Malik Newman Signs Contract With Heat
AUGUST 6: The signing is official, the team tweets.
AUGUST 3: Guard Malik Newman has agreed to a contact with the Heat, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.
Newman, 21, signed a two-way contract with the Lakers at the beginning of last month but was waived on July 19th. He played in five summer league games for Los Angeles and averaged 3.2 PPG in 9.8 MPG. The contract is believed to be a training-camp deal, though the Heat have openings on their roster.
The 6’3” guard spent one season at the University of Kansas, posting averages of 14.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 2.1 APG while shooting 41.5% from long range. He went undrafted in June.
And-Ones: ROY Predictions, Offseason Rankings, NBAGL
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has the best chance to win the Rookie of the Year award, according to an ESPN panel. Doncic will fill up the stat sheet and might wind up with the ball more often than second-year guard Dennis Smith Jr., according to Mike Schmitz. Top overall pick Deandre Ayton ranks second on the poll, with Schmitz noting that the Suns big man likely to get more playing time than any other rookie. Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., Cavaliers point guard Collin Sexton and Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. round out the top five.
We have more from around the league:
- Retaining Paul George in free agency and dumping Carmelo Anthony‘s contract while receiving projected sixth man Dennis Schroder in return earned the Thunder the top spot on NBA.com’s David Aldridge’s offseason rankings. The rankings are based upon what teams have done during the offseason. The Lakers ranked No. 2 by virtue of signing LeBron James and handing out one-year contracts to other players, thus allowing them to be a force again in next year’s free agent market. The Nuggets gained the No. 3 spot by locking up Nikola Jokic and making trades that cleared roster spots and eased their luxury-tax situation.
- Forwards DJ Hogg (Texas A&M) and Malik Pope (San Diego State) and swingman BJ Johnson (LaSalle) are among the top 10 prospects at the G League Invitational, according to Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype. The invitational takes place Sunday in Chicago and over a dozen of last year’s prospects received training camp invites afterward.
- The Warriors’ over-under odds for wins next season is 62.5, according to Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. The Celtics ranked second overall with a 57.5 over-under win total with the Rockets third at 54.5. The Hawks have the lowest projected win total at 23.5. The odds for each NBA team were passed along by ESPN’s Ben Fawkes.
Mavericks Waive Chinanu Onuaku
AUGUST 6: The Mavs have officially waived Onuaku, according to a team press release.
AUGUST 2: The Mavericks will waive newly-acquired center Chinanu Onuaku, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). After completing the move, Dallas will be able to move forward with other signings, such as the club’s new deal with free agent guard Devin Harris.
Onuaku, 21, appeared in just six NBA regular season games in two NBA seasons with the Rockets. The former Louisville big man has spent most of his two professional seasons in the G League, playing in 83 total games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and averaging 12.3 PPG and 10.0 RPG to go along with 2.5 APG, 1.4 BPG, and 1.1 SPG. He also has a .617 FG% in the NBAGL.
While the Mavs’ acquisition of Onuaku may look pointless now that he’s being released, it essentially represented a no-cost opportunity to move up a few spots in the second round of the 2020 draft. The Rockets are reportedly covering Onuaku’s salary with cash as part of the trade, with the Mavs giving up the rights to a player who will likely never play in the NBA. Dallas will get the chance to swap the Warriors’ 2020 second-round pick for Houston’s second-rounder.
As we noted earlier today, the Mavs had already committed to free agent deals with 21 players this offseason, so it’s not a surprise that they’re cutting Onuaku to help make room for those signings. They’ll need to release or trade one more player to finalize all their reported deals.
As for Onuaku, once he’s officially waived, he’ll spent two days on waivers. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, eligible to sign with any team except the Rockets.
Nets Sign Theo Pinson
AUGUST 6: The Nets have announced Pinson’s signing in a press release.
AUGUST 1: The Nets’ deal with Pinson is now official, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log.
JUNE 22: North Carolina’s Theo Pinson will sign a contract with the Nets that includes an Exhibit 10 attachment, tweets Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
Under NBA rules, an Exhibit 10 clause gives the team an option to convert the deal into a two-way contract at a later date. To qualify, the contract must be a minimum-salary arrangement for one year with no bonuses (except for an optional Exhibit 10 bonus) and no compensation protection.
Pinson, 22, can receive anywhere from $5K to $50K if he is waived by the Nets and spends at least 60 days with their G-League affiliate.
A 6’6″ shooting guard, Pinson was part of the Tar Heels’ national championship team in 2017. He became a full-time starter as a senior this season, posting a 10.3/6.5/5.1 line in 37 games. He will join the Nets’ summer leage team in Las Vegas.
Southeast Notes: Len, Whiteside, Adebayo, Wall
After growing up as a Hawks fan, Alex Len hopes to revive his NBA career with his favorite team, writes Kevin L. Chouinard of NBA.com. A Ukrainian native, Len was attracted to the Hawks because of their connection to countryman Alexander Volkov and was happy when Atlanta expressed interest in free agency last month.
The fifth player taken in the 2013 draft, Len spent five years in Phoenix but never lived up to the Suns’ expectations. At 25, he believes he is still young enough to be part of the rebuilding plan in Atlanta.
“It’s a young team,” Len said. “I think I fit well with the guys and mesh with the young core, so for the long term I thought it would be the best team. It’s an opportunity right there. In the East, I think there’s — what, maybe four or five teams that are really good? I think we can surprise a lot of teams.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Heat center Hassan Whiteside calls the week he spent in Africa “life changing,” relays Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Whiteside was among the stars of the NBA Africa game, making all five of his shots from the field, but the week of volunteering beforehand made a larger impression. “Life changing, life changing,” he said, “from building houses with kids, from seeing kids playing basketball, from taking selfies with all the kids around the world. It’s a dream come true. I never thought that kids in Africa or anybody in Africa would know my name. It takes me back. It’s crazy.”
- Whiteside’s performance in Africa shows he can still be effective when he’s “active and engaged,” Winderman writes in a mailbag column. Whiteside clashed with coaches over playing time last season, but Winderman states that he still has the talent to be part of the rotation, even if that forces the team to make tough choices in other areas.
- Bam Adebayo spent a lot of time in Summer League at power forward, which may be his natural position, Winderman adds in the same piece. His playing time during the upcoming season will depend on how effectively he can operate in tandem with Whiteside or Kelly Olynyk.
- John Wall believes the Wizards may benefit from reduced media attention heading into next season, relays Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Even after adding Dwight Howard and Austin Rivers to a talented lineup, Washington isn’t being touted in the same class with the Celtics, Sixers and Raptors. “When we were that team that was flying under the radar, we came out and showed people what we was capable of,” Wall said. “Then, when we were the team that everyone was talking about and everyone had so much high expectations for, we kind of failed those expectations.”
Morris Twins Change Agents
Markieff Morris of the Wizards and Marcus Morris of the Celtics are preparing for free agency next summer by changing their representatives, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
Both players signed with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, who is best known as the agent for LeBron James. Paul has a number of other high-profile clients, such as John Wall, Ben Simmons and Eric Bledsoe.
Markieff Morris has spent the past two-and-a-half seasons in Washington after being acquired in a trade at the 2016 deadline. A seven-year veteran, he will make $8.6MM in the final season of a four-year, $32MM contract.
Marcus Morris has also been in the league seven years and is coming off his first season in Boston after being traded there by the Pistons last summer. He has a $5.375MM salary for 2018/19 in the final season of a four-year, $20MM deal.
Mavericks Sign Ryan Broekhoff
AUGUST 6: The signing is official, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
JULY 5: The Mavericks have agreed to a two-year deal with swingman Ryan Broekhoff, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The first year of the deal is guaranteed.
According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic, the two-year pact will be worth $2.4MM.
While Broekhoff played four seasons at Valparaiso, he’s spent the past five campaigns plying his trade abroad. The 27-year-old Austrailian most recently played 16 EuroCup games with Lokomotiv Kuban of Russia’s VTB United League, averaging 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the process.
The 50.6% three-point shooter will give the Mavs extra depth on the perimeter as they gear up for a season of competitive basketball after bolstering their lineup this offseason. Team owner Mark Cuban calls him “the best shooter in Europe” (Twitter link via Dwain Price of Mavs.com).
Southwest Notes: Conley, Hunter, Parker, Broekhoff
Last month’s signing of Kyle Anderson will enable Mike Conley to adopt a different role for the Grizzlies this season, according to Peter Edmiston of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. A point guard throughout his 11-year career, Conley will be used off the ball more frequently and will be counted on to provide more scoring.
Conley said he talked to former Memphis coach David Fizdale about such a move two years ago. However, any progress was short circuited last year when an injury ended Conley’s season after 12 games and Fizdale was fired in November.
“When Kyle and anybody else on the ball make plays, I don’t have to make plays for myself,” Conley said. “I’m excited about that and I think it bodes well for my season and our team.”
Conley also addressed questions about his injured heel that required season-ended surgery, saying he’s feeling “on track” and expects to be at full strength when the new season starts in October.
There’s more today from the Southwest Division:
- R.J. Hunter has become a Summer League regular after the Celtics made him a first-round pick in 2015, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Hunter, who has a two-way contract with the Rockets, played for Houston’s entry this year in his fourth consecutive Summer League. He has appeared in just eight NBA games since the Celtics waived him in 2016, but said his time with the Rockets has been a valuable learning experience. “Whenever I’m on the bench, just see what they need on the court,” Hunter said. “I think it’s more of a thinking game. Houston’s old. A lot of their players are vets, so they’ve been teaching me how to think the game and be patient.”
- Tony Parker, who signed with the Hornets after 17 years with the Spurs, reflects on his time in San Antonio in a letter on The Players’ Tribune. Parker talks about his embarrassing audition with the team, the transition to Dejounte Murray as the starting point guard and the meaning of “Spurs culture.”
- After losing Doug McDermott in free agency, the Mavericks hope they have found a replacement in sharpshooter Ryan Broekhoff. The Dallas Morning News takes a closer look at the Australian star, noting that Matthew Dellavedova lobbied the Bucks to sign him.
International Notes: Sullinger, Douglas, Sims, Ndour
Earlier today, we told you that Isaiah Whitehead finalized his deal with Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia and Larry Drew‘s Korean contract was pulled over an NBA games restriction. Here are a few more international tidbits, all courtesy of Sportando:
- Jared Sullinger, a former Celtics first-round pick who played five NBA seasons, has re-signed with the Shenzen Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association. Sullinger spent four seasons with Boston and part of another with Toronto. In February of 2017, the Raptors traded him to the Suns, who waived him the next day. He signed with Shenzen last September.
- Toney Douglas, who played for seven teams in eight NBA seasons, has signed with Sakarya Buyuksehir in Turkey. He spent last season with another Turkish team, Anadolu Efes. Douglas’ last NBA experience came in 2016/17 when he played 24 games for the Grizzlies.
- Former Sixers center Henry Sims will sign with Italian club Virtus Roma after playing last year for Vanoli Cremona in Italy. Sims’ best NBA season came in 2014/15 when he averaged 8.0 PPG and 4.9 RPG in 73 games for Philadelphia. He also played for the [New Orleans] Hornets, Cavaliers and Nets in a four-year career.
- Maurice Ndour, who spent part of the 2016/17 season with the Knicks, re-signed with Unics Kazan in Russia. He appeared in 32 games for New York, starting four, and averaged 3.1 points per night.
Korean Deal Falls Through For Larry Drew II
Larry Drew II had planned to sign with LG Sakers in South Korea, but the deal was pulled after the team discovered he played 10 NBA games last season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
Korean Basketball League teams are prohibited from signing players who have appeared in 10 or more games in the NBA over the past three years. Drew hit that mark exactly last season in short stints with the Sixers and Pelicans. Carchia describes Drew’s Korean deal as “lucrative” in a tweet, but doesn’t provide details.
After going undrafted in 2013, Drew has bounced back and forth between the G League and international competition with a couple of brief stops in the NBA. He played 12 games for the Sixers in 2014/15, then signed a 10-day contract with Philadelphia in January. He appeared in three games and didn’t receive a second 10-day deal.
Drew spent time with the Pelicans on a pair of 10-day contracts in March. He got into seven games, putting him at the Korean limit, and averaged 2.1 points in about eight minutes per night.
The 28-year-old guard, who has previously played overseas in Monaco and Lithuania, remains a free agent and will try to land a contract elsewhere.