Spurs Re-Sign Manu Ginobili
JULY 11TH, 1:55pm: The Spurs have officially re-signed Ginobili, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 3RD, 2:10pm: Ginobili's two-year deal with the Spurs will be worth $14MM, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
10:35am: While no reporters have the details of the deal yet, Manu Ginobili appears to have reached an agreement with the Spurs to remain in San Antonio. Ginobili, an Interperformances client, announced the news himself on his Twitter account, tweeting: "Thrilled to announce that as I always hoped, I'm gonna stay with the @spurs for two more years. #gospursgo."
We heard just yesterday that Ginobili and the Spurs were in no rush to negotiate a new contract, since there didn't seem to be any interest from either side in exploring alternative options. Perhaps after reaching a long-term agreement with Tiago Splitter, the Spurs decided to move on and lock up Ginobili as well.
Ginobili, 35, is coming off a three-year extension that paid him more than $14MM in 2012/13, so he figures to take a significant pay cut on his new deal. His salary, along with Splitter's first-year salary, will essentially determine whether the Spurs have any cap space available this summer, or whether the club just has the mid-level exception to spend. I expect it will be the latter.
After reaching agreements with Splitter and Ginobili, the Spurs will likely attempt to re-sign Gary Neal, as well as weighing potential uses for their MLE.
Trail Blazers Sign C.J. McCollum
The Trail Blazers have officially signed first-round pick C.J. McCollum to a rookie-scale deal, the team announced today in a press release.
McCollum, 21, averaged 23.9 PPG and shot 51.6% on three-pointers during his senior year at Lehigh, and will provide the Blazers with a scorer and outside shooter off the bench. Having been drafted 10th overall, McCollum will earn a salary of about $2.32MM in his rookie season, as our salary chart for first-round picks shows.
The Blazers have also officially signed second-round pick Allen Crabbe, acquired Robin Lopez and Thomas Robinson, and signed free agent swingman Dorell Wright.
Kobe Talks Rehab, Howard, Lakers, Future
Kobe Bryant isn't prepared to take a massive pay cut next summer, but doesn't think that his desire to negotiate the best deal possible will affect his return to the Lakers. Kobe tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that he intends to wait until the dust settles on the Lakers' other offseason moves before broaching the subject of an extension, while Shelburne notes that the Lakers' plans to approach Kobe on the same topic had been tabled until he gets further along on his Achilles rehab.
In addition to talking to Shelburne, Bryant also participated in a Q&A with Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times. Here are a few of the highlights from that conversation:
On how his Achilles rehab is progressing:
"I'm far ahead, far ahead. Surprisingly so, but really ahead of schedule."
On whether he was disappointed that Dwight Howard didn't re-sign with the Lakers:
"No, I was pretty dead center. It's his decision and whichever path he goes, I know this organization is going to figure out the best thing going forward. One way or the other, it just seems like this is one of the franchises that always lands on its feet. So whatever happens, is what was supposed to happen."
On observers who believe 2013/14 could be a wasted year for the Lakers:
"Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong. We don't know. That's the beauty of competition. That's the beauty of trying to prove people wrong. Maybe they're right, maybe they aren't, but we're going to try and shut them up."
On how much longer he hopes to continue playing before retirement:
"I've always kind of said that it's nearing the end, and this is the last chapter, and it is. How many pages in that last chapter, I don't know. But it's definitely the last chapter. I've been rejuvenated somewhat by the injury and inspired by watching what San Antonio was able to accomplish this year, so I'm ready to go for at least another three."
On what the Lakers need to do to return to championship contention:
"I think just adding the right pieces. We got certain guys on the team that do things very well and we have certain holes [where] we're lacking that we need to shore up in terms of length and speed and shooting. If we can do that with a couple of guys, obviously Ryan Kelly is a big addition, if we can find a couple of guys who have length and speed, we'll be fine."
Odds & Ends: Wolves, Turiaf, Williams, Webster
The Timberwolves appear ready to finalize deals bringing Kevin Martin and Corey Brewer on board, but those aren't the only outside free agents the team targeted. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), Minnesota has emerged as the frontrunner to sign Ronny Turiaf. I can't imagine Turiaf will earn more than the veteran's minimum, so he shouldn't affect the Wolves' cap outlook if a deal is reached. Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Martin, who trains with Brewer in Florida, was very involved in lobbying Brewer to sign with the Timberwolves, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (via Twitter).
- Several teams are courting Mo Williams, so there's no guarantee he lands with the Hawks if Atlanta declines to match Jeff Teague's offer sheet, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
- According to Martell Webster, he received interest from the Cavaliers, Bucks, Knicks, Clippers, Blazers, and Pelicans ("big-time") before re-signing with the Wizards (Twitter link via Michael Lee of the Washington Post).
- Grantland's Zach Lowe examines seven teams that could use their amnesty provision within the next few days.
- Brandon Bass brushed off questions about a potentially uncertain future with the Celtics, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes.
Hawks Sign Dennis Schröder
11:35am: Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution confirms (via Twitter) that the Hawks' rookie point guard will now be referred to by the name Dennis Schröder, rather than Schroeder.
10:45am: The Hawks have officially signed 17th overall pick Dennis Schroeder to a rookie-scale contract, the team announced today in a press release. As our salary chart for first-rounders shows, Schroeder should be in line for a 2013/14 salary worth about $1.62MM.
Although the news was expected, there are a couple of noteworthy details related to the team's press release. For one, a club's rookie signings are often announced simultaneously, so the fact that the Hawks announced Schroeder's deal and haven't said anything about 16th overall pick Lucas Nogueira may mean that the Brazilian big man isn't coming stateside this season — or it could simply mean that a separate announcement is coming at a later date.
Additionally, the Hawks spell Dennis' last name as Schröder in their release, which is the same way the point guard spells it on his Twitter account, where he announced his signing yesterday. We'll wait for confirmation on which spelling will be used for NBA purposes.
Nets Sign Shaun Livingston
JULY 11TH, 11:33am: The Nets have officially signed Livingston, according to a team release.
JULY 6TH, 5:40pm: League sources reveal to Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo! Sports (Twitter) that the Nets have reached an agreement for a one-year, minimum deal with Shaun Livingston. As shown in the Hoops Rumors Agency Database, Livingston is repped by CAA's Henry Thomas.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, confirms via Twitter. The move to grab the Cavs' back-up point guard this past year, means that the Nets' guaranteed salary equals close to $100.5MM for the coming 2013/14 season. Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld says that adding in the $80.2MM in taxes, the total Nets team payroll next season equals $180.7MM, which is an NBA record (Sulia link).
- The acqusition of the point guard Livingston comes on the heels of the Pacers signing last year's Deron Williams back-up, C.J. Watson. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets that with combo guard Jack headed to the Cavs, and Livingston now gone to the Nets, the next player to leave the Cavs will be C.J. Miles.
- Livingston averaged 7.2 PPG and 3.6 APG in 49 outings for the Cavaliers last season in primarily a back-up role for Kyrie Irving.
4:50pm: The Nets are nearing an agreement with backup point guard Shaun Livingston, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The client of Henry Thomas at Creative Artists Agency split last season between the Wizards and Cavs, and multiple reports have linked him to the Nets in the past week. Brooklyn is seeking point guard depth with C.J. Watson heading to the Pacers.
If they can't convince him to take the minimum salary, the Nets would have to use part of their taxpayer's mid-level exception to bring the 27-year-old Livingston aboard. Cleveland picked him up off waivers in December, and he exceled in a backup role behind Kyrie Irving, and even started a dozen games. He averaged 7.2 points with a 3.6/1.2 assists-to-turnover ratio in 23.2 minutes per game in Cleveland.
Spencer Lund contributed to this post.
Nets Re-Sign Andray Blatche
JULY 11TH, 11:32am: The Nets have officially re-signed Blatche, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 2ND, 8:20pm: Blatche's deal includes a player option for 2014/15 worth $1.43MM, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
JULY 1ST, 8:51pm: Andray Blatche has agreed to re-sign with the Nets, according to the New York Times' Howard Beck. The deal is only for one-year at $1.4MM, a relative surprise given Blatche's consistent bench contribution with the team last season.
The timing and price are both curious, especially when factoring in Blatche had other suitors. As reported by ESPN's Chris Broussard, the Warriors and Clippers both had their eye on his services.
Money may not have been a factor, though, as Blatche is still being compensated by the Wizards after they used their amnesty clause on him last year. He averaged 10.3 PPG in just 19 MPG, appearing in all 82 of Brooklyn's regular season games last season.
Magic Seeking Depth At Point Guard, Center
The Magic have been one of the NBA's quietest teams so far in July, having not agreed to a single trade or free agent signing since the offseason got underway. That doesn't mean the club will remain inactive all summer though. According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, the Magic are looking to add depth at point guard and center.
In addition to incumbent starter Jameer Nelson, Victor Oladipo and E'Twaun Moore could see some time at the point, but both are traditionally shooting guards. At the very least, Orlando figures to ink a minimum-salary free agent to add another point guard to the mix, Robbins says, citing former Western Kentucky product A.J. Slaughter as one possibility. As for bigs, Brandan Wright has been connected to the Magic, but according to Robbins, the team hasn't had significant discussions with his reps.
As Robbins notes in a separate piece, the Magic are currently capped out, but if the team reaches buyout agreements with Al Harrington and/or Hedo Turkoglu, as is expected, cap space could be created. Even if Harrington and Turkoglu are retained for a few more months, it shouldn't affect the club's spending plans, since it's not as if Orlando is eyeing any big names — if the team remains over the cap, the mid-level exception should provide more than enough spending flexibility.
Bulls Re-Sign Nazr Mohammed To One-Year Deal
JULY 11TH: The Bulls have officially confirmed their deal with Mohammed, announcing the move in a press release.
JULY 2ND: The Bulls and Nazr Mohammed have reached a verbal agreement on a one-year deal that will bring Mohammed back to Chicago, according to Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com (via Twitter). Sam reports that the new contract for the Excel Sports client is worth the veteran's minimum, which will be $1,399,507.
After signing the same one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Bulls last summer, Mohammed appeared in 63 games for the club, averaging 2.6 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 11.0 minutes per contest. Of all the Bulls' free agents this summer, Mohammed always appeared to be the most likely to return to Chicago for another season.
Now that they have an agreement in place with Mohammed, the Bulls have filled two spots on their bench through free agency. The team also agreed to terms on a two-year contract with Mike Dunleavy yesterday.
Mavericks Sign Gal Mekel
JULY 11TH: The Mavericks have officially signed Mekel, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 1ST: The Mavericks have reached a verbal agreement on a multiyear deal with Israeli point guard Gal Mekel, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Once the July moratorium is lifted, Mekel will sign a guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Mavs, according to Stein. Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com reports (via Twitter) that the pact will be for three years.
Stein reported a week ago that the Mavs were leading the charge among the NBA teams interested in Mekel, with the Raptors, Bucks, Hawks, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Jazz also registering some level of interest. At the time, Stein wrote that the 25-year-old had begun to convince NBA talent evaluators that he could immediately produce as a rotation player, especially after Pablo Prigioni successfully made the leap to the Association last season after a career overseas.
Mekel, a former Wichita State guard, averaged 13.3 PPG and 5.4 APG in Israel in 2012/13, leading Maccabi Haifa to a championship and earning league MVP honors for the second time in the last four years. For the Mavs, agreeing to add Mekel doesn't get in the way of a pursuit of Dwight Howard, since the point guard will be signing for the minimum.