NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Kevin Durant, Tyreke Evans and More
With the 2018 NBA free-agent market opening July 1, rumors are starting to fly at a rapid pace.
While we'll have to wait a little longer before anything becomes official—contracts can't be inked before July 6—the process is close enough to start drawing lines between players and their potential employers.
The latest batch of rumors includes a potentially drama-free deal by the Bay, a Powerball-sized payment likely in Denver's future and possible perimeter additions in the Circle City.
Early Deal for Kevin Durant?
The first part of this rumor sounds juicy—Kevin Durant, former MVP and two-time Finals MVP, is likely headed to free agency.
Alas, Marc Stein of the New York Post, reported Durant's venture will be a short one as sources expect he'll iron out a new agreement with the Golden State Warriors early into the process:
This has been trending this direction for a little while now.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic pressed Durant earlier this year on whether his mind was 100 percent made up to stick with the champs. Durant delivered an answer as brief as his free agency might be: "Yeah."
This should surprise no one.
Durant not only has two championships to show for his first two seasons with Golden State, he's been named the title round's MVP both times. Moreover, the Dubs have barely broken a sweat on the game's grandest stage, posting a pristine 8-1 mark in the Finals.
He might not get all the individual accolades he theoretically otherwise could contend for, but there are enough trophies to pacify that desire.
Max Money Awaiting Nikola Jokic?
Nikola Jokic's hardwood heroics don't garner enough attention.
He's a 6'10", 250-pound center who can stroke threes (39.6 percent in 2017-18) and deliver passes some full-time point guards can't make. If that sounds like a gift from the basketball gods, that's because he looks like exactly that for the Denver Nuggets. They had a 112.6 offensive rating when he played this past season; the Dubs led the Association with a 112.3 mark.
That's an elite-level impact, and Jokic will reportedly soon collect an elite-level paycheck with his contributions.
League sources told Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania the Nuggets plan to decline Jokic's $1.6 million team option—so he's a restricted free agent this summer and not an unrestricted one the next—and "reach agreement on a five-year, $146.5 million maximum contract."
Denver still needs to prove it can build a strong—or at the very least, competent—defense around Jokic. The Nuggets were 26th in defensive efficiency this past season after finishing 29th the year prior.
But that's a challenge for a different day. For now, the importance is on locking up Jokic for as long as possible.
"Nikola is going to be here for a very long time," Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said in April, per Nuggets.com's Christopher Dempsey. "The sooner (we can get it done), the better."
Pacers Eyeing Free-Agent Wings
The Indiana Pacers declined Lance Stephenson's $4.3 million option Monday and reportedly plan on adding some perimeter punch to their rotation.
Sources told ESPN's Chris Haynes a pair of high-profile wing free agents are expected to be near the top of their wish list:
Tyreke Evans is coming off a resurgent campaign with the Memphis Grizzlies. Healthy(ish) for the first time in years—he still missed 30 contests—Evans had his most productive season since his award-winning debut, averaging 19.4 points, 5.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds.
For context, only seven other players averaged at least 19 points, five assists and five rebounds, and they're all regulars at the All-Star Game—Durant, LeBron James, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, DeMarcus Cousins and Blake Griffin.
Will Barton set new personal bests in points (15.7) and assists (4.1) this past season for the Denver Nuggets. More impressively, he tallied those numbers while shooting a career-high from the field (45.2 percent), matching his previous best from three (37.0) and contributing more than 40 percent of his career win shares (6.2 of 15.2).
While the Pacers had a surprisingly successful first season without Paul George (48 wins), they need more scoring help around Victor Oladipo. Their No. 2 point-producer was Bojan Bogdanovic at 14.3 points per game.
Indiana's spending power isn't clear with player options lingering, but Haynes reported the club will have between $10 million and $30 million in cap space. The ESPN scribe also added that the Pacers haven't ruled out re-signing Stephenson "once other free-agent priorities are addressed."
Statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
