Monta Ellis, Pacers Discussing Buyout
Monta Ellis and the Pacers are discussing a possible buyout, sources told Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). The buyout could be completed later this month, Taylor adds.
It wouldn’t be a major surprise for Ellis to be seeking a better situation or to join a contender, considering his diminished playing time last season. Ellis, 31, started 81 games for Indiana in 2015/16 but started just 33 of 74 games last season. He averaged 8.5 PPG and 3.2 APG in 27 MPG, all career lows except for his rookie season of 2005/06 with the Warriors.
Ellis is due to make $11.2MM next season and holds a player option for $11.69MM in 2018/19.
A buyout would leave the Pacers a little thin at both guard positions even with the addition of Victor Oladipo in the blockbuster trade with the Thunder that shipped Paul George to the Western Conference. Indiana also agreed in principle to a two-year contract with point guard Darren Collison on Monday. Ellis knows he’d likely be a backup at either spot for a team in a rebuilding phase.
Ellis will be suspended for the first five games of next season for violating the league’s anti-drug policy.
Free Agent Rumors: Durant, Hill, Rockets, Hayward
Kevin Durant would have give the Warriors an even bigger discount to help them land Kings free agent Rudy Gay if Andre Iguodala had not agreed to re-sign, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. Durant agreed to a two-year, $53MM contract on Monday with a starting salary of $25MM. Iguodala agreed to a three-year, $48MM contract to remain with Golden State. Amick’s tweet gives insight into the type of money it will take to land Gay despite the Achilles tear he suffered last season.
In other free agent developments:
- The Nuggets are still pursuing free agent point guard George Hill and trying to clear cap to make that happen, Amick tweets. Denver already made a big splash by reaching an agreement with power forward Paul Millsap on a three-year, $90MM contract. The Lakers are in serious discussions with Hill on a one-year deal but Los Angeles is also considering another free agent point guard, Rajon Rondo, according to Amick (Twitter link).
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey plans to hold onto his remaining non-guaranteed contracts and $3.3MM bi-annual exception, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Morey might add a player on a minimum contract, Feigen adds.
- The Jazz’s meeting with Gordon Hayward on Monday lasted 3 1/2 hours and included newly-acquired point guard Ricky Rubio, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Hayward held meetings with the Heat and Celtics the previous two days and is expected to make a decision within the next two days.
Pacers Sign Darren Collison
JULY 7: The Pacers have formally announced the signing of Collison.
“Having had Darren here in the past, we obviously knew what we were getting, both on the floor and in the locker room,” Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. “When you bring in a player like Darren, you know you’re not only getting a point guard, you’re adding a veteran presence to your team.”
JULY 3: Point guard Darren Collison has agreed in principle on a two-year, $20MM contract with the Pacers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Collison averaged 13.2 PPG and 4.6 APG in 68 games, including 63 starts, with the Kings last season.
The second year is partially guaranteed, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. The agreement leaves the Pacers with approximately $13MM in cap space, Zach Lowe of ESPN tweets.
This is Collison’s second stint with Indiana. He was their starting point guard during the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons.
Indiana had a big hole to fill at that spot after Jeff Teague reached a three-year, $57MM agreement with the Timberwolves. They also have combo guards Monta Ellis and Victor Oladipo, who will be coming over from the Thunder in the Paul George deal.
The Knicks reached out to Collison but their interest was apparently lukewarm at best.
Collison served an eight-game suspension at the start of last season after a domestic battery incident. He has appeared in 563 career games, averaging 12.7 PPG and 4.8 APG while shooting 38% from long range.
The addition of Collison appears to be a stopgap move for a rebuilding Pacers club in the aftermath of trading their best player.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Motley Signs Two-Way Contract With Mavs
The Mavericks signed forward Johnathan Motley to a two-way contract on Monday, the team announced in a press release. The news was relayed by Mavs.com beat writer Earl K. Sneed.
The 6’10” Motley went undrafted last month after the Baylor big man declared for the draft after his junior season. He averaged 17.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.1 BPG in his final college season. He’s played two games in the Orlando Summer League with the Mavs, averaging 3.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.0 BPG.
The agreement was reached last month but the signing is now official. Motley was projected as a second-round pick but teams were reluctant to take him because of a knee issue.
Teams are allowed to sign two players under two-way contracts. Those players will spend most of next season in the NBA G League and not more than 45 days with their NBA team. Two-way players are paid a corresponding daily amount based on the number of days they play in each league.
Free Agent Rumors: Wolves, Young, Knicks, Gay
Although the Warriors remain an option for Nick Young, several other teams are in the mix, per Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). Oklahoma City and New Orleans have been mentioned as possible landing spots, and Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link) says the Timberwolves have also inquired.
As Wolfson notes in a separate tweet, Minnesota has reached out to Gerald Green as well. The Timberwolves are “casting a wide net” for wing options, in the hopes that a bigger name falls into their lap for the $4.3MM room exception, says Wolfson.
Here are more free agency updates from around the NBA:
- According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the Knicks have told multiple agents that they believe they’re closing in on a deal with a guard. Kyler suggests that mystery guard may be Derrick Rose or Shelvin Mack. Of those two, Mack seems like the more probable candidate, as a Sunday report suggested that Knicks GM Steve Mills isn’t bullish on bringing back Rose.
- Rudy Gay was “impressed” by the Clippers‘ presentation to him on Sunday, but no deal is in place between the two sides, tweets Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The team met with Danilo Gallinari on the weekend as well.
- Appearing on Zach Lowe’s ESPN podcast for the first time, cap guru Bobby Marks expressed skepticism that the Nets will go after Pistons restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as aggressively as they pursued RFAs a year ago. Brooklyn has frequently been linked to KCP and Otto Porter, but there has been no word yet about a Nets offer for either player. Brooklyn was scheduled to meet with Porter today, according to Matt Moore of CBSSports.com.
Lakers Sign Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart
3:14pm: The Lakers have officially signed Ball and have also announced the signings of their other two first-round picks, Kyle Kuzma (No. 27) and Josh Hart (No. 30). Kuzma’s four-year deal will be worth about $8.65MM, while Hart’s will be worth approximately $8.475MM.
9:40am: The Lakers will formally sign second overall pick Lonzo Ball to his first NBA contract today, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Like other rookie deals for first-round picks, Ball’s pact will feature two guaranteed years followed by two team options.
As our chart for this year’s rookie scale shows, Ball is in line to make about $6.287MM in his rookie season. Assuming he plays out his full four-year deal, he’ll earn more than $33MM over the life of the contract. The UCLA product will be eligible for an extension in 2020, and would otherwise reach restricted free agency in 2021.
In past years, teams have been patient when it comes to signing first-round picks, since cap holds for those draftees counted for 100% of their rookie scale figure, despite the fact that virtually every player signed for 120% of the rookie scale. The league’s new CBA adjusted those cap holds to count for 120% of the rookie scale figure, so there’s now little incentive for teams to wait.
Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Jonathan Isaac (Magic), Malik Monk (Hornets), Luke Kennard (Pistons), and Bam Adebayo (Heat) are among the other first-rounders who have already officially signed contracts with their new teams.
Lakers Meet With George Hill, Discuss Deal
2:49pm: In the full ESPN report on Hill and the Lakers, Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne classify the talks between the two sides as “serious,” suggesting there’s real mutual interest. According to Shelburne (via Twitter), the Lakers envision Hill and Ball playing alongside one another in the starting lineup.
12:26pm: Free agent point guard George Hill and his representatives are in Los Angeles today to meet with the Lakers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). Wojnarowski reports that the Lakers and Hill are discussing a possible one-year contract.
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) despite averaging fewer minutes per game than he had with the Pacers. Hill played solid defense for the Jazz and shot over 40% from downtown for a second straight season. His ability to play off the ball in addition to running the point would make him a valuable backcourt piece for virtually any team.
However, Hill has seen his market shrink in recent days, with many of his potential suitors unable to offer a lucrative deal. The Nuggets and Knicks are said to have interest, but don’t have the necessary cap room to make a market-value offer without moving other contracts. The Jazz wanted to bring Hill back, but addressed their point guard spot by trading for Ricky Rubio, significantly reducing the odds of a reunion with last year’s starter. The Spurs were also linked to Hill, but reportedly broke off talks after striking a deal with Patty Mills.
Taking a one-year deal with the Lakers to act as a short-term starter and a mentor for Lonzo Ball might make some sense for Hill, since it would give him an opportunity to show he can stay healthy for a full season. But at age 31, there’s no guarantee that he could parlay a strong 2017/18 campaign into a huge payday a year from now.
L.A. doesn’t have a huge excess of cap room available either — taking into account cap holds for their three first-round picks, the Lakers have nearly $82MM in guaranteed salary on their books for 2017/18, which leaves approximately $17MM in cap space. The team is interested in one-year deals this offseason, in order to maintain cap room for the summer of 2018.
It’s worth noting 2017/18 will be Hill’s 10th NBA season, which would make him eligible for a higher starting salary next summer (up to 35% of the cap instead of 30%). However, based on his seemingly cooling market, an offer in that range appears unlikely anyway.
Free Agency Rumors: Reed, Hayward, Jazz, Hawks
Veteran big man Willie Reed, who spent the 2016/17 season with the Heat, is flying somewhat under the radar in free agency, but he has no shortage of suitors. Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, having already reported that Reed was drawing interest from Miami, Philadelphia, Indiana, and Houston, has added the Hawks to the list of the teams interested in the unrestricted free agent. For his part, Reed says he want to prove he’s “worth every penny” he gets, no matter where he lands.
“I feel like I’ve gotten better every single year and my goal for next season is to win the Most Improved Player Award,” Reed said. “I have really high expectations for myself next year. With more minutes, I think I can be the Most Improved Player in the NBA. I want to be an elite shot-blocker and make a big impact. I think it’s just a matter of getting more minutes and experience.”
Here’s more on free agency from around the league:
- Although reports last week suggested that Gordon Hayward wanted the Jazz to re-sign George Hill, Hayward also told the team he’d love to play with Ricky Rubio, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Utah is sitting down with Hayward today, and Rubio is part of the team’s contingent in that meeting, according to Shelburne, who says Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles are also in attendance.
- If the Jazz are able to bring back Hayward, they won’t be done trying to upgrade their roster, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah would, at the very least, still have some form of the mid-level exception available in that scenario.
- Many teams around the NBA appearing to be waiting for resolution on the Hayward situation before moving forward on lower-tier free agents, and the Hawks are among that group, says Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- The Timberwolves pursued Paul Millsap before he committed to Denver, and there was “lots of communication” between Millsap and the Wolves, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. However, according to Wolfson, the two sides never really came close due to Minnesota’ lack of cap room.
Pacers Sign T.J. Leaf To Rookie Contract
The Pacers have signed forward T.J. Leaf to this rookie contract, according to the NBA’s official transactions log. The team hasn’t officially announced the signing, but it appears Leaf made things official on Saturday before making his Summer League debut on Sunday.
Leaf, the 18th overall pick in last month’s draft, will be joining the Pacers as the club retools its roster, perhaps entering a full-fledged rebuilding phrase. He should have an opportunity to earn some frontcourt minutes in his rookie year for Indiana, alongside promising young bigs like Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis.
An early entrant in this year’s draft, Leaf is coming off an impressive freshman campaign at UCLA in which he averaged 16.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 1.1 BPG. He was also incredibly efficient from the floor, shooting 61.7% on field goal attempts, including 46.6% on threes.
Leaf’s rookie deal figures to be worth just over $2MM in year one, with a four-year total of more than $11.5MM, as our breakdown of this year’s rookie scale shows.
Suns Waive Leandro Barbosa
The Suns are waiving veteran guard Leandro Barbosa, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). The timing of the move doesn’t come as a surprise — Barbosa’s salary for 2017/18 would have become fully guaranteed if he remained under contract beyond today.
Barbosa, 34, joined the Suns on a two-year contract last summer, but the second year was only partially guaranteed for $500K. By cutting Barbosa, Phoenix will save $3.5MM on his $4MM total salary.
The Brazilian guard played a part-time role for the Suns last season, rejoining the franchise with which he started his career. In 67 games (14.4 MPG), Barbosa averaged 6.3 PPG, 1.6 RPG, and 1.2 APG, with a shooting line of .439/.357/.889.
Phoenix entered the offseason with aspirations of landing an impact player like Blake Griffin or Paul Millsap. However, after seeing several Western Conference teams – including the Rockets, Thunder, Timberwolves, and Nuggets – make impact moves to load up their rosters, the Suns opted to stay out of the fray. They’ll focus instead on developing their young players and plan to use their cap room to accommodate other teams’ salary dumps, acquiring draft picks or young players in the process.