Sixers, James Webb III Agree To Two-Year Deal
The 76ers have agreed to terms on a two-year contract for undrafted free agent James Webb III, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). According to Charania, the former Boise State forward will get a partial guarantee on his new deal with Philadelphia and will have a chance to compete for a roster spot.
Webb, who left Boise State after his junior year, ranked 72nd among the top 100 prospects at DraftExpress.com. ESPN’s Chad Ford was even more bullish on Webb, placing him 60th on his big board prior to the draft. Last season, the 6’9″ forward appeared in 29 games for the Broncos, averaging 16.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest.
Philadelphia will have plenty of cap room at its disposal once the new league year begins in July, but given his status as an undrafted free agent, Webb seems unlikely to sign for more than the minimum. If it is indeed a minimum-salary contract, he’d be in line for $1,448,720 over two years.
The Sixers brought Webb in as part of a group workout in late May.
Western Notes: Thunder, Ibaka, Grizzlies, Kings
While some observers questioned whether Oklahoma City’s decision to trade Serge Ibaka would have a negative impact on Kevin Durant‘s free agent decision, GM Sam Presti and the Thunder believes it strengthens their position, showing KD that they didn’t want to assume moving forward with the status quo was satisfactory. Royce Young of ESPN.com outlines the Thunder’s thinking, explaining why it made sense for the club to move Ibaka, who perhaps wasn’t a perfect fit for the current roster in OKC.
Young and Ken Berger of CBSSports.com both suggest that Ibaka didn’t love his evolving role with the Thunder, which saw him essentially playing the part of a stretch four this past season. Although he hadn’t requested a trade, Ibaka was considered likely to leave Oklahoma City in free agency a year from now, according to Berger. The CBSSports.com scribe also agrees that the move doesn’t make Durant any more likely to leave the Thunder, pointing out that the team is smartly surrounding him with depth and controllable players, rather than trying to clear cap space and promising free agent pursuits that may or may not pan out.
Let’s check in on a few other Western Conference teams…
- Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said his team didn’t expect, in its “wildest dreams,” that Deyonta Davis would be available in the second round, writes Tom Schad of The Commercial Appeal. Wallace viewed the Clippers’ 2019 first-rounder as a fair price to pay to acquire Davis at No. 31 and Serbian prospect Rade Zagorac at No. 35.
- In his discussion of No. 13 overall pick Georgios Papagiannis on Thursday night, Kings GM Vlade Divac expressed optimism about bringing the Greek center to Sacramento for 2016/17, suggesting his buyout wouldn’t be a problem. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com confirms the buyout is worth a very manageable $500K, tweeting that the Kings should have no problem bringing Papagiannis to the NBA right away.
- ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider-only link) has unveiled his draft grades for 2016, and only one team earned an A-plus. That club was the Spurs, who used their only pick of the draft to nab former Washington guard Dejounte Murray at No. 29. Murray has a chance to be an All-Star-caliber guard, in Ford’s view.
Bulls Rumors: Butler, Turner, Zipser
When Kris Dunn got past the Celtics and landed with the Timberwolves at No. 5 in Thursday night’s draft, Minnesota and Chicago engaged in trade talks involving Dunn and Jimmy Butler, per several reports. While it seemed at times like those talks were gaining momentum, the two sides ultimately didn’t make a deal, and ESPN’s Marc Stein writes today that negotiations “fizzled” out, despite the Wolves’ aggressiveness.
As Stein writes, the Bulls are big fans of Dunn, prompting the Wolves to push hard to see if the two sides could reach an agreement involving the Providence point guard. However, Chicago decided not to trade its best player just a day after moving former MVP Derrick Rose, and GM Gar Forman downplayed the discussions late last night.
According to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (via Twitter), the Wolves offered Dunn and Ricky Rubio for Butler. If Minnesota wasn’t willing to sweeten the offer any more than that, perhaps by adding Zach LaVine or another piece, it’s no surprise the Bulls weren’t convinced to move their All-Star forward.
Here’s more out of Chicago:
- While the Celtics would like to keep Evan Turner, and the Knicks are also expected to have interest in the free-agent-to-be, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News adds another team to the list of potential suitors for Turner, writing that the Bulls are eyeing the Chicago native.
- Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com reported last night that 48th overall pick Paul Zipser is expected to join the Bulls for the 2016/17 season, and today Givony tweets that Zipser’s buyout is worth just $600K. The small forward has one year remaining on his contract in Germany, but Chicago shouldn’t have any issues bringing him stateside, says Givony.
- Asked about free agency, Forman indicated that the team’s sale pitch to potential targets this summer will involve selling the city of Chicago, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. As Friedell points out, the city is always a selling point, but it will be even more important this offseason, with Rose no longer a Bull and Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol potentially leaving as well — there won’t be as much veteran talent on the roster that appeals to prospective signees.
Draft Leftovers: Lakers, Jazz, Hawks, Kings
The Lakers were willing to pay cash for a second-round pick on Thursday night, but didn’t want to surrender a future second-rounder to make a deal happen, and ultimately couldn’t find a trade partner, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
Here are a few more leftover notes from draft night:
- After the Jazz sent the No. 12 overall pick to Atlanta earlier this week, Utah general manager Dennis Lindsey tried hard to get back into the first round on Thursday night, but was unsuccessful, tweets Jody Genessy of The Deseret News.
- According to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter), the Hawks made an effort to move up in the draft to pick Domantas Sabonis, who went one pick before the Hawks made their selection at No. 12. The Magic likely wouldn’t have been too receptive to a deal at No. 11, since Sabonis was a key part of Orlando’s trade for Serge Ibaka.
- As Kings general manager Vlade Divac explained after the draft, Sacramento was willing to trade down from No. 8 because the point guard the team wanted (Kris Dunn) was no longer available. The Kings when didn’t have a point guard rated high enough on their board to take on at No. 13 (Twitter link via Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee).
- Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said he had two separate deals in place to move up in the draft for specific prospects, but those players ended up not being available when the picks arrived, so Houston didn’t make a trade (Twitter link via Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston).
- The Cavaliers, Grizzlies, and Celtics all called the Pistons about acquiring the No. 49 pick, according to Jake Fischer of Liberty Ballers (via Twitter). As we heard earlier on Thursday, Cleveland was looking to land Kay Felder, and was eventually able to grab the No. 54 selection to nab him.
Recap Of 2016’s Draft-Day Trades
The 2016 NBA offseason fun began in earnest earlier this week, when the Pacers, Hawks, and Jazz agreed to a three-way trade involving Jeff Teague and George Hill, and the Bulls sent former MVP Derrick Rose to the Knicks in a five-player deal. But things really kicked into another gear on Thursday. In total, 11 trades were either finalized or agreed to on draft day, including nine during the draft itself.
We’ve got a complete breakdown of Thursday’s trade action, sorted by which deals are official and which won’t be finalized until July:
Official:
Magic acquire Serge Ibaka from Thunder
- Magic acquire F/C Serge Ibaka.
- Thunder acquire G Victor Oladipo, F Ersan Ilyasova, and draft rights to F/C Domantas Sabonis (No. 11 pick).
Suns acquire draft rights to Marquese Chriss from Kings
- Suns acquire draft rights to F Marquese Chriss (No. 8 pick).
- Kings acquire draft rights to C Georgios Papagiannis (No. 13 pick) and F/C Skal Labissiere (No. 28 pick), rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Pistons’ 2020 second-round pick.
Grizzlies acquire draft rights to Deyonta Davis from Celtics
- Grizzlies acquire draft rights to F/C Deyonta Davis (No. 31 pick) and F Rade Zagorac (No. 35 pick).
- Celtics acquire Clippers’ 2019 first-round pick (includes protections).
Pelicans acquire draft rights to Cheick Diallo from Clippers
- Pelicans acquire draft rights to F/C Cheick Diallo (No. 33 pick).
- Clippers acquire draft rights to G David Michineau (No. 39 pick) and C Diamond Stone (No. 40 pick).
Warriors acquire draft rights to Patrick McCaw from Bucks
- Warriors acquire draft rights to G Patrick McCaw (No. 38 pick).
- Bucks receive $2.4MM in cash.
Nets acquire draft rights to Isaiah Whitehead from Jazz
- Nets acquire draft rights to G Isaiah Whitehead (No. 42 pick).
- Jazz acquire draft rights to G Marcus Paige (No. 55 pick) and cash.
Trail Blazers acquire draft rights to Jake Layman from Magic
- Trail Blazers acquire draft rights to F Jake Layman (No. 47 pick).
- Magic acquires a 2019 second-round pick and $1.2MM in cash.
Cavaliers acquire draft rights to Kay Felder from Hawks
- Cavaliers acquire draft rights to G Kay Felder (No. 54 pick)
- Hawks acquire $2.4MM in cash.
Thunder acquire draft rights to Daniel Hamilton from Nuggets
- Thunder acquire draft rights to G Daniel Hamilton (No. 56 pick).
- Nuggets acquire cash.
Not yet official:
Pacers to acquire Thaddeus Young from Nets
- Pacers acquire F Thaddeus Young.
- Nets acquire No. 20 overall pick (used to select G Caris LeVert).
Hornets to acquire Marco Belinelli from Kings
- Hornets acquire G Marco Belinelli.
- Kings acquire No. 22 overall pick (used to select G/F Malachi Richardson).
Thunder To Guarantee Ersan Ilyasova’s Salary
As part of the package they received in exchange for Serge Ibaka on Thursday night, the Thunder acquired stretch four Ersan Ilyasova, whose contract is mostly non-guaranteed for the 2016/17 season. Although Oklahoma City could save $8MM by cutting Ilyasova before July 1st, leaving just $400K on the cap, the team likes him and intends to guarantee his full $8.4MM salary, according to Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Thunder trade Serge Ibaka to Magic]
General manager Sam Presti confirmed as much when he spoke to reporters after the draft, pointing out that Ilyasova led the league in charges taken last season, tweets Slater. In 74 contests last season for the Pistons and Magic, Ilyasova also chipped in 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 37.1% on three-point attempts.
While the Thunder will rely on all three players – Ilyasova, Victor Oladipo, and No. 11 pick Domantas Sabonis – to help fill the void left by Ibaka’s departure, Ilyasova is perhaps the player most ready-made to step in for the departing OKC big man, at least on offense. He lacks Ibaka’s athleticism and ability to protect the rim, but Ilyasova is a frontcourt player who can stretch the floor, giving Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook room to operate.
With Oklahoma City poised to keep Ilyasova, Thursday night’s trade actually added a few million dollars in salary to the team’s books for 2016/17. Ibaka will earn $12,250,000 next season, while Ilyasova, Oladipo, and Sabonis will combine to make $17,393,160, assuming the rookie signs for his full 120% scale amount. In the long term though, OKC may find it more affordable to keep its new players – especially Sabonis – than it would have been to re-sign Ibaka, who is headed for a big payday in 2017.
2016 NBA Draft Results
The 2016 NBA draft is now in the books! Here’s a breakdown of Thursday night’s results:
Round 1
- Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons, F (LSU)
- Los Angeles Lakers: Brandon Ingram, SF (Duke)
- Boston Celtics (via Nets): Jaylen Brown, SF (California)
- Phoenix Suns: Dragan Bender, PF (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Kris Dunn, PG (Providence)
- New Orleans Pelicans: Buddy Hield, SG (Oklahoma)
- Denver Nuggets (via Knicks): Jamal Murray, G (Kentucky)
- Phoenix Suns (via Kings): Marquese Chriss, PF (Washington)
- Toronto Raptors (via Nuggets): Jakob Poeltl, C (Utah)
- Milwaukee Bucks: Thon Maker, PF (HS)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (via Magic): Domantas Sabonis, PF/C (Gonzaga)
- Atlanta Hawks (via Jazz): Taurean Prince, SF (Baylor)
- Sacramento Kings (via Wizards and Suns): Georgios Papagiannis, C (Panathinaikos)
- Chicago Bulls: Denzel Valentine, SG (Michigan State)
- Denver Nuggets (via Rockets): Juan Hernangomez, F (Estudiantes)
- Boston Celtics (via Mavericks): Guerschon Yabusele, PF (Rouen)
- Memphis Grizzlies: Wade Baldwin, G (Vanderbilt)
- Detroit Pistons: Henry Ellenson, PF (Marquette)
- Denver Nuggets (via Trail Blazers): Malik Beasley, SG (Florida State)
- Brooklyn Nets (via Pacers): Caris LeVert, G (Michigan)
- Atlanta Hawks: DeAndre’ Bembry, SF (St. Joseph’s)
- Sacramento Kings (via Hornets): Malachi Richardson, G/F (Syracuse)
- Boston Celtics: Ante Zizic, C (Cibona Zagreb)
- Philadelphia 76ers (via Heat): Timothe Luwawu, G/F (Mega Leks)
- Los Angeles Clippers: Brice Johnson, PF (North Carolina)
- Philadelphia 76ers (via Thunder): Furkan Korkmaz, SG (Anadolu Efes)
- Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam, PF (New Mexico State)
- Sacramento Kings (via Cavaliers and Suns): Skal Labissiere, PF/C (Kentucky)
- San Antonio Spurs: Dejounte Murray, G (Washington)
- Golden State Warriors: Damian Jones, C (Vanderbilt)
Round 2
- Memphis Grizzlies (via 76ers and Celtics): Deyonta Davis, PF/C (Michigan State)
- Los Angeles Lakers: Ivica Zubac, C (Mega Leks)
- New Orleans Pelicans (via Nets and Clippers): Cheick Diallo, PF/C (Kansas)
- Phoenix Suns: Tyler Ulis, PG (Kentucky)
- Memphis Grizzlies (via Timberwolves and Celtics): Rade Zagorac, SF (Mega Leks)
- Milwaukee Bucks (via Pelicans): Malcolm Brogdon, SG (Virginia)
- Houston Rockets (via Knicks): Chinanu Onuaku, C (Louisville)
- Golden State Warriors (from Bucks): Patrick McCaw, SG (UNLV)
- Los Angeles Clippers (via Nuggets and Pelicans): David Michineau, PG (Chalon)
- Los Angeles Clippers (via Kings and Pelicans): Diamond Stone, C (Maryland)
- Orlando Magic: Stephen Zimmerman, C (UNLV)
- Brooklyn Nets (via Jazz): Isaiah Whitehead, SG (Seton Hall)
- Houston Rockets: Zhou Qi, C (Xinjiang)
- Atlanta Hawks (via Wizards): Isaia Cordinier, SG (Denain)
- Boston Celtics (via Grizzlies): Demetrius Jackson, PG (Notre Dame)
- Dallas Mavericks: A.J. Hammons, C (Purdue)
- Portland Trail Blazers (via Bulls and Magic): Jake Layman, SF (Maryland)
- Chicago Bulls (via Trail Blazers): Paul Zipser, SF (Bayern Muenchen)
- Detroit Pistons: Michael Gbinije, G/F (Syracuse)
- Indiana Pacers: Georges Niang, F (Iowa State)
- Boston Celtics (via Heat): Ben Bentil, PF (Providence)
- Utah Jazz (via Celtics): Joel Bolomboy, PF (Weber State)
- Denver Nuggets (via Hornets): Petr Cornelie, PF (Le Mans)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (via Hawks): Kay Felder, PG (Oakland)
- Utah Jazz (via Clippers and Nets): Marcus Paige, PG (North Carolina)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (via Thunder and Nuggets): Daniel Hamilton, SG (UConn)
- Memphis Grizzlies (via Raptors): Wang Zhelin, C (Fujian)
- Boston Celtics (via Cavaliers): Abdel Nader, F (Iowa State)
- Sacramento Kings (via Spurs): Isaiah Cousins, SG (Oklahoma)
- Utah Jazz (via Warriors): Tyrone Wallace, PG (California)
Thunder Trade Serge Ibaka To Magic
Oklahoma City has traded power forward Serge Ibaka to Orlando, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The Thunder received Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the rights to Domantas Sabonis, the 11th overall pick, in return (Twitter link). Both teams have formally confirmed the deal.
Ibaka had spent his entire seven-year career with OKC after being drafted 24th in 2008. The 26-year-old has one season left on his contract at $12.25MM. He appeared in 78 games for Oklahoma City this season, averaging 12.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. The Thunder reportedly have been gauging the trade market for Ibaka in advance of the draft.
Oladipo, 24, will be eligible for a contract extension next month for the first time in his NBA career. He is scheduled to make about $6.55MM next season in the final year of his rookie deal. The combo guard averaged 16.0 points and 4.8 rebounds for the Magic in 2015/16 while shooting .438 from the field.
Ilyasova, 29, has an $8.4MM contract for next season, but only $400K of that is guaranteed. He split this season between the Pistons and Magic, averaging 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in 74 games.
Earlier in the evening, the Raptors offered their No. 9 pick to the Thunder for Ibaka, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, but Oklahoma City turned down the deal. Toronto is searching for a replacement for 35-year-old Luis Scola, who started 76 games this season. Scola will be a free agent after earning $3MM during 2015/16. Toronto wound up keeping the ninth pick and taking center Jakob Poetl out of Utah.
Eastern Notes: Bulls, Butler, Jack, Wizards
Bulls general manager Gar Forman denies that the team made an effort to trade shooting guard Jimmy Butler, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. “We like Jimmy Butler,” the GM said. “We didn’t shop Jimmy Butler.” Forman admits that teams called to inquire about Butler’s availability, but says Chicago “never made a single call” and called some of the trade speculation “comical,” prompting Friedell to observe that he can’t recall ever seeing the GM publicly deny a trade rumor so forcefully. Still, Forman did acknowledge that the Bulls liked Kris Dunn and had talks about acquiring him, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).
Here are several more post-draft updates from out of the Eastern Conference:
- Asked tonight about Jarrett Jack‘s $6.3MM team option, Nets general manager Sean Marks said the team is still undecided on it, per Andy Vasquez of The Record (via Twitter). Brooklyn has until next Thursday to make its decision on the veteran point guard.
- The Wizards had some interest in buying a pick in the second round of the draft, but by the time it reached that point, the players they would have been targeting were off the board, per GM Ernie Grunfeld (Twitter link via J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com).
- Three players who slid down the draft board had a chance to be selected much earlier, tweets ESPN’s Chad Ford. According to Ford, the Raptors gave serious consideration to Kentucky center Skal Labissiere at No. 9, and the Bucks talked about Michigan State big man Deyonta Davis and Washington point guard Dejounte Murray with the 10th pick. Of course, Toronto couldn’t have been overly high on Labissiere, considering the club passed on him again at No. 27.
- The Hawks added a pair of wing players in the first round of Thursday’s draft, grabbing Taurean Prince at No. 12 and DeAndre’ Bembry at No. 21. Nonetheless, free-agent-to-be Kent Bazemore continues to be a priority, according to Hawks GM Wes Wilcox, who said after the draft that Bazemore “is a huge part of what we do.” Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the details and the quotes from Wilcox.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
International Prospects: Luwawu, Korkmaz, Zubac
Each year, the draft brings questions about which foreign players are ready for the NBA immediately and which ones will remain overseas for a year or more. A few answers were provided tonight:
- Greek center Georgios Papagiannis, drafted 13th overall by the Kings, has a buyout cost with his Panathinaikos club, tweets Sean Cunningham of ABC10 in Sacramento. However, GM Vlade Divac says the price is manageable and promises Papagiannis will be with the Kings next season.
- French swingman Timothe Luwawu, whom the Sixers drafted at No. 24, plans to join the team next season, tweets Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.
- Furkan Korkmaz, the Sixers‘ pick at No. 26, will not be in Philadelphia for 2016/17, according to international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The Turkish forward will be stashed overseas for at least a year.
- The Lakers plan to have Croatian center Ivica Zubac on their roster next season, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. L.A. took Zubac with the second choice in the second round. He had received a “soft promise” from the Lakers if he fell to the 32nd pick, according to Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
- German small forward Paul Zipser will play for the Bulls during the 2016/17 season, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. Givony believes the 22-year-old can find a role in Chicago right away.
- Egyptian forward Abdel Nader of Iowa State, the Celtics‘ pick at No 58, has agreed to spend next season in the D-League, according to Givony (Twitter link). Players who agree in advance to be stashed in the D-League don’t count against the salary cap.