Week In Review: 7/10/16 – 7/16/16
With 2016 free agency in full swing, here’s a look back at all the notable news and events from around the NBA this past week:
Major News
- Tim Duncan officially announced his retirement. The Spurs subsequently waived him for cap purposes.
- The Rockets and James Harden renegotiated and extended his contract, locking him up through the 2019/20 season.
Trades
- The Hornets sent Troy Daniels to the Grizzlies in a sign-and-trade in exchange for cash. Daniels received a three-year, $10MM contract from Memphis.
- The Pelicans sent Luke Babbitt to the Heat in exchange for their own 2018 second-round pick (previously traded to Miami) and cash.
- The Cavaliers sent Sasha Kaun and cash to the Sixers in exchange for the rights to Chu Chu Maduabum.
- The Magic sent Devyn Marble and a 2020 second-round pick to the Clippers in exchange for C.J. Wilcox and cash.
Signings/Agreements
- Quincy Acy, PF (Mavericks): Two years, minimum salary
- Chris Andersen, PF/C (Cavaliers): One year, minimum salary
- Ryan Arcidiacono, PG (Spurs): Two years
- Anthony Bennett, PF (Nets): Two years, minimum salary
- Davis Bertans, F (Spurs): Terms unknown (draft-and-stash)
- Isaiah Canaan, PG (Bulls): Two years, $2.1MM
- Deyonta Davis, PF/C (Grizzlies): Three years, $4MM
- Wayne Ellington, SG (Heat): Two years, $12MM+
- Raymond Felton, PG (Clippers): Minimum salary
- Bryn Forbes, SG (Spurs): Terms unknown
- Randy Foye, SG (Nets): One year, $2.5MM
- Tim Frazier, PG (Pelicans): Two years, $4.1MM
- Michael Gbinije, G/F (Pistons): Three years
- Jonathan Gibson, PG (Mavericks): Three years
- Manu Ginobili, SG (Spurs): One year, $14MM
- Joe Harris, G/F (Nets): Two years
- Andrew Harrison, PG (Grizzlies): Three years, $3MM (draft-and-stash)
- Udonis Haslem, PF (Heat): One year, $4MM
- Jordan Hill, PF/C (Timberwolves): Two years, $8MM
- Danuel House, SF (Wizards): Two years
- Kris Humphries, PF (Hawks): One year, $4MM
- Jarrett Jack, PG (Hawks): One year, minimum salary
- Stefan Jankovic, F (Heat): Terms unknown
- James Johnson, F (Heat): One year, $4MM
- Terrence Jones, PF (Pelicans): One year
- Meyers Leonard, C (Trail Blazers): Four years, $41MM
- Maurice Ndour, PF (Knicks): Two years, minimum salary
- Georges Niang, F (Pacers): Three years, $2.6MM
- Pablo Prigioni, PG (Rockets): Two years
- Willie Reed, PF (Heat): Two years, minimum salary
- Dario Saric, PF (Sixers): Four years, rookie scale (draft-and-stash)
- Luis Scola, PF (Nets): One year, $5.5MM
- Diamond Stone, C (Clippers): Two years, minimum salary
- Jared Sullinger, PF (Raptors): One year, $5.63MM (estimate)
- Fred VanVleet, PG (Raptors): Two years, minimum salary (estimate)
- Greivis Vasquez, PG (Nets): One year, $4.35MM
- Sasha Vujacic, G (Knicks): One year, minimum salary
- Okaro White, F (Heat): Terms unknown
- Christian Wood, PF (Hornets): Two years
- Paul Zipser, SF (Bulls): Two years
Waivers
- The Grizzlies waived Tony Wroten.
- The Pelicans waived Toney Douglas.
- The Hawks waived Lamar Patterson, who was claimed by the Kings.
- The Clippers waived Devyn Marble.
Offer Sheets
- The Heat matched Brooklyn’s offer sheet for Tyler Johnson, preventing him from joining the Nets.
- The Trail Blazers matched Brooklyn’s offer sheet for Allen Crabbe, preventing him from joining the Nets.
- The Spurs declined to match Detroit’s offer sheet for Boban Marjanovic, allowing him to join the Pistons.
Miscellaneous News/Rumors
- The Celtics rescinded their qualifying offer for Jared Sullinger, making him an unrestricted free agent.
- The Jazz and Rudy Gobert will discuss a possible contract extension sometime after the Olympics.
- The Bulls have taken Jimmy Butler off the trade market for now.
- The Warriors and Anderson Varejao are nearing a contract agreement.
- Rival general managers still expect the Celtics to make a big trade.
- Richard Hamilton is eyeing a possible return to the NBA.
Cavaliers Notes: Smith, McRae, Felder, Liggins
GM David Griffin isn’t concerned about the possibility of losing J.R. Smith, writes Sam Amico of Amicohoops. There reportedly has been little interest outside of Cleveland in the 30-year-old free agent shooting guard, who started 77 games during the regular season and was an important contributor to the Cavaliers’ championship run. “These things sometimes take time,” Griffin said. “When the time is right, something will get done. I’m very confident about that.” The team has remained in contact with with Smith, tweets Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, who adds that Smith’s situation is not related to LeBron James‘ contract talks. Haynes says James is “no rush” to wrap up his new deal.
Tyreke Evans To Miss Start Of The Season
The Pelicans won’t have Tyreke Evans available when the 2016/17 season begins, tweets Scott Kushner of The Advocate. The 6’6″ swingman had two surgeries on his right knee last season and has been out of action since mid-February.
“He won’t be ready for the start of the season,” New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said during an appearance on The Lowe Post podcast with ESPN’s Zach Lowe. “He’s in a rehab situation. I think for us we just gotta move forward with our season. And then, if he comes back and he’s able to help us, that just adds icing to the cake.”
Evans played in just 25 games this season, averaging 15.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists per night. He was part of a wave of injuries that knocked the Pelicans out of playoff contention early in the season. The seven-year veteran is entering the final year of his contract and will be a free agent next summer.
Grizzlies Sign Wade Baldwin
The Grizzlies have signed first-round pick Wade Baldwin, the team announced today via press release. Baldwin, a 6’4″ guard out of Vanderbilt, was the 17th selection in last month’s draft.
Baldwin spent two years with the Commodores, averaging 11.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.32 steals in 68 games. He was a Second Team All-Southeastern Conference selection this year as a sophomore.
He figures to be in the mix for backup point guard minutes next season in Memphis behind the re-signed Mike Conley.
And-Ones: Drummond, Seattle, D-League, Griffin
Now that we’re more than two weeks into the 2016/17 league year, Bobby Marks of The Vertical takes a look back at this year’s spending spree and attempts to draw some conclusions about the impact of the $94MM+ salary cap. As Marks outlines, the salary cap spike has resulted in 10 teams with $100MM+ payrolls so far, but has made the luxury tax a virtual non-factor. Marks also observes that if the players’ union had accepted the NBA’s cap smoothing proposal, we likely wouldn’t have seen so much roster turnover this offseason, since more teams would’ve been inclined to keep their own free agents.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the league:
- Andre Drummond‘s new five-year max deal with the Pistons includes an 8% trade kicker, league sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Players earning a max salary can’t exceed that salary via a trade kicker, but with the salary cap set to get another bump next year and in subsequent seasons, Drummond will technically be earning less than his max after the first year of the contract.
- Steve Ballmer, who was part of the group attempting to bring the NBA back to Seattle before he bought the Clippers, doesn’t envision Seattle getting a franchise in the near future. Speaking at the Geek Wire Sports Technology Summit in Seattle, Ballmer said the NBA hasn’t had expansion talks at all recently, and added that the league “has really moved to favor teams staying in their current markets.” Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times has the quotes from the Clippers owner.
- The D-League won’t see the same sort of league-wide salary increase that the NBA will in 2016/17, but the D-League is changing its salary structure, and players will earn more on the whole, as Chris Reichert of UpsideMotor.com details.
- Sam Gardner of FOX Sports takes an in-depth look at former Campbell forward Eric Griffin, whose quest for a spot on an NBA roster was derailed when he was accused of attempted murder — those charges were dropped last month, and Griffin is still looking for a team willing to give him a shot.
Community Shootaround: Most Improved Lottery Team In West?
Earlier this week, we asked Hoops Rumors readers to identify the most improved lottery team in the East. While several teams received support, the general consensus was that the Sixers look like the strongest candidate to significantly improve their win total, while the Knicks might be the best bet of those seven teams to earn a playoff spot next spring.
In the Western Conference, the franchise that missed the playoffs by the smallest margin may be this summer’s most improved lottery team. The Jazz finished just a game out of the postseason, but were plagued by injuries all year. With better health, another year of experience for their young players, and contributions from offseason additions like George Hill and Joe Johnson, Utah looks poised to contend for a top-five spot in the West.
But is there another lottery team in the West that’s a strong candidate for most improved? The Kings, Nuggets, Pelicans, Timberwolves, Suns, and Lakers round out the conference’s non-playoff teams, and all six clubs have made some notable moves this offseason.
In the Pacific Division, the lottery teams relied heavily on the draft to improve their rosters, with the Lakers selecting Brandon Ingram, the Suns picking Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss, and the Kings adding three first-rounders. However, those teams also dipped into free agency as they attempted to upgrade their rosters — Los Angeles signed Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng, Sacramento added Arron Afflalo and a handful of role-playing veterans, and Phoenix brought back a pair of familiar faces in Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa.
The Timberwolves took a safe approach to the offseason, adding a highly-regarded prospect (Kris Dunn) and only delving into free agency to add complementary players like Cole Aldrich, Jordan Hill, and Brandon Rush. They’ll rely on their core players like Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins to take another step forward, and the same can be said about the Nuggets, who sat out free agency almost entirely.
The Pelicans, meanwhile, surrounded Anthony Davis with a handful of intriguing free agent additions, including Solomon Hill, E’Twaun Moore, Langston Galloway, and Terrence Jones.
What do you think? Which franchise is the most improved lottery team in the Western Conference? Do the Jazz deserve that title, or does another club have a stronger case, particularly if we’re looking at the largest projected increase in wins?
Take to the comments section below to share your opinions on the Jazz, Kings, Nuggets, Pelicans, Timberwolves, Suns, and Lakers. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Bulls Sign Dwyane Wade
JULY 15, 8:56pm: The Bulls have issued a press release officially announcing their deal with Wade.
“We are thrilled that Dwyane has decided to come to Chicago,” Bulls GM Gar Forman said in a statement. “It’s not often you get the opportunity to add a three-time champion and 12-time All Star to your roster. We are delighted he has decided to become a Bull, as he provides a great veteran perspective on the court and in the locker room. He will be a tremendous fit with our team.”
JULY 6, 9:50pm: The deal includes a player option for the second year, Wojnarowski tweets.
8:30pm: Dwyane Wade has informed the Bulls that he plans to sign with the team, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Wade’s deal will be for $47MM over two seasons. Chicago was the only place Wade could see himself playing outside of Miami, as people close to the shooting guard told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal is pending, as Chicago will need to clear cap space to accommodate a significant contract for the 34-year-old.
The Bulls are working to trade Jose Calderon and Mike Dunleavy in an attempt to clear space. The team has a trade in place for Calderon, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, and Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports via Twitter that the Nets could be a potential trade partner. The Bulls remain confident that they will be able to move Dunleavy before the night is over, Johnson adds on Twitter.
Wade felt the team no longer appreciated him and that, coupled with bitterness over contract talks, led to his departure, sources tell Wojnarowski. The Heat were unwilling to offer a third year, which also factored into Wade not re-signing. Wade is a Chicago native who grew up idolizing Michael Jordan, as Wojnarowski writes.
The Bulls believe having Wade on the roster will not only offer a more competitive team during the 2016/17 season, but it will also help them land a marquee free agent next summer, Johnson tweets. Johnson tweeted earlier in the day that Wade could choose the Bulls without a face-to-face meeting since he met with the team twice back in 2010.
The Heat selected Wade with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2003 draft. He led the team to three NBA titles and five Eastern Conference crowns. The 12-time All-Star will head to Chicago and join Jimmy Butler and newly signed point guard Rajon Rondo in the backcourt.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
2016 NBA Offseason Trades
A major part of the craziness of NBA player movement during the summer involves trades, and the 2016 offseason has been no exception. Our Free Agent Tracker runs down the signings that have taken place this summer, but it doesn’t cover trades, so that’s where this post comes in. As we did with last year’s offseason trades and the in-season swaps from 2015/16, we’ll be keeping track of all of the trades from this summer, right up until the start of the 2016/17 season, updating this post with each transaction.
Trades are listed here in reverse chronological order, with the latest on top. So, if a player has been traded multiple times, the first team listed as having acquired him is the one that ended up with him. For more details on each trade, click the date above it.
For more information on the specific conditions dictating if and when draft picks involved in these deals will actually change hands, be sure to check out RealGM.com’s breakdown of the details on traded picks.
Here’s the full list of the NBA’s 2016 offseason trades:
2016/17 League Year
- Bulls acquire Michael Carter-Williams.
- Bucks acquire Tony Snell.
- Bucks acquire Michael Beasley.
- Rockets acquire Tyler Ennis.
- Thunder acquire Joffrey Lauvergne.
- Nuggets acquire Thunder’s 2017 second-round pick and Grizzlies’ 2017 second-round pick.
- Jazz acquire Kendall Marshall.
- Sixers acquire Tibor Pleiss, cash ($1.6MM), and two 2017 second-round picks (best and worst of Jazz, Knicks, Pistons, and Warriors picks).
- Sixers acquire Sasha Kaun and cash ($1.8MM).
- Cavaliers acquire draft rights to Chu Chu Maduabum.
- Magic acquire C.J. Wilcox and cash ($230K).
- Clippers acquire Devyn Marble and Cavaliers’ 2020 second-round pick.
- Grizzlies acquire Troy Daniels (sign-and-trade).
- Hornets acquire cash ($250K).
- Heat acquire Luke Babbitt.
- Pelicans acquire their own 2018 second-round pick (previously traded to Miami) and cash ($400K).
- Cavaliers acquire Mike Dunleavy and draft rights to Vladimir Veremeenko.
- Bulls acquire draft rights to Albert Miralles.
- Lakers acquire Jose Calderon, Nuggets’ 2018 second-round pick, and Bulls’ 2019 second-round pick.
- Bulls acquire draft rights to Ater Majok.
- Bucks acquire Matthew Dellavedova (sign-and-trade) and cash ($200K).
- Cavaliers acquire draft rights to Albert Miralles.
- Pacers acquire Jeremy Evans, draft rights to Emir Preldzic, and cash ($3.2MM).
- Mavericks acquire draft rights to Stanko Barac.
- Jazz acquire Boris Diaw, Spurs’ 2022 second-round pick, and cash.
- Spurs acquire draft rights to Olivier Hanlan.
- Wizards acquire Trey Burke.
- Jazz acquire Wizards’ 2021 second-round pick.
- Trail Blazers acquire Shabazz Napier.
- Magic acquire cash ($75K).
- Mavericks acquire Andrew Bogut and Warriors’ 2019 second-round pick.
- Warriors acquire Mavericks’ 2019 second-round pick (conditional).
- Pacers acquire Jeff Teague.
- Jazz acquire George Hill.
- Hawks acquire draft rights to Taurean Prince (No. 12 pick).
- Agreed upon in June.
- Pacers acquire Thaddeus Young.
- Nets acquire draft rights to Caris LeVert (No. 20 pick) and Pacers’ 2017 second-round pick (conditional).
- Agreed upon in June.
- Hornets acquire Marco Belinelli.
- Kings acquire draft rights to Malachi Richardson (No. 22 pick).
- Agreed upon in June.
2015/16 League Year
- Magic acquire Jodie Meeks.
- Pistons acquire a 2019 second-round pick.
- Thunder acquire draft rights to Daniel Hamilton (No. 56 pick).
- Nuggets acquire cash ($730K).
- Cavaliers acquire draft rights to Kay Felder (No. 54 pick).
- Hawks acquire cash ($2.47MM).
- Trail Blazers acquire draft rights to Jake Layman (No. 47 pick).
- Magic acquire Blazers’ 2019 second-round pick and cash ($1.2MM).
- Nets acquire draft rights to Isaiah Whitehead (No. 42 pick).
- Jazz acquire draft rights to Marcus Paige (No. 55 pick) and cash ($3MM).
- Grizzlies acquire draft rights to Deyonta Davis (No. 31 pick) and draft rights to Rade Zagorac (No. 35 pick).
- Celtics acquire Clippers’ 2019 first-round pick (lottery-protected).
- Warriors acquire draft rights to Patrick McCaw (No. 38 pick).
- Bucks acquire cash ($2.4MM).
- Pelicans acquire draft rights to Cheick Diallo (No. 33 pick).
- Clippers acquire draft rights to David Michineau (No. 39 pick) and draft rights to Diamond Stone (No. 40 pick).
- Magic acquire Serge Ibaka.
- Thunder acquire draft rights to Domantas Sabonis (No. 11 pick), Victor Oladipo, and Ersan Ilyasova.
- Suns acquire draft rights to Marquese Chriss (No. 8 pick).
- Kings acquire draft rights to Georgios Papagiannis (No. 13 pick), draft rights to Skal Labissiere (No. 28 pick), draft rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Pistons’ 2020 second-round pick.
- Knicks acquire Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday, and Bulls’ 2017 second-round pick.
- Bulls acquire Robin Lopez, Jose Calderon, and Jerian Grant.
- Pistons acquire Cameron Bairstow.
- Bulls acquire Spencer Dinwiddie.
Trade archives:
Nets Sign Randy Foye
7:42pm: Foye’s one-year deal is worth $2.5MM, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein.
JULY 15, 1:07pm: The signing is official, the Nets announced via press release.
JULY 14, 12:05pm: After missing out on their top targets last week, the Nets continue to move on to alternate options in free agency. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter), the team has reached an agreement on a one-year deal with shooting guard Randy Foye.
The Nets attempted to add some talent and youth to their backcourt early in free agency by signing Tyler Johnson and Allen Crabbe to offer sheets. However, the Heat and Blazers, respectively, matched those offer sheets, and Brooklyn has turned to veteran free agents since then, agreeing to deals with Greivis Vasquez, Luis Scola, and Anthony Bennett.
[RELATED: Nets’ free agent signings, via our Free Agent Tracker]
A former seventh overall pick, Foye has played for the Timberwolves, Wizards, Clippers, Jazz, Nuggets, and Thunder over the course of his 10-year NBA career. Last season, he appeared in a total of 81 games for Denver and Oklahoma City, averaging a career-low 5.9 PPG, and shooting just 30.0% from three-point range, also the worst mark of his career.
Foye is only three years removed from a 2013/14 campaign in which he started 78 games and averaged 13.2 PPG and 2.3 3PG, and at age 32, he should still have something left in the tank. Joining the Nets, whose roster isn’t exactly loaded with talent, could give him the opportunity to earn consistent playing time in 2016/17. If he has a bounce-back season, he could land a decent deal as a free agent in the summer of 2017, when the salary cap exceeds $100MM.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mavericks Finalize Contract With Seth Curry
JULY 15: The Mavericks have officially signed Curry, the team confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 4: The Mavericks are nearing a two-year, $6MM agreement with free agent guard Seth Curry, league sources informed Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). The 6’2” combo guard played in 44 games with the Kings last season, including nine starts, and averaged 6.8 points in 15.7 minutes. He shot 45% on his 3-point tries.
Stephen Curry‘s brother appeared in just four NBA games with three different teams prior to his breakthrough season with Sacramento. The 6’2” shooting guard had his qualifying offer of approximately $1.2MM rescinded by the Kings on Sunday. He made $947,276 during 2015/16.
The Kings considered Curry expendable after they agreed to terms with free agent guard Garrett Temple. Curry hit the free agent market after declining his player option of $1MM for next season. That decision has apparently paid off with Dallas offering a bigger salary and an additional year.
Dallas already had a busy Monday, with the Warriors declining to match its four-year, $94MM offer sheet for restricted small forward Harrison Barnes. Golden State also agreed to trade starting center Andrew Bogut to the Mavericks.
While Curry can play the point, it’s more likely he’ll back up Wesley Matthews at shooting guard.