What do the latest trades and signings in NBA free agency mean for every team? What's next across the league?
NBA free agency officially began on Friday. Go here for my analysis from Day 1 (including moves by the Lakers, Heat and Nets), Day 2 (including moves by the Warriors, Celtics and Clippers), and Day 3 (including moves by the Raptors and Cavaliers).
You can find team-by-team analysis below on all of this week's moves, including max contract extensions for Brandon Ingram and Bam Adebayo, free-agent deals by the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings' decision not to match the offer sheet to Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Note: The latest updates will be posted here, with teams listed alphabetically.
MORE: NBA trade grades | Latest NBA free agency buzz
Atlanta Hawks
See here for my analysis of the Hawks' signing of Bogdan Bogdanovic.
1. Agreed to a reported one-year deal with Solomon Hill
As the Hawks waited to see whether the Sacramento Kings would match their offer sheet to restricted free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic, they made a smaller move to fill out the back end of their roster. With their remaining cap space tied up in a Bogdanovic offer, and the room exception possibly needed to sign Kris Dunn to the contract reported over the weekend, Atlanta probably didn't have more than the veteran's minimum to offer Hill.
After playing a rotation role for the Memphis Grizzlies before a midseason trade, Hill actually got a few minutes for the Miami Heat during their run to the NBA Finals. Given the Hawks' possible depth after their shopping spree in free agency, there probably aren't regular minutes for Hill. Instead, I suspect they view Hill as providing veteran leadership and insurance if injuries strike.
If Atlanta indeed plans to keep guard Brandon Goodwin, whose salary fully guarantees next Sunday, the 15-player NBA roster would be complete.
Chicago Bulls
1. Agreed to a reported one-year deal with Noah Vonleh
Vonleh, the No. 8 pick of the 2014 draft, remains something of a "name" but is pretty clearly established as a replacement-level player. He rated a bit better than replacement in 2018-19, when he started 57 games for the New York Knicks, then slipped below that level during a 2019-20 season that saw him play sparingly for both the Denver Nuggets (after a midseason trade) and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
We'll see if Chicago, sitting at 15 players with guaranteed contracts before this signing, scares up a roster spot for Vonleh. Although center Cristiano Felicio is an obvious candidate to be released in the final season of a contract paying him $7.5 million, the Bulls may prefer keeping him to use his salary in a trade. In that case, barring a deal that thins the roster, Chicago would probably be choosing between Vonleh and Luke Kornet. Kornet is also on an expiring deal but will make just $2.25 million this season.
Cleveland Cavaliers
1. Agreed to a reported two-year, $4 million deal with Damyean Dotson
2. Agreed to re-sign Matthew Dellavedova to a reported one-year, minimum deal
With their spending power limited after acquiring center Andre Drummond at the trade deadline, the Cavaliers have been quiet in free agency. Dotson is their first reported signing after they added JaVale McGee in a reported trade with the Lakers, and he looks like a good pickup at the price.
As my ESPN colleague Zach Lowe noted on Twitter, it's surprising the Knicks were in such a hurry to move on from Dotson in order to sign more expensive veterans who don't project to help much more on the court. Dotson looked like an important young player for New York in 2018-19, when he started 40 games and averaged 10.7 PPG, but he fell out of favor last season. Dotson was used sparingly before play stopped and didn't get a qualifying offer from the Knicks necessary to make him a restricted free agent.
We shouldn't overstate the case here. Dotson has never scored with average efficiency despite solid 3-point shooting (36% career) and isn't a strong shot creator. Still, he might be Cleveland's second-best guard next season behind 2018 lottery pick Collin Sexton.
The Cavaliers also agreed Monday to bring back Dellavedova on a one-year, minimum contract to serve as backup point guard and a veteran mentor in the locker room. The two moves Cleveland one open spot on the 15-man roster, with a second potentially available if the Cavaliers decide not to retain Dean Wade on a non-guaranteed pact.
Detroit Pistons
1. Agreed to a reported one-year, $2.6 million deal with Wayne Ellington
This one-year deal at the veteran's minimum looks like an opportunity for Ellington to rebuild his value after a disappointing season in New York. His 15.5 minutes per game were his lowest average since 2013-14 and the career 38% 3-point shooter hit just 35% beyond the arc. That's likely to bounce back, helping a Pistons team short on shooting.
If nothing else, Ellington should have a chance to play. Detroit's depth chart at shooting guard is wide open after incumbent starters Bruce Brown Jr. and Luke Kennard were traded last week. The Pistons still have Svi Mykhailiuk at the position, and rookie Saddiq Bey and Delon Wright could also see minutes at the 2.
Houston Rockets
1. Agreed to a reported one-year minimum deal with DeMarcus Cousins
If nothing else, this is an interesting move for the Rockets as they fill out their bench with minimum-salary contracts. When last we saw Cousins, he was gamely contributing for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals after missing more than a month due to injury. Cousins' double-double in Game 2 at Toronto (11 points, 10 rebounds, six assists) was key to Golden State drawing even in the series.
Unfortunately, since then Cousins suffered a torn ACL during an offseason workout in August 2019, scuttling his hopes of contributing on a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. It's now been more than 17 months since Cousins' last NBA game, and it's difficult to know what he's got left physically after suffering two of the most significant injuries possible for a basketball player.
The quibble here is if Cousins does return to pre-injury form, that player isn't a great fit alongside two ball-dominant guards in Houston. Cousins' best skill in his prime was creating his own shot, which meant he needed the ball more than most centers. During Cousins' two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, a remarkable 61% of his 2-point field goals were unassisted, per Basketball-Reference.com, a rate more typical of a guard. The highest rate of unassisted 2-point field goals for a Rockets regular in the frontcourt last season was Jeff Green at 29%.
It is possible Cousins could focus on spacing the court if he's been working on his 3-point shooting while rehabbing. Cousins shot the 3 at a league-average rate (36%) in New Orleans, which would allow him to fit into Houston vision of playing five-out basketball with bigger lineups.
Ultimately, the Rockets probably view this as a talent play. There was no way they were going to sign anyone nearly as talented as Cousins pre-injury for the veteran's minimum. If he doesn't fit or is unhappy watching James Harden and Russell Westbrook dribble, Houston can move on without any long-term consequences.
Los Angeles Lakers
1. Re-signing Markieff Morris, according to a tweet by Morris
Getting Morris back is another win for the Lakers, who have now filled out a 10-player rotation for 2020-21 that looks stronger than the group that won the 2020 championship.
Signed after agreeing to a buyout with the Detroit Pistons in February, Morris played a key role in the title run. He averaged 18.3 MPG in the playoffs and even started a couple of games as the Lakers matched up with the Houston Rockets' small-ball lineups.
The Lakers shouldn't count on Morris keeping up his 42% 3-point shooting in the postseason -- far better than his career 34.5% accuracy during the regular season -- but his ability to stretch the floor and defensive mobility give them a different look at center than newcomers Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell can provide.
Counting an expected new max-salary contract for Anthony Davis and based on the Lakers' plan to waive Jordan Bell after acquiring him from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, bringing back Morris gives them 12 players on the roster and enough room under the hard cap of the luxury-tax apron to sign two more players for the minimum.
For my rankings of the moves by the Lakers and other contenders, click here.
Miami Heat
1. Agreed to a reported max contract extension with Bam Adebayo
Here is my full analysis of the Adebayo news: How Bam's max extension changes the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.
New Orleans Pelicans
1. Agreed to sign Brandon Ingram to a reported max contract extension
2. Agreed to sign Willy Hernangomez to a reported one-year, $1.6 million deal
3. Agreed to sign Wenyen Gabriel to a reported two-year, $3.4 million deal
4. Agreed to sign Sindarius Thornwell to a reported one-year, $1.6 million deal
5. Agreed to a reported two-year, $35 million extension with Steven Adams
Ingram securing a max contract extension was one of the safest bets in free agency, and though it took a few days, New Orleans completed the deal after finalizing a trade with the Thunder to add Adams.
As it happens, Ingram rated fourth in my three-year projections for free agents behind a couple of non-max players (Fred VanVleet and Christian Wood).
Even in a breakout season that resulted in his first All-Star appearance and the Most Improved Player award, Ingram still didn't rate as exceptionally valuable by all-in-one stats because of his weak defensive numbers. Despite long arms, Ingram has always generated few steals, and the Pelicans were a below-average defensive team that defended a little better with Ingram on the court. So his 5.1 wins above replacement player (WARP) by my metric ranked 11th among this year's free agents, and his plus-0.6 rating in ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM) ranked 20th among small forwards.
Although those defensive issues might always hamper Ingram's value, the offensive upside is exciting. A 33% 3-point shooter during his three seasons with the Lakers, Ingram jumped to 39% in 2019-20 after working with New Orleans assistant coach Fred Vinson, who excels at teaching shooting. He made an even more dramatic leap at the free throw line, going from 66% to 85%, improvement that seems less liable to randomness.
Adding elite shooting to Ingram's ability to create one-on-one by overpowering smaller defenders and shooting over the top of them made him an above-average scorer in terms of both volume and efficiency. Just 13 players, all of them current or former All-Stars save Ingram's teammate Zion Williamson, surpassed him in both usage rate (28% of the team's plays) and true shooting percentage (.587). On top of all that, Ingram is just 23. So even if his current production might not project as max-worthy, there's little doubt that he retains major positive trade value on a max contract.
By stepping up and taking care of Ingram with a max deal, the Pelicans were able to avoid him signing an offer sheet with another team that could have gotten him back into free agency more quickly. Instead, this deal means Ingram is signed up through 2024-25, when he could become an unrestricted free agent at age 27.
Before the news of Ingram's deal, the Pelicans got busy building out the bottom of the roster with signings for the minimum.
Of the three, Hernangomez is the most accomplished player. He looked on track to be a big contributor when he started 22 games as a rookie for the Knicks in 2016-17, but he has struggled to gain a foothold since. Difficulty protecting the rim has always limited Hernangomez, though his efficient scoring makes him a solid third center and an upgrade over Jahlil Okafor in that role.
I'm a little surprised the Portland Trail Blazers opted not to bring Gabriel back after he started two games for them in the playoffs due to injuries. Gabriel's defensive versatility means there's a place for him in the league, even if he doesn't contribute much at the offensive end.
Thornwell first joined New Orleans in the bubble as a substitute player, seeing 35 minutes of action over the Pelicans' final two games after they were eliminated from playoff contention. The team will now get a longer look at him.
The Pelicans' moves currently put their roster at 14, and they will be close enough to the luxury-tax line that they're probably finished adding to it.
Later Monday, the Pelicans officially completed their trade for Adams and signed him to a two-year extension, according to my ESPN colleagues Zach Lowe and Adrian Wojnarowski. Adams was eligible for an extension because it's been more than four years since he signed his current contract (a rookie extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder) and this version isn't subject to extend-and-trade restrictions because it doesn't give Adams a raise of more than 5% and isn't longer than three years.
Instead, Adams will actually take a substantial pay cut to $17.5 million over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. He was set to make $27.5 million in 2020-21, the final season of his contract, before adding a 7.5% trade bonus. Nonetheless, I'm still skeptical of the value for New Orleans.
Consider that of all the centers available this offseason in free agency, only one -- Christian Wood -- has gotten a contract paying more than the $9.3 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception. No, centers aren't completely devalued in the NBA, but they aren't treated as building blocks, either. I'm not sure any team would have offered Adams this much as an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Additionally, the Pelicans are committing before they get a sense of how well Adams will work alongside Zion Williamson. If the fit is awkward on offense, given neither is a dangerous outside threat, New Orleans may well be stuck with Adams or accept trading him at a loss. Adams could have signed this extension at any point between now and the end of the current league year, so I'm not sure what the hurry was for the Pelicans.
Oklahoma City Thunder
1. Acquired Zylan Cheatham, Josh Gray and Kenrich Williams as part of the four-team Jrue Holiday-Steven Adams trade; see my full trade grades
2. Agreed to a reported deal with Frank Jackson
The Thunder bench might be New Orleans Northwest in 2020-21. To make the trade sending Steven Adams to the Pelicans legal, Oklahoma City took back free agents Zylan Cheatham, Josh Gray and Kenrich Williams via sign-and-trade. Later Tuesday, the Thunder signed another former New Orleans player, Jackson.
We'll see how many of the players from the sign-and-trade actually stick. Williams, who started 47 games the past two seasons after signing with the Pelicans as an undrafted rookie, surely has the best chance of doing so. Williams needs to shoot much better to stick after hitting just 26% of his 3s last season, dropping his career mark to 30%. If he can accomplish that, "Kenny Hustle" brings plenty else to the table.
Jackson was the first pick of the second round back in 2017. After missing his first NBA season due to injury, he averaged 19.2 MPG in 2018-19. That dropped to 13.5 MPG last season, when Jackson couldn't hold down a regular rotation role. He too must improve his shooting (32% career on 3s) given he's largely played off the ball after being drafted as a combo guard. Jackson has averaged just 2.8 assists per 36 minutes -- not just below-average for a point guard, but for any player.
Still, Jackson is 22, so it's worth a flier to see if he can realize the potential that made him a top-15 recruit heading to Duke.
Philadelphia 76ers
1. Agreed to sign Ryan Broekhoff to a reported one-year deal
Broekhoff was set to join the Sixers for the restart of the season on a substitute contract before his wife tested positive for COVID-19 just as the team was set to travel to Florida. Now he'll get his chance to join a rebuilt Philadelphia roster.
The appeal to the 76ers remains the same: Broekhoff is an excellent shooter who hit 40% of his 3-point attempts during a season-plus with the Dallas Mavericks, who waived him last February. Broekhoff's other limitations have made it difficult for him to stay on the court for heavy minutes, but he fits with Philadelphia's emphasis on shooting this offseason under new president of basketball operations Daryl Morey.
With Broekhoff, the Sixers now have 14 players on their roster. That includes Furkan Korkmaz, whose contract is set to guarantee for 2020-21 on Thursday.
Phoenix Suns
1. Agreed to sign Dario Saric to a reported three-year, $27 million deal
2. Agreed to sign Damian Jones to a reported two-year deal
3. Agreed to sign E'Twaun Moore to a reported one-year, minimum-salary deal
With the return of Saric, the Suns' roster is just about complete, and it looks like one capable of getting the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Phoenix's decision to stay over the cap made it all but imperative the team re-sign Saric, who started 51 games at power forward prior to the stoppage of play before settling in as a backup at both frontcourt spots during the Suns' 8-0 run in the seeding games. Phoenix played shockingly well with Saric at center, outscoring opponents by 8.4 points per 100 possessions in 74 minutes, according to my analysis of lineup data from NBA Advanced Stats, and we'll see whether he gets a crack at backup minutes there ahead of rookie Jalen Smith.
Beyond that, Saric will be battling for minutes at power forward with newcomer Jae Crowder. Either way, the Suns should have a solid second unit with one of those two players alongside 2019 lottery pick Cameron Johnson in the frontcourt and Cameron Payne and a re-signed Jevon Carter in the backcourt. Add Chris Paul to the starting lineup and Phoenix looks much improved.
Given the urgency to re-sign Saric, the value isn't bad. This deal pays Saric a little less than the non-taxpayer midlevel exception other teams could have offered him as a restricted free agent and takes him through his prime years (he'll be 29 when he returns to free agency).
On Sunday, the Suns added former Atlanta Hawks center Damian Jones to their frontcourt depth. I'd have preferred to keep Cheick Diallo, whose team option the Suns declined last week, but Jones shouldn't be a key figure in Phoenix's rotation. They got better value with a minimum-salary deal for Moore, a strong outside shooter (39% career from 3-point range) who can defend either backcourt spot.
The three signings give the Suns 14 players under contract, though they still could carve out a couple of additional roster spots if they decide not to keep guard Elie Okobo and forward Abdel Nader, whose 2020-21 salaries are currently non-guaranteed.
Sacramento Kings
1. Declined to match the Atlanta Hawks' offer sheet to restricted free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic
2. Agreed to a reported one-year deal with Hassan Whiteside
As I wrote when the Hawks made this offer sheet to Bogdanovic on Sunday, I think passing on a match was the right call for the Kings. Executives will point to the idea of "protecting the asset" by matching and trying to trade the player down the road rather than losing him with no compensation, but I don't think the track record of that maneuver is especially strong.
Consider the case of the Portland Trail Blazers matching a similar four-year, $75 million offer to Allen Crabbe from the Brooklyn Nets in the free-spending summer of 2016. A year later, staring at a giant luxury-tax bill, the Blazers traded Crabbe so they could take back the smaller contract of Andrew Nicholson and stretch it over seven years. Nicholson will remain on Portland's cap through the 2023-24 season.
Bogdanovic is a more accomplished player than Crabbe, certainly, and I doubt Atlanta will be in a hurry to get out of his deal. Still, I'm not sure the Kings would have been able to easily trade Bogdanovic for value on a contract paying him $18 million per season, particularly with a 15% trade bonus attached.
Even a trade to the Milwaukee Bucks, whose scuttled sign-and-trade deal with Sacramento for Bogdanovic is being investigated by the NBA, would have been unrealistic. To acquire Bogdanovic and stay under the hard cap imposed after they utilized the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, the Bucks would have had to either send back one of their four core players (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez or Khris Middleton) or a package of at least four players from outside that group, gutting their roster and forcing the Kings to waive multiple players to make room.
Ultimately, I don't think the possibility of trading Bogdanovic was worth the cost to team chemistry of bringing him back as part of a crowded backcourt that added No. 12 pick Tyrese Haliburton to holdovers De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield. After all, Hield was already disgruntled about losing his starting job to Bogdanovic last season before Haliburton was added to the mix.
Sacramento had yet to add via free agency before agreeing to a one-year deal with Whiteside on Wednesday. Whiteside, who began his career with the Kings as a second-round pick but played just 19 games there, was undoubtedly the most talented player still truly available in free agency. Setting aside Anthony Davis, who will undoubtedly return to the Los Angeles Lakers, Whiteside's 9.2 wins above replacement player (WARP) by my metric were 6.6 more than the next-best remaining free agent (Shabazz Napier, 2.6).
Still, where Whiteside fits in Sacramento is a question mark. The Kings got capable play from Richaun Holmes as a starting center last season on a value contract that will pay him $5 million this season, while coach Luke Walton favored using 2018 No. 2 overall pick Marvin Bagley III at center rather than power forward. Per my analysis of lineup data from NBA Advanced Stats, 87% of Bagley's minutes came as a center.
As a result, I'd expect Sacramento to make a trade to clear out more minutes in the frontcourt. Holmes could have value on his contract. More likely, the Kings might look to move starting power forward Nemanja Bjelica, the oldest player on the roster at age 32. Bjelica's shooting would fit well on a contender and his $7.15 million salary is easy to add via trade. Moving Bjelica would free Bagley to play more power forward.
Toronto Raptors
1. Agreed to sign Alex Len to a reported one-year, $2.3 million deal
Len is a good example of the ease of finding centers on the cheap in free agency. He's been a decent rotation player the last two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings, shooting 62% from the field in 2019-20 while blocking shots and grabbing rebounds at above-average rates for a center. Yet Len was still an afterthought in free agency. With Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka playing for new teams in L.A., Len figures into the Raptors' rebuilt center rotation along with likely starter Aron Baynes and Chris Boucher, who could also play some power forward.
Adding Len will give Toronto 15 players under contract, but the team could still clear a couple of spaces by waiving two players with non-guaranteed contracts. Second-year center Dewan Hernandez might not have a spot with a team loading up at the position, and the future of Terence Davis is uncertain after he was charged with assaulting a woman and criminal mischief last month.
Day 3 deals
Here's my analysis from Day 3:
And here's my roundup of Sunday's news, including:
De'Anthony Melton, John Konchar and Jontay Porter | Memphis Grizzlies
Austin Rivers, Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans | New York Knicks
Aron Baynes, Chris Boucher and DeAndre' Bembry | Toronto Raptors
Day 2 deals
Here's my analysis from Day 2:
Gordon Hayward's big move and what it means for the Celtics and Hornets
And here's my roundup of Saturday's news, including:
Gordon Hayward | Charlotte Hornets
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 analysis, including: