The common belief around the league is that nothing really interesting happens in the NBA in August. However, the Cleveland Cavaliers proved that this notion is false wisdom, as, earlier this week, they engineered a massive five-team trade that completely altered the Eastern Conference hierarchy.
The point of all this rambling is that important transactions do take place in August. So, in the spirit of this belief, here is an update on some of the latest storylines swirling around the association.
Things are getting nasty in Detroit
The Detroit Pistons have still not agreed to a new contract with their restricted free agent, Jalen Duren. And according to some reporting from NBA Insider Tim MacMahon, tensions are starting to rise between the two parties.
On a recent episode Brian Windhorst's show, "Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective," MacMahon mentioned that negotiations have gotten "awfully nasty," and that he is worried about the long-term ramifications of this standoff.
He makes a good point. How often do we have a restricted free agent extension take this long and it end with a long and prosperous marriage between the two parties? I certiantly can't think of an instance. Last year, we had this situation with Cam Thomas, Quentin Grimes, and Jonathan Kuminga. All of them are on different teams now.
Even if Duren and the Pistons agree to a new deal, there is a good chance that his days in Detroit are numbered.
The Cavaliers are not done making moves
For a while, it looked like the Cavaliers were going to be bringing back the same team in a conference that got much fiercer. This all changed when they added Peyton Watson to complete their starting lineup. However, it seems that they are not done trying to improve their roster ahead of next season.
I guess I shouldn't say that they are "improving" their roster. Rather, they are improving their roster's cap sheet. Outside of Watson, the other player they recieved in the blockbuster trade was Cam Whitmore.
Whitmore has had an up-and-down start to his career, but he's still just 22 years old. We've seen in the past that athletic forwards like Whitmore can find their groove in a winning situation after a slow initial start to their career (see Andrew Wiggins with the Golden State Warriors).
Alas, it does not seem like Whitmore is going to get that chance with the Cavaliers, as Cavaliers Insider, Chris Fedor, mentioned on the Wine and Gold Podcast that the team is going to try and waive and stretch his contract.
Whitmore may still have a chance of really panning out, but given all the big contracts the Cavaliers have on their books (Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and Watson), it doesn't seem like the team can justify paying Whitmore $5.5 million dollars in 2026-27.
The price of making The Beard wait
Speaking of the Cavaliers' books, shortly after trading for Watson, the team agreed to a new three-year, $97 million contract with Harden. To his credit, Harden was very generous to opt out of the final year of his last contract and wait to re-sign in order to give the Cavaliers the flexibility they needed to improve their roster.
However, it seems that Harden's kindness does not come without a cost. Yes, Harden saved them money in the immediate future by declining his $42.3 million player option, but, by waiting, Harden was able to get himself a player option in his third year and a trade kicker (meaning that, if he gets traded, his new team will have to pay him even more coin).
Still, I think it's admirable of Harden to forego the immediate money for the better of the team. Let's hope he gets rewarded with his first NBA Championship for his quasi-good deed.
Add us as a preferred source on Google