Southeast Notes: Millsap, Wizards, Billups
It has been a Southeast-themed day so far at Hoops Rumors — we rounded up a few items out of the Southeast this morning, then examined the division’s free agent spending earlier this afternoon. Now, we have another handful of Southeast notes to pass along, so let’s dive right in…
- Paul Millsap was the subject of trade rumors this summer, but speaking to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Hawks big man said that dealing with that talk is just part of the business. “It is what it is,” Millsap said. “I don’t dislike anybody in this organization. I still think they are stand-up people. I still think they are terrific people. Our relationship is going to be our relationship. We are still on good terms.”
- Israeli wing Shawn Dawson, who helped Maccabi Rishon win a title in Israel last season, received an invite from the Wizards to attend training camp, but has decided to turn it down, sources tell J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com (Twitter link). Dawson appeared in four Summer League games for Washington last month.
- A report in June indicated that the Magic were prepared to make Chauncey Billups one of the NBA’s highest-paid assistant coaches, but the former guard turned down the offer to join Frank Vogel‘s staff. Appearing on The Vertical’s podcast recently, Billups explained that he declined the job primarily for family reasons. “My second daughter has a couple more years of high school, so I didn’t really want to move away,” Billups said, per Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. “It became more of a personal thing than just a coaching job. But it was a great opportunity.”
Players Eligible For Rookie-Scale Extensions
Just when it seemed like the NBA’s flurry of spending had died down, the Trail Blazers added another $100MM+ deal to the growing list of this offseason’s nine-digit contracts, reaching a four-year extension agreement with C.J. McCollum. Of course, McCollum wasn’t eligible for free agency until next summer, so his signing made him the first player in 2016 to ink a rookie-scale extension a year before his contract was set to expire.
While McCollum was the first player to get such a deal, he almost certainly won’t be the last. Teams have until October 31 to try to work out long-term deals with former first-round picks who are heading into the fourth and final year of their respective rookie contracts. As long as a player signed his rookie-scale contract in 2013 and hasn’t become a free agent since then, he’ll be eligible to sign such an extension up until the end of October.
Of course, even if a team ultimately intends to extend a player who fits this description, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen this year. As we saw with the Pistons and Wizards, who waited until this summer to sign Andre Drummond and Bradley Beal to maximum-salary contracts, clubs can maintain a little extra cap flexibility by holding off on making those deals official.
If a team this year decides to wait until next summer to lock up an extension-eligible player, that team would be allowing the player to reach restricted free agency in 2017 — but as long as a qualifying offer is extended, the player’s club would have the right of first refusal and could match any offer sheet. In a case like Drummond’s or Beal’s, neither the Pistons nor the Wizards was worried about losing their player, since they were willing to go to the max to retain them.
Here are the players who are eligible to sign rookie-scale extensions, up until October 31, 2016:
- Steven Adams (Thunder)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Reggie Bullock (Pistons)
- Trey Burke (Wizards)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Pistons)
- Michael Carter-Williams (Bulls)
- Gorgui Dieng (Timberwolves)
- Tim Hardaway Jr. (Hawks)
- Rudy Gobert (Jazz)
- Archie Goodwin (Suns)
- Alex Len (Suns)
- Ben McLemore (Kings)
- Shabazz Muhammad (Timberwolves)
- Nerlens Noel (Sixers)
- Victor Oladipo (Thunder)
- Kelly Olynyk (Celtics)
- Mason Plumlee (Trail Blazers)
- Otto Porter (Wizards)
- Andre Roberson (Thunder)
- Dennis Schroder (Hawks)
- Tony Snell (Bucks)
- Cody Zeller (Hornets)
The following players were selected in the first round of the 2013 draft along with the players above, but aren’t eligible for rookie-scale extensions this year:
- Anthony Bennett: Waived in 2015.
- Lucas Nogueira: Signed rookie contract in 2014 (extension-eligible in 2017).
- Shane Larkin: Third-year option declined in 2014.
- Sergey Karasev: Fourth-year option declined in 2015.
- Solomon Hill: Fourth-year option declined in 2015.
- Livio Jean-Charles: Signed rookie contract in 2016 (extension-eligible in 2019).
- Nemanja Nedovic: Waived in 2014.
Raptors Notes: DeRozan, Wright, Ibaka
DeMar DeRozan signed the second-largest free agent contract of 2016, but his foray into free agency flew somewhat under the radar — perhaps because it only lasted for a matter of hours. Although he admits to David Morrow of DefPen.com that the idea of joining his hometown Lakers was somewhat intriguing, DeRozan never took a meeting with a team besides the Raptors.
“It was tough,” DeRozan said of his free agency decision. “But at the same time, I know what I created in Toronto, and it was something I wanted to continue building.”
Here’s more on DeRozan’s free agency, along with a few other Raptors-related notes:
- DeRozan also spoke to Morrow about the stress of entering free agency: “You got everybody pulling at you, trying to give you a reason to come to their team, and it’s tough. Especially when you’ve been with one team for so long, you feel like you mold into that one team, that community. It’s tough.”
- Raptors point guard Delon Wright underwent arthroscopic surgery today to repair a labral tear in his right shoulder, the Raptors announced today (via Twitter). The 20th overall pick in last year’s draft, Wright didn’t see much NBA action in his rookie year, having spent a portion of the season in the D-League. His quest for a larger role in his second season will be put on hold while he recovers.
- The Raptors reportedly made an effort to trade for Serge Ibaka earlier this summer, but balked at Oklahoma City’s asking price, and Ibaka ultimately landed in Orlando. However, the big man will be a free agent in 2017, and Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes in his mailbag that Ibaka is “very much on [the Raptors’] minds” as a possible target next summer.
Free Agent Spending By Division: Southeast
Over the next several days, we’ll be breaking down 2016 NBA free agent spending by division, examining which teams – and divisions – were the most active this July.
These divisional breakdowns won’t present a full picture of teams’ offseason spending. Some notable free agents, including LeBron James, remain unsigned, so there’s still money out there to be spent. Our lists also don’t include money spent on this year’s first- and second-round picks or draft-and-stash signings. There are a few free agent names missing in some instances as well, since those deals aren’t yet official or terms haven’t been reported.
Still, these closer looks at divisional spending should generally reveal how teams invested their money in free agency this summer, identifying which clubs went all-out and which ones played it safe.
With the help of our Free Agent Tracker and contract info from Basketball Insiders, we’ll focus today on the Southeast division. Let’s dive in…
1. Washington Wizards
- Total money committed: $239,223,166
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $234,026,744
- Largest expenditure: Bradley Beal (five years, $127,171,313)
- Other notable signings:
- Ian Mahinmi (four years, $64,000,000)
- Andrew Nicholson (four years, $26,000,000)
- Jason Smith (three years, $15,675,000)
- Notes:
- Marcus Thornton will earn $1,315,448 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Wizards will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
2. Charlotte Hornets
- Total money committed: $197,549,753
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $187,517,567
- Largest expenditure: Nicolas Batum (five years, $120,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Marvin Williams (four years, $54,512,500)
- Ramon Sessions (two years, $12,270,000)
- Roy Hibbert (one year, $5,000,000)
- Notes:
- Brian Roberts will earn $1,050,961 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Hornets will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
- Sessions’ deal contributes significantly to the gap between the Hornets’ total money and guaranteed money committed, since his second year ($6.27MM) is a team option.
3. Orlando Magic
- Total money committed: $197,000,000
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $197,000,000
- Largest expenditure: Evan Fournier (five years, $85,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Bismack Biyombo (four years, $68,000,000)
- D.J. Augustin (four years, $29,000,000)
- Jeff Green (one year, $15,000,000)
- Notes:
- The Magic have yet to add any camp invitees or players on partially-guaranteed deals, so the four players listed above make up the team’s entire free agent haul so far.
4. Miami Heat
- Total money committed: $186,713,810
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $175,347,388
- Largest expenditure: Hassan Whiteside (four years, $98,419,537)
- Other notable signings:
- Tyler Johnson (four years, $50,000,000)
- Wayne Ellington (two years, $12,270,000)
- Dion Waiters (two years, $5,926,410)
- Derrick Williams (one year, $4,598,000)
- Udonis Haslem (one year, $4,000,000)
- James Johnson (one year, $4,000,000)
- Notes:
- Like Sessions for the Hornets, Ellington’s second-year salary of $6.27MM is not guaranteed, which contributes to the gap between the Heat’s total money and guaranteed money committed.
5. Atlanta Hawks
- Total money committed: $151,929,151
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $150,530,431
- Largest expenditure: Dwight Howard (three years, $70,500,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Kent Bazemore (four years, $70,000,000)
- Malcolm Delaney (two years, $5,000,000)
- Kris Humphries (one year, $4,000,000)
- Notes:
- Jarrett Jack will earn $1,551,659 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Hawks will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
Previously:
Southwest
Knicks Sign Ron Baker
AUGUST 1: More than a month after agreeing to terms with Baker, the Knicks formally announced today that the deal is official (Twitter link).
JUNE 24: The Knicks didn’t have a pick in Thursday’s draft, but the team didn’t waste much time in securing at least one prospect from this year’s class. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter), New York agreed to a partially-guaranteed, one-year deal with Wichita State’s Ron Baker.
Baker ranked as a top-20 senior in this year’s class and a top-80 prospect overall, per DraftExpress.com. The 23-year-old wing wasn’t drafted on Thursday night, despite a solid senior season that saw him average 13.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game for the Shockers.
Baker’s contract will likely be a minimum-salary pact, so even if he receives a decent guarantee in terms of salary, that won’t necessarily guarantee him a roster spot in New York this fall.
Still, the Knicks’ roster is currently fairly barren, with only five players under contract before Baker signs, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource shows. The roster will obviously fill up in July, but Baker should be in good position to vie for a place on the regular-season roster.
Amar’e Stoudemire Received NBA Offers
Amar’e Stoudemire‘s decision to join Hapoel Jerusalem isn’t about “collecting a paycheck overseas,” the veteran big man writes in a piece for The Players’ Tribune. According to Stoudemire, the two-year deal he has signed with one of the top teams in Europe will be part of a “spiritual journey” for him.
“The Scripture speaks about Jerusalem as a holy place, and I can feel that whenever I’m in the city,” Stoudemire writes. “This is a chance for me to be a better husband and a better father, to help me lead my family into righteousness. The opportunity to play there, and grow as a player and person, is a blessing.”
We passed along the news of Stoudemire following up his NBA retirement by inking a deal in Israel in an earlier post, but when the longtime Sun and Knick made it official today, a few more details trickled out, so let’s round those up below…
- According to Stoudemire’s agent, Happy Walters, his client received several offers from NBA teams this offseason, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. However, those offers came from non-playoff teams, which didn’t interest Stoudemire.
- Walters also clarified that he and Stoudemire didn’t ask the Suns about the sort of one-day contract that the 33-year-old signed with the Knicks when he announced his retirement (Twitter link via Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic). Reports had indicated that Stoudemire would have liked to return to Phoenix, but it sounded like he’d wanted to actually play one last year for the Suns — not simply sign a ceremonial contract with the team as he retired.
- Stoudemire’s contract in Israel won’t allow him to join an NBA team in the spring, as Frank Isola of The New York Daily News tweets. That’s no surprise for 2017, since it’s a two-year contract, but it’s not clear if Isola is referring to 2018 as well.
- As part of the agreement that will see him become a player for Hapoel Jersualem, Stoudemire is selling his minority stake in the team to majority owner Ori Allon, per Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link).
Southeast Notes: Heat, Udrih, Wizards, Anderson
As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel details, Dwyane Wade‘s decision to leave the Heat this offseason essentially boiled down to eight words he said during a Sunday interview with ESPN: “They made a choice; I made a choice.”
“My time, the clock ticked out on me,” Wade said in the ESPN interview. “And whether they (the Heat) felt it, whether they wanted to do it, I did. And I respectfully walk away saying I tip my hat to their organization and to the city for embracing me and giving me the platform to be great. And I did that. I was great. It will always be there. But I’ve got more things to do.”
Here are a few more items from out of the Southeast, including more on the Heat:
- The Heat essentially have a “standing invitation” out to Beno Udrih for a minimum-salary contract if he can’t find a better deal than that elsewhere, writes Winderman. It’s not clear whether or not Miami’s standing offer to the veteran point guard would be fully guaranteed.
- While a player like Dion Waiters could help the Heat win more games this year, Winderman suggests that the Heat should prioritize the development of their core players like Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, and Tyler Johnson.
- Although the Wizards appear content with their current roster, the club continues to scour the market and may consider adding a wing player, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Michael identifies Alan Anderson as a veteran free agent who may end up returning to Washington, though he cautions that a deal still appears unlikely at this point.
Amar’e Stoudemire To Play In Israel
AUGUST 1, 8:50am: Stoudemire has officially signed a two-year deal with Hapoel Jerusalem, according to Pick (Twitter link). “I’m looking forward to help the team compete for titles,” Stoudemire said.
JULY 31, 10:01am: Amar’e Stoudemire, who announced his retirement on Tuesday, has signed to play in Israel next season, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. Stoudemire officially ended his NBA career at age 33 by signing a ceremonial contract with the Knicks, but he isn’t ready to give up the game completely.
Stoudemire will play for Hapoel Jerusalem, a team he partially owns along with several other investors. Pick notes that he will become the most famous former NBA star ever to play in Israel.
Stoudemire spent 14 years in the NBA, playing for the Suns, Knicks, Mavericks and Heat. He appeared in 52 games for Miami last season, starting 36, and averaged 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in nearly 15 minutes per night.
Stoudemire’s links to Israel are based in his embrace of Judaism. When he joined the Heat in 2015, he told Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel that he considers himself “culturally Jewish” and was planning to obtain Israeli citizenship.
“When I traveled to Israel for the first time, the world took hold of that and [the media] made it a big deal, and … it just kind of blew up from there,” he said. “But I was always this way, even when I was in Phoenix or even in high school here in Florida. But it just happened to become more visible when I traveled to Israel.”