NBA Notes: Cam Whitmore, Warriors, Stephen Curry, Bulls, Noa Essengue

Free Agency

Cam Whitmore is officially free to find his next team. The forward cleared waivers Sunday after being waived by the Cavaliers and officially became an unrestricted free agent, via the RealGM transaction log.

Cleveland waived Whitmore on Friday and intends to stretch his $5.46 million salary across three seasons, a move designed primarily to create the room necessary to complete its roster business.

So now what? Well, as Rory Maher of Hoops Rumors noted, Whitmore is still only 22 and isn’t that far removed from being viewed as a potential top-five pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He ultimately went No. 20 to Houston.

Whitmore averaged 12.3 points as a rookie before his role decreased during his second season. Washington acquired him last summer, but his season ended in January after he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder.

He eventually landed in Cleveland as part of the Cavs’ maneuvering surrounding the Peyton Watson trade.

Whitmore never really figured into the Cavs’ plans, though. He was essentially a financial piece, and now he’s looking for another opportunity.

Technically, Whitmore remains eligible for a two-way contract. Given his age and previous NBA production, a standard one-year prove-it deal would seem considerably more likely.

There should be worse gambles out there.

Warriors

Stephen Curry became eligible for another contract extension over the weekend.

Now ESPN’s Bobby Marks thinks the Warriors should ask him for one thing: Wait.

Curry’s first-year salary on a maximum extension would be about $65.7 million, and Marks explained that signing it immediately could significantly affect Golden State’s flexibility next summer.

“I would say to Curry, you’ve got to wait this out,” Marks said, adding that Golden State could assure Curry the money will still be there if the Warriors fail to land another major piece.

Essentially, Marks’ idea is to keep as many options available as possible.

Curry could sign the extension later. He could also theoretically take less, though there isn’t much reason for the greatest player in franchise history to volunteer for a massive discount.

The Warriors, meanwhile, are trying to squeeze whatever remains out of Curry’s championship window. Jimmy Butler is working his way back from injury, and Golden State still has Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis among its veteran pieces.

Curry has already said he wants to remain a Warrior for life. So question isn’t really whether Golden State wants to pay him.

It’s whether waiting to do so might help the Warriors put something better around him first.

Bulls

Noa Essengue apparently has some people in Chicago wondering.

The No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 draft missed most of his rookie season following shoulder surgery, and Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Essengue has since been spoken to about his lack of physicality and warned about his emotions on the court.

New Bulls coach Tiago Splitter also benched Essengue during the second half of his first summer league game.

“He’s got to maybe bring a little more force in everything he does,” Splitter said. “That’s something we’re working on.”

Essengue averaged 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in four games in Las Vegas.

Perhaps more interesting is that Chicago’s front office and coaching staff have no real attachment to him. Both have changed since Essengue was drafted.

Cowley suggested that if the 19-year-old continues to play passively during training camp and into the season, he could eventually become a trade candidate before February.

That’s getting a little ahead of ourselves. But for a lottery pick entering Year 2, it sounds like training camp will matter.