With the 2024 NBA Draft behind us, the league’s transaction market is expected to continue trading activity this weekend, sources told Yahoo Sports. Several clubs are looking to add players for next season or realign salaries in preparation for the 2024-2025 financial year, which begins when the free transfer window opens on Sunday at 6:00 PM ET.
Thursday’s second-round draft, for example, saw the Denver Nuggets send three future second-round picks to Charlotte, sources said, to offset Reggie Jackson’s $5.2 million salary. It’s a move that should provide some needed flexibility for Denver as NBA personnel prepare for Nuggets swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to leave via free agency after the veteran declined his $15.4 million player option on Thursday.
There are several other major decisions regarding player options and contract guarantees looming in the next 48 hours, perhaps most significantly: Paul George’s $48.7 million option to remain with the Clippers — which he could potentially decline and join Caldwell-Pope on the open market. Another winger who should factor into that mix of perimeter talent, Brandon Ingram, is expected to become available for a trade in New Orleans, league sources told Yahoo Sports, should Ingram’s representation and the Pelicans’ front office be unable to reach a long-term extension agreement before Ingram enters the final year of his current contract in 2024-25.
David Griffin told reporters after Wednesday night’s first round that the Pelicans hope to keep Ingram and that Ingram wants to stay with New Orleans. However, the Pelicans have never paid the luxury tax, and New Orleans will likely have to draw the line at a threshold below Ingram’s maximum potential salary.
Ingram is listed as a target for Philadelphia this offseason, sources say, somewhere below George, though it’s unclear exactly where Ingram fits into the Sixers’ proverbial group of wing targets between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. If George turns Philadelphia down, the Sixers could easily acquire Ingram within their $60 million-plus cap space, but could Philly’s three first-round picks prove to be enough for Ingram?
Cleveland continues to be mentioned by league staff as a possible alternative for Ingram, but there is no easy path to making such a deal work with the Cavaliers. While Cleveland has interest in Ingram and values his skills, sources said, Cavs officials have shown reluctance to split the team’s core of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, while NBA figures continue to prepare for Mitchell to sign a lucrative extension. Without parting ways with Allen, who has long been on New Orleans’ radar, it’s difficult to find a path to bring Ingram to Northeast Ohio. (Another center the Pelicans had their eye on, Nets’ Nic Claxton, has now committed to four more years at $100 million in Brooklyn.) Cleveland also doesn’t want to part with Garland, sources said, even if his representation at Klutch Sports is trying to push its own business.
Atlanta is another popular landing spot that league figures to point Ingram to, but there have been no substantive discussions between the Hawks and Pelicans, sources said, as the two teams discussed trade scenarios involving Dejounte Murray ahead of the February trade deadline. Atlanta was focused on snagging the No. 1 pick in this week’s draft, and then the Hawks were set on moving up to the second round, sources said, when Atlanta ultimately wound up with Nikola Đurišić. The Hawks are fully expected to now weigh trade options for Murray, All-Star guard Trae Young, Clint Capela and the rest of their select few not named Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher, sources said. Young has the Pelicans in mind as a possible next team, league sources told Yahoo Sports, in addition to the Spurs and Lakers, but Young’s fitness never made much sense in a situation in New Orleans that currently features C.J. McCollum in the backcourt.
One team that should be monitored for Ingram is Sacramento. The Kings have been looking to acquire several wings, sources say, from Kyle Kuzma to Zach LaVine, and Ingram could be another option for Sacramento to explore, sources say. The Kings have veterans like Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter, whom Sacramento put on the trade market last deadline, sources say, and their two salaries together are a near-perfect match to meet Ingram’s expiring $36 million target for 2024-25.
The next steps for Utah
The Jazz could have more than $40 million in cap space, plus veteran salaries like John Collins and Jordan Clarkson and a stockpile of future draft capital, expected to add every player on the market from Ingram to George. That’s why Utah pushed its way into the Mikal Bridges sweepstakes, sources said, before the Nets ultimately sent their 27-year-old wing to New York.
The Jazz are in a similar position to Brooklyn before they cut Bridges: a non-competitive roster with a 27-year-old centerpiece on a valuable contract that had the entire league interested. In Utah, that would be Lauri Markkanen, who unlike Bridges has already been named an All-Star and will be entering the final year of his contract if he doesn’t find an extension with Utah in the coming days and weeks. At this point, the Jazz are expected to prioritize finding an extension deal with Markkanen, sources said, and Utah officials made that clear in their approach to Bridges. That won’t stop rival teams from calling and registering their interest in Markkanen, hoping Utah might decide to make a punt like Brooklyn – if the Jazz aren’t able to land someone close to a second star stands for Markkanen.
Utah clearly appears to be opportunistic. There were tangible talks between the Jazz and Hawks, sources said, about Murray at the transfer deadline. Whatever big moves Utah can ultimately make this summer, in addition to dealing with Markkanen’s situation, could make for one of the more interesting circumstances of the NBA season.
The Nets, meanwhile, are open to signing veterans like Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, sources said, even after re-signing Claxton.
The Bucks continue to be mentioned by league staff as a team to watch on the trade market. Milwaukee secured a potential center of the future in Tyler Smith at No. 33 in Thursday’s second round. Smith could perhaps help replace Brook Lopez this season if Milwaukee does indeed part ways with their veteran center, who is on the verge of entering the final year of his contract. The names of Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis continued to be mentioned as trade candidates, sources said.
The Warriors still have a fascinating math problem to solve. Golden State reportedly agreed to increase Chris Paul’s guaranteed paycheck for the 2024-25 season in order to push back the team’s de facto deadline to retain his $30 million salary for next year. Golden State already guaranteed Kevon Looney $8 million after Gary Payton II exercised his $9.1 million player option. All three of those players, plus swingman Andrew Wiggins, are considered potential outbound contracts for the Warriors as Golden State attempts to reshape a struggling roster around Stephen Curry.
