On Day 4 of NBA free agency, here's our team-by-team analysis of the major and minor deals.
Updates on each deal will be posted here throughout the day. Latest addition: Patrick Patterson to OKC.
All deals listed alphabetically by team.
Boston Celtics
1. Agreed to a reported four-year, $128 million deal with forward Gordon Hayward
I wrote about how the Celtics project with Hayward here, as well as the next steps for the Jazz and Heat here.
Brooklyn Nets
1. Agreed to a reported four-year, $106 million offer sheet with forward Otto Porter
Brooklyn has agreed to an offer sheet with the restricted free agent, according to The Vertical. To some extent, this offer sheet is probably a waste of the Nets' time. There's every reason to believe the Washington Wizards are going to match it. Washington's moves this summer have been designed to mitigate a luxury-tax bill created by maxing out Porter.
So why would Brooklyn make this offer at all? For one, it might engender some goodwill with Porter's agent, David Falk. With the Wizards apparently unwilling to max out Porter before he signed an offer sheet, he needed someone to step up.
Beyond that, depending on the Nets' strategy, there might not be much downside to keeping their cap space tied up until Washington officially matches two days after the end of the moratorium period. If Brooklyn plans mostly to take on contracts from other teams to add assets, those deals will still be available on July 9.
And, of course, there's some non-zero chance the Wizards unexpectedly decline to match and the Nets get Porter. That might be a bit of a mixed blessing, since Brooklyn doesn't yet have the shot creation to take advantage of Porter's ability to knock down open 3-pointers. (D'Angelo Russell might get there.) But Porter is younger and more valuable than anyone else the Nets could realistically get in free agency, so I suppose this is worth the gamble.
Dallas Mavericks
1. Signed forward Johnathan Motley to a two-way contract
It was a bit of a surprise Motley went undrafted after declaring for the NBA draft with a year of eligibility remaining. (As a redshirt junior, he's already 22.) Because Motley was a bit of a late bloomer, my draft projections weren't high on him -- he ranked 90th overall -- but Motley is a reasonable choice for a two-way spot.
Golden State Warriors
1. Agreed to a reported one-year deal with forward Omri Casspi
The Warriors win financially, getting Casspi to sign on for the veterans minimum, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
A combo forward, Casspi fills a spot where Golden State had relatively little depth behind Kevin Durant. He essentially replaces Matt Barnes, which is amusing, given Casspi and Barnes competed for playing time early last season with the Sacramento Kings.
Though Barnes got more minutes, I'd argue Casspi is the more valuable player at this stage of his career. He's a far better outside shooter, having shot better than 40 percent beyond the arc in both 2014-15 and 2015-16 before slumping to 34.9 percent last season.
Getting Casspi at the minimum leaves the Warriors' taxpayer midlevel exception free to add on the perimeter, where they've been linked to Nick Young and Jamal Crawford, should Crawford get bought out after a trade to the Atlanta Hawks. (According to The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears, Crawford's preference is to join the Los Angeles Lakers in that event.)
Miami Heat
1. Waived center Chris Bosh
This transaction was only a matter of time after the Heat, Bosh, the league and the NBPA agreed on a compromise that utilizes aspects of the career-ending-injury exclusion rule in the previous collective bargaining agreement and the new one that began July 1.
The upshot: Bosh's salary is immediately removed from Miami's books, giving the Heat the potential to create max cap space. (How might the Heat spend it now that Gordon Hayward is no longer an option? Here's my analysis.) Because of the compromise, if Bosh is cleared to return to the court, Miami doesn't have to worry about his salary reappearing, as was the case under the old CBA.
Of course, Bosh's health is more important than any cap minutiae, and the real shame is that he's currently unable to play basketball. Fortunately, Bosh and the organization have been able to smooth a relationship that deteriorated when the Heat kept him off the court at the beginning of last season. Now, barring a medical surprise, we anticipate Bosh's induction in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
New York Knicks
1. Signed center Luke Kornet to a two-way contract
By a manner of hours, the Knicks beat the Mavericks to become the first team to officially sign a player to one of the NBA's new two-way contracts that are primarily designed to stock their G-League affiliates with talent. (Other players and teams have reportedly agreed to two-way contracts that have not yet been finalized.)
Kornet was one of my highest-rated players to go undrafted, because of his unusual 3-point shooting ability for a 7-footer. (He made more 3-pointers than any 7-footer in NCAA history.) Kornet might not be a good enough defender to be a rotation player in the NBA, but this is a small price to find out about that.
Oklahoma City Thunder
1. Agreed to a reported three-year, $16.4 million deal with forward Patrick Patterson
The Thunder's terrific week continues as they fill their biggest need with a player who's a great fit at a bargain price.
Patterson has long been among the league's most underrated players. He's a stretch 4 (37.2 percent from 3-point range last season, 36.8 percent career) who is atypically effective defensively for that skill set. Patterson will help create more space for Oklahoma City's offense without the team paying a significant defensive penalty. And even Patterson's biggest weakness -- defensive rebounding -- is mitigated playing alongside Russell Westbrook.
For the Thunder to get Patterson with the taxpayer midlevel is incredible. Amazingly, he's taking a pay cut from his last contract, signed before the cap jump.
Patterson did miss time with a pair of left knee injuries last season, which might be a concern going forward. Still, it's hard to understand Patterson getting approximately a quarter Serge Ibaka's salary over the next three years, or less than half as much per year as Taj Gibson (who is departing OKC) for the next two seasons. Other teams' loss looks like the Thunder's gain.
Philadelphia 76ers
1. Signed 2016 first-round pick Furkan Korkmaz
The No. 26 pick of last year's draft, Korkmaz will now come to the NBA at age 20 after continuing to play with Anadolu Efes last season.
Korkmaz projects as a plus shooter whose game might be otherwise limited. I wouldn't expect much in the way of immediate contributions from him after the 76ers signed JJ Redick to go along with incumbent shooting guards Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Nik Stauskas. More likely, Korkmaz will spend much of this season developing in the G-League.
Phoenix Suns
1. Signed guard Mike James
No, this is not the Mike James who scored 17 points in Sunday's Big 3 action. That Mike James, who played 12 seasons in the NBA, is now age 42.
This Mike James -- also a point guard, to add to the confusion -- played collegiately at Lamar University and has developed into a European standout. After playing for the Suns' entry in the NBA summer league in Las Vegas two years ago, he's getting a contract before summer league this time around. James, who will turn 27 in August, projects as a score-first backup. SCHOENE compares his translated international performance to that of Tony Delk and Bobby Jackson, though it's unlikely James will be quite that effective.
Sacramento Kings
1. Agreed to a reported three-year, $57 million deal with guard George Hill
2. Agreed to a reported two-year, $24 million deal with forward Zach Randolph
The Kings were one of the tougher teams to read in this summer's free agency because it was unclear whether they were trying to compete now or build slowly around a young core that includes seven first-round picks over the past two years. Given that Sacramento has reportedly agreed to deals with a 31-year-old point guard and a post player who turns 36 later this month, it's safe to assume the team chose the former path.
The Hill deal makes far more sense. Adding an experienced starting point guard relieves the pressure on No. 5 overall pick De'Aaron Fox to produce immediately, something I didn't think was realistic for a rookie point guard who won't turn 20 until December.
Additionally, Hill's contract isn't so onerous that he blocks Fox from ascending to the starting lineup over time. According to David Aldridge of Turner Sports, the third year of the contract isn't fully guaranteed. That could allow Sacramento to walk away from Hill if Fox is ready to start by that point, or possibly even make him tradeable if he's still a productive starter at age 33. Hill also has the tools to play off the ball alongside Fox, though that's less likely on a team flush with young shooting-guard options.
Randolph's fit is more difficult to discern. At this stage of his career, Randolph might be more effective as a center than a power forward -- he played center most of last season with the Memphis Grizzlies, though he did regain his starting PF job alongside Marc Gasol in the playoffs, which gives him something in common with several other Kings big men.
Most likely, Randolph will start at power forward alongside Willie Cauley-Stein, and perhaps Sacramento plans to cross-match the two players defensively to take advantage of Cauley-Stein's quickness defending on the perimeter. Given that the Kings have no legitimate hope of reaching the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference, I'd rather have just started second-year player Skal Labissiere at the 4.
The most optimistic interpretation of Randolph's addition is that his primary function will be as a veteran mentor for Sacramento's young big men. That sentence would be difficult to understand for someone time-traveling from Randolph's Portland days, but he has become a respected leader in the locker room. Having played for Kings coach Dave Joerger in Memphis, Randolph can be a strong voice in favor of his coach.
Still, there's an alternative cost here in terms of how Sacramento used its cap space. Presuming they follow through on a deal with wing Bogdan Bogdanovic, whose rights they acquired in a trade with the Phoenix Suns during the 2016 draft (reported at $27 million over three years by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee), the Kings will have between $15 million and $17 million in cap space remaining. Sacramento is still in need of a small forward. While these deals assuredly mean the Kings are out of the running to sign Washington Wizards restricted free agent Otto Porter to a max offer sheet, signing a different small forward will cut further still into Sacramento's room.
This summer looked like a good opportunity for the Kings to use their cap space to take on bad contracts to collect additional future picks while putting a young roster on the court that would lead to a high draft pick. The 2018-19 season, when Sacramento's pick will go to either the Philadelphia 76ers or the Boston Celtics via trade, looked like the better time for the Kings to load up on veterans. Instead, as usual, Sacramento chose the path that means more wins in the short term but probably fewer in the long term.
Washington Wizards
1. Agreed to a reported one-year, minimum deal with forward Mike Scott
For a team likely to be limited to minimum-salary contracts because of luxury-tax concerns, Scott is a good gamble. Before an inexplicably poor 2016-17, when he posted a 5.9 PER in 195 minutes, shooting 4-of-27 (14.8 percent) on 3-point attempts, Scott had been a capable reserve with the Atlanta Hawks. As recently as two seasons ago, Scott shot 39.2 percent from downtown on 158 attempts and posted an excellent .575 true shooting percentage.
One possible factor in Scott's down campaign: He was facing felony drug charges stemming from a July 2015 vehicle stop in Georgia. Those charges were dismissed in May, according to The Vertical, when the Banks County Superior Judge concluded police had insufficient reason to stop the vehicle, rendering the evidence collected inadmissible. Of course, those charges were also hanging over Scott during his excellent 2015-16 campaign.
If Scott can get back to his previous level, he'd be a bargain at the minimum for a team that needs bargains. Washington now has 14 players under contract, though Sheldon McClellan and Daniel Ochefu have only modest $50,000 guarantees. If the Wizards decide to keep McClellan and Ochefu, their roster could be full if (or perhaps when) they match an offer sheet to restricted free agent Otto Porter.