Hawks Sign Alex Len
AUGUST 3: The Hawks have officially signed Len, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 21: The Hawks are finalizing a deal with former Suns center Alex Len, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
The new contract will pay Len $8.5MM over two years, sources tell Charania (Twitter link). Both seasons will be fully guaranteed, reports Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who adds that the official announcement probably won’t come until a three-way trade with the Thunder and Sixers is finalized (Twitter link).
The Hawks are over the cap after a recent flurry of moves, but still have their $4.5MM room exception available. Several teams expressed interest in Len before he decided on Atlanta, Charania relays.
Len, 25, spent five seasons in Phoenix after being selected with the fifth pick in the 2013 draft, but never made the impact the Suns were hoping for. He accepted the team’s qualifying offer last summer after finding little interest as a restricted free agent. Phoenix renounced its rights to Len on July 2, shortly after the start of free agency.
Len averaged 8.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG last season as part of a crowded center rotation in Phoenix. He will enter the same type of situation in Atlanta, where he will compete for minutes with Dewayne Dedmon, John Collins, Miles Plumlee and Omari Spellman. The Hawks will have 13 players, all with guaranteed contracts, once the latest moves become official.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mavericks Re-Sign Salah Mejri
AUGUST 3: Having used up all their cap room, the Mavericks have finally gone ahead and finalized their new one-year, minimum-salary contract with Mejri, according to a press release.
Mejri will have the ability to veto trades during the 2018/19 league year.
JULY 1: The Mavericks have reached an agreement to re-sign Salah Mejri, with the big man’s agency breaking word of his new deal (Twitter link). League sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link) that it’ll be a one-year, minimum-salary contract for Mejri.
Mejri posted 3.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 61 games (12.0 MPG) for the Mavericks in 2017/18. The 7’1″ center is 32 years old, but made his NBA debut late and only has three years of NBA experience under his belt.
Mejri was eligible for restricted free agency this summer and initially received a qualifying offer from the Mavericks, but the team quickly withdrew that offer in order to maximize its cap flexibility.
Now that he has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Mavs, Mejri is unlikely to finalize his agreement until after the team uses all its cap room. At that point, Dallas can use the minimum salary exception to lock up Mejri, with no cap space required. He’d be in line for a $1,567,007 salary.
Sixers Sign Norvel Pelle
The Sixers have made an addition to their offseason roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed free agent center Norvel Pelle to a contract. Terms of the deal aren’t known, but it figures to be a camp deal that features little to no guaranteed money.
Pelle, who went undrafted in 2014, has played for teams in Taiwan, Lebanon, and Italy since beginning his professional career. He also spent time with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League team, allowing the Sixers to get a first-hand look at him.
The 76ers got a closer look at Pelle again last month when he appeared in five Las Vegas Summer League games for the club. Although he averaged just 13.8 MPG, the 25-year-old big man was effective, posting 7.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG.
Philadelphia has made a number of signings this offseason, bringing back NBA free agents J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson, locking up draftees Zhaire Smith, Landry Shamet, and Jonah Bolden, and signing Shake Milton and Demetrius Jackson to two-way deals. However, today’s agreement with Pelle looks like the first training camp deal of the club’s offseason.
And-Ones: 2019 FAs, Kidd, Lakers, MGM Resorts
The summer of 2018 didn’t involve a ton of huge surprises in free agency, but the 2019 NBA offseason is already shaping up to be a more dramatic and eventful free agent period. As Sean Deveney of The Sporting News details, there should be more teams with the ability to sign maximum-salary free agents next July, as well as more intriguing veterans available to sign those deals.
Taking an early look at the best players projected to be on the market in 2019, Deveney ranks Kevin Durant as the No. 1 UFA-to-be, followed by Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Al Horford, and Kemba Walker. DeMarcus Cousins, Khris Middleton, and Tobias Harris round out Deveney’s top 10, which could be even more star-studded if some potential restricted free agents pass on extensions this offseason.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Asked by Yahoo Finance (video link) whether he expects to coach in the NBA again, Jason Kidd replied, “One day.” The former Nets and Bucks head coach, a San Francisco native, said he’d be interested in coaching in the Bay Area at some point at any level, joking that he’d be ready to take over when Steve Kerr moves on as head coach of the Warriors.
- A handful of ESPN.com writers weighed in on the best and worst moves of the 2018 offseason, debated whether or not the Lakers will make the playoffs, and made bold predictions for the 2018/19 season.
- After the NBA announced earlier this week that it has agreed to a deal making MGM Resorts its “gaming partner” for sports betting purposes, ESPN’s David Purdum broke down what exactly that means, explaining what’s in it for the NBA and for MGM.
- In an interesting piece for Forbes.com, Jeff Siegel outlines why the new restricted free agency system for players on two-way contracts puts those players in a tough spot.
Pacers Sign C.J. Wilcox To Two-Way Contract
The Pacers have filled their second two-way contract slot, officially announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed free agent shooting guard C.J. Wilcox to a two-way contract.
Wilcox, a first-round pick in the 2014 draft, spent his first two seasons with the Clippers before being traded to the Magic during the 2016 offseason. The 6’5″ guard was waived by the Magic in April 2017 and inked a two-way deal with the Trail Blazers last summer. He spent the entire 2017/18 campaign on that two-way contract with Portland, recovering from a right knee injury for the first part of the season.
Players with more than three years of NBA experience aren’t eligible to sign two-way contracts, so it appears last season didn’t count as a year of service for Wilcox, who had appeared in games with the Clippers and Magic during the previous three seasons. A player must spend at least one day on his club’s NBA roster to log a year of service, and Wilcox didn’t play at all for the Blazers in 2017/18. The 27-year-old averaged 10.4 PPG on .451/.381/.889 in 11 G League games for the Santa Cruz Warriors.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Two-Way Contracts]
With Wilcox locked up, the Pacers have now filled both of their two-way contract slots. Edmond Sumner, who signed a two-year, two-way deal with Indiana last year, holds the other spot.
Five NBA Offseason Storylines Still Worth Watching
LeBron James has chosen his new team. The Spurs have traded Kawhi Leonard. Nearly every NBA team has used up all its cap room. In other words, there aren’t many major storylines from the 2018 offseason that still need to be resolved.
Still, as we enter the second month of the 2018/19 league year, there are a handful of subplots around the league that remain ongoing. Although August typically isn’t jam-packed with signings and trades, there are still plenty of teams looking to tweak their rosters before training camps get underway in September.
Here are five offseason storylines that are still worth watching now that much of the summer fun is over:
Will the Cavaliers re-sign Rodney Hood?
- Hood isn’t the only restricted free agent who remains unsigned, but he’s easily the most noteworthy one. Given the Cavaliers‘ proximity to the tax line, an aggressive offer sheet would put pressure on Cleveland and could probably pry Hood away. Only the Kings have the cap room necessary to make such an offer though, and Sacramento already has 16 players on guaranteed contracts. Given Hood’s dwindling leverage, it will be interesting to see if he signs a team-friendly multiyear deal with the Cavs or bets on himself by accepting his one-year qualifying offer.
- Latest on Hood: Contract talks between Cavs, Hood have stalled
- Will Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem return to the Heat?
- Wade and Haslem debuted together for the Heat back in 2003, and outside of the season and a half Wade spent as a Bull and Cavalier, the duo has been together for the last 15 years in South Beach. It would be fitting for both players to call it a career at the same time, but that may not happen quite yet — I suspect that if Wade returns to Miami, Haslem will do so too. But a return isn’t a formality for Wade, who has received major interest from teams in China and who may seek more than the minimum salary from the in-the-tax Heat. Both players figure to make decisions this month.
- Latest on Wade, Haslem: Pat Riley anticipates decisions by mid-August
- Will any other veteran stars announce their retirement?
- Wade isn’t the only longtime NBA star reportedly mulling the possibility of retiring. Manu Ginobili hasn’t made an announcement one way or the other, and neither has David West. I suspect Wade and Ginobili – who is under contract with the Spurs for one more year – will ultimately continue their respective careers, but I’m not so sure about West. When he signed with the Warriors in 2017, reports at the time suggested it would probably be his last season. He hasn’t said anything this offseason to refute that notion.
- Latest on Manu: Ginobili likely to play at least one more season
- Will the Rockets be able to acquire another wing player?
- The Rockets still haven’t made their deal with Carmelo Anthony official, but even after that happens, the team may not be done with its offseason moves. The club is reportedly looking into ways to add one more three-and-D type wing, likely by dangling Ryan Anderson‘s contract and a 2019 first-round pick in trade talks. Kent Bazemore and J.R. Smith are among the players the Rockets have reportedly kicked the tires on, but there’s no shortage of other vets who may be viable trade targets, including Nicolas Batum, DeMarre Carroll, and Courtney Lee.
- Latest on Houston: Rockets remain in market for a wing player
- Will Karl-Anthony Towns or any other players eligible for rookie scale extensions receive new deals?
- Devin Booker quickly came to terms on a new long-term deal with the Suns once the new league year began last month, but he’s the only one of 23 players eligible for rookie scale extensions to sign one so far. Towns, who was said last month to be discussing a max contract with the Timberwolves, is the best bet to get something done in the coming weeks. Other possible extension candidates include Larry Nance Jr. (Cavaliers), Justise Winslow (Heat), Myles Turner (Pacers), Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks), Bobby Portis (Bulls), Terry Rozier (Celtics), and Frank Kaminsky (Hornets). The deadline is the day before the 2018/19 regular season.
- Latest on Towns: Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor confident Towns will sign extension
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Joe Young Expected To Play In China
Former Pacers guard Joe Young is expected to make the move overseas to China for the 2018/19 season, per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Carchia reports that Young has agreed to terms with Chinese team Nanjing Monkey King.
Young, who spent three seasons in Indiana, appeared in 127 total games for the club, but never played major minutes, averaging only 8.5 MPG. In 2017/18, he recorded 3.9 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 10.5 MPG, with a .430/.379/.759 shooting line.
The Pacers declined Young’s team option for the 2018/19 season back in June, making him an unrestricted free agent. That was the last we’d heard on Young until now — if any NBA teams had interest in him over the last month, that interest wasn’t reported, so it makes sense that he’d explore international opportunities.
Assuming he makes his deal with Nanjing official, Young will become the latest in a string of NBA players to spend time with the club. Hassan Whiteside is the most noteworthy former member of the squad, which has also featured J.J. Hickson, Jared Cunningham, DeJuan Blair, and Von Wafer in recent years.
Lakers’ Luol Deng Wants Opportunity To Play
After playing 13 minutes in the Lakers‘ 2017/18 regular season opener last October, Luol Deng didn’t appear in another game all year. According to Deng, that was an “organizational decision” that he respected, but didn’t necessarily agree with, as Stuart Hess of South African outlet IOL relays (hat tip to NBC Sports).
“Throughout the year I tried to play and every time they said they wanted to play the young guys, so that’s their direction,” Deng said this week as he prepares for the NBA Africa Game.
Having signed a four-year, $72MM contract in the summer of 2016, Deng is viewed as a negative asset due to his exorbitant salary, but believes he’s still capable of contributing to an NBA team. It seems unlikely he’ll get any more opportunities in 2018/19 than he did last season, however, given the arrival of LeBron James and other veterans, not to mention the Lakers’ continuing desire to develop their young players.
“I don’t know what’s going on now. Hopefully soon I will know. I would like to know the answers,” Deng said. “I know the level I can play at and the decision is something they came up with, whatever the criticism or the plan is, none of it was my decision, people need to understand that. They can say whatever they want, I know I can play the game, they see me at practice every day. If it was a game thing then come out and say it, but the honest truth, it’s the decision they made.”
Since they didn’t end up needing to maximize their cap space to acquire a second star to complement James this summer, the Lakers have kept Deng on the roster. Waiving and stretching him would have created about $11MM in extra cap room, but it would’ve also meant taking on cap charges of $7MM+ for the next five years.
If L.A. keeps Deng under contract for another year, it will be far more palatable for the team to stretch his contract – or even try to trade him – next offseason. For his part, the veteran forward sounds as if he’ll get a little impatient as he waits for an opportunity to get back on the court.
“I want to play, I want to be a part of something,” Deng said. “But I’m not going to be a part of a place where you don’t believe in me. I’m not trying to knock down anybody, but I play for people who believe in me. I’ve taken every opportunity since day one and proven myself, I’m not going to sit here and give you the right answer, I’m going to be honest about it, for me, if the respect and appreciation is not there then I’d rather be elsewhere.”
How Non-Bird Rights Impact Promotions For Two-Way Players
When NBA teams sign undrafted free agents or second-round picks to contracts, those clubs need to have cap space or a mid-level exception available to lock up those players for longer than two years or to pay them more than the minimum salary.
While most teams make sure to earmark some cap room or a portion of their mid-level exception to use on those players – particularly second-rounders – that’s not always the case. The Grizzlies, for instance, used their entire mid-level exception on Kyle Anderson‘s offer sheet, meaning they could only sign 32nd overall pick Jevon Carter to a two-year, minimum-salary deal.
This offseason though, a new tool has come in handy in allowing teams to sign players to longer-term or more lucrative contracts than the minimum salary exception would allow, without having to use cap room or the mid-level exception to do it. The catch? Those players had to have finished the 2017/18 season on a two-way contract with the club.
When a player is on a two-way contract, a new kind of deal introduced in the NBA’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement, he’s not technically on a club’s 15-man roster, but he accrues Bird rights just as a player on the roster would. That means that any player who finished last season on a two-way deal had Non-Bird rights this summer.
Non-Bird rights don’t allow teams to give players major raises — Non-Bird deals can only start at up to 120% of the player’s previous salary or 120% of his minimum salary, whichever is greater. However, they do allow for contracts of up to four years, which has paid off for some teams and players this summer.
Consider the case of Georges Niang, who was on a two-way contract with the Jazz last season. Buoyed by an impressive Summer League showing with Utah last month, Niang earned a three-year contract with the club. Typically, to go up to three years, the over-the-cap Jazz would have had to dip into their mid-level exception, but that wasn’t the case for Niang — his Non-Bird rights allowed for a three-year deal.
While Niang’s contract is only worth the minimum, Non-Bird rights do allow for slightly larger salaries, as noted above. For example, the Knicks re-signed former two-way player Luke Kornet to the maximum allowable salary using his Non-Bird rights. Instead of earning his minimum salary ($1,349,383), Kornet will make 120% of that amount ($1,619,260). Without his Non-Bird rights, New York would have had to use its mid-level or bi-annual exception to give Kornet that kind of raise.
Non-Bird rights haven’t paid off for every team with a two-way player who’s getting a promotion. For instance, the Nuggets moved Torrey Craig to their standard roster by giving him a new two-year, $4MM contract. Denver had to use part of its mid-level exception to complete that signing, since it exceeded the salary Craig could’ve earned with Non-Bird rights. The Nuggets did take advantage of the Non-Bird rules with their other two-way player though, giving Monte Morris a new three-year contract.
Two-way contracts remain in their relative infancy, so it’s interesting to see how teams are taking advantage of the rules surrounding them. Players like Niang, Kornet, and Morris are among the first group of two-way players to be promoted to standard contracts via Non-Bird rights, but they certainly won’t be the last.
Here’s the full list of two-way players whose teams have promoted them to standard contracts this offseason:
- Ryan Arcidiacono (Bulls)
- Jabari Bird (Celtics)
- Antonio Blakeney (Bulls)
- Torrey Craig (Nuggets)
- Derrick Jones (Heat)
- Luke Kornet (Knicks)
- Monte Morris (Nuggets)
- Georges Niang (Jazz)
Note: Jamel Artis, Danuel House, Daniel Hamilton, and Kadeem Allen have signed or agreed to standard NBA contracts with new teams after finishing last season on two-way deals.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Community Shootaround: Worst Offseason Move
On Wednesday night, we opened up a discussion on the best roster move of the offseason, from a team perspective. While the Lakers‘ signing of LeBron James was probably the single-most impactful move of the summer, other deals – such as the Warriors‘ signing of DeMarcus Cousins and the Nuggets‘ addition of Isaiah Thomas – received plenty of praise as well.
Today, we’re shifting our focus to look at the deals on the other end of the spectrum. Which roster moves were the worst of the offseason?
We can get a little creative here. If there’s not a single free agent signing or trade that stood out for you as awful, then a series of moves made – or not made – by a club could qualify for this “honor.” For instance, perhaps you weren’t a fan of the Rockets replacing Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute with James Ennis and Carmelo Anthony, even if none of those moves on their own are particularly egregious.
A handful of ESPN analysts weighed in on this question this week. Among their choices? The Wizards‘ offseason moves, including the signing of Dwight Howard; the Bulls‘ signing of Jabari Parker to a two-year, $40MM deal; and the Lakers‘ deal with Lance Stephenson.
Those are hardly the only candidates to qualify for the most questionable move of the summer. Perhaps you’re skeptical about Devin Booker‘s new five-year maximum-salary extension with the Suns, or particularly disliked one side or the other in the Kawhi Leonard/DeMar DeRozan mega-deal. Maybe one of the signings at the very start of free agency, such as the three-year deals the Pacers and Bucks gave Doug McDermott and Ersan Ilyasova, respectively, drew your ire.
Draft-night trades also qualify for this discussion, so if you hated the Hawks‘ move to pass up on Luka Doncic for Trae Young, or the Suns‘ decision to give up an unprotected future first-rounder to move up six sports for Mikal Bridges, let us know.
What do you think? Which offseason move do you think is the worst – or just your least-favorite – of 2018?