Mavericks Waive Swingman Jalen Jones
The Mavericks have waived swingman Jalen Jones, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Jones, who was on a two-way contract, appeared in 12 games for Dallas last season. He averaged 5.8 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 13.5 MPG.
The 6’7” Jones also played four games for the Pelicans last season. Dallas claimed him in January after New Orleans cut him loose. He made history as the first player on a two-way contract getting claimed off waivers.
The Texas A&M product went undrafted out of college.
Dallas opens up a two-way slot by the transaction. Its other two-way slot currently belongs to forward Johnathan Motley.
Check out all the two-way contracts for every club here.
Hoops Rumors’ 2018 NBA Free Agent Tracker
We’re nearly two weeks into 2018’s free agent period and with news of contract agreements and signings continuing to break, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this July. To this end, we present our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, position, free agent type, and a handful of other variables.
A few notes on the tracker:
- Some of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect tentative agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data as needed.
- Similarly, contract years and dollars will be based on what’s been reported to date, so in many cases those amounts will be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
- A restricted free agent who signs an offer sheet won’t be included in the tracker right away. We’ll wait to hear whether the player’s original team will match or pass on that offer sheet before we update our tracker, in order to avoid confusion.
- If you’re viewing the tracker on our mobile site, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.
Our 2018 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. On our mobile site, it can be found in our menu under “Free Agent Lists.”
The tracker will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.
Our lists of free agents by position/type and by team break down the players who have yet to reach contract agreements.
Eastern Rumors: Parker, Bulls, Bucks, Faried
Amidst speculation that the Bulls are clearing cap room for a major move, multiple reports continue to link Chicago native Jabari Parker to the club.
One NBA executive who spoke to Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times claimed that the Bulls are “most definitely” interested in Parker, while Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago says he thinks “there’s some smoke” to rumors connecting the team to the Bucks‘ restricted free agent. Sources say Parker would like to be a Bull, Goodwill adds (Twitter link).
While it’s possible that the Bulls are gearing up to make a play for Parker, I’m not sure he’s an ideal match for their roster, given that he fits best at the power forward spot. Chicago has already made one big long-term commitment this month by matching Zach LaVine‘s offer sheet with Sacramento. For a team said to be prioritizing cap flexibility going forward, a lucrative offer sheet for Parker would be a surprise, which makes me wonder if the supposed mutual interest is stronger on Parker’s side than on the Bulls’ side.
As we wait to see how Parker’s market plays out, here are a few more notes and rumors from around the Eastern Conference:
- Within his latest article, Woelfel writes that the Bucks have been exploring possible trades for Matthew Dellavedova and John Henson, but haven’t had any success.
- The Nets and Kenneth Faried‘s representatives were set to talk this morning to see what the team’s plan is for Faried, per TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). There have been no indications yet that Brooklyn plans to buy out Faried — if the team offers him a larger role than the one he had in Denver, he may be happy to stick with the Nets for 2018/19.
- In a mailbag focusing on the Magic‘s point guard situation, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reiterates that the team’s interest in Isaiah Thomas was overstated, writing that the front office talked to Thomas’ camp, but never pursued a contract agreement.
- In order to succeed with the Wizards, newly-signed center Dwight Howard will have to be willing to make some sacrifices for the team, John Wall told Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “He has to buy into that and not try to say it’s all about him or try to do this for himself,” Wall said. “Just do it for the whole team and group and I think we will be fine.”
Nets Trade Jeremy Lin To Hawks
JULY 13: The trade is now official, according to a pair of press releases issued by the Nets and Hawks. Atlanta receives Lin, Brooklyn’s 2025 second-round pick, and the right to swap 2023 second-rounders with the Nets in exchange for Cordinier and a heavily-protected 2020 second-rounder, as detailed below.
[RELATED: Cap implications of the trade for Nets, Hawks]
JULY 12: The Nets have agreed to a trade that will send Jeremy Lin to the Hawks, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal will allow Brooklyn to clear the cap space necessary to take on a pair of expiring contracts from the Nuggets in another deal.
According to Wojnarowski, the Nets will receive Portland 2020’s second-round pick (top-55 protected) and the rights to 2016 draft-and-stash second-rounder Isaia Cordinier in the trade.
In addition to Lin, the Hawks will acquire a 2025 second-round pick and the right to swap picks with the Nets in 2023, Woj adds. His report doesn’t mention anything about first-round picks, so we’ll assume for now that the ’23 pick swap applies to second-rounders.
For the Hawks, adding Lin will mean further bolstering a point guard depth chart that already features leading scorer Dennis Schroder and fifth overall pick Trae Young. Schroder has been frequently cited as a potential trade candidate and Young’s performance in Summer League action has been up and down, so Lin could provide some added stability at the position. His presence also could expedite a Schroder trade, as Wojnarowski reports.
Of course, it may be premature to pencil in Lin for 25-30 minutes per game for the upcoming season, since he’s coming off a major knee injury. The veteran point guard admitted recently that he has yet to play 5-on-5 ball, but fully expects to be ready for training camp. The Hawks plan to keep him, tweets David Aldridge of TNT.
As we detailed earlier today, the Hawks had upwards of $18MM in cap room available, with the flexibility to increase that number to nearly $24MM by renouncing free agents and waiving non-guaranteed players. No additional moves will be required in order to absorb Lin’s $12.5MM expiring contract using their current cap space.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), Lin also had a 10% trade kicker, so if he doesn’t waive it as part of the deal, the Nets would pay that $1.25MM bonus and the 29-year-old’s cap hit would increase to $13.75MM.
General manager Travis Schlenk had said that the Hawks didn’t expect to pursue major free agents, noting that the team’s “free agency is going to be trades.” The acquisition of Lin reflects that plan, though it’s still a somewhat surprising move. Given where the Hawks are in their rebuilding process, it would have made more sense to me if Atlanta had used its cap room to take on the Nuggets’ unwanted contracts and acquired a pair of picks in the process.
That’s exactly what the Nets will do with their newly-created cap room after moving Lin. As we detail in a separate story, shedding Lin’s salary will allow Brooklyn to take on Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur from Denver. The Nets will receive a first-round pick and a second-round pick from the Nuggets for their troubles.
Meanwhile, the Nets should still have plenty of depth in their backcourt heading into the 2018/19 season, with Spencer Dinwiddie and D’Angelo Russell capable of handling point guard duties.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jimmy Butler Turns Down Wolves’ Extension Offer
All-NBA forward Jimmy Butler has formally turned down a contract extension offer from the Timberwolves, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News, citing team owner Glen Taylor. As Wolfson notes, the four-year deal would have been worth in excess of $100MM. Butler and his camp expressed gratitude to the Wolves for extending such a generous offer, Wolfson adds (via Twitter).
This news doesn’t come as a surprise, and it doesn’t mean that Butler is plotting his exit from Minnesota. We heard earlier this offseason that the Timberwolves intended to offer their All-Star forward a contract extension, but CBA rules limit the team to offering four years and approximately $100MM, as cap expert Albert Nahmad details (via Twitter).
If he waits until 2019 and opts out of his contract, Butler would be eligible for a new five-year contract worth nearly $190MM with the Wolves, based on a $109MM cap projection for 2019/20. If he wants to sign a new four-year deal with another team at that time, it could be worth up to $140MM+, assuming the cap increases to $109MM.
While the Wolves shouldn’t worry too much about Butler opting not to sign an extension at this point, the former Bull isn’t necessarily a lock to stay in Minnesota long term. There have been reports of tension among the Wolves’ three stars – Butler, Andrew Wiggins, and Karl-Anthony Towns – so the club will have to do everything it can to make sure those three players are on the same page going forward. Wiggins is already on a long-term max contract with the Wolves, and the team is said to be discussing a similar deal with Towns.
There have also been whispers that Butler and Kyrie Irving have interest in teaming up. Irving is in a similar situation to Butler — both players have player options for 2019/20, meaning they’re likely to reach free agency at the same time next summer. Like Butler, Irving is extension-eligible, but has pointed out that it wouldn’t make financial sense for him to sign a new deal before reaching free agency.
Heat Notes: Trade Talks, Johnson, Whiteside
The Heat have been looking to shed salary, having made Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, and Dion Waiters available in trade talks, two rival high-ranking executives tell Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
According to those execs, however, Miami has been unwilling to attach a future first-round pick or a young player like Justise Winslow or Josh Richardson to those highly-paid veterans. As Jackson details, the Heat’s preference would be to move a big contract like Johnson’s for a lesser-paid – and perhaps less effective player – or a draft pick.
Whiteside, Johnson, and Waiters aren’t bad players, but they’re not positive trade assets on their current contracts, which span multiple seasons and will pay them $25.4MM, 19.2MM, and $11.6MM respectively in 2018/19. As such, the Heat will likely have to adjust their expectations and their asking price if they hope to move any of those players.
Here are several more notes out of South Beach:
- In an article for The Miami Herald, Barry Jackson explores the Heat’s options with Tyler Johnson‘s contract and notes that agent Mark Bartelstein isn’t ruling the possibility of Derrick Walton returning to the Heat. Miami withdrew Walton’s two-way qualifying offer earlier this week.
- Heat head coach Erik Spoeltra appears committed to a fresh start with Hassan Whiteside, telling reporters this week that he has been in “constant contact” with the veteran center this summer (link via The Miami Herald). “I’m looking forward to the start of the season with a healthy Hassan. I know he’s looking forward to that,” Spoelstra said. “And we still have a good part of the summer to get better. I think Hassan having an opportunity to start off the season healthy will be a really big boost for us.”
- The Heat remain on the lookout for under-the-radar free agents who are participating in the Las Vegas Summer League or holding individual workouts in Vegas this week, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Guys are getting two-ways during Summer League right now,” assistant GM Adam Simon said. “So those guys come off the table. So my job, our job, is to make sure we’re aware of all players that are available and then when it’s time to make decisions, then, as a group, we make those decisions.”
- In a separate article for The Sun Sentinel, Winderman examines how the Heat will handle their logjam at shooting guard with Wayne Ellington re-signing and a Dwyane Wade return still in play.
Two Raptors Trade Exceptions Set To Expire
A pair of sizable Raptors traded player exceptions will expire this weekend if Toronto doesn’t make a trade today or tomorrow. As our list of outstanding trade exceptions shows, those TPEs are worth $11.8MM and $6.125MM.
As we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, traded player exceptions can be used to acquire one or more players whose salary fits within the amount of the exception. The over-the-cap Raptors wouldn’t have to send out any salary if they were to acquire a player whose salary fits within one of those exceptions.
The Raptors created these two trade exceptions in a pair of salary-dump deals last July. The $11.8MM exception was generated in the trade that sent DeMarre Carroll to the Nets last July 13, and will expire if it’s not used today. The smaller exception, which was originally worth $7.63MM and was partially used in February to acquire Malachi Richardson, was created when Toronto sent Cory Joseph to the Pacers last July 14. It will expire if it’s not used by the end of Saturday.
Traded player exceptions can be a double-edged sword for a team like Toronto. The in-the-tax Raptors don’t have any cap room and can only offer free agents the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.337MM) or the minimum salary exception, so their TPEs look like a helpful alternate route to acquiring a player or two. However, given how far they already are over the luxury-tax threshold, the Raptors will be reluctant to add significant salary to their books, since the cost would be exponentially higher due to projected tax penalties.
Most trade exceptions ultimately go unused, so we shouldn’t expect the Raptors to strike a deal today or tomorrow. The team has been increasingly linked to Kawhi Leonard, but that appears to be a result of league-wide speculation rather than any concrete reports indicating Toronto and San Antonio are actually engaged in discussions on a potential Leonard trade. Kawhi’s $20MM+ salary wouldn’t fit into either of the Raptors’ TPEs anyway, though some other Spurs contracts would.
Rockets Remain Frontrunners For Carmelo Anthony
A report last weekend indicated that executives around the NBA viewed the Rockets as favorites to land Carmelo Anthony if and when he reaches free agency. Multiple reports this week have corroborated that story, with Marc Stein of The New York Times and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) both suggesting that Houston is the frontrunner for Anthony.
According to Stein, it would be a “full-fledged surprise” if Anthony doesn’t end up playing for the Rockets. Charania conveys a similar sentiment, writing that Houston is the “strong” favorite to land the veteran forward, having pulled away from the Heat in the Carmelo sweepstakes.
Anthony is still technically a member of the Thunder, but Oklahoma City is on track to part ways with the 10-time All-Star, either by buying him out, waiving and stretching him, or trading him to a team that will waive him.
[RELATED: Examining how a Carmelo Anthony trade could work]
As we learned earlier this week, the Thunder granted Anthony and his representatives permission to speak to potential suitors. Carmelo and his reps reportedly met with the Rockets and Heat, who were both said to have legitimate interest. The Lakers were mentioned as a possible landing spot for Anthony earlier in free agency, but Stein suggests L.A.’s interest was overstated.
The Rockets have lost Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute so far this offseason, but reached a deal to sign three-and-D wing James Ennis. Anthony would help fortify the team’s frontcourt depth. The club would be able to sign him using either the minimum salary exception or some or all of the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.337MM).
Spurs, Lakers, Others Eyeing David Nwaba
David Nwaba is no longer a restricted free agent, meaning he can sign outright with any NBA team, and interested clubs are checking in on the young shooting guard. According to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link), several teams have reached out to Nwaba, including the Spurs and Lakers. There’s no clear frontrunner at this point, Aldridge adds.
[RELATED: Bulls rescind qualifying offer for David Nwaba]
Nwaba, who was eligible for restricted free agency this summer, received a qualifying offer from the Bulls last month, giving the team the right of first refusal on any offer sheet he signed. However, Chicago withdrew that QO on Thursday, despite its modest price ($1.7MM), leading to speculation that the club is maximizing its cap room for a bigger move.
Despite making Nwaba an unrestricted free agent, the Bulls haven’t given up hope of re-signing him. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer tweets that the Bulls have interest in using the room exception to bring back Nwaba after they use up their cap space. A source confirmed to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune that the team hasn’t ruled out re-signing Nwaba once it completes other business.
In order to retain Nwaba though, the Bulls would have to count on the 25-year-old waiting out the team’s other move(s) and being willing to accept the $4.45MM room exception. Those aren’t unreasonable requests, but if Nwaba gets a comparable offer from another suitor, he may not want to wait on Chicago.
A former undrafted free agent, Nwaba had a solid season for the Bulls in 2017/18, averaging 7.9 PPG and 4.7 RPG while playing strong perimeter defense in 70 games (21 starts).
Southwest Notes: Cousins, Rondo, Doncic, Belinelli
Pelicans GM Dell Demps made his first public comments on the loss of free agents DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo in an interview with Rod Walker of The New Orleans Advocate.
According to Demps, team officials met with Cousins on the first two days of free agency, but the two sides weren’t able to find “common ground.” Demps called negotiations with Cousins “respectful” and “cordial,” but said the uncertainty over his physical condition in the wake of a torn Achilles made it difficult to reach a deal. Cousins eventually signed a one-year contract with the Warriors for their $5.3MM taxpayer mid-level exception.
“The unknown of returning to play made it difficult for both sides to find a common ground,” Demps explained. “We enjoyed DeMarcus in New Orleans and wanted him back. We had multiple discussions with his representatives. It was just very difficult for us to find common ground.”
Rondo also headed west for a one-year contract, signing with the Lakers for $9MM after a single season in New Orleans. Demps hopes the intangibles that Rondo brought will influence other players.
“Ultimately, it was a tough situation because we had so much success with Rondo with his leadership and on-court presence,” Demps said. “We felt like we had a chemistry. Unfortunately, he’s not back. At the same time, we believe that his impact will stay with our team.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- The Mavericks made the correct move in holding first-round pick Luka Doncic out of Summer League play, writes Dwain Price of NBA.com. Doncic’s buyout with Real Madrid wasn’t finalized until Monday, and he would have faced a difficult adjustment in joining the team in Las Vegas after it had already played two games.
- Manu Ginobili was among the first people to text congratulations to Marco Belinelli after he committed to return to the Spurs, notes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express News. That doesn’t guarantee Ginobili will be back for another season, but he’s glad to see his former teammate return after winning a title together in 2014. “We didn’t talk about [Ginobili playing], but I can say he was really happy about me coming back,” Belinelli said. “Winning a championship with that great team was amazing. Nobody is going to take that away from me.”
- Rockets second-round pick De’Anthony Melton has turned in a standout performance in the Las Vegas Summer League, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Melton slipped to the 46th pick after not playing last season at USC, and he has looked like a steal so far. Melton struggled with his shot in the opener, but is 10 of 23 from 3-point range since then and has impressed the coaching staff with his defense and play-making.