A new slate of NBA rumors features the Mavericks forecasting Kyrie Irving's free agent decision, Kyle Kuzma's next home, and LeBron James to the Hawks.
NBA rumors: New favorite to sign Kyle Kuzma in free agency
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, the Sacramento Kings have emerged as serious suitors for free agent forward Kyle Kuzma. The Kings have roughly $35 million in cap space after offloading Richaun Holmes' contract via trade on draft night.
The Kings are in the market for size and defensive toughness on the wing. Kuzma isn't an elite defender but he has grown considerably in that respect since his time in Los Angeles, which is not far from Sacramento on the map. Kuzma rebounds well for his position and he emerged as a reliable, semi-efficient 20-point scorer with the Wizards.
Harrison Barnes' impending free agency could increase the need for a player like Kuzma, who would share the starting frontcourt with Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray. Kuzma fits well as an off-ball scorer who can hit spot-up 3s and drive the lane off passes from Sabonis or All-Star guard De'Aaron Fox.
Sacramento has other priorities this summer, including Sabonis' extension and the looming free agency of in-house power forward Trey Lyles, but even those moves would leave Sacramento with $25 million in cap space according to Fischer.
The Kings have every reason to swing for the fences after grabbing the No. 3 seed last season. Kuzma could help them take the next step.
NBA rumors: Mavericks drop potential Kyrie Irving hint
The Dallas Mavericks are currently expected to re-sign Kyrie Irving according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. If there is any lingering doubt, however, the Mavs are trying their best to stymie it.
The NBA is perpetually unpredictable. There's no ruling out an Irving relocation entirely, but with the list of reasonable suitors approaching zero and the Mavs possessing the ability to pay him the most money (in a state without income tax), Irving's return to Dallas feels inevitable.
To further affirm that notion, Dallas is already changing Irving's number. He is expected to wear No. 11 next season while incoming first-round pick Dereck Lively II takes over the No. 2 jersey. Some level of communication has to occur for this to happen; Irving presumably gave his blessing to Lively or otherwise indicated a desire to return to No. 11, the number he wore in Boston and Brooklyn.
The Mavs were able to acquire Irving for pennies on the dollar at the trade deadline due to several self-inflicted controversies on Irving's part. Now, the Mavs are widely expected to run back the Irving-Doncic backcourt with (ideally) a more balanced roster to support them. Dallas is just over a year removed from making the conference finals. A return to contention is definitely in the cards next season.
NBA rumors: Atlanta Hawks draft Bronny James in NBA Mock Draft, LeBron James takes interest
ESPN's new 2024 NBA Mock Draft has the Atlanta Hawks selecting Bronny James, son of LeBron James, with the No. 17 overall pick next season. LeBron took the social media to hint at a potential move to Atlanta next summer if his son does end up with the Hawks.
LeBron has talked openly about his dream of playing alongside his son in the NBA. On the other hand, James has also said that just because that's his dream, it doesn't necessarily reflect his son's dream. James has two years left on his Lakers contract with the option to opt-out ahead of next summer's free agency period.
The Hawks, meanwhile, are mostly a placeholder in ESPN's mock. It's far too early to project next year's NBA standings. It's also way too early to have a firm grasp on Bronny's draft range. In a relatively weak draft class, he has the potential to rise even further than No. 17 given his pure jumper, high-level defense, and advanced decision-making talent. He doesn't provide much on-ball creation, but James feels like a strong role-player bet in a year filled with uncertainty. He's beginning the season ranked No. 8 on the FanSided board.
Atlanta could certainly benefit from the younger James' 3-and-D attributes next to Trae Young on the perimeter, especially with Dejounte Murray set to enter free agency next summer. And I'm sure the Hawks would welcome LeBron Sr. if the occasion arose. But, that's all purely hypothetical at this point.
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