Wolves Not Offering Wiggins For Kyrie, Focused On Extension
Details of the Timberwolves’ reported offer for Kyrie Irving aren’t known, but Andrew Wiggins isn’t part of Minnesota’s proposal, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). Wolfson adds that for the Wolves to have a real shot at acquiring Irving, their offer would need to include Wiggins “and more.”
The No. 1 overall pick in 2014, Wiggins was initially drafted by the Cavaliers before being sent to Minnesota for Kevin Love, and Sam Amico of Amico Hoops hears that the fourth-year forward wouldn’t be opposed to a return to Cleveland.
However, according to Wolfson (Twitter link), the Cavs would want “something of substance” in addition to Wiggins if they were to send Irving to the Wolves. A deal between the two sides isn’t at all close, and given Minnesota’s reluctance to offer Wiggins – let alone additional pieces – it looks like a long shot at this point.
Assuming Wiggins remains in Minnesota, as expected, there’s a good chance he and the Wolves end up working out a contract extension this offseason. Owner Glen Taylor confirmed over the weekend that the team is discussing a five-year max deal with its young forward, and Wolfson has another update today from Taylor.
According to the Wolves’ owner (Twitter link), Minnesota has formally put an extension offer on the table for Wiggins, whose agent is due to be in town later this month. In the case of a five-year, maximum salary deal, not a lot of negotiating is required, so it sounds as if the two sides have a chance to get something done within the next few weeks.
Magic Waive Patricio Garino
A day after waiving Marcus Georges-Hunt, the Magic have reduced their roster count again, announcing today in a press release that they’ve also parted ways with Argentinian swingman Patricio Garino. Garino will become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday, assuming he clears waivers.
Like Georges-Hunt, Garino inked a multiyear deal with the Magic near the end of the 2016/17 season with a non-guaranteed salary for 2017/18. That gave Orlando the opportunity to keep those players through the summer and decide in camp whether either would have a role on the regular season roster. However, the Magic’s new management group opted to waive both Garino and Georges-Hunt early.
After going undrafted out of George Washington a year ago, Garino played for the Magic in Summer League last July, then joined the Spurs for training camp. The 24-year-old didn’t earn a spot on San Antonio’s regular season squad, but spent most of the year with the club’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs. He averaged 11.2 PPG and 3.4 RPG in Austin, with a .430 3PT%.
Because Garino’s full $1,312,611 salary was non-guaranteed, Orlando won’t be on the hook for any of that money.
Warriors Re-Sign JaVale McGee
AUGUST 1: The Warriors have issued a press release officially announcing their new deal with McGee.
JULY 27: The Warriors have reached an agreement with JaVale McGee to bring the center back to Golden State, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com reports. The deal will be for one season, though the salary details have not yet trickled out.
Retaining McGee will likely be the franchise’s last significant move after it was able to bring back nearly every piece of its latest championship team. Golden State now has 15 players with guaranteed deals on the books.
McGee excelled as a role player for the Warriors last season, shooting a career-best 65.2% from the field and sporting an electric 25.2 player efficiency rating. In addition to Golden State, the center spent time in Denver, Philadelphia, and Dallas since being selected by Washington with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2008 draft.
While McGee could earn up to 120% of the minimum salary via his Non-Bird rights, another minimum deal appears likely. It won’t come cheap for the Warriors, who are deep into tax territory and will pay at least $2.50 per dollar in tax penalties on McGee’s new deal.
Beyoncé Interested In Buying Stake In Rockets?
Pop star Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is mulling the possibility of investing in the Rockets, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg. The club announced just over two weeks ago that team owner Leslie Alexander was putting the franchise up for sale.
Beyoncé is a Houston native, making her connection to the Rockets a logical one. If she were to invest in the franchise, she wouldn’t be the first person in her family to have owned a portion of an NBA team. Her husband Jay-Z previously had a small stake in the Nets before selling his share of the team in order to launch his Roc Nation agency. Elsewhere in the NBA, Justin Timberlake owns a piece of his hometown Grizzlies.
As Sochnick details, Forbes placed Beyoncé second on its 2017 list of highest-paid celebrities and estimated her net worth at $350MM. While that’s a significant sum, it will fall well short of the Rockets’ eventual sale price, which should easily exceed $1 billion and could approach $2 billion. As such, if Beyoncé were to get involved in a bid for the team, it would have to be as a minority investor.
The Rockets have generated “a bevy of global interest” among potential buyers since Alexander made his decision to sell the team, per Soshnick. While a handful of would-be investors have expressed public interest in buying the franchise, it doesn’t appear there’s a frontrunner yet.
Mavericks Sign Gian Clavell
AUGUST 1: The Mavs have officially signed Clavell, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 22: The Mavericks have reached an agreement with undrafted guard Gian Clavell, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. He will receive a minimum deal with a partial guarantee.
Clavell will sign an exhibit 10 deal, which can be converted to a two-way contract if the Mavericks desire, according to Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link). Clavell can also be designated as an affiliate player, which means he would spend the entire season in the G-League.
Clavell, 23, was named Mountain West Player of the Year this season at Colorado State, averaging 20.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game with the Rams. Clavell also has extensive international experience with the Puerto Rican National Team.
He played for Miami during the summer league.
Wolves Sign Anthony Brown To Two-Way Deal
AUGUST 1: The Timberwolves have officially announced their two-way deal with Brown, issuing a press release to confirm the signing.
JULY 25: The Timberwolves have reached an agreement on a two-way contract with free agent guard Anthony Brown, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). As our two-way tracker shows, it’s the first deal of its kind for Minnesota.
Brown, 24, was selected 34th overall in the 2015 draft by the Lakers and spent the 2015/16 campaign in L.A. However, Brown was a surprise cut last fall before the start of the regular season, failing to earn a spot on the Lakers’ 15-man roster when the team opted to keep a couple non-guaranteed players instead.
Brown had subsequent stints with the Pelicans and Magic, but spent most of the 2016/17 season with the G League’s Erie BayHawks, averaging 20.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 3.1 APG. He also posted an impressive .467 3PT%, making a greater percentage of three-pointers than two-point shots.
For more details on what two-way contracts are and how they work, be sure to check out our FAQ.
Joe Dumars Joins ISE Agency
Former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars has joined sports agency Independent Sports & Entertainment, according to a press release. ISE, which went through an acrimonious split with president of basketball Dan Fegan earlier this year, has hired Dumars to fill Fegan’s old position.
“Joe’s arrival at ISE marks the tone for the future of our basketball practice and business,” ISE president and CEO Hank Ratner said in a statement. “He’s experienced on both sides of the negotiating table, has served as a role model and mentor for players at all levels and understands the preparation and dedication required to excel as a player and then make a successful post-career transition. A decorated NBA player and front office executive with relationships across the globe and an impeccable reputation as a leader and man of great integrity, we are proud to have Joe join ISE.”
Dumars, who stepped down from his role in Detroit in 2014, helped lead the Pistons to a 595–536 (.527) regular-season record, 73 postseason wins, and an NBA championship in 2004, and was named Executive of the Year in 2003.
In recent years, Dumars has been linked most frequently to the Pelicans’ front office, and was also a candidate for the Hawks when they sought a new GM this spring. However, his new role will be for a player agency rather than for an NBA franchise. In a statement of his own, Dumars suggested that he’s looking forward to working with NBA players in a “much more impactful and meaningful way.”
As for Fegan, ISE’s former president of basketball filed a $30MM lawsuit against Ratner earlier this summer for fraud and contractual interference, alleging that Ratner and ISE “orchestrated a Machiavellian conspiracy, to steal [Fegan’s] clients and destroy his reputation.” ISE responded with a statement calling Fegan’s lawsuit a “publicity stunt.” The agency previously alleged that Fegan was operating a side business while working for ISE.
Bulls Sign Ryan Arcidiacono To Two-Way Deal
AUGUST 1: The Bulls have officially signed Arcidiacono to a two-way contract, the team confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 24: The Bulls have agreed to a deal with Ryan Arcidiacono, Daniele Labanti of Corriere Di Bologna reports. Sean Highkin of The Athletic confirms the signing and adds that it will be a two-way deal.
The Bulls now have used both of their two-way contracts with the team adding Antonio Blakeney to a contract last week. You can keep up with every team’s two-way contract signings with our 2017/18 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker.
The Villanova product played for Chicago’s Summer League team in Las Vegas this offseason. He was set to play for JuveCaserta Basket in Italy before the team was excluded from the Italian League Series A because of financial difficulties.
How Teams Are Using 2017/18 Mid-Level Exceptions
In addition to receiving $99MM+ in cap room and being allowed to surpass that threshold in order to sign players using Bird Rights or the minimum salary exception, each NBA team also receives a mid-level exception. The value of this exception varies depending on a club’s total team salary.
A team that goes under the cap to use its available cap room, for instance, receives only a modest form of the MLE known as the room exception. An over-the-cap team receives the full mid-level exception, unless that team is also over the tax line, in which case it gets a taxpayer version of the MLE that falls in between the full MLE and the room exception. We detailed the exact values of each form of mid-level exception earlier this offseason, but here’s a quick breakdown:
- Room exception: Can be used for contracts up to two years, with a starting salary worth up to $4.328MM.
- Taxpayer mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to three years, with a starting salary worth up to $5.192MM.
- Full mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to four years, with a starting salary worth up to $8.406MM.
Now that a majority of the NBA’s teams have used up their cap space, it’s worth keeping an eye on which teams still have part or all of their mid-level exceptions available, which we’ll do in the space below. This list will be kept up to date throughout the year.
Here’s where things currently stand:
Mid-Level Exception:
Charlotte Hornets
- Available: $4,890,385
- Used: $2,700,000 (Michael Carter-Williams); $815,615 (Dwayne Bacon)
Chicago Bulls
- Available: $3,790,615
- Used: $4,615,385 (Justin Holiday)
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Available: $2,549,143 (taxpayer)
- Used: $2,642,857 (Cedi Osman)
Dallas Mavericks
- Available: $8,406,000
- Used: $0
Detroit Pistons
- Available: $0
- Used: $6,666,667 (Langston Galloway); $1,739,333 (Eric Moreland)
Golden State Warriors
- Available: $0 (taxpayer)
- Used: $5,192,000 (Nick Young)
Houston Rockets
- Available: $350
- Used: $7,590,035 (P.J. Tucker); $815,615 (Zhou Qi)
Los Angeles Clippers
- Available: $774,770
- Used: $6,000,000 (Milos Teodosic); $815,615 (Jawun Evans); $815,615 (Sindarius Thornwell)
Memphis Grizzlies
- Available: $490,385
- Used: $5,200,000 (Ben McLemore); $950,000 (Ivan Rabb); $950,000 (Rade Zagorac); $815,615 (Dillon Brooks)
Milwaukee Bucks
- Available: $7,590,385
- Used: $815,615 (Sterling Brown)
New Orleans Pelicans
- Available: $2,190,385
- Used: $3,300,000 (Rajon Rondo); $2,100,000 (Darius Miller); $815,615 (Frank Jackson)
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Available: $0 (taxpayer)
- Used: $5,192,000 (Patrick Patterson)
Portland Trail Blazers
- Available: $5,192,000 (taxpayer)
- Used: $0
San Antonio Spurs
- Available: $0
- Used: $8,406,000 (Rudy Gay)
Toronto Raptors
- Available: $469,491
- Used: $7,936,509 (C.J. Miles)
Washington Wizards
- Available: $1,902,000 (taxpayer)
- Used: $3,290,000 (Jodie Meeks)
Room Exception:
Atlanta Hawks
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Boston Celtics
- Available: $0
- Used: $4,328,000 (Aron Baynes)
Brooklyn Nets
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Denver Nuggets
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Indiana Pacers
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Los Angeles Lakers
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Miami Heat
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Available: $0
- Used: $4,328,000 (Jamal Crawford)
New York Knicks
- Available: $0
- Used: $4,328,000 (Ron Baker)
Orlando Magic
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Philadelphia 76ers
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Phoenix Suns
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Sacramento Kings
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Utah Jazz
- Available: $1,128,000
- Used: $3,200,000 (Ekpe Udoh)
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post.
Ray McCallum To Play In Spain
Free agent guard Ray McCallum is headed overseas after spending parts of the last four seasons on NBA rosters. As Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays, Spanish team Unicaja Malaga has announced the signing of McCallum.
Unicaja Malaga initially agreed last month to sign another former NBA guard, Marcelo Huertas. However, as international basketball reporter David Pick reported last week (via Twitter), Huertas broke off that agreement and joined Baskonia. According to Pick, (via Twitter), McCallum’s new deal with Malaga – worth approximately $650K – is very similar to the one the team originally offered Huertas.
McCallum, the 36th overall pick in the 2013 draft, spent his first two NBA seasons with the Kings, then played for the Spurs and Grizzlies in 2015/16. A year ago, McCallum was in camp with the Pistons but failed to earn a regular season roster spot.
Although he signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Hornets in February, the 26-year-old didn’t appear in a game for Charlotte and spent most of the season with the Grand Rapids Drive in the G League. McCallum averaged 17.6 PPG, 7.0 APG, and 5.8 RPG in 43 G League contests.