Jazz Re-Sign Derrick Favors
JULY 6, 11:55am: The Jazz have officially re-signed their top free agent priority for the summer, the team announced on its website. Favors has been with Utah longer than anyone else currently on the roster and is the 12th player to reach 500 games for the franchise. The Jazz also finalized deals with Dante Exum and Raul Neto.
JULY 2, 2:02pm: The Jazz and free agent big man Derrick Favors have reached an agreement on a new contract that will keep Favors in Utah, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links).
League sources tell Jones that the deal will be for two years, while agent Wallace Prather informs Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) that it’ll be worth $36MM. Michael Scotto of The Athletic adds (via Twitter) that Favors’ earnings over two years could exceed $37MM via incentives.
However, the second year on the agreement will be non-guaranteed, according to Jones (Twitter link). That will allow Utah to retain flexibility for 2019, when several contracts could come of the club’s books.
Favors, who will turn 27 later this month, enjoyed a strong bounce-back season for the Jazz in 2017/18 after an injury-plagued 2016/17 campaign. In 77 games (all starts) last season, Favors averaged 12.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 1.1 BPG with a career-best .563 FG%.
While Favors probably isn’t an ideal frontcourt partner for Rudy Gobert, given their overlapping skill sets, the duo found a way to make it work last season. Favors also provides the Jazz with rim protection and rebounding at the five when Gobert is on the bench — or when Gobert misses time due to injury, as he did last season.
Favors reached his decision after meeting with the Jazz in Atlanta for a few hours on Sunday. According to Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News (via Twitter), “a couple” other teams were in the mix for the veteran.
With Favors back in the fold, the Jazz – who are focusing on internal growth and development – figure to focus on retaining point guards Dante Exum and Raul Neto. The team will also have decisions to make soon on the non-guaranteed salaries for Jonas Jerebko and Ekpe Udoh, which would become guaranteed next week.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Suns Sign Elie Okobo To Multiyear Deal
JULY 6, 11:39am: Okobo’s deal is now official, the Suns announced on their website. The French point guard was an All-Star this season while playing for Pau-Lacq-Orthez in his homeland. Terms of the deal were not released, but it’s expected to be worth about $6MM in total, as noted below.
JUNE 24, 2:57pm: The Suns and the No. 31 overall selection of the 2018 NBA Draft Elie Okobo have agreed to a four-year contract worth approximately $6MM, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
Okobo, 20, has a buyout with Pau-Orthez of the LNB Pro A that will allow him to come to the NBA right away, and it appears to be well worth it, with Charania adding that the first two seasons of Okobo’s contract are fully guaranteed.
It’s not yet clear what the annual salaries will be in Okobo’s agreement, but the first two seasons are guaranteed for over $2.6MM and the third and fourth years will be non-guaranteed.
Because Okobo was not a first-round pick, he is not subject to the NBA’s rookie scale. Moreover, because he’ll sign a four-year contract, the Suns will be required to sign him using cap room or part of their MLE.
Okobo is the second player drafted in the second round of this year’s draft to sign a contract with his new team after Rodions Kurucs agreed to a contract with the Nets on Friday.
Jonah Bolden Plans To Play For Sixers
After spending one season in Israel, Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Jonah Bolden believes he is ready for the NBA, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 36th pick in 2017, Bolden made his intentions clear after Thursday’s practice with the Sixers’ summer league team.
“My plan is to come [to the NBA] this year,” Bolden said. “That was the plan from Day 1 with [former president of basketball operations] Bryan [Colangelo]. That’s still the plan now without Bryan. All respect to Bryan. I appreciated all he did for me. … But the plan is coming over this next season, 2018/19.”
“That’s between my agent, my team — the team I was on, Maccabi — and the Sixers,” Bolden said. “They have to figure that all out.”
Roster space could be an issue for Bolden again. Philadelphia, which had 11 players under contract when the offseason began, reached an agreement on Thursday with free agent Nemanja Bjelica. The Sixers also have a deal in place to acquire Wilson Chandler from the Nuggets and will re-sign J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson. Add in draft picks Zhaire Smith and Landry Shamet, who have already signed, along with a possible deal for second-rounder Shake Milton, and the team will be well over the 15-man roster limit.
T.J. McConnell and Richaun Holmes are on non-guaranteed contracts, while Jerryd Bayless [$8.58MM next season] and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot [$1.54MM] could be in danger of being waived.
Free Agent Rumors: Mbah A Moute, Capela, Nwaba
While the Rockets secured their top target in free agency over the weekend when they reached a four-year, maximum-salary contract agreement with Chris Paul, the club has plenty of other free agents to address.
Houston agreed to re-sign Gerald Green, but lost Trevor Ariza to Phoenix, increasing the pressure to re-sign Luc Mbah a Moute. For his part, Mbah a Moute is very open to a return, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
“Of course, I want to be here, yeah,” Mbah a Moute said. “I think we had a great year last year. I had a good year. The team did great, a game away from the Finals. Hopefully, we’ll bring everybody back. I know Trevor left. But to bring everybody else back and have the same team and try to go at it again, (that) is what I’m hoping to do. We’ll see what happens.”
Here are a few other free agent notes and rumors, including more on the Rockets:
- Clint Capela is perhaps the top free agent still on the board, and his restricted free agency will be fascinating to watch. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported earlier this week that – after meeting with the Rockets – Capela’s agent called at least 10 teams around the league, perhaps exploring whether any club might be willing to do an offer sheet (Twitter link via Ben DuBose). However, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando hears from a source that potential suitors are wary of Houston matching any offer.
- Cauchi’s source suggests that Capela may be leaning toward signing his qualifying offer, which would allow the big man to become an unrestricted free agent and sign with any team in 2019. Of course, that could be a negotiating tactic — if the Rockets are worried about the possibility of Capela bolting a year from now, it may push them to increase their current offer to him. For what it’s worth, the initial offer from Houston was considered “disappointing” by Capela’s camp, according to Cauchi’s source.
- Bulls restricted free agent David Nwaba has received a “barrage” of interest from around the NBA, tweets Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports. We heard earlier this week that Chicago was open to sign-and-trade offers for Nwaba.
- Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com passes along some chatter on free agency from NBA executives at the Utah Summer League this week, while Sean Deveney of The Sporting News identifies some of free agency’s winners and losers so far.
Kings To Focus On Trade Market With Cap Room?
The Kings are one of three NBA teams with significant cap room still available and have been linked to big-name restricted free agents like Jabari Parker and Zach LaVine within the last week or two. However, rather than making a bid for an RFA, Sacramento may take another route with its cap space.
According to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, the Kings intend to focus on the trade market, hoping to use their cap room to absorb an unwanted contract or two and collect extra draft assets. The ideal scenario for the team, Jones suggests, would be to acquire a veteran small forward in a trade and pick up a 2019 first-rounder, since Sacramento’s own 2019 pick is headed to the Celtics or Sixers.
While Jones confirms that Sacramento has expressed interest in Parker and LaVine, the prospect of reshaping the roster around either player, plus the uncertainty surrounding an offer sheet – which could be matched by the Bucks and Bulls, respectively – may ultimately discourage the club from pursuing either RFA. The Kings also view Parker as a power forward and aren’t looking to add more players at that spot, Jones notes.
The Kings have been on the lookout for a small forward in free agency, offering slightly more money to Mario Hezonja than the $6.5MM he’ll reportedly receive from the Knicks. However, if the team can add a small forward in a trade that also includes another asset or two, it may be a win in both the short- and long-term for the franchise.
While Jones doesn’t identify any specific trade partners the Kings may talk to, Bobby Marks’ list of clubs with the highest projected 2018/19 team salaries gives us a pretty good idea of which teams might be looking to cut costs.
The Thunder are one possible trade partner, though Alex Abrines and Kyle Singler may not appeal much to the Kings, and Carmelo Anthony is unlikely to approve a trade to Sacramento. The Raptors could be an intriguing fit if they’re looking to get out of the tax, or at least to reduce their projected tax bill — Norman Powell is believed to be available, and C.J. Miles could be too.
NBA’s 2018 July Moratorium Ends Today
The NBA’s July moratorium will end on Friday at 11:00 am central time, allowing teams to conduct official business beginning today. The July moratorium is the period from July 1 to July 6 when teams are permitted to agree to trades and free agent contracts, but can’t yet formally finalize them.
[RELATED: 2018 NBA Free Agent Tracker]
There are a number of types of deals that can be finalized during the moratorium, as we’ve seen this week. Teams can sign first-round picks to their rookie contracts, two-way contracts can be made official, and players signing minimum salary contracts can also finalize those deals. Restricted free agents are also permitted to sign offer sheets during the moratorium, though no players have done so this year.
Although the end of the moratorium signals the beginning of official business for many teams, those teams aren’t obligated to immediately finalize deals reached during the moratorium. In some cases, salary-cap machinations will require patience on some certain moves. The Wizards, for example, will have to wait until Dwight Howard is formally traded from Charlotte to Brooklyn, finalizes his buyout with the Nets, and officially clears waivers before they can actually sign him.
The Howard deal between the Hornets and Nets is just one of a handful of trades completed in June or early July that still need to be finalized. Swaps between the Hornets and Thunder, Lakers and Sixers, and Nuggets and Sixers all remain unofficial too.
[RELATED: 2018 NBA Offseason Trades]
Once the moratorium lifts, we’ll be updating our stories of contract and trade agreements to reflect when they become official.
For top headlines from the last week, like contract agreements for LeBron James, DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George, and other big-name free agents, we’ll bump those stories to the top of the site so you don’t miss news of them becoming official. However, since we don’t want to bury new news amidst confirmation of old signings, our stories on smaller deals won’t be moved to the top of our feed unless there are new developments or details.
Clippers Sign Angel Delgado To Two-Way Deal
JULY 6: The Clippers have officially signed Delgado to a two-way contract, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log.
JUNE 21: Seton Hall big man Angel Delgado didn’t hear his name called during Thursday night’s NBA draft, but it didn’t take him long to find an NBA home. According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter), Delgado has reached an agreement with the Clippers on a two-way contract.
Delgado, a 6’10” center, averaged a double-double in his senior year in 2017/18, posting 13.6 PPG and 11.8 RPG in 30.9 minutes per contest.
Having finished the 2017/18 season with only Tyrone Wallace on a two-way deal, the Clippers already have a two-way slot open on their roster. However, Delgado likely won’t finalize his agreement with the club until the new league year begins in July.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Knight, Kings
There’s pressure on the Lakers to get a second star, but it’s far from urgent, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report writes. So long as the franchise continues to practice patience, they’ll remain flexible enough to have options.
As things stand, the club has $5.7MM in cap space. That figure could grow to as much as $15.5MM if the club waives and stretches Luol Deng‘s contract over three seasons. They can get as high as $22.8MM if they can unload the deal altogether with “at least a first-rounder attached,” Pincus says. That flexibility would make a Brandon Ingram-for-Kawhi Leonard swap financially feasible.
Of course the Lakers could wait to see if a different trade for a star beckons, as reports suggest with Jimmy Butler and as is at least borderline conceivable with Damian Lillard.
An alternative to making a move this season would be giving center Brook Lopez the Lakers’ remaining $5.7MM of cap space on a one-year deal, retaining all of their young players in an audition to see who best fits with LeBron James, then going out shopping for a star next summer.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division tonight:
- The Suns may have their go-to point guard already on the roster. Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic writes about how head coach Igor Kokoskov has referred to Brandon Knight as their starter and that the guard seems to already have a better relationship with Kokoskov than he did with Earl Watson.
- The Suns are making progress in their rookie scale extension negotiations with Devin Booker, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 tweets, noting that they could have something finalized by the end of the weekend.
- Signing either Zach LaVine or Jabari Parker would require the Kings to reshape their roster, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. The club currently has plenty of young players they’d like to develop. The Kings already have Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield at the two while they just drafted Marvin Bagley to play the four.
Atlantic Notes: Smart, Sixers, Fizdale
The Celtics extended their $6MM qualifying offer to Marcus Smart in the days leading up to free agency but haven’t been in touch since, Mark Murphy of The Boston Heralds writes. That’s left the 24-year-old guard feeling “hurt” and “disgusted.”
While the comments originating from a source close to Smart’s camp could be ripped straight from a Pre-MBA Negotiations 101 textbook, there could be truth to them considering that Smart just watched his significantly less accomplished draftmate Dante Exum net a three-year deal with the Jazz.
“He’s just hurt and frustrated that Danny Ainge hasn’t reached out. That’s the most discouraging part of this whole thing. The last contact was a few days before free agency started,” the source said.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division tonight:
- The Sixers will be flush with cap space next summer, when a number of players signed to one-year deals come off their books. But, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes, they may not get a large window to use that $42MM of projected space. In 2020, the club will be forced to pay up for restricted free agents Ben Simmons and Dario Saric.
- While he’s always been one to play footloose and fancy free with the concept of traditional player positions, a vision Knicks boss David Fizdale shared with Marc Berman of The New York Post could be one of the most innovative yet. The head coach talked about playing Mitchell Robinson and Luke Kornet – both seven footers – together, with Kristaps Porzingis at the three and 6’9″ rookie Kevin Knox at the two. “Obviously, I have a crush on wingspan,” Fizdale said.
- It’s official, Jonah Bolden, a 2017 draft-and-stash Sixers prospect, is officially on Philadelphia’s summer league roster, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets.
Trail Blazers Sign Nik Stauskas
July 5: The Blazers announced in a press release that they’ve officially signed Stauskas.
July 1: The Trail Blazers have reached an agreement to sign former eighth overall pick Nik Stauskas, reports ESPN’s Chris Haynes (via Twitter). Stauskas will sign a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the club, Haynes adds (via Twitter).
Stauskas, who began his NBA career with the Kings, has been traded twice since then, first to Philadelphia and then to Brooklyn. The 6’6″ shooting guard posted decent numbers for the Sixers in 2016/17, putting up 9.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 2.4 APG with a .496/.368/.813 shooting line. However, he fell out of the team’s rotation early in the 2017/18 campaign and was sent to the Nets along with Jahlil Okafor.
In 35 games for Brooklyn, Stauskas averaged 5.1 PPG in 13.7 minutes per contest, with a .404 3PT%. The Nets opted not to issue him a qualifying offer this week, which allowed him to reach the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
Stauskas will earn $1,621,415 on his new deal, though Portland will only be on the hook for a $1,512,601 cap hit.