Thunder Sign Raymond Felton To One-Year Deal
JULY 10th, 10:45pm: Felton has officially signed with the club, according to a team press release.
JULY 7th, 4:58pm: The Thunder have agreed to a one-year deal with veteran point guard Raymond Felton, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets. The 32-year-old suited up for the Clippers in 2016/17.
The journeyman playmaker has bounced around over the course of the past decade, suiting up for seven teams since 2009/10. This year, on the heels of a 6.7 point-per-game campaign, he’ll slot in behind Russell Westbrook on Oklahoma City’s depth chart.
The Thunder had been actively seeking support for when Westbrook took breathers, unsatisfied with what rookie point guard Semaj Christon was able to provide in his first season with the club.
Felton’s track record has left much to be desired over the past few seasons but there’s hope that in the right situation he can be a serviceable reserve. In five playoff games for the Clippers in 2015/16, including four emergency starts, he averaged 15.0 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Oklahoma City has already used its taxpayer mid-level exception, so Felton figures to get a minimum salary deal.
Free Agent Rumors: Dedmon, Teague, Timberwolves, Heat
The Hawks are interested in free agent center Dewayne Dedmon, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders tweets. They are also looking at Willie Reed, Scotto passes along in the same tweet via Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. The Nets and Celtics have also been mentioned as possibilities for Dedmon, who played for the Spurs last season. Reed, who played for the Heat last season, met with the Clippers on Friday and has drawn interest from several other clubs.
In other developments involving free agency:
- The Kings and Nuggets along with his former team, the Pacers, were interested in Jeff Teague before he signed with the Timberwolves, Darren Wolfson of KSTP-TV tweets via his colleague Joe Schmit. The Kings wound up signing point guard George Hill, while the Nuggets spent most of their free agent money on power forward Paul Millsap. Teague signed a three-year, $57MM deal with Minnesota.
- Timberwolves coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau is still shopping for two wings and a point guard to upgrade their bench, Wolfson notes in a separate tweet. However, Thibodeau has likely filled one of those wing spots with Jamal Crawford, who agreed to a two-year contract after negotiating a buyout agreement with the Hawks and being placed on waivers. Crawford has cleared waivers and is expected to sign sometime this week, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets.
- The Heat are in discussions with forwards Luke Babbitt and Udonis Haslem, according to an Associated Press report. Those deals, if completed, would likely be veteran minimum, the report adds. Babbitt appeared in 68 games, including 55 starts, for the injury-depleted Heat last season. Haslem saw action in just 16 games.
Pistons Notes: KCP, Galloway, Johnson, Moreland
The Pistons were still undecided whether they would match any offer sheet for restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope until the Celtics offered shooting guard Avery Bradley and a draft pick for small forward Marcus Morris, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Though the Pistons reached an agreement with Langston Galloway during the first day of free agency, they were still hoping to re-sign Caldwell-Pope until Boston came calling, Langlois continues. The Pistons renounced their rights to Caldwell-Pope after the trade with Boston was finalized. Galloway will receive playing time at both guard positions, Langlois adds.
In other news regarding the team:
- Coach Stan Van Gundy believes Stanley Johnson will bounce back from a disappointing sophomore campaign in part because he will play his natural small forward position regularly, Langlois writes. Johnson, who could become a starter in the aftermath of the Morris trade, might even play some power forward in smaller lineups.
- The Pistons originally planned to sign big man Eric Moreland to a two-way contract if he impressed during the Orlando Summer League, Langlois notes in the same piece. Moreland exceeded all expectations, especially at the defensive end, and that’s what led to the team signing him to a three-year contract with a partial guarantee.
- Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower tried to trade for Galloway in recent seasons before landing him in free agency, Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes. “Langston Galloway has been a guy that Jeff and I have had an interest in virtually from the time we got here, when he was in New York [with the Knicks],” Van Gundy told Beard and the assembled media. “This year, when he was in New Orleans and Sacramento, we’ve made inquiries about trying to get him. It’s been a long process for us to try to bring Langston here.”
- Palace Sports & Entertainment, which owns the team, and Olympia Entertainment, which owns the new Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, were added to a federal lawsuit seeking to force a vote over the use of $34.5MM in public funding to finance the Pistons’ move, Katrease Stafford of the Detroit Free Press reports. The Pistons will share the arena with the NHL’s Red Wings, who are also owned by Olympia.
Jose Calderon Signs With Cavaliers
JULY 10th, 8:06pm: The signing is official, according to a press release on the team’s website.
JULY 1st, 8:05pm: Veteran point guard Jose Calderon has agreed to a deal with the Cavaliers, according to a tweet from his agency, Priority Sports.
Calderon, 35, will receive a one-year contract for the league minimum, which will pay him about $2.3MM, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, although it will only count roughly $1.47MM against Cleveland’s cap. Facing potentially huge luxury tax payments, the Cavs have been searching for inexpensive help for their bench.
The addition of Calderon may be a sign that free agent Deron Williams won’t return to Cleveland after signing with the team in late February.
Calderon split last season between the Lakers and Hawks and put up career lows in scoring, assists and field goal percentage.
Kings Sign Vince Carter
JULY 10th, 6:00pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
JULY 6, 7:36pm: The Kings have agreed to a one-year, $8MM deal with Vince Carter, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
The 40-year-old swingman previously said he would like to play two more seasons in the league. Many assumed he would opt to join a contender in hopes of winning a ring. Instead, he’ll join Sacramento and become a veteran mentor for its young squad.
Carter isn’t the only veteran the Kings have added this week. George Hill and Zach Randolph both agreed to come to Sacramento. The organization has eight players on rookie contracts, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, so balancing the roster with veterans seems to be the team’s latest priority.
Carter played a key role for Memphis during the final year of a three-year contract last season. He averaged 8.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
Photo Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Zach Randolph Signs With Kings
JULY 10th, 5:58pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
JULY 4th, 12:26pm: The Kings will sign Zach Randolph to a two-year, $24MM deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. Both seasons are fully guaranteed, according to David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link).
Randolph, who will turn 36 later this month, spent the past eight years in Memphis. His role with the Grizzlies was diminished this season as he lost his starting job and saw his playing time reduced to about 24 minutes per night.
The Cavaliers had also been linked to Randolph and were reported to be greatly interested in adding the bruising power forward. However, Cleveland is well over the cap and couldn’t have offered nearly as much as Sacramento did.
Today’s signings of Randolph and George Hill leave the Kings with $25.3MM in cap space, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now. That will be cut further by the upcoming addition of Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is expected to get $27MM over three years. That doesn’t leave enough for a reported max offer to Otto Porter, so the Kings may have decided to move in a different direction.
In addition to what he provides on the court, Randolph can serve as a mentor to the Kings’ young big men, Willie Cauley-Stein, Georgios Papagiannis and Skal Labissiere. For Memphis, it’s the latest move away from their grit-and-grind tradition as veteran guard Tony Allen is also considered unlikely to return.
Sacramento will be the fifth franchise for Randolph, a 16-year veteran who started his career with the Trail Blazers and had brief stints with the Knicks and Clippers.
Community Shootaround: Most Improved Team
Some of the biggest names in the game have changed uniforms during this action-packed offseason. Some teams have made bold moves to become contenders or to improve their chances of making the Finals. Others have gone into full rebuild mode.
The Warriors clearly “won” the offseason last summer by signing superstar Kevin Durant, which led to their second championship in three seasons.
There are at least a handful of teams that can lay claim to that title, now that most of the big-name free agents are off the board. Here are some of the teams that obviously upgraded:
- Rockets – The stunning trade by the Clippers that sent Chris Paul gave the Rockets a legitimate All-Star to pair up with James Harden. The also added a defensive-minded veteran forward in P.J. Tucker and re-signed Nene.
- Celtics – Gordon Hayward hemmed and hawed but ultimately decided to ditch the Jazz in favor of the Celtics. The combination of Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford and Hayward gives them a more serious chance to unseat the Cavaliers in the East, even if they had to trade Avery Bradley to make it happen. They also picked up another future lottery pick by moving down from the top spot in the draft and the player they selected, Jayson Tatum, has impressed in summer-league action.
- Timberwolves – The long-awaited Jimmy Butler trade came to fruition, giving Minnesota another star to join the duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. They also signed Jeff Teague to replace Ricky Rubio, who was traded, and added veteran big man Taj Gibson.
- Thunder – Russell Westbrook will no longer have to carry the entire load, thanks to the addition of Paul George. The Pacers traded away the disgruntled forward, providing Oklahoma City with an All-Star to share the scoring burden with Westbrook. They also fortified their frontcourt with the addition of Patrick Patterson.
- Sixers – They moved up in the draft to snag the player they coveted, point guard Markelle Fultz. They also signed free agents J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson to provide a veteran presence to the locker room without sacrificing cap room for next summer, when they’re expected to pursue high-level free agents.
This leads us to our question of the day: Which team do you feel has improved the most during this offseason and why?
Please take to the comments section and provide your thoughts on this subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Bulls Sign Holiday To Two-Year Deal
JULY 10th, 5:01pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
JULY 2nd, 9:17pm: The Bulls have agreed to sign shooting guard Justin Holiday to a two-year, $9MM deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets.
The 3-and-D specialist had been previously linked to the Timberwolves and Knicks but settled on the team that he played for in the latter half of the 2015/16 campaign.
In 82 games with New York last season, the 28-year-old posted a career high of 7.7 points per. He’ll slot in to a Bulls team that looks considerably different than the one he left in 2016.
These days, gone are organization cornerstones Tom Thibodeau and Jimmy Butler, replaced by Fred Hoiberg and – as of the 2017 NBA Draft – a roster in the midst of a rebuild.
Kings Sign George Hill
JULY 10th, 4:13pm: The Kings have officially announced the Hill signing via press release. The three-year deal, $57MM contract is guaranteed for $40MM, according to Amick (Twitter link).
JULY 4th, 3:47pm: The third year of Hill’s deal will be partially guaranteed, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
12:32pm: The Kings and free agent point guard George Hill have reached an agreement on a three-year, $57MM contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical.
Although injuries limited Hill to 49 games in 2016/17, he was excellent when he played, comfortably establishing a new career high in PPG (16.9) for the Jazz despite averaging fewer minutes per game than he had with the Pacers. The 31-year-old provided solid defense and shot over 40% from downtown for a second straight season. In Sacramento, he’ll act as a veteran mentor to the team’s new point guard, De’Aaron Fox, and his ability to play off the ball should allow both guards to share the court at times.
Hill reportedly received interest from the Lakers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Pacers, Knicks, and Spurs, among other teams. However, many of those teams didn’t have the cap flexibility to make him the sort of offer he has now received from the Kings, and some clubs – such as the Lakers – may have not been willing to go up to three years.
Hill’s former team, the Jazz, wasn’t viewed as a serious contender for the veteran point guard after the team acquired Ricky Rubio from the Timberwolves last week. At least one report suggested that losing Hill may adversely affect Utah’s chances of retaining Gordon Hayward, but Hayward reportedly likes the idea of playing with Rubio as well, so Hill’s formal departure may not have a major impact on his decision.
Word of Sacramento’s agreement with Hill broke around the same time that it was reported the team would also sign Zach Randolph to a two-year pact worth $24MM. The Kings entered the free agent period with only about $44MM in commitments on their 2017/18 cap for their incumbent players and their three 2017 first-round picks.
However, with deals now in place for Hill, Randolph, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Kings appear to no longer have room for a reported max offer for Otto Porter unless they’re able to shed a contract or two. That could bode well for Porter’s return to the Wizards, perhaps at a more reasonable rate than Washington anticipated, though the Nets continue to lurk and could put a big offer sheet on the table.
The terms on Hill’s new three-year, $57MM deal are identical to the reported terms on Jeff Teague‘s agreement with the Timberwolves, so that deal likely served as a reference point during discussions between the Kings and Hill’s camp.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Heat Paid $5.1MM To Mavs In McRoberts Deal
The Heat took full advantage of the increased limits for cash used in trades last week, sending $5.1MM to the Mavericks in the deal that landed Josh McRoberts to Dallas, reports Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
In each NBA league year, teams are permitted to send up to a certain amount of cash in trades, and are permitted to receive no more than that amount as well. In 2016/17, that figure was $3.5MM, but it increased to $5.1MM in 2017/18. That means that the Heat have already used their limit for the current league year, and won’t be able to send out any additional cash in trades until July 2018. Miami could still receive up to $5.1MM in trades, however.
With the cash taken into account, the Mavericks come out ahead in the trade in more ways than one. McRoberts is earning $6,021,175 this year, and A.J. Hammons – who went from the Mavs to the Heat in the swap – is making $1,312,611, so the difference in their salaries is $4,708,564. Dallas received more than enough cash to make up that difference and received a future second-round pick from their troubles. Since they’re acting as an over-the-cap team, the Mavs didn’t sacrifice any cap room by taking on McRoberts, though they now won’t be eligible to receive any more cash in trades until next July.
Meanwhile, the deal is also a win from the Heat’s perspective, since the team had to use every last dollar of cap room to squeeze in new deals for Dion Waiters, James Johnson, and Kelly Olynyk. Cash paid in a trade doesn’t count toward the cap, so by dumping McRoberts’ salary and only taking back Hammons’ modest contract, the Heat were able to just barely create the space necessary for their signings. They also landed Hammons, a player Riley spoke highly of earlier today.