2024-25 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

Grizzlies want him, as do the Heat, I could see someone like the Bucks as a dark horse to try to get him too. Giannis and KD would be a frightening pair. But they’d have to send back Lillard (which I’d do in a heartbeat if I was them, KD will continue to be the better player until they both retire).

 

didn't realize memphis has 20 million in cap space this summer. that helps with a potential kd deal, but i think it still means that bane has to go out. it's an upgrade for sure, but is it enough?

miami has the dead-weight mostly expiring salaries--rozier, robinson, anderson (who's not expiring) gets about to the number. but if i'm phx i'd hate that offer and at least demand that ware, highsmith, and jacquez replace anderson.

 

My money is on Texas. Back to his collegiate state. Dallas and Houston have been linked to him as possible destinations this summer. Not sure how Dallas gets there financially without gutting the rest of the team outside of AD and Kyrie, but this is the same guy who just traded Luka... maybe he does it. Houston can make the money work really easily with FVV's expiring as the base.

Minny also made that deadline push for him. I could see them trying again. Ant has been unhappy with the team's lack of offensive firepower and he really likes KD. They have to start making him happy before he wants out. Salaries work fairly easily there too

 

in minny--if randle and reid opt out (i can see it, especially the latter), is the path that easy?

dallas supposedly is interested, but they'd have to trade like, 6 for 1 to make it work. but it's theoretically possible to keep AD/kyrie/lively/christie and get KD, i think.

houston does seem like an obvious choice, though again, many of these deals involve two apron teams (houston would be one if they pick up fvv's option), which does complicate things. for example, now neither houston nor phx can take back more money than is going out. thus, a third team has to be involved to eat a deal, but phx would want whitmore in the scenario above. so does houston send out landale to a third team (into space or exception). how much does that cost? who pays it?

 

I can't see a universe where someone pays Randle $30m this summer. He's taking a $10m haircut on the next deal. He either opts in or opts out in a S&T for a longer, slightly less lucrative deal. Agree on Naz though, he's gone.

It's easier to find that 3rd team in the summer than at the deadline. Sorry Miami. Houston has enough young players and picks that it's not that difficult to sweeten the pot for that 3rd team.

 

Not sure I see KD to the Grizzlies, they’re already going to have a tough time keeping Morant, JJJ and Bane around long term on big money.

There have always been rumors of Book and Towns wanting to play together, and KD originally wanted the Knicks not the Nets. Maybe there’s a KD for Towns possibility? I think the Knicks are finding that it’s going to be extremely tough, and maybe impossible, to defend at a high enough level with Brunson at the 1 and Towns at the 5. Once Robinson is back they’re probably going to try Towns and Robinson together, so why not replace Towns with the more natural 4 in KD? Obviously the problem is Towns is much younger, maybe the Knicks could get a couple of those firsts the Suns got from Utah?

 

I want Giannis or Ant here so i kinda wish KD goes there. He's soft and it will rub both previously mentioned guys the wrong way. Hell of a player though.

 

i hadn't realized that basically nobody has space except the nets this summer. but they have a lot and could maybe be baited into giving randle 3/60, which he'd be silly to turn down. there aren't any real top FAs to get this summer, unless you think lebron, kyrie, or harden is moving teams (and the nets don't want the latter two).

reid may actually find himself squeezed, tbh. minny should unload gobert if possible. his salary dropped some, so it's not as bad as it used to be. and he's a guy that could help turn a bad team into playoff team just by making their halfcourt defense better. but he is 32 and declining, so maybe there wouldn't be buyers.

true, and the nets may be a team that just eats up some space on short term contracts.

 

dallas or houston makes sense

 

The first game between the Mavericks and Lakers since the Luka Doncic trade delivered the top NBA audience on cable since Opening Night.

Tuesday’s Mavericks-Lakers NBA regular season game, which marked the first time Lakers G Luka Doncic has played against his former team, averaged 2.5 million viewers across TNT and truTV — the largest NBA audience on cable since Opening Night. (Unlike the fully exclusive Opening Night games, TNT’s broadcast co-existed with local RSN coverage in Los Angeles.)

Outside of Opening Night, it was the most-watched NBA game on cable since Mavericks-Spurs in October 2023, the first career game for Spurs C Victor Wembanyama. Excluding Opening Week entirely, the last regular season game to average more viewers on cable was Thunder-Lakers in February 2023, in which LeBron James set the all-time career scoring record (2.98M).

Across all networks, the game ranks 13th for the season behind the two Opening Night games and 11 ABC windows (including five on Christmas Day). Both the Lakers and Mavericks attracted larger audiences for their previous games, which aired on ABC over the weekend.

The Lakers have now played in six of the 13 most-watched games this season, the most of any team.

The Lakers’ win, which peaked with 2.9 million in the 10:30 PM ET quarter-hour, more-than-tripled last year’s equivalent Rockets-Thunder game (806K). It was the night’s top television program among adults under 50.

The game fared well despite a soft lead-in from the Cavaliers’ rout of the Magic, which averaged 1.0 million — down 15% from Sixers-C Bags last year (1.18M).