Thunder Rumors: Westbrook, Payne, Abrines
- The Thunder can now give Westbrook a max-level extension because of Dion Waiters‘ decision to sign with the Heat, Young writes in a separate piece. Oklahoma City rescinded Waiters’ $6.8MM qualifying offer last week but did not renounce him, leaving a $12.8MM cap hold on its books. The Thunder will be approximately $14MM under the cap without that cap hold, giving them sufficient room to ink Westbrook to a maximum extension, Young continues. Westbrook is scheduled to make $17.7MM this season, but that could be upgraded to approximately $27.5MM on a renegotiated deal, under Young’s calculations. Westbrook would receive a higher salary via an extension than he could make on the free agent market next summer, Young adds.
- Cameron Payne had surgery for a Jones fracture in his right foot on Monday but the reserve point guard should be ready by training camp, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman reports. Payne had some discomfort with the foot throughout last season but continued to play despite using a walking boot after practices, beginning in mid-March, Slater continues. Payne led the Orlando summer league with an 18.8 scoring average but when tests revealed that his foot injury could be a long-term issue, the club opted to get the surgery done immediately, Slater adds.
- The team used $5.99MM in cap room this season to sign Euro swingman Alex Abrines and $17.18MM over three years, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Abrines, who turns 23 next month, averaged 9.3 PPG and shot 41.7% from three-point range in 25 Euroleague games this past season.
Community Shootaround: Boston Celtics
The Celtics were expected to be quite active this offseason and they haven’t disappointed. Flush with salary-cap room and extra draft picks, Boston made numerous changes to its roster with the promise of more to come.
It’s been one of the league’s worst-kept secrets that the Celtics want to acquire star players to get back into serious title contention. Thus far, they have been unable to land a big fish in the trade market, with a list that includes Blake Griffin, DeMarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, Russell Westbrook and Jahlil Okafor. They pulled a draft-day surprise when unable to swing a deal, selecting small forward Jaylen Brown with the third overall pick.
Free agency treated Boston well, as highly coveted big man Al Horford spurned other offers and headed to the Northeast. The Celtics added another rotation piece this weekend by agreeing to terms with swingman Gerald Green. They also regained the services of their own restricted free agent, Tyler Zeller.
Boston also lost some notable free agents in the process, though Evan Turner and Jared Sullinger were not a part of its long-term plan. It also retained forwards Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko by guaranteeing their contracts.
The Horford addition arguably makes the Celtics the top threat to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, though the Raptors would surely beg to differ. That being said, Boston would likely need at least one more big-time player to put it on par with the defending champions.
It has the assets in the form of extra draft picks, including the gift that keeps on the giving, as the Nets owe them a couple more first-rounders for the ill-advised Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce trade.
That leads us to our question of the day: Will the Celtics pull off a blockbuster trade prior to the season?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
Western Rumors: Warriors, Galloway, Harden
Changes at the center spot made to accommodate Kevin Durant‘s contract could lead the Warriors’ downfall, Jonny Auping of RealGM.com opines. The Warriors traded starter Andrew Bogut to the Mavericks and lost Festus Ezeli in free agency while signing Zaza Pachulia and retaining Anderson Varejao. Pachulia put up solid stats with the Mavs last season and is noted for his leadership, but his second-half performance was a disaster, Auping continues. He shot just 52.6% in the restricted area after the All-Star break, making him the team’s biggest offensive liability and essentially played himself out of the rotation by the postseason, Auping notes. And at this stage of his career, Varejao is arguably the worst backup center in the league, according to Auping. The offensive limitations of Pachulia and Varejao will allow opponents to double-team one of the Warriors’ stars and defensively, they offer no rim protection, Auping adds.
In other doings around the Western Conference:
- Langston Galloway isn’t sure how the Pelicans will use him in the backcourt, according to John Reid of the New Orleans Times Picayune. The former Knick, who signed a two-year, 10MM deal with New Orleans, told Reid that coach Alvin Gentry and GM Dell Demps informed him that he could play extensively at both spots. ”So far, getting a chance to meet with Alvin and Dell, we just had a chance to say it’s a great opportunity to work hard and compete at the point guard and off-guard positions,” Galloway said.
- Derrick Favors, Russell Westbrook and Paul George are some of the other players eligible to renegotiate their contracts and receive an extension, as James Harden did this month, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders writes. Any team trying to trade for Westbrook, who can hit the free agent market next July, would probably want him to sign an extension before agreeing to a deal, Pincus continues. Harden’s actual salary over the last three years of his extension won’t be determined until the 2017/18 salary cap is announced, as Pincus details while breaking down all the figures.
- Durant’s restaurant in Oklahoma City will close and open under a new name, part of the fallout from his decision to join the Warriors, Brianna Bailey of The Oklahoman reports.
Blazers Agree To Deal With Tim Quarterman
The Trail Blazers have signed guard Tim Quarterman to a partially guaranteed two-year deal, according to the team’s website. The story was first reported by Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link).
The 6’6” Quarterman went undrafted after he declared following his junior season at LSU. He posted averages of 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.97 steals in 33 games last season with the Tigers. Quarterman shot 31% on 3-point attempts and 66% from the free throw line during his three seasons at LSU, so he’ll have to improve his shooting to stick.
The opportunity is there for Quarterman to earn a roster spot. Portland has Damian Lillard and Shabazz Napier at point guard and C.J. McCollum and Allen Crabbe at shooting guard. Swingman Evan Turner could also see backcourt minutes.
Quarterman made the rounds prior to the draft, working out for a host of teams. Quarterman had trouble blending with No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons in his final season at LSU, as his points and assists dipped while he bounced in and out of the lineup. He did improve his 3-point shooting to 34.3%.
Hornets Sign Mike Tobey
The Hornets have added an undrafted free agent to their roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed center Mike Tobey to an NBA contract. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, though a minimum-salary deal seems likely.
Tobey, a 7’1″ center out of Virginia, averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 15.7 minutes per contest during his senior year. The 21-year-old joined the Hornets for Summer League action in Orlando, and recorded 10.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG, and 1.0 SPG in his five appearances with the squad.
[RELATED: Hornets’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
The Hornets entered the day with only 14 players on their offseason roster, so the team figures to add a few more bodies before training camp begins in the fall. Depending on the terms of his new contract, Tobey could have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot, though Charlotte already has some depth at the center position, with Cody Zeller, Roy Hibbert, and Spencer Hawes under contract.
Sixers Sign Brandon Paul
JULY 25: The Sixers have issued a press release formally announcing the signing of Paul.
JULY 18: The Sixers and Brandon Paul have reached an agreement on a partially guaranteed deal, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The 6’4″ shooting guard played for Philadelphia’s Summer League team this offseason, where he averaged 10.7 points and 1.7 steals in 19.6 minutes per game.
The 25-year-old didn’t shoot the ball well during four years at the University of Illinois, making slightly less than 32.5% of his shots from behind the arc. However, he played for Liga ACB last season and made improvements in that area, making 35.3% of his attempts.
The Sixers had 19 players on the roster entering the day, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Paul will face stiff competition for roster spot and once the season begins, it’s more likely he will be suiting up for the 87ers, Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate.
Clippers Sign Raymond Felton
JULY 25: The Clippers have made it official with Felton, announcing today (via Twitter) that the veteran point guard has signed his contract with the team. It’s believed to be a one-year, minimum-salary pact.
JULY 14: The Clippers and unrestricted free agent Raymond Felton have agreed to terms on a contract, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media group reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the arrangement are not yet known.
Interest had picked up in the veteran in recent days, as Haynes noted on Wednesday, with five teams expressing interest in signing Felton. The Clippers land themselves a solid backup to starter Chris Paul, and Felton now becomes the only other true point guard on the team’s roster.
The 32-year-old made 80 appearances for Dallas in 2015/16, averaging 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 27.4 minutes per outing.
Hoops Rumors 2016 Free Agent Tracker
With the NBA’s 2016 free agent period nearing the one-month mark, and reports of contract agreements and signings slowing down, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this offseason. To this end, we present our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, position, free agent type, and a handful of other variables.
A few notes on the tracker:
- Some of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect reported contract agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data as needed.
- Similarly, contract years and dollars will be based on what’s been reported to date, so in some cases those amounts will be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
- A restricted free agent who signs an offer sheet will be listed under the team that extended the offer sheet, but note that those signings won’t be official unless the player’s original team declines to match within the three-day period to do so. If the original team matches, we’ll update the tracker to show that the player is back with that team.
Our 2016 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. It will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.
Jordan Hamilton Signs With Turkish Team
After finishing the 2015/16 regular season with the Pelicans, free agent swingman Jordan Hamilton will head overseas for the 2016/17 campaign. As relayed by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, Hamilton has signed a contract with Turkey’s Tofas Bursa, the team formally announced.
A former first-round pick, Hamilton spent his first few NBA seasons with the Nuggets, but has bounced around since 2014, spending time with the Rockets, Clippers, and Pelicans. The 25-year-old has also played for multiple D-League clubs, and spent parts of last season playing in Russia and Venezuela.
In his 11 games with New Orleans last season, Hamilton averaged 11.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 2.3 APG, shooting 42.2% from the floor. The Pelicans made several roster moves this offseason to replenish their bench, and it seems Hamilton was never in their plans — the team renounced its rights to him when creating cap room for those new incoming players.
Western Notes: Oladipo, Beasley, Cuban, Parsons
Victor Oladipo had 10 days to enjoy being teammates with Kevin Durant, writes Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. That was the time between Oladipo’s arrival in Oklahoma City in a draft-night trade and Durant’s departure for Golden State as a free agent. But now that the shock of Durant’s decision is starting to wear off, Oladipo looks forward to helping the Thunder rebuild. He will team with one of the best point guards in the game in Russell Westbrook and a young roster that inclues Enes Kanter (24), Steven Adams (23), Andre Roberson (24), Cameron Payne (22) and Alex Abrines (22). “We could do something really special,” Oladipo said. “I really believe we can. I think it’s gonna be crazy to watch, crazy to be a part of. We could overwhelm guys on both ends of the floor.”
- At 27 and with a job already secured, the Rockets‘ Michael Beasley seemed out of place on a summer league roster. But Beasley played just one game before settling into the role of a mentor, and he tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe that he has a lot to share with younger players. Beasley was the second pick in the 2008 draft, but off-court incidents and issues with defense forced him out of the league. He signed with the Rockets late last season after playing in China. “I’ve been one to take my game seriously, but it’s just a little more special, a little more precious, just slow down and enjoy the ride this time,” Beasley said. “My first time, I was 19, 20 years old, I thought I knew everything and y’all gave me all the money in the world, so I wasn’t thinking to look at y’all [in the eye] anymore. I’m doing it the right way this time, slowing down, enjoying the process, falling in love with the process. You see young players and I try to give them a little bit of what I learned and what I’ve been through.”
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he and Chandler Parsons remain friends even though the free agent forward decided to sign with the Grizzlies, relays The Dallas Morning News. In an interview on 105.3-FM The Fan’s “Ben and Skin Show,” Cuban said “things other than basketball” factored into the decision. “We gave him some options and he went in a different direction,” Cuban said. “That was his choice and I respect it and again, I think he’s a great guy and I hope he has a great season other than the four games we play him.”