A few thoughts on the latest trades and free agency rumors on the day before NBA Free Agency begins…
Pelicans Acquire Dejounte Murray from Atlanta for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr. and Two First-Round Picks
The deal honestly makes sense for both sides.
The Hawks needed to move one of their two guards. They couldn't get the Lakers to give up what they wanted at the trade deadline, so they got the Pelicans to give up what they wanted.
Daniels is the real gem in this trade, not the picks. Daniels is better than anything the Lakers could have sent last year, outside of Austin Reaves, whom the Lakers refused to include.
He's athletic and hyper-versatile who's a top-flight perimeter defender who was in the 88th percentile in defensive EPM last season. His shooting touch needs a lot of work from every range but his rebounding and playmaking abilities on top of his defense make him usable. Coach Quin Snyder will get the most out of him.
Nance is a solid small-ball five. Eventually the Hawks are going to trade Clint Capela — for real this time to start Onyeka Okongwu (or a replacement center) and Nance will serve as the backup small-ball five.
The picks are fine. The 2025 Lakers pick isn't great but with LeBron James 40 and Anthony Davis' injury history, you never know. Plus, it might just wind up around 20 which is good value in a draft expected to be both good and deep. The 2027 worse of Pels and Bucks is fine as well.
For New Orleans, this is a really good move — if it keeps making moves. Keeping Murray alongside CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram is a recipe for disaster. McCollum doesn't need the ball the way Ingram does, but McCollum needs the ball enough to be effective. He doesn't have enough gravity or secondary playmaking and is too much of an issue defensively.
Speaking of defense, Murray's defense fell off a cliff in Atlanta. He didn't grade meaningfully better than Trae Young, and he'll need to respond in a huge way in New Orleans. If you can take the the player out of the Hawks but can't take the Hawks out of the player, it's an issue.
However, if the Pelicans move McCollum or Ingram for either a frontcourt pairing for Zion Williamson or just depth to allow Trey Murphy and Herb Jones to fill in, they'll really be in business. If they keep all three, they'll be spinning their wheels again.
Mavericks Trade Tim Hardaway Jr. and Three Second-Round Picks for Quentin Grimes From Pistons
This was a table-setter.
The Mavericks are reportedly pursuing Klay Thompson and they have to re-sign Derrick Jones Jr. Neither of those things were feasible with Hardaway still on roster. They'd looked for ways to drop him for multiple seasons but couldn't find the deal they wanted. So, they threw in four seconds and got back a good rotation player in Grimes.
For Detroit, it's certainly not good return, but they're not trying to be good. They're trying to gather assets for future moves by leasing out their cap space. Grimes might have become a useful player for them, but ultimately, he wasn't important enough not to take on THJ for the second-rounders.
For Dallas, it opens the door to Klay Thompson possibilities — to keeping Jones, and for alternative moves to build off their surprising Finals appearance. The seconds are replenishable in the future which is a necessary move, but grabbing Grimes could wind up being a sneaky steal, just like adding DJJ last season was.
Speaking of Klay Thompson…
Hall of Famer Marc Stein reported late Friday night that the Mavericks are expected to be the "favorite" to land Thompson.
The latest evidence of that: Amid a growing belief league-wide that Thompson's relationship with the Golden State Warriors is irretrievable, strong mutual interest between Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks is expected when free agency opens Sunday evening, league sources tell The Stein Line.
With the Warriors and Thompson nowhere close to a contract agreement after a tumultuous season marked by fractious negotiations, multiple sources have indicated that the Mavericks are likely to emerge as the favorite to sign the shooting guard whose Splash Brothers backcourt partnership with Stephen Curry helped the Warriors win four championships in a span of eight seasons from 2014-15 through 2021-22.
I had reported that Thompson's preference according to league sources was to stay on the West Coast. But it's possible that Dallas, offering better money (if they can arrange a sign-and-trade) along with a legit chance at another title (with the added bonus of rubbing that in the Warriors' face) might simply have changed Thompson's thinking.
Or this is a smokescreen for Thompson to use as leverage. Maybe the Sixers sign him. Or the Warriors keep him. Who knows?
If Thompson joins the Mavericks, it will be a risky, but fascinating addition. Thompson is not the same splash brother he was even two seasons ago when he returned from injury to help the Warriors win the title. When he goes cold, he goes frozen. The prospect of Thompson spacing the floor next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving is terrifying, but Thompson's also not nearly the defender he once was, which makes keeping Derrick Jones Jr. becomes paramount.
The upside here is that the Mavericks have role players to send to the Warriors while reducing their payroll, which is apparently their No.1 goal. Dallas can send young players like O-Max Prosper and Jaden Hardy, veterans like Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, and Josh Green.
The Athletic reported the Nuggets' interest in Thompson on Monday. However, sources told Action Network that Thompson was "never seriously considered" beyond exploratory phone calls while Denver shops for a potential replacement for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who is likely to leave in free agency.
Never say never, but that dog is unlikely to hunt.
Nuggets Max Jamal Murray
A quiet piece of news that surprised me a little that came on Thursday was that Denver intends to sign Jamal Murray to a max extension when eligible.
Murray is an indelible part of this Nuggets core and was instrumental in their 2023 title. His disappointing 2024 playoff run cloaked by injury clearly doesn't change that since the team is prepared to give him the most money possible as soon as possible. It did surprise me a touch based on Murray's injury issues this past season and Calvin Booth's reticence towards committing to any player that isn't Nikola Jokic.
It's also a sign that for whatever disappointment may have existed with the end to this season along with Murray's postseason struggles, the team recognizes that keeping Murray and keeping him happy is a necessity, not a choice.
Are the Bulls Really Going to Finally Go Young?
After what feels like decades on the mediocrity treadmill, taking the playoff first-round gate revenue and staying fat and happy with a .500 team, could Chicago finally be looking at giving its fans what they want and going young?
That's the notion making the circles as there's growing expectation that DeMar DeRozan will actually make it to free agency and that the Bulls — after trading Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey of all people — could really be building around their young talent in Coby White and first-round pick Matas Buzelis.
It's no secret the team wants to move off the contracts of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, but both those trades will likely require negative return on investment given where the market is.
Still, the prospect of the Bulls actually pulling the trigger and moving forward with a real rebuild has to give Bulls fans some hope for a clear direction after wandering in the play-in wilderness the last few years.
