NBA Free Agency 2018: July 2 roundup

NBA free agency is officially open for business and, if you missed it, several big deals that were reportedly agreed to throughout Sunday:

* LeBron headed to Lakers
* Reports: Stephenson going to L.A.
* Reports: Caldwell-Pope staying with Lakers
* Reports: Gordon to re-sign with Magic
* And much more ...

As NBA free agency rolls along, keep up on all the latest news and reports from around the league ...

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Report: Evans meeting with Lakers

Guard Tyreke Evans had a career resurgence of sorts last season, averaging 19.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game -- stats that were among his best since his early career days with the Sacramento Kings.

The former Memphis Grizzlies guard is an unrestricted free agent and has been linked to several teams, per reports. Chris Haynes of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that Evans will meet with the Los Angeles Lakers today:

ESPN Sources: Free agent guard Tyreke Evans meeting with the Lakers today. He met with Oklahoma City last night in Los Angeles.

In addition, Will Guillory of The Times-Picayune reports the New Orleans Pelicans also may have interest in Evans, too. Here's more from Guillory via Twitter:

Tyreke has also been linked with the Pelicans

-- 12:29 p.m.

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Reports: Redick staying with Sixers

As a team on the rise in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers boast impressive youngsters in Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Joel Embiid and Robert Covington. However, their first reported move of free agency was one to keep one of their veterans -- sharp-shooting guard J.J. Redick.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Redick has agreed to stay with the 76ers on a one-year deal:

Free-agent guard JJ Redick has agreed to stay with the Philadelphia 76ers on a one-year deal that will pay him in the $12-to-$13 million range, league sources tell ESPN.
The 76ers moved quickly to close on Redick's deal once LeBron James chose the Los Angeles Lakers. Redick will be the Sixers' starting shooting guard by getting a second consecutive one-year contract.

The deal was also reported via Twitter by Keith Pompey of Philly.com.

Last summer, the Sixers added Redick on a one-year deal as well. He was a valuable piece for Philadelphia as it ended a five-year playoff drought last season. Redick averaged a career-best 17.1 points per game while shooting 42 percent on 3-pointers. His addition helped the Sixers finish 12th in 3-pointers made last season.

-- 12:13 p.m.

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Report: Randle awaiting offer from Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers had themselves quite a Sunday, reaching reported agreements on deals with LeBron James, Kentavious Caldwell Pope, JaVale McGee and Lance Stephenson. While those players are all seemingly headed for L.A., one of the Lakers' key free agents is awaiting a deal from the team.

Forward Julius Randle, a restricted free agent, has yet to receive an offer from the Lakers. But Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania reports via Twitter that tthe Lakers are hopeful they can keep Randle around.

Sources: Lakers restricted free agent Julius Randle hasn’t yet received an offer from L.A., but has excitement for arrival of LeBron James. Randle’s representatives and the Lakers are expected to speak Monday, hopeful of potential offer to retain him.

Randle is still just 23 years old and developed into a pretty efficient scorer in the final year of his rookie deal. Among 126 players with at least 500 field goal attempts in each of the last two seasons, he saw the fifth biggest increase in true shooting percentage (from 54 percent to 61 percent).

-- 11:45 a.m.

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Reports: Jazz await Favors' decision

The Utah Jazz have reportedly met with power forward Derrick Favors to try and keep him in town. Now, they await his decision.

Favors has spent eight seasons with the Jazz, playing a key role in Utah's playoff runs in 2016-17 and '17-18. He averaged 12.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game last season, all improvements for him after his production dipped slightly in '16-17.

The Deseret News' Eric Woodyard reports the Jazz are now waiting to see what Favors will decide as an unrestricted free agent.

Reports of Jazz brass meeting with Favors in Atlanta for three hours on Sunday has surfaced, and he is expected to make a decision today.
“3 hrs,” Favors tweeted at 11:06 p.m. on July 1.
Favors has spent the past seven-plus seasons in Utah and has a great rapport with his teammates and the area.

-- 10:51 a.m.

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James to wear No. 23 next?

Don't expect to hear much, if anything, from LeBron James until sometime at the end of this month. That's the word from those in the know after James' agent announced yesterday that his client agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Many will wonder between now and then how James and his new team will fit together and so forth on the court.

There's also the question of which jersey number James might wear next season. He wore No. 23 in his two stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2004-10 and 2015-present) and wore No. 6 during his Miami Heat days (2011-14). ESPN's Darren Rovell did some sleuthing around the Fanatics.com web site and found James may likely wear No. 23 come 2018-19 in Los Angeles.

Here's what Rovell reports (via Twitter):

JUST IN: Once deal goes through, LeBron will be #23 on Lakers. Fanatics has changed number from placeholder of #00 to #23 on jersey preorders.

-- 10:35 a.m.

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Sefolosha says he's staying put

Last season, the Utah Jazz emerged as the season wore on, amassing an 18-6 record after the All-Star break and upsetting the star-laden Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. The Jazz did all this without defensive swingman Thabo Sefolosha, who was lost for the season in mid-January to knee surgery.

Sefolosha had a non-guaranteed contract for 2018-19, but it appears the Jazz are bringing him back for another run at things. Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune reports via Twitter that Sefolosha was not waived yesterday, thus guaranteeing his deal:

The Utah Jazz will not waive forward Thabo Sefolosha, guaranteeing his contract for next season, League Sources tell The Salt Lake Tribune

Sefolosha took to Twitter shortly thereafter himself to celebrate the news:

Glad to b back with the @utahjazz for next season ! Let’s make it memorable TakeNote

-- 10:10 a.m.

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Details emerge in LeBron's reported move West

The Los Angeles Lakers, as of last night, have reason to be excited about their future. Reaching a reported four-year deal with LeBron James -- the news of which broke via Twitter by James' management agency -- will do that for a franchise.

Unlike his two previous forays in free agency, James did not drag out his decision and made the announcement less than 24 hours after NBA free agency opened. But how exactly did the Lakers go from contender for James' services to agreeing to a deal with him?

The Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli and Broderick Turner report on how a Saturday meeting between James and Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson helped James make his reported choice.

That conversation between Johnson and James were key in this decision James made. But so, too, were ones James had with those close to him, reports Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated.

-- 9:25 a.m.

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Report: Suns, Booker to talk extension

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker has emerged as one of the top young players in the over his NBA three seasons. In 2017-18, he led the Suns in scoring (24.9 points per game) and was among the league-leaders in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage. Those kinds of stats and development make him a player Phoenix wants to build around.

As such, the Suns are reportedly talking with his agent about a rookie extension, reports ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter):

Sources: Suns owner Robert Sarver and GM Ryan McDonough are meeting with star guard Devin Booker and his agent Leon Rose to present the framework of his rookie extension contract offer on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Booker is a strong candidate for a max deal.

The Suns were active on the first day of free agency, reaching a reported agreement with former Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza. Phoenix also boasts the No. 1 pick in the 2018 Draft, Deandre Ayton, as part of a burgeoning young core it is building around.

-- 8:38 a.m.

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Crawford, Bradley may be on Warriors' radar

The Golden State Warriors, like the rest of the NBA world, watched as unrestricted free agent LeBron James reportedly reached a deal to join the Los Angeles Lakers. In addition to that, the defending-champion Warriors also saw their own free-agent big man, JaVale McGee, reportedly head to the Lakers, too.

While McGee's departure isn't a back-breaker for the Warriors, that and the Lakers' restocking has Golden State aware it can't simply stand pat in the Western Conference. According to Mark Medina of The Mercury News, the Warriors may have their eye on a couple of veterans in the free-agent pool:

Can the Warriors find more upgrades elsewhere?
They remain interested in acquiring Los Angeles Clippers guard Avery Bradley, who could help the team’s wing needs with his perimeter defense and offensive aggressiveness. Though he played only a combined 46 games last season with Detroit and the Clippers because of a sports hernia injury, the 27-year-old Bradley is believed to have recovered from the ailment. The Warriors also would like to acquire Memphis shooting guard Tyreke Evans after he averaged 19.2 points on 45.2 percent shooting. 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists last season.
As for the veteran’s minimum possibilities, the Warriors consider veteran forward Jamal Crawford as the most coveted. Crawford will entertain offers and see how those compare both with his role and salary, something that may not be clear until clarity emerges on James’ future and if the San Antonio Spurs trade Kawhi Leonard. But the 38-year-old Crawford enjoyed his lone season with the Warriors in 2008-09 and would help the team with dependable secondary scoring and locker room leadership.

-- 8:30 a.m.

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