The Warriors are expected to finalize a deal to keep Kristaps Porzingis in the organization imminently, report Marc Stein and Jake Fischer in their latest edition of The Stein Line (subscriber link). Like Trae Young, Al Horfordand others, Porzingis is likely to use the window that allows teams to negotiate with their own free agents prior to Tuesday’s official start to free agency.
Golden State is also still expected to pursue Lakers free agent LeBron Jameswho, as of Friday, reportedly had yet to engage in serious discussions with LA on a new deal. Previous reports had indicated that the Warriors were expecting James to stay with the Lakers, but his plans remain unclear. The Warriors are banking on a pitch that includes the fact that their team would be the closest James could be to his home base in LA without going to the Clippers.
Golden State is limited by what they can offer the 22-time All-Star, though. They are expected to have around the $15MM midlevel to offer, but the final amount will be determined by what happens with Draymond Green and Porzingis.
The team is also expected to explore other free agent alternatives while they wait to see what James decides to do. Reserve big man Jock Landale, Anfernee Simonsand Collin Sexton are all expected targets, with the latter two representing a clear interest from Golden State in acquiring another scoring ball-handler to put in the guard rotation.
On that note, Kevin Porter Jr. would have likely been a target for them had he not picked up his player option with the Bucks.
We have more news from around the NBA, courtesy of The Stein Line:
- The Timberwolves have interest in free agent John Collins as they continue to look for a power forward to replace Julius Randlebut it’s unlikely they’ll be able to afford him, Stein and Fischer report. The Magic, Spursand Sixers are all expected to pursue Collins, with Stein and Fischer noting that San Antonio and Philadelphia continue to be linked to the top forward options in free agency.
- Mavericks assistant coach Jay Triano is drawing interest from the Trail Blazers to join newly-hired Micah Nori‘s coaching staff, the Stein Line reports. Nori worked under Triano when the latter was head coach of the Raptors. Triano is a very experienced coach, having spent over 20 years as an assistant in the NBA, with several head coaching stints both in the NBA and with the Canadian national team.
- Similar to Porzingis, another free agent expected to come to a pre-Tuesday agreement with his current team is Cavaliers lead guard James Harden. The Stein Line had previously reported the expectation that a deal would get done before Monday, and they now say such an announcement could “come to fruition any minute.”
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