayton. This is because Phoenix is trying to fill out a roster with a lot of top players like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. Even though talk about Ayton has died down in the past few days, don’t be surprised if it picks up again in the coming weeks.
After getting Kristaps Porziis last week, Boston still has to make some decisions about its team. The most important one is limited NBA free agent Grant Williams. Williams had trouble in the second part of last season, and Joe Mazzulla moved him in and out of the lineup during the playoffs. But because of how old Al Horford is and how often Porziis and Robert Williams III get hurt, the Celtics need another solid frontcourt player, and Williams has shown he can fit in. Before the All-Star break, he shot 41.4% from three-point range.
Monday, at a charity event near Boston, Williams left the door open for a comeback.
Williams said, “If Brad [Stevens] and those guys decide to keep me and bring me back, I’ll come back excited, happy, and ready to play for the Celtics.” “If something else happens, I’ll have to make a change, but my attitude has always been that I want to make a difference in success and winning wherever I am, and I want to make sure I’m just there for my teammates and put the team first. We’ll do that no matter what happens with this free agency.”
