Northwest Notes: Pekovic, Robinson, Jazz
The Timberwolves have made it known that they intend to match any offer to restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic, but surprisingly no one has been willing to test their willingness to do so, writes Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. Ingram argues that the Wolves already have a couple of players in Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio who expect to be max players in the near future, so it would at least be worth a try for a rival club. Here's more out of the Northwest Division..
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities speculates (via Twitter) that Pekovic's camp may be seeking a fifth year in negotiations with the Timberwolves. Flip Saunders is unlikely to go higher than four years though, according to Wolfson.
- More from Ingram, who writes that even though Nate Robinson isn't the type of player that is going to lead his team to the NBA Finals, he can still be a relentless spark plug for the Nuggets off of the bench. Robinson also comes at a bargain price, getting a two-year deal worth a little over $4MM.
- Guard John Lucas III told reporters, including Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter), that he has known GM Dennis Lindsey since he was "eight or nine", which helped steer him to Utah. The guard added (link) that his father sees Utah as an ideal place for him at this point in his career and he agrees.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Clippers Sign Byron Mullens
MONDAY, 5:26pm: The Clippers announced that the deal has been signed.
SATURDAY, 6:02pm: Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports that Mullens is expected to sign his contract on Monday or Tuesday next week (Twitter link).
5:46pm: Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Clippers and Mullens have agreed to a two-year deal worth $2MM. The second year will be a player option.
WEDNESDAY, 10:01pm: The deal would include a player option for 2014/15, and is on track to be finalized late tonight or on Thursday, Wojnarowski writes.
9:16pm: The Clippers and Byron Mullens are close to an agreement on a two-year deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Wasserman Media Group client became an unrestricted free agent when the Bobcats declined to tender a qualifying offer last month. The Lakers had interest in Mullens at the start of free agency, but may have moved on after adding Chris Kaman and re-signing Robert Sacre.
The Mullens signing would have to take place for the minimum salary, since the Clippers are over the cap and split their mid-level exception between Matt Barnes and Darren Collison. The Clips don't have their bi-annual exception, having used it to sign Grant Hill last summer. Bringing Mullens aboard may take the team out of the running for Antawn Jamison and Lamar Odom, two other big men who had been Clippers free agent targets.
Mullens is a 7'0" three-point gunner who could give the Clippers some floor spacing on offense if he continues to improve his touch. He's a career 30.1% shooter from behind the arc, and made 31.7% of his 3.9 three-point attempts per game this past season.
Celtics Sign Vitor Faverani
JULY 22nd, 4:17pm: The Celtics announced the deal, making it official.
JULY 15th, 2:23pm: The Celtics have reached an agreement in principle on a three-year deal with Brazilian big man Vitor Faverani, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Talks between the two sides had been reported last week by TuBasket.com, though there were some questions about whether the C's would be able to negotiate a buyout.
Faverani, 25, has spent the last several seasons overseas, including the 2012/13 season with Valencia. In 23 Spanish League contests, Favenari averaged 9.3 PPG and 4.6 RPG while shooting 59.4%.
If the Celtics agreed to sign Faverani to a three-year deal, the team won't be able to use the minimum salary exception, even if not all three years are fully guaranteed. So it appears likely that the team will use a portion of its mid-level exception to complete the signing, though contract terms aren't yet known.
Celtics To Sign Phil Pressey
MONDAY, 4:17pm: The Celtics have officially signed Pressey, according to a press release.
THURSDAY, 12:05am: The contract includes some guaranteed money, Washburn writes.
WEDNESDAY, 9:42pm: The Celtics and Phil Pressey have agreed to a multiyear deal, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. The team and the undrafted point guard from Missouri were reportedly working toward a contract this weekend, after the two sides put together an arrangement for summer league.
Washburn reported shortly after the draft that he expected the team to "immediately go after" Pressey, and the Celtics had him in the fold for summer league by the next morning. A more formal contract took a little longer, but Pressey has at least earned a chance to showcase his skills in Celtics training camp. Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reported this weekend that the two sides were talking about a one-year deal, and though it now appears his contract will cover at least two seasons, it's not clear how much of a guarantee is involved.
The 5'11" Pressey averaged 9.4 points, 6.6 assists and 4.0 turnovers per game in five summer league contests in Orlando last week, but he was more impressive in college, where SEC coaches voted him first-team all-conference this past season. Both Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony had him within the top 60 in their final rankings before the draft, so it was somewhat surprising that a team didn't use a second-round pick on him.
Cavs Sign Sergey Karasev
The Cavs have signed first-round pick Sergey Karasev, according to Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer (via Twitter). The No. 19 overall selection will be introduced in a press conference tomorrow.
There was speculation that the Russian forward might spend the 2013/14 campaign overseas, but he'll be with Cleveland next season. Prior to the draft, Karasev was talking to teams in his native country and reportedly came away confident that he would go inside of the top 15 picks. Several teams were said to be zeroing in on him and the Cavs even thought about trading up to No. 13 to guarantee that they'd get him.
Free Agent Rumors: Miller, Oden, Camby, Blair
Free agent rumors and rumblings have slowed down since the start of July, as most of the bigger names have come off the board. Still, even though not a ton of teams have significant cap space or exception money remaining, plenty of intriguing players remain on the market. We're entering the point in the summer where teams are hunting for bargains and value signings, so here's the latest on a few players who could fit that bill:
- Mike Miller is meeting face-to-face for a second time with both the Thunder and Grizzlies, who appear to be the two favorites for him, says Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Rockets and Nuggets aren't out of the running yet, but Miller's choice will likely come down to OKC or Memphis (Twitter links).
- The Heat, Pelicans, and Kings will observe Greg Oden in person as he works out this week, according to Stein and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, though Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports says (via Twitter) it'll just be the Pelicans and Kings. The Spurs and Mavericks are still in the hunt as well, with Miami and San Antonio still viewed as the frontrunners for the former first overall pick.
- Marcus Camby is expected to make a decision on his next team within the next week, with the Rockets, Bulls, and Heat among the finalists, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- According to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, DeJuan Blair's asking price is in the $3MM range, Lamar Odom is only interested in playing for a Los Angeles team, and Josh Akognon is drawing heavy interest from Chinese teams.
- Zwerling adds (via Twitter) that the Knicks have some interest in Ivan Johnson, but the big man is still seeking a mini mid-level deal.
- Prior to reaching an agreement with the Nuggets, Nate Robinson received serious interest from the Wizards, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). Washington had already used its mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, so making a competitive offer would have been tricky.
- Free agent point guard Delonte West spoke to Tzvi Twersky of SlamOnline.com about his desire to return to an NBA roster.
Raptors Sign D.J. Augustin
JULY 22ND: The Raptors have officially signed Augustin, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 17TH: D.J. Augustin and the Raptors have reached agreement on a one-year deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He'll make $1.26MM, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).
Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun wrote today that he expected the Raptors to use the $2.15MM left on their mid-level exception rather than their $2.016MM biannual exception, but Augustin's deal would fit within either. Augustin will likely become the primary backup to point guard Kyle Lowry, since the team's deal with Julyan Stone appears to be off.
Augustin's name hasn't been mentioned frequently this month, as our rumors page on him doesn't show any entries since February, except for today's. The Pacers shopped him at the trade deadline, but couldn't find any takers for his expiring contract as he struggled through a disappointing season. The Thad Foucher client notched career lows in points (4.7) and assists (2.2) per game, as well as field goal percentage (35%). Perhaps in Toronto he'll be able to find the form he showed in 2010/11, when he started all 82 games for the Bobcats and put up 14.1 PPG and 6.1 APG against just 1.9 turnovers per contest.
John Lucas III Signs With Jazz
JULY 22ND, 2:37pm: The Jazz have officially announced the signing of Lucas in a press release.
JULY 15TH, 4:05pm: Free agent point guard John Lucas III has informed his other suitors that he will sign with the Jazz, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The deal with Utah is set to be wrapped up sometime this week. Lucas is represented by Lee Basketball Services, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Lucas spent last season with the Raptors where he averaged 5.3 PPG and 1.7 APG in 13.1 minutes per contest. Recently, we heard that Lucas was among the many point guards that the Knicks were considering this summer. Lucas has spent parts of five seasons in the Association with a three year intermission that took him through Spain and the D-League.
Eastern Notes: Bynum, Mitchell, Sixers, Heat
Let's check in on a few items from around the Eastern Conference….
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com has the specifics on Andrew Bynum's deal with the Cavaliers, tweeting that the overall value is $24,790,000 over two years. However, only $6MM of that total is guaranteed, with no guarantee date. That means that the Cavs could waive Bynum on or before January 7th and only pay him $6MM. Assuming they keep him for the entire 2013/14 season, the Cavs could also release him next summer before July 10th and avoid paying any of his '14/15 salary, as ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst tweets.
- Within his update of the Pistons' salaries, Deeks passes along the details on Tony Mitchell's contract, which is guaranteed for two seasons and non-guaranteed in the third. It'll pay him $500K in his rookie year, and the minimum in each of the next two years.
- In his latest Morning Tip column at NBA.com, TNT's David Aldridge says the Sixers are expected to interview Raptors assistant Nick Nurse for their head coaching opening.
- While much has been made of the cap space the Lakers expect to have next summer, the Heat could also be serious players on the free agent market if LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh opt out, writes Windhorst at ESPN.com. I would assume Miami's first choice would be to bring back all those guys on their current deals or new ones, but clearing their salaries would create a variety of possibilities for the team.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel addresses some free agent possibilities for the Heat for the current offseason in his latest mailbag.
- The Bucks are attempting to rebuild their roster without bottoming out, writes Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com.
Mavericks To Hire Gersson Rosas As GM
After trading an international prospect's rights to a division rival earlier today, the Mavericks have evened the scales by hiring an executive away from another Southwest team. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Mavs have reached an agreement with Rockets VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas that will make him Dallas' new general manager.
With owner Mark Cuban and president Donnie Nelson still in place in the Mavericks front office, Rosas won't have the final say on basketball decisions. However, Wojnarowski writes that the 35-year-old "will be given significant latitude to shape the direction of the franchise's pro and college personnel departments, free agency and scouting."
Rosas has spent the last nine years with the Rockets, steadily rising through the organization during that stretch. He has also served as the GM for Houston's D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, helping to lead the squad to a pair of D-League titles in recent years. Rosas was reportedly in the mix for the Nuggets' general manager job before Denver hired Tim Connelly.
This is the second time this offseason a Rockets executive has left Houston to assume a GM job with another franchise. Former assistant GM Sam Hinkie is now in control of the Sixers' basketball operations.