Knicks partways with four as roster shakeup continues
NEW YORK — The New York Knicks waived veterans Elfrid Payton, Taj Gibson and Wayne Ellington and declined their team option on Bobby Portis on Thursday, just a year after signing them in free agency.
The Knicks signed all the veterans as part of a seven-player class in the summer of 2019. They enter free agency Friday with only Julius Randle and Reggie Bullock remaining from the group, having traded Marcus Morris to the Clippers during the season.
Former Knicks President Steve Mills insisted at the start of last season that the Knicks got the players they wanted with that group. But successor Leon Rose cut most of them as he prepares to reshape one of the league’s worst rosters.
The moves have them well-positioned for free agency. Portis’ option would have paid him $15.8 million in 2020-21. Gibson was due $9.5 million and Ellington and Payton were each set to earn $8 million. The Knicks have roughly $40 million in cap space, eclipsed by only the Hawks.
The Knicks also waived forward Kenny Wooten and declined their option on guard Theo Pinson. The Knicks declined a qualifying offer to Damyean Dotson, signifying the end to his three-season tenure with New York.
Clippers bolster supporting cast
The Los Angeles Clippers acquired guard Luke Kennard from Detroit, and sent guards Landry Shamet to Brooklyn and Rodney McGruder to Detroit as they attempt to improve the supporting cast around Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
In addition to Kennard, the Clippers received center Justin Patton from the Pistons, as well as the draft rights to junior college player Jay Scrubb and four second-round picks.
Report: Hayward opting out of deal
Celtics forward Gordon Hayward opted out of the final year of a contract that would have paid him $34.1 million, making him a free agent, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press.
Pistons acquiring Hawks’ Dedmon
The Atlanta Hawks have agreed to trade center Dewayne Dedmon to the Detroit Pistons for guards Tony Snell and Khyri Thomas, a person with knowledge of the situation said.
Dedmon, 31, averaged a career-best 10.8 points with 7.5 rebounds for Atlanta in the 2018-19 season.
The Hawks selected Onyeka Okongwu from Southern Cal with the No. 6 pick of the draft.
Odds and ends
Guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is opting in at $19 million for the final year of his contract with the Mavericks, while center Willie Cauley-Stein is moving on after declining his $2.3 million option. . … The Kings have extended a qualifying offer to Bogdan Bogdanovic and the NBA has reportedly launched an investigation following a failed sign-and-trade agreement that would have sent the Serbian shooting guard to the Bucks. … The Knicks signed Seton Hall’s Myles Powell and invited him to training camp.