Basketball Wiretap

The Denver Nuggets are matching the two-year, $12 million offer sheet Spencer Jones signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Denver will retain Jones, who became a valuable rotation player for them last season.

Matching the offer sheet for Jones will push the Nuggets over the second apron. Denver still has Peyton Watson's status unresolved, as the forward remains a restricted free agent.

Oklahoma City will remain under the second apron by $6.9 million. The Thunder will also retain the use of the full Taxpayer MLE, which is valued at nearly $6.1 million.

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 Philadelphia 76ers' proximity to New York City played a role in LeBron James' decision to sign with the team, sources told Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

Establishing a presence in NYC was a "longstanding itch" for James and his family.

James signed a two-year deal with the Sixers last week. 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is also set to join the Sixers after agreeing to a buyout with the Grizzlies. 

Peyton Watson is considering whether to sign a $6.5 million qualifying offer and return to the Denver Nuggets next season, sources told Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

The Nuggets have been offering Watson deals in the range of four years and $70 million this offseason. 

Watson has been looking to exceed Christian Braun's five-year, $125 million deal. 

The Nuggets matched Spencer Jones' offer sheet from the Thunder on Sunday night, making them the only team projected to be in the second apron next season.

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.

The Utah Jazz have signed forward Harrison Ingram to a contract. Terms of the deal were not released, but this is likely a training camp deal for Ingram. Utah already has a full roster with 15 players signed to standard contracts and three players on two-way deals.

Ingram spent the first two years of his NBA career on two-way contracts with the San Antonio Spurs. The 6-foot-5 forward saw action in only 12 NBA games over the last two seasons.

In 88 G League games with the Austin Spurs, Ingram averaged 14.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Multiple team sources from around the league do not expect Cathy Engelbert to return as WNBA commissioner in 2027, according to ESPN.

Engelbert did not directly respond to the question during All-Star Weekend.

"I will just continue to do my job, execute the strategy, because it has been working," said Engelbert. "Make sure we listen to the players, communicate with the players. Absolutely just love this league and blessed to have had the career I had before and the career I have now, and just mostly the team we've built at the league."

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month that he and Engelbert will "have ongoing discussions about what the future looks like."

Engelbert has come under scrutiny over the past year in particular. 

Engelbert also announced that the WNBA will launch a centralized replay center in 2027, calling it "one of the most significant investments we've ever made in our basketball operations."