After the NBA Draft, teams are actively seeking trades to get their rookies. On June 28, the Knicks and the Mavericks completed an interesting trade. In the deal, the Knicks acquired the right to sign Copperen, however, the Finn has retired in 2022 and transitioned to coaching. Born in 1988, Copperen was traded to the Trail Blazers after being drafted in the 2007 NBA Draft with the 30th pick in the first round by the 76ers, but did not sign with any NBA team.
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In a 2011 three-way deal involving Andre Miller and Raymond Felton, Copperen's signing rights were sent to the Mavericks. Since then, the Mavericks have had the rights to sign Copperen, but he never joined and instead continued his basketball career in Europe. In 2022, Kopoonen officially retired after the European Championships and turned into a coach.
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In this deal, the Mavericks gave away the signing rights of Huporti and Kobonen, as well as some cash, in exchange for Atkinsa from the Knicks. Even though the signing rights of Kebonen no longer make sense for the Knicks, the Knicks decided to pocket him. And Copperen himself also humorously said on social media after learning that his signing rights were traded: "I'm very happy that the Knicks got my signing rights, although I now have a coaching contract with the Spurs, if they give me a lot of money, I can also consider joining."
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In addition, the Mavericks also completed another trade with the Pistons. They traded Hardaway Jr. and three second-round picks (one from the Raptors and two 2028 second-rounders) for Grimes. Hardaway Jr. has a whopping $17.9 million salary this season and one year left on his contract, with a salary of $16.19 million for the 2024-25 season.
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In the 2023-24 regular season, he played in 79 games, averaging 26.8 minutes per game, scoring 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 40.2% from the field. In the playoffs, he averaged 12.6 minutes per game, contributing 4.4 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting 37.9 percent from the field.
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These two deals are a testament to the NBA's determination to actively seek reinforcements after the draft. Whether it's the Knicks, Mavericks, or Pistons, they all want to use these trades to improve their teams and prepare for the upcoming season.