Wolverines in the NBA: Contract, trade and free agency news
Michigan Wolverines basketball had nine players in the NBA last season and is set to have even more this coming year, with the Maize and Blue producing two top-15 draft picks this summer in Jett Howard (No. 11 to the Orlando Magic) and Kobe Bufkin (No. 15 to the Atlanta Hawks.
Former Michigan guard Caris LeVert is entering his eighth season in the league, and he’ll stick with the Cleveland Cavaliers, his franchise since 2021. LeVert and the club reached an agreement on a two-year, $32 million contract in late June.
LeVert played in 74 games with 30 starts last season. He averaged 12.1 points, 3.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and a career-best 39.2 percent from three-point range.
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Former Michigan forward Moritz Wagner was a free agent following last season, and he was also re-signed by his current team, the Orlando Magic. The organization now has five former U-M players in it — Franz Wagner, Caleb Houstan, Howard and D.J. Wilson. Both Wagners, Houstan and Howard are slated to be on the NBA roster, while Wilson has spent the last two years in the G League.
Moritz Wagner signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the Magic. He’s coming off his best professional season, in which he averaged 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per outing, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from distance. He appeared in 57 games with 18 starts.
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Former Michigan forward Isaiah Livers is entering his third season in the NBA, and he will return to Detroit. The Pistons exercised their team option for the 2023-24 season, and he’s set to make $1.84 million next season.
Livers played in 52 games a year ago, averaging 6.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 23 minutes per contest. He will play on the Pistons’ Summer League team and is out to be more efficient as a three-point shooter, after making 36.9 percent of his triples last season.
Former Michigan guard Jordan Poole is on the move. The fifth-year pro was traded from the Golden State Warriors, where he was drafted and spent his first four seasons, to the Washington Wizards in a blockbuster deal that netted the Warriors future Hall of Fame guard Chris Paul. Poole signed a fresh contract last offseason.
Dallas Mavericks guard and former Michigan standout Tim Hardaway Jr. is headed into the third season of a four-year contract that includes a guaranteed $75 million. Meanwhile, Duncan Robinson is entering the third year of a five-year deal with the Miami Heat. By the time the deal concludes, Robinson will have made at least $80 million in guaranteed money.
