Warriors Hire Mike Brown As Assistant
7:10pm: The Warriors have named Brown an assistant coach, according to a team press release. “We’re fortunate to add someone with the pedigree and track record of Mike Brown to our coaching staff,” said Kerr. “I had the good opportunity to play under him and Coach Popovich in San Antonio at the end of my career. The wealth of knowledge and experience that he brings will be invaluable to our staff and our players. He’s a terrific fit and we’re thrilled to have him.”
July 3rd, 1:21pm: Mike Brown has completed a deal with the Warriors to be the team’s top assistant coach, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Brown had been offered the job last week.
The former Cavaliers and Lakers head coach would replace Luke Walton, who was named the Lakers’ head coach, however details of the deal have not yet been reported. Brown has remained close to his NBA mentor, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, and spent a considerable amount of time around their organization last season, which looked good in the eyes of Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Wojnarowski had previously wrote. Brown’s head coaching experience also likely helped. Brown has a 347-216 record as head coach of the Cavaliers and Lakers.
Former Suns coach Ty Corbin was a finalist for the job before becoming one of Earl Watson‘s assistants with the Suns, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported. The Warriors also met with the Hornets’ Stephen Silas and the Trail Blazers’ Nate Tibbetts, according to Stein.
Northwest Notes: Diaw, Rush, Hill, Mudiay
Jazz center Rudy Gobert believes “something good is going to happen” in Utah after the trade for Boris Diaw, relays Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. The Spurs were looking to deal the versatile veteran to create cap room to sign Pau Gasol, and Utah jumped at the opportunity. “He understands the game very well,” Gobert said of his fellow Frenchman. “He’s like a point guard in a big man’s body. It’s like having another coach on the floor. It’s great. I’m very excited.” Diaw, 34, will make $6.5MM next season and a non-guaranteed $7MM for 2017/18.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Several other teams were interested in Warriors swingman Brandon Rush, who agreed to sign with the Timberwolves today, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. The Hornets, Knicks and Wizards all wanted to add the 31-year-old free agent, and the Warriors tried to keep him in Golden State.
- The Wolves have “kicked the tires” on Pacers big man Jordan Hill, tweets John Krawczynski of The Associated Press. They haven’t reached the serious negotiation phase yet, but that could change now that Rush has been signed.
- Nuggets point guard Emmanuel Mudiay plans to join the effort to get Dwyane Wade to come to Denver, tweets Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The Nuggets held a meeting with Wade earlier today.
Southwest Notes: Mavs, Beaubois, Duncan, Rockets
Unlike a year ago, the Mavericks don’t anticipate any snags before the moratorium is lifted on Thursday, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Last summer, Dallas looked like a huge winner in free agency before DeAndre Jordan changed his mind and re-signed with the Clippers. This year should feature a lot less drama, as Dallas is expected to finalize a trade sending Jeremy Evans to Indiana before moving on to its committed free agents. The Mavericks will complete deals with Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut and re-sign Deron Williams and Dwight Powell. The team may decide to shed some more salary, with Sefko mentioning backup center JaVale McGee as a possibility.
- Former Maverick Rodrigue Beaubois will be given a chance to make the roster next season, posts Tim McMahon on ESPN Now. The 28-year-old point guard spent four years in Dallas at the start of the decade, but hasn’t played in the NBA since 2013. He spent this season with Strasbourg in France.
- Tim Duncan hasn’t made an official announcement about his future, but Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News notes that his career could end with him being waived by the Spurs. Waiving Duncan and stretching his $6.4MM salary over the next three seasons would not only help San Antonio’s cap situation, it would make sure Duncan gets all the money owed to him. All signs point toward Duncan retiring, but McDonald says if he comes back the Spurs will be able to fit him and new free agent signee Pau Gasol under their cap.
- Today’s deal with Nene makes the Rockets‘ battle for roster spots more interesting, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston now has 13 players under contract for 2016/17, and must decide by August 1st whether to pick up a $1,015,696 option on reserve point guard Andrew Goudelock. The 27-year-old appeared in just eight games after signing with the Rockets in March when he completed his season in China. Combo forward Michael Beasley is in the same position, but a source told Feigen that Houston intends to keep him. The 13 roster spots don’t include restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas or second-round draft pick Chinanu Onuaku (Twitter link).
- There is “growing skepticism” that Alessandro Gentile will join the Rockets next season, tweets international journalist David Pick. It was reported last month that the Italian wing player, whose rights belong to Houston, was interested in playing for new coach Mike D’Antoni.
Hornets To Sign Brian Roberts
Brian Roberts will return to the Hornets as a reserve point guard, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. The 30-year-old will receive a veteran’s minimum contract.
Roberts spent a season and a half in Charlotte before being traded twice in February. The Hornets sent him to the Heat on February 16th in a three-team deal that brought back Courtney Lee, and Miami shipped him to the Blazers in a cap-clearing move two days later.
Roberts appeared in 30 games last season with the Hornets, averaging 4.8 points and 1.3 assists in 11.1 minutes per night. His playing time was cut almost in half in Portland, and his per-game averages dropped to 2.9 points and 0.8 assists.
Timberwolves Sign Brandon Rush
FRIDAY, 11:11am: The Timberwolves have officially signed Rush, the team announced today (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 1:34pm: As free agents around the league express interest in heading to Golden State, at least one veteran Warriors free agent is headed elsewhere. According to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), Brandon Rush has agreed to sign with the Timberwolves. Michael Scott of The Associated Press tweets that it’ll be a one-year, $3.5MM deal for Rush.
Rush, who turns 31 tomorrow, appeared in 75 regular-season games for the Warriors last season, the first time he had eclipsed the 70-game mark since the 2009/10 campaign. Although he stayed healthy for most of the year, Rush was only a part-time contributor for Golden State’s 73-win team — he started 25 games, but averaged less than 15 MPG overall for the season.
[RELATED: Minnesota Timberwolves’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
While Rush has never been a big-time scorer, having never posted a double-digit scoring average for a season, he’s a talented shooter. In 2015/16, he knocked down 41.4% of his three-pointers, increasing his career rate to 40.3%.
Minnesota had added a point guard (Kris Dunn) in the draft and a big man (Cole Aldrich) in free agency, but had yet to address its need for a shooter, and Rush certainly fits that bill. Before agreeing to terms with Rush, the Wolves had been linked to players like Jamal Crawford, Kent Bazemore, Courtney Lee, and Randy Foye. All of those free agents except for Foye have reached agreements with other teams.
Rush had been considered a candidate to return to the Warriors on a minimum-salary deal, but such a contract would have only paid him about $1.4MM, and he may not have had an increased role. In Minnesota, the former Kansas standout should get every opportunity to contribute, given the club’s lack of shooting depth, and will do so on a higher salary.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Tim Duncan Strongly Leaning Toward Retiring
WEDNESDAY, 1:28pm: The Spurs tentatively expect to hear from Duncan regarding his retirement decision by this weekend, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
MONDAY, 12:34pm: While one longtime Western Conference star changes teams, another may be close to calling it a career. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, despite picking up his player option for the 2016/17, Spurs big man Tim Duncan is “leaning strongly” toward retiring.
[RELATED: Manu Ginobili to play next season]
Duncan hasn’t finalized that decision or made any sort of announcement at this point. However, Wojnarowski reports that the longtime Spur has left team officials, friends, and close associates with the “strong belief” that he’ll make a retirement announcement sometime in the near future.
The future Hall-of-Famer saw his production decline this past season, as he averaged a career-low 8.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 blocks in 25.2 minutes per contest over 61 regular-season appearances. He also shot just 48.8% from the floor, his lowest mark in 10 years.
Duncan’s player option had been worth $5,643,750, but he reportedly earned $750K in incentives based on the Spurs’ win total, meaning his 2016/17 salary is now in the $6.4MM range. As Wojnarowski notes, San Antonio may still pay that money to Duncan even if he decides to retire — the club could waive him and stretch his salary over the next three seasons.
With Duncan potentially headed for retirement, and Kevin Durant off to the Bay Area, the Spurs are “lasered in” on signing Pau Gasol, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link). Gasol was one of the club’s top free agent targets headed into the offseason, and would be a nice fit in San Antonio if the club has to replace Duncan’s production and role.
Nets Rescind Markel Brown’s Qualifying Offer
The Nets have rescinded their qualifying offer for Markel Brown, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). The move comes with only about 10 hours until the July moratorium ends, meaning Brown will be free to sign a contract with any team tomorrow.
Brown, 24, has spent the last two seasons in Brooklyn, averaging 5.3 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 1.2 APG in his 109 total contests with the club. He played sparingly during the 2015/16 season until after Lionel Hollins was dismissed as the Nets’ head coach, and saw his minutes – and his production – increase down the stretch. In his final 30 games of the season, Brown averaged 9.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, and shot .438/.358/.758, a significant improvement on his career marks.
The Nets will still have Early Bird rights if they want to retain Brown, but won’t have the right of first refusal if he decides to sign elsewhere.
Cavaliers Focused On Adding Wing Players
The Cavaliers are on track to lose a pair of contributors when the July moratorium ends tomorrow, with Timofey Mozgov headed to the Lakers and Matthew Dellavedova ticketed for Milwaukee. Still, while the Cavs haven’t agreed to deals with any free agents of their own yet, the team is scouring the trade and free agent market looking for ways to fortify its roster. According to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Cleveland is looking to add at least one athletic, shooting wing player.
While there may still be a few players on the free agent market who fit that bill, the Cavs don’t have much spending flexibility, and would likely only be able offer their $2.9MM room exception or a minimum-salary contract. The trade market may make more sense for Cleveland, and according to Broussard, the club had interest in acquiring Trevor Ariza. However, the Rockets weren’t looking to move Ariza at this time.
As our list of outstanding trade exceptions shows, the Cavaliers still hold a handful of TPEs that could be used to accommodate deals. The most intriguing one is the $9,638,554 exception Cleveland created at the 2016 trade deadline. Using that trade exception, the Cavs could acquire a player whose salary fits into that amount without sending out any salary of their own. Ariza, for instance, could be absorbed into that TPE, since he’s making just $7,806,971 this season.
The Cavaliers could also send out their own players to make a trade work, but the franchise isn’t all that interested in significantly shaking up a roster that’s coming off a championship. If Cleveland did need to send out salary to accommodate a larger acquisition, Iman Shumpert ($9,662,922) and Channing Frye ($7,806,971) would probably be candidates to be moved.
Warriors Sign Patrick McCaw
JULY 6: The Warriors have issued a press release announcing that they’ve officially signed McCaw to his first NBA contract.
JUNE 24: Former UNLV shooting guard Patrick McCaw has become the first player from this year’s draft class to reach a contract agreement with his new team. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link), McCaw has agreed to terms with the Warriors on a guaranteed, two-year, minimum-salary deal.
McCaw, who left UNLV after his sophomore season, came off the board 38th overall on Thursday night, after the Warriors sent $2.4MM to the Bucks to acquire the pick. After the draft, Golden State general manager Bob Myers indicated that the team had a first-round grade on McCaw (Twitter link via Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle).
Because McCaw will only be signing a two-year contract, the Warriors figure to use the minimum salary exception to complete the deal, which will allow the club to sign the rookie without using any cap room or a larger exception. He’ll be in line for a salary of $543,471 in 2016/17, with a second-year salary of $905,249.
The arrivals of McCaw and first-round pick Damian Jones figure to make it easier for the Warriors to let go of veteran free agents at their positions. Anderson Varejao, Brandon Rush, and Leandro Barbosa are among the Warriors bench players whose contracts are expiring.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Fernandez, Raps, Knicks
Although they weren’t able to make a trade on draft night, the Celtics are still open to dealing if teams are willing to meet their asking price, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. According to Bulpett, there are indications that the C’s may still be able to do business with teams like the Sixers and Bulls, for trade candidates like Jahlil Okafor and Jimmy Butler. But it will be much trickier for Boston to make a deal now than it was on draft night, since Philadelphia and Chicago likely would’ve wanted to get the No. 3 overall selection to nab Kris Dunn, rather than Jaylen Brown.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic division:
- There were whispers this week linking the Sixers to Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez, but the former NBA veteran isn’t going anywhere at this point. As detailed by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, Fernandez says he’s always open to offers, but for now he plans to stick with Real Madrid for the remaining two years of his contract, rather than returning to the NBA.
- Outside of their big, new contract agreement with DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors have been fairly quiet so far in July. However, as Doug Smith of The Toronto Star observes, GM Masai Ujiri and the Raptors did a big chunk of their 2016 spending in 2015, when they secured Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross to extensions. If the team had waited to lock up Valanciunas and Ross, they’d be restricted free agents, and would likely be in line for much bigger deals than the ones they signed last fall.
- Frank Isola of The New York Daily News wonders if the Knicks will get back into the conversation for a top-tier free agent – such as Russell Westbrook – in 2017 if Phil Jackson‘s moves this summer pay off and result in a strong 2016/17 season. We asked you yesterday to make predictions for the Knicks’ forthcoming season.