Basketball Wiretap

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.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have maintained contact with free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga and his agent throughout LeBron James' free agency, with mutual interest existing between the two sides.

Kuminga, 23, became a free agent after the Atlanta Hawks declined their $24.3 million option on his contract. He averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and shot 33 percent from three-point range across 36 games split between Atlanta and the Golden State Warriors last season.

Kuminga's agent, Aaron Turner, described his client's affinity for Cleveland in a brief interview.

"Jonathan likes the Cavs, likes (coach) Kenny Atkinson, and (star) Donovan Mitchell likes him," said Turner, noting that Kuminga trained in Cleveland for two months last summer.

Kuminga also has a prior relationship with Atkinson from the coach's time as a Golden State assistant under Steve Kerr.

The financial structure of any deal remains complicated. Cleveland could offer Kuminga roughly $6 million using cap space it would have otherwise directed toward James, or theoretically up to $15 million through a salary cap exception, though doing so would significantly limit what the team could offer unsigned veteran James Harden. The Cavaliers and Harden have intentionally left his new contract unfinalized to preserve roster flexibility, with a two- or three-year deal expected once Cleveland's broader plans take shape.

Kuminga, however, is believed to prefer a sign-and-trade involving Atlanta, which would allow him to earn closer to the $20 million to $23 million range he would have received had the Hawks exercised his option.

Both Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers have been linked to Kuminga as sign-and-trade candidates, though sources indicated the Lakers' potential trade package is considered underwhelming compared to what Cleveland could offer. The Cavaliers have been connected to possible trades involving veteran forward Max Strus and point guard Dennis Schroder as part of a potential deal. Any sign-and-trade would require Cleveland to remain under the NBA's roughly $209 million first apron, which is part of why Harden's new contract has not yet been finalized. Kuminga could also return to Atlanta on a short-term deal, with the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks mentioned as additional potential destinations.

Cleveland reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018 last season before being swept by the eventual champion New York Knicks. The team has since lost forward Dean Wade to Philadelphia, guard Keon Ellis to Brooklyn and forward Larry Nance Jr. to Indiana in free agency, in addition to missing out on James.

"There isn't much left out there," said a league source with knowledge of the Cavaliers' thinking. "They have to get their young guys ready to play."

Cleveland's young players include third-year wing Jaylon Tyson, who broke out last season, second-year guard Tyrese Proctor and rookie Meleek Thomas, the team's second-round pick who was named among the top players at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

The Houston Rockets have signed forward Julian Phillips. Terms were not disclosed, but it's likely that Phillips signed a one-year contract for the veteran minimum amount of $2.5 million.

The 6-foot-6 forward played the first two-and-a-half years of his career with the Chicago Bulls. Phillips was traded by the Bulls to the Minnesota Timberwolves ahead of last season's trade deadline.

In 167 NBA games over three seasons, Phillips has averaged 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game.