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Free agency opens: Fox and Kings agree on $163 million deal

On the first night of free agency, De’Aaron Fox was the first huge winner.

Huge, as in $163 million — or even more.

Fox and the Sacramento Kings agreed on a max deal Friday night, agent Chris Gaston said. It’s a five-year pact that will pay Fox $163 million, and that figure could rise to nearly $200 million if Fox makes an All-NBA team or receives other league honors.

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Fox’s numbers have improved in each of his three NBA seasons. He averaged 11.6 points as a rookie, then 17.3 points two seasons ago and finally 21.1 points last season for the Kings. His field goal percentage has also risen in each of the last two seasons.

Fox’s extension will kick in for the 2021-22 season and start at $28.1 million.

Free agency opened in the NBA on Friday at 6 p.m. EST. No deals can be signed until 12:01 p.m. Sunday, and many of the biggest available names — such as the Lakers’ Anthony Davis and Fred VanVleet, who has seen his star rise meteorically with the Toronto Raptors — did not make immediate decisions.

Davis is expected to remain with the Lakers; the question there is how the new deal will be structured. VanVleet is expected to command at least $80 million over the next four seasons, if not more, and Toronto has made clear that they would like to keep the undrafted guard who became a huge part of the Raptors’ run to the 2019 NBA championship.

A breakdown of moves Friday:

ATLANTA

Danilo Gallinari — one of the top wings on the free-agent market — agreed to a three-year contract worth $61.5 million, a person with knowledge told AP. ESPN and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported the agreement.

Gallinari averaged 18.7 points for Oklahoma City last season and is a 38% career shooter from 3-point range.

The Hawks were one of the teams who entered free agency with considerable cap space, and have been looking for veteran talent to add to the group that includes Trae Young and Kevin Huerter.

Gallinari, a 32-year-old Italian, has also played with the Knicks, Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers. He was originally the sixth overall pick in the 2008 draft by New York.

BROOKLYN

Joe Harris has agreed to re-sign with the Nets, keeping one of the NBA’s best shooters in Brooklyn.

The Nets checked off what general manager Sean Marks called their biggest priority in free agency on Friday night by agreeing to a deal with the swingman.

Priority Sports, which represents Harris, announced the deal on Twitter. ESPN reported that Harris would get $75 million over four years.

Harris finished his fourth season in Brooklyn by averaging a career-best 14.5 points in 69 games in 2019-20.

DALLAS

The Mavericks and Trey Burke have agreed on a $10 million, three-year contract to bring the guard back after he played well in the NBA bubble.

Burke originally joined Dallas in the trade with New York headlined by Kristaps Porzingis in early 2019. The Mavericks didn’t re-sign Burke before last season, and he ended up in Philadelphia.

The 76ers waived Burke in February before the coronavirus shutdown, and Dallas signed him before the restart after center Willie Cauley-Stein opted out of the finish to the season.

DENVER

The last time Facundo Campazzo and Nikola Jokic shared a court in a real game together was during last year’s Basketball World Cup in China. Campazzo was dazzling and Argentina prevailed, ending the championship hopes for Jokic and Serbia.

Soon, they’ll be teammates in another title quest.

Campazzo agreed to a two-year deal with the Denver Nuggets on Friday’s opening day of free agency, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract remains unfinished until at least Sunday, when the NBA moratorium on new signings will be lifted.

The New York Times first reported the agreement between Campazzo and the Nuggets.

The 5-foot-10 Campazzo has played in the Olympics twice, the Basketball World Cup twice, has a pair of EuroLeague championships and is known for passes that are spectacular. And now, he’s decided it’s time to try the NBA with a Denver team that rallied from 3-1 playoff deficits twice last season to make it to the Western Conference finals — where they fell to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers.

DETROIT

Jerami Grant is headed to Detroit on a three-year, $60 million deal, player representative Mike Kneisley of The Neustadt Group said.

Grant is coming off a season where he averaged 12.0 points for Denver, which wanted him back.

The Pistons received commitments Friday night from centers Mason Plumlee and Jahlil Okafor, people familiar with those deals told AP. ESPN, which first reported the Plumlee agreement, said he would sign a three-year deal for $25 million.

Plumlee later posted a thank-you letter to Denver fans on his Twitter account, saying he “has no doubt” that big things await the Nuggets. He also said he’s excited to join the Pistons, calling them “one of the league’s most storied franchises.”

L.A. CLIPPERS

Marcus Morris is staying with the Clippers on a four-year deal, a person with knowledge told AP. ESPN, which first reported the agreement, said it was a $64 million contract.

Morris averaged 16.7 points last season, starting the season in New York before getting traded to the Clippers.

“Run it back!” Morris tweeted.

Also Friday, Patrick Patterson will return on a one-year contract, AP was told. Patterson averaged 4.9 points last season for the Clippers. ESPN first reported the Clippers’ agreement with Patterson.

L.A. LAKERS

The defending NBA champions are adding Montrezl Harrell as a free agent from the Clippers, a person with knowledge of the deal told AP.

That move, when finalized, will give the Lakers the top two finishers in last season’s Sixth Man of the Year voting. Harrell won the award; Dennis Schroder, who was acquired by the Lakers in a trade with Oklahoma City earlier this week, was second.

MIAMI

The Heat got quick agreements from point guard Goran Dragic and center Meyers Leonard on two-year deals, the second year in both cases being team options. Dragic will make about $18 million next season, Leonard about $9 million.

“I simply appreciate that they care about the little things,” Leonard said.

Dragic flew back to Miami from his native Slovenia on Friday and intends to sign his new contract quickly. He said the fact that the Heat will have much of its roster back from a year ago, when the team won the Eastern Conference title, was particularly important to him.

“This is a family here,” Dragic said. “We know we have a good team. We know we have chemistry. We have unfinished business.”

MINNESOTA

The Timberwolves reached a $60 million agreement with restricted free agent shooting guard Malik Beasley that’s for three years plus a team option for a fourth year, a person with knowledge of the deal confirmed to AP.

Beasley, who was acquired from the Denver Nuggets in a four-team trade in February, was charged last month with drug possession and threats of violence in Hennepin County District Court, after allegedly aiming a rifle at a family in their vehicle outside his Minnesota home where a large amount of marijuana and other guns were seized during a police search.

Beasley averaged 20.7 points in 14 games after arriving in Minnesota.

The Timberwolves also finalized and confirmed three draft-night trades, including the deal with Oklahoma City reuniting them with point guard Ricky Rubio.

NEW YORK

Alec Burks is the first free agent addition under Knicks President Leon Rose.

The swingman agreed to a $6 million, one-year deal, first reported by ESPN and confirmed by his agent.

Burks split last season between Golden State and Philadelphia, averaging a career-best 15 points.

The Knicks went into free agency with about $35 million to spend after waiving a number of veterans Thursday.

ORLANDO

A person with knowledge of the negotiations said the Magic and guard Dwayne Bacon agreed on a one-year deal for about $2.5 million this coming season. The Magic hold a team option for 2021-22, the person who spoke to AP said.

Bacon is a Central Florida native, born in Lakeland, not far from Orlando. He played college ball at Florida State and spent his first three pro seasons in Charlotte. Steve Clifford, now the Magic coach, was his coach there in his rookie year.

PHILADELPHIA

Veteran center Dwight Howard is going to join the 76ers on a one-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum of $2.6 million, agent Charles Briscoe told AP.

Howard heads to Philadelphia after helping the Los Angeles Lakers win this past season’s NBA title.

PORTLAND

Derrick Jones Jr., the league’s reigning Slam Dunk champion, agreed to a two-year deal with the Trail Blazers. The Athletic first reported the agreement, which a person with knowledge later confirmed to AP.

Jones Jr. was a major part of Miami’s rotation for the last two seasons, and averaged a career-best 8.5 points per game for the Heat this past year.

UTAH

Jordan Clarkson is staying and Derrick Favors is coming back, according to people with direct knowledge of the transactions.

Clarkson agreed to a four-year, $52 million deal; he averaged 15.6 points in 42 games after getting traded to Utah last December. And Favors — a post player who spent most of his NBA career in Utah before playing with New Orleans last season — returned on a deal that will pay him nearly $30 million for three seasons.

WASHINGTON

Davis Bertans is staying with the Wizards on a five-year deal worth $80 million, a person with knowledge of the details told AP.

Bertans picked a good time for his best season, averaging 15.4 points in 54 games. He skipped the restart at Walt Disney World rather than risk injury before free agency.

The 6-foot-10 forward from Latvia has shot better than 42% from 3-point range each of the last two seasons.

The fifth year of his deal, first reported by ESPN, is an early termination option.

Tyronn Lue agrees to become next Clippers coach

Tyronn Lue has agreed to become the next coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.

A person with knowledge of the situation said final terms were still being worked on. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity because no contract had been signed.

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Lue will replace Doc Rivers, who had coached the Clippers for the last seven seasons and is now coaching the Philadelphia 76ers. Lue, 43, was on the 59-year-old Rivers’ staff this season when the Clippers wasted a 3-1 lead over Denver and lost in the Western Conference semifinals.

ESPN first reported the agreement between Lue and the Clippers, saying it was a five-year deal.

It’s not the first time Lue has been promoted to head coach in the NBA in the wake of a firing. He was on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ staff when he replaced the fired David Blatt during the 2015-16 season. Under Lue’s guidance, the Cavs and LeBron James went on to win their first-ever NBA championship that season, making Lue one of the few rookie coaches in the league to ever lead his team to a title.

Lue, who won two NBA championships as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers, went 128-83 in parts of four seasons as Cavs coach. He coached the team to the NBA Finals in 2017 and 2018, but both times they lost to Golden State. He was fired after an 0-6 start to the 2018-19 season.

Lue was in his second stint with the Clippers, having joined them initially in July 2013. The following June, he went to Cleveland.

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Lue’s hiring means there are now six Black head coaches currently in the NBA as he joins Rivers in Philadelphia, Lloyd Pierce in Atlanta, J.B. Bickerstaff in Cleveland, Monty Williams in Phoenix and Dwane Casey in Detroit.

Lue also was a candidate for other jobs this offseason, including in Houston and New Orleans.

The Clippers — in the first season of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George playing together — went 49-23 this regular season, the fourth-best record in franchise history.

Murray, Jokic help Denver stun Clippers 104-89 in Game 7

Nikola Jokic picked out two birthday presents for his coach. He just didn’t know which one he would be wrapping.

“Before the game I told him, ‘Coach, I’m going to give you a really good present — I’m going to get you home or I’m going to get you to the conference finals,’” the Nuggets center said.

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Michael Malone was thrilled with the present he received.

Denver’s dynamic duo of Jamal Murray and Jokic led another stunning turnaround as the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2009.

Murray scored 40 points, Jokic had a triple-double by the third quarter and Denver again overcame a double-digit deficit to shock the Los Angeles Clippers 104-89 in Game 7 on Tuesday night.

Denver became the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 series deficit twice in the same postseason. The team beat Utah in Game 7 in the first round.

“Those guys stepped up on the biggest moment,” said Malone, who turned 49 on Tuesday. “You find out a lot about people in these moments. Man, did we pass the character test or what?”

Even more history: The Nuggets are the third team in the U.S. major pro sports to rally from a pair of 3-1 deficits in the same playoffs, joining the 1985 Kansas City Royals and 2003 Minnesota Wild.

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Denver will face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals. They’ll be the underdogs, of course. That’s fine with Murray.

“It’s fun to silence everybody,” said Murray, who scored 25 in the first half.

They certainly quieted the noise around the Clippers, who hoped the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George would lead them to their first-ever conference finals — and beyond. But LA’s stars fell flat.

“It hurts. It hurts. But we move on,” George said. “Year 1 together, first run together, of course we wanted to win this. But we’ve been very optimistic about us being together and building something going down the road.”

Leonard finished with 14 points on 6-of-22 shooting, while George had 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting. The Clippers fell to 0-8 all-time in games where they could clinch a trip to the conference finals.

This marked the third time that coach Doc Rivers was on the losing end of a series where his team led 3-1. It also happened when he was with Orlando against Detroit in 2003, and with the Clippers against Houston in 2015.

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“I’m the coach and I’ll take any blame for it. But we didn’t meet our expectations, clearly,” Rivers said.

The Nuggets celebrated in style after the game, dumping water on each other and jumping around in the locker room.

“This is a really interesting team,” Jokic said. “We don’t have many superstars.”

That’s debatable.

The 7-foot Jokic had a monster game with 16 points, 13 assists and 22 rebounds, which were the most by a Nuggets player in an NBA playoff game. He broke his record of 19 that he set last season and shared with Marcus Camby.

In a familiar trend, the Nuggets found themselves down by 12 in the first half. They also trailed 61-54 with 10:50 let in the third when they caught fire. The Nuggets went on a 35-13 run to build a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter.

They led by as many as 20.

Denver also rallied from double-digit deficits in its last two games to stun the Clippers.

“We were right there. There’s no excuses,” Leonard said. “We should have finished it off. Like I said, the last three games pretty much mirrored each other.”

Jokic insisted the third-seeded Nuggets weren’t feeling any pressure. He said Game 7 was just another game. After all, this was Denver’s fourth straight Game 7 dating to the playoffs last season.

“Honestly, you could just see the difference in the two teams. That team’s been together,” Rivers said. “We haven’t. And you could see it as the games went on.”

Denver’s plans were to enjoy the moment — briefly, anyway, before getting ready for the Lakers.

“You have to celebrate the moments,” Malone said. “This is a moment. It’s my birthday. We’re going to go party.”

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TIP-INS

Nuggets: Jerami Grant and Gary Harris each had 14 points.

Clippers: G Landry Shamet turned his right ankle in the first quarter, limped down the floor, hit a 3-pointer and then hobbled to the locker room. He returned just before halftime. … Montrezl Harrell led the Clippers with 20 points.

FASHION FORWARD

The Nuggets coaching staff went with their customary all-black outfits (a nod to singer Johnny Cash). The Clippers wore salmon-colored polo shirts that have been lucky for them inside the bubble.

Just coaches being a little superstitious.

“I worked with coaches that knew the record of the ties they wore,” Malone said. “Yes, we are a weird group. We’ll look at any advantage necessary. As the jump ball goes up, it doesn’t matter what we’re wearing.”

___

NBA Playoffs: Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets semifinals preview

The Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets will meet in the Western Conference semifinals with the winner advancing to the conference finals with hopes of getting to the NBA Finals.

The Clippers didn’t have the easiest time in their first-round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. All eyes were focused on second-year star Luka Doncic in the series but Los Angeles managed to keep him at bay and get a leg up on the series. The Clippers won the series 4-2.

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Kawhi Leonard led the way with 32.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists and showed why he’s one of the best players in basketball. He had 33 points in Game 6 of the series to close it out.

Los Angeles also got more than 15 points per game from Paul George and sixth man Lou Williams. Marcus Morris and Ivan Zubac both scored more than 10 points per game.

On a few days’ rest, Los Angeles will get to face the Nuggets and attempt to stop their budding star, Jamal Murray.

The Nuggets came back down 3-1 to defeat the Utah Jazz and move on to the next round. Murray wrapped up the seven-game series averaging 31.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. Nikola Jokic averaged 26.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.

It will be a tough task for Denver to get into the next round after only one day of rest in between Game 7 against the Jazz and Game 1 against the Clippers.

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Los Angeles has never gotten as far as the conference finals and the Nuggets haven’t been to the conference finals since 2009.

SCHEDULE (All times Eastern)

Game 1: Sept. 3 (9 pm; TNT)

Game 2: Sept. 5 (9 pm; TNT)

Game 3: Sept. 7 (9 pm; TNT)

Game 4: Sept. 9 (9 pm; ESPN)

Game 5: Sept. 11 (TBD: TNT)

Game 6: Sept. 13 (TBD; ESPN)

Game 7: Sept. 15 (TBD; ESPN)

Suns’ Devin Booker nails turnaround game-winning jumper over Clippers’ Paul George

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker nailed the game-winning turnaround jumper to push his team over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, 117-115.

The Suns had the ball in the closing seconds of the game and they were able to grab the offensive rebound before Booker got the ball into his hands. He dribbled and took on Paul George before making the turnaround shot. His teammates immediately came off the bench and celebrated the victory.

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“This is a fun team to be a part of and we’re having fun with it,” Booker told reporters after the game. “This whole experience … we just wanted to come down here and make some noise and that’s what we’re doing.”

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Booker finished with 35 points.

With the win, the Suns moved to 3-0 since the NBA restarted its season in the Disney Wide World of Sports bubble. Phoenix has set itself up to make things interesting when it comes to the playoffs.

The Suns are only three games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. They are tied for 10th with the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans. The Suns have five games remaining to make a run for the final spot. However, they face none of the aforementioned teams.

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Phoenix’s next game comes Thursday against the Indiana Pacers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Clippers’ Patrick Beverley third player to leave NBA bubble due to personal, family matters: reports

Los Angeles Clippers Patrick Beverley is the third NBA player to leave the bubble this month due to a family or personal matter, reports say.

Beverley left Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando on Tuesday night because of “an emergency personal matter,” league sources told ESPN. The veteran guard said he plans to return, although it was not clear when.

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Beverley sent out a cryptic message late Wednesday morning of a crying emoji.

Beverley’s departure is the latest blow for the Clippers, who also saw center Montrezl Harrell leave the bubble Friday due to an “urgent family situation,” The Athletic reported.

Both players join New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson, who was the first to leave the Orlando campus on Thursday. According to his team, he was tending to an “urgent family matter.”

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All three have reportedly expressed interest in returning but with both teams’ first game scheduled for next Thursday, there are several variables that could see them sit it out.

NBA protocol requires any player that is outside the bubble for less than a week to quarantine for four days upon return, barring a positive coronavirus test result. Any time longer outside the bubble could mean up to two weeks under quarantine.

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With no details about any player’s situation, the timetable for their return remains a mystery.

Clippers’ Paul George offers message of hope during coronavirus pandemic: ‘It’s going to take a group effort’

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Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George offered a message of hope Thursday as California and the rest of the nation battle through the coronavirus pandemic.

George told fans and his followers on Instagram to be smart during the trying time and gave some insight on what his teammates and his coaches have been preaching while the NBA season remains in limbo.

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“Clipper Nation, what’s good? Just wanted to share some light, keep everybody positive, and their mood right. I know this is a hard time we’re going through right now, but we will get through it. As we’ve been preaching and saying around our team, amongst coach, we want to win the wait. When this thing gets back going, we want to be the team that’s in the best shape and ready to go,” George said.

“It’s going to take a group effort. Everybody do their part. Stay inside. Stay safe. Use this time to be with family. I know it’s tough for us, as much as we’re on the road. I’m valuing these opportunities right now. It’s a tough situation with the world being in the state it’s in, but I’m using that as a positive. To be around my girl, my kids, and just being around my family.

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“Let’s be smart. Let’s stay together. We’re gonna get through it. Stay strong.”

George joined the Clippers prior to the start of the 2019-20 season in a shocking trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder. He joined with Kawhi Leonard to make the Clippers one of the top teams in the Western Conference.

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Before the season was suspended, the Clippers were second in the West with a 44-20 record.

Clippers’ Paul George offers message of hope during coronavirus pandemic: ‘It’s going to take a group effort’

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.

Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George offered a message of hope Thursday as California and the rest of the nation battle through the coronavirus pandemic.

MAVERICKS’ OWNER MARK CUBAN HAS NO TIMETABLE FOR NBA RETURN BUT CONCEDES ‘AMERICA NEEDS SPORTS’

MIAMI HEAT’S ERIK SPOELSTRA SEES SUSPENDED SEASON AS BLESSING IN DISGUISE

“Let’s be smart. Let’s stay together. We’re gonna get through it. Stay strong.”

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Before the season was suspended, the Clippers were second in the West with a 44-20 record.

Kawhi Leonard wins first Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP award

Kawhi Leonard made it look effortless, nailing one 3-pointer after another and nearly matching an All-Star Game record.

The tough part came afterward. Finding the right words to express how he felt after becoming the first Kobe Bryant MVP award winner wasn’t so easy.

Leonard scored 30 points and hit eight 3-pointers to lead Team LeBron to a 157-155 victory over Team Giannis on Sunday night.

He was presented the MVP trophy that the league renamed after Bryant on Saturday, three weeks after the Lakers great and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among the nine people killed when their helicopter crashed near Los Angeles.

“It’s very special,” Leonard said. “Like I said, I had a relationship with him. Words can’t explain how happy I am for it. Able to put that trophy in my room, in my trophy room, and just be able to see Kobe’s name on there, it just means a lot to me. He’s a big inspiration in my life. He did a lot for me.”

Bryant had a huge presence over the first All-Star festivities in Chicago since 1988, when Michael Jordan delighted the home crowd by beating Dominique Wilkins in a classic slam dunk contest and scoring 40 points to take MVP honors in the game.

There were all sorts of tributes to Bryant, his daughter and late NBA Commissioner Emeritus David Stern. But once the game started, it didn’t take long for Leonard to make his presence felt.

The Los Angeles Clippers star has two NBA finals MVP trophies after helping San Antonio and Toronto win championships.

He was picked for his fourth All-Star team and put on quite a display from the perimeter, knocking down 8 of 14 3-pointers.

Had he made one more, he would have matched Paul George’s All-Star record set in 2016. And he appeared to be well on his way to breaking it after a scorching start.

Leonard hit one just seconds into the game. He made all four 3s in the first quarter — the only shots he took while scoring 12 points.

Leonard was 7 of 10 in the first half, only to cool off a bit after that. He missed a step-back 3 that could have won it with his team up 154-153, but was the runaway winner for the game’s MVP honors with seven votes. LeBron James got three and Chicago product Anthony Davis and Chris Paul received one apiece.

All that’s missing for Leonard now is the league’s regular season MVP award.

“My mindset is always just to try to make my team the best team at the end of the regular season,” Leonard said. “And if I’m fortunate enough to win a regular season MVP, then I’ll be happy with it. I always just want to win championships. I’m not really concerned with the personal goal. So I always want to play to win championships.”

Leonard could have signed with the Lakers and teamed with LeBron James and Anthony Davis with Frank Vogel coaching them after leading Toronto to the championship last season. Instead, it was a one-night-only affair, with Vogel on the sideline for Team LeBron.

The Clippers are third in the Western Conference behind the Lakers and Denver, five games off the lead. They could cross paths in the playoffs with the team that shares their arena. But for one night, anyway, Leonard enjoyed being on the same side.

“It was fun,” he said. “I played with ‘Bron and A.D. last year, and I think the year before that or so. But it’s always fun just to get around guys that are very competitive, see what they do on an everyday basis.

“Just talking, just being their teammate. We go at each other all year round. And just like I said, it’s great to be able to pick their brain and just be around them and joke and laugh.”