The Rockets are diligently working secure meetings with Dorian Finney-Smith, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard when free agency gets underway at 5:00 pm CT, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Houston is viewed as the frontrunner to land Finney-Smith after the veteran forward declined his $15.4MM player option and didn’t immediately work out a new deal with the Lakers. Marc Stein has reported multiple times that the Rockets are prepared to offer the 32-year-old a four-year deal worth most of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
Alexander-Walker, meanwhile, is expected to leave Minnesota after the Timberwolves agreed to lucrative new contracts with Naz Reid and Julius Randle. The Hawks have been rumored as the favorite to acquire the versatile guard, but several teams are said to be interested in his services.
Atlanta is also rumored to have interest in Kennard, who is the third-most accurate three-point shooter in NBA history at 43.8%. He has spent the past two-plus seasons in Memphis, but is expected to leave the Grizzlies in free agency.
Here are a few more free agency-related notes and rumors:
- The Knicks could be a suitor for point guard Tyus Jones, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link). “Tyus Jones is a name that I’m keeping an eye on,” Begley said. “Last summer, there was mutual interest…Jones was even willing to take a pay cut to come to New York. He ended up choosing Phoenix thinking it would be a very good situation for him — didn’t work out, so he’s back on the market.” New York can likely only offer the taxpayer mid-level exception or the veteran’s minimum, Begley notes.
- The Magic also expressed prior interest in Tyus Jones and he could be a good fit with Orlando depending on how much money he’s seeking in free agency, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic. If it’s not Jones, the Magic will likely look to add a different veteran point guard to improve their shooting and offense, Robbins writes.
- Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald released a guide for some of the options the Heat could explore in free agency. According to Chiang, guard Dru Smith is expected to return to Miami on a two-way deal after he was issued a two-way qualifying offer, but he has yet to accept that QO. Smith was on the verge of being promoted to a standard contract last season before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in late December.
- As of now, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca expects the Raptors to be “fairly quiet” in free agency (Twitter link). Toronto will likely fill out the end of its roster with minimum-salary deals. A veteran extension for starting center Jakob Poeltl remains a possibility as well, Grange adds.
- Zach Kram of ESPN.com lists seven “underrated players” who are about to hit the open market, including Chris Boucher, De’Anthony Melton and Gary Trent Jr.