There’s not much going on in the NBA lately now that everything has settled down, as the majority of the teams have already made their moves, either through the draft or free agency.
However, there are a few more decisions to be made, particularly for the Blazers and the Sixers, who are thinking about what to do with their wantaway stars, as both Damian Lillard and James Harden requested a trade.
Meanwhile, the Celtics and Jaylen Brown came to terms on a new megadeal earlier this week, making him the highest-paid player in NBA history in terms of pure contract value.
Without further ado, SBOTOP is here to bring you the latest NBA 2023 updates, so read more below.
Brown gets generational wealth with new supermax
It took them a while, but there was no doubt that the Celtics and Jaylen Brown would get it done. According to reports, both parties agreed to a five-year, $304 million supermax extension, which will be fully guaranteed.
Brown wanted a player option in the final year, but instead he will have a trade kicker. This means that he’ll have some sort of control over potential trades to rival clubs in future seasons, although he cannot be traded for the whole of the 2023-24 season.
In the first year of his new deal, Brown will earn approximately $52 million in 2024-25. And in the last year, in 2028-29, he will earn as much as $69 million.
Brown will be under scrutiny because he has the most expensive contract, but that won’t be for long. It’s widely expected that the salary cap for all 30 NBA teams will jump annually with a new TV deal looming, so there’ll be bigger contracts than Brown’s for the foreseeable future.
Earlier this summer, the Celtics acquired Kristaps Porzingis in a three-team deal, which cost them Marcus Smart. They also traded away Grant Williams but got his possible replacement, Jordan Walsh, through the draft.
Overall, it’s been an eventful offseason for the Celtics, who continue to make one smart move after another under general manager Brad Stevens. By revamping their core, they are considered one of the title contenders next season, according to the NBA 2023 odds.
Still no progress for the Heat and Lillard
It’s been nearly a month since Damian Lillard requested a trade from the Blazers, but there has been no traction between the Heat and the Blazers.
The Heat reportedly had an initial offer that included Tyler Herro, a young player, and a mix of first-and second-round picks, but the Blazers want more. According to league insiders, the Heat are planning to sweeten their offer by adding a couple more first-rounders.
Aaron Goodwin, Lillard’s agent, might have been a little too explicit about Lillard’s preference. He made it clear that he only wants to join the Heat and even threatened rival clubs that Lillard wouldn’t be on his best behaviour if his wish didn’t come true.
This move by Goodwin essentially cools down the trade market for Lillard, so the Blazers are willing to wait months to trade him for an offer that is hard to refuse.
Portland are in the midst of a rebuild. Instead of trading their third overall pick in this summer’s draft, they used it to acquire Scoot Henderson, and they retained the services of Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle. They also have Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe, who are part of the team’s young core.
Harden has no choice but to stay
James Harden is still a member of the Philadelphia Sixers, and that might not change anytime soon.
After flaming out in the second round of the playoffs last season, Harden could’ve been a free agent, but he decided to pick up his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season and requested a sign-and-trade to join another team.
The Clippers were among the teams interested in trading for Harden, given their need for a point guard. However, the Sixers have been unimpressed with the Clippers’ bid in exchange for Beard.
Like the Blazers, the Sixers are not in a rush to trade the 2018-19 NBA MVP. Sixers general manager Daryl Morey wants a significant return for Harden, but rival clubs aren’t interested in trading for an aging player with diminishing production.
In the 2022-23 season, Harden led the NBA in assists with 10.7 per game, but his scoring plummeted to 21.0 points per game, a far cry from his league-leading 34.3 points per game average with the Rockets in 2019-20.
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