Christian Villere is joined by Sacramento Kings Beat Blogger for Hoop Ball, Jake Fitzgibbon.

Christian and Jake detail some of the surprises from this past season. Then they touch on some of the past players to go number 7 in the NBA draft. Lastly, they discuss a possible extension for Willie Cauley-Stein.

(04-18-18)

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LISTEN:

Kawhi Leonard - SF - Toronto Raptors

Marc Stein of the New York Times is reporting that Kawhi Leonard is strongly considering signing a two-year, $70 million deal to remain with the world champion Raptors.

Leonard is being courted by nearly every team in a major market after his championship run with the Raptors, and he is expected to meet with the Clippers next week. It has been suggested that signing a two-year deal with a player option in the third year would hold appeal for Leonard, since he would then be eligible for a higher maximum contract in the summer of 2021, after completing his 10th season. Kawhi averaged 26.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in 60 regular-season games with the Raptors and he should maintain the same value regardless of where he lands.

Source: Marc Stein

Klay Thompson - SG - Golden State Warriors

All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson would be open to a meeting with the Clippers should the Warriors not offer him a max-level contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

Thompson is an unrestricted free agent this offseason and will undergo surgery later this week while Warriors general manager Bob Myers said it’s unclear when he will return. Thompson’s father, Mychal Thompson, told the San Francisco Chronicle earlier this month that there’s “no question” Klay will re-sign with the Warriors. The 29-year old shooting guard averaged 21.5 points and 3.5 rebounds during the regular season and along with Steph Curry and Draymond Green, has been an integral part of the Warriors’ core that has reached the Finals five straight times.

Source: ESPN

DeMarcus Cousins - C - Golden State Warriors

Free agent center DeMarcus Cousins is among the players on the Knicks’ radar, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.

Cousins, 28, is coming off a one-year stint with the Warriors, where he averaged 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds, but he was limited to just 30 regular-season games. New York is still holding out hope for Kevin Durant but if he doesn’t come to the Big Apple, the Knicks clearly have others on their radar as sort of contingency plans and Boogie is one of them. Spears also reported that the Knicks have their eyes on Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris and DeAndre Jordan.

Source: Marc J. Spears

Kevin Durant - SF - Golden State Warriors

Appearing on ESPN last night, Adrian Wojnarowski said that the Nets plan to offer Kevin Durant, a four-year max contract.

Brooklyn is in a great position to offer Kyrie Irving a max contract and then use that to pursue KD or perhaps another free agent. Zach Lowe added that the idea of Kyrie as a solo doesn’t appear to be the plan but the Nets would ultimately take on Irving as a solo act, although there would probably be a divide within the organization. KD is expected to miss the majority of the next season but it looks like teams won’t have any second thoughts offering him the max.

Source: Adrian Wojnarowski

Bobby Portis - PF - Washington Wizards

Tony Jones and Fred Katz of The Athletic are reporting Bobby Portis is looking for as much as $16 million in free agency and has interest from multiple teams.

According to Jones and Katz, the Wizards aren't expected to match a huge offer sheet on Portis. As a restricted free agent, the Wiz declining to match would allow him to go elsewhere. The Utah Jazz have been a team at the top of the list on the rumor mill. Portis averaged 14.3 points and 8.6 rebounds in 28 games for the Wiz last season.

Source: Tony Jones on Twitter

Nikola Vucevic - C - Orlando Magic

Per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, the Mavs like how Nikola Vucevic fits alongside Kristaps Porzingis, but his expected salary would cost too much for the Mavs to sign.

The Mavs will enter free agency with a ton of cap space, but after the expected max contract that they'll extend to Porzingis, they may be more inclined to spread the wealth around or target Kemba Walker than committing a max contract to Vucevic. Vucevic had a career year as an All-Star for the Magic this past season, but his next destination remains a crapshoot.

Source: Dallas News

Jimmy Butler - SG - Philadelphia Sixers

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Rockets' ideal plan in free agency is to get Jimmy Butler by a sign-and-trade deal with the Sixers.

Butler is going to be a sought after commodity once free agency opens as the Sixers, Lakers, and others are also going to be looking to ink him to a long-term deal. Butler regained his level back to max contract level after his play during the playoffs this season. The Rockets don't have any cap space to sign Butler outright, so they'll have to get a commitment from him to take a pay cut, while also getting the Sixers to agree to help facilitate a deal. This is going to be interesting.

Source: ESPN

Khem Birch - C - Orlando Magic

The Magic have extended qualifying offers to C Khem Birch and F Amile Jefferson, rendering both restricted free agents ahead of free agency which is set to begin on June 30th.

Birch, who averaged 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in just 12.9 minutes per game this past season, is seemingly a priority for the Magic to bring back, and now they'll get the opportunity to match any contracts he may fetch from other teams. Jefferson was in the G-League for the majority of the season, where he was very productive. Both may take on larger roles, should they stay with the Magic, as star C Nikola Vucevic is an unrestricted free agent.

Source: Magic PR on Twitter

JR Smith - SG - Cleveland Cavaliers

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, the Lakers could eventually take a look at signing J.R. Smith should he be released by the Cavs, or traded and bought out by another team.

Smith is likely to become a free agent one way or the other by the end of the month, and the Lakers will be looking at cheap floor-spacers to fill out their roster. Smith and LeBron James are familiar with one another after winning a championship together with the Cavs, and it looks like Smith to the Lakers is a real possibility.

Source: Chris Haynes on Twitter

Kristaps Porzingis - PF - Dallas Mavericks

Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting that the Mavs will meet with restricted free agent Kristaps Porzingis (torn ACL) once free agency opens on June 30th, and the team will offer him the full five-year, $158 million max contract.

This was expected ever since the Mavs traded for Porzingis mid-season while he recovered from his knee injury. Porzingis is fully expected to sign with the Mavs and become reigning ROY Luka Doncic's running mate for the foreseeable future.

Source: Shams Charania on Twitter