Knicks Notes: Williams, Noah, Vujacic
The Knicks officially renounced their rights to free agents Derrick Williams, Kevin Seraphin, Lou Amundson and Cleanthony Early, and as a result, the quartet no longer count against the team’s salary cap figure, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). The team can still re-sign any of the players using cap space, save Williams, who agreed to a one-year pact with the Heat earlier this evening.
Here’s more from the Big Apple:
- Joining the Knicks was a dream of Joakim Noah‘s for a long time, who relishes the challenge of playing in New York, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “I’m not taking this opportunity for granted,’’ said Noah. “This has been a dream of mine since I was 5 years old. We’re proud to be from New York. My parents are divorced, but my father is a proud New Yorker. We all are. Fortunately, his son is playing for the New York Knicks now. This means everything to me. I’m going to do everything to make this special.”
- With Langston Galloway on his way to the Pelicans, the Knicks may turn to a familiar face to bolster their backcourt — Sasha Vujacic, Berman relays in a separate piece. New York can offer little more than the veteran’s minimum to the 32-year-old, who may be able to find more lucrative offers overseas, the scribe adds. Vujacic made 61 appearances for the Knicks in 2015/16 and averaged 4.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 14.9 minutes per contest.
- You can view the Knicks’ current roster and depth chart here.
Warriors Re-Sign Ian Clark
JULY 8th, 8:25pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.
JULY 7th, 8:01pm: The Warriors and free agent Ian Clark have agreed to a deal that will see the player remain with the team, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). It will be a one-year contract that is fully guaranteed, Charania notes. The scribe didn’t relay the amount of the pact, but it is more than likely a minimum salary affair.
The team had passed on tendering the shooting guard a qualifying offer worth $1,215,696, which made Clark an unrestricted free agent. There has been virtually no chatter connecting Clark to other teams, so it appears that Golden State declining to make him a restricted free agent didn’t hurt its chances to retain the player.
Clark averaged 3.6 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.0 assist in 8.8 minutes per game last season for the Warriors. He shot .441/.357/.824 from the field.
Nets Sign Isaiah Whitehead
The Nets have signed Isaiah Whitehead to a multiyear contract, the team announced via press release. The exact terms of the arrangement were not relayed, nor how much, if any, guaranteed money was included in the pact.
The Nets acquired the rights to Whitehead, who was the No. 42 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, from the Jazz in exchange for pick No. 55 and cash. Whitehead was ranked as the 52nd best prospect in this year’s draft by ESPN’s Chad Ford and 57th by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
The 6’5″ freshman turned into a dangerous 3-point weapon for the Pirates, connecting on 37% from long distance while averaging 18.2 points and 5.1 assists per game. He led Seton Hall to an upset of national champion Villanova in the Big East title game.
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Mavericks Re-Sign Dwight Powell
JULY 8th, 7:28pm: The Mavericks announced the signing is official via press release.
JULY 3rd, 10:19pm: Dwight Powell has agreed to a four-year, $37MM deal to remain with the Mavericks, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The contract includes a player option for the final season (Twitter link).
The second-year forward appeared in 69 games for the Mavericks in 2015/16, averaging 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per night. He came to Dallas in a 2014 trade with the Celtics.
Powell, 24, may see an increased role on the Mavericks’ front line next season with the loss of Chandler Parsons in free agency and the uncertain status of free agents Zaza Pachulia, David Lee and Charlie Villanueva.
Clippers Re-Sign Austin Rivers
JULY 8th, 7:16pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
8:25pm: Rivers’ deal is worth $35.7MM over three years, per Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
JULY 2nd, 7:00pm: Austin Rivers has agreed to re-sign with the Clippers, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). It’s a three-year deal worth $35MM+, according to Dan Woike of the SoCal News Group. There is a player option in the final year of the contract, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
The signing would indicate that the Clippers are out on the Kevin Durant sweepstakes unless they move one of their stars, Shelburne surmises (ESPN Now link). The Clippers met with Durant on Friday in the New York area and they are trying to retain their own free agents, including Jamal Crawford and center Cole Aldrich, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical writes.
“It was tough. But after heavy thinking I decided I wanted to come back. I’m happy with my decision,” Rivers said, per Shelburne.
Rivers met with the Clippers Friday and was also expected to meet to talk to the Knicks and possibly the Trail Blazers, too. Rivers, in a move that was anticipated, opted out of his contract prior to July 1st. The combo guard was set to earn $3,344,106 next season, but with the salary cap’s rise, he was a lock to land a more lucrative – and longer – deal in free agency.
The 23-year-old made 67 appearances for Los Angeles this past season, averaging 8.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 21.9 minutes per outing to accompany a shooting line of .438/.335/.681. Rivers, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, has career averages of 7.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists through 273 contests.
Team president and coach, Doc Rivers, who is Austin’s father, has said that he wants to re-sign as many of the Clippers’ free agents as possible.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Clippers Re-Sign Luc Mbah A Moute
JULY 8th, 7:12pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 4th, 3:46pm: Mbah a Moute has agreed to a two-year, $4.5MM contract with the Clippers, tweets Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, the team will use the bi-annual exception to complete the deal, which includes a second-year player option.
2:46pm: The Clippers have been active in recent days when it comes to reaching agreements with their own free agents, and are on the verge of locking up another one. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link), Los Angeles is finalizing a new deal for veteran forward Luc Mbah a Moute.
Mbah a Moute, who turns 30 in September, started 61 of his 75 games for the Clippers last season. Although he averaged just 3.1 PPG, a career-low, he was relied upon for his defense rather than his offense, providing versatility and reliability on that end of the floor.
Assuming the Clippers finalize an agreement with Mbah a Moute, he will become the fourth free agent the Clippers have agreed to re-sign in four days. The team lost Jeff Green to the Magic and Cole Aldrich to the Timberwolves, but has struck deals to bring back Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers, and Wesley Johnson.
Jamal Crawford Re-Signs With Clippers
JULY 8th, 7:12pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 3rd, 5:32pm: The Clippers will re-sign veteran guard Jamal Crawford for $42MM over three years, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.
Crawford had been reported as unhappy with L.A.’s initial offer and was considered a threat to leave, with at least five teams having interest. The Clippers’ first offer was $12M for one season, according to Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
The 36-year-old Crawford is the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, an Award he has captured three times. He averaged 14.2 points per night in 79 games with the Clippers this season.
Crawford, who made $5.675MM during 2015/16, is the second Clippers guard to re-sign this weekend. Austin Rivers inked a three-year, $37.5MM deal on Saturday.
Mavs Sign Dorian Finney-Smith
The Mavericks announced via press release that the team has signed free agent Dorian Finney-Smith. The arrangement is for three years and includes a partial guarantee for the first season, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link).
The 6’8″ forward out of the University of Florida went undrafted this year. Finney-Smith led the Gators in rebounding in all three of his seasons with the team and he led the team in scoring in each of his final two campaigns. Finney-Smith is slated to participate in the Las Vegas Summer League as a part of Dallas’ squad.
Finney-Smith averaged 14.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 31.8 minutes in 36 games in 2015/16 and was named to the Second Team All-SEC by the conference’s coaches and Third Team All-SEC by the Associated Press, according to the official release. In 134 career collegiate games, he averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game.
Suns Sign Jared Dudley
JULY 8th, 5:01pm: The Suns announced that the signing is official.
JULY 1st, 9:14pm: After spending four years in Phoenix earlier in his NBA career, Jared Dudley is returning to the Suns. According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), the Suns and Dudley have reached an agreement on a three-year, $30MM deal. The pact will be fully guaranteed, tweets Michael Scotto of The Associated Press.
Dudley, who will turn 31 later this month, was one of the more talented outside shooters available in free agency this summer. For his career, Dudley has made more than 700 three-pointers, shooting at a 39.9% clip. He made 42.0% of his shots from downtown this past season for the Wizards, averaging at least one three-pointer per game for the seventh straight year.
While Washington reportedly had interest in re-signing Dudley, Phoenix’s primary competitors for the veteran’s services appeared to be the Nets and the Jazz. Brooklyn reportedly made a two-year, $18MM offer to Dudley, while Utah spoke to him multiple times.
For the Suns, Dudley will provide a young team with veteran leadership, and will help make up for some of the outside shooting that was lost when Mirza Teletovic reached an agreement with the Bucks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.