Thunder Notes: George, Roberson, Christon
The arrival of Paul George has signaled a renewed intrigue around the Thunder organization. Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook once again has a superstar partner as Oklahoma City chases an NBA title. The vacancy left by Kevin Durant has been filled temporarily but George teased being a permanent staple for the club.
As Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes, George spoke at his introductory presser about the possibility of remaining with the Thunder beyond the 2017/18 campaign if his first season goes smoothly.
“I could come here and love it, as I have been loving it here,” George said. “Both myself and Russell, if we love where we’re at and we feel we can do something special here, I’m open to it.”
George and his new teammate Westbrook could both hit free agency next season. The California native George is expected to pursue joining the Lakers at some point — despite claiming his interest is overstated — and the former UCLA product Westbrook could follow him there. However, George teasing another dynamic duo in Oklahoma City less than two years after Durant left the city for greener pastures may be a cruel tease of what may never occur.
Below are additional notes surrounding the Thunder:
- While it was clear that George was on the trading block, he was surprised to see himself land with the Thunder, ESPN’s Royce Young writes. While team’s such as the Cavaliers, Rockets, Lakers, and others were mentioned as possible destinations, George noted that joining Westbrook made the trade worthwhile.
- In other George news, Young, in a separate piece for ESPN, and Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated, both wrote up compelling features on George’s first day in Oklahoma City.
- After signing a three-year, $30MM with the Thunder, Andre Roberson is happy to be back with the team. While he possibly missed out on more money by signing an offer sheet elsewhere as a restricted free agent, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes that Roberson realizes sacrifice comes with being in a special place.
- The Thunder and Semaj Christon have agreed to move 2014 second round pick’s guarantee date back to the end of training camp, per Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript (via Twitter).
Raptors Waive Justin Hamilton
JULY 14: The Raptors have officially waived Hamilton, per the NBA’s official transactions log.
JULY 9: The Raptors will waive newly acquired center Justin Hamilton and stretch the remainder of his contract, Brian Windhorst of ESPN tweets.
Hamilton and his $3MM 2017/18 deal were acquired from the Nets in the trade that sent DeMarre Carroll to Brooklyn.
Per Bobby Marks of ESPN, the cap hit will be stretched into $1MM over each of the next three seasons. This, he adds, puts the Raptors $2.5MM below the luxury tax line.
Pacers Waive Georges Niang
The Pacers have officially waived 6’8″ forward Georges Niang, according to Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN (via Twitter).
The Iowa State product and 50th overall pick in last year’s draft appeared in 23 games with Indiana last season and averaged just 0.9 PPG and 0.7 RPG.
The 24-year-old’s $1.3MM salary for 2017/18 season would have become guaranteed tomorrow if the Pacers kept him on the roster, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks mentioned. Instead, the Pacers will incur a $100,000 cap hit and their room will increase to $5.7MM. Additionally, Marks added that Indiana now has 13 guaranteed contracts for 2017/18, including second round pick Ike Anigbogu.
Bulls Claim David Nwaba Off Waivers From Lakers
The Bulls have claimed shooting guard David Nwaba off waivers from the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). The Lakers waived Nwaba on Wednesday as a precursor to completing a deal with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
The 24-year-old Nwaba made his NBA debut with the Lakers in 2016/17 and earned himself a permanent roster spot after a strong showing following two 10-day contracts. While Los Angeles picked up Nwaba’s option for 2017/18, his salary remained non-guaranteed, giving the team the flexibility to create additional cap space.
Nwaba posted solid numbers in his 20-game cameo with the Lakers, averaging 6.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 19.8 minutes per game. The Lakers were intrigued by Nwaba’s development and defensive capabilities but understood he would likely be claimed off waivers, per Charania’s report.
Carmelo Anthony Frustrated By Knicks’ Mixed Messages?
The subject of trade rumors for most of the year, Carmelo Anthony is frustrated by reports that Knicks general manager Steve Mills is putting those talks on hold and may be having second thoughts about a deal, according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. Isola suggests that the other teams involved in a proposed four-team Anthony trade scenario are also frustrated by the latest developments.
While Anthony’s camp appeared to be pushing for most of the week to complete a deal – likely with the Rockets – a report on Thursday night indicated that the Knicks had paused trade discussions with Houston and Cleveland. The move coincided with the arrival of new general manager Scott Perry, whose new deal with the Knicks was finalized today.
According to Isola, it’s possible that the Knicks just want Perry to settle into his new job before moving forward with an Anthony trade, but the club’s changing stance still comes as a surprise to many of the parties involved. As Isola writes, Anthony has expressed a willingness to waive his no-trade clause for the Rockets, and has been preparing to be sent to Houston.
“From what I understand, Carmelo is under the belief that he’s going to the Rockets,” a source tells the Daily News. “That’s what the Knicks have been telling us; that they’re trading him. I can’t imagine that after all he went though last season with Phil [Jackson] he’s happy with this.”
Isola suggests the parameters of a deal are in place, with some details that need to be finalized, and adds that two people close to the talks think something will get done eventually. Earlier reports from Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com and Marc Berman of The New York Post suggested that the Knicks want Anthony to meet with the new front office and head coach Jeff Hornacek, and may be more open to keeping him. However, Anthony isn’t expected to be very receptive to that idea.
Berman also indicated that the team holds out hope that Carmelo would be willing to expand his wish list to more teams besides the Rockets and Cavs, which perhaps is a hint that the Knicks may not be entirely satisfied with their return in the proposed multi-team trade.
According to Isola, Anthony is concerned about his public image and doesn’t want his potential departure from the Knicks to be messy. It may be getting too late for that.
Hawks Sign Second-Rounder Tyler Dorsey
JULY 14: Dorsey’s two-year deal is now official, per Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who tweets that it’s a fully guaranteed, minimum salary contract.
JULY 7: The Hawks have struck a deal with second-round pick Tyler Dorsey, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides will finalize a fully guaranteed two-year contract.
[RELATED: 2017 NBA Draft Pick Signings]
Dorsey, 21, left Oregon following his sophomore season this spring, after helping lead the Ducks to an appearance in the Final Four. In 39 games last season, the 6’4″ shooting guard averaged 14.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.7 APG, and a .423 3PT%.
As the 41st overall pick in this year’s draft, Dorsey will not receive the same sort of four-year deal that first-round picks get. Teams have to sign second-round picks using cap space or exceptions, and while Atlanta has some cap room available, a minimum salary deal wouldn’t be a surprise.
For comparison’s sake, last year’s No. 41 pick, Stephen Zimmerman, signed a three-year minimum salary contract with the Magic, but only the first year was guaranteed — Zimmerman was waived by Orlando earlier this week.
The Hawks drafted Dorsey using the second-round pick acquired from the Hornets in last month’s Dwight Howard trade.
Thunder Re-Sign Andre Roberson
JULY 14: The Thunder have officially re-signed Robinson, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 5: The Thunder and Andre Roberson have agreed on a three-year, $30MM deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). The scribe adds that Roberson preferred the three-year deal over a four-year contract.
The move will put the Thunder at roughly $125.1MM in team salary, ESPN’s Bobby Marks adds (ESPN Now link). Oklahoma City sits at $5.8MM over the luxury tax line, which will give the franchise a projected tax bill of approximately $8.9MM. The organization will have the entire 2017/18 to shed salary if it wants to avoid paying the tax.
Roberson has developed into one of the league’s better perimeter defenders during his four years with OKC. He was the best defender among all shooting guards last season, according to ESPN’s Real Defensive Plus/Minus, and he added the fifth-most value on the defensive end among all non-bigs, according to NBAMath.com.
Of course, as impressive as Roberson was on defense, he had virtually the opposite impact on the other end of the court, making just 24.5% of his three-pointers and 42.3% of his free throws in 2016/17. He also missed 18 of 21 free throws in the postseason. At age 25, Roberson still has room to develop, but it will be a challenge for the Thunder to turn him into a positive asset on the offensive side of the ball.
In addition to bringing back Roberson, the Thunder have also agreed to sign Patrick Patterson and will send Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to Indiana in exchange for Paul George after the July moratorium ends.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Warriors Sign Chris Boucher To Two-Way Contract
JULY 14: The Warriors have issued a press release formally announcing Boucher’s two-way contract with the club.
JUNE 23: The Warriors have agreed to a deal with former Oregon power forward Chris Boucher and will sign him to a two-way contract, league sources inform Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). The agreement, which Charania tweeted about just minutes after the draft ended, is the NBA’s first reported two-way deal.
Two-way contracts are a new concept, introduced in the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement – they’ll allow NBA teams to keep two extra players under club control, though they won’t necessarily be on the active roster. Those players will essentially be on G League contracts, but they’ll be paid more than the average G League player, and rival NBA teams won’t be able to sign them away from their current club. We go into more details on two-way contracts in our glossary entry on the subject.
As for Boucher, he’ll benefit from the new CBA rule by getting a chance to join the reigning NBA champions. The 6’10” forward averaged 11.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 2.5 BPG in his senior year with the Ducks, making 35.0% of his three-point attempts.
Two-way contracts can’t officially be signed until the 2017/18 league year begins in July, but when Boucher’s deal is finalized, it will pay him a base salary of $75K. For any day he’s on Golden State’s NBA roster, the Montreal native receive a prorated portion of the minimum salary, but I expect he’ll spend most of his time next season with the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Bucks, John Henson Have Mutual Interest In Trade
John Henson and the Bucks have “mutual interest and motivation” in finding a trade involving the center, league sources tell Chris Haynes of ESPN.com.
The Bucks currently project to be a little over the luxury tax line, and Henson’s contract, which will pay him about $31.73MM over the next three years, is the most noteworthy albatross on the club’s books. Moving Henson without taking back much salary would give Milwaukee more flexibility to use the rest of its mid-level exception, perhaps on a point guard like Derrick Rose.
[RELATED: Bucks expected to meet with Derrick Rose for second time]
Meanwhile, a trade could give Henson an opportunity to take on a larger role with another team. The 26-year-old started 39 games for the Bucks last season, but barely played down the stretch or in the postseason. With bigs like Greg Monroe and Spencer Hawes exercising player options to return, and Thon Maker poised for a larger role, Henson may be expendable.
Of course, a trade won’t be easy. The Bucks would likely have to attach a first-round pick to convince another club to take on Henson’s contract, which has a cap hit of $11.4MM this season. For comparison’s sake, the Raptors had to attach a first- and second-round pick to clear $11.8MM in salary in their DeMarre Carroll trade with the Nets — Toronto was in an over-the-tax position similar to Milwaukee’s.
There also aren’t many teams left with the cap flexibility to take on a contract as large as Henson’s. Brooklyn would be one possibility, and Philadelphia and Phoenix could be other options. However, the length of Henson’s contract, which runs through 2019/20, makes it more unappealing, even if his salary declines to $9.7MM by the final year of the deal.
Pistons Sign Anthony Tolliver To One-Year Deal
JULY 14: The Pistons have issued a press release formally announcing their new deal with Tolliver.
JULY 11: The Pistons have agreed to a one-year, $3.3MM deal with free agent forward Anthony Tolliver, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Detroit will use its bi-annual exception to complete the signing.
Tolliver, 32, spent the better part of two seasons with the Pistons from 2014 to 2016, but left the team last summer to sign a free agent contract with the Kings. The veteran averaged 7.1 PPG and 3.6 RPG with a .442 FG% in 65 games during his one-year stay in Sacramento, with the Kings opting to waive him rather than fully guaranteeing his 2017/18 salary, which was partially guaranteed for $2MM (of $8MM).
The addition of Tolliver could be the last major move of the offseason for the Pistons, who have now used both their mid-level exception and their bi-annual exception. The club used most of its MLE on Langston Galloway and sent Marcus Morris to Boston in a deal for Avery Bradley, creating a lack of depth in the frontcourt, particularly in the wake of Aron Baynes‘ departure.
Detroit addressed its need for bigs by using the rest of its MLE on Eric Moreland and now by using its BAE to add Tolliver. The duo will join Andre Drummond, Jon Leuer, Boban Marjanovic, and Henry Ellenson in the Pistons’ frontcourt.
Meanwhile, the bi-annual exception, which is worth $3.29MM this year, can only be used once every two years, so it won’t be available to the Pistons in 2018/19.
Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press first reported the Pistons’ interest in Tolliver.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.