Mavericks Not In Mix For Derrick Rose?
4:49pm: The Mavericks aren’t expected to be in the market for Rose after all, a source tells Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).
4:20pm: The Mavericks appear to be in the mix for Derrick Rose, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post, who reports (via Twitter) that Dallas is emerging as a “serious contender” for the free agent point guard.
Dallas was linked to several notable point guards, including Jrue Holiday, in the weeks leading up to free agency. However, there wasn’t a clear path for the Mavs to pick up cap room for a deal near the maximum, and the team used its lottery pick to nab Dennis Smith Jr.
If the Mavs are still in the market for a veteran point guard to pair with Smith though, a tentative deal with Dirk Nowitzki will make things easier for the club to accommodate such a signing. Nowitzki is reportedly close to finalizing a two-year, $10MM contract to return to the franchise. His pay cut should give the Mavs up to about $15MM cap room with which to operate, even as Nerlens Noel‘s cap hit remains on the books.
Rose, 28, is coming off a season in which he averaged 18.0 PPG and 4.4 APG in 64 games for the Knicks. He has been linked to a handful of teams so far this month, though one potential suitor – the Clippers – went another direction today, striking a deal with Euroleague point guard Milos Teodosic.
Latest On Jamal Crawford
4:21pm: The Celtics are also among the teams Crawford would consider if he’s bought out, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.
3:52pm: Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link) hears that in addition to the Wolves, Cavs, and Wizards, the Bucks would be in the mix for the shooting guard’s services in the event of a buyout. Kennedy mentions the Lakers as well, though Spears’ report (noted below) suggests the mutual interest between L.A. and Crawford has faded.
2:45pm: The three-team trade between the Nuggets, Clippers, and Hawks is expected to be finalized today and Jamal Crawford will work with Atlanta on a buyout agreement shortly after landing on the team, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com tweets.
It initially appeared that the shooting guard preferred to sign with the Lakers given his home in Los Angeles and his relationship with No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball. However, Marc J. Spears of the Undefeated reports (Twitter link) that neither Crawford nor the Lakers have much interest in working on a deal. The scribe adds that 37-year-old is expected to have interest from the Wolves, Cavs, and Wizards once a buyout is completed.
The Warriors were considered front-runners to sign Crawford earlier in the week, but the team opted to sign Nick Young to bolster its second unit. Crawford played for the Warriors during the 2008/09 season.
Atlanta is under no obligation to reach a buyout agreement with the shooting guard and the team could decide to trade him or keep him on the roster. It was reported earlier in the week that if Crawford wanted a buyout, he would have to give up a “significant portion” of his salary. He’s set to make over $17.2MM in guaranteed salary over the next two seasons.
Spurs Sign First-Round Pick Derrick White
The Spurs have signed Derrick White to a rookie scale deal, according to a team press release. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but if White signed for the standard 120% of the rookie scale, he’ll take home roughly $8.54MM over the next four seasons.
White was the No. 29 overall pick out of the University of Colorado. During his lone season with the school, he was named Pac-12 All-Conference First-Team, All-Defensive Team, and All-Tournament Team.
The guard played three seasons of Division II basketball for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs prior to landing in the Pac-12. He’s that school’s all-time leader in career points and assists. White is currently playing for San Antonio’s summer league squad in Utah.
Suns Sign Second-Rounder Davon Reed
The Suns have made it official with one of their second-round picks, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed rookie guard Davon Reed to his first NBA contract. Reed’s deal was reported by Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
An ACC All-Defensive player for Miami in 2016/17, Reed averaged 14.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.4 APG in his senior season, making 39.7% of his three-point attempts. Reed was one of three players selected in last month’s draft by the Suns, who also nabbed Josh Jackson with the fourth overall pick and selected Alec Peters at No. 54.
Terms of Reed’s new deal aren’t yet known. As the No. 32 overall pick, he won’t be subject to the NBA’s rookie scale. However, he’s still a good bet to earn more than the minimum — last year, before the NBA’s minimum salaries jumped, the Suns drafted Tyler Ulis with the 34th overall pick and signed him to a four-year, $4MM contract with two fully guaranteed years.
Pistons Sign Eric Moreland
The Pistons have signed Eric Moreland, according to a team press release. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) reports that the arrangement is for three years and adds that the deal is not fully guaranteed.
Signing Moreland for three seasons means the team will have to use part of its mid-level exception to sign the big man. Detroit has already used part of their mid-level on Langston Galloway to a three-year, $21MM contract.
Moreland played for the Canton Charge last season and he averaged 12.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per contest. He was named an All-Star of the G-League as well as All-NBA G-League Third Team.
The big man last played in the NBA for the Kings during the 2015/16 campaign. During that season, he played in eight games, scoring just a point per contest.
Moreland was known as a defensive-minded big during his time in the collegiate ranks at Oregon State. He left the school as its all-time leader in blocks, but he was not selected during the 2014 draft.
Bucks Sign D.J. Wilson To Rookie Scale Deal
The Bucks have signed D.J. Wilson to a rookie scale deal, according to the team’s website. Assuming Wilson signed for 120% of the rookie scale, he will make slightly under $12.2MM over the next four seasons.
Wilson was the No. 17 overall pick out of the University of Michigan. The 6’10” forward led the Wolverines with 5.3 rebounds per game during his junior season. He also had a team-high 57 blocks on the year.
The 21-year-old will play for Milwaukee’s Summer League team in Las Vegas. The team opens competition on Friday against the Cavs.
Raptors Sign Malcolm Miller To Two-Way Deal
The Raptors have signed Malcolm Miller to the franchise’s first two-way deal, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star tweets. As part of the new CBA, each team will get a pair of two-way contracts, so Toronto will have one more of these types of deals to hand out.
Players on two-way deals will spend most of their season in the G-League since they cannot spend more than 45 days with an NBA club, as our glossary page on two-way contracts shows.
Miller played four seasons at Holy Cross and spent the 2015/16 season playing for the Maine Red Claws, the affiliate of the Celtics. The 6’7″ combo forward spent last season playing abroad for Alba Berlin.
Bucks, Bronson Koenig Finalize Two-Way Contract
JULY 6: The Bucks and Koenig have finalized an agreement on a two-way contract, agent Keith Kreiter tells Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link).
JUNE 23: The Bucks are expected to reach a deal with Wisconsin product Bronson Koenig, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders tweets. The senior is the Badgers’ all-time three-point leader.
Per Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net, the agreement will likely come in the form of a two-way deal, one of the new contractual mechanisms implemented by the latest collective bargaining agreement.
Until the signing is official, we won’t know exactly what the terms of the contract will be, so there exists the possibility that it’s simply for Summer League. But it sounds like Koenig will be with the Bucks for training camp.
Southeast Notes: Meeks, Porter, Reed, Magic
The Wizards will use their mid-level exception instead of their bi-annual exception to sign Jodie Meeks, tweets Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. The change was made to avoid being hard-capped by the expected re-signing of Otto Porter. Meeks will still receive $7MM over two seasons; the money will just come from a different source (Twitter link). The Wizards still haven’t received the Nets’ offer sheet for Porter, adds J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic (Twitter link).
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Clippers, Warriors, Hawks, Sixers and Pacers all remain in the market for Heat back-up center Willie Reed, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. Miami also hopes to re-sign him.
- The Magic’s new management team is taking a cautious attitude toward rebuilding, relays Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando has been quiet during the first week of free agency, despite coming off a 29-53 season and having up to $15.1MM available to spend. “There’s a lot less money in the free-agent market this year than there was last year,” said Jeff Weltman, the team’s new president of basketball operations. “And so, the approach that we’ve taken is to kind of wait and see how some of that shakes out towards the next phase of free agency and see which players we may be able to get into discussions with at that point. But we’ve been touching base with a lot of guys and just kind of gauging the market.”
- The Hornets have promoted Buzz Peterson to assistant GM, the team announced on its website. A former standout at North Carolina and a head coach at five colleges, Peterson had been serving as the Hornets’ senior advisor to basketball operations. “He brings a wide breadth of basketball knowledge to the position, having been involved in the game at various levels for close to three decades,” said Charlotte GM Rich Cho. “I’m excited to be working more closely with Buzz in his new role and look forward to his continued contributions to our basketball team.”
Dwayne Bacon Signs Three-Year Deal With Hornets
Dwayne Bacon, the 40th pick in this year’s draft, has officially signed with the Hornets, the team announced on its website.
Bacon received a three-year deal, with the first two seasons fully guaranteed, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, who adds that Bacon is making a positive impression in summer league play and posted a 29-point performance this afternoon.
The Hornets acquired Bacon’s rights, along with cash, in a draft-night trade with the Pelicans.
Bacon was an All-ACC Second Team choice this season after averaging 17.2 points and 4.2 rebounds at Florida State. He was a finalist for the Julius Erving award, which goes to the nation’s best small forward.