Kings Sign Three First-Round Picks
The Kings have secured the three players they selected in the first round of this year’s draft, locking them up to rookie-scale contracts. The team announced today in a press release that Georgios Papagiannis (No. 13), Malachi Richardson (No. 22), and Skal Labissiere (No. 28) have all signed their deals.
[RELATED: 2016 Draft Pick Signings]
Sacramento acquired the rights to all three of their first-round picks via trades. Richardson was acquired in exchange from the Hornets in a deal for Marco Belinelli, while the team landed the Papagiannis and Labissiere picks in a swap with Phoenix that resulted in the Suns drafting Marquese Chriss.
The Papagiannis pick at No. 13 was viewed as one of the biggest surprises on draft night, since virtually no mock drafts had him coming off the board so early. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com had the Greek center ranked as the 50th-best prospect in this year’s draft class. However, the Richardson and Labissiere selections received more positive feedback from draft experts.
As our breakdown of salaries for 2016’s first-rounders shows, Papagiannis will be in line for a probable first-year salary of about $2.202MM, with a four-year total exceeding $10MM on his rookie contract, assuming he signs for the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale. Richardson ($1.44MM first year, $7.095MM overall) and Labissiere ($1.189MM first year, $6.066MM overall) will receive more modest deals.
Wizards, Danuel House Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Wizards have agreed to a two-year deal with undrafted free agent Danuel House, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). House had played for Washington’s Summer League squad this month, but didn’t officially have a spot on the team’s 20-man fall roster.
With his new deal, House will be in attendance at training camp for the Wizards later this year, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com, who tweets that the Texas A&M alum got a partial guarantee as part of the agreement. Michael had written this morning that, given House’s solid showing in Summer League play, the Wizards might end up regretting it if they had let him go.
House, a 6’7″ forward, was ranked as 2016’s 87th-best prospect by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com. The 23-year-old averaged 15.6 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 36 appearances during his senior year at Texas A&M.
In other Wizards news, the team won’t have to make a decision right away on whether or not to keep Jarell Eddie, writes Michael at CSNMidAtlantic.com. Eddie’s contract was originally set to become guaranteed if he remained on Washington’s roster beyond today, but the two sides have agreed to push back that deadline until the start of the regular season. That will allow the 24-year-old forward to compete for a roster spot this fall, rather than being cut today.
Sixers Acquire Sasha Kaun, Will Waive Him
5:52pm: The Sixers intend to waive Kaun, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter). As I noted below, Cleveland sent Philadelphia enough cash to make the move worth the 76ers’ trouble, per Wojnarowski.
5:42pm: The Sixers and Cavaliers have completed a trade, according to a press release issued by the 76ers. The deal sends center Sasha Kaun and cash considerations to Philadelphia in exchange for the rights to Chu Chu Maduabum. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets that the move clears the way for the Cavs to finalize their signing of Chris Andersen.
Kaun, 31, played his college ball at Kansas and was selected with the 56th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. However, as a draft-and-stash prospect, it took him seven years to formally join an NBA roster. Kaun agreed to a two-year contract with the Cavaliers last summer, and still has one season remaining on that deal — he’s owed $1,333,420 in 2016/17.
In his lone season in Cleveland, Kaun didn’t see much action, averaging only 3.8 minutes in 25 games. While it’s possible he’ll see a larger role with the Sixers, Philadelphia has a logjam in its frontcourt at the moment, so this looks like a salary dump for Cleveland. I imagine the Cavs are sending the Sixers more than enough money to cover Kaun’s salary.
Meanwhile, the Cavs didn’t open up any cap room by moving Kaun, since cap holds for LeBron James and others ensure the team is still well over the cap. Wojnarowski’s suggestion that the move opens the door for the club to add Andersen is probably more about clearing a roster spot, and perhaps limiting the team’s tax bill.
No Hand Fracture For Larry Nance Jr.
5:31pm: According to the Lakers (via Twitter), an MRI showed a sprained right wrist for Nance, but no fracture or ligament damage.
8:49am: The Lakers fear that power forward Larry Nance Jr. suffered a broken right hand late in Thursday’s Summer League game, according to Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Nance took a hard fall while driving to the basket with 35 seconds left. Post game X-rays revealed an apparent fracture to the base of the third metacarpal, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
“I’ve seen his condition,” Lakers rookie center Ivica Zubac said. “He says it’s broken.”
The Lakers are officially calling the injury a “probable fracture,” and Nance will see a hand specialist today in Los Angeles. After that examination, the team will issue a statement on the extent of the injury and Nance’s estimated recovery time. He has about two and a half months to heal before training camp starts in late September. Six to eight weeks is the normal recovery time for an injury of this type, tweets Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times.
“If it’s not great news, he’s a great kid and a hard worker,” said Lakers Summer League head coach Jesse Mermuys. “He’ll be back sooner than whatever they say.”
Nance, a late first-round pick in 2015, emerged as a pleasant surprise for L.A. last season, averaging 5.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and starting 22 of the 63 games in which he appeared.
Heat Sign Okaro White
JULY 15, 5:01pm: The Heat have made their deal with White official.
JULY 14, 6:30pm: The Heat have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent forward Okaro White, Greek basketball journalist George Zakkas tweets and international journalist David Pick confirms (via Twitter). The length and terms of the agreement are unknown, but it does include a partial guarantee, Pick notes.
The 23-year-old went undrafted out of Florida State in 2014 and then headed overseas, spending the 2014/15 campaign with the Italian club Granarolo Bologna, where he averaged 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds on the season. White then headed to Greece, spending this past season with Aris BC, notching averages of 13.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 26.8 minutes per outing. He shot .465/.337/.791 from the field on the year.
White attended a free agent mini-camp that Miami held in June, but didn’t come away with a contract offer. He appeared in the Orlando Summer League for the Magic’s squad and has been suiting up for the Heat’s squad in Las Vegas, chipping in 10.0 PPG and 6.3 RPG over four contests.
Northwest Notes: Westbrook, Garnett, Gillespie
Russell Westbrook hasn’t offered any public comment since Kevin Durant elected to leave Oklahoma City and join the Warriors, notes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. Westbrook also hasn’t offered any insight into his own situation, which includes free agency in the summer of 2017. That has led to speculation that the Thunder might consider trading him, rather than losing another important asset with nothing in return. Horne writes that he has been unable to contact Westbrook, either through his agent or the team. The only indications of Westbrook’s thinking are second-hand stories from his basketball camp in which he told a group of youngsters that he plans to stay in Oklahoma City.
There’s more news out of the Northwest Division:
- There’s “nothing tangible” yet to reports linking the Celtics to Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, says ESPN’s Chris Broussard (video link). It’s worth stressing that, while Westbrook, Blake Griffin, and the Celtics have been the subjects of trade speculation at the Las Vegas Summer League, much of that speculation is coming from rival general managers and execs — not from sources within the Celtics or Thunder, or from specific player agents.
- When the Thunder sent Serge Ibaka to the Magic for three players, Ersan Ilyasova was viewed as almost an afterthought, included in the deal to make the salaries work. However, as Horne writes for The Oklahoman, Ilyasova – whose salary is now guaranteed – could potentially come in and start for OKC.
- Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link) that he’s waiting to hear from Kevin Garnett on whether or not he’ll play next season. “The great ones deserve time,” Thibodeau said of Garnett, who has one year and $8MM left on his contract with Minnesota.
- Nuggets assistant coach Noel Gillespie is close to a deal that would make him the head coach of the Hornets‘ new D-League affiliate, tweets The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Gillespie has been part of Denver’s staff for the past two seasons.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Hawks Sign Jarrett Jack
JULY 15: Jack is officially a Hawk, the team confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 10: Free agent point guard Jarrett Jack has agreed to a one-year deal with the Hawks, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The contract is for the league minimum.
The 32-year-old Jack had his season cut short when he suffered a torn ACL in January. Before the injury, he appeared in 32 games for the Nets, all starts, and averaged 12.8 points and 7.4 assists. Brooklyn waived Jack at the end of June after unsuccessfully trying to find a trading partner. He was scheduled to make $6.3MM next season, but only $500K of that was guaranteed if he was cut before July.
Jack will probably back up Dennis Schroder in Atlanta. The Hawks needed point guard depth after trading Jeff Teague to the Pacers.
Jack said his rehab from the torn ACL is going “very well,” tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hawks Sign Malcolm Delaney
JULY 15: The Hawks have formally signed Delaney, the club announced today in a press release. Delaney’s salary has been reported as $2.5MM, though it’s unclear if that figure represents the total value of his contract, or his per-year salary.
JULY 3: The Hawks and combo guard Malcolm Delaney have agreed to a guaranteed two-year deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets.
The former Virginia Tech guard played overseas for the last several years and turned down a two-year, $5MM offer from Barcelona in the hopes of landing with an NBA team this year last month, reports Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. The Nets and Rockets were reportedly interested in Delaney in May, but neither team pulled the trigger on a deal.
Delaney went undrafted in 2011, and the closest he has come to NBA action was a summer league stint with the Pistons in 2012, though he was involved in discussions with the Rockets in 2014, but ended up heading overseas to play in Germany instead. In 58 combined games this past season, Delaney averaged 14.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 30.9 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the season was .409/.361/.871.
Hawks Sign Kris Humphries To One-Year Deal
JULY 15: The Hawks have issued a press release officially announcing Humphries’ deal.
JULY 11: Free agent power forward Kris Humphries has agreed to a one-year, $4MM contract to remain with the Hawks, league sources informed Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Humphries drew quite a bit of interest during the free agent process, with the Wizards, Suns, Celtics, Nets, Wolves, Spurs and Hornets reportedly in the mix. In the end, he chose the team for which he played 21 games last season, averaging 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 14.0 minutes. He also appeared in 28 games with the Wizards and four games with the Suns last season. The 6’9” Humphries will be entering his 13th season.
Humphries figures to be the main backup to Paul Millsap, though he’ll have to compete for minutes with Mike Scott and Mike Muscala.
Sixers Sign Dario Saric
JULY 15, 3:58pm: The Sixers have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Saric.
“We are thrilled to finally announce the highly anticipated signing of Dario Saric to an NBA player contract with the Philadelphia 76ers,” said GM Bryan Colangelo in a statement. “Our basketball team stands to benefit from both the on-court development and physical maturation of Dario as a professional player in Croatia and Turkey over the last few years.”
JULY 14, 8:10am: After insisting for months that he’d join the Sixers for the 2016/17 season, Dario Saric has delivered on that vow. According to agent Misko Raznatovic (via Twitter), the Sixers and Saric have agreed to terms on a new contract, and the young forward is headed to Philadelphia to sign his deal.
Philadelphia officials have been engaged in contract talks with Saric in recent weeks, with reports this week suggesting that a deal was imminent. The 22-year-old Croatian reportedly has a buyout in the neighborhood of $800K from Anadolu Efes, his team in Turkey, and NBA rules allow the Sixers to cover $650K of that. Philadelphia acquired the rights to Saric in 2014 in a draft-day deal with Orlando.
Because he’s signing his first NBA contract within three years of being drafted, Saric will be subject to the rookie scale, which was what made some observers skeptical that he’d actually join the 76ers this season. If he had waited another year, Saric would have had the freedom to negotiate a more lucrative contract. Instead, he figures to get a pact that’s identical to what this year’s 12th overall pick (Taurean Prince) will receive — that will work out to $2,318,280 for his rookie year, and $10,749,666 over the life of his four-year deal.
With Ben Simmons joining the Sixers as the No. 1 pick, Saric arriving from Turkey, and Joel Embiid looking to head into the regular season healthy for the first time since being drafted third overall in 2014, the Sixers believe they’ll have three players capable of contending for the 2016/17 Rookie of the Year award.