With less than 48 hours remaining for the opening of the free agency, the New York Knicks seem to be the favorite to land point guard Jalen Brunson, per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (h/t Hoopshype). Brunson has been the top priority for the Knicks this offseason.
The Dallas Mavericks guard is coming off his best season of his short career and might demand a lucrative deal this summer. There are NBA peers that expect the Knicks to offer $100+ million on a multiyear deal to the Villanova product.
Brunson was one of the top point guards last season helping the Dallas Mavericks to reach the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 11 years. The Mavs are obviously hoping their starting guard will remain with them.
Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons expected to re-sign with Blazers
Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons are expected to re-sign with the Portland Trail Blazers once the free agency opens on June 30, NBA insider Marc Stein reports. The Blazers are hoping to return to prominence next season after falling out of the playoffs last year.
Damian Lillard will be healthy and Simons will be coming off the best year of his career putting up 17.3 points, 3.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds through 57 appearances for the lottery bound Blazers last season.
Nurkic has established a great connection as a center with the team’s superstar Damian Lillard and both are expected to be healthy going forward into the 2022-23 season campaign. The Blazers will have work to do to return to the playoffs and potentially contend for a title.
Hornets not willing to offer max contract to Miles Bridges
Word around the league is that Hornets’ forward Bridges is demanding a max contract after his breakout season in 2021-22. However, Charlotte seems hesitant to offer Bridges a max deal this offseason, especially with the team’s salary cap in the current situation.
Speaking via ESPN, Brian Windhorst said Monday Bridges will not be offered max money by the Hornets and he might choose to find a better deal on the open market once he officially become a free agent on June 30.
A max contract for Bridges would entail the Hornets paying the emerging star more than $30 million per season. Last season, Bridges averaged career-highs across the board, including 20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 35.5 minutes per game.
Miles Bridges is not being offered a max contract by the Charlotte Hornets right now 👀 h/t @WindhorstESPN #NBATwitter #AllFly pic.twitter.com/Dw8nEnNlzW — 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣’ 𝙉𝘽𝘼 (@_Talkin_NBA) June 27, 2022
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