Basketball Wiretap

The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a one-year deal with wing Mario Hezonja for $2.8 million. Hezonja returns to the NBA with Cleveland after spending the last six seasons playing for teams in Greece, Russia and Spain.

The 6-foot-8 last played in the NBA during the 2019-20 season with the Portland Trail Blazers. Hezonja started his NBA career with the Orlando Magic and also played for the New York Knicks.

Last season, Hezonja averaged 15 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists for Real Madrid. The 31-year-old helped Real Madrid to the EuroLeague championship game, where they fell to Olympiacos.

The Philadelphia 76ers have waived guard Dalen Terry. This was one of two transactions the Sixers will have to complete to sign LeBron James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Terry's contract was non-guaranteed. Waiving him opens up room for Philadelphia under their first-apron hard cap.

The 76ers had added Terry on a two-way contract in mid-February. They signed him to a two-year standard deal in mid-April, ahead of the end of the regular season. Terry started last season with the Chicago Bulls before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, then the New York Knicks ahead of the trade deadline.

The Golden State Warriors were hopeful of signing LeBron James this summer. The team even looked at trading for Anthony Davis, as a means to entice James to sign in the Bay Area. However, these are short-term moves for Golden State. The Warriors real focus is reportedly on building a roster for after Stephen Curry retires.

"What (team governor Joe) Lacob wants to do, and this might get Warriors fans mad. He wants to build the next team after Steph Curry," veteran reporter Tim Kawakami said on a recent episode of the TK Show. "I don't know how possible that is, but Lacob has a very keen interest in... this organization's going to show what it can do with Steph Curry and then after Steph Curry."

This isn't to suggest that the Warriors are punting on the remainder of Curry's career. Instead, Golden State seems to be looking at short-term moves to build around their aging superstar, while keeping flexibility open for the post-Curry years.

The Miami Heat have a handful of roster spots to fill before the regular season. They've been linked to several veteran wing shooters and scorers, with one particular target in mind. The Heat are focused on adding Klay Thompson, even if it's unclear if the veteran wing will part ways with the Dallas Mavericks.

Thompson is owed $17.5 million in the final year of his contract with the Mavs. It's unknown if the player or team has interest in a buyout. Dallas is facing a bit of a roster crunch with 16 players on standard contracts for just 15 roster spots.

While Miami is willing to wait on Thompson, they are keeping tabs with other veterans. That group includes DeMar DeRozan, who was waived by the Sacramento Kings earlier this offseason, as well as Bradley Beal, who declined a player option with the LA Clippers to open the offseason.

The Heat are also in the market for another big man. There isn't a pure center on the roster, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo and Bobby Portis the top three bigs in the Miami rotation.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has agreed to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and plans to sign a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers once he clears waivers. The Grizzlies and Caldwell-Pope's agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, finalized the buyout Saturday.

The move gives Philadelphia a veteran wing shooter and defender just one day after the team signed LeBron James. Caldwell-Pope, a two-time NBA champion, won his first title with the Lakers in 2020 alongside James during the league's bubble format before capturing a second ring with the Denver Nuggets in 2023.

Caldwell-Pope, 33, underwent surgery in February to address a misalignment in his right pinkie finger, sidelining him for the final 31 games of last season. Before the injury, he averaged 8.4 points, 2.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 21.3 minutes across 51 games with Memphis, marking his lowest scoring and minutes averages since his rookie season. He shot 49.5 percent on two-point attempts and 31.6 percent from three-point range.

Caldwell-Pope has long been regarded as one of the league's top 3-and-D players, though his three-point shooting has declined in recent seasons. After shooting at least 39 percent from beyond the arc every season from 2020 to 2024, he has failed to top 34.2 percent over the past two seasons.

Spencer Jones and the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to a two-year, $12 million offer sheet.

The Denver Nuggets will have the opportunity to match the offer sheet as Jones is a restricted free agent.

Jones appeared in 64 games last season with the Nuggets, averaging 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 22.1 minutes while shooting 39.6 percent on three-point shooting.

The Nuggets also have Peyton Watson in restricted free agency this offseason.

Kobe Bufkin and the New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to a one-year deal.

Bufkin appeared in 16 games last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 2.9 points and 0.8 rebounds in 7.5 minutes.

Bufkin was the 15th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks.

With their pursuit of LeBron James having come up short, the Golden State Warriors are expected to pivot to re-signing Draymond Green. The expectation is the Green will re-sign at a figure close to the $28 million player option that he opted out of at the beginning of the offseason.

Green has always been expected to stay with Golden State. The question was what kind of contract the veteran forward would re-sign for. The Warriors had been keeping flexibility, in case James chose to sign with them. Now that James has picked the Philadelphia 76ers, Mike Dunleavy Jr. can turn to re-signing Green, De'Anthony Melton and filling out the rest of his roster.

There had been reporting that LeBron James was interesting in teaming up with one of his former teammates when he picked a new team. The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers were linked to Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, respectively.

However, neither Davis' current team, the Washington Wizards, nor Irving's current team, the Dallas Mavericks, had any interest in trading either player. In addition, James, nor his agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, made no demands of teams that they must trade for Davis or Irving to get the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

Ultimately, James picked the Philadelphia 76ers for the upcoming season. It's expected that both Davis and Irving will start the season with the Wizards and Mavericks, respectively.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are showing interest in signing Mario Hezonja. The veteran wing recently informed Real Madrid that he intends to return to the NBA after spending the last six seasons in Europe.

Hezonja played five seasons in the NBA for the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers. The 6-foot-8 wing then played a season apiece in Greece and Russia, before spending the last four years with Real Madrid.

Last season, Hezonja averaged 15 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists. The 31-year-old shot 44.4% from the floor over 80 games across EuroLeague and domestic competitions.