Free Agency 2023

https://us.yahoo.com/sports/report-rudy-gay-waived-okc-003043175.html



Report: Rudy Gay waived by OKC Thunder


Clemente Almanza
Wed, July 19, 2023 at 5:30 PM PDT


The Oklahoma City Thunder roster shrunk on Wednesday as they waived veteran forward Rudy Gay, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Gay was set to make $6.5 million in the 2023-24 season after he picked up his player option. The Thunder acquired the 36-year-old from the Atlanta Hawks in a multi-player trade.

In the same deal, the Thunder also acquired TyTy Washington Jr., Usman Garuba and a 2026 second-round pick from the Hawks. The deal saved the Hawks $4.6 million in cap space as they solely acquired Patty Mills and his expiring $6.8 million salary.

The trim cuts the Thunder’s roster to 20 players on the main roster, which is near the 21 allowed during the offseason.

In 56 games with the Utah Jazz last season, Gay averaged 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds.


Bob
MY NOTE: Almost 37 years old. Played 816 minutes in 56 games last year for Utah, which actually surprises me because it's more than I thought he played at his age. Was a terrible year for him. I think he's done.


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Bulls resign Aya Dosunmo for 3 years, $21M.


Bob


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Gallinari has been waived by Washington.

The Celtics cannot resign him for a year.

The latest rumors are that the Heat are interested.


Bob

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bobheckler wrote:Gallinari has been waived by Washington.

The Celtics cannot resign him for a year.

The latest rumors are that the Heat are interested.


Bob

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It appears I read this wrong. I thought he was waived and Miami was interested. Now it looks like he was NOT waived as expected.

Sorry for the misinformation.


Bob


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Reports are that Phoenix is signing Udoka Azubuike,  the 6'10", 280# monster that played for us on our Summer League team.

I hope Brad didn't miss out. The man could set screens you needed half a tank of gas to get around.


Bob


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Report: Celtics still mulling a possible Blake Griffin reunion


Cameron Tabatabaie
August 4, 2023 5:25 pm ET



The Boston Celtics have a few more decisions to make before the 2023-24 season officially begins. The club has just 11 guaranteed contracts at the time of this writing, with two full roster spots still available. After waiving former Pitt Panther Justin Champagnie earlier this week, the Celtics have a bit more financial breathing room, too. How will Boston’s front office round out this roster?

One potential move could be bringing back veteran Blake Griffin. The 34-year-old provided important leadership in Boston’s locker room last season, though his impact on the court was limited at best. Regardless, according to CLNS’s Bobby Manning, the “door remains open” for another stint for Griffin in Celtics green.


“I’ve heard the door remains open for his return despite the distance from family and his home on the west coast,” Manning reported. “Given that he mulled his options until October last year, it’s worth assuming he’ll follow a similarly deliberative process this summer.”


As Manning explained, Griffin’s veteran status in the league allows him to sign a deal with a smaller cap hit than a younger player. For example, keeping Champagnie for another season would cost the Celtics $2 million more on their cap sheet than re-upping with Griffin. Any financial savings will be helpful for Boston given its already expensive payroll.

Griffin logged 16 starts with the Celtics during the ’22-23 season, appearing in 41 total games. His days as a superstar on the court are over, but his accountability and the tone he set for the team and specifically its bench players is hard to quantify. This is especially true with Boston’s changing roster and leadership dynamic.

The Celtics are likely in no rush to fill out their depth chart with a few more months before things really kick into gear. Both sides could spend a couple of weeks mulling their options before any deal is done.


Bob
MY NOTE:  I was never much of a Blake Griffin fan when he was a Clipper or a Piston, but became one when he wore green.  Even without my green-tinted goggles on he was a positive force on the floor and in the locker room.  NEVER complained about all the Coaches-DNPs he got, NEVER complained about not getting minutes but was always the first to the floor for loose balls (and that says A LOT when you have Marcus Smart on the team) and was the top offensive charge taker on the team /36mpg despite his limited minutes.  He was, in fact, 5th in the league /36mpg in that stat (.9 charges drawn /36mpg.  #1 Udonis Haslem, who played a grand total of 71 minutes last year, @ 2.00; #2 Jaylin Williams OKC, who played 941 minutes, @ 1.70; #3 Micah Potter UTA, who played a grand total of 52 minutes last year, @ 1.40; #4 Kevin Love CLE and MIA, 1240 minutes total, @ 1.00; and #5 Blake Griffin, 569 minutes, @ .9/36mpg).

I still really want another pure ball handler.  I still really want some decent quality depth behind the Js, but I could definitely live with another year of Blake Griffin without feeling like Brad blew it.


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Per Woj, Josh Hart is finalizing 4 year $81M extension to stay with the Knicks.


Bob


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Former Celtic Justin Champagnie has signed a training camp contract with the Miami Heat.

Good luck, Justin, but not too much luck.  We got burned by former Celtic Max Strus and once was more than enough for me.


Bob


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https://www.si.com/nba/2023/08/13/james-harden-still-not-planning-to-attend-training-camp-per-report



James Harden Still Not Planning to Attend Training Camp, per Report


KARL RASMUSSENAUG 12, 2023


The 76ers ending trade conversations for James Harden has not deterred the 33-year-old’s desire to leave Philadelphia, per Sam Amick of The Athletic.

Harden is not planning to take part in Sixers’ training camp and is still keen on a trade away from the organization, according to Amick. The report indicates that Harden’s camp is of the belief that “meaningful developments” will occur in trade talks before training camp.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Saturday that the 76ers were planning to have Harden at training camp. The team reportedly held discussions with the Clippers during the offseason over a potential deal for the 10-time All-Star, but those talks didn’t materialize into a trade.

Harden arrived in Philadelphia during the 2021-22 season in a trade with the Nets. Prior to his brief stint in Brooklyn, Harden had been angling for a move out of Houston and was notoriously absent from the start of the Rockets’ training camp in ’20. Amick said it’s “unclear” if Harden will stage a similar holdout with the 76ers.

Harden has played for three teams over the past three seasons. His stint with the Nets lasted just 80 games, and he’s played 79 games thus far into his career with the 76ers.


Bob
MY NOTE:  So, who was that idiot at Bleacher Report that gave Honorable Mention to Embiid-Harden for best duo, just like he gave to the Js?  ROTFLMAO.


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https://theathletic.com/4774437/2023/08/14/james-harden-daryl-morey-is-a-liar-trade-request/?fbclid=IwAR2UhoAfCiCiD8dgpk0SCGz3K4IVJ0bN0_tOcU-ucy0JW4R_DzlJyMLeDOU&redirected=1


James Harden: ‘Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization he’s a part of’


By Shams Charania and Sam Amick
6h ago


Speaking at an event in China as part of a marketing tour for Adidas, 76ers star James Harden reiterated his desire is to not play for Philadelphia, at least as long as general manager Daryl Morey is there.

“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden told the crowd in attendance in front of numerous cameras. “Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”


On Saturday, team sources confirmed to The Athletic that Morey and the 76ers have decided to end trade talks involving Harden and that they are expecting him to report to training camp in late September. However, a source close to Harden who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter told The Athletic that Harden’s plans have not changed following his mid-July trade request, and that he currently has no plans of taking part in training camp.


Monday’s comments made that clear.

As The Athletic reported in mid-July, rival executives have long been convinced that Morey was trying to keep Harden in Philadelphia. Harden asked out in late June when his anger over how Morey handled his possible free agency led to his choice to pick up the player option for next season (worth $35.6 million) while simultaneously requesting the trade.

As Morey has said publicly, they are extremely mindful of the need to keep All-Star level talent around big man Joel Embiid and, as a result, refuse to do a deal that leaves the reigning MVP in a worse position to contend for a title. Embiid’s mid-July comments hinting at his own possible exit someday added more fuel to the urgency of this particular situation with Harden.

We will continue to have more on this situation as it develops.


Bob
MY NOTE:  This is ironic given that Harden wanted to be traded from Houston to Philly because he had an existing relationship with Morey in Houston.


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I'm just going to throw a name out here:  Kenneth Faried, aka "Manimal".

He's currently playing in Puerto Rico.  Almost 34 years old.  Extremely high motor.  Lousy shooter from anywhere beyond 4'.

#1 on my wish list is add veteran depth at ball handler, but if I'm not going to get that, I want a physical defender and rebounder that can play 4, and that's Faried.

He hasn't played in the NBA since 2018-2019, so he's been gone for a while, but if he's healthy he might be good for a couple hundred minutes.  His problem is that the NBA passed him by.  Nowadays everybody has to be able to shoot from everywhere.  Teams cannot afford non-shooters, but if he's at the end of the bench...?


Bob


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https://heavy.com/sports/houston-rockets/kevin-mchale-james-harden-daryl-morey-fallout/



Ex-Coach Kevin McHale Goes Deep on Sixers’ James Harden-Daryl Morey Fallout


By Steve Bulpett

Updated Aug 17, 2023 at 10:35am


Some people are stunned at the turn of events in Philadelphia.

Kevin McHale, who coached James Harden for three years and 11 games in Houston while working under head of basketball ops Daryl Morey, is not one of them.

“Yeah, not so much,” McHale told Heavy Sports.


It’s been clear for a while that things aren’t all that fine in Philly with Harden and the 76ers. But they got even less so when the bearded bombardier stood on a court in China and launched a grenade at his boss this week.

After opting out and taking some $14.4 million less for the 2022-23 season, Harden was expecting or hoping for a significantly richer extension this summer. (And if it was indeed an expectation and it was based on a surreptitious promise from club president Morey, the league will be paying a visit from the top rope.)

When no new deal was forthcoming, Harden opted in to $35.6 million for the coming season and promptly demanded a trade. When the Sixers could allegedly find no satisfactory transaction, they said Harden would have to remain with the club that had the third-best record in the NBA last year.


Sufficiently horrified, Harden announced, “Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of. Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”


McHale, who fashioned a Hall of Fame playing career with the Celtics before moving on to run and coach the Timberwolves and then spend four-plus years at the head of the Rockets’ bench, has a fair perspective on the principals in this standoff.

“I’ve been involved in a million meetings as a coach and GM, and, you know, players hear what they want to hear a lot of times. And Daryl’s smart,” McHale said. “My whole take on the thing is I think Daryl’s really hooked up with James, but I think ownership looked at it. Let’s face it, if the owner looks at you and says, ‘We’re signing that dude,’ you’re signing that dude. Story’s over. And if the owner looks at you and says, ‘We’re not signing that dude,’ you’re not signing him.


“James wanted a big extension from Philly, and Philly wouldn’t give it to him, and that’s not a Daryl decision. Daryl’s got a part of that, of course, but that’s an owner decision. So (Harden) was really mad, saying Daryl lied to him, but, you know, maybe they saw Game 7 against the Celtics (9 points on 3-for-11 shooting in a 24-point loss) and said, ‘I’m not interested in that.’

“I think Daryl would have probably tried to extend him and keep everything happy. But as far as trading him goes, you know, Daryl gets stubborn. It’s going to be interesting.”


Nick Nurse & Joel Embiid Pay for Harden Situation

Interesting in a five-car-pileup-on-turn-3 kind of way, unless feelings can be soothed. Or it can be understood that the Sixers can’t afford to take a less than reasonable deal to send Harden to the Clippers, his desired destination.

“The person I mostly feel bad for is Joel Embiid,” said McHale. “This guy’s coming off an MVP season, but when you’re team is fractured at the top — when one of the top two players is like, ‘I’m out of here. The guy’s a liar’ — you’ve got no chance of winning. It’s really hard to win when you’re tied together as a group, and it’s really hard to win four seven-game series. That’s with everybody tied together, everybody pulling together.

“I feel really bad for Nick Nurse, too. You’ve got a new coach coming in, and Nick’s like, ‘Oh, boy. This ought to be interesting.’ It just disrupts the entire flow of the team, and it’s totally unnecessary. You can do a lot of stuff behind the scenes. You don’t need to come out and just throw that out there. James started a forest fire with that.”


McHale has seen Harden play with matches before. He’d been at the Houston helm for a year when Morey acquired Harden from the Thunder in 2012.

“You know, when we first got him from Oklahoma City, he was actually pretty easy to coach really,” McHale told Heavy. “He came from being the third option in Oklahoma City with (Russell) Westbrook and (Kevin) Durant being ahead of him. He came in and we put in a couple of sets he liked that they ran there for him. He came off screens. He got off the ball. Never was a great lane runner. Never threw the ball ahead a lot. But he did more little things back then. Like he would set screens, come off screens, stuff like that.


“But as he started playing better, it became harder. He wanted the ball in his hands, he didn’t want to come off actions, he just started becoming more one-dimensional. ‘Give me the ball, put a 1-4 flat or give me a pick and roll, and just let me make every decision.’

“My feeling was and always has been that type of offense works in the regular season, but against good teams, they can take away something. It’s hard for them to take away two or three different things, but they can take away something. I said it about Phoenix when Steve Nash was there; it works great in the regular season, but when they can load up defensively and do different stuff, you have to have different prongs to your offense. So it became harder to get James to do a lot of the little things.


“I mean, if you watch Steph Curry, look at him set screens and look at the separation he gets when he sets a screen and just sprints out of it. Look at him coming off actions. He does that, and everybody gets open because of it. That became more of a problem with James.”


‘He Was Fat & Didn’t Feel Like Playing’

The problems grew in the 2015 playoffs when McHale benched Harden in the fourth quarter as Houston staved off elimination in Game 6 against the Clippers. Harden played well in the Game 7 victory, but the Rockets lost the conference finals in five to Golden State, which beat Cleveland for the NBA crown.

“The next year he came to camp, he was fat and didn’t feel like playing, and I got fired (11) games into the season,” McHale said. “He had a plan.”


Coach/GM relationships always seem to have their moments, and while others who’ve worked with Morey on many organizational levels have had issues with Morey, McHale was largely good with him.

“I liked working with Daryl, though sometimes I thought there was too much … just analytics,” he said. “There’s an odd thing in basketball that’s very hard to define. But if my skill set and your skill set really match and we really have great chemistry, you and I can beat two guys 2-on-2 when neither one of us could beat our guy 1-on-1. That’s the fun thing about basketball, and I always thought that could get lost. There were a lot of numbers with Daryl.


“I think he’s gotten better understanding that. And I’ll give Daryl and the owner, Leslie Alexander, credit. They said, ‘Hey, you’re going to have to get along with James because it’s a lot easier to replace you than it is James.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I hear ya. I agree.’ My philosophy has always been, would you rather lose your top player, or would you rather lose the other 13 guys? If you just start making rules that just allow the top guy to do whatever he wants to do, the other guys go, ‘Well, I guess being on time’s not that big of a deal. I guess showing up and playing hard’s not that big of a deal. I guess running back on defense is not that big of a deal.’

“But overall with James, it wasn’t that bad. The year he came to camp heavy and didn’t feel like playing, that was hard. I remember looking at him and saying, ‘Ugh, it’s going to take to December before he’s in shape.’ But whatever situation you’re in, you just have to find a way to work through it if you want to be successful. It’s the same with James and Daryl here. We’ll see.”


Bob


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Charlotte Hornets resign PJ Washington for 3 years @ $48M.


Bob


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https://nesn.com/2023/08/danny-ainge-reportedly-signs-failed-celtics-first-round-pick-to-jazz/



Danny Ainge Reportedly Signs Failed Celtics First-Round Pick To Jazz


It's a reunion for Ainge and Romeo Langford


GREG DUDEK 36 MINUTES AGO 2 MIN READ


Things didn't work out initially for Danny Ainge when the Boston Celtics drafted Romeo Langford 14th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft.

But Ainge, who is now the Utah Jazz president of basketball operations, is hoping another go-around with Langford will yield better results.

The Athletic’s Tony Jones and Shams Charania reported Wednesday afternoon the Jazz signed Langford to an Exhibit 10 deal. An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year deal at league minimum cost that can be converted to a two-way contract if done before the start of the regular season.

Langford got lost in the bevy of wing depth the Celtics possessed during his tenure and never carved out a role for himself. He played in just 94 games for the Celtics over two-plus seasons, averaging 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 39.6% from the field and 30.5% from 3-point range.

While Langford didn’t pan out with the Celtics, he did turn into an asset that helped Boston acquire Derrick White from the San Antonio Spurs in a mid-season trade during the 2021-22 campaign. Langford ended up having an underwhelming season-plus with the the Spurs. He made 43 appearances last season, starting 21 of those games while tallying a career-high 6.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in 19.6 minutes.

Langford, who will turn just 24 years old the night of the Jazz’s season opener, will now try to resurrect his career in Utah, and reward Ainge for his faith.

For Langford, it feels like this could be his last shot to make a good impression with a NBA team before fading from the league.


Bob


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