Hoops Rumors Originals: 7/1/17 – 7/8/17
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team compiles original content to complement our news feed. Here are some of our favorite segments and features from the past seven days:
- Here are our daily recaps from this week’s hectic opening of the free agency period:
- Click here to learn about our Free Agent Tracker and find the FA tracker itself.
- Luke Adams compiled a list of the 2017 NBA Draft Pick Signings to date.
- Adams broke down what the end of the July moratorium means.
- Here were the top free agents still available as of July 5. Many of the players on the list have since found NBA homes, but you can check out our up-to-date list of free agents right here.
- Adams generously offered his Thursday to answer our readers’ questions on free agency, trades, and more. Check out the chat transcript.
- Check out our free Trade Rumors app available for IOS and Android.
- Here are the questions we asked you in our Polls and Community Shootarounds this week:
- Which team will sign Gordon Hayward? More than 43 percent of nearly 4,000 voters correctly predicted the Celtics.
- How would you assess the Lakers‘ future? Will this season mark the beginning of the next Lakers dynasty or will it simply be yet another rebuilding year?
- Where should Kentavious Caldwell-Pope end up in free agency and what kind of contract should he receive?
Wizards Match Offer Sheet For Otto Porter
The Wizards announced they will match the Nets’ four-year, $106.5MM offer to Otto Porter, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Porter still has to pass a physical before the move becomes official, notes David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link).
Washington had until 11pm Central to decide on the offer sheet, so the Wizards beat the deadline by about two hours. They had vowed to match any offer, even as Porter was negotiating with other teams.
The new contract will make Porter the team’s highest-paid player next season with a $24.8MM salary, Buckner notes. It also pushes Washington above the luxury tax line for the first time ever.
The Wizards have $126.5MM in salary committed for the upcoming season with 13 guaranteed contracts and two non-guaranteed, along with an $11.4MM tax bill, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now.
The Nets’ offer to Porter includes a 15% trade kicker and a player option for the fourth year, along with a provision stating that Porter will receive half of his annual salary by October 1st of each year.
By matching, Washington brings backs a key piece of last season’s roster, as Porter appeared in 80 games, all as a starter, and averaged 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per night. He has been with the franchise since being taken with the third pick in the 2013 draft and has been a regular starter for the past two seasons.
For the Nets, it’s the latest in a string of misses in restricted free agency. Over the past 12 months, Brooklyn has submitted offer sheets to Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, Donatas Motiejunas and Porter, and all were matched by their current teams.
Tonight’s decision won’t free up the Nets’ cap room right away. Porter has two days to undergo the team physical, then the Wizards have two more days to report the results to the league. So it’s possible that Brooklyn’s cap situation will not be resolved before Wednesday. Brooklyn will have $28.3MM once the process is complete, Marks posts.
Bucks Sign Jalen Moore As Two-Way Player
The Bucks have signed Jalen Moore to a two-way contract, the team announced on its website.
A 6’8″ forward out of Utah State, Moore was a second team All-Mountain West selection after averaging 17.0 points and 5.5 rebounds during his senior season. He was a 38.3 shooter from 3-point range during his four years with the Aggies.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement, teams can have two-way players on their roster at any time, in addition to their regular 15-man roster. Moore will spend most of the season with Milwaukee’s new G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, and will be limited to 45 days with the Bucks from the time G League training camp opens until the end of the Herd’s season.
Moore is currently playing for the Bucks’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League.
On Thursday, Milwaukee signed Bronson Koenig of Wisconsin as its other two-way player.
Cavaliers Notes: Crawford, Osman, Lue, Green
The Cavaliers weren’t able to get into a bidding war for Jamal Crawford because they need to keep enough money to sign Cedi Osman, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Cleveland is well over the cap for the upcoming season and wasn’t willing to give Crawford its entire $5.192MM taxpayer mid-level exception. The Cavs will need at least $816K to sign Osman, who has a $1MM buyout with his Turkish team. Crawford will reportedly sign a two-year, $8.9MM deal with the Timberwolves once he clears waivers. Vardon wrote on Friday that the Cavaliers were the favorites to land Crawford, but the Osman negotiations apparently changed that situation.
There’s more news out of Cleveland:
- Coach Tyronn Lue stayed out of negotiations involving former GM David Griffin and front office recruit Chauncey Billups, Vardon writes in a separate piece. “You know how it affects me, he gave me my job,” was Lue’s only response to a question about Griffin at Friday’s summer league game. It was Griffin’s decision to fire David Blatt and replace him with Lue midway through the 2015/16 championship season. A few months after that title, Griffin rewarded Lue with a five-year, $35MM contract. Griffin could have been replaced by Billups, a close friend of Lue, but he turned down a below-market offer reported at $2MM per year. “Any time you get the chance to advance, be the president and GM, it’s always something great,” Lue said. “I know it’s something he always wanted to do. But I just kind of stayed out of the situation because I was so close to Griff, so close to Chauncey, so I didn’t want anything to do with it.”
- The Cavs don’t seem worried about Jeff Green‘s drop in production last season, writes Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon Journal. They signed the 10-year veteran to a one-year, $2.3MM contract on Friday, with ESPN reporting that LeBron James had “active conversations” with Green before the deal was reached. Green has been with four teams in the past three seasons, and averaged just 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds with the Magic last year, the lowest figures of his career in both categories.
- Cleveland is limited is what it can offer, but Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com put together a list of seven free agents who might be willing to take a little less to join a team that has been to three straight finals. He names Thabo Sefolosha, Tony Allen, Gerald Henderson, Luc Mbah a Moute, C.J. Miles, Rodney Stuckey and Dewayne Dedmon.
Sixers Sign Amir Johnson
JULY 8, 6:57pm: Johnson’s signing is official, the Sixers announced in an email.
JULY 1, 6:25pm: The Sixers and Celtics discussed a sign-and-trade involving Jahlil Okafor for Johnson, but the deal never materialized, Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s televised coverage of free agency.
5:09pm: Amir Johnson will join the Sixers on a one-year, $11MM deal contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.
The 11-year veteran started 77 games for the Celtics this season, averaging 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per night. He made $12MM this year in the final season of a two-year contract.
There had been rumors that the Celtics were interested in a sign-and-trade with the Sixers involving Johnson, but this appears to be a straight free-agent signing.
The Bulls, Raptors and Rockets also expressed interest in Johnson, and all three teams had meetings with him scheduled for today.
J.J. Redick Signs One-Year Deal With Sixers
JULY 8, 6:55pm: Redick’s signing is official, according to an email from the Sixers.
JULY 1, 3:11pm: The Sixers and veteran sharpshooter J.J. Redick have reached an agreement on a one-year deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. While the contract will be a short one, Redick will do well on the annual salary — the deal will be worth $23MM, per Wojnarowski. The Timberwolves and Nets were also reportedly contenders for Redick, and he had expressed interest in joining former Clippers teammate Chris Paul with the Rockets.
Philly was the first team that Redick met with once free agency was underway last night. During ESPN’s live television coverage, Wojnarowski noted that the Sixers wanted to convince Redick to accept a short-term contract, “a one-year deal at a very big number, $20 million-plus, potentially.” It appears the team accomplished its goal, landing one of the best long-range gunners in the league without sacrificing future cap flexibility. Redick’s agent, Greg Lawrence of Wasserman Media Group, and Sixers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo completed talks on the deal this afternoon, league sources told Woj.
Redick certainly had no shortage of suitors early on, with the Timberwolves one of the more aggressive teams that the guard had interest in joining, per Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link). The unrestricted free agent was willing to consider a multi-year offer from Minnesota for less than the one-year pact he agreed to with Philly, but that notion didn’t gain traction with the Wolves, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
It’s worth noting that this agreement was locked down just after Andre Iguodala canceled his meeting with the Sixers. There is certainly a possibility that Philadelphia upped its offer to Redick after being spurned by Iggy, so that the franchise could secure at least one of its top veteran targets this summer. The team still has approximately $27MM in available cap space to pursue other free agents, notes Zach Lowe of ESPN (Twitter link).
The 33-year-old was originally selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Magic. His career numbers are 11.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists through 690 regular season contests. His shooting numbers are a stellar .447/.415/.888. Last season he appeared in 78 contests for the Clippers, averaging 15.0 points and connecting on 44.5% of his shots from beyond the arc.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sixers Sign Markelle Fultz
Markelle Fultz, the top pick in this year’s draft, has signed his rookie deal with the Sixers, the team announced in a press release.
As the No. 1 selection, Fultz is eligible to make a little more than $7MM in his first season and more than $37.4MM over the four-year contract, as our rookie-scale contract chart shows. Like all rookie contracts, it will have two guaranteed seasons, followed by two team options.
A 6’4″ point guard, Fultz was almost unanimously considered to be the best player in the draft. The Sixers valued him enough to trade their No. 3 choice along with a future first-rounder to get the top pick from Boston.
“Markelle Fultz possesses elite basketball skills, instincts and talent which prompted us to move up to No. 1 and add him to our talented young core of players,” Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said. “At only 19 years of age, the sky is the limit for Markelle and we could not be happier to have him join our Sixers family.”
Fultz is expected to challenge for a starting job as a rookie and share primary ball-handling duties with Ben Simmons. As a freshman, Fultz averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds at Washington.
Cameron Oliver Signs With Rockets
JULY 8, 5:38pm: The signing is official, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26.
JUNE 22, 11:45pm: Undrafted rookie free agent Cameron Oliver has found an NBA home, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com, who tweets that Oliver has agreed to a free agent contract with the Rockets. Oliver will get a multiyear deal from Houston later in the offseason, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Oliver, a sophomore in 2016/17, declared for the draft after a productive season in which he averaged 16.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and an impressive 2.6 BPG. The 6’8″ forward ranked as the 55th-best prospect on DraftExpress’ big board, but wasn’t selected on Thursday night.
Once his deal becomes official, Oliver figures to head to training camp with the Rockets as a member of the 20-man roster. It remains to be seen whether he’ll have a legit chance to earn a spot on the team’s regular season roster.
Jordan Bell Signs With Warriors
The Warriors have announced the signing of second-round pick Jordan Bell, tweets Anthony Slater of The San Jose Mercury News. Bell will receive a two-year minimum-salary deal, which was all Golden State could offer because of its cap situation.
A 6’9″ junior out of Oregon, Bell was taken 38th overall by the Bulls and traded to the Warriors for $3.5MM on draft night. That’s a record price for a draft pick and the most that league rules currently allow in a cash deal.
Bell averaged 2.3 blocks per game to go with 11.0 points and 8.7 rebounds for the Ducks this year.
Five Key Stories: 6/30/17 – 7/8/17
Saying it has been a wild week in the Association would certainly be an understatement. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the past week at Hoops Rumors:
Paul George was traded to Oklahoma City. In a shocking trade, the Thunder landed one of the league’s top players from the Pacers in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Multiple teams had made trade offers for George that they deemed to be more competitive than the one Indiana ultimately accepted.
Blake Griffin will re-sign with the Clippers. Griffin agreed to re-sign with the Clippers after canceling free agent meetings with the Suns and Nuggets. The muscular power forward’s contract will be for five years and a maximum salary. This places the overall value of the deal in the vicinity of $173MM.
Gordon Hayward will sign with Boston. The rising star small forward made his announcement in a piece for The Players’ Tribune. Hayward will receive a four-year maximum salary contract from the Celtics with a player option on the final year. The Jazz were hoping to retain Hayward, while the Heat also engaged the free agent.
The Raptors have re-signed Kyle Lowry. The new deal is worth three years and $100MM and includes incentives. The veteran point guard’s contract comes in at slightly less than a maximum salary deal. Like Hayward, Lowry made his announcement to rejoin the Raptors in a piece for The Players’ Tribune.
Paul Millsap has reached a deal with the Nuggets. The agreement will be for three years and $90MM, with the third year being a team option. Prior to committing to join the Nuggets, Millsap met with the Kings and Suns. According to the star power forward, the Hawks never made him a formal offer.
Ten More Stories
- Kevin Durant agreed to re-sign with the Warriors for two years and just $53MM, so the team could re-sign key players. Stephen Curry will sign a five-year, $201MM supermax deal to remain with the team.
- Danilo Gallinari was traded to the Clippers as part of a three-way deal. In the trade, Jamal Crawford was dealt to the Hawks, then subsequently bought out.
- The 76ers and J.J. Redick have agreed to a one-year deal worth a whopping $23MM.
- The Raptors have re-signed Serge Ibaka to a three-year deal worth $65MM.
- The Warriors will re-sign Andre Iguodala to a three-year, $48MM contract.
- The Timberwolves will sign Jeff Teague to a three-year deal worth $57MM.
- The Pelicans re-signed Jrue Holiday to a massive five-year, $126MM contract.
- The Kings and George Hill have agreed to a three-year deal worth $57MM.
- The Mavericks re-signed Dirk Nowitzki for two years and $10MM.
- The Celtics finalized a trade that sent Avery Bradley and a 2019 second-round pick to the Pistons for Marcus Morris.