Warriors Finals Loss Paved Way For Durant
The Warriors organization was named the 2016 ENCORE winner on Monday night. The prestigious award is given by the Stanford Graduate School of Business to the entrepreneurial company of the year. Team owner Joe Lacob, along with Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala, attended the ceremony and addressed a number of topics regarding the team and Durant’s free agency. One notable admission came from Durant, who acknowledged that he likely wouldn’t have ended up signing with Golden State this summer had it defeated the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, Anthony Slater of The Mercury News relays, along with a number of other details below:
When asked if the Warriors winning the 2015/16 NBA title would have made signing with them less interesting, Durant responded:
“I was telling one of my friends, [his agent] Rich [Kleiman], who’s here, we were watching Game 7. Well, as it started to unfold, it was, ‘No question, no way could you go to this team.’ And I was just like a kid, like, in a candy shop. I’d get wide open 3s, I could just run up and down the court, get wide open layups. I was basically begging him. I was like, yo, this would be nice. So as I was thinking about my decision and who I was gonna play for, this team came to mind. You know, as they lost, it became more and more real every day. You start to think about it even more. To see if I would fit. Then once I sat down with these guys, everything that I wanted to know about them they kinda showed me. But we don’t have to talk about it though because they didn’t get the job done and they came after me and who knows what would’ve happened. But I guess you could say I’m glad that they lost.”
When pressed for a more detailed response as to why he chose the Warriors, Durant said:
“It felt like it was a perfect fit. It was something I was searching for when I sat down and talked to these guys. I wanted to see if what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen on the outside is really true. Do these guys really genuinely love each other? They work together. You hear family a lot. That’s just a word sometimes, but this is really a lifestyle here. You can feel it when you walk in the door, in the practice facility, everybody is just together. That’s something that I can appreciate as a basketball player and someone who values relationships. You can tell that that’s what they stand on, that’s what we stand on. I feel really grateful to play for a team like that and play with a bunch of players who are selfless and enjoy the game in its purest form. They make it about the players, they make it about the environment, so it was really an easy choice.”
Discussing what makes the Warriors’ culture as an organization so special, Lacob used Iguodala as a prime example, saying:
“Sometimes I have the privilege of speaking to people. Andre’s story is my favorite story. To come in, as a player, he could’ve signed anywhere. He could’ve signed with us. Actually I get credit for that. I should give Andre credit. He picked us. We came from another meeting and we sat down and prepared to meet Andre and tell him why we think he’d be a good fit. About two minutes into the presentation, he said, ‘Stop, stop, I want to play for you guys.’ That’s what he said. It’s a true story. I said, ‘We have some DVDs here.’ And he said, ‘I don’t need to see them.’ I said, ‘We have no way to sign you. We’re way over the cap. That’s nice Andre. But we have no way, we can’t, we’re kinda wasting your time.’ He said, ‘It’s OK, I’ll wait for you to figure it out.’ Meanwhile, he’s given deadlines by other teams. You have until midnight until we’re going away. Andre says fine. Team 1 went away. Another team put a deadline on him. You have until noon the day. More money. More years. He said ‘No, I’m waiting on the Warriors.’ Which is unbelievable to me. He not only makes that sacrifice but has the patience to see what he wanted. Most players don’t see what they want. Then he comes to our team, All-Star, Olympic medalist. Plays with us for a year, does great.
Next year Steve Kerr is hired. Steve asks him to come off the bench. Some of you might perceive that as easy. I’d equate that to some of you. You might be VP or president of your company and your chairman comes in and says, ‘We don’t need you to be VP anymore, you’re going to be the director. You deserve to be a VP, but we’re gonna knock you down a level because it’s good for the company.’ So Andre took all that, didn’t go home. When the media asked him, ‘Andre, what do you really think? Isn’t it BS that you’re not starting? You can tell me.’ All year, nothing. Professional, humble, accepted his position. We’re down 2-1 to Cleveland. In the biggest moment in the franchise’s history the last 40 years, Steve Kerr says ‘Andre, now, we need you now.’ He was ready. When you ask about culture, that’s culture.”
Discussing his free agent meeting with the team, Durant relayed the following:
“I was anxious to see what they’re all about. You hear a lot of about them. They’re on SportsCenter every day. One thing stood out to me, I had a friend tell me — that never played basketball, not even athletic — the first thing she said was, ‘When I watch Stephen Curry play, it makes me feel like I can play the game of basketball.’ So I asked her, ‘So how do I make you feel?’…That shows, like Andre said, when you play freely and have fun with the game, it just shows that it touches a lot of people that may not just be in that immediate circle of NBA or basketball or sports in general. So when they came into the meeting, I was really looking for that energy and I felt it from the beginning. It was just so pure. It was a feeling I couldn’t ignore. I wanted to be a part of it. No matter what happened, I wanted to be a part of it.”
Offseason In Review: Milwaukee Bucks
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Milwaukee Bucks.
Free agent signings:
- Miles Plumlee: Four years, $49.6MM.
- Matthew Dellavedova: Four years, $38.43MM. Sign-and-trade deal with Cavaliers.
- Mirza Teletovic: Three years, $31.5MM.
- Steve Novak: One year, minimum salary.
- Jason Terry: One year, minimum salary.
Camp invitees:
- Jabari Brown: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
- Xavier Henry: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
- Orlando Johnson: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- J.J. O’Brien: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Jaleel Roberts: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
Extensions:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo: Four years, $100MM. Rookie scale extension. Goes into effect in 2017/18.
Trades:
- Acquired cash ($2.4MM) from the Warriors in exchange for the draft rights to Patrick McCaw (No. 38 pick).
- Acquired Matthew Dellavedova (sign-and-trade) and cash ($200K) from the Cavaliers in exchange for the draft rights to Albert Miralles.
- Acquired Michael Beasley from the Rockets in exchange for Tyler Ennis.
Draft picks:
- 1-10: Thon Maker. Signed to rookie contract.
- 2-36: Malcolm Brogdon. Signed for three years, $2.99MM. Third year non-guaranteed.
Departing players:
- Jerryd Bayless
- Tyler Ennis
- Damien Inglis (waived)
- O.J. Mayo
- Johnny O’Bryant (waived)
- Greivis Vasquez
Other offseason news:
- Signed head coach Jason Kidd and general manager John Hammond to contract extensions.
- Khris Middleton tore left hamstring, expected to miss six months.
- Pursued and met with Dwyane Wade in free agency.
- Michael Carter-Williams eligible for a contract extension until October 31.
- Reportedly offered Carter-Williams to the Kings for Ben McLemore.
- Reportedly shopped Greg Monroe during offseason.
- Added former NBA forward Stacey Augmon to coaching staff.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Milwaukee Bucks right here.
After taking two huge steps forward in 2014/15, going from 15 wins to 41 and a surprising playoff berth, the Bucks took a step back last season, dropping to 33 wins and the draft lottery. After an offseason that saw the team add a number of veterans to its youthful core, Milwaukee hopes to return to the playoffs and continue to progress as a franchise.
It’s certainly debatable whether or not the team did enough to ensure that result, with the Bucks’ largest external signing being former Cavs backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova, who received a four-year, $38.43MM pact via a sign-and-trade deal with Cleveland. I’m not knocking Dellavedova, whose grit and hustle are a valuable commodity. But I’m not sold that he’s a significant upgrade over Jerryd Bayless, who signed with the Sixers as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The duo’s stat lines were similar in 2015/16, with Bayless posting averages of 10.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG and 3.1 APG to accompany a shooting line of .423/.437/.778 and Dellavedova putting up 7.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG and 4.4 APG to go along with a slash line of .405/.410/.864. The Australian is more of a spark provider than Bayless, but his addition doesn’t quite move the needle enough for Milwaukee for him to be considered a true game-changer this season.
The offseason signing that may help the Bucks the most was the addition of forward Mirza Teletovic, whose outside shooting will be a major benefit to the team, given its weakness from beyond the arc last season. While I think that a three-year deal worth $10.5MM per season is a huge risk given Teletovic’s injury history and age, he provides coach Jason Kidd with a true stretch-four to deploy on a nightly basis. The 31-year-old has averaged just 61 contests per campaign since arriving in the NBA, though he did manage 79 appearances a season ago, averaging 12.2 PPG and draining 39.3% of this three-pointers.
Milwaukee also added veterans Jason Terry ans Steve Novak on one-year, minimum salary deals to provide leadership and bench production. At this point in his career, the 39-year-old Terry is more valuable as a leader and locker room presence than on the court. Though, the Jet still likely has a few big shots left in him before calling it a career. As for Novak, he’s still one of the deadliest three-point shooters in the game (43.1% for his career), but his extremely limited skillset makes him difficult to keep on the court for significant stretches.
The Bucks made a significant financial commitment to restricted free agent Miles Plumlee, re-signing him to a four-year, $50MM pact. This move was a bit puzzling to me given Plumlee’s extremely modest career numbers of 5.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 0.9 BPG. With the addition of Teletovic and Thon Maker (No. 10 overall pick), plus the continued presence of Greg Monroe (more on him in a bit) and John Henson, I don’t quite get GM John Hammond‘s reasoning at re-signing Plumlee. He’s more of a traditional big man in a league that is moving further away from that model with each passing season. All told, the Bucks committed a total of $119.53MM in guaranteed salary to Teletovic, Dellavedova and Plumlee — none of whom are considered franchise players. This is an offseason that may come back to haunt the franchise in the coming seasons.
In addition to gambling in free agency, the Bucks did so on draft night as well by selecting Maker in the top-10. The team hopes that Maker will turn out to be a steal at that spot given his potential and upside, but the rail-thin big man is a major project and there were questions leading up to the draft as to whether or not he misrepresented his age. If Maker is truly 19, and not 21-23 years old as some scouts and executives speculated, he may end up being worth the risk. But with the team’s needs in the backcourt and on the wing, there were a number of prospects available at that slot who I believe could have helped the Bucks far more than Maker will in the near future.
As for Monroe, who has a player option for 2017/18 worth $17,884,176, the Bucks are still reportedly trying to find a taker for the big man’s services. Contrary to popular opinion, Monroe didn’t have a bad 2015/16 season, his first in Milwaukee, averaging 15.3 PPG and 8.8 RPG and shooting 52.2% from the field overall. But he was a bad fit for the Bucks’ roster, with his defense not being up to par and his lack of athleticism not meshing well with the style of play Kidd desires. The best thing for all parties involved would be for the team to find a taker for Monroe sooner, rather than later. The 26-year-old has been mentioned in trade rumors connected with the Hornets and Kings recently, as well as with the Pelicans earlier in the offseason.
Another player who appears to be a poor fit and is also reportedly on the trading block is point guard Michael Carter-Williams. Despite a recent endorsement from Kidd, the former Rookie of the Year was reportedly offered to the Kings in exchange for Ben McLemore, as Milwaukee struggles to fill the major void left by the devastating injury to Khris Middleton, who is expected to miss at least six months of action. Hammond’s September trade with the Rockets to land Michael Beasley isn’t likely the answer to mitigate the loss of Middleton, so Monroe and MCW remain the team’s two likeliest assets to be moved in any future swaps to address its hole at the wing.
While I’ve been critical of a number of the Bucks’ offseason moves, there is no way I can find any fault with the team inking superstar-in-waiting, Giannis Antetokounmpo to a four year, $100MM rookie scale extension. The Greek Freak is indeed the future of the franchise and locking him up through 2020/2021 at less than the projected maximum is a coup on Hammond’s part. The only worry I have regarding Antetokounpo is that his tremendous positional versatility will stunt his development. If Milwaukee continually shifts him around, it will make it difficult to focus and perfect his skills as he continually has to adjust to new challenges and position requirements. But it is a good problem to have, as the team will be able to structure its roster around him without worrying if he’ll still be a member of the team for the next four plus seasons.
Despite making some questionable expenditures this offseason, the Bucks have a number of solid building blocks along with a bona fide star in Antetokounmpo as they head into the future. The franchise would be best served to swing deals for MCW and Monroe in order to remove the distraction that near-constant trade rumors regarding the duo will bring. Plus, it would hopefully provide better balance to the roster. The injury to Middleton likely squashed any chance the Bucks had to make some noise in the Eastern Conference this season, which is unfortunate for all involved. If a number of the team’s younger players can step-up, playing .500 ball is a possibility in 2016/17.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Chris Bosh
The Chris Bosh situation remains in something of a holding pattern, with no roster move expected from the Heat in the near future. The team has indicated it doesn’t expect Bosh to play for them again due to blood-clotting issues, while the veteran big man has said he doesn’t intend to retire. In the latest video in his Uninterrupted.com series, Bosh doubled down on his vow to return to the court, suggesting he’ll “do everything it takes to get back out there” and adding that he wants to “defy the odds.”
“I’m not really thinking about money. I’m just thinking about where my heart is,” Bosh said. “I love the NBA. I love playing basketball every day for a living. … I just would feel like I’m giving up if I just walked away easily, like that.”
As Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports writes, even though the Heat insist their decision is based on Bosh’s health and well-being, there are financial aspects that must be considered. Since the team could potentially recoup a huge chunk of cap room if Bosh is ruled medically unfit to return to action, Miami will likely exercise patience and avoid making a move anytime soon — the team couldn’t apply for that cap relief until February at the earliest.
Meanwhile, one of Bosh’s former teammates, current Cavs forward James Jones, is confident that the All-Star big man will make it back, telling Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders that Bosh “will play again.”
“From a health perspective, I know [Chris] will do everything in his power and medicine these days is amazing,” Jones said. “He’ll find a way to get back. No way will he allow the game to be taken away from him for a medical reason. But like always, he’s methodical, he’s very very patient and he’ll figure it out. We’re all pulling for him because this is a brotherhood. Not only because this is the NBA but by playing on a team like that, it’s a brotherhood, and you always want to see your brother’s dreams and legacies fulfilled.”
NBA D-League Announces 2016 Draft Date, Order
The 2016 draft for the NBA Development League will take place on Sunday, October 30 at 2:00 pm eastern time, according to an announcement today from the league. The event will allow D-League teams to select the rights for players who aren’t yet affiliated with a club.
As D-League Digest observes (via Twitter), this year’s draft will just be six rounds, as opposed to the eight rounds in previous years. Adam Johnson of D-League Digest recently detailed changes being made to the way the D-League’s draft pool is populated — instead of the D-League’s front office simply offering contracts to players, each team in the league has the opportunity to submit a list of up to eight players they’re interested in drafting. Those lists will be used to help make up the draft pool.
[RELATED: D-League Affiliations For 2016/17]
The order for the D-League’s 2016 draft is listed below, including trades. This year’s three expansion teams will be slotted in between last season’s non-playoff and playoff teams.
- Erie BayHawks
- Santa Cruz Warriors
- Oklahoma City Blue
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- Grand Rapids Drive (from Salt Lake City Stars)
- Grand Rapids Drive
- Delaware 87ers
- Northern Arizona Suns
- Texas Legends
- Santa Cruz Warriors (from Raptors 905)
- Iowa Energy
- Windy City Bulls
- Greensboro Swarm
- Long Island Nets
- Salt Lake City Stars (from Los Angeles D-Fenders)
- Westchester Knicks
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers
- Austin Spurs
- Canton Charge
- Maine Red Claws
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (from Reno Bighorns)
- Sioux Falls Skyforce
In addition to the players selected in this month’s draft, D-League teams will also fill out their rosters with affiliate players waived during the NBA season by their respective NBA affiliates, and by players whose rights were previously held or acquired.
New York Notes: Bennett, Rose, Randle, Lin
Since joining the Nets, former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett has described the team as a good fit for him and has talked about attempting to revitalize his career in Brooklyn. However, the situation isn’t just a good one for Bennett — it could also pay off for the Nets if the forward can deliver on the promise he showed as a prospect.
“It’s double-edge. We both have really good opportunities, and that’s the way we look at it,” said Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “Anthony Bennett is showing some real life as a rotation big, and he’s pushing for minutes. He did a lot of good things. He’s a system fit: He’s fast, he’s athletic, he’s long, he can roll to the rim, he can shoot. I’m tempering my enthusiasm, but I really like what we saw the other night. He really fits the modern NBA, runs the court.”
As we wait to see whether Bennett can provide positive value in Brooklyn, let’s check in on a few more notes from out of the Big Apple…
- According to an Associated Press report (via ESPN.com), the judge in Derrick Rose‘s civil trial said on Tuesday that he’s considering a mistrial, suggesting that the plaintiff’s lawyers have been “unbelievably careless” in production of exhibits. If there’s a mistrial, a new trial would likely happen during the NBA’s regular season, further complicating matters for Rose and the Knicks.
- Chasson Randle chose the Knicks over the Thunder as a free agent this summer, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. As Berman details, head coach Jeff Hornacek and star forward Carmelo Anthony have both praised Randle, who is vying for New York’s final regular-season roster spot.
- A year before they signed Jeremy Lin to a three-year, $36MM contract, the Nets had targeted the free agent point guard with their mini mid-level exception, sources tell Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. However, Lin said Brooklyn was “never legitimately a contender in terms of where I wanted to go” in 2015. In 2016, that changed, as Mazzeo outlines in an interesting piece.
- In a piece for the New York Post, Lewis examines Nets offseason addition Joe Harris, who signed with Brooklyn after spending time with the Cavaliers.
Knicks Sign Damien Inglis
The Knicks have added another body to their preseason roster, with the team announced today (via Twitter) that free agent forward Damien Inglis has signed a contract with the team. Terms of the deal weren’t announced, but a non-guaranteed pact seems likely.
Inglis, 21, was selected by the Bucks in the second round of the 2014 draft and made his NBA debut last season, appearing in 20 contests for Milwaukee. He only averaged 7.8 minutes in those games, and became a roster casualty during the offseason, with the Bucks waiving him in late June, just before the new league year began. He suited up for the Pelicans in Summer League play in July.
The Knicks have 14 guaranteed salaries on their books for 2016/17, which means there may be a regular-season roster spot up for grabs. However, Inglis looks like a long shot for that opening. Other camp invitees like Chasson Randle, Ron Baker, and Maurice Ndour have been with the team longer and will have the leg up on that 15th spot.
Inglis could very well end up playing for the Knicks’ D-League affiliate though, as Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. Because the Bucks don’t have a D-League affiliate of their own, Inglis spent some time with the Westchester Knicks during the 2015/16 season, averaging 9.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG in 21.4 minutes per contest for the club.
Perry Jones Drawing NBA Interest?
Russian team BC Khimki announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve used their option to release Perry Jones from their roster, making him a free agent able to sign with any team. Jones joined the club in August, and played in just one regular-season game before he was cut.
A former first-round pick, Jones spent three seasons with the Thunder from 2012 to 2015, averaging 3.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 143 regular-season contests. Oklahoma City sent him to the Celtics in a trade last July, but Boston waived him prior to the regular season. The 6’11” forward ultimately landed with the D-League’s Iowa Energy, but only appeared in five games for the team, recording 13.2 PPG and 7.4 RPG in those contests.
While Jones’ NBA track record wasn’t great, he has reportedly drawn some interest from clubs around the league. Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net reports (via Twitter) that several teams, including the Nuggets, have been in touch with Jones’ agent. With the regular season just two weeks away, those clubs are likely just checking in on Jones’ health and perhaps his willingness to play for a D-League affiliate.
As Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor tweets, the Iowa Energy still hold Jones’ D-League rights — Iowa is the Grizzlies’ D-League affiliate.
How 2016’s NBA Restricted Free Agents Fared
As we noted earlier today when we passed along an item about Boban Marjanovic‘s departure from the Spurs this summer, the new Pistons big man was the only restricted free agent to technically sign an offer sheet with another club this offseason and not have that offer matched by his previous team. In past years, teams with talented restricted free agents have often faced salary cap restrictions that made it difficult – or impossible – to retain that player, but due to this summer’s cap spike, those situations became much rarer.
Still, Marjanovic wasn’t the only restricted free agent to leave his previous franchise. In multiple cases, a team worked out a sign-and-trade deal to send an RFA to another club. Some teams also eventually decided they didn’t want to bring back an RFA, and withdrew their qualifying offers to those players.
Below, we break down 2016’s restricted free agent movement, with the help of our free agent tracker. Here’s how and where this year’s RFA’s signed:
Signed a new contract with their previous team:
- Bradley Beal (Wizards): Five years, max salary.
- Andre Drummond (Pistons): Five years, max salary.
- Evan Fournier (Magic): Five years, $85MM.
- Jordan Clarkson (Lakers): Four years, $50MM.
- Miles Plumlee (Bucks): Four years, $49.6MM.
- Meyers Leonard (Trail Blazers): Four years, $41MM.
- Maurice Harkless (Trail Blazers): Four years, $40MM.
- Dwight Powell (Mavericks): Four years, $37.269MM.
- Tyler Zeller (Celtics): Two years, $16MM
- Tarik Black (Lakers): Two years, $12.486MM.
- Marcelo Huertas (Lakers): Two years, $3.068MM.
Signed an offer sheet from rival team, which was matched by previous team:
- Allen Crabbe (Trail Blazers): Four years, $74.833MM (offer sheet from Nets).
- Tyler Johnson (Heat): Four years, $50MM (offer sheet from Nets).
Joined new team via offer sheet:
- Boban Marjanovic (Pistons): Three years, $21MM (Spurs didn’t match).
Joined new team via sign-and-trade:
- Matthew Dellavedova (Bucks): Four years, $38.43MM (traded by Cavaliers).
- Troy Daniels (Grizzlies): Three years, $10MM (traded by Hornets).
Had qualifying offer withdrawn, then re-signed with previous team as UFA:
- Tim Frazier (Pelicans): Two years, $4.09MM.
Had qualifying offer withdrawn, then signed with new team as UFA:
- Harrison Barnes (Mavericks): Four years, max salary (QO withdrawn by Warriors).
- Festus Ezeli (Trail Blazers): Two years, $15.133MM (QO withdrawn by Warriors).
- Langston Galloway (Pelicans): Two years, $10.634MM (QO withdrawn by Knicks).
- Seth Curry (Mavericks): Two years, $5.926MM (QO withdrawn by Kings).
- Dewayne Dedmon (Spurs): Two years, $5.926MM (QO withdrawn by Magic).
- Dion Waiters (Heat): Two years, $5.926MM (QO withdrawn by Thunder).
- Jared Sullinger (Raptors): One year, $5.628MM (QO withdrawn by Celtics).
- Markel Brown (Cavaliers): One year, non-guaranteed minimum salary (QO withdrawn by Nets).
Still unsigned (qualifying offer expired):
- Donatas Motiejunas (Rockets)
Popovich Encouraged Boban To Accept Offer Sheet
Only one restricted free agent in the NBA this season technically signed an offer sheet with a rival team that his previous team didn’t match. That player was Boban Marjanovic, who left the Spurs to sign a three-year, $21MM deal with the Pistons. And according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News, it took a push from head coach Gregg Popovich for Marjanovic to accept that offer, since his first choice was to remain with the Spurs.
“He’s such a good kid, at some point I had to work to get him to understand that $21 million was different than $3 million,” Popovich said, per McDonald. “I said, ‘Get your ass out of here. Go. You’ve got to do it.’ But he felt bad.”
“We knew he was gone,” Popovich added. “It happens to every team. You lose a guy because you have to pay people and you can’t pay them all.”
The Spurs used up their cap room this summer when they signed Pau Gasol to a two-year contract, leaving the team unable to match the Pistons’ offer for Marjanovic. San Antonio could have used its room exception to retain the restricted free agent, but as Popovich notes, such a deal would have only paid about $3MM per year, far less than Detroit offered.
In his rookie season with the Spurs, Marjanovic averaged 5.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG, despite appearing in just 9.4 minutes per contest (54 games). Based on the contract he received from Detroit, the 28-year-old figures to have a more significant role with his new team. While he admits that he would have liked to remain a Spur, Marjanovic says he thinks he “made a good decision” to sign with the Pistons, per McDonald.
Gigi Datome Received Multiple NBA Offers?
Italian forward Gigi Datome spent a couple seasons in the NBA in recent years, playing for the Pistons in 2013/14 and both the Pistons and Celtics in 2014/15. However, last summer, Datome headed back overseas, signing a deal with Turkish team Fenerbahce Ulker. And for now, the 28-year-old says he’s happy to remain in Turkey, contending for a Euroleague title.
“It would be amazing to win Euroleague,” Datome told Italy’s Tuttosport, per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. “But it is going to be difficult. CSKA Moscow is a powerhouse, there are Olympiacos, Real Madrid and five other teams. But for this goal some players of our team have decided to stay instead of signing in the NBA, like [Jan] Vesely or [Bogdan] Bogdanovic.
“I had two interesting offers from the NBA during the summer but for one more year I will remain with Fenerbahce,” Datome added. “This is the most interesting basketball. Then we’ll see.”
It’s not clear which two NBA teams might have made those “interesting” offers to Datome, whose rights are no longer held by an NBA club. A cap hold for the veteran forward had been on Boston’s books heading into the 2016 offseason, but the Celtics renounced that hold in order to maximize their cap room in July.
Datome’s contract with Fenerbahce was initially reported to be for two years with a third-year player option, so it’s also not clear whether he would have even been free to move back to the NBA this year — perhaps those teams making “offers” were expressing interest for the future.
In his first stint in the NBA, Datome averaged just 3.4 PPG in 8.1 minutes per contest over the course of 55 games. He currently has a far more significant role in Turkey, so even after his contract with Fenerbahce expires, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him remain overseas for the foreseeable future.