NBA Rumors: Latest News on Kawhi Leonard, DeAndre Jordan and Lance Stephenson
Fireworks are usually reserved for Independence Day, but this year the big bang begins three days earlier on July 1 at the beginning of 2018's NBA free agency period.
The biggest explosion, of course, will be made by LeBron James. He's the rocket that goes highest in the sky and illuminates every other flicker in the basketball universe.
The King of Akron can either opt-in with his current team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on June 29 or become a free agent able to sign with any team of his choosing on July 6, after the moratorium or negotiation period.
Outside of James, the other big names on the board are Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins and Kawhi Leonard. As a wild card, DeAndre Jordan could be applying to have mail forwarded, too.
Here, we take a look at the latest developments in the rumor mill on the NBA's biggest names in this year's free agency class.
Lakers Are All In on Kawhi Leonard
All eyes are on Magic Johnson.
The Los Angeles Lakers legend and now president of basketball operations wasn't brought in to slowly tinker and build the Purple and Gold back to prominence.
He was brought in to make the Lakers ready and relevant now.
That means that he has to make a splash in this year's free agency and land two whales with those two max deal slots Los Angeles has available.
James, George, Leonard and Cousins. He has to get two of these players to sign or the Magic Johnson experiment is a failure.
And that's why Johnson's eyes are on Leonard.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, there is extreme pressure on the Lakers to execute a trade for the two-time Defensive Player of the Year before James decides if he's in or out on this year's free agency dance.
"The stakes on these talks are enormous because the teams believe a deal for Leonard would likely clinch a free-agent commitment out of LeBron James to the Lakers," wrote Wojnarowski, Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne. "The Spurs have wanted to find a way to repair the franchise's relationship with Leonard, but an overwhelming Lakers offer could convince San Antonio to part with its franchise star."
Los Angeles would likely have to give up a handsome package of young players and draft picks to pull it off, but who wouldn't trade Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma for Leonard who is both a superstar player and a walking, talking personal invitation to the best player on the planet.
In addition to making young players available, the Lakers are trying to acquire a future first-round pick with a willingness to take salary dumps next year as part of the package.
If Johnson can pull this off, he's a hero, even more so than as the Magic Man that delivered Showtime and five championships to the City of Angels.
But if he fails, he's another kind of goat.
And he's a goner.
"Like I told you before I took the job and when I took the job, it's going to be a two-summer thing for the Lakers," Johnson told ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "This summer and next summer. That's it. If I can't deliver I'm going to step down myself. She [Jeanie Buss] won't have to fire me, I'll step away from it, because then I can't do this job."
Johnson has been in numerous situations with the game on the line when he was an active player, but this is the first time he's had the ball in his hands with an entire franchise's future on the line.
Johnson lamented that he has two summers to get the job done, and he does, but if he lands flat on his face with no Leonard or no James this summer, he'll be hedging his bets that he could get either or both when their contracts truly are up.
But that's like the game going into overtime after a hard-fought 48 minutes with nothing left in the tank.
And those are bets Magic Johnson is likely not thrilled to be forced to make.
DeAndre Jordan and the Dallas Mavericks Part Deux?
Who could forget the day DeAndre Jordan ruled Twitter with the now-infamous emoji war in the free agency summer of 2015?
After a deal with the Dallas Mavericks was all but done, Jordan let doubt give way to remorse and gave way to Emojigate.
Chandler Parsons was on a plane, JJ Redick was in a car, Blake Griffin was in a plane, helicopter and car and Chris Paul ditched the banana boat for a speedboat.
It turned NBA Twitter upside down.
Jordan shunned Dallas, and Mavs owner Mark Cuban was like a lover scorned.
It looks like Cuban is over it now because Dallas is now exploring a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers to land Jordan before the start of free agency, league sources told New York Times' Marc Stein.
To facilitate the trade, Jordan is considering opting into the final year of his $24.1 million contract before Friday's midnight deadline, added Stein.
The Mavs will likely dangle Wes Matthews and his $18.7 million contract as part of the deal.
If Jordan does not opt-in, Dallas will have to explore signing him in free agency to fill their void at center.
All signs began to point to the possibility of Jordan leaving via trade after the Clippers traded Austin Rivers, son of head coach Doc Rivers, to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Marcin Gortat.
Los Angeles reportedly gave Jordan permission to explore trade scenarios with his agent, Jeff Schwartz, as they try to consider the ramifications of the final year of his contract and what that means for the future of the team.
Indiana Pacers and Lance Stephenson To Part Ways a Second Time
Lance Stephenson made a name for himself as a member of the Indiana Pacers from 2010 to 2014, including the meme-worthy blowing-into-LeBron-James'-ear incident.
After leaving the Pacers, Stephenson's rising star fizzled with the Charlotte Hornets, the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans.
But it all seemed to come back when he rejoined the Pacers.
He was Lance again, he was Born Ready, a crowd favorite toggling between over-the-top antics and clutch plays.
Now Indiana is declining Stephenson's $4.3 team option, making him a free agent.
"This was a very difficult decision, but as free agency begins on July 1, we want to have flexibility so that we can prepare for all of our available options," Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said, per NBA.com.
Stephenson was a spark plug off the bench for the Pacers, who won 48 games this season and pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers to a Game 7 in the playoffs.
The gritty, eight-year veteran guard averaged 9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for the 2017-18 season.
