Jerryd Bayless To Exercise Player Option
Jerryd Bayless has decided to exercise his player option for 2013/14, keeping him under contract with the Grizzlies for another season, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The option will guarantee Bayless a $3.135MM salary for next year.
As Stein tweets, the decision comes as a bit of a surprise, since Bayless would have had a good chance to at least match that $3.135MM amount in free agency, if not exceed it. Instead, he'll be off the market, and will return to a Grizzlies backcourt that is facing the possibility of losing unrestricted free agent Tony Allen.
Bayless' now-guaranteed contract increases the Grizzlies' total team salary to about $61MM for 2013/14, which means that re-signing Allen at a fair rate will limit the Grizzlies' flexibility to make many additional moves. As we saw this past season, Memphis' new ownership group seems reluctant to go into the tax, and the tax line is expected to be at about $71.6MM for next year.
Ricky Ledo To Mavs, Nate Wolters To Bucks
11:27am: The Mavs' press release announcing the trade indicates that Ledo's rights were acquired by Dallas from the Sixers, so perhaps Atlanta wasn't involved as a middle-man after all. In exchange for Ledo, the Mavs sent Philadelphia the Nets' 2014 second-rounder that Dallas had originally acquired from Boston earlier in the evening.
FRIDAY, 10:56am: The Bucks have officially announced the acquisition of Wolters (Twitter link). According to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter), Milwaukee sent a future second-round pick and Ledo to the Sixers in order to snag Wolters. From there, tweets Gardner, Ledo's rights went from Philadelphia to Atlanta to Dallas.
THURSDAY, 11:14pm: We'll have to wait for official confirmation from the various teams involved in these deals to determine where everyone ended up, but by my estimation, it looks like the Bucks landed Wolters, the Mavs acquired Ledo, and the Hawks ended up with Muscala.
10:54pm: As confusion abounds, the Mavs have confirmed they acquired Ledo from the Sixers, tweets Katz.
10:50pm: ESPN.com's Andy Katz breaks it down (via Twitter): The Sixers selected Nate Wolters at No. 38 as part of the Glen Rice Jr. trade, then traded Wolters to the Bucks for Ledo. Philadelphia then sent Ledo to the Hawks, and according to Katz, Ledo could be on the move yet again (Twitter link).
10:46pm: Various reports are now suggesting that Ledo will end up landing in Philadephia or Atlanta, so we may have to wait this one out to get total clarity.
10:32pm: The Mavericks have agreed to acquire the 43rd overall pick from the Bucks and will use it to select Ricky Ledo, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to Goodman (via Twitter), the Mavs will send pick No. 44 to Milwaukee, and the Bucks will select Mike Muscala.
It had been previously reported that the 44th overall pick was ticketed for Atlanta in an earlier deal, though that trade was said to be"still evolving," so maybe the Mavs were able to keep the pick out of the swap.
Eastern Notes: Sixers, Nets, Deng, Webster
Based on the direction in which the Sixers are heading, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel doesn't expect the Heat to ever see the lottery-protected first-round pick they acquired a year ago for Arnett Moultrie. With Jrue Holiday on his way to New Orleans and the Sixers not expected to re-sign Andrew Bynum, the young roster is unlikely to earn a playoff spot in 2014, thereby keeping its first-rounder. If Philadelphia's first-rounder lands in the lottery in '14, the Sixers will instead convey their 2015 and 2016 second-rounders to Miami.
Here are a few more Friday updates from around the Eastern Conference:
- The Nets have agreed to terms with three assistant coaches, the team announced today in a press release. Lawrence Frank, Roy Rogers, and Eric Hughes will join Jason Kidd's staff.
- Scott Gleeson of USA Today has an interesting behind-the-scenes look of draft day from Nerlens Noel's perspective, including Noel's reaction to slipping to No. 6 and being traded to the 76ers. Sean Deveney of the Sporting News has a similar look at Thursday's events from the perspective of Philadelphia's other first-round pick, Michael Carter-Williams.
- Trade rumors have swirled around Luol Deng in recent weeks, but Bulls GM Gar Forman says Deng remains a "big piece of what we're doing moving forward," as Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald writes.
- After the Wizards drafted a pair of wings last night, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wonders if there will be room for the team to bring back Martell Webster.
Wolves Extend Qualifying Offer To Nikola Pekovic
Amidst all the draft craziness yesterday, the Timberwolves made a procedural move, submitting a qualifying offer to Nikola Pekovic, the team announced (via Twitter). The one-year offer, worth $6,046,500, officially makes Pekovic a restricted free agent this summer.
Like the other top restricted free agents on the market, Pekovic won't be accepting the qualifying offer, but it ensures that the Wolves will have the opportunity to match a rival offer sheet for the big man. Although Minnesota has insisted that retaining Pekovic is the club's top priority this summer, the 27-year-old figures to receive long-term offers in the neighborhood of at least $12MM annually.
In his third season in the NBA in 2012/13, Pekovic averaged a double-double, establishing career-highs in PPG (16.3) and RPG (10.0), among other categories.
Minor Moves: Nuggets, Leslie, Pressey, Daniels
With the 2013 draft in the books, there are still plenty of intriguing prospects that were not among the 60 players who heard their names called on Thursday night. Many of those guys will be snapped up quickly for Summer League rosters, while others could sign outright with an NBA team.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported a handful of signings late last night, and it's my understanding that these are actual free-agent contracts rather than just Summer League invites, though that's not entirely clear. Either way, the agreements will provide these undrafted free agents a chance to audition for a possible NBA roster spot. Here's a recap:
- Kennedy has corrected his earlier report (linked below), tweeting that Harris is simply playing for the Nuggets in Summer League action, and not signing with the team yet. I imagine that may be the case for Howell and some of the other players listed below as well, though it seems as if Covington, at least, will ink an actual contract with the Rockets. We'll likely have to wait until July for official word.
Earlier updates:
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports (via Twitter) that undrafted free agents Richard Howell and C.J. Harris will sign with the Nuggets. Again, players don't necessarily have to be under contract with a team to play for a Summer League squad, so Kennedy's wording suggests that Howell and Harris will ink deals to earn a pair of Denver's 20 summer roster spots, though that's not 100% certain.
- Former N.C. State forward C.J. Leslie has reached an agreement on a deal with the Knicks, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Leslie had been ranked the 40th-best prospect available by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com and 41st by ESPN.com's Chad Ford.
- Phil Pressey, a 5'11" point guard out of Missouri, has reached an agreement on a deal with the Celtics, tweets Wojnarowski. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reported last night that Boston figured to "immediately go after" Pressey once he went undrafted.
- Former VCU guard Troy Daniels has agreed to a free agent deal with the Bobcats, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Daniels averaged 12.3 PPG and shot 40.3% on three-pointers in his final season with the Rams.
- Rodney Williams, Ford's 80th overall prospect in this year's class, has agreed to a deal with the 76ers, tweets Wojnarowski. The 21-year-old forward is coming off four years at the University of Minnesota.
- Robert Covington will sign a two-year, partially-guaranteed contract with the Rockets, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com (via Twitter). According to Givony's sources, the guarantee for the former Tennessee State forward will be "substantial" — likely around $150K.
Andre Iguodala Opts Out, Will Be Free Agent
JUNE 28TH: Iguodala has formally filed his paperwork to opt out, making his decision official, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard.
JUNE 14TH: Andre Iguodala has decided to opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, agent Rob Pelinka informed Nuggets CEO Josh Kroenke of the decision on Thursday.
"We are fully aware of Andre's intentions and he's well aware of how much we want him back," Kroenke said. "Andre us a huge priority for our organization."
While there appears to be mutual interest between Nuggets and Iguodala in a new deal, Denver is currently without a GM or coach, which makes the situation a little murkier. There will also be plenty of clubs vying for the 29-year-old's services. Wojnarowski names the Hawks, Cavaliers, Mavericks, Rockets, Pistons, and Pelicans as likely suitors.
An official decision from Iguodala is due by June 25th, but assuming he opts out, he'll be eligible for a new five-year contract from the Nuggets or a four-year deal from another team. He'll pass up a 2013/14 salary that Wojnarowski cites as $15.9MM, though various salary databases have it at $16.15MM — that salary included $250K in likely incentives, so perhaps those incentives are now listed as unlikely.
In any case, although I'm skeptical that Iguodala will land an annual salary that exceeds the approximate $16MM he would have earned on his current contract, he'll certainly be able to secure a significantly larger guarantee in a new long-term deal.
Raptors To Decline Option On John Lucas III
The Raptors have elected to decline their team option on John Lucas III for the 2013/14 season, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). The decision will make Lucas an unrestricted free agent next week, and Stein believes the veteran point guard could end up back in Chicago, where he played before joining the Raptors last summer.
Lucas' team option for next season was worth a modest amount, about $1.57MM, so it's a little surprising that Toronto turned it down. The decision leaves Kyle Lowry as the only real point guard left on the Raptors' roster, since Sebastian Telfair is also headed for free agency, so that figures to be an area the team will focus on in July.
In 63 games with the Raptors, Lucas averaged 5.3 PPG and 1.7 APG while playing 13.1 minutes per contest.
Poll: Biggest Surprise Of Draft Night?
After weeks of thinking we had a pretty good idea of how draft night would play out, our expectations were thrown out the window when the Cavaliers selected Anthony Bennett first overall, and the shockers kept coming from there. When the dust settled, which of these major moves or decisions surprised you most?
2013 NBA Draft Results
The 2013 NBA draft finally arrived on Thursday, and starting with a shocker of a first overall pick, the surprises came early and often throughout the night. We’ve got the complete results, including every pick and draft-night trade, right here:
Round One:
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Anthony Bennett (PF, UNLV)
- Orlando Magic: Victor Oladipo (SG, Indiana)
- Washington Wizards: Otto Porter (SF, Georgetown)
- Charlotte Bobcats: Cody Zeller (PF, Indiana)
- Phoenix Suns: Alex Len (C, Maryland)
- Philadelphia 76ers: Nerlens Noel (C, Kentucky)1
- Sacramento Kings: Ben McLemore (SG, Kansas)
- Detroit Pistons: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (SG, Georgia)
- Utah Jazz: Trey Burke (PG, Michigan)2
- Portland Trail Blazers: C.J. McCollum (SG, Lehigh)
- Philadelphia 76ers: Michael Carter-Williams (PG, Syracuse)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Steven Adams (C, Pittsburgh)
- Boston Celtics: Kelly Olynyk (C, Gonzaga)3
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Shabazz Muhammad (SF, UCLA)4
- Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo (SF, International)
- Atlanta Hawks: Lucas Nogueira (C, International)5
- Atlanta Hawks: Dennis Schroeder (PG, International)
- Dallas Mavericks: Shane Larkin (PG, Miami)6
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Sergey Karasev (SF, International)
- Chicago Bulls: Tony Snell (SF, New Mexico)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Gorgui Dieng (C, Louisville)4
- Brooklyn Nets: Mason Plumlee (C, Duke)
- Indiana Pacers: Solomon Hill (SF, Arizona)
- New York Knicks: Tim Hardaway Jr. (SG, Michigan)
- Los Angeles Clippers: Reggie Bullock (SF, North Carolina)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Andre Roberson (PF, Colorado)7
- Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert (C, International)8
- San Antonio Spurs: Livio Jean-Charles (PF, International)
- Phoenix Suns: Archie Goodwin (SG, Kentucky)9
- Golden State Warriors: Nemanja Nedovic (PG, International)10
Round Two:
- Portland Trail Blazers: Allen Crabbe (SG, California)11
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Alex Abrines (SG, International)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Carrick Felix (SG, Arizona State)
- Houston Rockets: Isaiah Canaan (PG, Murray State)
- Washington Wizards: Glen Rice Jr. (SF, D-League)12
- Sacramento Kings: Ray McCallum (PG, Detroit)
- Detroit Pistons: Tony Mitchell (PF, North Texas)
- Milwaukee Bucks: Nate Wolters (PG, South Dakota State)13
- Portland Trail Blazers: Jeff Withey (C, Kansas)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Grant Jerrett (PF, Arizona)14
- Memphis Grizzlies: Jamaal Franklin (SG, San Diego State)
- New Orleans Pelicans: Pierre Jackson (PG, Baylor)15
- Dallas Mavericks: Ricky Ledo (SG, Providence)16
- Atlanta Hawks: Mike Muscala (C, Bucknell)17
- Portland Trail Blazers: Marko Todorovic (C, International)
- Denver Nuggets: Erick Green (PG, Virginia Tech)18
- Utah Jazz: Raul Neto (PG, International)19
- Los Angeles Lakers: Ryan Kelly (PF, Duke)
- Chicago Bulls: Erik Murphy (PF, Florida)
- Miami Heat: James Ennis (SF, Long Beach State)20
- Orlando Magic: Romero Osby (PF, Oklahoma)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Lorenzo Brown (PG, North Carolina State)
- Boston Celtics: Colton Iverson (C, Colorado State)21
- Philadelphia 76ers: Arsalan Kazemi (PF, Oregon)22
- Denver Nuggets: Joffrey Lauvergne (PF, International)23
- Detroit Pistons: Peyton Siva (PG, Louisville)
- Phoenix Suns: Alex Oriakhi (PF, Missouri)
- San Antonio Spurs: Deshaun Thomas (SF, Ohio State)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Bojan Dubljevic (PF, International)
- Memphis Grizzlies: Janis Timma (SF, International)
1 Acquired from New Orleans Pelicans
2 Acquired from Minnesota Timberwolves
3 Acquired from Dallas Mavericks
4 Acquired from Utah Jazz
5 Acquired from Boston Celtics (via Mavericks)
6 Acquired from Atlanta Hawks
7 Acquired from Minnesota Timberwolves (via Warriors)
8 Acquired from Denver Nuggets
9 Acquired from Oklahoma City Thunder (via Warriors)
10 Acquired from Phoenix Suns
11 Acquired from Cleveland Cavaliers
12 Acquired from Philadelphia 76ers
13 Acquired from Washington Wizards (via 76ers)
14 Acquired from Portland Trail Blazers
15 Acquired from Philadelphia 76ers
16 Acquired from Milwaukee Bucks (via 76ers)
17 Acquired from Dallas Mavericks
18 Acquired from Utah Jazz
19 Acquired from Atlanta Hawks
20 Acquired from Atlanta Hawks
21 Acquired from Indiana Pacers
22 Acquired from Washington Wizards
23 Acquired from Memphis Grizzlies
Grizzlies, Nuggets Swap Arthur, Koufos
FRIDAY, 1:14am: The Nuggets have officially announced the trade in a press release.
THURSDAY, 10:42pm: The Grizzlies and Nuggets have reached an agreement on a trade that will send Darrell Arthur and the 55th overall pick to Denver in exchange for Kosta Koufos, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).
Arthur will earn about $3.23MM next season, while Koufos makes an even $3MM, so the Nuggets take on a little salary in the deal. As Stein tweets, the Denver front office wasn't happy that George Karl started Koufos over JaVale McGee last season. Even with Karl gone, the Nuggets have ensured that it won't happen again next year.