NBA Rumors: Warriors extensions, 76ers strategic overpay, Nuggets spurned

The initial rush of NBA Free Agency is over, but take the Jalen Brunson news as a warning. There's always a surprise lurking around the corner in this league. We still have quality players unsigned, All-Stars involved in trade talks, and a new collective bargaining agreement to untangle — the repercussions of which we won't fully comprehend for years.

As such, here are the latest NBA rumors to fuel your push to the weekend.

NBA Rumors: Gary Trent Jr. snubs Nuggets despite need on wing

The Denver Nuggets are quietly having a no good, very bad offseason. Nikola Jokic can paper over a lot of flaws as the best player in the world, but losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for nothing stings. Big time. The Nuggets' starting lineup has been one of the best five-man units in the NBA over the last couple years. Now, it's cut off at the knees.

Christian Braun is a serviceable replacement heading into his third NBA campaign, but who replaces Braun's minutes on the bench? He was already stepping into a bigger role last season following Bruce Brown's departure. The Nuggets' depth keeps trickling away and the front office has done next to nothing to address the issue.

One would hope Denver can pull a rabbit out of the hat. Some pointed to free agent Gary Trent Jr. as a potential stopgap option on the wing, but he's looking for more than the minimum contract Denver can offer. According to Harrison Wind of DNVR, Trent has axed the Nuggets from his list of potential landing spots.

With the Los Angeles Lakers also effectively eliminated from the Trent sweepstakes, it's unclear what exactly the market is for the 25-year-old. He reportedly rejected $15 million annually from the incumbent Toronto Raptors and, well, that was probably a mistake. No team in its right mind is paying Trent that much, and cap space has dried up around the league.

He has appeal as a young shot-maker and solid defender — especially for a Nuggets team trying to replace KCP — but if Trent is unwilling to consider a minimum contract, the list of viable landing spots is slim. The Duke product offers very little beyond his jumper on offense, so he needs the right ecosystem around him. Denver would have been a great fit. Maybe the best fit...

NBA Rumors: 76ers re-sign KJ Martin in strategic overpay

The Philadelphia 76ers' successful offseason continued on Friday afternoon with the re-signing of Kenyon Martin Jr., who inked a two-year, $16 million contract, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Martin averaged 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds on .536/.286/.537 splits in 12.4 minutes per game last season.

On the surface, that's a gross overpay for an end-of-bench player. Martin was buried in the Sixers' depth chart last season and he felt like a surefire candidate to change teams this summer. That was before Philadelphia landed Paul George.

As soon as George signed the dotted line, the Sixers' cap situation changed. The concept of a "balloon contract" began floating around Philly airspace. Before this all went down, Bryan Toporek of Liberty Ballers explained the benefit of giving Martin more than his market value.

"Martin is an unrestricted free agent, but he has a tiny $2.1 million cap hold, and the Sixers have his full Bird rights. They’d slightly cut into their cap space if they kept him on their books instead of an incomplete roster charge ($1.15 million), but having Bird rights on him allows them to re-sign him to anything up to his max salary. The Sixers could take advantage of that cheap cap hold to both their own benefit and Martin’s. They could keep it on their books, spend the rest of their cap space and then overpay him on a two-year contract with a non-guaranteed second season. They could later look to flip him as salary filler in a midseason trade."

Essentially, without cap space to sign a free agent for more than the veteran minimum, the Sixers exercised their full Bird Rights (the ability to go over the cap by a certain amount) on KJ Martin to give him $16 million across two seasons.

That $8 million annual salary immediately becomes a valuable trade chip for the Sixers, who can aggregate Martin and other small salaries to acquire a contract in the $10-14 million range before the next trade deadline. That allows Daryl Morey to take one more swing if the right opportunity arises.

Now, is Martin just dead weight until then? No. The Sixers need power forward minutes from somebody. Martin has been a regular rotation piece in the past and he should get a real chance at minutes with so much of Philadelphia's wing depth cleared out. He's in line to compete for second unit reps with Ricky Council IV.

NBA Rumors: Warriors want to extend Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody

The Golden State Warriors have been aggressive in trade negotiations all summer, almost pulling off a deal for Paul George and currently poking around Lauri Markkanen. If the Dubs do add another All-Star this summer, odds are the outgoing trade package will involve at least one of their 2021 first-round picks — Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.

In fact, it was the Los Angeles Clippers' insistence on involving Kuminga that kept Paul George out of Golden State. The Warriors have grown quite fond of Kuminga in particular. He spent a large chunk of last season in the starting lineup and made a noticeable leap in productivity and efficiency on the wing. His athleticism, strength, and clear upside at 21 years old make him one of the Warriors' most valuable assets.

Despite Golden State's desire to upgrade the roster — Steve Kerr flat-out said everybody except Stephen Curry is on the block — Kuminga is a critical piece of the Warriors short and long-term plans. Moody hasn't come along as quickly, but he's still a 21-year-old wing with a smooth 3-point stroke, defensive versatility, and projectable drive-and-kick skills. The foundation is solid.

GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. told reporters that Golden State would like to lock up both young wings long term. Other 2021 draftees, such as Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, and Tyrese Maxey, have inked new rookie-scale extensions this summer. Kuminga and Moody could be next on the docket.

The Warriors probably aren't in a hurry, as both Kuminga and Moody are restricted free agents at the end of next season. Even if neither ends up signing an extension, Golden State reserves the right to match any offer sheet from another team. It's hard to imagine either Kuminga or Moody leaving unless the Warriors facilitate their departure in an ambitious trade.