With the signings of Klay Thompson, Peyton Watson and James Harden completed (well, Harden has yet to put pen to paper, but it’s coming), actual NBA news has slowed to a trickle as we enter September. That will ramp up in the coming weeks, but here are some news and notes from things still happening.
Curry extension options
Stephen Curry has made it clear he intends to spend his career in the Bay Area, signing an extension with the Warriors.
The only questions now: When and for how much? As for the “when” part, Curry said it “will happen at the right time.” How much? That’s also up to Curry, something ESPN’s Anthony Slater detailed on the Hoop Collective podcast.
“They’re adamant they’re not negotiating with Steph Curry right now. They are saying, ‘You can do this, you can do this, you can do this. If you want the one-year max, if you want the two-year max, if you wanna wait. Here’s your menu. Pick off your menu.'”
Curry is set to make $62.6 million this coming season in the last year of his contract, and because of the league’s over-38 rule, he can’t sign an extension for more than two years. A two-year max extension would be an estimated $136.7 million (depending on where the cap lands, exactly) and take him to age 41. He technically could wait until next offseason and sign a three-year, $212.9 million max deal, but Slater expects him to make a call closer to the start of training camp. There is no pressure right now.
Sabonis available. Still.
On that same Hoop Collective podcast, Slater discussed how Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis is still available via trade, as he has been for more than a year. The Kings want to move him. Sabonis could help a lot of teams, he is an efficient double-double machine who is a good passer and can be a hub in the offense. The one big on-court drawback is that he is not a strong rim protector in an era when that is critical for many teams’ defensive schemes.
However, the bigger problem is his salary — Sabonis will make $45.4 million this season and $48.6 million next season, both years fully guaranteed. In the apron era, that’s a lot of money on the books for a player who is not a star (the Pistons are refusing to pay 22-year-old All-NBA center Jalen Duren even $40 million a year). Maybe a team steps up closer to the February trade deadline, more likely it’s a move next offseason when he is on an expiring contract.
For now, Sabonis as a big man playing off rookie Darius Acuff Jr. is a good learning experience for the guy the Kings want to hand the keys to the franchise to.
Other NBA news, notes
• It appears the Cavaliers are about to bring over Khalifa Diop, a 7’1″ center the Cavaliers selected 39th in the 2022 NBA Draft as a draft-and-stash player who has been playing with Baskonia in the Spanish ABC league. He has left Baskonia, reports José Luis Martínez of the Spanish sports publication Marca (hat tip HoopsRumors). This could be as much for financial reasons as potential: Because he is a “draft rights” rookie, Diop’s contract would only count as $1.3 million against the cap rather than the standard $2.4 million, and the Cavaliers need to get far enough below the first apron hard cap to give Harden the three-year, $97 million deal already announced. Don’t expect a big impact, last season Diop averaged 4 points and 4.2 rebounds a game for the EuroLeague team, he wasn’t a star there.
• The Pistons have fully guaranteed backup center Paul Reed’s $5.6 million contract for this season, NBA insider Jake Fischer reports. That is a no-brainer and a great deal for a guy who stepped up in the playoffs for them last season.
• Look for Miami to target a guard to fill out its 15th and final roster spot, reports NBA insider Jake Fischer. The Heat need more guard depth.
• Jaylen Brown said goodbye to Boston in a celebration last Sunday, where Celtics fans packed the Boston Commons, Katie Morrison-O’Day of MassLive reported from the scene. Mayor Michelle Wu was there giving him the key to the city, and rappers Lil Baby and A$AP Ferg performed. Brown said this, reports Morrison-O’Day.
“I’m at a loss for words. When I came to this city, I said I was going to go to war for this city. I met so many great people here, people that helped me in the community and motivated me on my journey. People who supported me when even I didn’t support myself at times. I just want to say thank you to Boston, thank you to the city, and I love you.”
• In a fantastic article by Joe Cowley at the Chicago Sun-Times, new coach Tiago Splitter was brutally honest about how 19-year-old, second-year big man Noa Essengue has got to play tougher, be more physical. “He’s got to maybe bring a little more force in everything he does. That’s something we’re working on,” Splitter said. Then Crowley got into how Essengue was just one of a long list of poor draft and talent evaluations by former head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.
“Karnisovas settled on Patrick Williams with the No. 4 pick in 2020, while multiple scouts and most of the draft room wanted Tyrese Haliburton. Karnisovas not only was fixated on Williams, but he didn’t even consider Haliburton a serious prospect. A source indicated that Karnisovas didn’t even think Haliburton would be a top-four talent on the Bulls’ roster at the time.”
Ouch. Crowley also talked about how Karnisovas was focused on Essengue while other scouts tried to point him to Joan Beringer, who has shown real potential in Minnesota and will see an expanded role this season.
Read the full article here