Take a look at today’s NBA game’s priority news!
A three-year, $33 million deal has been reached between Ivica Zubac and the Los Angeles Clippers. In order to sign Zubac to an extension, the Clippers turned down their $7.5 million team option for the 22–23 season. Zubac was acquired by the Clippers in a 2019 trade.
According to Marc Stein of Substack, the Dallas Mavericks are ‘a growingly resigned’ to losing Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks in free agency and have set themselves up to pursue him. Brunson’s “first choice and his inevitable destination” is the Knicks, which is cause for concern. At this point, it is ‘viewed as an inevitability,’ according to Tim Cato of The Athletic, that Brunson will leave the Mavericks for the Knicks.
Two times, the Mavericks turned down the chance to extend Brunson’s contract for four years and $55 million. Brunson will probably sign in free agency for almost twice that amount. 2018’s second-round draught selection out of Villanova was Brunson.
Will Hardy has agreed to sign a five-year contract to become the Utah Jazz’s new head coach. At 34 years old, Hardy will be the NBA‘s youngest active coach. Hardy was formerly a Boston Celtics assistant coach.
Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets reportedly had ‘extensive and constructive contract negotiations over the previous six days,’ according to sources, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The meetings were ‘good-faith negotiations to develop a new agreement,’ according to both sides. For Irving, the discussions were managed by Shetellia Riley Irving.
Both a two-year maximum contract with game-based incentives and a four-year maximum extension with two guaranteed years and game-based triggers for years three and four were taken into consideration by Irving and the Nets.
Irving showed his readiness to accept an incentive-based agreement before retaliating with a brief contract extension with a player option that secured all sides. After the Nets rejected that offer, Irving exercised his opt-in for the 22–23 season at $36.5 million. The Nets and Irving were close to reaching an agreement late last week.
The Utah Jazz has named David Fizdale their associate general manager. Fizzle coached the NBA game for 18 seasons as both the head coach and an assistant. Fizzle spent the previous season with the Los Angeles Lakers. In the Utah front office, Fizzle will now work closely with Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik.
Russell Westbrook will exercise his $47.1 million player option in order to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers for the upcoming 22-23 season. The option’s exercise by Westbrook was widely anticipated. Westbrook’s future with the Lakers is uncertain following a 21-22 season. The Lakers had hoped that a coaching change would result in Westbrook contributing more to the team.
Kyrie Irving exercised his Brooklyn Nets option for the 22-23 season, putting an end to his standoff with the organization after he was unable to convert his threat of leaving into a long-term, guaranteed contract.
‘I think it at least kept the Nets with two-star players and all of their options for next year,” Windhorst said. ‘ And, my goodness, were some people, agents, and executives mistaken. ‘They don’t think it’s over.’ Kyrie attempted to sound as though it was all over. ‘I’ll see you in the fall,’ seems like the final sentence.’ Irving did not notify the Nets of his choice until Shams Charania broke the news.
The Los Angeles Lakers were much more eager to sign Kyrie Irving as a free agent than they were to acquire him through trade, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. If Irving had been a free agent, the Lakers would have only been able to offer him a $6.5 million contract. To get Irving via trade, the Lakers would have had to pay significant draft compensation. Irving made the decision to return to the Brooklyn Nets on his opt-in after considering his opt-in-and-trade options and the Lakers’ free agency path.
The only teams with cap space this summer are the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, and New York Knicks, and those teams have prioritized other options.