Pelicans Sign Second-Rounder Cheick Diallo
JULY 22: The Pelicans have made it official with Diallo, announcing the signing today in a press release.
JULY 20: The Pelicans have struck a deal with second-round pick Cheick Diallo, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have reached an agreement on a three-year contract. Terms of the agreement aren’t yet known, but other players who were drafted just before or just after Diallo last month have received at least two fully guaranteed years, along with a starting salary worth more than the minimum.
[RELATED: 2016 Draft Pick Signings]
Diallo, 19, was projected as a late first-round pick by several draft experts and was ranked as the year’s 24th-best prospect by both ESPN’s Chad Ford and DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony. The 6’9″ big man didn’t see much action during his only year at Kansas, averaging just 3.0 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 7.5 minutes per contest, but is viewed as having significant upside, particularly as a defender.
On draft night, the Pelicans agreed to a deal with the Clippers, sending the 39th and 40th overall picks to Los Angeles in order to move up to No. 33 to snatch Diallo.
The Pelicans also recently agreed to terms with Terrence Jones, and are said to be finalizing a deal with Alonzo Gee. New Orleans is the only team in the NBA that has to formally complete any of the contracts they’ve agreed to this month, but the mini-flurry of news related to the team today suggests that the Pelicans are likely close to making things official with those players.
Pelicans Re-Sign Alonzo Gee
JULY 22: The Pelicans have officially re-signed Gee, the team confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 21: The Pelicans and Alonzo Gee have agreed on a one-year deal worth $1.4MM, Michael Scotto of The Associated Press reports (on Twitter). Shams Charania of The Vertical recently reported that the two sides were close to striking an agreement.
Gee opted out of his previous contract with the Pelicans earlier this month. He would have earned about $1.379MM in 2016/17 if he had exercised his option, so this is only a slight increase. Still, judging by the amount of money tossed around this summer, it seemed like a logical decision for Gee.
Gee, 29, made 38 starts and appeared in 73 games for New Orleans last season. He averaged only 4.5 PPG and 3.4 RPG. Gee is a solid defender and a decent role player, however. His season ended after he suffered a ruptured right quadriceps muscle.
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Ginobili, Okafor, Celtics
As Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported last week, the Sixers aggressively pursued Manu Ginobili in free agency earlier this month, making him a contract offer that would have guaranteed him $16MM+ in year one, forcing the Spurs to significantly increase their own offer. As Ginobili tells Michael Lee of The Vertical, he didn’t simply talk to the 76ers as a negotiating ploy, since the presence of head coach Brett Brown intrigued him.
“It was not my main option. I never wanted to leave San Antonio,” Ginobili said. “But I had to listen to all the options that are there. … The fact that (the Sixers) had a great coach and a person I appreciate so much as Brett Brown, made it more appealing in the case the Spurs didn’t happen. But the Spurs happened and they always had the priority.”
As we ponder the possibility of what it looked like to see Ginobili wearing a 76ers uniform next season, here are a few more notes out of the Atlantic:
- Expectations for the new-look Knicks are high, Derrick Rose admits in a conversation with Lang Whitaker of NBA.com. Curiously, the veteran point guard believes his team is viewed in NBA circles as a top-tier contender alongside the Warriors, telling Whitaker, “They’re saying us and Golden State are the super teams.”
- Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer explains why it wouldn’t make a ton of sense for the Sixers to trade Jahlil Okafor to the Celtics, writing that Boston has concerns about possible character issues. As Pompey outlines, the C’s typically minimize risk by avoiding investing heavily in players with off-court question marks — as such, the 76ers would have a hard time extracting fair value in a trade.
- On Thursday, we passed along some comments Jae Crowder made about the Celtics‘ failed pursuit of Kevin Durant. That wasn’t the only subject Crowder weighed in on during his conversation with Tom Westerholm of MassLive.com, however. The Boston forward also talked about the Eastern Conference outlook – the Cavaliers are the only team he’s worried about – and the team’s recruitment of Al Horford. As Crowder noted, Horford was also drawing interest from the Wizards as the C’s pursued him. “We beat them four times this year,” Crowder said of Washington. “You don’t want to go there.”
International Notes: Beaubois, Hernangomez, Harvey
After turning down the Mavericks‘ offer to sign a partially-guaranteed contract and compete in training camp for a regular-season roster spot, Rodrigue Beaubois has made it official with Baskonia, as Orazio Cauchi of Sportando details. Beaubois, a former NBA first-round pick who spent several seasons in Dallas, has inked a two-year deal with the Spanish team and will remain overseas rather than returning stateside.
Here are a few more international updates on players with NBA ties:
- Spanish forward Juan Hernangomez, who was selected 15th overall last month by the Nuggets, said prior to the draft that he’d love to come to the NBA immediately, and it seems he might get his wish. Nothing is official yet, but over at Sportando, Cauchi passes along a report from Gigantes del Basket indicating that Hernangomez is expected to sign with Denver. The Nuggets have reportedly reached agreements with their other first-round picks, Jamal Murray and Malik Beasley, but they’ve yet to formally confirm those signings — the team may be waiting for resolution with Hernangomez to make an official announcement.
- Tyler Harvey, a 2015 second-rounder whose NBA rights are held by the Magic, announced on Instagram that he has signed with Italian team Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino for the upcoming season. Harvey spent last season playing for the Erie BayHawks, Orlando’s D-League affiliate, but it seems the Magic won’t be able to keep as close an eye on the 23-year-old guard in 2016/17.
- Center Cady Lalanne is joining Chinese team Zhejiang Banks, sources tell international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Lalanne, a second-round pick in 2015, is one of many players whose draft rights are held by the Spurs.
- Kings draft-and-stash prospect Alex Oriakhi, a second-round pick in 2013, has signed a deal with Turkey’s Socar Petkim, per Sportando. It will be the eighth team the well-traveled big man has spent time with since he was drafted out of Missouri three years ago.
Pacific Notes: Durant, Lakers, Green
Jae Crowder, who participated in the Celtics‘ pitch to Kevin Durant earlier this month, isn’t thrilled that Durant ended up choosing the Warriors over Boston, or even over Oklahoma City. As Crowder tells Tom Westerholm of MassLive.com, the Celtics were the only team to beat both the Cavaliers and Warriors on the road last season, and the team’s presentation to Durant included an explanation of its strategies in those games.
“We played him clips from both games and told him basically the scouting report of how we guarded Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) — our entire game plan, basically,” Crowder said. “That’s what made me mad. We (expletive) told him everything we do to beat these guys, and we beat them, and he went and joined them. I mean, that’s part of the process, but I did not think he would go to those two teams.
“I felt like afterward, I was talking to Isaiah (Thomas), like maybe after you sit back, you shouldn’t have told him everything, but who the (expletive) thought he was going to Golden State, realistically?” Crowder continued. “It was like a slap in the face for us, basically.”
Here’s more on Durant, along with a couple more Pacific Division notes:
- The Lakers have an “unnamed trade target” in mind, but the team would be willing to use its cap room to accommodate another Jose Calderon-esque salary dump, writes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Taking Calderon off the Bulls’ hands landed Los Angeles a pair of future draft picks.
- Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com examines how Durant is adjusting to his new role as a villain, while Michael Lee of The Vertical explains why the newest Warriors star isn’t worried about his legacy.
- Draymond Green‘s attorney, James Heos, tells Christopher Haxel of The Lansing State Journal that his client’s court case could be resolved at any time. However, if a trial is set, Heos will ask that it happen after the Olympics and before the NBA regular season begins. The Warriors forward faces a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery stemming from a July 10 incident in East Lansing.
Contract Details: Rondo, Boban, J. Hill, S. Hill
There were conflicting reports on the details of the second year of Rajon Rondo‘s new contract with the Bulls when it was agreed upon and signed earlier this month, but Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders provides some clarity, writing that only $3MM of Rondo’s $13.397MM second-year salary is guaranteed. That second year essentially functions as a team option for the Bulls, who could waive Rondo by June 30 next year if his first year in Chicago goes south.
Here are several more contract and salary cap details from Pincus:
- As part of the sign-and-trade deal that landed Matthew Dellavedova in Milwaukee, the Cavaliers sent $200K to the Bucks, per Pincus. The move allowed Cleveland to create a trade exception to absorb Mike Dunleavy‘s salary.
- The Pistons‘ offer sheet for Boban Marjanovic was an Arenas-rule offer, with a modest spike in year three, according to Pincus. The Spurs didn’t have Marjanovic’s Early Bird rights or enough cap space to match, so Detroit got its man and was able to smooth out his cap hit to $7MM annually, as the Arenas rule permits.
- The second year of Jordan Hill‘s two-year, $8.18MM deal with the Timberwolves is non-guaranteed, tweets Pincus.
- Solomon Hill‘s four-year, $48MM pact with the Pelicans, which starts at $12.2MM, features $3.9MM in total unlikely incentives, according to Pincus (via Twitter). Meanwhile, the first-year cap hit on E’Twaun Moore‘s four-year, $34MM deal with New Orleans is $8.08MM (Twitter link).
Three Teams Not Using Cap Room In 2016/17
In previous NBA seasons, there was usually a reasonably balanced split between teams that went under the cap and used cap room to sign free agents or to acquire players via trade and teams that remained over the cap and relied on exceptions to add new players. With the salary cap taking an unprecedented leap this summer from $70MM to $94MM, however, nearly every NBA team renounced its mid-level, bi-annual, and trade exceptions and went under the cap.
While many of those teams have since used up their cap space and gone back over the cap, there are only four NBA teams that have stayed over the cap for the 2016/17 league year so far, and one of those four likely won’t be over the cap for much longer.
Here’s a breakdown of the teams not using cap room in 2016/17:
Will not use cap room in 2016/17:
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers could still technically get under the cap, but it would require parting ways with LeBron James, so that’s a non-starter. Without LeBron under contract, the Cavs still have over $81MM in guaranteed 2016/17 salary on their books, and the team would also like to re-sign J.R. Smith. Those two players could cost upward of $40MM combined for the coming season, putting Cleveland back into tax territory.
With no cap room available, the Cavs have had to rely on exceptions to make tweaks to their roster — the team used a trade exception to land Mike Dunleavy and will sign Chris Andersen using the minimum-salary exception. One move to keep an eye on is the signing of Richard Jefferson, which is not yet official. Assuming the initially-reported terms of the agreement – $5MM over two years – are accurate, Jefferson may be receiving a portion of the club’s mini mid-level exception. Cleveland only has Jefferson’s Non-Bird rights, which wouldn’t accommodate a salary worth up to $5MM over two years.
Los Angeles Clippers
With Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan combining for nearly $65MM in total salary in 2016/17, the Clippers would have had to part ways with most of the rest of their players in order to create a significant chunk of cap room. Instead, the team re-signed many of its own free agents, including Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, Wesley Johnson, and Luc Mbah a Moute.
Since the Clippers didn’t have full Bird rights on Johnson, the club used its full mid-level exception on him, creating a hard cap of $117,287,000 for the coming season. Los Angeles is currently less than $4MM away from that hard cap.
L.A. is using the minimum-salary exception to fill out the rest of its roster, using that exception to add players like Marreese Speights, Brandon Bass, Raymond Felton, and second-round pick Diamond Stone.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors entered the offseason with the opportunity to open up a little cap room, even if they re-signed DeMar DeRozan. But the team wouldn’t have been able to create more than $6-7MM in space, so it made more sense for Toronto to keep its mid-level and bi-annual exceptions.
The Raptors ultimately remained over the cap and used their MLE to sign Jared Sullinger. It appears the rest of the club’s free agent additions to date – Fred VanVleet and Jarrod Uthoff – will be signed using the minimum-salary exception, so the team should still have its bi-annual exception available. Like the Clippers, the Raptors are hard-capped at $117,287,000, but Toronto is currently in no danger of reaching that mark.
Have not used cap room yet in 2016/17:
Oklahoma City Thunder
Having lost Kevin Durant, the Thunder could open up a sizable portion of cap room if they renounce Dion Waiters‘ cap hold, along with their mid-level, bi-annual, and trade exceptions. That may ultimately be the plan, particularly if Russell Westbrook is open to renegotiating his contract, but for now, the team is waiting to see what happens with Waiters.
The Thunder agreed to terms with Alex Abrines on a deal that can be finalized using the mid-level exception if they remain over the cap. If they dip below, they’ll use cap room to complete that signing.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
Wizards Sign Tomas Satoransky
JULY 21: The Wizards have officially signed Satoransky, the team announced today. “We are very pleased to be able to bring Tomas to the organization after monitoring his development overseas for the last several years,” team president Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement. “He will provide energy and athleticism at both guard positions, giving us more depth and versatility in the backcourt.”
JULY 3: The Wizards and Tomas Satoransky, a 6-foot-7 guard and draft-and-stash prospect from Europe, have agreed to a deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. Satoransky was the 32nd pick of the 2012 draft. The deal is for three years and $9MM, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets.
The deal has no options and is a solid value for the Wizards, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post tweets. This is another bench piece for the Wizards, who have added enter Ian Mahinmi, power forward Andrew Nicholson and Trey Burke all in the last 24 hours.
The addition of Satoransky would give Washington another young player to develop behind backcourt mainstays John Wall and Bradley Beal. Satoransky averaged 9.5 points in 24.0 minutes per game with 38.8% 3-point shooting for his Spanish team this past season, and the year before he shot 43.5% from behind the arc.
Eastern Notes: Celtics, Heat, Hawks, Pistons
While the Celtics are still being aggressive in trade discussions, most of the bigger-name targets – such as DeMarcus Cousins, Russell Westbrook, and Gordon Hayward – aren’t really available at this point, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. As Kyler details, Boston could probably land a veteran player like Greg Monroe or Rudy Gay, but GM Danny Ainge may prefer to keep his trade chips in the hopes of making a bigger deal down the road.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- With Dwyane Wade gone, the Heat will be seeking someone to fill the role of “franchise player” in Miami. In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explores whether or not Justise Winslow has that sort of upside.
- In a podcast this week, Chris Mannix of The Vertical spoke to Hawks GM Wes Wilcox about the decision to sign Dwight Howard, trading Jeff Teague, and the decision to retool Atlanta’s roster rather than rebuild.
- Aron Baynes is a popular subject of discussion in Keith Langlois’ latest mailbag at Pistons.com. Langlois also discusses the Pistons‘ signing of Boban Marjanovic, whether the club should have gone after Jarrett Jack, and several other topics.
- Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com looks at LeBron James‘ recent history of signing one-year contracts with the Cavaliers, examining the impact the trend has had on other players and teams around the NBA.
Knicks Interested In Greg Monroe?
The Knicks are among the teams with an interest in acquiring Bucks center Greg Monroe, who reportedly remains available, Sam Amico of Amico Hoops reports, citing league sources. The Knicks may need a third team to help facilitate a trade for Monroe and would almost certainly have to wait until December to make a deal, Amico adds.
The Bucks-Monroe relationship has not worked out the way many envisioned it would. After one season, the Bucks are reportedly “anxious to move on from him.” Monroe has two seasons remaining on his current deal. He can choose to opt out next summer. In 79 games for the Bucks, Monroe notched averages of 15.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 29.3 minutes per contest. The Celtics emerged as a suitor for Monroe last month, but talks are reportedly no longer ongoing.
The Knicks would be a logical fit, depending on who New York would move, of course. The Knicks are set to feature Joakim Noah at center and to bet on the former Bulls player staying healthy would be risky. Beyond Noah and Kristaps Porzingis at power forward, it can be argued that New York lacks depth in the frontcourt.
Still, having undergone a significant roster overhaul this offseason, the Knicks don’t have many trade chips currently available to match Monroe’s $17MM+ salary — free agents who recently signed with the club aren’t eligible to be dealt until at least December.