Cavs Sign Jeff Green
JULY 11: Jeff Green has officially signed with the Cavaliers, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The team announced the signing in a Tuesday evening press release.
JULY 7: The Cavaliers have reached a deal with forward Jeff Green, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. Brian Windhorst of ESPN adds that the deal in place is a one-year pact worth $2.3MM.
After signing a previous one-year, $15MM deal with the Magic last offseason, Green averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. The considerable pay decrease on the heels of a career worst season comes with a drastically improved chance of playing for a winner and is a low-risk, high-reward move for the reigning Eastern Conference champions.
The 30-year-old has bounced around since coming into the league in 2007/08, some of his best years coming early in his career with the Thunder, and as a result it’s been difficult to truly assess what he’s worth. That, perhaps, has never been more evident than when one compares the contrasting deals the forward signed this summer versus last.
International Notes: Marbury, Randolph, Austin, Vesely, Goudelock, Griffin
Two-time NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury will reportedly sign with the Chinese Basketball Association’s Beikong Fly Dragons, reports international basketball journalist David Pick (link via Twitter). This will be Starbury’s ninth season playing in China.
Marbury had played for the Beijing Ducks since 2011, but is now set to join his fourth different Chinese team. Since coming over to China, the star point guard has won three CBA championships, made six all-star teams, and been named both a CBA Foreign MVP and a CBA Finals MVP.
What else do you need to know from the international basketball scene?:
- Former NBA player Shavlik Randolph will be joining Marbury with the Fly Dragons, as he has signed a contract with Beikong, tweets 247 Basketball (link via Sportando).
- Former NBA prospect Isaiah Austin has also signed with a Chinese team, the Guanxi Rhinos, reports David Pick (Twitter link). The Rhinos play in the National Basketball League, which is the second-tier league to the Chinese Basketball Association. In November of 2016, Austin was medically cleared to return to basketball after his career had been on hold due to Marfan syndrome.
- Three-year NBA veteran Jan Vesely is close to making a final decision that will keep him playing in Turkey despite NBA interest in him this offseason, according to Nikos Varlas of EuroHoops.net.
- Former Lakers guard Andrew Goudelock announced on Twitter that he will be joining Olimpia Milano for next season, via Sportando. As first reported by EuroHoops, the deal is expected to be for two years.
- Eric Griffin might opt out of his deal with the Italian team, Pallacanestro Cantù, as a result of the significant interest he is receiving from several NBA teams, including the Jazz, according to David Pick (Twitter link). Last season, Griffin was an Israeli Premier League All-Star.
Clippers Sign Jawun Evans
The Clippers have signed rookie guard Jawun Evans, reports Marc J. Spears of ESPN (link via Twitter). Although the team hasn’t yet made a formal announcement, the NBA’s transactions log suggests the move is official.
Evans was drafted by the 76ers with the 39th overall pick in the second round and then traded to the Clippers for cash considerations. In his first three games of the Las Vegas Summer League, the Oklahoma State product has averaged 6.3 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 3.0 RPG on 50% shooting.
Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but with no cap room available, the Clippers will have to either offer a minimum salary or use part of their mid-level exception to lock up Evans. A minimum salary deal would be limited to two years, while the mid-level could be used to offer more years and a little more money. The club used $6MM of its $8.4MM MLE to sign Milos Teodosic.
For comparison’s sake, Diamond Stone – 2016’s 40th overall pick – received a fully guaranteed, two-year minimum salary contract when he signed with the Clippers last year.
Contract Details: Teodosic, Curry, Durant, Harden
Milos Teodosic‘s new contract with the Clippers is worth $6MM in year one and $6.3MM in year two, with the team using a chunk of its mid-level exception to complete the signing, per Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). As Pincus explains, however, the deal isn’t quite that simple. It also features a 15% trade kicker, a partial guarantee of $2MM in year one, a partial guarantee of $2.1MM in year two, and a second-year player option (Twitter links).
What does that mean in practical terms? Well, Teodosic’s first-year salary will become guaranteed in a matter of days. It only features a partial guarantee initially so that a partial guarantee could be included on the second year as well. That second year will now function as a mutual option of sorts — if Teodosic picks up his option, the Clippers would still have a window to waive him and only be on the hook for a third of his salary ($2.1MM of $6.3MM).
Here are more details on new contracts from around the NBA, with all information via Pincus:
Western Conference:
- The new super-max contract signed by Stephen Curry (Warriors) includes a 15% trade kicker and has no options (Twitter link). Kevin Durant‘s two-year deal with the Warriors also features a 15% trade kicker, though he’s even less likely than Curry to be dealt (Twitter link).
- As for James Harden‘s super-max extension with the Rockets, the final year of that deal (2022/23) is a player option (Twitter link).
- The Rockets signed undrafted rookie Cameron Oliver to a two-year, minimum salary contract that includes $300K in guaranteed money (Twitter link).
- George Hill‘s deal with the Kings is frontloaded, with a $20MM cap hit in year one and $19MM in year two. Hill’s third-year salary of $18MM is only guaranteed for $1MM (Twitter link).
Eastern Conference:
- J.J. Redick would earn an even larger salary on his one-year contract with the Sixers if he’s traded this season. The $23MM pact includes a 15% trade kicker (Twitter link).
- The Magic signed Shelvin Mack to a two-year contract worth an even $6MM annually, but only $1MM is guaranteed in year two (Twitter link).
- Undrafted free agent Alfonzo McKinnie signed a two-year, minimum salary contract with the Raptors that features a $100K guarantee (Twitter link).
Nuggets Waive Mike Miller
The Nuggets have parted ways with Mike Miller, announcing today that the veteran guard has been waived from the roster (Twitter link). Miller’s salary for 2017/18 would reportedly have become fully guaranteed if he remained under contract beyond Wednesday.
Miller, 37, appeared in just 20 games for the Nuggets last year in his second season with the club. The veteran sharpshooter played a career-low 7.6 minutes per game, averaging just 1.4 PPG and 1.9 RPG. During his very limited playing time, Miller still exhibited an ability to shoot from outside, making 40% of his three-pointers (albeit on just 20 attempts).
Miller’s contract with the Nuggets called for him to earn a $3.5MM salary in 2017/18, but that entire figure was non-guaranteed, according to Basketball Insiders. As such, cutting Miller allows Denver to clear that amount from its cap, opening up a little more room.
Assuming Mason Plumlee‘s cap hold stays on the Nuggets’ books and Paul Millsap‘s deal is finalized soon, the team should have about $5.5MM in cap space, plus its $4.3MM room exception. Those figures can’t be combined to use on a single player.
Central Rumors: Pistons, Cavs, Bulls, Mirotic
The Pistons are considering free agents like Jonas Jerebko and Anthony Tolliver for one of their open roster spots, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter links). Ellis adds that the team has also engaged with a handful of other players as it weighs how to fill that spot.
Having traded away Marcus Morris and lost Aron Baynes in free agency, the Pistons could use some frontcourt depth, but their ability to add another free agent is somewhat limited. Having already used their full mid-level exception, Detroit could make an offer with its $3.29MM bi-annual exception, but otherwise could only offer the minimum.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert met with assistant GM Koby Altman for dinner on Monday night to discuss the future of the club’s front office, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). After losing David Griffin, the Cavs pursued Chauncey Billups to fill their head front office position, but haven’t been linked to any candidates since Billups turned them down. It’s possible Altman – who has essentially been the acting GM this offseason – will be offered the permanent job at some point, though that’s my speculation.
- The Bulls remain optimistic about getting a deal done with restricted free agent Nikola Mirotic, per GM Gar Forman (link via Sam Smith of Bulls.com). “We want Niko back and we think Niko wants to be in Chicago,” Forman said. “Usually when you have those two things, at the end of the day there’s usually a way to get something done.”
- Forman also discussed the Bulls‘ rebuilding process, expressing no regrets at moving Jimmy Butler last month, per Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com.
- The Bulls continue to operate as an over-the-cap team, having signed Justin Holiday to a deal using part of their mid-level exception ($4.6MM of $8.4MM), tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Chicago could create between $25-30MM in cap room by renouncing Mirotic’s cap hold and various exceptions – including the trade exception from the Butler deal – but there has been no reason to do that so far, since the club hasn’t made any big-money acquisitions.
Grizzlies Sign Rade Zagorac
1:31pm: Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders clarifies the details on Zagorac’s contract, tweeting that it’s actually a three-year deal, with a third-year team option. The Grizzlies used part of their mid-level exception to give the Serbian swingman a $950K first-year salary.
12:25pm: Zagorac’s deal is a two-year contract with a team option on the second year, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM.
12:23pm: Draft-and-stash prospect Rade Zagorac has signed an NBA contract with the Grizzlies, according to the league’s official transactions page. While exact terms of the agreement aren’t known, RealGM’s transactions log lists Zagorac’s new deal as a multiyear pact.
Zagorac, whose rights were acquired by the Grizzlies in a 2016 draft-night trade that also sent No. 31 pick Deyonta Davis to Memphis, was the 35th overall selection in last year’s draft. He remained overseas for one more year and was the leading scorer for KK Mega Leks in Serbia in 2016/17. In 26 ABA League games, Zagorac has averaged 15.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 2.5 APG.
The 21-year-old swingman, who has been playing for the Grizzlies’ Summer League team this month, isn’t subject to the NBA’s rookie scale, as a former second-round pick. As such, Memphis would have had to use an exception to sign him — the team still has a portion of its mid-level available after inking Ben McLemore to a deal worth $5.2MM in 2017/18, so it’s possible Zagorac received a chunk of that MLE.
Meanwhile, RealGM’s transactions log notes that the Grizzlies have also signed Jeremy Morgan, another member of the club’s Summer League squad, to an NBA contract.
A 6’5″ guard out of Northern Iowa, Morgan appears to have received just a one-year contract, though we’ll have to wait on the exact terms of his deal. He’s probably more likely to end up on the roster for the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, than on the NBA team.
Paul George Says Interest In Lakers ‘Overstated’
After several weeks of trade rumors that linked him to a wide variety of teams, Paul George was ultimately sent to a suitor that had barely been mentioned, with the Pacers trading him to the Oklahoma City. Speaking to Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated, George discussed his new team and dismissed the idea that he’s a lock to eventually become a Laker.
“I grew up a Lakers and a Clippers fan,” George said. “I idolized Kobe [Bryant]. There will always be a tie here, a connection here. People saying I want to come here, who doesn’t want to play for their hometown? That’s a dream come true, if you’re a kid growing up on the outskirts of L.A., to be the man in your city. But it’s definitely been overstated.
“For me, it’s all about winning,” George continued. “I want to be in a good system, a good team. I want a shot to win it. I’m not a stats guy. I’m playing this game to win and build a legacy of winning. I’ve yet to do that. I’m searching for it. If we get a killer season in Oklahoma, we make the conference finals or upset the Warriors or do something crazy, I’d be dumb to want to leave that.”
While we shouldn’t pencil in a long-term deal for George and the Thunder quite yet, his comments suggest it’s not a foregone conclusion that he’ll jump ship at season’s end. The star forward also sounds positive about Oklahoma City, having received an endorsement of the city and the organization from a somewhat unlikely source: a fellow All-Star who decided to leave OKC a year ago, Kevin Durant.
“KD was like, ‘That place will blow you away,'” George said. “He told me, ‘They can offer what other teams can’t in terms of the people and the preparation and the facility, down to the chefs and the meals.’ He was pretty high on them. He thought it was a first-class organization in every way.”
George will be eligible to hit the unrestricted free agent market in the summer of 2018, at which point the Lakers are expected to have room for at least one maximum contract, while the Thunder will hold George’s Bird rights and will have the ability to offer him more years and dollars than any other team.
Frank Jackson Signs With Pelicans
JULY 11: The Pelicans have officially signed Jackson, the team announced today in a press release. While terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed by the club, a three-year contract for Jackson – as reported below – would mean dipping into New Orleans’ mid-level exception.
JULY 8: The Pelicans have worked out a three-year deal with second-round pick Frank Jackson, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The 31st overall selection out of Duke will get two guaranteed seasons, along with a partial guarantee for the third year.
New Orleans traded the 40th pick and $1.8MM to Charlotte on draft night for the right to move up and take Jackson. He figures to compete for playing time right away in a Pelicans backcourt that is still being rebuilt after it was depleted in the February trade for DeMarcus Cousins.
Jackson, a 6’4″ combo guard, averaged 10.9 points per game during his lone season with the Blue Devils.
Hawks GM Talks Offseason, Millsap, Cordinier, Kaba
It has been an interesting offseason in Atlanta for new Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk, whose roster no longer features three of the team’s top four players in terms of minutes played. Paul Millsap departed in free agency, Dwight Howard was traded, and the Hawks opted not to match a pricey offer sheet for Tim Hardaway.
It’s clearly a retooling period for the Hawks, but Schlenk is averse to calling it a full-fledged rebuild. He touched on that topic and several other items of note during a conversation with Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, so let’s dive in and round up a few highlights from the Q&A…
On whether the Hawks are rebuilding and where they stand now:
“We don’t want to concede to losing. I think a lot of times that what the term rebuilding means, you are conceding to losing. We don’t want to do that. We want to be competitive every night. The term I like to use, we are investing in the future. We have young guys. We have probably five more first-round picks over the next two years to add to this group. We are investing in our future. The young guys we have, we want to keep developing them. We want to keep our flexibility, collect assets, build the guys we have. Investing in the future. The end goal is to be able a team able to compete for a championship. We didn’t feel like maintaining where we were – where you go 60, 48, 43 (wins). We have to start going up again.”
On Millsap’s departure and why the Hawks didn’t make a stronger effort to bring him back:
“We were in contact with his representation throughout the whole process. We knew he was going to get a very good deal. Where we are as a franchise and the path we are on, it just didn’t make sense for us at this time.
“Like I’ve maintained from the beginning, our goal is to maintain our flexibility. Get good guys on good contracts. Going into free agency, we weren’t going to be out of the gates early. We are going to take our time and let everything play out. That’s what we’ve done as we sit on [July] 10th and we’ve signed one guy.”
On what the Hawks still plan to add in free agency:
“We’ll sign a third point guard. We are deciding to we get a veteran guy or do we get a young guy that we think has upside. Do we bring in a couple guys and let them battle it out? We are going to sign a power forward for sure. We’ll sign a center for sure. Probably sign three more big guys so we end up with six.”
On the plans for 2016 second-round pick Isaia Cordinier and 2017 second-rounder Alpha Kaba:
“I think Alpha will go back to Mega Leks or another team in Europe. I haven’t really talked to his agent but I expect he’ll go back there. Cordinier has expressed a desire to play in Erie (with Atlanta’s G League team). We’ve talked to his agent a little bit. We aren’t really sure if he’ll go back but he’s expressed a desire to maybe do that. We’ll figure all that out in the next month.”