Utah Wants What?
It is common for front office personnel, such as Danny Ainge, to charge teams like the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers a “tax.” Meaning that the Knicks or Lakers would have to provide more assets in a trade than other teams. An example of this is examining what Ainge demanded from the Knicks for Donovan Mitchell and what they were willing to accept from Cleveland.
The latest example of this is the alleged proposal from Ainge, if the Lakers would like to trade for Walker Kessler, who is headed to free agency. Supposedly, the asking price is Austin Reaves and two unprotected first-round picks.
Of course, none of this has been confirmed, but it isn’t unbelievable because this is the type of offer that the Lakers should expect from Ainge.
Clear Message Sent to Restricted Free Agents
If there’s anything NBA agents can learn from this year’s free agent class, it’s not to let your clients get to restricted free agency. Players like Jonathan Kuminga and Cam Thomas.
Kuminga is still fighting with Golden State over what offer he’s willing to accept without giving up flexibility. Thomas took the $6M qualifying offer, which will allow him to be an unrestricted free agent next season. Kuminga might have to do the same.
The one player that avoided that was Josh Giddey. Although he didn’t secure the $30M per year he was seeking, he received a 4-year, $100M contract that doesn’t have any options either way. In some circles, this is a win for the Bulls because it’s a movable contract without a player option or a no-trade clause.
