Faltering Reed wins playoff for maiden LIV Golf win
Patrick Reed has overcome final-round stumbles to sink a 10-foot putt for birdie on the first extra hole and win a four-way playoff to land his first LIV Golf victory.
The 2018 Masters champion triumphed from Louis Oosthuizen, Paul Casey and Jinichiro Kozuma at LIV Golf Dallas on Sunday - securing his first-ever win in his home state.
"I think the biggest relief is finally winning in my home state," Reed said.
"They popped that news to me that I haven't won in Texas, so to finally get that done meant a lot. Obviously to get my first win here, part of LIV, meant so much to me."
The moment that mattered 🙌 @PReedGolf #LIVGolfDallas @4AcesGC_ pic.twitter.com/z8nV0JOx2K
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) June 30, 2025
A product of San Antonio, Reed went into the final roundat Maridoe Golf Club with a three-shot advantage.
He didn't do himself many favours in trying to wrap up the win until that playoff birdie, suffering through five bogeys over his first nine holes on the way to a three-over-par 75.
Casey shot an even par 72 while Kozuma and Oosthuizen fired matching four-under 68s as Reed matched them with a six under total.
Cameron Smith was the best of the Australians after a closing 68 to tie for 13th, four shots outside the playoff. Marc Leishman (74) was tied 25th while Lucas Herbert (78) tied for 40th and Matt Jones (71) tied 46th.
The Aussies' four-man Ripper GC finished tied seventh in the team competiton but a whopping 36 shots behind the Crushers GC of Casey, Bryson DeChambeau, Charles Howell and Anirbhan Lahiri who won by 11 shots at 18 under.
THE MOST TEAM WINS IN LIV GOLF HISTORY 😤#LIVGolfDallas @Crushers_GC pic.twitter.com/3LNRJFgR8d
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) June 29, 2025
Reed was glad to have been able to hold his round togther just enough to force the playoff.
"I seemed to leave every putt short, and just kind of putting pretty tentative," Reed said.
"Today, even though the score was high compared to where it should have been, it was kind of one of those days that when you don't make putts, any little thing that's off is going to cost you.
"I told myself that hey, the putts have to start falling."
Kozuma and Oosthuizen had actually come all the way back to grab the lead going into the par-4, 528-yard No.18, but each suffered bogeys, opening the door for Reed's heroics.
Four players finished a single shot back in a tie for fifth. Charles Howell III (68), Tom McKibbin (69), Harold Varner III (72) and Tyrrell Hatton (72).
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New York Times
13 minutes ago
- New York Times
Luka Garza to sign with Celtics
NBA free agency is moving fast and furious, and teams are making major moves Boston Celtics intend to sign center Luka Garza to a two-year, $5.5 million contract, a league source said. Garza has been productive during limited minutes early in his career, though he's been more of a 3-point taker than a 3-point maker so far. He's not necessarily known for his defense, but has put in a lot of work on his body since entering the NBA and can really hit the offensive glass D'Angelo Russell's two-year deal for the $5.9 million taxpayer midlevel exception leaves Dallas $3.5 million below the second apron with 14 roster spots filled. Presuming the Mavs waive the non-guaranteed deal of Brandon Williams, Dallas still has room to accommodate another veteran guard on a minimum deal. Given the BORD$ value of $23.9 million on Russell, this is tremendous value for Dallas on what is essentially a band-aid starter until Kyrie Irving returns from his torn ACL. If Trae Young can win big, it would be on a team like this. Athleticism and length everywhere around him. A big-time rim protector in Kristaps Porziņģis behind him. The Hawks look ready to take a big step forward. Nice offseason for them so far. There are few players I've ever been happier for to get the bag than Nickeil Alexander-Walker. He came to the Wolves as a throw-in, busted his ass and turned himself into a critical piece of a real winner. Through it all, I rarely run into a more genuine person in this league. Good for him. The Hawks are loaded with long, athletic types on the perimeter now, especially after adding Nickeil Alexander-Walker via sign-and-trade. He joins a crew that includes Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels, with Kristaps Porziņģis and Onyeka Okongwu protecting the backline. If you have Trae Young at the top of your defense, this is the type of team you want to build around him. And if Atlanta ever decides to move on from Young, it has a bunch of malleable players who fit various styles. If the Hawks stay healthy this season, they have a chance to make noise in the East. Tyus Jones is exactly the right guy at exactly the right price for Orlando. They needed a true point guard who could push the pace a little and wasn't thirsty on the ball, but couldn't go too deep into the nontaxpayer midlevel exception because of the first apron limit. If the Magic sign second-rounder Noah Penda to a rookie minimum deal and re-sign Moe Wagner to another minimum, they'll start the year about $3 million over the tax line with 14 players on the roster. The second rounder Atlanta is sending Minnesota for Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a 2027 one via Cleveland, according to a team source. China Wong / Getty Images For those wondering which Eastern Conference team would see an opportunity among all the injuries surrounding them, it is the Atlanta Hawks. 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Butler / NBAE via Getty Images The LA Clippers will sign Brook Lopez for two years. Lopez just turned 37 years old. But he doesn't have to start, and he has a relationship already with two key Clippers: president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank (his first head coach in New Jersey) and center Ivica Zubac (teammates from the 2017-18 season in Los Angeles, Lakers edition). Now, the Clippers have three different centers: A post up big in Zubac who is an All-NBA defender, a veteran in Lopez who spaces the floor and protects the rim in deep drop and the 2025 first round pick in Yanic Konan Niederhauser who will develop his athletic tools. Lopez is arguably the best backup center LA has had for Zubac since Serge Ibaka's back injuries allowed Zubac to reclaim the starting job midway through the 2020-21 season, with the possible exception of Isaiah Hartenstein in 2021-22. Brett Davis / Imagn It's the end of an era in Milwaukee. For the last seven seasons, Brook Lopez has been a cornerstone of everything the Bucks have done on both ends of the floor. Defensively, Lopez was going to be playing drop coverage and waiting to swat shots at the rim. Offensively, he was going to be stationed in one of the high quadrants ready to fire a deep 3 and give space to two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. He exits Milwaukee as one of the greatest players of their championship era. Along with Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, he was a member of the core four that led the Bucks to the league's best record in five seasons under former head coach Mike Budenholzer and the franchise's first title in 50 seasons. Brook Lopez becomes the first player in NBA history to give his team a "Disney discount," signing for two years and $18 million and putting himself within a short drive of his theme park of choice. The Clippers are now loaded up front with Ivica Zubac and Lopez. Rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser's chances at rotation minutes just went from "pretty decent" to "LOL, kid." The Clippers are $4.5 million from the luxury tax line with at least one open roster spot left to fill. Getting an older guy in the building who can help Yves Missi and Derik Queen grow was high on the Pelicans' priority list. Kevon Looney has been around forever, but he's still only 29. He could be an important piece for this team on and off the court. Brett Davis / Imagn Given how tight the market was expected to be, I'm surprised we're seeing backup centers getting the contracts they are. Not so much in money, but in length of contract. I thought depth centers might get squeezed in this environment, but that is not the case. Page 2 NBA free agency is moving fast and furious, and teams are making major moves C. Cox / Getty Images The Houston Rockets will sign center Clint Capela to a fully guaranteed three-year, $21.5 million contract, a league source told The Athletic. Al Bello / Getty Images Free agent center Luke Kornet will sign with the San Antonio Spurs on a four-year, $41 million deal, a team source confirmed. In signing Kevon Looney to a two-year, $16 million contract, per a league source, the Pelicans add a veteran big with championship experience to the bench. Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Center Kevon Looney will sign a two-year, $16 million contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, a league source said. Looney departs the Warriors after spending his first 10 seasons in the Bay Area. Matthew Stockman / Getty Images Free agent wing Bruce Brown will sign a one-year contract with the Denver Nuggets, a league source said. The deal is for the veteran's minimum, a team source said. Brown was a key member of Denver's 2023 championship team before departing that summer as a free agent. He now returns to Denver. Cam Johnson was widely expected to be traded at the deadline back in February, with the Nets reportedly seeking two first-round picks. This trade for Michael Porter Jr. is a great reminder of how there is nuance to how we talk about asset value and the trade market. There is a massive difference between a first-round pick in the near future from a playoff team than the Nuggets' 2032 first, when Nikola Jokic would be 37. It's apparent the Nets are stretching out their rebuild timeline by taking on the next three seasons of Porter Jr.'s deal, but it's worth it to have that Nuggets pick as a gem in their trade coffers. First-round picks are not homogenous and the Nets' patience trading Johnson paid off big time. Teams in the west aren't sitting idly by, resigned to an Oklahoma City dynasty. Love the Nuggets going for it by getting Cam Johnson while also getting some salary cap-luxury tax relief. It cost them a 2032 first-round pick, but guess what? The Joker isn't interested in asset management. Bringing Kevin Porter Jr. back for the 2025-26 season at an affordable rate (two years, $11 million, according to The Athletic's Fred Katz) was one of the moves that made the most sense for the Bucks this offseason. Porter is only 25 and gives the Bucks an upside play at point guard with Damian Lillard expected to miss most of the regular season as he recovers from surgery on a torn left Achilles tendon. In his first 16 games with the Bucks, Porter averaged 10.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 16.4 minutes per game. Once Lillard went down with the diagnosis of a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf, Porter averaged 14.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in 24.7 minutes per game, as he took on a bigger role. In that larger role, Porter thrived and earned a place in Doc Rivers' playoff rotation. After some initial struggles in the postseason, Porter found his footing and played well in both Game 4 (23 points, five rebounds and six assists) and Game 5 (11 points, three rebounds and seven assists) against the Indiana Pacers In a second season with the Bucks, Porter should have plenty of opportunity on the ball. Getting to play with Giannis Antetokounmpo more consistently should be a huge help. In 541 possessions on the floor together — which was only about 270 minutes, a very small sample — the two-man combination of Antetokounmpo and Porter was plus-20.1 points per 100 possessions. They scored 125 points per 100 possessions and gave up just 104.9 points per 100 possessions. Per Cleaning the Glass, the offensive production was in the 97th percentile and the defensive production was in the 98th percentile. The Michael Porter for Cam Johnson trade is all about cap management for Denver. The Nuggets just turned a $40 million player into a $20 million player, and in doing so, they opened up millions in breathing room to spend on upgrading their dilapidated depth. Denver is now $9.7 million below the tax line, and I don't expect the Nuggets to go back above it due to the repeater penalty. However, the Nuggets have enough breathing room to use most of their nontaxpayer midlevel exception and could potentially use even more if they waive and stretch Dario Saric. Note that Johnson's salary included an extra $3.6 million that counts toward the tax aprons because of his unlikely incentives, but for the Nuggets, the bigger deal this season is likely to avoid the tax entirely because they are subject to the repeater penalty. Getty Images Interesting decision by the Nuggets to offload Michael Porter Jr. They will save $17.3 million in salary this upcoming season and 37 million altogether with that move, exchanging one sweet shooting wing for another. The downside is that they also lost a 2033 unprotected pick. Nikola Jokic will be 36 during the 2032-32 season, so it is a dicey move. Ty Jerome has agreed to a three-year, $28 million contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, league sources tell The Athletic. Jerome, a Sixth Man of the Year candidate in 2024-25, gives the Grizzlies an instant-offense option off their bench. He can also fill some of the shooting void Memphis lost after trading its top marksman, Desmond Bane, to the Orlando Magic earlier this offseason. A year ago, Jerome was fighting for a home on an NBA roster. Now, he has a long-term commitment from a winning team. Assuming a declining money deal for Santi Aldama starting at $18.8 million, the Grizzlies are $26 million below the tax line with two open roster spots. One of them will be filled with their $8.8 million room exception, but with the rest of Memphis float below the tax line, don't be shocked if the Grizzlies look to trades that take on additional money to get a better player in the door, perhaps in concert with one of the future firsts received from Orlando from Desmond Bane. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's $21.6 million expiring deal, in particular, seems like a prime candidate to be repackaged. The Denver Nuggets are trading Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson, team sources confirmed to The Athletic. ESPN was first to report news of the trade. Porter Jr. averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game for Denver last season and was a part of the franchise's first title run in 2023. Johnson, meanwhile, averaged 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in just 57 games after dealing with a nagging ankle injury during the 2024-25 campaign. Read more here. GO FURTHER Nuggets trading Michael Porter Jr., first-round pick to Nets for Cam Johnson: Sources Free agent point guard Dennis Schröder has agreed to a contract with the Sacramento Kings, league sources tell The Athletic. The details of the deal are not yet known. Schröder's addition will give the Kings the lead ballhandler they knew they needed heading into the commencement of free agency. GO FURTHER Dennis Schröder agrees to deal with Kings, his 10th NBA team That two-year, $11 million deal for Paul Reed may be for the room exception; it depends on whether the Pistons decide to use cap room in the free agent market or operate as an "over-the-cap" team and use Bird Rights and the nontaxpayer midlevel exception. Rob Gray / Imagn Free agent big man Paul Reed has agreed to re-sign with the Detroit Pistons for two years and $11 million, a league source confirmed. ESPN was first to report. Getty Images Jake LaRavia's deal with the Lakers appears to be for the taxpayer midlevel exception (technically $11.7 million for two years), which would be unusual behavior for a team that is $15 million below the tax line ... unless something else is going on. Page 3
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Aaron Judge appears to send trade deadline message to Yankees front office
Aaron Judge appears to send trade deadline message to Yankees front office originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Aaron Judge isn't one to shy away from expectations. He routinely takes responsibility when he fails to drive in baserunners or strikes out. The New York Yankees slugger has admitted after every season in the big leagues it was a failure because the Bronx Bombers did not win a World Series. Advertisement So, he has expectations for the Yankees front office as well. He laid them out plainly after Sunday's win over the A's. Asked about Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s performance, Judge didn't just praise his teammate, it sounded like a message to GM Brian Cashman. 'That's why we got him,' Judge told reporters. 'That's what the Yankees do. We go out for guys that are going to make an impact and make this team better. As a guy that makes this team overall better — defensively and offensively — you stick them in the middle of the order, good things are going to happen.' New York Yankees general manager Brian CashmanKim Klement-Imagn Images That's a captain talking. And it's hard not to read it as a message to Cashman with the trade deadline now a month away. Advertisement The Yankees head in to Toronto Monday night with a 1.5-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East and the third-best record in the AL. It's been a decent start to the season, but the Yankees' needs have been exposed. They need another right-handed power bat, preferably an infielder who can play third base. They need some help in the bullpen and possibly another starter. This isn't news. Cashman said he'd like another right-handed bat at the beginning of the season. Losing Gerrit Cole for the season and without the expectation of Luis Gil back on the mound until later next month, he knows he needs pitching. Advertisement Judge knows the pain of having a season end in disappointment all to well. Last year, the 32-year old came so close, only to have the Yankees embarrassed in the World Series. Judge knows the weight of expectations that will be on him in October. He's just reminding Cashman and the Yankees' front office what he expects from them at the trade deadline. Related: Aaron Judge's Perfect Answer to Yankees' June Swoon Shuts Down Critics Related: Yankees Prospect Earns National Spotlight With Breakout Season This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.


New York Times
14 minutes ago
- New York Times
A salary-cap surprise for 2026-27
NBA free agency is moving fast and furious, and teams are making major moves more newsworthy salary-cap item is the report by ESPN's Bobby Marks that next year's cap will only rise by 7 percent, and not the maximal 10 percent. This is important because the same percentage raise impacts the tax and apron lines. Teams had budgeted for another 10 percent rise, but now must change their projections downward for the luxury tax and aprons by roughly $5 million apiece. There is something inherently funny about the NBA announcing the salary cap and luxury tax levels for the next season hours (or minutes) before free agency begins. Sure, this year, it didn't matter because it's been known for a while that the cap would just jump 10 percent from last year. But this actually has mattered in years past. The NBA and the NBPA spend about a week at the end of the fiscal league year hammering out the Basketball Related Income and getting these numbers. Then, they get it to the teams as soon as they possibly can. It's a very harried process. Every cent matters as teams do their financial planning, and it just happens to not be 100 percent clear until the end. Every team in the NBA had budgeted for this exact cap number. The year-to-year raises in the salary cap have a 10 percent celling under the 2023 CBA, while the league's new TV deal ensured that this year's number would have otherwise blown right pass that limit. The NBA has announced that the salary cap for the 2025-26 season will be $154.647 million. The luxury tax threshold is at $187.895 million. The first apron is at $195.945 million. The second apron is at $207.824 million. The non-taxpayer midlevel exception will be worth $14.104 million, the taxpayer MLE is $5.685 million, and the room MLE is $8.781 million. GO FURTHER NBA free-agency 2025 primer: Key free agents, explaining the aprons and more Getty Images G, Nets Age: 23 BORD$: $23,390,386 Much like D'Angelo Russell, Thomas' value is an extremely divisive topic because he is so dependent on generating tough 2-point jump shots and offers little in the non-scoring categories. However, he was more efficient last season (57.5 true shooting percentage), and his sheer shot-creation volume provides a solid floor for an offense. On a rebuilding team, the key variable in Thomas' favor is that he is still only 23, so theoretically, his best years remain ahead. The other, even more crucial variable is that his cap hold is only $12.1 million. As with Russell above, the Nets will do their other business and then sign Thomas' contract once they have absorbed other contracts into the rest of their cap room. (Note that they may agree on a contract earlier, but they can drag their feet on signing it and submitting it to the league.) Given that Thomas is basically free money against the cap and the Nets have little risk of ending up all the way into the tax, Brooklyn is pretty heavily incentivized to re-sign him to a front-loaded deal with 8 percent annual declines that would make him a favorable value in the final two years of the deal. For example, a four-year, $100 million deal would start at $28.41 million in 2025-26 — likely taking the Nets right to the tax line — but just $21.6 million in 2028-29 for Thomas' age-27 season. Thomas is a restricted free agent, but that distinction borders on irrelevant in a market where nobody else has cap space, and Thomas figures to make more than the nontaxpayer MLE. GO FURTHER LeBron? Harden? Kuminga? The Top 25 NBA free agents for the 2025 offseason A late entrant to the market after taking a buyout from Utah, Jordan Clarkson grades out as a good-minimum get, according to my BORD$ formula. He will have the chance to play on a team that is actually trying to win for the first time in three years. His shooting numbers dove south the past two seasons, and he made just 44.8 percent of his 2s in the 2024-25 season. He's also 33 years old and not exactly renowned for his defense. But Clarkson still provides a jolt of shot creation off the bench and can be hard to stop when he's cooking. Contenders in need of backcourt depth could do a lot worse. Getty Images G, Nets Age: 29 BORD$: $23,898,145 Russell's brand has taken a beating since he didn't fit in L.A. and has been exposed defensively in the postseason. But he's a good scorer and shooter whose shortcomings might be perceived differently if he were cast as a high-usage sixth man rather than a starting point guard. Russell was also outlier bad from 3 last year (a career low 31.4 percent), but that isn't the way to bet going forward. The Nets will have full Bird rights on him in addition to their jillions in cap space; while he doesn't exactly fit Brooklyn's timeline, re-signing him to use as a trade piece either in-season or next summer makes sense from a cap perspective and adds some floor for Brooklyn's offense as the Nets rebuild. Notably, if Brooklyn struggles to find other uses for its cap space, it could sign Russell to a bloated one-year deal with a non-guaranteed second year, one that would effectively operate as a trade exception to use in-season or even next summer. Russell's cap hold is $28 million, but the Nets could pay him the max if they wanted; as long as they set aside $28 million of their cap space for his hold, they can finish their other business and then go as high as they want on Russell. Note that keeping Russell and Cam Thomas (below) on their books would take the Nets down to $40 million in room — still likely plenty for what they have planned this offseason. GO FURTHER LeBron? Harden? Kuminga? The Top 25 NBA free agents for the 2025 offseason F, Grizzlies Age: 24 BORD$: $25,631,532 Aldama is a restricted free agent this offseason. Memphis is likely to bring back Aldama because his low cap hold is a key part of the Grizzlies' strategy. Memphis can park his $11 million salary-cap hold on its sheet and have enough space to renegotiate and extend Jaren Jackson Jr.'s contract, then coming back to re-sign Aldama to a new deal. The tricky part is how much they're willing to pay Aldama when he overlaps at an already strong position on the Memphis roster and other needs lay waiting. The counterargument would be that this is why Memphis has to re-sign Aldama. In addition to the Jackson strategy above, his contract would need to be the matching salary for virtually any starting-caliber player whom Memphis would acquire in-season. I don't think there's enough money out there this summer to hit the BORD$ figure above, unless the Nets get wild. However, something around three years and $60 million to $65 million — especially if it's a front-loaded deal with 8 percent annual declines — would give the Grizzlies enough cap ballast to keep all its trade options open down the line. GO FURTHER LeBron? Harden? Kuminga? The Top 25 NBA free agents for the 2025 offseason Cary Edmondson / Imagn Sources from three different rival teams have linked the Lakers to De'Anthony Melton as we near the official start of free agency. The expectation is that there's strong mutual interest. Melton, 27, missed the majority of last season with a partially torn ACL. Getty Images G, Kings Age: 25 BORD$: $24,714,831 Ellis has a non-guaranteed team option for 2025-26. Ellis is a valuable player on a cheapo contract for at least one more season, making just $2.3 million on the final year of his minimum deal. The Kings can extend his contract for up to four years and $85 million and absolutely should be looking at doing this given his 3-and-D profile. Even if Ellis overlaps some with Zach LaVine, an extended contract for him at $18 million to $20 million a pop should still have positive trade value. (Also, LaVine isn't good enough to be driving long-term strategy for a non-contender.) One other option for the Kings would be to 'decline-and-sign,' essentially throwing a bone to Ellis by declining his $2.3 million option for this year and turning it into a $14.5 million deal via early Bird rights, with a total package of four years and $65 million and a fourth-year player option. That could create a short-term tax issue for the Kings depending on some other roster choices, but long term, this is a much cleaner way to build the team over the coming seasons and removes some tax concerns in 2027 and 2028. GO FURTHER LeBron? Harden? Kuminga? The Top 25 NBA free agents for the 2025 offseason C, Pacers Age: 29 BORD$: $31,329,931 Myles Turner might be the most contentious free-agent negotiation of the summer. Between his unrestricted status, the lack of competing cap-space teams, the Pacers' accomplishments this season, Indiana's potential tax and apron issues if it pays him big money and the fact his deal cannot be extended before he hits free agency … all the ingredients seem to be there for a prolonged staredown that ends with hurt feelings. Turner's BORD$ value is $31 million; while there is no chance of him getting this much in a market with no viable alternate suitors, it does indicate a figure for the Pacers to at least approach if they want him to sign for multiple years. Is three years for $75 million to $80 million fair? Even at $25 million a pop, Turner's next deal would take the Pacers sailing past the first apron and represent a first-ever foray into the tax for Indiana. That's for 2025-26; extending Bennedict Mathurin could push the Pacers to the second apron in 2026-27. Some tough decisions will need to be made at some point about other spots on the roster, but if you're not willing to pay the luxury tax for the franchise's best team in a quarter century, sell it to someone who will. Finally, note that Turner is eligible for a no-trade clause, although I doubt he has the juice to get one. GO FURTHER LeBron? Harden? Kuminga? The Top 25 NBA free agents for the 2025 offseason Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn With free agency a few hours away, the LA Clippers basically have only two spots on the roster that need to be addressed: ball handling and frontcourt help. Those were the areas that president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank outlined days after the Clippers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the West quarterfinals. The 8-man rotation that finished the Clippers-Nuggets series is intact after the team agreed to terms with All-NBA point guard James Harden and veteran reserve forward Nicolas Batum. Both players declined their player options and secured raises for next season. The Clippers also have their last five draft picks who will be under team control: 2025 picks Yanic Konan Niederhauser and Kobe Sanders (a likely 2-way contract), 2024 second round pick Cam Christie, and 2023 picks Kobe Brown and Jordan Miller (nonguaranteed but fully expected to return). Amir Coffey and Ben Simmons are incumbent free agents, and while both were rotation players entering the postseason, they were both out of the mix by the end of the Denver series. In Coffey's case, he didn't play a single minute in the playoffs. Coffey and Simmons are both expected to get better offers elsewhere than they will from the Clippers, with Simmons in particular looking at teams with exceptions; he's not looking for a minimum deal. Veteran Patty Mills is also a free agent, while center Drew Eubanks has a nonguaranteed contract that could be used in a potential trade. What happens with Eubanks is to be determined, but he might be a long shot to make it to Week 1 if the Clippers add another veteran center. Teams can have a maximum of 21 players under contract in the offseason. The Clippers tendered one of last year's two-way contract players, Trentyn Flowers, so he is a restricted free agent who is expected to return. The other two-way contracts that ended last season, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Seth Lundy, are still on those contracts. The Clippers also added undrafted rookies John Poulakidas and Jahmyl Telfort, though LA likes to wait to officially sign Exhibit 10 contracts while they do other business. So if the Clippers add two players, likely a backup point guard and a backup center, that will put them at 21 players, including Eubanks and the four 2025 rookies. LA has the nontaxpayer midlevel exception to work with, a little over $14 million. Look for them to use that on Harden and Ivica Zubac insurance. Any other positions would signal that a trade would likely be necessary to balance the roster. Adam Glanzman / Getty Images The Warriors' front office will be stationed in Los Angeles at the start of free agency, as has been their recent custom. They quickly pursued De'Anthony Melton at the start of last summer's free agency and, team sources said, they will be on the recruiting trail for veteran help again in the opening hours on Monday afternoon. Team sources have identified a stretch center as a high priority. Many in the league continue to link Al Horford to the Warriors as a preferred target. If the Warriors use the taxpayer midlevel exception (projected at around $5.7 million) on Horford or another free agent, they'll be hard-capped at the second apron, currently projected at $207.8 million. The Utah Jazz will agree to buy out Jordan Clarkson's contract, a league source confirmed to The Athletic. Clarkson, the 2021 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, averaged 16.2 points and 3.7 assists per game last season. The 33-year-old was slated to make $14.3 million next season. Clarkson and Collin Sexton, who was traded to Charlotte yesterday, were never going to be on the Jazz roster next season. The Jazz were moving off them no matter what. Utah wants to provide more minutes for youngsters Isaiah Collier, Keyonte George, Cody Williams, Brice Sensabaugh and rookie Walter Clayton Jr. Getty Images F, Warriors Age: 22 BORD$: $24,030,341 OK. ... Let's talk about this. Jonathan Kuminga represents the fundamental limitation with statistically evaluating free agents: You can only go by what contribution they made to their current team, but what you're trying to solve for is the player's value to their next team. Most of the time, those two numbers are close enough that the valuation problem isn't particularly challenging. However, for odd players or odd systems, the degree of difficulty multiplies. In Kuminga's case, we might have a particularly notable example of that problem: An odd player and an odd system — magnified, in this case, by the player not fitting the system. Golden State's read-react, pass-and-cut system has made other tunnel-visiony on-ball shot-creators look much worse than they were before or after (see Russell, D'Angelo; Schröder, Dennis), and Kuminga may be another. Alas, we can't be totally sure, because Golden State is the only place he's ever played. Our entire body of work for evaluating Kuminga is in the context of his square-peg game and Golden State's round hole of an offense. To explain this statistically, there is a lot in Kuminga's track record that suggests maybe he just isn't all that good. Most notably, his career shooting marks are 33.2 percent from 3 and 69.6 percent from the line. He's just OK as a defender, seems to have poor instincts for reading the game at both ends and is prone to spectacular bouts of dribble blindness. The Warriors have pushed him to be a beast on the glass, but historically, players rarely change their stripes in this realm, and his rebound rate has stayed right around 10.0 percent his whole career — fine for a combo forward but unremarkable. GO FURTHER LeBron? Harden? Kuminga? The Top 25 NBA free agents for the 2025 offseason The Phoenix Suns have officially announced the Mark Williams trade. The Suns traded Vasa Mičić, the draft rights to Liam McNeeley and a 2029 first-round pick (worst of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah) for Williams while also receiving their 2029 second-round pick back. Page 2