Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Zagorac, Noel, Smith Jr.
Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations Mickey Loomis says the team is “due” for success and Rajon Rondo will provide veteran leadership, as he told New Orleans Times-Picayune columnists Jeff Duncan and Larry Holder during a radio interview. Loomis affirmed that the team was at a crossroads in terms of its development after trading for DeMarcus Cousins last season, retaining free agent point guard Jrue Holiday and reaching an agreement with Rondo. “I think we’re due and it’s time to have some success,” he said in the interview. “I think we’re all expecting that.” Though Rondo has yet to officially signed with New Orleans, Loomis said Rondo’s experience made him a good fit. “We’re talking about a veteran player that has some leadership qualities that’s been on winning teams, that understands how to win in the NBA,” Loomis said.
In other news around the Southwest Division:
- Rade Zagorac‘s contract with the Grizzlies is a three-year, $3.9MM deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The first two years and $2.3MM is guaranteed, he adds. Zagorac, the 35th overall selection in the 2016 draft, played overseas last season. The swingman was the leading scorer for KK Mega Leks in Serbia in 2016/17.
- The Mavs will continue to play hardball with restricted free agent Nerlens Noel now that his other options have fallen by the wayside, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News opines. Noel is one of the few high-level free agents who hasn’t already signed a contract this month. Sefko doubts that Noel will take the qualifying offer of $4,187,598 and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, speculating that the two parties will eventually come to an agreement.
- Mavs first-rounder Dennis Smith Jr.has made a strong impression on some scouts with his summer-league performances, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. The point guard averaged 16.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 3.8 APG in his first five summer-league outings. “(Smith Jr.) has a solid feel as a young point guard,” one scout told Wasserman. Wasserman quotes eight scouts, who break down the pros and cons of Smith Jr.’s game.
Jazz Sign Jonas Jerebko
JULY 17th, 6:25pm: Jerebko has officially signed per team release.
JULY 12th, 9:25pm: Free agent forward Jonas Jerebko will sign a two-year, $8.2MM deal with the Jazz, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.
The 30-year-old has spent the past two-and-a-half years in Boston. He was part of the Celtics’ rotation throughout last season, averaging 3.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 78 games.
Jerebko is the second free agent signing of the day for Utah, which reached an agreement with Thabo Sefolosha this morning. The addition of Jerebko is a clear sign that the Jazz intend to part ways with Boris Diaw, whose $7.5MM contract for the upcoming season won’t be guaranteed if he is waived by Saturday.
Utah has multiple options for signing Jerebko, depending whether it chooses to operate over or under the cap. The Jazz are able to fit Sefolosha and Jerebko under the cap and keep their $4.3MM room mid-level exception, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.com.
The 6’10” Jerebko, a native of Sweden, made $5MM with the Celtics last season, but seemed destined to go elsewhere as Boston concentrated on freeing up cap space to sign Gordon Hayward. The 39th pick in the 2009 draft, Jerebko spent his first four-and-a-half NBA seasons with the Pistons.
Rudy Gay: Winning Outweighs Bigger Contract
Rudy Gay doesn’t have any regrets opting out of his contract with the Kings and taking less money to play for the Spurs, as he discussed with ESPN’s Michael C. Wright during a Q&A session. Gay could have made $14.26MM next season if he had opted in but instead wound up signing a two-year, $17.2MM deal with San Antonio. The Spurs offered the 31-year-old forward their mid-level exception. He’ll make $8.4MM in the first year and has a player option next summer. Gay met with the Clippers during free agency and the Heat, Thunder, Jazz and Warriors were also reportedly interested in him.”Looking at my career, it’s just time to win,” he told Wright. “That’s what it’s mostly about. I’ve been in this league for a little while now, and I haven’t gotten out of my career what I wanted.”
Other interesting tidbits from the Q&A session:
- Gay says he’s medically cleared “to do everything” after recovering from a torn Achilles tendon injury that limited him to 30 games last season. He’ll “definitely be ready” to play by training camp.
- He’s had multiple conversation with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich regarding his role and is eager to prove he’s more than just a scorer. His ability to switch defensively is another aspect of his game that attracted San Antonio. “I’ve been known to get buckets, and I’ve had that stigma of just being a scorer. But I think there’s a lot more to my game. I think I can show that here in San Antonio.”
- Gay has no qualms about playing for the hard-driving Popovich: “You want to play for somebody that you respect on the court and off the court. That’s a guy you’d want to go to battle for, a guy that’s not afraid to say how he feels on the basketball court or off the basketball court.”
Tarik Black Signs With Rockets
JULY 17th, 4:27pm: The signing is official, the team announced on its website.
JULY 14th, 4:46pm: The Rockets have agreed to a deal with free agent forward Tarik Black, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). Houston will use its biannual exception ($3.2MM) to sign Black, per Zach Lowe of ESPN (via Twitter).
Black was waived by the Lakers earlier this month before his deal for 2017/18 became guaranteed and hit unrestricted free agency after clearing waivers. Black becomes the second Laker from the 2016/17 team to find a new home today as David Nwaba was claimed off waivers by the Bulls.
Black, 25, is familiar with the Rockets’ organization as he was signed by the team after going undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft. After appearing in 25 games for Houston during the 2014/15 season, he was waived and eventually claimed by the Lakers. In parts of three seasons since joining the Lakers, Black posted totals of 5.4 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 144 games.
The 6’9″ center has been lauded for his defensive abilities and rebounding since entering the NBA. With an aging Nene and Clint Capela as the Rockets’ primary big men, Black should find more opportunities to play than in his first go-around with the team.
Paul Pierce Officially Retires As Celtic
Paul Pierce has signed a contract with the Celtics in order to officially retire as a member of the franchise, the team announced today in a press release. Within the release, Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck said that he looks forward to seeing Pierce’s number “raised to the rafters of TD Garden.”
“It’s an honor to have this opportunity to once again call myself a Boston Celtic,” Pierce said in a statement. “The organization and city took me in and made me one of their own, and I couldn’t imagine ending my career any other way. I’m a Celtic for life.”
Pierce, who won a championship with the Celtics in 2008, announced last September that the 2016/17 season would be the last of his illustrious career. He was waived by the Clippers in late June for bookkeeping purposes after they reached an agreement with the Rockets on the blockbuster Chris Paul trade.
Pierce began his career in Boston in 1998 and remained there until 2013, when he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets during the offseason. He spent one season there and another with the Wizards before heading out West. He played two seasons with the Clippers and appeared in 25 regular-season and seven postseason games in his final campaign.
In 1,343 career games, the shoo-in Hall of Famer averaged 19.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 3.5 APG. He also appeared in 170 postseason games, finishing with a slash line of 18.7/5.8/3.4.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jazz Notes: Roster, Williams-Goss, Expectations
The Jazz have been busy since Gordon Hayward opted to sign with the Celtics rather than returning to Utah, using their leftover cap room on a handful of smaller acquisitions rather than trying to land a single impact player. Last week, Utah agreed to sign Thabo Sefolosha, Ekpe Udoh, and Jonas Jerebko, and now a reported agreement with Royce O’Neale has also been confirmed by Jazz beat writers.
After finalizing those deals, the Jazz will have 16 players under contract for the 2017/18 season, meaning the club would likely end up having to cut someone who is owed some guaranteed money to get the regular season roster down to 15. That has created some trade speculation in Utah, but according to Jody Genessy of The Deseret News (Twitter link), the club’s recent moves aren’t setting up a potential deal. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Jazz won’t make a trade at some point before the regular season begins, but for now, nothing is on tap.
Here’s more on the Jazz:
- After reaching an agreement on a two-way contract with Eric Griffin, the Jazz are considering how to use their other two-way slot, and second-round pick Nigel Williams-Goss is a candidate, sources tell Genessy (Twitter link). It appears there will be no room on the 15-man roster for Williams-Goss, so a two-way contract would allow the team to keep a close eye on him while retaining his NBA rights.
- Despite losing their top scorer in free agency, the post-Hayward Jazz believe they’re capable of surprising in 2017/18, as Genessy details in a piece for The Deseret News. “We have a roster of young, talented and resilient players,” head coach Quin Snyder said. “I am confident that together we will accept this challenge while continuing to strive toward our goal of individual and collective improvement.”
- Unsurprisingly, the Jazz never considered embarking on a rebuild after losing Hayward, GM Dennis Lindsey tells Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Rockets Announce Franchise Up For Sale
2:58pm: The Rockets have formally issued a press release announcing that the franchise is for sale. Alexander said in a statement that it’s been a”great joy and honor” to own the team for the last 24 years.
“I’ve made this decision after much deliberation with my family and friends, and do so knowing the franchise is in great shape with the players, coaches and management team in place,” Alexander said. “CEO Tad Brown will oversee the sales process with the league office, supported by my management team.”
2:26pm: An NBA franchise is officially on the market. Rockets CEO Tad Brown announced today at a press conference that owner Leslie Alexander is putting the team – along with Clutch City Sports & Entertainment – up for sale (video link via Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston).
According to Brown, Alexander had been approached about selling the Rockets from time to time over the years, but had never really considered it until now. Brown went on to suggest that Alexander, after talking to family and close friends, is looking at “changing the fabric of his life” and focusing on different passions. Brown made it clear that Alexander isn’t dealing with any health issues (Twitter link).
As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle tweets, the Rockets would prefer the timeline for a sale to be “sooner rather than later.” However, the club isn’t in a rush, since a stable management team is in place, Brown said today.
People around the NBA have been wondering for some time which owner or ownership group would be the first to cash out after a substantial rise in team valuations over the last several years, tweets Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Still, Alexander’s decision didn’t just come as a surprise to people around the NBA — it also surprised those within the Rockets’ franchise, says ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Many NBA franchises sold within the last decade have been smaller-market clubs, including the Kings ($534MM in 2013) and Bucks ($550MM in 2014). The Hawks ($850MM in 2015) could be another reference point. Of course, Steve Ballmer paid $2 billion for the Clippers in 2014 — I’d expect the Rockets’ sale price to be closer to that figure than the others, and potentially even higher.
Even back in February, before the Rockets won a playoff series, traded for Chris Paul, and extended James Harden, Forbes placed a $1.65 billion valuation on the franchise, and Forbes’ estimates are often low. Alexander bought the team for $85MM back in 1993, Feigen notes (Twitter link).
LeBron James Concerned With Cavs’ Offseason
Four-time MVP LeBron James is concerned with the Cavaliers’ offseason moves, or lack thereof, a source tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. According to Zillgitt, the team’s decision to part with its top two front office executives right before free agency left James “frustrated and concerned” about the Cavs’ ability to build a roster capable of beating the Warriors.
While the Cavaliers were linked to big-name trade targets such as Paul George and Jimmy Butler, those players ultimately ended up being sent elsewhere. Instead, Cleveland has made modest moves to attempt to fortify its bench. Jose Calderon and Jeff Green were signed to minimum salary contracts, and part of the taxpayer MLE was used on Cedi Osman, though the 22-year-old is unlikely to have a major impact in Cleveland this season.
While James is realistic about the Cavaliers’ cap- and tax-related limitations, he wonders why the club entered the offseason “without veteran front-office execs in place to execute complicated moves,” writes Zillgitt.
According to Zillgitt, the Cavs appeared to be getting close to a deal for Butler before owner Dan Gilbert decided to part ways with GM David Griffin and VP of basketball operations Trent Redden. Having been unable to secure top GM candidate Chauncey Billups, Gilbert continues to evaluate the club’s front office structure, with assistant GM Koby Altman running the show for now.
There’s still time this offseason for the Cavs to make roster additions, and it’s possible the team’s minor moves to date will turn out better than expected. However, team ownership and management will certainly need to take LeBron’s concerns seriously, since he’s eligible for free agency in 2018, and a return to Cleveland isn’t considered a lock.
Atlantic Notes: Melo, Knicks, Valanciunas, Celtics
New Knicks president of basketball operations Steve Mills wasn’t in attendance at Tim Hardaway‘s introductory press conference earlier this month, but he spoke to reporters at a presser today, and Carmelo Anthony was a popular topic of discussion. While Mills didn’t drop any bombshells regarding Anthony’s status, he did confirm that the Knicks have talked to teams about a trade and would like to find an outcome that works for everyone (Twitter link via Ian Begley of ESPN.com).
Still, if a viable trade scenario doesn’t present itself, the Knicks don’t sound like they’re ready to move on from Anthony at any cost. Mills said today that the club will not pursue a buyout with the veteran forward (Twitter link via Begley). Anthony “could easily be part of our team next year,” according to Mills (Twitter link via Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press).
As the Knicks continue to weigh their options with Carmelo, here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Mills also confirmed at today’s press conference that he’s going to give new Knicks GM Scott Perry “room to make basketball decisions” (Twitter link via Begley). Per Mills, he and Perry will be “partners” in decision-making.
- The Raptors haven’t had much luck in their efforts to trade Jonas Valanciunas, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News details. According to Deveney, discussions with the Kings, Suns, Hornets, Trail Blazers, Hawks, and others “did not get very far.” Now that they’ve dumped some salary by moving DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph, it’s not clear if the Raptors are still attempting to move Valanciunas.
- It doesn’t appear that any additional roster moves are imminent for the Celtics, but don’t be surprised if the team makes some changes later in the year, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald in a round-up of a few Celtics-related notes.
2017 NBA Draft-And-Stash Signings
Free agent signees, trade acquisitions, and 2017 draftees are the most common additions to NBA rosters this summer. However, a handful of players have come via the draft-and-stash route, as teams have brought aboard players drafted in previous years.
While players who were previously selected in the second round of a draft are free to sign any type of contract via cap room or exceptions, first-round draftees are limited to the 2017 rookie scale, unless it has been more than three years since they were selected. So when former 23rd overall pick Ante Zizic signed with the Celtics this offseason, he had to sign a rookie-scale contract since it has only been one year since he was drafted — he’ll earn the same amount as this year’s No. 23 pick, OG Anunoby.
Listed below is a round-up of the draft-and-stash prospects who have signed – or agreed to deals – so far this offseason. They’re sorted alphabetically by team, with contract details noted. If and when more teams add draft-and-stash players, we’ll update this list, which can be found at anytime on the right-hand sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.”
Boston Celtics
- Ante Zizic, C (2016 draft; No. 23): After being selected in the first round of last year’s draft, Zizic remained overseas with Cibona Zagreb and then Darussafaka Dogus, enjoying an impressive 2016/17 campaign. The Celtics may not lean on the 20-year-old for heavy minutes right away, but the team lost multiple key frontcourt players this offseason, so Zizic should get a chance to earn a rotational role. He signed a standard four-year rookie contract worth an estimated $9.75MM. (Update: Zizic was traded to the Cavaliers in the Kyrie Irving blockbuster.)
- Abdel Nader, F (2016 draft; No. 58): Nader agreed to a modest salary to play for the Celtics’ G League affiliate in 2016/17, which allowed the club to monitor him and coach him, rather than having to keep an eye on him while he played overseas. The decision paid off in a big way. Nader, who averaged 21.3 PPG and 6.2 RPG for the Maine Red Claws, earned Rookie of the Year honors and agreed to a four-year contract worth about $6MM from the Celtics.
- Guerschon Yabusele, PF (2016 draft; No. 16): Like Zizic, Yabusele was stashed for one more year after being selected in the first round of the 2016 draft. He played for China’s Shanghai Sharks in 2016/17, averaging an impressive 20.9 PPG and 9.4 RPG. While that performance helped earn him a roster spot in Boston for 2017/18, I’d expect the 21-year-old to see plenty of action with the Maine Red Claws in the G League. Yabusele signed a standard four-year rookie contract worth an estimated $12.81MM.
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Cedi Osman, F (2015 draft; No. 31): A sharpshooting 22-year-old forward, Osman will help provide the Cavaliers’ some much-needed youth and athleticism off the bench. Osman’s NBA rights, acquired by Cleveland on draft day in 2015, were one of the club’s most valuable trade chips, but now that he’s signed a contract, he won’t become trade-eligible again until later this year. For now, it looks like he’s sticking with the Cavs, having agreed to a three-year deal worth about $8.3MM.
Houston Rockets
- Zhou Qi, C (2016 draft; No. 43): A 7’1″ center out of China, Zhou will be met with the inevitable Yao Ming comparisons, but his upside probably isn’t that high. Still, Zhou brings a unique skill set — the 21-year-old can protect the rim and can also make an outside shot. He received a four-year contract with the Rockets that is believed to be worth something close to the minimum.
Memphis Grizzlies
- Rade Zagorac, G/F (2016 draft; No. 35): Acquired in a draft-night trade in 2016 – along with Deyonta Davis – Zagorac arrives stateside after spending one last season with KK Mega Leks in Serbia. Zagorac was the team’s leading scorer last year. The swingman, who turns 22 next month, will get a three-year deal that is worth approximately $3.9MM and features a third-year team option.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Dakari Johnson, C (2015 draft; No. 48): While many draft-and-stash prospects head overseas, where their earning power is greater, Johnson was willing to spend his first two professional seasons in the G League, playing for the Oklahoma City Blue. He took a major step forward in 2016/17, significantly increasing his PPG (18.5) and FG% (.556), and it earned him a shot with the NBA club. He’s signing a fully guaranteed two-year minimum salary contract with the Thunder.
- Daniel Hamilton, G/F (2016 draft; No. 56): Despite being a second-round pick, Hamilton has yet to sign a bona-fide NBA contract. In his rookie year, he signed a G League deal, joining the Thunder’s affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. For the 2017/18 season, he has inked the franchise’s first-ever two-way contract, so while he’ll get a chance to spend some time with the NBA team, he’ll be earning much less than the NBA minimum for most of the year.
Philadelphia 76ers
- Furkan Korkmaz, G (2016 draft; No. 26): The Sixers didn’t appear to be pushing hard to bring over Korkmaz right away, but the Turkish guard was anxious to get to the NBA and is paying a large chunk of his international buyout to make it happen. While Korkmaz is an excellent shooter, he’s still just 20 years old, so it remains to be seen what sort of role he’ll play in Philadelphia this season. He signed a four-year rookie scale contract worth about $8.9MM in total.
Sacramento Kings
- Bogdan Bogdanovic, F (2014 draft; No. 27): A key piece in a 2016 draft-night trade that allowed the Suns to move up, Bogdanovic arrives in the NBA one year later. The timing was no coincidence — now that it has been more than three years since he was drafted, Bogdanovic is no longer subject to the NBA’s rookie scale for first-round picks, so he can sign a larger deal. And he did just that — his three-year contract with Sacramento is worth a reported $27MM.