NBA Free Agency Live Blog: Al Horford Agrees To Deal With 76ers
9:11 p.m.: It's a busy hour for busting theories. Not long ago we said that Horford would take a few days to make his decision. That report was a bit inaccurate, as Al is heading to Philadelphia.
Five-time All-Star F/C Al Horford has agreed to a four-year, $109M deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, agent Jason Glushon tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019
9:09 p.m.: So much for Stephen A. Smith's Clippers rumor. Woj says Jimmy Butler is heading to South Beach.
Miami is finalizing a sign-and-trade with Philadelphia to acquire Jimmy Butler, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019
8:38 p.m.: If you were holding your breath waiting for Al Horford news, it may not be coming tonight.
"Horford plans to speak with several teams on Sunday night and then make a final decision on Monday or Tuesday," according to The Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach. "He might have no interest in coming back to Boston, or the Celtics might have no interest in upping their initial offer."
7:43 p.m.: We're finally getting some speculation on Kawhi Leonard, who's been awfully quiet thus far. Granted, it's not from Wojnarowski or Charania, but nevertheless:
Noise is elevating. @kawhileonard and @JimmyButler to the @LAClippers. We'll see if this really happens. But it definitely makes sense now that @tobias31 has agreed to re-sign with the @sixers
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) June 30, 2019
The Clippers have been pretty quiet, and they've been rumored as a Kawhi destination forever, so that wouldn't be a surprise.
7:37 p.m.: Hey, look at that. The New York Knicks can sign a player.
Free agent Julius Randle has agreed to a three-year, $63M deal with the New York Knicks, CAA agents Aaron Mintz and Steve Heumann tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
That's probably not the splash that Knicks fans had in mind entering today.
7:11 p.m.: Tobias Harris is staying in Philly. For big bucks.
Free agent forward Tobias Harris has agreed to a five-year, $180M contract to return to the Philadelphia 76ers, his agent and father, Torrel Harris of Unique Sports Management, tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
6:31 p.m.: We've got a trade, and Malcolm Brogdon is on his way out of Milwaukee. He won't have to go far, though, as Indiana picked him up in exchange for three draft picks.
Indiana is trading a first-round and two future second round picks to the Milwaukee for Malcolm Brogdon, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Malcolm Brogdon has agreed to a four-year, $85M deal with Indiana, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Indiana is also saying goodbye to Bojan Bogdanovic, who's heading to Utah for $73 million over four years.
Indiana's Bojan Bogdanovic has agreed to a four-year, $73M deal with the Utah Jazz, league sources tells EPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be any more Pacers news -- boom! Jeremy Lamb.
Free agent Jeremy Lamb has agreed to a three-year, $31.5M deal with the Indiana Pacers, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2019
In non-Pacers news, Ricky Rubio is signing with Phoenix.
Ricky Rubio says goodbye to Utah and will head to Phoenix on a three-year/$51M deal, per @ShamsCharania. pic.twitter.com/nO9EOaLb6T
— Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) June 30, 2019
And we don't want to miss Trevor Ariza's deal in Sacramento.
Free agent Trevor Ariza has agreed to a two-year, $25M deal with the Sacramento Kings, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2019
6:17 p.m.: Outside of Kyrie and Kevin signing with the Nets, we've got some other news.
J.J. Redick is going to the Pelicans to drain some open 3's behind Zion.
Free agent guard JJ Redick has agreed to a two-year, $26.5M deal to join the New Orleans Pelicans, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
The Pelicans also added Nicolo Melli, a power forward from the EuroLeague.
EuroLeague power forward Nicolo Melli has agreed to a two-year, $8M deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, agent Sam Goldfeder of Excel Sports tells ESPN. https://t.co/xCELXy6tu7
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Khris Middleton is staying in Milwaukee, for many dollars.
Free agent Khris Middleton has agreed to a five-year, $178M deal to return to the Milwaukee Bucks, Excel Sports agent Mike Lindeman tells ESPN. Deal includes a player option.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Derrick Rose is going to Detroit.
Free agent guard Derrick Rose has agreed to a two-year, $15M deal to join the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Harrison Barnes is staying with the Kings.
Free agent F Harrison Barnes has agreed to a four-year, $85M deal to stay with the Sacramento Kings, Excel Sports agent Jeff Schwartz tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
6 p.m.: Talk about a roller coaster. Scrap those Al Horford-back-to-the-Celtics stories. Not happening, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
Source close to Horford says that even after all the Celtics' cap gymnastics, he will not be winding up back in Boston.
— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) June 30, 2019
5:17 p.m.: You now have to wonder if that sign-and-trade news regarding Rozier will play into this next bit of news, as Keith Smith of Yahoo reports that the Celtics are making progress toward keeping Al Horford -- through some complicated measures.
Sources: The Boston Celtics are progressing towards a series of sign and trade deals to enable them to re-sign Al Horford, while also maintaining the full MLE.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 30, 2019
That would be ... significant.
5:15 p.m.: More news. It appears as though the Celtics will be pulling off a sign-and-trade, with Terry Rozier going to Charlotte and getting paid.
Free agent guard Terry Rozier plans to agree to a three-year, $58M contract with the Charlotte Hornets via sign-and-trade, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2019
That's a win for Rozier, whose numbers dropped precipitously last year.
4:54 p.m.: It's happening. Kevin Durant. Brooklyn Nets. Put it on the board. Woj bomb.
Kevin Durant is planning to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Wojnarowski was the one who reported earlier Sunday that Durant would be making the announcement via Instagram. Alas, Wojnarowski gets the scoop regardless.
Woj added that, indeed, it will be Irving, Durant and DeAndre Jordan dropping buckets in Brooklyn for the foreseeable future.
Brooklyn is making a clean sweep tonight: Brooklyn will sign Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
4:48 p.m.: Brook Lopez, the free agent generating next to no buzz, is sticking with Milwaukee. A nice deal for him, too:
Once free agency opens at 6 PM ET, Brook Lopez is planning to sign a four-year, $52M deal to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
4:28 p.m.: Whoa, boy. With that 6 p.m. (imaginary) start time to this whole shindig nearing, we've got a whopper.
Marc Stein reports that the Nets are feeling mighty confident that they'll be able to sign Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant, and DeAndre Jordan.
An undeniable vibe of confidence is emanating from Brooklyn as we speak: The Nets sure seem to believe they are getting Kevin Durant's commitment tonight to go with Kyrie Irving"s ... with DeAndre Jordan, Durant's close friend, to follow
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2019
Again, we must remember that Durant is coming off a torn Achilles. But provided he can return to his previous form, either next spring or next fall, then that will be a team to be reckoned with.
The Warriors, though, are still reportedly planning to wave a whole lot of money in Durant's face.
The Warriors will officially offer a five-year, $221 million max deal TO Kevin Durant at 6 PM ET tonight ... and Golden State now knows it will get Durant's decision tonight
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2019
3:56 p.m.: Marc Spears of ESPN's The Undisputed reports that the Celtics are keeping their options open in their quest for a big man.
Blazers free agent center Enes Kanter is expected to have a phone call with Portland and Boston when free agency begins tonight, a source said.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 30, 2019
Though the Celtics appear poised to add Kemba Walker, they still have a need at center.
3:27 p.m.: NBA fans won't have to wait long to discover where Kevin Durant is headed.
ESPN reports that Durant will announce his free agent plans Sunday night.
Source: Kevin Durant will announce his free agent decision tonight on his company owned sports business network: https://t.co/ovJCDTOEMz
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
3:15: p.m.: Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Celtics are open to a move that would give them some roster flexibility as they add Kemba Walker to the mix.
Sources: Boston's showing interest in a 3-team sign-and-trade w/ Kyrie Irving (Nets), Kemba Walker (Celtics) and Terry Rozier (Hornets). Boston wants to create a full MLE and would likely need to surrender at least a first-round pick to Nets. So far, talks are exploratory.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Brian Robb of Boston Sports Journal points out that the move could allow the Celtics to retain Bird Rights on all of their free agents, including Al Horford.
2:24 p.m.: Updating the earlier report on Jimmy Butler, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reports that Butler appears destined for Miami.
Not that this is a surprise - or means anything - but Jimmy Butler is expected to tell Miami officials tonight that he wishes to play for the Heat, per source.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 30, 2019
1:26 p.m.: We talked earlier about the Horford mystery. Here's a new angle for you: Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer says that some executives believe the Celtics may still be in play to keep their big man.
There are some league executives that believe the "mystery team" for Al Horford is...the Boston Celtics.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) June 30, 2019
But keeping Horford's rights would require a number of complicated maneuvers, including a double sign-and-trade involving Kemba Walker and Terry Rozier. It wouldn't be easy. https://t.co/dCfSQcaEc4
Now wouldn't that be a twist?
Obviously, as O'Connor pointed out, there'd be a few moving parts involved with that. Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out.
1:10: p.m.: We've got some Bojan Bogdanovic news, people!
Reporting with @ShamsCharania: The Utah Jazz are emerging as a significant threat to sign Bojan Bogdanovic away from the Indiana Pacers, League Sources tell The Athletic....The Jazz could have a competitive offer on the table as soon as tomorrow, according to sources
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) June 30, 2019
And we've got some Nikola Vucevic news to boot!
Orlando free agent All-Star Nikola Vucevic plans to commit to a four-year, $100 million deal to return to the Magic, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2019
1:05 p.m.: Jimmy Butler may be a slight step down from the aforementioned superstars, but his free agency figures to be another big storyline.
Butler will reportedly meet with the Heat, Rockets and Sixers.
Sources: Jimmy Butler expected to meet the Miami Heat in South Fla. Sunday. Butler/Rockets meeting likely early week in LA. Sixers haven't ruled out working with Butler on sign-and-trades, which Miami and Houston need to acquire the All-Star guard.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2019
12:50 p.m.: In what would be considered the most boring tidbit of the weekend, it's expected that Klay Thompson and the Warriors agree to a deal very quickly.
Thompson will reportedly get five years and $189.6 million to stay with Golden State.
12:32 p.m.: The potential/likely Kyrie signing in Brooklyn will have a domino effect, as it's expected to lead the Nets to renounce the rights to D'Angelo Russell. From there, the LeBron James/Anthony Davis Lakers will be looking to bring Russell back to L.A.
The Los Angeles Lakers reached out to D'Angelo Russell's agents at CAA -- Austin Brown and Aaron Mintz -- to set up a meeting with the All-Star guard, league sources tell ESPN. The Lakers and Russell share a mutual interest in a reunion. Lakers have the cap space to sign him.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2019
The 23-year-old Russell was drafted at No. 2 overall in 2015 by the Lakers, but he was traded in 2017 after that rather unique incident with Nick Young. Now, he's coming off a career year, where he averaged 21.1 points, 7.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game. He'd be a solid starter to work with LeBron and Davis.
12:23 p.m.: Kevin Durant's torn Achilles put somewhat of a damper on his free agency this summer ... but at the same time, K.D. is still at the center of most every story this weekend.
That includes an intriguing story from Woj, who reported that Durant and Kawhi Leonard have discussed teaming up. While Durant likely won't play at all next season, teams will certainly find it easy to buy in to the idea of becoming an instant contender with those two superstars.
Woj said the Clippers and Knicks would represent realistic possibilities, if the two do decide to team up. That could, of course, leave Kyrie all alone in Brooklyn. We shall see.
Outside of plans with K.D., Leonard will meet with the Lakers, Clippers, Knicks and Raptors, according to Woj.
12:18 p.m.: One player whose future appears to be locked in is Kyrie Irving. No surprise here (the writing has been on the wall for a while), but Kyrie and the Brooklyn Nets will reportedly be working quickly to agree to a four-year max contract.
That's according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, whose phone may overheat and explode by 6 p.m. today. Let's hope he has a backup or two.
"The free-agent guard is part of the Nets' bold, two-part plan to acquire Irving and All-NBA forward Kevin Durant in free agency," Woj reported.
The second part of that may take a little bit longer to figure out, as Durant's expected to meet with the Warriors, Knicks and Clippers, in addition to the Nets.
Story filed to ESPN: Golden State's Kevin Durant is planning to engage four teams in discussions upon the opening of NBA free agency on Sunday – the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and Warriors, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2019
12:11 p.m.: We've heard to many rumors over the past week or so regarding the NBA's free-agent class, with some stories developing into full-fledged, lock-solid guarantees. But with Al Horford? The mystery remains.
The best example of that involves the New Orleans Pelicans' involvement in the Al Horford pursuit. Or perhaps, more accurately, their lack of involvement. It depends when you picked up on the story.
The New York Times' Marc Stein reported Saturday that the Pelicans would be in on the bidding for Horford.
The Pelicans are indeed interested in Al Horford, according to one league source with knowledge of the situation, but have feared heading into free agency that they would be outbid for him
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 29, 2019
That fun story -- the pairing of Al Horford and Zion Williamson -- didn't last long, as Stein later reported that, well, never mind. No more Pelicans.
New Orleans is not pursuing players in the market for four-year deals. @NYTSports reported June 22 that Horford, upon severing ties with Boston, was immediately expected to receive a new four-year pact from a mystery bidder worth in excess of $100 million
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2019
We've also heard the Mavericks would be interested, and also that they weren't in the mix. Outside of that, people have thrown around the Clippers, Sixers, and Kings. Whatever Horford decides, it will come as a surprise.
12 p.m.: No league captures the madness of free agency quite like the NBA. And no day should display all of that craziness quite like today.
Though rumors and speculation have swirled for weeks, it will be today at 6 p.m. when teams are technically allowed to finally meet and discuss dollars with free agents. Though contracts can't be inked until July 6, many deals will be agreed upon very quickly once 6 p.m. hits this evening.
Obviously, this offseason will bring about some major change, with some massive superstars set to begin their new lives in new homes. When it comes to all of the breaking news, reports and rumors, keep it here throughout the day, as the live blog will be filled with every bit of NBA news that makes its way out on what is sure to be an exceptionally busy day.