NBA free agency is now underway as teams can begin negotiating with free-agent players. Those deals could become official on July 6. Between Friday and July 6, all contracts can be agreed, but not contracts between team and player. They will become official when the agreement is signed on or after July 6.
A handful of teams, including the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings, have significant cap space, while the new collective bargaining agreement takes effect Saturday, and many more will have to do some juggling to keep current players.
Some top players to watch during free agency: James Harden and Fred VanVliet. Other players could shake up the offseason, such as Damian Lillard’s status with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Follow Yahoo Sports for the latest NBA free agency news.
Kyrie Irving has agreed to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks
Eight-time NBA All-Star point guard and one-time champion Kyrie Irving will return to the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year, $126 million deal, Shams Sarania of The Athletic reports.
The Mavericks traded Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round draft pick and two second-round picks for Irving last February, following the 31-year-old’s latest trade request.
Irving averaged 27 points (51/39/95 shooting splits), six assists and five rebounds in 20 games in Dallas despite suffering plantar fasciitis in his right foot late last season. In the 27 games following Irving’s debut, the Mavericks finished 9-18, fell from sixth to 11th in the Western Conference and fell out of the playoff picture for the first time since superstar teammate Luka Doncic’s rookie season in 2019. Read more about Irving’s contract.
Cam Johnson agrees to $108M deal to stay with Nets
Cam Johnson has hit the jackpot.
Restricted free agent forward Agreed to a four-year, $108 million contract To keep up with the Brooklyn Nets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Johnson will sign the contract following the offseason trade from the Phoenix Suns that drafted him in 2019.
Johnson, a 3-and-D specialist, earned $18.6 million over the four years of his rookie deal. Last season with the Nets and Suns, Johnson averaged 15.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals on 5.2 attempts per game while shooting 47% from the field and 40.4% from 3-point range. Read more about Johnson’s contract.
Khris Middleton is staying with the Bucks on a $102M contract
Three-time NBA All-Star and 2021 champion Khris Middleton has agreed to return to the Milwaukee Bucks on a three-year, $102 million deal. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Middleton averaged 15.1 points (44/32/90 shooting splits), 4.9 assists and 4.2 rebounds in just 24.3 minutes in 33 games for the Bucks this past season. He missed the first 20 games of the year for offseason surgery on his left wrist that required arthroscopic surgery after Milwaukee’s disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Miami Heat and another 18 games over the winter with right knee pain.
Middleton suffered a sprained left MCL in the final 10 games of the 2022 playoffs when the defending champion Bucks lost a seven-game series to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Read more about Middleton’s deal.
Jakob Boelt is returning to the Raptors in an $80 million deal
Jakob Poeltl agreed A four-year, $80 million deal to return to the Toronto Raptors Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPNTaking one of the best big men available off the market at the start of the NBA’s 2023 free agency period.
The 27-year-old Poeltl averaged 12.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 blocks in 26.5 minutes in 72 appearances last season for both the San Antonio Spurs, where he started the season, and the Toronto Raptors, who brought him up. Poeltl in the fold at the February trade deadline. Read more about the Poeltl deal.
Kristaps Porzingis is getting a $60 million extension from the Boston Celtics
One-time NBA All-Star center Kristaps Porzingis has agreed to a two-year, $60 million contract extension with the Boston Celtics, sources told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
The Celtics returned Porzingis from the Washington Wizards for Marcus Smart and salary and offered several first-round picks from the Memphis Grizzlies before the NBA Draft.
Porzingis is due $36 million from the Celtics this coming season, and the extension would keep him under contract through the 2025-26 campaign. Most of Boston’s rotation is signed for at least the next two seasons, except for extension-eligible All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown and restricted free agent Grant Williams.
Jeremy Grant has reportedly agreed to a $160M contract to return to the Trail Blazers
Forward Jeremy Grant has agreed to a five-year, $160 million contract to return to the Portland Trail Blazers, The Athletic reports.
Grant, 29, spent last season with Portland after being traded from the Detroit Pistons last offseason. He had a solid 2022-23 season, averaging 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Trail Blazers. Read more about Grant’s extension.
Bruce Brown, NBA graduate with Nuggets, reportedly agrees to $45M deal with Pacers
Bruce Brown, a key contributor to the Denver Nuggets’ 2023 championship team, has agreed to a two-year, $45 million deal with the Indiana Pacers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The deal comes later Brown declined a $6.8 million player option Earlier this month. Brown enjoyed a breakout season in Denver when he originally signed a two-year, $13.3 million deal with the Nuggets this past offseason. He averaged 11.5 points in 28.5 minutes per game last season. Brown added 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game this season. Read more about Brown’s contract.
Four-time NBA champion and 2017 Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green has agreed to return to the Golden State Warriors on a four-year, $100 million deal, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reports. Green will have a player option for a fourth year.
The 33-year-old finished eighth on the All-Defensive list, averaging 8.5 points (53/31/71 shooting splits), 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 31.5 minutes in 73 games for the Warriors last season. Read more about Green’s extension.
Kyle Kuzma returns to Wizards in $102M deal
Kyle Kuzma returns to Washington Wizards ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Kuzma declined a player option with the Washington Wizards and agreed to rejoin the team on a four-year, $102 million deal after entering free agency, his agent told Wojnarowski.
Although the Wizards have struggled and missed the playoffs in both of Kuzma’s seasons, he is coming off the best season of his career. Kuzma averaged 21.2 points per game, shot nearly 45% from the field, and added 7.2 rebounds and a team-best 3.7 assists per game. Read more about Kuzma’s extension.
The Nets sign Joe Harris to the Pistons to free up cap space
The Brooklyn Nets are trying to gain some salary flexibility before NBA free agency officially opens. The team took A big step towards that According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Detroit will deal Joe Harris to the Pistons on Friday.
The Nets also send two second-round picks to Detroit in the deal. Harris has $19.9 million remaining on his contract, which expires after the 2023-24 NBA season. The move gives the Nets more cap space, allowing the team to add more impact players in the offseason.
James Harden picks up player option from Sixers to facilitate trade
One-time NBA MVP James Harden has picked up a $35.6 million player option with the 76ers in hopes of working with the team in a trade from Philadelphia. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Harden, who turned 34 in August, averaged 21 points, a league-high 10.7 assists and 6.1 rebounds for the Sixers last season, making his 10th straight All-Star appearance. A torn ligament in his right leg and a sore left heel ligament cost him 24 games in the regular season and all possible NBA appearances — a growing trend in his career. Soft-tissue injuries sidelined Harden his previous two seasons, and he hasn’t made an All-NBA roster since he was with the Houston Rockets in 2020. Read more about Horton’s options.
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