NBA Free Agency Roundup: Is a Kawhi Leonard Trade Close?

Surely the Philadelphia 76ers' trade for Wilson Chandler isn't at all connected to the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes...right? 

Not so fast.

Philadelphia acquired Chandler on Tuesday in what was a straight salary dump for the Denver Nuggets, according to ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Sixers will also get a 2021 second-round pick and the right to swap second-rounders with the Nuggets in 2022, per Sports Illustrated's Jake Fischer. 

This deal could be nothing more than an opportunistic response to a thinning free-agent market. The Sixers need wings, and many of the best potential fits are already off the board. Trevor Ariza, Will Barton, Marco Belinelli, Avery Bradley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Tyreke Evans all have new deals. (More on some of these contracts later.)

Chandler will help the Sixers at the both the 3 and 4 spots. He doesn't replace Belinelli's shooting, but the time he can soak up at power forward offsets Ersan Ilyasova's departure. (Philly still needs a small-ball 5.)

Except, what if Chandler's arrival is a nod toward something more? Specifically: What if he signals a mushrooming interest in trading for Leonard? 

The Sixers are among the teams who've spoken with the San Antonio Spurs about their disenchanted superstar, per Woj. Chandler himself doesn't do anything to beef up their best offer. They didn't need his expiring contract ($12.8 million) for salary-cap ballast. They had more than $13 million in space before the trade, with the capacity to rise above $18 million if they stretched Jerryd Bayless.

That flexibility would played better than including Chandler. But having him on the roster does, in theory, make it easier for the Sixers to flip one or both of Robert Covington and Dario Saric in a potential Leonard blockbuster. Chandler can be moved around the perimeter in a similar fashion on defense, and his career 34.1 percent clip from downtown figures to improve beside the right mix of other floor-spacers.

Yes, Leonard was still determined to join the Los Angeles Lakers following their addition of LeBron James, according to Woj. The Sixers are not the Lakers, and they have minimal motivation to pony up for a player who could leave as a free agent next summer.

But Leonard is apparently moving beyond his intial infatuation. As Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania said on Fox Sports' The Herd with Colin Cowherd (h/t the Sports Daily's Farbod Esnaashari): "I don't think Kawhi Leonard is jumping for joy now that LeBron is a Laker. If anything, he’ll be more open to joining the [Los Angeles] Clippers."

The Sixers aren't the Clippers, either. They're better. And if Los Angeles' other team is now their main competition, the call to up the ante will be stronger. Building an offer for Leonard around Patrick Beverley, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tobias Harris, Jerome Robinson and picks pales in comparison to the Sixers' most mediocre packages.

Again: Trading for Chandler doesn't have to portend a larger plan or some ulterior motive. But it could. Heck, after the Sixers failed to net a big fish in free agency, it arguably should.

Dwight Howard Has a (Seventh) Home

Kent Smith/Getty Images

Dwight Howard is headed to Washington Wizards after finalizing a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets, who acquired him from Charlotte Hornets prior to the NBA draft, according to The Athletic's Jared Weiss. 

Other things need to happen before the 32-year-old big man relocates to his seventh team. (Sixth if you don't count Brooklyn, but hey, let's count Brooklyn). The Nets cannot technically complete their trade for Howard until the moratorium ends on July 6. His buyout and subsequent deal with Washington will be made official thereafter.

Anyhow, John Wall is going to be thrilled. Sort of. The Wizards are getting exactly what he believes they need. Kind of.

"I think the way the league is going, you need athletic bigs, you need scoring off the bench, you need all of those types of things," he said in late April, per NBC Sports Washington's Chase Hughes. "We don't really have an athletic big. I mean, Ian [Mahinmi] is older. [Marcin Gortat] is older. They're not athletic guys, but they do the little things that permit their game to help as much as possible."

If Wall thinks Mahinmi is old, he isn't about to celebrate Howard's youth. He turns 33 in December and no longer boasts heyday explosion. 

Still, Howard is a more accomplished rim-runner than Gortat, now with the Clippers, and Mahinmi. He finished in the 42nd percentile of efficiency as the roll man last season, but he placed inside the 84th percentile for 2016-17. He should recapture more of that mojo within an offense that promises slightly better spacing.

If the Wizards can stomach the inevitable possessions he'll hijack with junky post-ups, Howard will be an asset. At the very least, putting Howard, Wall, Bradley Beal, Markieff Morris, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Austin Rivers in the same locker room should make for great theater.  

Devin Booker and the Suns Kick Off Extension #SZN

Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images

So much for Devin Booker being upset with the Phoenix Suns for releasing his BFFL, Tyler Ulis.

OK, yes, Booker could still be unhappy about that decision. But he's about to have $158 million reasons to get over it. He and Phoenix are nearing a five-year max extension agreement, according to Wojnarowski.

Delaying Booker's payday would have allowed the Suns to work with a smaller cap hold to start next summer—$13.8 million compared to a projected $27.3 million—while retaining the right to match any outside overtures. That, in turn, would've granted them more flexibility to sign other free agents.

Unlike many other extension-eligible candidates, though, Booker is a max-money formality. Another team would have tried inking him to an offer sheet early in free agency to force Phoenix's hand.

Plus, with more squads expected to have cap space next year, there's no guarantee the Suns parlay extra wiggle room into anyone significant. This summer's cash-strapped landscape gave them a better crack at leaving their mark—which they did with the addition of Trevor Ariza (one year, $15 million).

Hammering out an agreement now builds what may be some much-needed goodwill between player and organization. It also ensures Booker is under lock and key for five years. Letting him reach restricted free agency would've opened up Phoenix to four-year pitches from rival suitors with a fourth-year player option.

Besides, with Ariza, Tyson Chandler and Jared Dudley all set to come off the books next July, the Suns needn't sit out 2019 free agency altogether. They'll have the chance to cobble together ample spending power even with Booker's max hold on the ledger.  

Avery Bradley Stays Put

Omar Rawlings/Getty Images

Avery Bradley is returning to the Clippers on a two-year, $25 million deal, according to Charania. Only a fraction of his 2019-20 salary is guaranteed, so this could become a one-season pact worth a total of $14 million, per ESPN.com's Zach Lowe.

Bradley feels more like an eventual trade chip for a Clippers team in transition. They don't profile as a playoff squad after losing DeAndre Jordan, and investing in a soon-to-be 28-year-old guard doesn't jibe with the developments of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jerome Robinson.

Flash forward to midseason, and the Clippers can construct some interesting packages around Bradley, Beverley (expiring) and Harris (expiring), assuming the former has rehabilitated his stock following an unimpressive and injury-plagued 2017-18.

As Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey noted: "If you sort players by the average of their RANKS in seven different catch-all metrics (four rate, three counting), Avery Bradley was 339th out of the 353 players with at least 500 minutes in the 2017-18 season."

Yikes.

If the Clippers don't move Bradley by the February trade deadline, bet on this agreement being a one-year layover. They have a semi-clear path to more than $60 million in cap space next summer and will need his partially guaranteed salary off the books to dredge up two max slots.  

Tyreke Evans Leaves Memphis for Indiana

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

Tyreke Evans is syncing up with the Indiana Pacers on a one-year contract worth $12 million, according to Charania. 

This is a quality move by the Pacers. They entered the offseason needing to flesh out their wing rotation, and Evans is fresh off the best season of his career. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were the only other players to average at least 19 points and five assists per game while shooting 39 percent or better from beyond the arc.

Though Evans has dealt with injuries in the past, the Pacers are assuming little to no risk. If this experiment goes belly up because he cannot remain healthy or doesn't jell with Victor Oladipo, they can pivot into something new next summer. If it all works out, they stand to build upon this past season's 48-win campaign and will have the salary-cap flexibility to reinvest in him.

Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies have to be kicking themselves. They elected not to deal Evans at the February trade deadline, even though they neither owned his Bird rights nor had the cap space to retain him.

Had he re-upped with them for the mid-level exception, the Grizzlies would have saved face. Instead, they're now losing him for nothing, without an obvious alternative in place.

Utah Rolls the Dice on Dante Exum

Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images

Since being drafted in 2014, Dante Exum has missed 166 of a possible 328 regular-season games, which puts him on the sidelines for roughly 50.6 percent of his career.

The Utah Jazz don't care. They're paying him anyway.

According to Wojnarowski, Exum will sign a three-year, $33 million deal to stay with the Jazz—an agreement that represents quite the leap of faith. 

Never mind that the soon-to-be 23-year-old has made fewer than 180 career appearances through the regular season and playoffs. His availability is only part of the gamble.

Utah doesn't yet have a firm grasp on what position Exum should play. Ultra-specific designations are quickly becoming obsolete, but even generalizing his role doesn't invite any answers.

Is Exum a wing? Is he a guard? Does he have to be a primary ball-handler, or can he work in tandem with Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio?

That last question will wind up defining how this $33 million dice roll is remembered. Exum is a pesky defender across multiple positions and has flashed nifty finishing around the rim, but he still needs to develop a jumper. He's shooting 30.6 percent from three and under 23 percent on long twos for his career.

At his age, the Jazz can spin this as an upside play. Turning him into a viable backup point guard should be the ultimate goal, but they have time to wait. Mitchell is more than capable of orchestrating the offense, and they re-signed Raul Neto to a two-year, $4.4 million deal, per Woj and Charania.

That still only gets Utah by for so long. Exum will eventually need to become more than a promising unknown, otherwise this deal won't look so hot.

Kevon Looney Running It Back with Golden State

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

Because the Golden State Warriors apparently haven't been blessed with enough good fortune this summer, Kevon Looney is returning to the reigning champs on a one-year deal at the league minimum, according ESPN.com's Chris Haynes.

Brush off this return at your own peril. The Warriors are keeping Looney after declining his fourth-team option, for less than said club option was worth, because of course they are. The rich need to stay rich.

Looney provided some quality minutes at the 5 during the playoffs. He doesn't have green-light range outside the restricted area, but he's a dependable finisher around the rim and showed serious moxie when switching onto primary ball-handlers in space.

Running it back with the Warriors on a stopgap deal is a calculated risk for Looney. DeMarcus Cousins will invariably cannibalize most of the center minutes once he's healthy, but he's working his way back from a torn Achilles. He'll be lucky to return before the start of 2019, and it'll take some time for him to ferry anything resembling a regular workload.

Looney will get more than his fair share of reps at the 5 until then. Golden State only likes to slot Draymond Green in the middle for measured stretches, and neither Jordan Bell nor Damian Jones is a noticeable favorite to run away with head coach Steve Kerr's affections.

Pick up where he left off prior to the NBA Finals, and Looney could play himself into a long-term deal next summer. It won't come from the Warriors, and that's fine. He doesn't need it to. They're merely the vehicle through which he can earn some big-picture security.

Other Moves

Bill Baptist/Getty Images

Michael Carter-Williams to Houston Rockets (via Woj)

Signing Michael Carter-Williams is essentially a Mike D'Antoni flex. Carter-Williams is a point guard, and Houston's head coach is known for working miracles with could-be floor generals. (Be quiet, Kendall Marshall.)

In all seriousness, Carter-Williams is a solid defensive addition. He finished inside the 68th and 69th percentiles, respectively, in spot-up and pick-and-roll ball-handler prevention last season. He was even stingier in both categories during the 2016-17 campaign.

The Rockets have already lost Trevor Ariza to the Suns, and Luc Mbah a Moute, a non-Bird free agent, remains unsigned. They need Carter-Williams' switch-friendly length. He provides zero value on offense, but they'll make do so long as he's playing with at least one of James Harden and Chris Paul.

Mike Scott to the Los Angeles Clippers (via Woj)

Kudos to the Clippers for pulling off one of the most underrated free-agency pickups to date.

Mike Scott injects sorely needed depth into a frontcourt that lost DeAndre Jordan. Los Angeles has Marcin Gortat to plug the middle but still needs more bodies—particularly if restricted free agent Montrezl Harrell heads elsewhere.

Rolling out Scott as a small-ball 5 will unlock some tantalizing lineup combinations. The Wizards pumped in 115.6 points per 100 possessions whenever he jumped center last year, according to Cleaning the Glass. The Clippers should enjoy similar returns when playing him beside Danilo Gallinari and Tobias Harris. 

Granted, the defense will suffer. Washington coughed up nearly 117 points per 100 possessions with Scott manning the 5. But the Clippers finally have stopping power in the backcourt. Rotating between Patrick Beverley, Avery Bradley and rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should give them the length and general feistiness to alleviate Scott's burden around the rim.

The Wizards are going to miss him.

Jeff Green to the Washington Wizards (via NBA.com's David Aldridge)

Washington will be Jeff Green's seventh team—his eighth if you consider his overlap with the Seattle Supersonics and Oklahoma City Thunder as separate entities. (You shouldn't.)

Forget about how Green will fare as the heir to Scott's utility-man's throne. Who cares if he'll be able to shoot better than sub-32 percent from downtown? Don't get caught up in wondering whether the Wizards can steal some time with him at center. None of this matters.

All that matters is Washington earmarking time for the Green-Dwight Howard journeyman frontcourt, which has combined to suit up for one-third of the NBA's active franchises.

Raymond Felton Re-Signs with Oklahoma City Thunder (via Woj)

Raymond Felton isn't a needle-nudger for the Thunder, but he is a necessity. They have no money to spend, and he proved to be a serviceable secondary ball-handler and spot-defender last season.

Head coach Billy Donovan was even able to trot out dual-point backcourts featuring him and Russell Westbrook. Oklahoma City outpaced opponents by a tidy 3.6 points per 100 possessions whenever they shared the court, according to Cleaning the Glass.

In other news, the Thunder's unprecedented tax bill continues to mushroom. Their total operating cost will run past $300 million if they keep their roster as is, per ESPN's Bobby Marks—the first of its kind in NBA history. Carmelo Anthony buyout/stretch-provision watch just became that much more of a thing.

Top Remaining Free Agents

David Phillip/Associated Press

Free agents continue to fly off the board en masse, but more than a few quality remain up for grabs. Here are the top five available names, as determined by our original big board.

1. Clint Capela, C, Restricted

Clint Capela tweeted a pensive-face emoji without context on July 1. Was he simply reacting to LeBron James joining the Lakers a full 14 minutes before it became official? Thinking about what to have for dinner? Or could he and the Rockets be at an impasse in contract negotiations?

Hitting a snag in talks wouldn't bode well for Capela. He doesn't have any obvious leverage after the Dallas Mavericks burned their cap space on DeAndre Jordan. Only the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings can afford to sign him outright. Now, I'm not saying Atlanta should offer him a near-max deal and see what happens. I'm not not saying it, either. 

2. Marcus Smart, PG, Restricted

Marcus Smart's market is dwindling by the day. The Pacers loomed as a potential destination, but they're out of the picture after landing Tyreke Evans. Hardly anyone has the space to offer Smart more than his $6.1 million qualifying offer.

He could probably coax a sizable short-term offer out of the Boston Celtics, but that begs them to use him as a blockbuster-trade anchor. The longer he remains unsigned, the more likely he is to accept his qualifying offer and re-assess the landscape in 2019.

3. Isaiah Thomas, PG, Unrestricted

Isaiah Thomas is having himself one helluva year. Last July, he was talking about his desire to snag a max contract this summer. Then he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of the Kyrie Irving blockbuster. Then, after not making his 2017-18 debut until January, he was sent to the Lakers. And now, he's without a home, verging on an afterthought.

League sources told HoopsHype's Alex Kennedy that Thomas is "negotiating a possible deal" with the Orlando Magic, which makes sense. They won't give him anything close to max money; he'll be lucky to get most of their mid-level exception. But they need a point guard, and he needs a team that'll invite him to stuff the box score and recoup some of the luster he's lost over the past 12 months.

4. Jabari Parker, PF, Restricted

Aaron Gordon received a four-year, $84 million contract from the Magic. Julius Randle is getting two years and $18 million from the New Orleans Pelicans. Where does this leave Jabari Parker, a fellow restricted free agent power forward? Good luck figuring that out.

Parker is a tantalizing offensive prospect. He has expanded his arsenal to include more three-pointers and off-ball work while retaining his appeal as a from-scratch creator. But his defense is a problem. He's too slow to guard 3s and isn't strong enough to pester 5s. His fit with Giannis Antetokounmpo has fluctuated between weird and downright poor. The Milwaukee Bucks will have a no-thanks breaking point if Parker gets the right offer, but he won't solicit big-money dalliances unless Atlanta, Chicago or Sacramento gets frisky with their cap space.

5. Kyle Anderson, SF/PF, Restricted

Restricted free agents are getting a raw deal this summer. The league-wide cap shortage has left virtually all of them without leverage. Kyle Anderson is no exception.

In another summer, he might have a more robust market. His three-point touch is a work in progress, but he can jump-start half-court sets and has improved his finishing around the rim. What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in length and IQ. He can comfortably rotate between 2s, 3s and 4s on the defensive side. Expect him to re-sign with the Spurs even if they punt on Kawhi Leonard's future.

Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com or Basketball Reference. Salary and cap-hold information via Basketball Insiders and RealGM. Reported agreements to sign via NBA.com's free-agent tracker unless otherwise noted.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale) and listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by B/R's Andrew Bailey.