Mavericks, Pacers Finalize Jeremy Evans Trade
THURSDAY, 1:05pm: The Pacers have officially confirmed the trade, announcing in a press release that they’ll receive Evans, cash considerations, and the rights to Emir Preldzic from the Mavericks in exchange for the rights to Stanko Barac.
WEDNESDAY, 11:57am: The Mavericks and Pacers are finalizing an agreement on a trade that will send Jeremy Evans and cash to Indiana, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links). ESPN’s Marc Stein first reported on Tuesday that Dallas was “increasingly likely” to move Evans and his $1,227,286 salary to free up a little extra cap room.
Evans, 28, appeared in 30 contests for Dallas this past season, including two starts. The veteran forward only played 8.4 minutes per contest, averaging 2.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks to accompany a shooting line of .542/.250/.714. He had season-ending surgery on a torn labrum in March.
The Pacers almost certainly aren’t counting on Evans to have a major role in their rotation, but he could help provide some depth at small forward, with Solomon Hill headed to New Orleans in free agency. With Hill, Ian Mahinmi, and potentially Jordan Hill all potentially ticketed for new homes, Indiana has done a nice job replenishing its frontcourt this offseason, adding Al Jefferson and Thaddeus Young, along with Evans.
[RELATED: Indiana Pacers’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
As for the Mavericks, the contracts and trades they’ve agreed to this July had them just slightly over their available cap room, based on the reported salary figures. So it makes sense that the team would look to move Evans to create a little extra flexibility to fit all those deals. Dallas also may trade or waive JaVale McGee before his 2016/17 salary becomes guaranteed next week.
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Timberwolves Sign Lottery Pick Kris Dunn
The Timberwolves have signed point guard Kris Dunn, the fifth pick in last month’s draft, the team announced in a press release. Terms of the contract were not disclosed but assuming Dunn received the standard 120% of his scale amount, he would make $3,872,520 in his first season and $19,302,919 through the remainder of his four-year rookie contract.
Dunn was the first point guard chosen in the draft after a stellar career with Providence. The two-time Big East Player of the Year and conference Defensive Player of the Year averaged 16.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.5 steals as a junior last season.
The 6-4 Dunn will compete for minutes with Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine, though either could be traded by the start of the season to open up playing time for Dunn. Minnesota has shopped Rubio and head coach Tom Thibodeau is optimistic his trade value will increase from teams who failed to sign a starting point guard in free agency.
The Timberwolves and Bulls were engaged in draft-night trade talks involving Dunn and Jimmy Butler, per several reports, but couldn’t agree on a deal. Chicago wound up agreeing to terms with free agent point guard Rajon Rondo.
Blazers Ink Second-Round Pick Jake Layman
11:59am: Layman’s three-year deal with the Blazers will be worth $600K in 2016/17, with subsequent salaries of $905K and $1.1MM, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Per Pincus, the final year will be non-guaranteed.
JULY 7, 12:30am: The deal is official, the team announced.
JULY 6, 9:48pm: The Trail Blazers have come to terms with 2016 second-rounder Jake Layman on a contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). It’s a three-year deal worth approximately $2.7MM and the first two seasons are fully guaranteed, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian relays.
Portland acquired the forward’s rights in a draft night trade with the Magic, shipping them $1.MM in cash and a 2019 second-round pick in exchange for the No. 47 overall selection.
Layman, 22, appeared in 36 games for Maryland in 2016/16, averaging 11.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 31.4 minutes per night. His shooting line was .500/.396/.832.
Wizards Decline Option On Drew Gooden
The Wizards have declined their option on veteran power forward Drew Gooden, making him an unrestricted free agent. The news was first reported by ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and confirmed as official in a tweet from J. Michael of CSNMidatlantic.com.
Salary-cap issues forced the Wizards to set Gooden free. Gooden’s $3.5MM salary for 2016/17 would have been guaranteed if he remained on the roster on July 15. Washington’s guaranteed payroll jumped to $96MM with the reported free agent additions of three other big men, Ian Mahinmi, Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith.
Gooden, who turns 35 in September, has played in Washington the past three seasons. He appeared in 30 games last season, averaging 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.2 minutes. A calf injury was partially responsible for Gooden’s lack of playing time.
Gooden, who has been in the league since the 2002/03 season, has developed into a stretch four during the latter stages of his career. He averaged 41.2% and 39.0%, respectively, on 3-point attempts during his first two seasons with the Wizards. That dropped to 17.1% in limited action last season.
Hornets Re-Sign Nicolas Batum
JULY 7: The Hornets have officially announced their new deal with Batum.
JULY 1: The Hornets have struck a deal with Nicolas Batum, and will bring the veteran forward back on a long-term contract, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter links). Charania reports that Batum and the Hornets have agreed to a five-year, $120MM deal, which will include a player option on the final season.
Batum, 27, would have been eligible for a maximum-salary contract worth in excess of $150MM, so it seems he was willing to settle for significantly less than that to remain in Charlotte, despite the fact that we heard earlier in the night that he was seeking a max deal.
The longtime Trail Blazer was traded from Portland to Charlotte last June, and had a nice bounce-back season in his first year with the Hornets, averaging a career-high 14.9 points per game, to go with 6.1 RPG, 5.8 APG, and 2.0 three-pointers per game.
Prior to reaching an agreement with the Hornets, Batum had scheduled a face-to-face meeting with the Mavericks in Dallas and planned to the Knicks, Lakers and Wizards via phone. It’s not clear whether or not all of those conversations took place. The Lakers reportedly had Batum at or near the top of their free agent wish list.
We ranked Batum eighth on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents, suggesting that he was one of the best – and most versatile – wings available. Teams that missed on Batum may shift their focus to players like Kent Bazemore and Marvin Williams instead.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pacers Acquire Jeff Teague; George Hill To Jazz
JULY 7: The Pacers, Jazz, and Hawks have all issued announcements formally confirming that the three-way swap is official. Teague goes to Indiana, Hill heads to Utah, and Atlanta gets the rights to Taurean Prince, the 12th overall pick in last month’s draft.
JUNE 22: The Pacers, Jazz, and Hawks have agreed to a three-way trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who reports that Indiana will acquire Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague and send George Hill to Utah in the deal. The Hawks, meanwhile, will get the No. 12 overall pick in tomorrow’s draft from Utah, says Wojnarowski.
Teague, 28, has been the subject of trade rumors this year despite having an All-Star appearance on his résumé. With just one year left on his contract, Teague has become somewhat expendable in Atlanta due to the continued development of fellow point guard Dennis Schröder, who has made no secret about his desire to be the starter going forward
Teague, who said earlier this month that he played the 2015/16 season with a torn patellar tendon in his knee, still appeared in 79 games, averaging 15.7 points and 5.9 assists, and shooting 43.9% from the field and 40% from three-point range. According to Wojnarowski, the Pacers intend to try to extend Teague’s contract beyond the 2016/17 season. The veteran point guard will be eligible to restructure his deal beginning on July 13th.
In Hill, meanwhile, the Jazz are acquiring a solid defender who can also contribute on the offensive end, particularly from beyond the arc. In 74 regular-season games, Hill averaged 12.1 points, 3.5 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game, to go along with a 40.8% mark from three-point range. The 30-year-old was also solid in Indiana’s first-round playoff loss to Toronto, increasing his three-point percentage to 48.1% for those seven games. He’ll team with Dante Exum at the point in Utah, and his arrival may push Trey Burke to the trade block.
Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests (via Twitter) that the trade won’t become official until July, which makes sense if no other pieces are involved. That would allow the Jazz to use their cap space in July to absorb Hill’s $8MM salary without moving any other players. From the Pacers’ perspective, Teague’s salary – which will increase to $8.8MM due to his 10% trade kicker – is only a marginal increase on Hill’s.
As for the Hawks, they’d clear Teague’s salary while taking on a cap hold of just under $2MM for the No. 12 overall pick. The move would reduce the guaranteed salaries on Atlanta’s books for 2016/17 to about $44MM, not including the cap holds for their two first-rounders or pending free agents, giving the team plenty of room to re-sign Al Horford and potentially pursue another free agent or two as well.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Knicks Sign Marshall Plumlee
JULY 7: Plumlee’s agency, Priority Sports, has officially announced the big man’s deal with the Knicks (via Twitter). According to Michael Scotto of The Associated Press (via Twitter), the contract is for three years, and is fully guaranteed in year one.
JUNE 24: The Knicks and Marshall Plumlee have agreed to a free agent deal, Shams Charania of the Vertical reports (Twitter link). The details of his contract are not available yet, though Charania reports that Plumlee’s salary will be guaranteed.
Plumlee was the 81st-best prospect in this year’s class, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. He averaged 8.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during his senior season at Duke.
The Knicks had only five players under contract entering today, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. The team came to terms with Ron Baker earlier today, which, along with Plumlee’s agreement, brings the roster count to seven.
NBA’s 2017/18 Cap Projection Dips To $102MM
A cap increase of more than $24MM+ this offseason has led to unprecedented spending around the NBA. However, that spending spree has contributed to lowering the league’s salary cap projection for the 2017/18 season. According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, the ’17/18 cap, previously projected to be in the $107MM range, is now expected to be closer to $102MM.
As Pincus explains, the cap had originally been projected to reach $107MM due to an expectation that the league would fall short of its required obligation to the players next year by about $375MM. However, after a week-long free agency frenzy, that projected shortfall has been reduced to $200MM. Because the league is no longer expected to owe the players so much money, the projected salary cap figure has been reduced along with the projected shortfall.
Plenty can change between now and next summer, so that $102MM projection is hardly set in stone. At this time a year ago, the NBA didn’t anticipate a $94MM+ salary cap for 2016/17. Still, it’s a somewhat worrisome development for teams hoping to create maximum-salary slots next summer, and players hoping to land huge deals.
Here are the NBA’s current salary cap projections for the next several seasons, via Pincus:
- 2017/18:
- Cap: $102MM
- Tax: $122MM
- 2018/19:
- Cap: $108MM
- Tax: $130MM
- 2019/20:
- Cap: $109MM
- Tax: $132MM
- 2020/21:
- Cap: $114MM
- Tax: $139MM
As Pincus outlines, the starting maximum salaries on a $102MM cap would work out to about $24MM for players with less than seven years of experience, $28.8MM for players with seven to nine years of experience, and $33.5MM for those with 10+ years of experience.
Of course, the opt-out date for the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement is looming — either the league or the players’ union can opt out of the agreement by December 15. If the CBA is renegotiated significantly before the summer of 2017, it’s possible the ’17/18 cap will look quite different than what today’s projections suggest.
Blazers, Magic Finalize Shabazz Napier Trade
THURSDAY, 10:26am: The Magic announced today in a press release that they’ve acquired cash considerations from the Blazers in exchange for Napier.
TUESDAY, 12:08pm: The Magic are finalizing a trade that will send point guard Shabazz Napier to the Trail Blazers in exchange for cash considerations, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The deal can’t become official until Thursday, at the earliest.
Napier, who will turn 25 next week, was the 24th overall pick in the 2014 draft, and spent his rookie year with the Heat. He was a rotation piece for most of that season, averaging nearly 20 minutes per contest. However, Miami sent him to the Magic last summer for a heavily-protected second-round pick, and he saw his role reduced in Orlando, averaging just 10.9 minutes per game in 55 appearances.
[RELATED: Magic and Trail Blazers depth charts at RosterResource.com]
With Elfrid Payton penciled in as the Magic’ starting point guard, C.J. Watson still in the mix, and D.J. Augustin set to sign with the team as a free agent, there was no room left in the rotation for Napier heading into next season, making him expendable.
The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, have utilized primary shooting guard C.J. McCollum as a alternative to Damian Lillard at the point, but the team doesn’t really have another backup point guard on the roster with Brian Roberts eligible for free agency. Napier will add depth at the position.
Hornets Acquire Marco Belinelli From Kings
JULY 7: The Hornets have formally confirmed in a press release that they’ve acquired Belinelli from the Kings in exchange for the rights to Malachi Richardson, the No. 22 overall pick in this year’s draft.
JUNE 23: The Hornets and Kings have agreed to a trade that will send the No. 22 overall pick to Sacramento in exchange for veteran shooting guard Marco Belinelli, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links). The deal that will make Belinelli a Hornet can’t be processed until July, but Charlotte will be selecting a player for the Kings at No. 22 tonight.
The deal comes as a bit of a surprise, since Belinelli hasn’t exactly been at his best during the last two seasons in Sacramento. In 2015/16, he scored in double digits for the team, but shot just .386 from the field and .306 from three-point range. Both marks were the worst of his nine-year NBA career.
Still, the Hornets are apparently confident that Belinelli, a 37.9% career three-point shooter, can bounce back and give them more positive value than the No. 22 overall pick could have. The 30-year-old is under contract for two more seasons, with a salary of $6.33MM in 2016/17 and $6.606 the following year. If he comes back strong next year, that’s not a bad price for a bench scorer and outside shooter.
The Hornets only currently have $46MM in guaranteed salary on the books for next season, so they should have plenty of room to absorb Belinelli’s salary under the cap in July. The move also gives the team some insurance in case Courtney Lee signs elsewhere as a free agent.
As for the Kings, they’ll clear a little salary and are now armed with two first-round picks. We heard earlier this evening that Sacramento is exploring deals involving the No. 8 pick. Acquiring a second first-rounder could give the club a little more ammunition to attempt to move up, and would still allow the team to add a first-round rookie tonight if it decides to move that No. 8 pick for future selections.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.