Grizzlies Sign Kobi Simmons
JULY 1: The Grizzlies’ signing of Simmons is now official, the team announced today in a press release. It’ll be either a minimum salary contract or a two-way contract, since those deals can be made official during the July moratorium.
JUNE 23: The Grizzlies have reached an agreement with former Arizona guard Kobi Simmons, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Simmons will sign a free agent contract with Memphis sometime after the NBA’s new league year begins.
The 76th-ranked prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board at DraftExpress, Simmons went undrafted on Thursday night after declaring for the draft as an early entrant this spring. In his lone season at Arizona, Simmons averaged a modest 8.8 PPG and 2.0 APG, with a .397/.327/.775 shooting line.
Despite his underwhelming numbers as a freshman, Simmons – who will turn 20 in July – is viewed as an explosive athlete with a lot of upside, even if teams aren’t sure whether he’ll end up as a point guard or shooting guard, writes ESPN’s Chad Ford. Ford placed Simmons at No. 51 on his top-100 list.
Despite not having any draft picks 24 hours ago, the Grizzlies have been active in adding players from this year’s rookie class. On Thursday night, the team acquired two second-round picks in trades, selecting Ivan Rabb and Dillon Brooks.
Pistons Sign Luke Kennard To Rookie Contract
The Pistons have signed 2017 first-round pick Luke Kennard to his rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release.
The 12th overall pick in this year’s draft, Kennard will be in line for a deal worth more than $15MM over the next four years. His salary during his rookie campaign will be $2,759,280, as our breakdown of rookie scale salaries shows.
Kennard is one of several first-rounders to sign his new NBA contract on the first day he was eligible to do so. Because the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement no longer provides any additional cap flexibility to teams that keep their first-rounders unsigned, there is little incentive to delay in inking draftees anymore.
The 21-year-old averaged 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 26.7 minutes in 36 games as a freshman. His three 20-point games as a freshman were the most by a Duke freshman and he ranked seventh among ACC freshmen in scoring (11.8 PPG), per the press release.
Grizzlies Sign Wayne Selden To Two-Year Deal
3:35pm: The Grizzlies have officially announced Selden’s new deal in a press release. Since it’s already official, we know it’ll be a minimum salary contract, since those deals can be finalized during the moratorium.
7:23am: The Grizzlies have agreed to re-sign Wayne Selden to a two-year deal, reports Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Terms of the agreement aren’t yet known, but given Selden’s limited role in Memphis, I’d anticipate a minimum salary pact that isn’t necessarily fully guaranteed.
Selden, 22, made his NBA debut in March for the Pelicans. However, New Orleans didn’t re-sign him after his 10-day contract with the club expired, opening the door for him to sign a deal with the Grizzlies. In 14 total games between Memphis and New Orleans, the former Kansas Jayhawk averaged 5.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, and 0.9 APG in 16.9 minutes per contest.
Selden’s previous contract with the Grizzlies featured a team option for the 2017/18 season, but Memphis didn’t exercise that option, apparently having elected instead to bring back the 6’5″ shooting guard on a brand new deal.
Andre Iguodala Cancels Remaining FA Meetings
3:08pm: The Sixers had been scheduled to meet with Iguodala later today, but it will be scrapped along with the rest on his list, tweets ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
2:58pm: The Warriors aren’t sure what it means that Iguodala canceled his remaining meetings, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, who reports (via Twitter) that there’s a sense in Golden State that the veteran free agent may circle back to them with his offer from the Rockets.
2:48pm: Andre Iguodala has canceled his remaining free agent meetings, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). While Charania’s report doesn’t provide any additional details, it sounds as if the veteran swingman may be nearing a decision.
Iguodala was reportedly planning to meet the Spurs, Kings, Rockets, and possibly the Lakers and other teams in free agency. The sit-downs with San Antonio, Sacramento and Houston took place, but it appears those were the only teams Iguodala met.
Reports leading up to free agency, and since the free agent period began, have suggested that many people around the NBA still expect Iguodala and the Warriors to work out a new deal to keep the standout sixth man in Golden State. The two sides didn’t have a formal meeting today, but that won’t preclude a potential agreement, since they know where they stand.
It’s worth noting that this news comes shortly after Iguodala’s meeting with the Rockets, and Houston reportedly made him a contract offer. As I noted earlier, the Rockets’ current cap situation isn’t conducive to a competitive offer for Iguodala. However, if the team has a plan to dump Ryan Anderson‘s salary, it’s possible Daryl Morey could use a chunk of cap room for an offer to Iguodala or someone else, rather than being limited to the mid-level as an over-the-cap team.
Lakers Waive Tarik Black
The Lakers have waived Tarik Black, the team announced today in a press release. Black will become an unrestricted free agent, assuming he clears waivers.
Black, 25, has spent the majority of his NBA career with the Lakers, having been claimed off the waivers from the Rockets back in December 2014. After signing a new deal with L.A. last summer, the 6’9″ center appeared in 67 games (16 starts) in 2016/17, averaging 5.7 PPG and 5.1 RPG and playing solid defense.
The timing of Black’s release allows the Lakers to avoid being on the hook for his 2017/18 salary, which would have been worth $6,655,325. It would have become fully guaranteed if Black had remained under contract through July 4.
Free Agent Rumors: Young, Miles, Porter
Unrestricted free agent Nick Young plans to “meet with a bunch of teams” this weekend after a number of undisclosed franchises expressed interest when free agency began on Friday, league sources tell Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Despite the Lakers being among those contacting Young’s representatives, both the team and player have conflicting agendas that suggest that this may be the end of their four-year tenure together, Medina adds.
Young, 32, is hoping to maximize his earnings on a multi-year contract for a playoff team, but the Lakers want to sign players to one-year deals to save cap space for the 2018 offseason when LeBron James, Paul George and Russell Westbrook might be available, the scribe notes.
Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Pacers free agent C.J. Miles may have to wait for J.J. Redick to sign an agreement before his market comes into focus, Tim MacMahon of ESPN relays (ESPN Now link). Miles is Plan B for multiple teams who have made Redick a priority, the scribe adds. The Thunder are one of the teams that have expressed interest in the 30-year-old, per a tweet from Yahoo’s Jordan Schultz.
- With Otto Porter having completed his meeting with the Wizards, the team is now in a holding pattern as it awaits the forward to seek offer sheets on the open market, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post relays (via Twitter). The Nets are potentially one team who appear willing to offer the max of four years and $100MM. Philadelphia may also get involved in the bidding, but the Sixers reportedly seem reluctant to make long-term offers. Washington has promised to match any offer for the restricted free agent.
- Despite the significant bump in player salaries the new CBA has ushered in, not all players are satisfied with the league capping their earnings. LeBron James, responding to a tweet noting how the value of the Warriors has increased from $450MM to upwards of $2.6 billion since Joe Lacob purchased the franchise, noted that Stephen Curry should have gotten a pact worth $400MM over five years this summer (Twitter link). James has a vested interest, of course, with him in line to hit free agency once again next summer.
- There is a possibility that the Celtics may be willing to facilitate a sign-and-trade deal for unrestricted free agent Amir Johnson, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe relays (on Twitter). The forward is reportedly garnering significant interest around the league.
- The Magic‘s reported interest in free agent forward Joe Ingles has been “wildly overstated,” per Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). It was relayed Friday night that Orlando was set to offer Ingles a four-year deal in the $60MM range.
Central Notes: Shumpert, KCP, Holiday
The reported agreement between the Pistons and Langston Galloway has some speculating that the team may be willing to let Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leave as a restricted free agent, though, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press notes that the signing won’t necessarily affect Detroit’s dealings with the shooting guard (Twitter links). The Pistons will likely make additional roster moves in order to retain Caldwell-Pope, Ellis opines. By using more than $5.192MM of their mid-level exception to ink Galloway, the Pistons will have a hard cap of $125.266MM for the 2017/18 league year, which could create problems if another team gives Caldwell-Pope a maximum salary offer sheet.
With free agency well underway, here’s more of the latest news and rumors from the Central Division:
- The Cavaliers are reportedly seeking to move Iman Shumpert via trade and several teams have had discussions with Cleveland regarding the shooting guard, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype relays (via Twitter). The team reportedly wants to clear Shumpert’s salary of $10,337,079 off its books for the coming season.
- The Bulls have expressed interest in signing unrestricted free agent Justin Holiday, Kennedy relays in a separate tweet. The Knicks, Mavs and Wolves are also among those interested in the swingman’s services.
- The Bulls primary focus for this offseason and beyond is to land a top four pick in next June’s NBA Draft in order to have a shot at selecting Michael Porter Jr., Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times relays. “We’re not going to be throwing huge money at people right out of the gate,’’ VP of basketball operations John Paxson told reporters earlier this week. “We have to be disciplined and patient. You need the right veterans, guys who are good teammates and supportive of the young guys and can teach them how to be pros. If there was a young player who we thought fit our future, we would certainly look at that.’’
Rockets Make Contract Offer To Andre Iguodala
The Rockets’ meeting with Andre Iguodala ended earlier this afternoon, and a source characterized the sit-down as “excellent,” says Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. According to Spears, Houston made a contract offer to Iguodala.
The runner-up in 2017’s Sixth Man of the Year voting, Iguodala is still considered a good bet to remain in Golden State and sign a new deal with the Warriors. However, he appears to be considering all his options. He has reportedly met – or will meet – with the Kings, Rockets, and Spurs, and has also received interest from the Lakers, among other clubs.
The Warriors hold Iguodala’s Bird rights and could go all the way up to the max to sign him if need be, though the team presumably has an informal limit on what it’s willing to offer the veteran swingman. With Stephen Curry having agreed to a huge new extension, Kevin Durant expected to get something close to the max, and Shaun Livingston getting his own multiyear deal, Golden State would be headed well beyond the tax line with a pricey commitment to Iguodala.
Still, even if the Warriors have cap concerns, it’s not clear if a Rockets’ offer will force their hand. Houston is over the cap and appears to be committing part of its $8.4MM mid-level exception to draft-and-stash prospect Zhou Qi. In order to make a truly competitive offer for Iguodala, the Rockets would likely need to figure out a sign-and-trade scenario, which would require Golden State’s cooperation.
There are always a lot of moving parts during the July moratorium, so Daryl Morey could have something up his sleeve, but landing Iguodala seems like a long shot for Houston.
Raptors Remain Confident About Retaining Lowry, Ibaka
The Raptors remain confident about their chances of bringing back top free agents Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet (via Twitter).
Lowry and Ibaka share an agent in ASM’s Andy Miller, and Miller met with the Raptors “late into the night” on Saturday morning after the free agent period opened, according to David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link). While neither Lowry or Ibaka agreed to a deal following those meetings, the two sides remain in contact.
If the Raptors do lock up both Lowry and Ibaka to market-value deals, the team figures to go into luxury-tax territory for the first time. That could potentially be avoided by moving another player on a sizable contract – such as DeMarre Carroll or Jonas Valanciunas – but Toronto will likely wait on decisions from Lowry and Ibaka before considering how to address the rest of its roster.
The odds of the Raptors re-signing P.J. Tucker may not be quite as high, as the club is facing “competition” on the veteran forward, according to Grange. The Kings are said to be meeting with Tucker today, while the Timberwolves, Nuggets, Sixers, and Clippers have also been linked to him.
Pistons Sign Langston Galloway
JULY 6, 2:09pm: The deal is official, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
JULY 1, 1:08pm: There will be no options on Galloway’s three-year deal with the Pistons, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
12:38pm: The Pistons are expected to sign Langston Galloway to a three-year contract worth about $21MM, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides are finalizing an agreement.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors’ 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker]
A former Knick, Galloway signed a two-year pact with the Pelicans as a free agent last summer, and averaged 8.6 PPG on .374/.377/.769 shooting in 55 games for the team. However, when New Orleans and Sacramento agreed to a blockbuster February trade involving DeMarcus Cousins, Galloway was part of the package sent by the Pelicans to the Kings. In 19 games for Sacramento, Galloway finished the season by averaging 6.0 PPG and shooting .404/.475/.917.
The second year of Galloway’s previous contract was a player option worth $5.434MM, which he turned down in June. While he had a lesser role last season than he’d had in New York, Galloway’s age (25) and his three-point shot (39.0% in 2016/17) make him an appealing pickup for a team in need of backcourt help.
The Pistons fit that bill, having been in the market for a guard in free agency this summer. Galloway figures to provide the team with some depth at both backcourt spots. His deal will likely be completed using Detroit’s mid-level exception.
By using more than $5.192MM of that mid-level exception, the Pistons will have a hard cap of $125.266MM for the 2017/18 league year, which could create problems if another team gives Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a maximum salary offer sheet. Having entered the offseason with about $95MM in guaranteed salaries for ’17/18, Detroit may have to move another contract in order to sign Galloway and match a big offer for KCP.