Sixers Re-Sign Amir Johnson
JULY 16, 7:30pm: The signing is official, per team press release.
JULY 4, 2:50pm: Johnson’s new one-year deal will be worth the veteran’s minimum, according to Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link).
2:29pm: The Sixers are finalizing a contract agreement with free agent big man Amir Johnson that will keep him in Philadelphia, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Johnson is expected to sign a one-year deal.
Johnson, 31, initially joined the 76ers in the summer of 2017 when he inked a one-year, $11MM deal with the club. Like J.J. Redick, whose salary will go from $23MM last year to about $12-13MM in 2018/19, Johnson figures to return at a lesser rate.
The Sixers have committed just about all their projected cap room to Redick and trade acquisition Wilson Chandler, but could offer Johnson the $4.45MM room exception or a minimum-salary contract if they don’t intend to clear additional space with another roster move.
In 74 games for Philadelphia in 2017/18, Johnson provided veteran stability in the frontcourt, primarily serving as Joel Embiid‘s backup at the five. He averaged 4.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 15.8 minutes per contest.
The 76ers entered the offseason with 11 players under contract, and have since drafted and signed Zhaire Smith and Landry Shamet, agreed to re-sign Redick, struck a deal to acquire Chandler, and now agreed to terms with Johnson as well.
That brings Philadelphia’s projected roster count to 16, without accounting for the possibility that the team could bring over draft-and-stash prospect Jonah Bolden this offseason. As such, a trade or cut figures to be coming at some point, with Jerryd Bayless and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot among the players whose roster spots look least secure.
Their agreement with Johnson also seems likely to take the Sixers out of the running for veteran center Kyle O’Quinn, who was reportedly drawing “heavy interest” from Philadelphia on the first day of free agency.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bucks Sign Forward Ersan Ilyasova
JULY 16, 7:25pm: The signing is official, per team press release.
JUNE 30, 11:04pm: Veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova has reached agreement on a three-year, $21MM contract with the Bucks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The third year is non-guaranteed, league sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link).
The move represents a homecoming for the 31-year-old, who began his career in Milwaukee in 2006. Apart from two seasons in Spain, Ilyasova remained with the Bucks until they traded him to Detroit in 2015.
He started the 2017/18 season in Atlanta before agreeing to a buyout in late February and signing with the Sixers to provide shooting help in the playoffs. He averaged 9.3 points and 7.6 rebounds in 10 postseason games for Philadelphia.
Milwaukee will probably use its mid-level exception to add Ilyasova, unless it can arrange a sign-and-trade with Philadelphia or swing some other deals to clear cap room. Assuming Ilyasova’s first-year salary exceeds the taxpayer’s mid-level exception ($5.337MM) and he’s acquired via the MLE or a sign-and-trade, the Bucks would be hard-capped for the 2018/19 league year.
That hard cap could be a factor if another team makes an aggressive offer for restricted free agent Jabari Parker, as cap expert Albert Nahmad notes (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Kemba Walker Doubts He’ll End Up With Knicks
Kemba Walker wants to stay long-term with the Hornets and doubts he’ll wind up with the Knicks, he told Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
The Charlotte point guard and New York native is heading into his walk year and has a very movable $12MM contract. Cleveland has been oft-mentioned as a potential landing spot if he gets traded.
The Knicks have several point guard options, including Emmanuel Mudiay, Trey Burke and Frank Ntilikina, but Walker would generally be considered an upgrade.
“As far as seeing me in New York, I doubt it,” Walker told Scotto. “I’m a Hornet, and I’m planning on being a Hornet for a long time, so, yeah, I’m not sure about that (New York).”
Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak has said he’d like to retain Walker but a contract extension isn’t feasible due to salary-cap restraints. Thus, Walker is headed to free agency next summer if he doesn’t get traded.
The Hornets have a stopgap option in Tony Parker, who agreed to a two-year, $10MM contract in free agency. Walker welcomes Parker’s presence and hopes to learn a few new tricks from the wily 36-year-old.
“Having Tony Parker is huge,” Walker told Scotto. “He’s a guy who’s been through it all. He knows a lot. He’s won championships. He knows what it takes to win in this league. I don’t think there’s any better point guard to learn from than Tony Parker.”
Timberwolves Owner Talks Towns, Wiggins, FAs
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor confirmed last week that Jimmy Butler turned down the team’s contract extension offer, since he’ll have the ability to earn a much larger payday if he waits another year and signs as a free agent in 2019. In his conversation with Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, Taylor also discussed several other topics, including a possible rookie scale extension for Karl-Anthony Towns.
According to Taylor, the Wolves have already put a maximum-salary offer on the table for Towns and there shouldn’t be much negotiating required. The club has until mid-October to finalize an extension with the former first overall pick, and Taylor sounds confident it’ll happen before then.
“I’m sure he’s going to sign it. It doesn’t really make that much difference to me when he does it,” Taylor said. “We haven’t put any deadline on it or anything like that. The offer’s out there. … I’m confident that we won’t have any problem with it.”
Here’s more from the Timberwolves’ owner:
- According to Taylor, the Timberwolves aren’t interested in trading Andrew Wiggins at this point. The Wolves owner stressed that the franchise doesn’t want to “give up” on a player as young as Wiggins, who is still just 23. “A lot of players, it took them three or four years to get better and then they just keep getting better,” Taylor said. “I don’t see why Andrew won’t be one of those people, because he has such natural ability.”
- The Timberwolves signed Anthony Tolliver because they didn’t want to wait on a decision from Nemanja Bjelica, who was seeking a two-year deal. Bjelica ultimately signed with Philadelphia for less than what Minnesota offered him, according to Taylor.
- Asked about filling out the rest of the Timberwolves’ roster, Taylor acknowledged that minimum-salary signings are the most likely path for the club. “I got the list of who they’re talking to, and they’re not exactly [big-]name players,” Taylor said of the free agents his front office is targeting. “The names they have right now are a little younger, but they have some experience. [The front office] believes that they have the ability to improve.”
- Taylor also noted that many of Minnesota’s free agent targets are strong defensively, adding that the team wants to improve its bench’s defensive numbers.
- The Timberwolves owner downplayed the idea that there’s tension between Jimmy Butler and some of the Wolves’ other stars, suggesting that Butler “just wants to win” and wants to make sure that “people around him play really hard.”
Mavericks Sign Second-Rounder Jalen Brunson
The Mavericks have officially signed second-round pick Jalen Brunson, the team announced today in a press release. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported today (via Twitter) that Brunson and the Mavs had agreed to a four-year contract with three years guaranteed.
[RELATED: 2018 NBA Draft Pick Signings]
Brunson, the 33rd overall pick in the draft, is coming off a huge year at Villanova. While three teammates – Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, and Omari Spellman – were drafted before him, it was Brunson who was named college basketball’s Player of the Year for the champion Wildcats. In his junior year, Brunson averaged 18.9 PPG, 4.6 APG, and 3.1 RPG with a shooting line of .521/.408/.802.
As a Maverick, Brunson will join a depth chart loaded with talented young point guards. Dennis Smith Jr. and Luka Doncic lead the way, with restricted free agent Yogi Ferrell also expected to sign a new deal soon to return to Dallas.
The Mavericks will be using some of their remaining cap room to sign Brunson to his new contract. None of the other exceptions available to the club – the room exception or the minimum salary – would have allowed for a four-year deal.
Pacers Sign Elijah Stewart
Undrafted rookie Elijah Stewart has signed with the Pacers, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). According to Charania, Stewart will get a one-year, Exhibit 10 deal with Indiana.
Exhibit 10 contracts are non-guaranteed, one-year deals that essentially serve as training camp contracts with modest optional bonuses.
While Exhibit 10 deals can be converted into two-way contracts, the most common path for a player on an Exhibit 10 deal is to be waived before the regular season begins, then to join his club’s G League affiliate. In other words, Stewart may end up becoming a member of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this fall.
Stewart, a 6’5″ shooting guard out of USC, averaged 11.7 PPG on .453/.391/.844 shooting in his senior year. In each of his four seasons with the Trojans, Stewart attempted more shots from beyond the three-point arc than from inside it.
Pacers Sign Second-Rounder Alize Johnson
3:32pm: Johnson will have a fully guaranteed salary in 2018/19, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
2:54pm: The Pacers have now locked up both of their 2018 draft picks, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed second-round selection Alize Johnson. First-rounder Aaron Holiday inked his rookie deal at the start of the month.
Johnson, the 50th overall pick in the draft, finished his college career at Missouri State after spending two years at Frank Phillips College. The young forward averaged a double-double in both of his years at Missouri State, posting 14.9 PPG and 11.1 RPG in 66 overall games with the program.
Johnson also looked solid for the Pacers in Summer League action, averaging 12.4 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 23.0 minutes per contest.
While terms of Johnson’s contract aren’t known, a two-year, minimum-salary deal seems likely. The Pacers used up all their cap space, then signed using Kyle O’Quinn with their room exception, so they don’t have the means to offer a more lucrative or longer-term contract.
Indiana now has 14 players on NBA contracts for 2018/19.
Nets Sign Rodions Kurucs To Multiyear Deal
JULY 16: The Nets have officially signed Kurucs, the team announced today in a press release. According to reports from Sportando and The New York Post, his deal is expected to be worth about $7MM over four years.
JUNE 22: The Nets and second-round pick Rodions Kurucs have reached an agreement on an NBA contract, according to international basketball journalist David Pick, who reports (via Twitter) that it will be a four-year deal.
Kurucs, who was selected using the 40th overall pick that initially belonged to the Lakers, had one year left on his contract with Barcelona. However, the Nets and Kurucs’ Spanish club were able to negotiate the terms of a buyout, says Pick.
[RELATED: Full 2018 NBA Draft Results]
While Kurucs’ buyout was believed to be worth upwards of $4MM at one point, his camp was reportedly able to get that figure lowered substantially, per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz (as relayed by NetsDaily).
Because Kurucs wasn’t a first-round pick, he won’t be subject to the NBA’s rookie scale, but it sounds like he’ll still sign a four-year contract. The Nets will have the flexibility to offer that many years because they’ll start the 2018/19 league year as an under-the-cap team. It’s not yet clear how much Kurucs’ contract will be worth, or how many years will be guaranteed, but the two sides will be able to finalize the agreement in July.
Kurucs was one of two international prospects the Nets selected in the 2018 draft, along with No. 29 pick Dzanan Musa. General manager Sean Marks indicated last night that club also expects to bring over Musa immediately, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). The Bosnia forward reportedly has a buyout worth about $1MM.
Hawks Rumors: Lin, Schroder, Delaney
The Hawks traded for Jeremy Lin last week in a deal that cleared a path for the Nets to create the cap room necessary to take on a pair of unwanted contracts – and a pair of draft picks – in a trade of their own with the Nuggets.
According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), based on the conversations he had in Las Vegas, there was some confusion about why Atlanta used a chunk of its cap room on Lin rather than making a deal like the one Brooklyn did to add long-term assets.
As Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal Constitution writes, a source familiar with trade discussions said that the Hawks could have made a deal with Denver similar to the one the Nets made. However, Atlanta GM Travis Schlenk sounds high on Lin, Cunningham relays.
“We had the opportunity to add a veteran point guard to the locker room,” Schlenk said. “We’ve said all along that it takes high-character, good guys to help a young team grow. Jeremy fits the bill. We had two point guards on the roster, and we needed a third.”
Here’s more on the Hawks:
- While Schlenk won’t come out and say it, acquiring Lin would also provide some insurance in the event of a Dennis Schroder trade, according to Cunningham, who says it’s “obvious” that the Hawks want to move on from their starting point guard. A source tell Cunningham that Atlanta has been trying to trade Schroder for weeks, but hasn’t found much of a market for him.
- Schroder’s below-average shooting and defense limit his appeal to some extent, but his legal troubles are the primary deterrent for potential trade partners, says Cunningham. Two people with knowledge of Schroder’s battery case tell Cunningham that the player and his lawyer have discussed a settlement with the alleged victim, and Hawks officials have expressed confidence internally that Schroder won’t spend any time in jail. However, other teams “apparently aren’t so sure,” Cunningham writes.
- Speaking of Hawks point guards, last year’s backup Malcolm Delaney hasn’t technically had his free agent rights renounced by Atlanta, but he looks like a good bet to head elsewhere. According to a report from Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net, Delaney – who played overseas before joining the Hawks in 2016 – has received a contract offer from Turkish club Anadolu Efes.
Contract Details: Redick, Bertans, Clippers, O’Quinn
J.J. Redick‘s new deal with the Sixers gives him plenty of protection in the unlikely event that Philadelphia wants to trade him. Because he re-signed on a one-year deal and will have Early Bird rights at the end of it, he receives the ability to block any trade involving him during the 2018/19 league year, since he’d lose those Early Bird rights in the event that he’s moved.
On top of that, Redick has a 7.5% trade kicker in his new deal, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), which would give him a bonus if the Sixers do trade him and he approves the deal. That bonus would be worth about $919K, since Redick’s new contract has a value of $12.25MM, per Pincus.
Here are a few more details on newly-signed contracts, courtesy of Pincus:
- The Spurs‘ new two-year agreement with Davis Bertans has a base value of $7MM annually, but Bertans can also earn $250K in unlikely incentives per year (Twitter link). The deal can be worth up to $14.5MM in total.
- The Clippers split their full mid-level exception right down the middle, with Luc Mbah a Moute and Mike Scott each receiving $4,320,500 (Twitter link). L.A. will be hard-capped this season as a result of using the full MLE.
- Jarred Vanderbilt, the 41st overall pick in this year’s draft, got a three-year, minimum-salary contract from the Nuggets with two fully guaranteed seasons (Twitter link). The third year will be non-guaranteed until July 15, 2020.
- Kyle O’Quinn received the Pacers‘ full room exception ($4.449MM) on his one-year contract (Twitter link).