Celtics Renounce QO For Jared Sullinger
The Celtics have decided to renounce their $4,433,683 qualifying offer for Jared Sullinger, tweets Kevin O’Connor of SB Nation. The news first appeared on the NBA’s transaction wire, and a source confirmed it to O’Connor.
The move, which also affects Sullinger’s exception rights, means he will go from being a restricted free agent to an unrestricted one. Boston had limited playing time to offer the 6’9″ power forward after signing Al Horford in free agency and allowing Amir Johnson‘s $12MM deal to become guaranteed for next season.
Sources at summer league games told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE that the market has slowed considerably for restricted free agent big men. Teams are reluctant to tie up their cap space for three days while waiting to see if the player’s team will match an offer.
It is uncertain whether the Celtics’ move will help Sullinger get an offer more quickly. He started 73 games for Boston last season and was the team’s leading rebounder with 8.3 per night, but he has faced questions about his conditioning throughout his four years in the NBA.
Northwest Notes: Crabbe, Ezeli, Wade, Thibodeau
The Blazers will have until Sunday at 8:59 p.m. Portland time — or 11:59 p.m. Brooklyn time — to decide whether to match the Nets’ offer sheet for Allen Crabbe, tweets Jason Quick of CSNNW. Crabbe, a restricted free agent, signed a four-year, $75MM offer from the Nets on Thursday. League rules give the Blazers three days to decide whether to match, and GM Neil Olshey isn’t offering any clues about his decision. (Twitter link). Crabbe is coming off his best NBA season, averaging 10.3 points in 81 games.
There’s more news from the Northwest Division:
- Festus Ezeli‘s deal with the Blazers contained less money than expected because of concerns about his knees, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The former Warriors center signed a two-year, $16MM contract with Portland on Friday, with a team option for the second season. Ezeli had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in February, and a source told Spears that teams are worried about his durability.
- Even though they didn’t land free agent guard Dwyane Wade, the Nuggets came away from the pursuit feeling good about their future, tweets Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Nuggets officials had a meeting with Wade, and the team was considered a serious suitor until the Bulls came in with an offer. “It was enjoyable to hear what he thought about our situation,” said Denver GM Tim Connelly. “It was pretty encouraging.”
- The Timberwolves are taking a cautious approach when it comes to free agency, according to John Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link). New Minnesota coach/executive Tom Thibodeau addressed the topic during a conference call with media members today. “It’s our first year; it’s important for us to be patient in evaluating the players that we do have,” he said, “but if it’s [necessary] for us to go after people, we will.” Thibodeau also expressed excitement about the addition of free agent Brandon Rush, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. The coach likes Rush’s versatility, but says he needs to improve his shooting.
Central Notes: Rondo, Teague, Jefferson, Bucks
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg is excited to have Rajon Rondo as the point guard on his new-look team, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. Rondo is part of a new era in Chicago, along with Dwyane Wade and Robin Lopez. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, two longtime pillars of the organization, are both with the Knicks now, and Pau Gasol has signed with the Spurs. With all the turnover, Hoiberg thinks it will be helpful to have an intelligent player like Rondo leading the team. “What I’m excited about is how smart and cerebral a player he is,” Hoiberg said, “how he can survey the floor and make the right read coming down. The more playmakers you have and the more guys who can get into the paint, the better off you are.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- The Pacers haven’t started extension talks with their new point guard, Jeff Teague, but that seems to be the organization’s plan, tweets Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star. Teague, who is entering the final season of his contract, came to Indiana from the Hawks in a three-team deal before the draft. “Obviously we brought him here for the long term,” said Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird.
- Al Jefferson didn’t need to review a lot of offers before deciding to come to Indiana, according to Mark Montieth of NBA.com. “I didn’t talk to nobody [else],” said Jefferson, who officially signed with the team today. “It was just Pacers. At this point in my career I’ve put myself in a position where I can go where I want to go as far as what’s best for me, and for winning. For me, no other team out there [was a better fit].” Jefferson’s new contract is for $30MM over three years, but only $4MM is guaranteed in the final season, tweets salary cap expert Larry Coon.
- After adding Matthew Dellavedova and Mirza Teletovic in free agency, the Bucks are planning more moves, writes Charles F. Gardner of The Journal-Sentinel. Coach Jason Kidd said both players will help fortify Milwaukee’s bench, along with some future additions. “The best way to put it is to let things settle down, because things were moving fast [in free agency],” Kidd said. “I think everybody thought they were going to wait for [Kevin] Durant, but people started signing on Day 1. It just didn’t stop. You’ve got to take a step back and see what we need.”
Coaching Notes: Lue, Jones, Walton, Kings
A delay in working out an extension with Tyronn Lue has several Cavaliers assistants working in the summer league without contracts, according to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. The deals for Jim Boylan, Phil Handy, James Posey and Vitaly Potapenko expired July 1st. Lue, who has promised they will all be kept on his staff, is negotiating an extension after winning an NBA title in his first season as a head coach. He is still under a four-year, $6.5MM contract that he had as an assistant after refusing a three-year, $9.5MM offer when he replaced David Blatt in midseason. Lue has a year left on his current deal and said he isn’t worried about the status of the extension. “It’ll eventually get done,” he said.
There’s more coaching news around the league:
- The Cavaliers are expected to make Damon Jones an assistant coach, Haynes writes in the same piece. Jones will replace Bret Brielmaier, who recently joined the Nets‘ staff.
- After a two-month wait while the Warriors made their way through the playoffs, former Golden State assistant Luke Walton finally got to coach the Lakers, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Walton made his debut Friday night in the Las Vegas Summer League and received a rousing ovation from Lakers fans in attendance. “I know I still have a lot to learn, but I think everybody does, no matter how long you’ve been doing any job,” Walton said. “I’m excited and I feel like I’m ready for this and I’m looking forward to it.”
- The Lakers did not keep player development coach Thomas Scott, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Scott is expected to pursue other opportunities.
- The Kings have added Bob Thornton and Larry Lewis as assistants to new head coach Dave Joerger, tweets Sean Cunningham of KXTV in Sacramento.
Knicks Notes: Thomas, Durant, Jackson, Jennings
Lance Thomas decided to re-sign with the Knicks because he didn’t want to be known as a “loser” in New York, relays Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Thomas, a restricted free agent, agreed to a four-year deal worth about $27.3MM. The fifth-year combo forward was born in Brooklyn and was concerned about his legacy after the Knicks finished far out of the playoff race during his two seasons with the team. “I grew up a Knicks fan; this is the team I grew up watching,” Thomas said. “Me being from the area and planning on being in the area for the majority of my life, I didn’t want my legacy as a Knick to be a loser.”
There’s more news out of New York:
- The Knicks were hoping to meet with Kevin Durant to establish a relationship in case he tried free agency again next summer, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Durant can still opt out of his new contract with the Warriors in 2017, but he indicated this week that he expects to stay in Golden State for a long time. New York wasn’t one of the five teams that Durant met with last weekend, but GM Steve Mills said he was encouraged by the process. “We knew KD wanted to pick a team that had a chance to win a championship this upcoming season,” Mills said. “We didn’t fit that bill. We know if he made a decision to do a 1-and-1, we would’ve had a meeting with him. The idea he did a 1-and-1 with Golden State, my assumption is he’ll stay there.”
- “Super teams” like the one created with Durant’s move to the Warriors, are an inevitable consequence of the sudden rise in the salary cap, Knicks president Phil Jackson says in the same story. “That’s the way it’s going to be for a while — players allowed this to go forward instead of smoothing it, so there’s tons of money,” Jackson said. “There’s an opportunity to do major moves in the NBA.”
- Jackson expects newly signed guard Brandon Jennings to be Sixth Man of the Year next season, Begley writes in a separate piece. Jennings, who spent this season with the Pistons and Magic, inked a one-year deal with the Knicks this week for $5MM. He doesn’t mind taking on a reserve role and said he will try to live up to Jackson’s expectations. “I’m definitely gonna embrace that role,” Jennings said. “I don’t see why I can’t be in that conversation, and I’m fine with it. I’m definitely fine with it.”
Knicks Sign Mindaugas Kuzminskas
JULY 9, 7:50pm: The signing is official, the team announced today.
JULY 5, 2:28pm: The Knicks have agreed to sign Lithuanian forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas and bring him over to the NBA, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. The two sides have reached agreement on a two-year deal, as first reported by Donatas Urbonas (Twitter link), and as confirmed by Ian Begley of ESPN.com.
Kuzminskas, 26, has spent the last few seasons with Unicaja Malaga in Spain. In Euroleague play this past season, the forward averaged 12.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG, shooting 54.9% from the floor and 37.7% from downtown in 23 games (20.7 MPG). Kuzminskas had been set to play in Turkey next season with Darussafaka Dogus, David Blatt‘s team, but has reportedly informed the club that he wants to make the move to the NBA.
Per Sportando (Twitter link), the Knicks will have to pay a “high” buyout in order to bring Kuzminskas stateside, though it’s not clear exactly how significant that payment will be. According to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link), New York offered Kuzminskas a two-year, $6MM deal, so it sounds like the club will likely use its room exception – worth about $2.9MM in 2016/17 – on him. That would allow the Knicks to use up all their cap room finalizing other moves before making this deal official.
We had heard on Monday that Kuzminskas recently worked out for the Lakers and Hawks — at that point, he was said to be close to making a decision on whether to continue his basketball career in the NBA or overseas.
Sixers Sign Gerald Henderson
JULY 9, 7:23pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.
JULY 5, 10:27am: The Sixers have reached an agreement with another free agent guard, according to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will sign Gerald Henderson. The 76ers and Henderson have agreed to a two-year, $18MM deal, per Haynes.
Henderson, 28, spent the first six years of his NBA career in Charlotte before joining the Blazers last season. After averaging more than 31 minutes per game and serving primarily as a starter during his final four years with the Hornets, Henderson came off the bench and played less than 20 minutes a game for Portland in 2015/16, averaging a modest 8.7 PPG and 2.9 RPG to go along with a .439/.353/.767 shooting line.
Henderson is the third veteran guard the Sixers have agreed to sign within the last few days, and each player has come in at around the same per-year price. Jerryd Bayless struck a three-year, $27MM deal with Philadelphia, while Sergio Rodriguez agreed to a one-year, $8MM pact.
Last month, Henderson talked about prioritizing contending teams in free agency this offseason, as opposed to a starting job, but his decision may ultimately be more about the latter than the former. Philadelphia isn’t expect to contend immediately, but the number of young players and the lack of veteran backcourt talent on the roster suggests Henderson could begin the season in the starting lineup.
[RELATED: Sixers’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
A Monday report indicated that “seven to eight” teams had expressed some interest in Henderson, including the Trail Blazers, but perhaps none of those teams were offering the sort of playing time – and money – that the Sixers were. The move will represent a homecoming for Henderson, who attended high school just outside of Philadelphia.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Warriors Sign David West
JULY 9th, 5:22pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
JULY 5th, 3:21pm: A year after taking a significant pay cut to sign with the Spurs, David West has once again decided to forgo a major payday in order to join a title contender. According to David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter), West has agreed to terms on a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Warriors. The minimum salary for a player with West’s experience is $1,551,659.
[RELATED: Kevin Durant to sign with Warriors]
West, the 18th overall pick in 2003, spent eight years with New Orleans to start his NBA career before joining the Pacers for four seasons. Last summer, the veteran forward declined a player option worth $12MM+ with Indiana, instead signing a minimum-salary contract with the Spurs in the hopes of winning a championship.
West, 35, played just 18 minutes per game for San Antonio during the 2015/16 regular season, his lowest mark since his rookie year. He was still fairly effective in that limited role, recording a career-best .545 FG%. However, he and the Spurs fell short of a championship having been eliminated in the second round by the Thunder. West subsequently declined his player option for the coming season.
In 2016/17, West will take another shot at a ring with the Warriors, who are huge title favorites after agreeing to sign Kevin Durant. In addition to striking a deal with Durant and now landing West, Golden State also got Zaza Pachulia to agree to a below-market contract to join the roster, fortifying the team’s frontcourt.
The Warriors have limited flexibility to fill out their roster, but as the Pachulia and West deals show, there are veteran free agents willing to take less money to join Golden State’s stacked squad. Even longtime players who have been out of the NBA for the last couple years have been linked to the Dubs — one report suggested the club would give Ray Allen a call, while another report indicated Jermaine O’Neal is open to a return for the Warriors. The team has also been linked to younger free agents such as Willie Reed and Dewayne Dedmon.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Perkins, Kupchak
New Kings head coach Dave Joerger wants to bring the “grit and grind” philosophy he employed in Memphis with him to Sacramento, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. “We’re going to bring that here,” said lead assistant coach Elston Turner, who was also on Joerger’s staff in Memphis. “We’re going to pick up the physicality; we’re going to put our hands on you. Teams are going to know that we’re on the floor. So the [Kings’] scoring may come down a bit, but believe me, the defensive part is going to raise up.”
“That’s what we want to do as an organization,” Joerger added. “If we’re going to play winning basketball, we feel like we’ve got to do a better job defensively, and we want to set that tone with this crew and especially the guys that are going to be on the roster. They’re going to have three steps forward in advantage when training camp comes.”
Here’s more from out of the Pacific Division:
- The Warriors didn’t make a contract offer to Marreese Speights, who inked a one-year deal with the Division-rival Clippers on Friday, Marcus Thompson of The Bay Area News Group relays (on Twitter).
- One big man the Warriors have expressed interest in adding to the roster is veteran Kendrick Perkins, who is friends with newly signed Kevin Durant, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The 31-year-old appeared in 37 games for the Pelicans last season, averaging 2.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per outing.
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak is optimistic that the team’s offseason additions will move the franchise in the right direction, but the executive stopped short of predicting a playoff berth in 2016/17, Mark Medina of The Orange County Register relays. “I’m not quite sure what to expect,” Kupchak said. “A lot has to be seen from our young players before determining how much they can help us. With the veterans, they’re going to need some help from the younger players. They need to give them energy and quickness.”
- Kupchak also discussed the signing of center Timofey Mozgov, noting that adding depth at the five was a priority heading into the offseason, Medina relays. “From the beginning, it was a priority for us to get a big player,” Kupchak said. “I’m not going to tell you who the first, second or third or fourth [option] was. But clearly we were aggressive at the center position.”
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