What do the latest moves in NBA free agency mean for every team, and what's next across the league?
On Day 1, many teams quickly reached agreements with star players, including the Brooklyn Nets (Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving), Boston Celtics (Kemba Walker) and Philadelphia 76ers (Tobias Harris and Al Horford). The action continued on Day 2, including finalized sign-and-trades for D'Angelo Russell (Golden State Warriors) and Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat).
You can find team-by-team analysis on all of the movement here. Go here for my Day 4 analysis.
Note: The latest updates will be posted here, with teams sorted alphabetically. The most recent additions include Willie Cauley-Stein to the Warriors and Jeff Green to the Jazz.
More: Projecting the starting salary for every available free agent
Boston Celtics
1. Agreed to a reported two-year, $10 million deal with center Daniel Theis
2. Agreed to a reported one-year deal with guard Brad Wanamaker
Despite the slow market for restricted free agents, Theis had an important bit of leverage in negotiating with the Celtics. Assuming they use cap space to take back Kemba Walker in a sign-and-trade deal, Boston would have no ability to pay a potential replacement more than the minimum because the team's room exception is already committed to center Enes Kanter.
As a result, Theis probably got a bit more money than he merited as a reserve big. He'll make an annual salary similar to that of Kanter, the Celtics' likely starter in the middle. Theis is in line for a bigger role after serving as a fourth big and playing 13.8 minutes per game last season. Boston surely likes his knowledge of the system, defensive versatility and high-percentage finishing (60.3% on 2-point attempts).
Earlier Tuesday, The Athletic reported that the Celtics will sign French center Vincent Poirier to a two-year contract to add to their frontcourt rotation, which also includes 2018 first-round pick Robert Williams. Poirier most recently played in the Spanish ACB with Baskonia.
Assuming Boston plans to sign No. 33 pick Carsen Edwards to a full NBA contract, that means bringing back Wanamaker would complete their 15-player roster. With Terry Rozier in Charlotte, Edwards and Wanamaker have a chance to compete for the backup role behind Walker, although Marcus Smart could also run the second unit in addition to playing point guard.
A 29-year-old rookie last season with the Celtics after a decorated career in Europe, Wanamaker impressed defensively and made 41% of his 3s, albeit on just 39 attempts. We'll see if he can keep that up in more playing time.
Brooklyn Nets
1. Agreed to a reported one-year deal with forward Wilson Chandler
Chandler is the first of a few minimum-salary pickups the Nets will need to fill out their bench after using cap space to add Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan. From a financial perspective, he is a bargain at that price after making $12.8 million last season
Still, Brooklyn might have been able to do better with the roster spot than Chandler, who never rated particularly well by advanced stats in his prime and is now past it at 32. His projection using ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM) of 3.4 points per 100 possessions worse than league average puts Chandler below replacement level.
On the plus side, Chandler made 37% of his 3s last season, an improvement for the career 34% shooter beyond the arc, and he has some capability of defending multiple positions. Despite that, I'd be hesitant to give Chandler rotation minutes ahead of the Nets' fleet of young forwards.
Chicago Bulls
1. Agreed to a reported three-year, $41 million deal with forward Thaddeus Young
2. Agreed to a reported three-year, $30 million deal with guard Tomas Satoransky via sign-and-trade
3. Agreed to a reported three-year, $9 million deal with guard Ryan Arcidiacono
The Bulls split up about $22 million in cap space between two new contributors to their expected rotation. First, they gave a slightly bigger deal for Young, a starter throughout the last seven seasons who may move to a bench role in Chicago behind young frontcourt starters Wendell Carter Jr. and Lauri Markkanen.
Young landing with the Bulls should be no surprise given he played in Philadelphia for Doug Collins, now a senior adviser to Chicago's front office. Collins was always a fan of Young, a reliable, crafty player whose game has aged well thus far. His 5.1 wins above replacement player (WARP) by my value metric last season were his highest mark since 2012-13, Collins' last season with the 76ers. Eventually, age will probably begin to catch up to Young, who recently turned 31.
One interesting element of Young's addition is it probably means more minutes at center for Markkanen when he teams with Young. Per my analysis of lineup data from NBA Advanced Stats, Markkanen played just 205 minutes in the middle last season, with the Bulls giving up 116.1 points per 100 possessions in that span -- a mark that would have ranked worst in the league.
Satoransky comes in through a sign-and-trade that will send the Wizards the better of Chicago's and Memphis' second-round picks next year, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, as well as swap rights on a second-round pick in 2022 and the removal of a previous top-36 protection on the 2023 second-round pick the Bulls sent to Washington in the Otto Porter trade. Of those, the most important element by far is the 2020 second-round pick, which has a good chance to land in the top five selections in the round, given that the Grizzlies are rebuilding without Mike Conley.
A high second-round pick is a little more than I'd like to pay for a restricted free agent, but Satoransky came on what looks like a value contract based on the others we've seen point guards get so far. I project Satoransky's on-court production as worth $31 million over the next three years. His ability to play on and off the ball fits well alongside Zach LaVine and will allow No. 7 pick Coby White to grow into a larger role over time.
These two additions may be Chicago's biggest in free agency for a while. The Bulls won't have appreciable cap space next summer unless Porter declines his $28.5 million player option, and cap holds for Porter and Markkanen would likely put Chicago over the cap in the summer of 2021 as well. So the Bulls are largely counting on internal development to get this group back to the playoffs.
The Bulls will apparently be able to retain Arcidiacono's early Bird rights while using cap space to add Satoransky and Young, which will likely require them to waive guard Walt Lemon (whose salary was non-guaranteed) but enabled them to re-sign Arcidiacono to a three-year deal as a restricted free agent.
After a rough rookie campaign, Arcidiacono improved dramatically last season, starting 32 games and shooting 37% from 3-point range. Per NBA Advanced Stats, he had the best on-court net rating of Chicago's point guards. Bringing back Arcidiacono after adding Satoransky and No. 7 pick Coby White does give the Bulls a crowd at the point, and it looks like incumbent starter Kris Dunn could be on the move.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Chicago also grabbed an interesting piece at center in Luke Kornet, who started 18 games last season for the Knicks. A 7-footer who shot 36% from 3-point range while firing up 8.9 per 36 minutes, Kornet also blocked shots at an above-average rate for a center.
Kornet can get pushed around in the paint, and he made just 41% of his 2-point tries last season. Still, according to NBA Advanced Stats, New York's minus-3.5 net rating when Kornet played was best of any Knicks player who saw at least 500 minutes of action.
Dallas Mavericks
1. Agreed to a reported three-year, $12 million deal with forward Dorian Finney-Smith
Like much of the rest of the league, the Mavericks appear to be in a holding pattern with their cap space while we await a decision from Kawhi Leonard. Dallas is surely hoping to land Leonard's Toronto Raptors teammate Danny Green using some of the team's remaining $22.4 million in cap room.
That waiting game didn't affect the Mavericks' negotiations with Finney-Smith, a restricted free agent who can be re-signed using his modest $1.9 million cap hold. Dallas has to feel good about getting Finney-Smith, who started 26 games and averaged 24.5 MPG in 2018-19, back for $4 million a year. Though Finney-Smith can't really be considered a 3-and-D player as a 30% career 3-point shooter, he's a solid defender who should be an excellent value at that price. My multiyear projections forecast him providing $22 million in value over the next three years.
From Finney-Smith's standpoint, taking his chances on an offer sheet would have been a gamble. As quickly as free agency has moved for unrestricted free agents, relatively few restricted players have gotten deals done. As yet, there are no reported offer sheets to restricted free agents, just three sign-and-trade deals as well as six RFAs -- a full half of them Mavericks -- re-signing with their teams.
If Dallas starts those three deals (with Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber and Kristaps Porzingis) at the smallest possible 2019-20 salary with maximum raises, the Mavericks would spend an additional $17.6 million this season after using their cap space. There's a $23.5 million buffer between the cap and the luxury-tax line, so depending on how many players Dallas signs with cap space, there may be an opportunity to instead start one or both of Finney-Smith and Kleber at the maximum yearly salary and have the contract descend from there. That maneuver would give the Mavericks more cap flexibility down the road.
Detroit Pistons
1. Agreed to a reported one-year, minimum deal with guard Tim Frazier
Having lost backup point guard Ish Smith in free agency, the Pistons replaced him with the bargain version in Frazier.
Frazier has had moments in the NBA, averaging 13.1 points, 7.5 assists and 29.3 minutes during a 16-game stint with New Orleans in 2015-16, but he has bounced around repeatedly. Detroit will be his sixth team in as many seasons. Derrick Rose's ability to play either guard spot should give Frazier the chance to earn a rotation role if he plays well.
Golden State Warriors
1. Agreed to a reported deal with center Willie Cauley-Stein
2. Agreed to a reported two-year deal with forward Glenn Robinson III
According to my ESPN colleague Zach Lowe, Cauley-Stein's deal is for "something slightly above the minimum salary," which is notable because the Warriors are operating under a hard cap of $138.9 million and didn't have much wiggle room available after agreeing to a three-year, $15 million deal to re-sign center Kevon Looney on Monday. Golden State projected just $390,00 below the hard cap, which can't be exceeded at any time, with Shaun Livingston waived and the $2 million guaranteed portion of his salary stretched over the next three years in calculations by Bobby Marks.
Signing Robinson to a two-year deal with a player option in the second year, per The Athletic's Shams Charania, cuts slightly into that. Instead of counting at the two-year veteran minimum of $1.6 million, which is true of more experienced players signed to one-year deals for the minimum, Robinson will instead count $1.9 million against the cap -- $262,000 more.
Therefore, in order to offer Cauley-Stein more than his minimum salary ($1.7 million as a four-year vet), the Warriors will almost certainly have to clear salary somehow. Most likely, that will involve Livingston. If they are able to use cash and/or draft picks to trade Livingston's salary to another team, that would open up an additional $667,000 under the hard cap. Alternatively, the Warriors could trade center Damian Jones, whose $2.3 million salary is nearly $700,000 more than the veteran's minimum.
I like the fit for Cauley-Stein, following in DeMarcus Cousins' footsteps as a center looking to rebuild his value with Golden State. The better comparison for Cauley-Stein's role with the Warriors is probably departed Jordan Bell, another rim-running big man who is versatile defensively. Cauley-Stein is a better pick-and-roll option for Golden State than Looney and somewhat more reliable than Bell was. Getting him at such a low price is a coup for the Warriors.
Robinson also comes at a discount compared to the $4.1 million he got from the Detroit Pistons last year. Though Robinson started 18 games, he couldn't stick in the rotation, and his 13.0 minutes per game were down from the previous two seasons in Indiana. That can largely be explained by Robinson shooting 29% on 3s after making 39% of his attempts with the Pacers. If he's back to the high 30s beyond the arc, Robinson will battle Alfonzo McKinnie to start at small forward.
LA Clippers
1. Agreed to a reported three-year, $15 million deal with guard Rodney McGruder
Signing McGruder is essentially found money for the Clippers, who claimed him off waivers at the end of the regular season when the Miami Heat shed his salary to duck the luxury tax. Thanks to the claim, the Clippers got early Bird rights to McGruder, enabling them to keep his cap hold on the books while using their more than $30 million in space and then exceed the cap to re-sign him.
Now that this deal is done, the Clippers can rescind McGruder's qualifying offer to make him an unrestricted free agent, which would reduce his cap hold from $3.0 million to $1.6 million and give them enough room to sign Kawhi Leonard for the max without needing to shed any other salary.
Before he was waived by the Heat, McGruder started 45 games last season, after starting 65 in Miami as a rookie in 2016-17. (In between, he missed most of 2017-18 following surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left tibia.) McGruder is a 35% career 3-point shooter, a hair worse than league average, with the ability to defend bigger opponents as a 3-and-D wing.
Whether the Clippers land Kawhi or not, coach Doc Rivers will have an impressive variety of wing options with the addition of McGruder -- who was ineligible to play for the team in last year's playoffs because he was waived so late in the season -- and Maurice Harkless to the mix.
Los Angeles Lakers
1. Agreed to a reported one-year, minimum deal with guard Troy Daniels
2. Agreed to a reported one-year, minimum deal with forward Jared Dudley
Until they get word from Kawhi Leonard, the Lakers are in a holding pattern. They have no additional cap room above and beyond the max, so while they have to be ready to move to contingency plans if Leonard says no, otherwise there's not much for the Lakers to do now besides recruit minimum-salary players who can fill out the roster no matter which direction they go.
As compared to the aging veterans who often fill out top-heavy rosters on minimum contracts, Daniels is much younger at 27. He's strictly a shooter, having averaged just 1.3 assists per 36 minutes in his career and struggling badly on defense, but Daniels is one of the league's better pure shooters. He has averaged 4.1 3s per 36 minutes on even 40% accuracy throughout his career. You can do a lot worse than that for the minimum alongside Anthony Davis, LeBron James and perhaps Kawhi.
The Lakers continued filling out the minimum-salary portion of their bench by adding Dudley. Because both players will make the minimum, the Lakers can sign them after using cap space and trading for Anthony Davis, so they don't affect the team's pursuit of Leonard.
Getting Dudley, who made $9.5 million last season completing a three-year contract, is a coup for the Lakers. I'm sure they had competition for Dudley from his old team, the Nets, who also must fill out their bench with minimum signings after getting commitments from Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Dudley actually started 25 games in Brooklyn early in the season, averaging 20.7 minutes per game.
At this stage of his career, Dudley isn't looking to shoot unless it's absolutely necessary. His 10.4% usage rate with the Nets was third lowest among players with at least 1,000 minutes of action last season. That will fit better with L.A., which has more than enough shot creation. It's more important for the Lakers that he hit open shots. Dudley made just 35% of his 3s last season, but he is a career 39% shooter from beyond the arc.
Defensively, Dudley is no longer capable of defending on the perimeter on a regular basis, but he remains a crafty presence who can guard bigger opponents. Brooklyn even had some short-lived success using him to defend Joel Embiid in the playoffs.
Incidentally, while the Lakers were sure to be interested in him either way, the one time Dudley did cut loose offensively was against them. Taking advantage of the way the Lakers were defending dribble handoffs, he scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the fourth quarter on Dec. 18 as the Nets beat the Lakers in Brooklyn.
Minnesota Timberwolves
1. Agreed to a reported one-year, minimum deal with forward Jordan Bell
2. Agreed to a reported one-year deal with forward Noah Vonleh
Because of the hard cap, the Warriors were forced to pull their qualifying offer to Bell, making him an unrestricted free agent. He found a new home in Minnesota, where he should have an opportunity for more playing time. With Taj Gibson headed to New York and Dario Saric to Phoenix, the Timberwolves have just two frontcourt players under contract: Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng.
Currently about $17 million under the luxury tax with restricted free agent Tyus Jones unsigned, Minnesota will surely add more big men. But I'd love to see the Timberwolves turn loose Bell, whose energetic rim-running and shot-blocking could fit well next to Towns. After a promising rookie campaign as a second-round pick, Bell fell off last season and fell out of favor in Golden State. This is an important chance for him to get his career back on track at age 24.
The Timberwolves continue bargain shopping to fill out their shallow frontcourt. Vonleh, the No. 9 overall pick in 2014, enjoyed a breakthrough campaign on last year's woeful Knicks team. He started a career-high 57 games and averaged 8.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Vonleh made a career-high 53% of his 2-point attempts last season and has developed into a credible 3-point threat, making 46 at a 34% clip. He's a strong defensive rebounder who can play either frontcourt spot, though he doesn't offer much rim protection as a center. Vonleh should be a good fit alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and might be the favorite to start at power forward in Minnesota at this point.
Philadelphia 76ers
1. Agreed to a reported one-year, minimum deal with center Kyle O'Quinn
2. Agreed to a reported two-year, $4.1 million deal with forward James Ennis III
3. Agreed to a reported four-year deal with guard Shake Milton
O'Quinn is a nice pickup for the Sixers, who need three capable centers because of concerns about Joel Embiid's durability. After he got the room midlevel last year from the Pacers, this year's deep market forced O'Quinn to settle for the veterans minimum. That will help Philadelphia fill out a thin bench.
After posting a career-best 62.5 true shooting percentage in 2017-18, his last of three seasons with the Knicks, O'Quinn declined to 53.7% last year largely because he got fewer high-percentage looks around the basket. As Zach Lowe has noted, O'Quinn's penchant for popping rather than rolling hard to the rim has been a source of frustration for his coaches. As relatively good a midrange shooter as O'Quinn is (he has shot 42.6% in his career on 2-point attempts beyond 16 feet, per Basketball-Reference.com), those attempts are inevitably lower value than ones at the rim.
Defensively, O'Quinn is a strong shot-blocker who has swatted at least 6.0% of opponent 2-point attempts each of the past three years.
The Sixers continued filling out their bench on Tuesday with a couple of holdovers. Ennis, acquired from Houston at the trade deadline, ended up the last man standing from what Philadelphia coach Brett Brown called a "quiet tournament" that also included wings Furkan Korkmaz and Jonathon Simmons. Ennis played a key role during the 76ers' seven-game series with Toronto in the second round, playing the most minutes per game (22.7) of any Philadelphia reserve and averaging 7.9 points and 4.0 rebounds.
Milton, the 54th overall pick in the 2018 second round, was on a two-way contract that the Sixers have elected to replace with an NBA deal after he played 20 games for them last season. As reported by Derek Bodner of The Athletic Philadelphia, that will be a four-year deal. Milton was dominant in the G League, averaging 24.9 points per game and making 37% of his 3s. His length gives him the ability to defend multiple positions. So, we'll see what kind of role Milton can carve out.
Portland Trail Blazers
1. Agreed to a reported two-year, $12 million deal with guard Rodney Hood
2. Agreed to a reported two-year, minimum deal with forward Mario Hezonja
3. Agreed to a reported deal with forward Anthony Tolliver
Because the Blazers started the offseason in the luxury tax, their biggest moves have come via trades for wing Kent Bazemore and center Hassan Whiteside. Portland was limited in free agency to the $5.8 million taxpayer midlevel exception and needed to use that to re-sign Hood, who lost full Bird rights when he agreed to be traded to the Blazers from the Cleveland Cavaliers ahead of the trade deadline.
I'm surprised the tax midlevel was enough to bring back Hood, who got a player option on the second season of the deal. Long coveted because of his combination of size, shooting ability and shot creation, Hood had to settle for the one-year qualifying offer last summer as a restricted free agent. But he rebuilt his value with a strong playoff run in Portland, highlighted by a crucial role in the team's quadruple-overtime win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series, as well as 25 points off the bench in a must-win Game 6 versus Denver.
Hood might have prioritized staying with the Blazers after rediscovering his love for the game in Portland.
"This is something I haven't felt since ... well, I haven't felt it," he told Jason Quick of The Athletic during the postseason. "Especially since I've been in the NBA. I have doubted myself a lot, but once I came here, I've started to feel like myself again. I'm not averaging what I did in Utah, but I'm back to playing like myself."
Additionally, Hood could have a larger role at small forward next season after the Blazers traded starter Maurice Harkless and backup Evan Turner, making Hood's return crucial for the team.
With only the minimum to spend to add players in free agency, Portland went bargain shopping with Hezonja, the No. 5 pick of the 2015 draft by Orlando who has yet to translate that potential in the NBA. Hezonja is still just 24, and the Blazers have a track record of turning the Magic's castoffs into contributors, including Harkless and guard Shabazz Napier. Given the low price a year after Hezonja got $6.5 million from the Knicks, this was a reasonable gamble for Portland.
The Blazers added another minimum-salary pickup in Tolliver, who provides important depth in the frontcourt, with starting power forward Al-Farouq Aminu leaving in free agency and starting center Jusuf Nurkic expected to miss the start of the season following a compound fracture of his left tibia and fibula. Before Nurkic returns and the rotation is rearranged, Tolliver probably will be Portland's top frontcourt reserve.
Tolliver will space the floor in that role. He is a career 38% 3-point shooter who took 83% of his shots from beyond the arc last season. A poor defensive rebounder for a big who doesn't offer much in the way of rim protection, Tolliver ideally should be paired with Whiteside as much as possible.
Sacramento Kings
1. Agreed to a reported four-year, $85 million deal with forward Harrison Barnes
2. Agreed to a reported three-year, $41 million deal with center Dewayne Dedmon
3. Agreed to a reported two-year, $25 million deal with forward Trevor Ariza
4. Agreed to a reported three-year, $37 million deal with guard Cory Joseph
5. Agreed to a reported two-year, $10 million deal with center Richaun Holmes
The Kings were busy over the first 24 hours of free agency, exhausting their cap space and then their room midlevel exception to add five players in pursuit of the franchise's first playoff berth since 2006. As with the Knicks, the shopping spree doesn't generally seem to have yielded good values, with Holmes' deal at the room midlevel as a notable -- pun intended -- exception.
That started with Barnes, who declined a $25.1 million player option in favor of signing a longer-term deal that adds an average of $20 million in guaranteed money over the remaining three years of the contract. I'm not sure that kind of offer would have come for Barnes in 2020 free agency, and I'm definitely not sure he's worth it. Because Barnes has historically rated poorly in real plus-minus and other advanced metrics, he didn't rank in the top 30 of my projections for free agents.
On the plus side, Sacramento will have Barnes' salary descend over the course of this contract, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. By Year 4, Barnes will be making $18.3 million. That's important because by 2022-23, the Kings hope to be paying young players Marvin Bagley III, De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield -- all of whom are currently on low-cost rookie contracts -- big-money extensions because they've developed into stars. So the tax could be an issue for Sacramento by that point.
As generous as the Kings were in the yearly salaries they gave free agents, they were generally stingy with years. According to reports, Ariza, Dedmon and Joseph all have partial guarantees on the final season of their contracts -- Year 2 for Ariza, Year 3 for Dedmon and Joseph. That gives Sacramento a bit more financial flexibility.
The Kings certainly improved their roster, particularly at center, where Dedmon and Holmes should be a nice duo. Dedmon's combination of floor spacing (he made 83 3-pointers at a 38% clip last season) and rim protection (his career block rate of 3.9% is slightly better than the league average for centers of 3.8%) makes him a strong fit alongside Bagley. Holmes will play a rim-running role in the second unit alongside Harry Giles and perhaps stretch-4 Nemanja Bjelica.
Ariza adds quality perimeter defense Sacramento didn't previously have on the roster. Joseph will also be a defensive upgrade as a backup point guard over incumbents Yogi Ferrell and Frank Mason, though $12.3 million per year is a lot to spend on a reserve -- especially given the Kings' depth at shooting guard may make it unlikely Joseph plays much alongside Fox.
The biggest concern with Sacramento's moves is whether new coach Luke Walton can find enough playing time to keep everyone happy. The Kings go at least two deep with rotation-caliber contributors at every position, and three deep at power forward (with Bagley, Giles and Bjelica) and possibly point guard (if Sacramento decides to keep Ferrell, whose contract is non-guaranteed through Thursday).
Additionally, as with New York, I would have considered using more cap space via trade rather than free agency. Andre Iguodala could have filled the Ariza role if he were willing to join the Kings, as could Harkless, both of whom came with first-round picks. Aside from that, though, there's probably not huge alternative cost to Sacramento's moves. If the Kings wanted to maximize their chances of making the playoffs this season and were unable to land one of the top centers on the market, this looks like the way to do it.
San Antonio Spurs
1. Agreed to a reported two-year, $32 million deal with forward Rudy Gay
2. Agreed to a reported two-year, $13 million deal with forward DeMarre Carroll
Barring a trade, the 2019-20 Spurs will look a lot like last year's version with the addition of a healthy Dejounte Murray at point guard. Re-signing Gay and signing Carroll would give them a full roster of 15 guaranteed contracts and perhaps end the meaningful part of their offseason.
Given Gay has put together two of his best seasons since coming to San Antonio, posting the best true shooting percentage of his career (58.3%) in 2018-19, bringing him back was surely a priority for the Spurs. Having made $10.1 million last season, Gay becomes the rare player to get a healthy raise for his age-33 season. That might be an overpay, but one without much impact since San Antonio is comfortably between the salary cap and the luxury tax and unlikely to use cap space next summer.
The value was stronger with Carroll, one of the better 3-and-D wings left on the market. The Spurs were able to get him while retaining more than enough of their non-taxpayer midlevel exception to give second-round pick Quinndary Weatherspoon a contract longer than two years if they wish.
With Murray back and Carroll coming in, San Antonio is now overflowing with wing options. I'd be a little concerned that 2018 first-round pick Lonnie Walker IV will get lost in the shuffle. Those two additions will give Gregg Popovich better defensive options, however. A perimeter trio of Murray, Carroll and Derrick White would be elite defensively while also providing sufficient floor spacing.
Utah Jazz
1. Agreed to a reported one-year, minimum deal with forward Jeff Green
2. Agreed to a reported one-year deal with guard Emmanuel Mudiay
I like the fit here for player and team. After trading Jae Crowder, the Jazz didn't really have a defensive option at power forward, where newcomer Bojan Bogdanovic and holdover Georges Niang are more offensive-minded. While he is not likely to come close to the 27.2 minutes per game he played while starting 44 games last season with Washington, Green could play an important role, even sliding Bogdanovic to small forward at times, depending on matchups.
After years of frustrating teams as a high-paid cornerstone, Green has reshaped his career as a quality role player making the veteran's minimum. He played a key role in Cleveland reaching the NBA Finals in 2018 and gave the Wizards reliable minutes last season in the midst of the tempest around him. The past two seasons have been the most efficient of his career by a wide margin, and if Green comes close to matching last season's 35% shooting on 5.5 3-point attempts per 36 minutes, he'll be a huge bargain.
Later, Utah struck another one-year deal -- surely also for the minimum, as the team already has committed its cap space and room midlevel exception -- to bring in Mudiay as a backup point guard. Like Green, Mudiay played a far larger role on a lottery team last season, starting 42 games and averaging 27.2 minutes per game for the Knicks. Mudiay dramatically improved his efficiency with New York, improving his true shooting percentage to 53.1%, after it had previously been no better than 48.3%.
Four years after being taken seventh overall by the Denver Nuggets, Mudiay, still just 23, has some upside for the Jazz, who will pair him in a second-unit backcourt with their own former lottery pick, Dante Exum. I'm concerned about a lack of shooting with that pairing -- Mudiay is a 32% career 3-point shooter, the biggest weakness of his game, while Exum's career mark is even weaker at 30% -- but Utah might be able to mix in the two backups with better-shooting starters Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell.
Washington Wizards
1. Agreed to a reported three-year, $25 million deal with center Thomas Bryant
2. Agreed to a reported two-year, $12 million deal with guard Ish Smith.
3. Agreed to a reported one-year deal with guard Isaiah Thomas
With John Wall's supermax extension kicking in to the tune of $38.2 million this season while he's sidelined following Achilles surgery, the Wizards are moving into a new period of financial austerity that cost them Satoransky in a sign-and-trade.
Despite Washington getting a valuable 2020 second-round pick (the better of those belonging to Chicago and Memphis), I think I'd probably rather have Satoransky on a three-year, $30 million deal than the point guards the Wizards signed to replace him. Notably, Washington has gotten much smaller at the point with the 6-foot Smith and the 5-foot-9 Thomas replacing the 6-foot-7 Satoransky. And neither is as effective playing off the ball alongside Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal as Satoransky.
Then again, maybe that's splitting hairs given Washington doesn't look likely to compete in 2019-20. The Wizards have precisely two players on their current roster projected by RPM to be average or better next season: Beal and Bryant. Most likely, the Wizards are headed for a high lottery pick.
A three-year deal at less than the taxpayer midlevel exception is reasonable value for Bryant, who went from waiver claim to starting center last season and won't turn 22 until the end of this month. I suspect RPM is overrating Bryant's defensive value, as he's too often caught out of position on that end and must improve his habits. But Bryant is already an outstanding finisher (his 68.5% 2-point shooting led qualified players) with occasional 3-point range (he made 33 triples at a 33.3% clip) and he has time to grow on defense.
I do think Washington is an ideal spot for Thomas to try to get his career back on track after hip surgery kept him out through the eve of the 2019 All-Star break. Because the Nuggets were competing for the top spot in the West at that point and had gotten outstanding production from backup point guard Monte Morris, they couldn't afford to wait for Thomas to rediscover his rhythm. After nine games in the rotation, Thomas played just three more times the remainder of the regular season and not once in the playoffs.
Able to work out this summer after two consecutive offseasons of hip-related rehab, Thomas should be more ready to contribute at the start of next season. If not, the Wizards haven't really risked much with a one-year deal.
Day 2 deals
Here's my analysis for Day 2:
And a roundup of more news analysis, including:
Enes Kanter | Celtics
DeAndre Jordan | Nets
Maxi Kleber, Seth Curry, J.J. Barea | Mavericks
Jamal Murray | Nuggets
Kevon Looney | Warriors
Danuel House, Gerald Green, Austin Rivers | Rockets
Jeremy Lamb, Edmond Sumner | Pacers
Wesley Matthews, Robin Lopez | Bucks
Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington, Elfrid Payton | Knicks
Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross, Al-Farouq Aminu, Michael Carter-Williams | Magic
Ricky Rubio, Frank Kaminsky | Suns
Day 1 deals
Here's my analysis of the initial wave of major free-agency moves and what they mean:
And here's my roundup of more news, including:
Terry Rozier | Hornets
Kristaps Porzingis, Dwight Powell | Mavericks
Derrick Rose | Pistons
Patrick Beverley | Clippers
Jonas Valanciunas | Grizzlies
JJ Redick, Nicolo Melli | Pelicans
Julius Randle, Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis | Knicks
Bojan Bogdanovic, Ed Davis | Jazz