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NBA Rumors: P.J. Tucker, Rudy Gay, Carlik Jones, and Edmond Sumner On the Move

While the NBA is still months away from training camp, rumors, and transactions keep the league in the headlines. Here is a wrapup of the biggest news surrounding the league “(July 21 and July 22) involving P.J. Tucker, Rudy Gay, Carlik Jones, and Edmond Sumner. I also look at Javon Freeman-Liberty,  Lester Quinones, and Jeff Dowtin signing deals.

NBA Rumors: P.J. Tucker, Rudy Gay, Carlik Jones, and Edmond Sumner On the Move

Javon Freeman-Liberty Inks 2-way Deal With Toronto

Freeman-Liberty, an unrestricted free agent, parlayed an outstanding 2K24 Vegas performance into a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors, according to ESPN’s Adrain Wojnarowski. It is the second NBA contract that Freeman-Liberty has signed.

After going undrafted out of DePaul in 2022, Freeman-Liberty played for the Chicago Bulls’ Las Vegas squad in 2022 and then inked an exhibit-10 deal with the team. The 23-year-old native Chicagoan was waived by the Bulls after making one appearance in an exhibition game. He later joined the Bulls G-League team, the Windy City Bulls, as an affiliate player.

Freeman-Liberty had a strong season with Windy City, compiling three double-doubles. However, it wasn’t until after a terrific summer league campaign that Freeman-Liberty was able to secure an NBA job. The 2023 all-summer league second-team selection averaged 21.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in five games. He added 2.4 threes and 1.0 blocks while compiling a shooting slash line of .493/.462/.774.

The 6-4 combo guard ran the Bulls’ Summer League with poise and confidence. While he can run the point, Liberty-Freeman is best suited to play the two. Liberty-Freeman is a three-level scorer who plays both ends and rebounds the ball well defensively. He also possesses excellent range on his jumper.

Liberty-Freeman has proven over the last year that he is an NBA player. He could see significant time with the Raptors in 2023-24, as they only have four guards on their roster. Granted, Toronto has several versatile players that can play multiple positions.

Liberty-Freman joins Ron Harper Jr. and Markquis Nowell on two-way deals with the Raptors.

Carlik Jones May Be On Way Out of Chicago

Jones may be the odd man out in Chicago’s crowded backcourt. At least that is what K.C. Jones of NBC Chicago believes.

The Bulls have 14 players on their roster, including injured Lonzo Ball, after re-signing restricted free agent Ayo Dosunmo on Friday. Eight players are guards, with Ball, Coby White, Dosunmo, Jevon Carter, and Jones listed as point guards. Zach LaVine, Alex Caruso, and  Dalen Terry are the other guards.

Chicago is $2 million below the luxury tax and certainly will sign at least one more player. Thus, making Jones vulnerable to being cut due to his $1.9 million being nonguaranteed. But if the 2023 G-League MVP is on the roster at the start of the regular season, he is assured of getting $250,000 of that money.

The Bulls likely want to find another frontcourt piece. They have been linked to Rudy Gay and Christian Wood.

Chicago will likely carry 15 players on its opening-day roster with Ball out for the foreseeable future. Therefore, the Bulls could sign another frontcourt player and keep Jones if management is not against going into the tax. The Bulls do have a $10 million disabled player exception for Ball. But the team will unlikely use that until later in the season.

Rudy Gay Drawing Interest From Teams

Gay has moved around a couple of times this season and is currently an unrestricted free agent. Gay was waived by Oklahoma City on July 18 after being traded twice by Utah and Atlanta. But the 37-year-old forward will not likely be out of work for long.

Gay is expected to garner interest from several teams. According to Michael Scotto of Hoopshype, the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, and New Orleans Pelicans will likely pursue the 17-year veteran.

Gay has been part of Utah’s rotation the for the past two years. However, he did struggle last year on both ends of the floor. Gay averaged 5.2 points and 1.9 rebounds over 15 minutes in 56 appearances in 2022-23.

The Warriors and Lakers have 13 players under contract. Both are likely to sign one more player.

The Mavericks, who are looking to upgrade their roster, along with the Bulls and the Pelicans, have 14 on their roster. Chicago needs help up front, while the Pelicans would be better off pursuing a wing. Gay is mainly a power forward at this point in his career.

Edmond Sumner Is Also Garnering Interest From Several NBA Teams

Former Brooklyn Nets guard Edmond Sumner is garnering a lot of interest per Hoopshype. According to league sources, the Hornets, Bucks, Raptors, Heat, and Suns have shown exploratory interest in Sumner since being waived on July 15.

Sumner has played well in the last two seasons he has suited up. Sumner missed the 2021-22 campaign with an Achilles injury. The 27-year-old combo guard averaged 7.1 points on 46.1% shooting from the field and 35.6% from the 3-point line last year. He also has shown the ability to be at least a decent defender.

As previously reported, Charlotte is looking for a backup for LaMelo Ball. Dennis Smith Jr, who held that title last season, is now with Brooklyn. The Hornets also missed out on Aaron Holiday, who chose to sign with Houston. The Hornets have also been linked to Delon Wright.

Milwaukee has 16 players with fully guaranteed contracts though the Bucks don’t really have a backup for Jrue Holiday. AJ Green, Malik Beasley, and Grayson Allen have experience handling the lead guard position, while Andre Jackson was an outstanding playmaker at UConn. The Bucks are also believed to be interested in bringing back Thanasis Antetokounmpo.

Toronto has an open roster spot, with Dennis Schroder and Malachi Flynn the only point guards on the roster. The Raptors have Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Otto Porter Jr, and Gradey Dick, who can handle the ball and create for others. Plus, Liberty-Freeman and Nowell — both on two-way contracts — can help out at the position.

Miami needs a backup point guard, but the Heat are still hoping they can swing a deal for Damian Lillard. Meanwhile, Phoenix has 15 players under contract, but the Suns have done some unconventional things this summer.

P.J. Tucker On the Move?

In his latest hoop rumors article, Scotto said that PJ Tucker’s name was namedropped as a person of interest in discussions between the Sixers and Los Angeles Clippers.

“Tucker, James Harden’s longtime teammate with the Rockets and Sixers, has come up in trade discussions between the 76ers and Clippers, league sources told HoopsHype. The Clippers covet Tucker’s ability to guard multiple positions and defend the league’s top opposing scorers. Tucker is owed $11 million this upcoming year and has a $11.54 million player option for the 2024-25 season.”

It makes sense that Tucker, as he is 38 and will assuredly pick up his player option after this season unless he decides to retire. Plus, his offensive value has been limited to his ability to hit standstill threes.

While Tucker is still a sound defender, he only averaged 3.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 25 minutes of action last season. Tucker attempted three shots a game in 2022-23 though he did knock down 39.3% of his shots from distance.

Even if the 76ers decide against trading Harden, moving Tucker for salary cap relief or a more athletic player makes sense.

Jeff Dowtin Signs Training Camp Deal With Toronto

Jeff Dowtin is returning to Toronto, kind of. Dowtin, a restricted free agent, agreed to a training camp deal with the Raptors today. The Athletic’s Shams Charania said that Dowtin will have a significant portion of his salary guaranteed if he makes the club.

Dowtin, who was with the Raptors on a two-way deal in 2022-23, was a restricted free agent this summer but didn’t garner much attention. The 23-year-old had a successful summer league campaign in Las Vegas, putting up 16.0 points with a slash line of .571/.361/.923.

The 23-year-old point guard appeared in 25 games for Toronto last year, averaging 2.4 points and 1.2 assists in 10 minutes per game. He posted a shooting slash line of .439/.313/.667. Dowtin has 34 career NBA games under his belt.

As mentioned above, Toronto has 14 players under contract. It is unknown whether they plan to carry 15 players at the start of the season. If they do, Dowtin should have the inside track of earning the spot, depending on who else they bring into camp. However, if he doesn’t start the season with teams, he may be sent to their G-Loeague affiliate, Raptors 905, as an affiliate player.

Lester Quinones Signs Two-way Deal with Golden State

Quinones, who was sensational for the Warriors Summer League squad, inked a two-way deal with Golden State on Friday for the second straight year. However, Charania tweeted that Quinones will be given a “strong opportunity” to earn a standard deal in training camp.

After going undrafted out of Memphis in 2022, the 22-year-old signed a two-way deal with the Dubs. While he spent most of the season with Santa Cruz of the G-League, Quinones did appear in four games with the Warriors for a total of 18 minutes.

Golden State has 13 players under contract and is way above the NBA’s Super Tax Apron. The Warriors are expected to carry just 14 players at the beginning of the year and have been linked to several veterans. The Dubs don’t need any more guards or wings, so it would be a surprise that Quinones made the 15-man roster out of camp. Quinones is the first player to sign a two-way deal with Golden State this year.

Daniel Benjamin

Daniel Benjamin

Daniel Benjamin is passionate about all things basketball, especially evaluating talent and analyzing teams, whether the NBA, college basketball, WNBA, G-League or women's college basketball. He also loves to provided insights and gambling incites on basketball.

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