Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[KillerLeft]

The funny thing about Grant is that every year he seems slightly more complacent. I got to the point where I had to ask myself if I was actually wanting the JG of 5-6 years ago or am I imagining all this. I'm really not sure because I don't watch him much anymore, but it sort of feels like he's just punching a ticket every game. I don't see much emotion from him and he seems content on being with mediocre teams. Someone could probably prove me wrong with stats, but that's the way it feels.

I mean, is he more complacent each year, or is he just another year removed from the opportunity to play somewhere that matters? Is he that different of a player than he was in Denver, or do we just not notice him anymore because he's in Portland? He is way overpaid, and the experiment to see if he could elevate to become the kind of go-to-guy who can command that salary (and have it lead to winning) is officially a failure, but it's not his fault Portland believed he could do it, nor was it wrong for him to believe in himself (I don't think). Winning in the NBA is hard. I don't think failing equates to not trying. 

It's a moot point because Dallas doesn't need him, and the contract will (and has, apparently) scared other teams away, but I think he's a player who can add quite a bit in the right situation. Oh, well.

[Winter]

I mean, is he more complacent each year, or is he just another year removed from the opportunity to play somewhere that matters? Is he that different of a player than he was in Denver, or do we just not notice him anymore because he's in Portland? He is way overpaid, and the experiment to see if he could elevate to become the kind of go-to-guy who can command that salary (and have it lead to winning) is officially a failure, but it's not his fault Portland believed he could do it, nor was it wrong for him to believe in himself (I don't think). Winning in the NBA is hard. I don't think failing equates to not trying. 

It's a moot point because Dallas doesn't need him, and the contract will (and has, apparently) scared other teams away, but I think he's a player who can add quite a bit in the right situation. Oh, well.

You might be right. He's hard to read.

[KillerLeft]

You might be right. He's hard to read.

Well, and to be fair, I might be 100% wrong, too. I'm just saying...I still think there's something usable there. My opinion only. 

Not for the Mavericks, though, so I'm sorry for kicking this derailing conversation off.

[SleepingHero]

@ShamsCharania
Free agent center Jaxson Hayes has agreed on a one-year deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN. Hayes' agents, Bill Duffy and Marlon Harrison of WME Basketball, finalized a contract with Lakers president Rob Pelinka on Thursday.

[KillerLeft]

@ShamsCharania
Free agent center Jaxson Hayes has agreed on a one-year deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN. Hayes' agents, Bill Duffy and Marlon Harrison of WME Basketball, finalized a contract with Lakers president Rob Pelinka on Thursday.

I guess that means Horford chose GSW.

[SleepingHero]

@Fullcourtpass
Jaxson Hayes has a no-trade clause in his new contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, per
@Trevor_Lane

[Winter]

@Fullcourtpass
Jaxson Hayes has a no-trade clause in his new contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, per
@Trevor_Lane

He's got a no-trade clause on a minimum contract? 

Man, that guy has some leverage.

[KillerLeft]

He's got a no-trade clause on a minimum contract? 

Man, that guy has some leverage.

Luka Doncic and Bill Duffy.

[F Gump]

KL, if you see some good D from JG, okay by me. Since Denver, I have on some occasions seen "passable" D by him but nothing I see as a plus defender. I could have been watching at the wrong time. But thats what I see in him.

As for why that has happened, my belief is it was a choice. He decided (and wisely, in some ways) that scorers get paid and defenders do not. So he has consciously put his work, and game energy, into his paycheck instead of winning (which would take plus effort as a defender).

On a sucky team, it hasn't mattered. But it is who he is (or wants to be) now, for quite some time, and I don't think the Denver guy really exists anymore.

Tellingly, he has resisted signing with (or being traded to) any team thats better but where he would be lower in the pecking order (and might have to get fewer shots). I really dont see value in THIS guy. And I cant imagine he'd have any interest in being on a team like the Mavs fwiw.

[F Gump]

He's got a no-trade clause on a minimum contract? 

Man, that guy has some leverage.

BS reporting. No clause.

Routine stuff. 

ANY player who signs a one year deal with his same team can't be traded w/o his permission (effectively, a no trade restriction). 

Exum is the same. Many others, I'm sure. Routine.

[KillerLeft]

BS reporting. No clause.

Routine stuff. 

ANY player who signs a one year deal with his same team can't be traded w/o his permission (effectively, a no trade restriction). 

Exum is the same. Many others, I'm sure. Routine.

Ah. I remember this now. Good stuff, Gump.

[F Gump]

Hayes could not get a no trade, even if he had leverage to demand it. He does not qualify. Few do.

[KillerLeft]

Hayes could not get a no trade, even if he had leverage to demand it. He does not qualify. Few do.

...although apparently he had enough leverage to avoid a second year team option. That would've been preferable from LA's POV, correct? It would've made him more tradable?

[SkenfromLMF]

But to trade him KL, the 2nd yr would have to become guaranteed, OR Hayes has to waive his Bird Rights.

If you are signing a discount contract, it is usually the player who gets the option

...although apparently he had enough leverage to avoid a second year team option. That would've been preferable from LA's POV, correct? It would've made him more tradable?

[F Gump]

...although apparently he had enough leverage to avoid a second year team option. That would've been preferable from LA's POV, correct? It would've made him more tradable?

Yes to both (although at a cost to LA, if there's a team option added, of paying more and having a bigger cap and tax hit, even if the tm-o is never exercised). 

But I tend not to see either side as having leverage or forcing anything on the other in such a minimum salary deal, with a veteran who has played a lot, wants to return, is likely to be of use. IMO each party probably sees it as a win. I think for Hayes/LA the deal is a lot like Exum/DAL.

[SleepingHero]

@MavsFilmRoom
Not a shocker, but Marc Stein reports that Chris Paul “rebuffed” free agency interest from the Mavs and Hornets.

[SleepingHero]

@TheDunkCentral
The Heat and Suns have held trade discussions centered around Bradley Beal, per
@TheSteinLine


“The Suns and Heat had exploratory dialogue this week on a potential Bradley Beal trade, league sources say, but the talks ultimately collapsed. The rising expectation now is that the Suns could well end up buying Beal out of the contract that contains one of just two full no-trade clauses in the league — along with LeBron James' deal in Lakerland — after Phoenix initially told various candidates interviewed during its recent coaching search that they might have to start the season with Beal on the roster.”

[KillerLeft]

@TheDunkCentral
The Heat and Suns have held trade discussions centered around Bradley Beal, per
@TheSteinLine


“The Suns and Heat had exploratory dialogue this week on a potential Bradley Beal trade, league sources say, but the talks ultimately collapsed. The rising expectation now is that the Suns could well end up buying Beal out of the contract that contains one of just two full no-trade clauses in the league — along with LeBron James' deal in Lakerland — after Phoenix initially told various candidates interviewed during its recent coaching search that they might have to start the season with Beal on the roster.”

Wowowowow. Imagine being Beal, or someone close to him, and reading that.

[Mavs2021]

Wowowowow. Imagine being Beal, or someone close to him, and reading that.

You think that is news to him? I assume he just wants a sweet Lillard deal. Stretch-waive + little extra on an exception deal.

[KillerLeft]

You think that is news to him? I assume he just wants a sweet Lillard deal. Stretch-waive + little extra on an exception deal.

I mean, probably not news to him. 

Still, it's got to hurt to learn that one of the first questions guys interviewing to coach your team ask is "if I work here, am I gonna have to coach that Beal bum?"