Nets Ink Trevor Booker
JULY 8th, 4:27pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
3:24pm: Booker’s deal is for two years and $18MM, per Jones (on Twitter).
JULY 2nd, 3:01pm: The Nets and unrestricted free agent Trevor Booker have reached an agreement on a contract, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune reports (via Twitter). The length and terms of the arrangement are not yet known. Brooklyn apparently pivoted to Booker when negotiations with Marvin Williams fell through, with Williams looking more and more like he will be making his return to the Hornets next season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Brooklyn continues to add veteran pieces and Booker will join Jeremy Lin and Justin Hamilton, whom GM Sean Marks previously came to agreements with, on a revamped Nets squad. Booker was reportedly drawing interest from multiple unnamed teams.
Booker, 28, appeared in 79 games for the Jazz last season and averaged 5.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20.7 minutes per outing. His slash line was .490/.293/.670.
Mavericks Waive JaVale McGee
The Mavericks have parted ways with center JaVale McGee, the team announced via press release. He now becomes an unrestricted free agent, provided he clears waivers. The franchise was reportedly looking to find a trade partner for McGee, whose salary of $1,403,611 for 2016/17 was scheduled to become fully guaranteed on July 12th.
It’s no surprise Dallas found no takers for McGee, given that free agency is in full swing and there are plenty of available reserve options still on the market for a new home. Since the big man’s guarantee had not yet kicked in, the Mavs won’t be on the hook for any salary as a result of waiving McGee.
McGee, 28, appeared in 34 games for the Mavs this past season and averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per outing. The center shot .575/.000/.500 on the year.
Heat To Sign Derrick Williams
The Heat have agreed to a contract with free agent forward Derrick Williams, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). The arrangement is for one year and will pay Williams $5MM, the scribe adds. Ian Begley of ESPN.com first reported Miami’s interest in Williams.
The Knicks had expressed their desire to bring Williams back to New York for next season, but the team lacked the cap flexibility to re-sign him, though, the forward “only” landing a salary of $5MM in the current free agent market is a bit surprising. Williams isn’t necessarily a starting caliber player, but he can certainly be a valuable contributor off the bench. The 25-year-old opted out of his contract with the Knicks in June and was slated to earn $4.598MM for 2016/17, so he secured himself a small raise for his troubles.
Williams appeared in 80 games for the Knicks this past season, including nine tip-offs as a starter. He averaged 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 17.9 minutes per outing. Williams’ slash line on the year was .450/.293/.758.
A.J. Hammons Signs With Mavericks
JULY 8th, 3:31pm: The signing is official, Dallas announced via press release.
JULY 6th, 5:32pm: The Mavericks have signed second-round pick A.J. Hammons to a guaranteed three-year rookie deal, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The 7-footer out of Purdue was taken with the 46th pick in last month’s draft.
Hammons, a 280-pound center, was Dallas’ only selection this year. He had a productive senior season with the Boilermakers, averaging 15.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and putting up a 31.3 player efficiency rating.
He will be part of the Mavericks’ summer league team in Las Vegas, beginning this weekend.
Heat, Udonis Haslem Negotiating New Deal
One longtime member of the Heat left for Chicago this week, but it sounds like another won’t be going anywhere. According to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sentinel, the Heat are in negotiations with free agent big man Udonis Haslem, and are working toward a new agreement with him. Unlike Miami’s earlier discussions with Dwyane Wade, talks with Haslem are amicable, and are expected to result in a deal above the veteran’s minimum, says Winderman.
Haslem, 36, joined the Heat at the same time Wade did back in 2003, and has been with the franchise since then. The Florida native doesn’t play as many minutes or contribute as much as he once did, having averaged a career-low 7.0 minutes per contest in 2015/16. Still, he provides a veteran leadership that Miami values.
Although the Heat did secure an agreement with Hassan Whiteside, the team is seeking additional frontcourt depth, with Luol Deng headed to Los Angeles, Amar’e Stoudemire unsigned, and Chris Bosh‘s health still a question mark. Re-signing Haslem would be a start, but the Heat have also expressed interest in Derrick Williams, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Winderman adds within his report that point guard Beno Udrih – who was bought out by the Heat earlier this year – is working out at AmericanAirlines Arena. It’s not clear if Miami intends to re-sign Udrih, but the veteran free agent is eligible to return to the Heat at any time, as Winderman notes.
Lakers Sign Timofey Mozgov To Four-Year Deal
JULY 8: The Lakers have formally announced their deal with Mozgov, via a press release.
JULY 1: The Lakers have reached an agreement with free agent center Timofey Mozgov on a four-year contract worth $64MM, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). We heard earlier tonight that the two sides were in serious discussions and were nearing a deal.
It’s an eye-popping payday for Mozgov, who will turn 30 later this month. He was a part-time starter and rotational piece for the Cavaliers’ championship team this past season, averaging 6.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 0.8 BPG in 17.4 minutes per contest. However, he was essentially a non-factor in the playoffs, averaging less than six minutes per game in the 13 postseason contests in which he played.
A year ago, Mozgov was a full-time starter in the postseason for the Cavs, averaging 14.4 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 2.4 BPG during the team’s 2015 playoff run. That’s the sort of production the Lakers will likely be hoping for from the seven-footer going forward.
Before agreeing to sign Mozgov, the Lakers had been linked to a number of other free agent centers, including Al Horford and Hassan Whiteside, among others. However, it’s not clear how much interest there was from the players’ sides in those cases. For what it’s worth, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com tweets that Pau Gasol wouldn’t have been entirely opposed to a Lakers reunion.
By reaching a non-max deal with a center, the Lakers will also now have a little extra cap flexibility to address other positions.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mitch McGary Suspended Five Games
Thunder big man Mitch McGary has been suspended for five games by the NBA for a failed drug test, writes Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. McGary figures to serve the suspension to open the 2016/17 regular season.
As Slater writes, the five-game ban isn’t a major on-court problem for the Thunder, considering McGary wasn’t a regular part of the team’s rotation last season. However, it’s not the first off-court incident for the 24-year-old, who tested positive for marijuana in college and avoided a one-year NCAA suspension by entering the NBA draft. So that may be cause for some concern.
McGary, the 21st overall pick in the 2014 draft, has shown a little promise and had a strong Summer League showing this past week in Orlando, but he has yet to make a real mark in Oklahoma City. During the 2015/16 campaign, he averaged just 3.6 minutes in 20 appearances, scoring total 26 points for the season.
Jazz Acquire Boris Diaw From Spurs
FRIDAY, 12:38pm: Diaw is officially a member of the Jazz, according to the team, which issued a press release to announce its trade with the Spurs. Utah acquires Diaw, a 2022 second-round pick, and cash considerations for the rights to Hanlan.
TUESDAY, 3:49pm: The Spurs and the Jazz have reached an agreement on a trade that will send Boris Diaw to Utah, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). San Antonio had been working to trade Diaw in a deal that cleared cap room for Pau Gasol, so the Jazz won’t be sending out any salary in the swap. Instead, as Wojnarowski tweets, the Spurs will get the rights to 2015 second-round pick Olivier Hanlan, who spent last season playing overseas.
Diaw, 34, had spent the last four-plus seasons in San Antonio, serving as a rotational player for the perennially-contending Spurs. He played just 18.2 minutes per game in 2015/16, matching a career low, but was solid when he was on the floor, averaging 6.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 2.3 APG, and posting a .527 FG%.
In Utah, Diaw will be joining an increasingly intriguing roster that will include offseason additions George Hill and Joe Johnson. Utah already has a solid young foundation in place, with Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Dante Exum, and Rodney Hood among the club’s players under contract. The Jazz have supplemented those core pieces this offseason with some solid veteran acquisitions, and should easily be in playoff contention next season.
[RELATED: Utah Jazz depth chart at RosterResource.com]
The Jazz should have the cap room necessary to absorb Diaw’s $7MM salary without making any other notable moves, while for the Spurs, clearing that figure from their cap will allow the team to finalize its agreement with Gasol. San Antonio could have waived Diaw last week and saved $4MM in cap room, since his $7MM salary was only guaranteed for $3MM at that point. However, the Spurs opted to keep him, and were able to clear his entire salary while adding Hanlan to their lengthy list of draft-and-stash players.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Knicks Sign Joakim Noah To Four-Year Deal
JULY 8, 12:34pm: The Knicks have officially signed Noah, the team announced today (via Twitter).
JULY 1, 9:41pm: As expected, the Knicks and Noah have agree to a four-year, $72MM deal after their meeting today, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. It will be a fully guaranteed contract with no options, per Michael Scotto of The Associated Press (Twitter link).
2:42pm: Noah has posted a photo on Instagram that shows him wearing a Knicks cap, which is a pretty strong signal that he’ll sign with the team when the moratorium ends next week.
JUNE 30, 11:58pm: Noah and the Knicks are nearing an agreement on a four-year deal worth around $72MM, sources tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
11:11pm: With free agency now open, the Knicks are discussing the framework of a deal that would be in the four-year, $70MM range, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter links). The two sides will continue negotiations during their Friday afternoon meeting, per Charania.
7:05am: The Knicks are the strong favorites to land longtime Bulls big man Joakim Noah when the free agent period opens in July, according to multiple reports. Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, ESPN’s Marc Stein and Ian Begley, Shams Charania of The Vertical, and Sam Amick of USA Today all independently reported late on Wednesday night that the Knicks are in the driver’s seat in the Noah sweepstakes.
According to Charania and Amick, Noah has a meeting set up with Phil Jackson and the Knicks after free agency formally gets underway at 12:00am on July 1st. Marc Berman of The New York Post clarifies that the meeting between the two sides is expected to happen during the day on Friday, rather than late at night, but he also suggests that the Knicks are the prohibitive favorites for Noah. There’s belief on both sides that an agreement could come quickly, says Charnia.
Amick indicates within his report that Noah is still expected to consider multiple teams besides the Knicks, but those clubs have yet to line up a formal meeting with the 31-year-old. Sources tell Stein and Begley that a few teams with interest in Noah have “all but conceded” that the Knicks are No. 1 on his wish list by a sizable margin — the two-time All-Star has expressed strong interest in signing in New York in recent days, since teammate Derrick Rose was traded to the club, per the ESPN duo.
Assuming Noah and the Knicks do indeed work something out, his starting salary may end up in the range of $18MM, according to Bontemps. That would be a significant investment from the Knicks, who are expected to have over $30MM in cap room, and would likely take the team out of the running for some mid-tier free agents, in addition to max-salary players.
Noah underwent surgery on his separated left shoulder back in January, and while he should be ready to go for the 2016/17 campaign, he hasn’t played a game since that procedure. In 2015/16, he appeared in just 29 games, averaging 4.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 21.9 minutes per contest.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cap Notes: Lakers, Zubac, Crabbe, Lin, Nets
In the past, NBA teams have often kept free agents’ rights on their books long after those players have retired — teams that never went below the cap had no reason to renounce those players, since their cap holds often helped teams avoid losing trade exceptions and full mid-level exceptions. However, with the salary cap jumping to $94MM+ this season, only a few teams have avoided going below the cap, which means more and more of those free agents who have retired or been out of the NBA for multiple seasons are being renounced.
As Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (via Twitter), the Nets did just that this week with players – or former players – like Jerry Stackhouse, Jason Collins, and Andray Blatche, renouncing those cap holds to help clear cap room.
Here are a few more cap-related notes and updates from around the NBA:
- The Lakers renounced a notable free agent of their own, officially removing Kobe Bryant from their books, per RealGM.com. Bryant had a maximum-salary cap hold following his final NBA season, so Los Angeles had little choice but to renounce it if the team wanted to make use of its cap room.
- Lakers second-round pick Ivica Zubac got two guaranteed seasons on his three-year deal, per Pincus, who tweets that Zubac will earn salaries worth $1.03MM, $1.08MM, and $1.13MM, respectively.
- Allen Crabbe‘s offer sheet with the Nets is worth $18.5MM in its first, second, and fourth years, with a third-year salary of $19.3MM, according to Pincus (Twitter links). The deal, which the Trail Blazers could match, also has a fourth-year player option, a 15% trade kicker, and “significant payment advances.”
- Pincus also provides the details on Jeremy Lin‘s new contract with the Nets, tweeting that it features a third-year player option, a 10% trade kicker, and $2.3MM in unlikely bonuses on top of the $36MM base value.
- We’ll be updating our full list of traded player exceptions soon, once all of the recently-reported trades become official, but we can expect many of the TPEs on that list to disappear. As Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweets, the Cavaliers, Thunder, and Clippers may end up being the only teams with trade exceptions when the dust settles.