NBA News Roundup: 16th July - LeBron James meets with Luke Walton, set to miss Team USA minicamp
An offseason that started off at a mind-numbing pace with free agents signing deals left, right and center on the first couple of days has predictably cooled down. In a summer where few teams had cap space and fewer still were willing to tie it up long term, a number of worthy free agents like Clint Capela and Marcus Smart are still waiting to sing deals worthy of their usual market value.
Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker, on the other hand, have signed deals that could be termed as medium-risk, high-reward plays by the Chicago Bulls front office. Both of them are slated to earn $20 million in the 2018-19 season, and Capela figures to at least be worth that amount presumably whereas the Rockets' front office would prefer a deal more like Jusuf Nurkic's 4-year,$48 million, which the Bosnian 23-year-old signed with the Blazers.
But among other news, there is the mystique that comes with a superstar heading to LA in LeBron James, and in our roundup, we've got some news about The King to bring to you:
#1 Philadelphia 76ers try and fail to lure Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey
The Sixers were "rebuffed" in their attempt to hire Daryl Morey from the Houston Rockets to be their new GM, according to the New York Times' Marc Stein. The Sixers' organization was rocked by a scandal relating to burner accounts operated by former GM Bryan Colangelo's wife Barbara Bottini, leading to his resignation after about 2 seasons in charge of the franchise.
Morey has been with the Rockets for the last 12 seasons. He was recently named the NBA's Executive of the Year for his role in assembling a roster which won a league-best 65 games and was within arm's reach of its first trip to the NBA Finals since 1995. He signed a four-year contract extension with Houston in June 2017 that will take him through 2020-21.
Head coach Brett Brown is currently overseeing basketball operations until a replacement is found.