NBA Free Agency Rumors: Suns Will Reportedly Sign No. 31 Pick Elie Okobo to Rookie Contract
Draft day has come and gone, and free agency rumors are starting to pick up steam.
On Thursday at the Barclays Center, the Suns drafted Deandre Ayton first overall to no surprise. The Kings drafted Marvin Bagley at No. 2 and the Hawks picked Luka Doncic before sending him to Dallas for Trae Young, who was selected at No. 5 overall. Jaren Jackson Jr. was picked at No. 4.
Now that the draft is over, the focus has shifted even more to free agency speculations. NBA teams can negotiate with free agents starting midnight on July 1.
Get a full breakdown on all the rumors and reports.
News and Rumors
• Clippers guard Milos Teodosic exercised his $6.3 million option for the 2018-19 season. (Shams Charania, Yahoo Sports)
• The Pistons are pursuing Wizards assistant Sidney Lowe, after agreeing to a deal with Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney on Saturday. (Marc Stein, The New York Times)
• Former five-star recruit Billy Preston from Kansas has agreed to join the Cavaliers after going undrafted. (Shams, Charania, Yahoo Sports)
• The Suns are expected to renounce their rights to center Alex Len and point guard Elfrid Payton, making them free agents. This will put the Suns $10 million under the salary cap. (Scott Bordow, The Arizona Republic)
• With all the Kawhi Leonard back-and-forth, former Spurs star Bruce Bowen said "there's nothing but excuses going on." It came a day after general manager R.C. Buford said the Spurs desire is to keep Kawhi Leonard, but the team "will explore all of our options." (ESPN)
• There is no tension between Chris Paul and the Rockets. There's a "strong sense" that Paul will stay in Houston, but it's looking "highly unlikely" that LeBron James will come to the Rockets. (Sam Amick, USA Today)
•The Cavaliers pursued a deal to bring on Kemba Walker to help convince LeBron James to stay. Cleveland also asked the Spurs about a Kawhi Leonard deal, but there is "no traction" on the deal. (Sam Amick, USA Today)
• Carmelo Anthony opted into his $28 million contract for next season with the Thunder. (Royce Young, ESPN)
• The Thunder feel optimistic that Paul George will also re-sign with them. (Sam Amick, USA Today)
• The Suns have extended the guarantee date on guard Tyler Ulis's contract to next Saturday. The original deadline was Sunday. (Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN)
• Phoenix also agreed to a four-year, $6 million rookie deal with No. 31 overall pick Elie Okobo. The deal will be guaranteed in the first two seasons, with team options on the third and fourth years. (Shams Charania, Yahoo Sports)
• Clippers center DeAndre Jordan hasn't decided if he will opt in or out of his $24.1 million contract. His deadline is June 29. (Brad Turner, The Los Angeles Times)
• Enes Kanter has yet to decide on his $18.6 million player option with the Knicks. His deadline is June 29. Opposing teams expect Kanter to opt in. If he doesn't, multiple teams, including the Bucks, are interested in talking with the center. (Ian Begley, ESPN)
