🚨 NBA Free Agency Night 1 RECAP 🚨 Hawks & Rockets are COOKING – Shams Charania | SportsCenter

🚨 NBA Free Agency Night 1 RECAP 🚨 Hawks & Rockets are COOKING – Shams Charania | SportsCenter

All right, senior NBA insider Shamsani has been in peak form since transaction season started and we’re here with him now on Sports Center. Very, very busy first day for you. Seams absolutely got cracking the moment that 6:00 hour hit. Uh but to begin things, let’s start in Denver. They make the move on the wing, shipping out Michael Porter Jr. bringing in Cam Johnson. What more do you have on that transaction? This is a major shakeup at the wing position for Denver and I’m told that they really wanted to prioritize a fresh start for Michael Porter Jr. but also themselves. They have gone year in and year out with this core in Denver. So for them now to move Michael Porter Jr. out with an unprotected first round pick for Cam Johnson. Nicole said it at the end of the season. He wanted some more versatility, some more depth. They get that 3 and D approach and they have also reached agreement on a one-year deal to bring back Bruce Brown Jr. a fan favorite. really a utility do it all type of player. So in the span of the last several hours they go and get Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown Jr., Michael Porter Jr. after several years there in the 2023 championship birthday but there he is on his way out.
It’s like some old blood getting in there to sort of revitalize exactly what they’re doing out there in Denver. Now the Hawks and the Rockets feel like they have just been making these trades, these moves uh constantly. And to to their credit, they’ve been really uh beneficial it feels like early on. who what what more is on the horizon for those guys?
When I talk to people around the league, they say the Hawks and the Rockets are cooking because you think about it from the Atlanta’s perspective tonight going out and getting Alexander Walker a big time really a two-way type of player. He had a big time playoff run. And then you go and get Luke Canard, his ability to shoot. He’s been one of the best shooters in the NBA. And then on the other side, you have Houston and also Atlanta got Chris Brazil as well. Y
Houston has also they’ve done even more business than Atlanta overall. We know about the Kevin Durant trade, but tonight they go and get um uh they they get Clint Capella at the center. And then Dorian Finny Smith, he was the most I think interesting free agent out there. The Lakers were not able to do a deal. They really were disciplined. They did not go higher than two years, I’m told, on a deal for Dorian Finny Smith. He ends up getting four years about $53 million and that’s an Atlanta team that last week or last week Atlanta cleaned up and then now Houston’s done a lot of business.
It’s incredible to watch both of those teams understand that you got an opportunity in for in front of you. You got to take advantage of it. Now earlier this month after days after the Desmond Bane trade streets were wondering if Memphis was going to go full reset essentially, right? And so they give Jiren Jackson the max deal. What else could they do to solidify that core for the Grizzlies? They’ve doubled down on Jiren Jackson Jr. and John Morant. Yes, Desmond Bane is out, but they reached agreement five years, $240 million maximum renegotiation and extension. I’m told he also has a player option in that fifth year. And so what they’ve shown is they’re going to continue to retool around their two franchise cornerstones. And this Jiren Jackson Jr. piece was the biggest one because he only had one year left on his deal after uh you know, this upcoming season was going to be the last year of his deal. So to get him on the books was big time for the team. Santi Alama also locked in three years 52.5 million dollar. So this is a team that’s retooling around Jiren Jackson Jr. and John Moran.
Speaking of Jiren Jackson Jr. just the big man as a whole across the NBA. It felt as though it was a sort of dated concept to rely so much on the man in the middle defensively. But what kind of moves are being made for these big men now?
We saw Ty Jerome right there. I missed that. There’s so many deals out there. He went to Memphis as well. But Brook Lopez, two years, $18 million to go to the Clippers. So after seven years in Milwaukee, he is departing. Kavon Looney leaves the Warriors in his own right after 10 years with the Warriors, three championships. He will go to the New Orleans Pelicans. Two years, $16 million. Then Luke Cornett, four years, $41 million deal. He’s no longer a Boston Celtic. He’s going to be with the San Antonio Spurs. And that’s where we could see some lineups with him, Victor Romanyamo. He’ll back up Victor Romanyama at different points. But that’s another key addition for the Spurs.
Free agent frenzy across the NBA. Kendrick Perkins going to join us in a moment. Chris Levert, he’s heading to the Pistons. Two years, 29 million according to Shams. He has scored 1546 points off the bench over the last two seasons, fifth most in the NBA over that span. D’Angelo Russell will reunite with former Laker teammates Anthony Davis, Max Christie in Dallas. Two-year deal. Average a career low 25 minutes per game last season, but should get more run with the Mavericks. Kyrie Irving comes back from his torn ACL. The Rockets add Dorian Fenny Smith. Four-year deal, 53 million. Versatile defender for the Nets and Lakers last seasons. Joins the Rockets team already ranked fifth in defensive efficiency last season. There he is, Kendrick Perkins. He’s a man. He’s 40. He’s got four kids and they’re right there in his medallion. 2008 NBA champion. All right, Perk. Uh, Houston’s been really busy this off seasonason. They signed Dorian Finny Smith. How would you assess their chances in a loaded West? Forget the West. They’re second favorite to win it all in my opinion. When you look at what the Rock has done, right behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. I want to visit uh for the holidays. I want to go to Raphael Stonehouse cuz I know damn it they going to have some good food cuz he been cooking this free agency getting Trey Kevin Durant in the draft addressing that issue of a closer and adding three-point shooting. You have great depth at the center position and Afro Shangon who I call baby Jokic. You pick up Clink Capella and Big Steven Adams. One, they both bring something different to the table. And then you bring back Jabari Smith, a guy who’s versatile defender on the defensive side of things that could guard one through five, a guy that can stretch the floor. And then you have you address the most important position in the league, which is the wing uh position. You add Dorian Smith, uh Dorian Smith, Dorian, uh Finny Smith to the table with along Aean Thompson and Tory East, so you could defend at a high level at the wing. And now Dorian Smith, uh Dory Finny Smith is going to bring the three-point uh shooting as well. The Rockets did their thing in this free agency and they’re definitely a top two contender in the whole league.
All right, let’s uh go east now with the Hawks. They’ve upgraded their roster obviously Alexander Walker, Canard Porzingis as they look to avoid a playin this time around. Um in an injury riddled conference, how seriously should we take Atlanta? Very serious. Very serious. I believe they’re going to finish top three. Um, they have a guy in a young superstar who’s disrespected and Trey Young. Now all of a sudden you bring in Alexander Walker. We saw what he did for the Minnesota Timberwolves last year. You add the shooting of uh Luke Canoid, but also you add a big and Christoff Porzingis who who creates problems right when he’s healthy. A guy that could stretch the floor, take advantage of postups. And remember what they have already there in Atlanta. You have uh uh the kid um Jaylen Johnson who was knocking at the door being an allstar last year before he got injured. One of the most athletic guys in the league. You have Tyson Daniels who’s a a professional pest defensively. You see them somewhat mimicking what Oklahoma is doing for as loading up at the wing position. The Hawks have no excuse not to be a top three seed in the Eastern Conference. And I like what they did this off seasonason, surrounded Trey Young with the right pieces that he need to actually go out there and contend.

On SportsCenter, Shams Charania and Kendrick Perkins react to the transactions on Night 1 of the 2025 NBA Free Agency period including the Nuggets trading Michael Porter Jr. to the Nets, Jaren Jackson Jr. signing a 5-year $240 million extension with the Grizzlies, Rockets adding Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela and more.

✔️ Subscribe to ESPN+ http://espnplus.com/youtube
✔️ Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn
✔️ Subscribe to ESPN on YouTube: http://es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoYOUTUBE
✔️ Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on YouTube: http://bit.ly/SUBSCRIBEtoNBAonESPN
✔️ Watch ESPN on YouTube TV: http://es.pn/YouTubeTV

#ESPN