Rockets Sign Nene To One-Year Deal
JULY 20: Two weeks after striking an agreement, the Rockets have issued a press release formally announcing their deal with Nene.
JULY 6: The Rockets have agreed to terms with free agent big man Nene, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. According to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link), it will be a one-year deal for Nene. Wojnarowski adds that it will be worth $2.9MM, meaning Houston is probably using the room exception.
Houston has had an active July so far, striking four-year deals with Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon. With those two agreements, the team added outside shooting and scoring ability, but had yet to land a big man that could help protect the room. Nene should help make up for some of the rebounding and inside defense the Rockets lost when Dwight Howard opted out of his contract and agreed to join the Hawks.
[RELATED: Rockets’ free agent agreements, via our Free Agent Tracker]
Nene, who will turn 34 in September, has spent his 14-year NBA career so far with the Nuggets and Wizards, having played the last four-plus seasons in Washington. The veteran big man has seen his minutes decline over each of the last couple seasons, from 29.4 in 2013/14 to just 19.2 last year, but he continued to be a solid rotational piece for the Wizards, averaging 9.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 0.9 SPG, and a .544 FG%.
Although the Rockets should still have some cap room left, depending on what happens with free agents Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones – and their cap holds – Nene’s reported $2.9MM salary signals that he’ll likely be signed using the $2.898MM room exception that under-the-cap teams receive. That will allow Houston to max out its room under the cap before finalizing Nene’s deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rockets Sign Second-Rounder Chinanu Onuaku
The Rockets have finalized a deal with second-round pick Chinanu Onuaku, reaching an agreement on a three-year contract, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston used its last chunk of cap room on Onuaku, allowing the team to formalize the signing of Nene using its room exception.
As Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweets, the Rockets had $543,772 of cap room left to spare, and the minimum salary for a rookie is $543,471, meaning the team was able to squeeze in Onuaku with just $301 left over. The team could signed Onuaku to a minimum-salary contract after going over the cap, but such a deal would have been limited to two years. Instead, the former Louisville center receives a fully-guaranteed three-year pact, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link).
“It’s a pretty good deal for the kid,” agent Derrick Powell said, according to Feigen. “He’s 19 years old. He has an upside that fits the contract. I think it was important for us because we wanted Houston to commit to his growth. They’re very committed to him. They like him a lot. He’s worked his buns off. He’s very excited about his future with Houston.”
Onuaku, 19, is still raw, but showed plenty of promise during his sophomore season, averaging 9.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 2.0 BPG for Louisville. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com ranked him as the 38th-best prospect in this year’s draft class, and the Rockets made him the 37th overall pick in last month’s draft.
Now that they’re over the cap, the Rockets will be limited to two-year, minimum-salary deals for the other undrafted rookies they’ve agreed to sign, including Gary Payton II, Kyle Wiltjer, and Isaiah Taylor.
Timberwolves Sign Jordan Hill
JULY 20: The Timberwolves have officially signed Hill, the team announced today (Twitter link).
JULY 13: The Timberwolves and free agent big man Jordan Hill have agreed to terms on a two-year contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Hill’s new deal will be worth $8MM.
Hill, who will turn 29 later this month, appeared in 73 regular-season games for the Pacers last season, starting 11 of those games. In just over 20 minutes per contest, he averaged 8.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG, shooting 50.6% from the floor. A seven-year veteran, Hill previously spent time with the Knicks, Rockets, and Lakers.
For the Wolves, Hill is the second notable veteran big man to agree to terms with the team this month. Minnesota also struck a three-year deal with Cole Aldrich. While Aldrich and Hill aren’t exactly All-Star-caliber players, the team appears to be getting good value out of the duo. Based on the terms reported, Aldrich and Hill will average just over $11MM per season.
By comparison, Timofey Mozgov and Ian Mahinmi will be earning $16MM annually, while Bismack Biyombo will get $18MM per year — and all of those free agents signed longer-term deals than Aldrich or Hill.
[RELATED: Minnesota Timberwolves’ roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com]
Along with Aldrich, Hill will provide the Wolves with solid veteran depth in a frontcourt that also features Nikola Pekovic, Gorgui Dieng, Nemanja Bjelica, and reigning Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Donald Sloan Signs With Chinese Team
10:58am: Sloan’s one-year deal with Guangdong will be worth $2.7MM, tweets Michael Scotto of The Associated Press.
10:21am: Veteran NBA free agent Donald Sloan will be taking his talents overseas for the coming season, according to his agency (Twitter link). Impact Sports Management announced that Sloan has signed a contract with the Guangdong Southern Tigers, a team in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Sloan, 28, appeared in a career-high 61 games for the Nets last season, starting 33 of them. In those contests, he averaged 7.0 PPG and 4.4 APG to go along with a respectable shooting line of .440/.384/.750. It’s known whether Sloan – who has also spent time with the Hawks, Cavaliers, Pacers, and Pelicans (when they were the Hornets) – drew any real NBA interest this offseason, but it appears his best offer came from overseas.
Guangdong, one of the top teams in the CBA last season, was led by a handful of former NBA players, including Yi Jianlian, Ike Diogu, and Will Bynum, a trio that combined to average 64.5 points per contest.
Terms of Sloan’s new deal with the club aren’t known.
Mavericks Sign Quincy Acy
JULY 20, 10:35am: The Mavericks have officially signed Acy, the team announced today.
JULY 14, 5:20pm: The contract will be for the league minimum and include a team option for the second season, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.
5:16pm: The Mavericks and unrestricted free agent Quincy Acy have come to terms on a contract, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). It will be a two-year deal for the forward, Charania adds, but the scribe makes no mention of the amount of the pact, nor if it includes any guaranteed salary. Acy opted out of his minimum salary contract with Sacramento back in April.
Acy, who’ll turn 26 in October, averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game this past season, his second tenure with the Kings, who had him for most of the 2013/14 season. The Kings moved him in and out of the starting lineup this season, but he still wound up making 29 starts, his most ever.
He spent a year with the Knicks in between his stints with Sacramento, and Acy put up the best numbers of his career in 2014/15 with New York, averaging 5.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 18.9 minutes.
International Notes: Beaubois, Maynor, Claver
Former Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois, who appeared in 182 games for Dallas between 2009 and 2013, has been linked back to the Mavs multiple times this offseason. However, Beaubois continues to draw international interest as well. According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, Baskonia, a Spanish team, has interest in the 28-year-old free agent, as reported by multiple international outlets. It sounds as if Beaubois would like to return to the NBA, but he’s no lock for a roster spot in Dallas, so he’ll have to decide whether he wants to fight for an NBA job or continue to play a major role for an overseas club.
Here are a few more international items of interest:
- Former Thunder point guard Eric Maynor is in “advanced talks” for a return to Italy’s Pallacanestro Varese, a team he played for in 2015, per Carchia. Maynor, who also spent time with the Jazz, Blazers, Wizards, and Sixers during his time in the NBA, is coming off a major knee injury.
- Serbia’s KK Crvena Zvezda has officially announced the signing of former Warriors big man Ognjen Kuzmic to a three-year deal, as Carchia details. A second-round pick in 2012, Kuzmic previously appeared in 37 games for Golden State and had “solid interest” from the Warriors this offseason, per international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link)
- Former Iona guard A.J. English, who worked out for at least a dozen NBA teams this spring, has signed with Enel Brindisi in Italy, as Carchia passes along. English went undrafted last month after averaging 22.6 PPG, 6.2 APG, and 5.0 RPG in his senior season at Iona.
- A source tells Pick (Twitter link) that ex-Blazers forward Victor Claver is finalizing a deal with Barcelona that will lock him up through 2019. The Spaniard was a first-round pick in 2009, but never carved out a significant role with Portland after the team brought him stateside in 2012.
Community Shootaround: Western Conference Playoff Teams
On Monday, our Community Shootaround discussion focused on 2016’s Eastern Conference playoff teams, as we asked which of those eight clubs is most likely to slide down the standings next season. While the Heat received the most votes, the response was hardly unanimous.
In the Western Conference, however, it seems far more likely that there would be a consensus on which team is in for the biggest slide. The Thunder, after all, lost a perennial MVP candidate in Kevin Durant, and traded a three-team All-Defensive player in Serge Ibaka. The team still has Russell Westbrook on its roster, and was widely lauded for its return in the Ibaka deal, but it’s hard to imagine Oklahoma City as a top-three team and a Conference Finals participant again in the West.
So, as we examine the West’s playoff teams, let’s not focus on which team will slide the most. Instead, let’s discuss which teams’ moves you liked and which ones you didn’t.
The Warriors, of course, made the biggest splash of the offseason when they landed Durant, but is there room for improvement on last year’s 73-win squad, or will it take some time for the team to adjust to its new-look roster?
The Spurs and Clippers have brought back most of their key pieces, but it’s the end of an era in San Antonio, where Tim Duncan has announced his retirement. Adding Pau Gasol to the mix will help, and Duncan had already been surpassed by Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge as the club’s go-to players, but this isn’t the same Spurs team that won a championship just two years ago. As for the Clippers, if their core players stay healthy into the playoffs, there’s still optimism that the team can finally get over the hump, but Chris Paul‘s not getting any younger.
It’s been an eventful summer for the other three Southwest playoffs teams, with the Mavericks bringing in Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut while losing Chandler Parsons and Zaza Pachulia. Parsons ended up with the Grizzlies, who also retained Mike Conley with the largest contract in NBA history. The Rockets, meanwhile, saw Dwight Howard walk in free agency, but landed Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon.
Finally, the Trail Blazers, one of 2015/16’s pleasant surprises, have managed to bring back key restricted free agents like Allen Crabbe and Meyers Leonard, and also made a couple more head-turning moves in free agency, adding Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli on multiyear deals.
So what do you think? Did any of the Western Conference playoff teams besides Golden State and Oklahoma City drastically improve or take a step back this offseason? Or will the storyline in the West next year simply come down to the Thunder losing their best player to the Warriors?
Take to the comments section below to share your opinions on the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder, Clippers, Blazers, Mavs, Grizzlies, and Rockets. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Details On The D-League Expansion Draft
The D-League will add three new teams this upcoming seasons. The Bulls (Windy City Bulls), Hornets (Greensboro Swarm), and Nets (Long Island Nets) are all set to have one-on-one affiliates and the expansion draft will take place on August 24th, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest reports.
The league hasn’t had three teams join at the same time since 2006 and it has made some tweaks to the rules, sources tell Johnson. Previously, teams would be able to select 16 players from the available pool of players, but this year, the expansion teams will only be able to make 12 selections.
The draft will be serpentine and existing D-League teams can protect 10 players currently on their roster, which is down from 12 in previous expansion drafts. One thing remaining the same is where the expansion teams will pick during the D-League draft. The three teams will have the selections between the non-playoff teams and the playoff teams, which this year are the 12th, 13th, and 14th overall picks. The determination of the order in which these team pick during the annual draft will be set by the inverse of the expansion draft order, meaning the team that receives the first pick in the expansion draft will receive the 14th pick in the annual draft and the others will follow in that pattern.
Once a player is selected by the expansion team, that team owns his rights for at least two seasons. Last season, Toronto’s expansion team, Raptors 905, was the only team participating in the draft. Of the 16 players they selected, only Scott Suggs saw action for the team.
Atlantic Notes: Colangelo, Simmons, Durant
GM Bryan Colangelo acknowledged that the Sixers need to figure out their big man situation in order to have a more balanced roster, Chris Mannix of The Vertical writes. Colangelo added that collecting shooters to place around Ben Simmons on the floor is a priority as well.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Simmons is making the Sixers‘ tanking efforts pay off, Mannix writes in the same piece. “I hated what they did,” a Western Conference GM told Mannix. “But you can’t deny what they have.” The 19-year-old displayed excellent passing and ball handling skills during Summer League and coach Brett Brown told Mannix that he expects Simmons to spend much of the upcoming season as a point guard.
- The Sixers plan to make fundamental changes to Simmons’ jump shot akin to how the Spurs help Kawhi Leonard change his release after he was drafted by the team, Mannix adds in that same piece.
- Kevin Durant said it was his call not to meet with the Knicks even though he held his free agency meetings in the Hamptons, Marc Berman of The New York Post passes along. “Everything was my call,’’ Durant said. “The whole process was my call. I respect everybody in this league and every organization. But I couldn’t meet with everybody.”
- There was speculation that Carmelo Anthony would have asked for trade if the Knicks struck out in free agency, but after the team made major moves this offseason, Anthony appears happy with New York, Berman writes in a separate piece. The Knicks traded for Derrick Rose and they signed Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings to form a team that should easily compete for a playoff birth.
Clippers Sign Brandon Bass
JULY 19: The Clippers have officially signed Bass, according to the team’s website.
JULY 16: The Clippers have reached an agreement to sign Brandon Bass, sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). It’ll be a one-year deal, presumably for the minimum, which is worth roughly $1.55MM, according to Dan Woike of the OC Register (Twitter link). Charania adds (full-length piece) the the Spurs had strong interest in bringing Bass aboard.
Bass spent last season with the Lakers, accumulating 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds off the bench. He turned down a player option worth $3.135MM last month in order to become a free agent. At the time, Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors speculated that the Clippers could be a possible landing spot.
The Clippers already added Marreese Speights earlier in the month, so they now have plenty of veteran depth in the frontcourt behind DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin.