The rumour mill has already been heating up and now the NBA’s 2024 free agency period is officially here, with a number of big names potentially on the move.
Teams will be able to start negotiating with free agents at 8am on Monday morning [AEST] but can’t officially sign them to contracts until 2.01am on Saturday.
In the meantime though, all eyes will be on Paul George and Klay Thompson, with the pair both looking likely at this stage to be on new teams next season.
Follow along in our live blog below for the latest updates as the free agency window opens!
In case you missed it, here is a rundown on where things stand with some of the potential superstar free agents this summer.
RUMOUR MILL: All the latest trade and free agency whispers
Lakers select… Bronny! Joins dad in LA | 01:48
PAUL GEORGE
The Clippers declined his $48.7 million option on Sunday and will enter free agency, ruling out the possibility of a sign-and-trade.
The Golden State Warriors were holding out on the hope of landing George via trade so you can rule them out of the race for his signature, with the Magic and 76ers expecting to be the biggest threats to the Clippers re-signing the nine-time All-Star.
At this point though it looks like the only chance of George remaining in Los Angeles is if he settles for a three-year deal, having held out for a four-year contract to this point.
Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank signalled in a press conference after the NBA Draft that the team would not be budging from its three-year offer.
“This is a business and the reality of the new CBA impacts teams like us,” he said.
“When your better players are in their 30s and you’re trying to build a sustainable roster, it impacts it. Like if there was no CBA, with Steve Ballmer, it would be carte blanche.
“With the new CBA, it’s not even about the money as [much as it] is how are you going to build a sustainable roster [and] maintain your tools to have transactional flexibility? And with that comes really, really hard decisions.”
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Sixers are willing to offer George a four-year deal and also have more than $60 million in projected cap space to make a big play for the 34-year-old.
Stein also reported the Magic are in the mix too, having made George’s “three-team shortlist of finalists for face-to-face meetings” which will start on Monday.
KLAY THOMPSON
It looks like the end of an era for Thompson.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on Sunday that there has virtually been no talks between Thompson and the Warriors in recent weeks and that the sharpshooter is “determined to find a new home”.
Charania wrote that according to team and league scores, “Thompson and the Warriors have had close to no communication since the negotiating period opened for incumbent free agents nearly two weeks ago and no offer has been made”.
“Warriors, after other business, have wanted to circle back and negotiate with Thompson. But he isn’t expected to be there waiting as a willing secondary priority in their summer plan, with his side feeling that the Warriors’ interest in a reunion has been disingenuous,” he added.
With that in mind, who shapes as the likely candidates to land Thompson?
Well, the Magic and Nuggets had been linked to him but it seems like the Mavericks and Lakers are at the top of the list.
Stein reported that “barring an 11th-hour resuscitation of Thompson’s relationship with the Warriors”, Dallas and L.A. “projected to be the two teams at the forefront of Thompson’s thinking”.
Stein wrote that LeBron James could be willing to take a paycut if what Chris Haynes described as one of the “right targets” was happy to take the Lakers’ $13 million midlevel exception.
In spite of that, league sources told Stein “there will be strong mutual interest between Thompson and the Mavericks”, with Dallas expected to free up enough money to make a competitive offer after trading Tim Hardaway Jr. to Detroit.
OTHER SITUATIONS TO WATCH
* The Warriors and Chris Paul agreed to push back the date to Monday to guarantee the $30 million on his 2024-25 contract as Golden State explores a potential trade.
* Denver’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope declined his player option and will become an unrestricted free agent. The Nuggets sharpshooter is expected to draw plenty of interest, with both the Mavericks and Magic linked to the championship-winning guard.
* New York’s Isaiah Hartenstein is another player who is expected to be a player in demand and the Knicks, who acquired Mikal Bridges and re-signed OG Anunoby to a five-year deal, are tipped to struggle to match rival offers.
* Chicago took a big step towards a rebuild, or at least a re-tooling of sorts, by trading Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey. So, what does that mean for DeMar DeRozan, the team’s top scorer and free agent, who turns 35 in August?
* LeBron James has opted out of his deal with the Lakers, declining a $51.4 million player option, but is expected to agree to a new contract that could create financial flexibility to help the team target more players to bring to L.A.
* Tyrese Maxey is tipped to sign a five-year extension worth in excess of $200 million as Philadelphia looks to go all-in this summer.
* The Orlando Magic are declining Joe Ingles’ $11 million team option according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, but both sides are expected to continue dialogue in free agency next week, opening the door for the Australian to potentially return.
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