Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard was present at meetings where his Uncle Dennis (Robertson) sought impermissible extra benefits from the Raptors, Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star said on Basketball Illuminati.

One defense of Leonard had been he wasn't aware of Robertson's schemes and might not even be aware of the details of his arrangement with Aspiration, focusing on basketball and leaving the business side to Robertson. That wouldn't absolve the Clippers, but maybe Leonard.

However, Leonard's (already far-fetched) ability to claim plausible deniability diminishes with this revelation.

Kawhi Leonard

While at 2019 Raptors playoff games, Uncle Dennis was heard discussing Kawhi Leonard leaving for the Clippers that summer, Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star said on Basketball Illuminati.

An impending free agent's representation should have ideas about the player's future. If Leonard wanted to return to his native California, that was obviously within his control. Even without tampering, the Clippers presented themselves as an appealing option to a star who'd have his pick of teams. (The Clippers also got fined for tampering.)

But this is also hilarious. While Robertson's lack of decorum doesn't bother me – because Leonard was obviously giving the Raptors his all while under contract – it speaks to just how unusually Leonard's side conducted itself.

As I said, a player's representatives should be planning ahead. They should also generally have the sense to keep it behind closed doors as the player's current team tries to focus on a championship run (that the player clearly valued being part of!).

Kawhi Leonard

While playing for Toronto, Kawhi Leonard asked Raptors personnel whether they thought he'd get another max contract due to his knee issues, Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star said on Basketball Illuminati.

Arthur raises that point, because Leonard initially signed a 2+1 deal with the Clippers – not a five-year contract from Toronto, not even the maximum-length 3+1 L.A. could've offered. Why did Leonard go from worrying so much about whether his long-term health would impede his earnings to risking a shorter contract? Was it because the Clippers agreed to pay him under the table, regardless?

I can't rule that out. But Leonard had also just stayed healthy enough to put the Raptors on his back and lead them to a championship. Though concerns about his health didn't suddenly disappear, that legendary playoff run put all the focus on what Leonard provided on the court when healthy. It'd be reasonable for him to re-think his stature. Everyone else did.

On the mountain of circumstantial evidence the Clippers circumvented the salary cap with Leonard, this rates very low.

Quentin Grimes

The 76ers and restricted free agent Quentin Grimes are looking at three possibilities for his next contract, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic:

• Grimes' $8,741,210 qualifying offer

• A one-year contract with a higher salary and Grimes waiving his implicit no-trade clause

• A four-year deal, which Philadelphia wants and Grimes is open to, but the sides aren't close on money

It obviously depends how much more money he could get on a one-year contract, but I'd probably advise Grimes to waive his no-trade clause in exchange for a higher salary next season rather than accept the qualifying offer. Though he'd reduce possibility of a sign-and-trade next summer, a team that trades for him would likely be a team he'd want to join, anyway.

Jonathan Kuminga

The Kings and Warriors renewed Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade talks this week, but didn't make significant progress, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.

Sacramento and Golden State didn't seem that far apart earlier in the summer. The Kings reportedly offered Malik Monk and a first-round pick (Sacramento's lottery protected in 2030 or, if not conveyed, the lower of the Kings' and Spurs' in 2031). The Warriors reportedly insisted on an unprotected first-rounder. A compromise – something like top-8 protection on Sacramento's 2030 pick – seemed and still seems possible.

Kuminga is reportedly on board with the Kings' three-year, $63 million offer.

But hurdles remain:

• The pick protection,

• The Warriors don't value Monk, according to Amick.

• Base-year compensation rules would probably require Golden State to also trade Buddy Hield or Moses Moody (not necessarily to Sacramento).

How confident are the Warriors they could eventually flip Monk for value? What could they get in return for Hield and Moody right now? Those questions loom large in determining where a compromise on pick protection must land to get a deal done.

Walker Kessler

The Jazz will not sign Walker Kessler to a rookie-scale extension, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic.

As foretold by the Mock Rookie Scale Extensions pod.

Kessler's low cap hold gives Utah significant incentive to wait to sign him until restricted free agency next summer. The Jazz can hold Kessler at $14,636,814, use their other cap space then exceed the cap to re-sign him.

Utah projects to have about $43 million cap space.

In the mock-extensions pod, Nate and Danny forewent an extension with a handshake deal on a five-year, $130 million contract ($26 million annually) next summer – if the Jazz don't trade Kessler first. As noted on the pod, Kessler is easier to trade this season sans extension, as he'd count for both teams in a trade at his actual salary.

Players who sign rookie-scale extensions then get traded before the extension takes effect count as outgoing salary at their actual salary but incoming salary at the average of their actual salary and salaries in each year of the extension.

K.J. Martin

The Jazz waived K.J. Martin, whose $8,025,000 salary was unguaranteed.

They could have used him as a walking trade exception, but that would've required shedding someone with a guaranteed salary to open a roster spot.

Martin got $7,975,000 last year for agreeing to be a trade chip for the 76ers. But they wound up attaching picks to dump him rather than using his salary as helpful matching in a trade.

Now, the clock has struck midnight on Martin's Cinderella run to the NBA's middle class.

Fred VanVleet

At The Athletic, John Hollinger goes in-depth on how much Fred VanVleet's injury will hurt the Rockets – and a silver lining.

-Dan Feldman