L.A. Notes: Gallinari, Kalamian, Berry, Kobe
After being slowed by injuries throughout last season, Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari has proclaimed himself healthy as he prepares for this weekend’s NBA Africa Game, relays Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Hand and glute issues limited Gallinari to 21 games in his first season with the Clippers after being acquired in an offseason trade. It’s a familiar story for Gallinari, who has only reached 70 games in a season twice in his career.
“Of course I will play. I got to show you some of the Gallo magic,” Gallinari joked in Wednesday’s conference call with reporters. “Yeah, yeah, everything is good. I’m very excited. I’m healthy now, body is good. So I can’t wait to start.”
Gallinari still has two years remaining on a three-year, $65MM deal he signed prior to a three-team trade that brought him from Denver to L.A. last summer. He will make $21,587,579 this season and $22,615,559 in 2019/20 with no team or player option on the final year. Gallinari fractured his right hand late in the season, but says it has fully healed.
There’s more this morning from Los Angeles:
- Former Raptors assistant Rex Kalamian has officially joined the Clippers‘ coaching staff, the team announced on its website. Kalamian, who broke into the NBA as a scout with the Clippers in 1992, worked under Dwane Casey in Toronto for the past three years. L.A. also promoted G League coach Casey Hill to an assistant role with the NBA team.
- Lakers guard Joel Berry has a huge goal for a player who wasn’t drafted. In an interview with Drew Ruiz of Hoops Hype, Berry said he hopes to be among the contenders for Rookie of the Year and talks about the feeling of being passed over on draft night. “It was pretty tough,” he recalled. “It’s always a dream to hear your name get called, but honestly, I’ve always taken the path where I was always overlooked and my game is not the flashiest – I just win – and that speaks more than being a flashy player.”
- Kobe Bryant‘s wife is quashing any speculation that he might be thinking of a comeback, according to Alysha Tsuji of USA Today. Shaquille O’Neal sparked rumors of a return in a TMZ interview over the weekend, but Vanessa Bryant made it clear that it won’t happen. “Kobe will not be coming out of retirement to play again,” she wrote on Instagram. “He doesn’t want to play again and frankly we really enjoy spending time together as a family without the crazy game schedule interfering with birthdays, holidays and special events.”
Matt Costello Signs With Italian Team
Matt Costello, a two-way player with the Spurs last season, has signed with Scandone Avellino in Italy, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
The former Michigan State center played almost exclusively in the G League after signing with San Antonio last summer. He appeared in just four NBA games, averaging 8.0 minutes per night, but put up 8.0 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 30 games with the Austin Spurs in his second season in the G League.
Costello, 24, was San Antonio’s last unrestricted free agent. Darrun Hilliard, who filled the team’s other two-way slot last year, is restricted and remains unsigned.
Hassan Whiteside Looking To Put Last Season Behind Him
Despite a rough 2017/18 campaign that saw him miss 28 games and included a relatively infamous rant about a lack of playing time, Heat center Hassan Whiteside is ready for a fresh start, reports Shandel Richardson of the Sun-Sentinel.
“I feel great,” Whiteside said recently. “I feel a lot better than I did during (last) season. I’m completely healed. I feel like my regular self again.”
Whiteside, who dealt with both knee and hip injuries last season, averaged just 25.3 minutes per game, his lowest since his first season with the Heat in 2014/15. Moreover, he was often benched during fourth quarters and averaged a mere 15.4 MPG in the Heat’s first-round playoff series loss to the Sixers.
In regard to a recent meeting with both head coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley, Whiteside says things are much better than a year ago.
“We had a great talk,” Whiteside said. “I just think it’s trust on both sides. I think that’s the biggest thing … It was about a four-hour meeting. It was a lot about life. It was two hours basketball, two hours life. It was a good meeting.”
Whiteside, 29, led the lead in blocks during the 2015/16 season en route to being named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. He followed that up by leading the NBA in rebounds with 14.1 per game during the 2016/17 campaign. He will look to regain that form this season.
Calderon, Pachulia Ideal Fits In Detroit
While it’s no guarantee that either player will crack new head coach Dwane Casey‘s rotation, both newly-acquired veterans Jose Calderon and Zaza Pachulia are ideal fits to complement the Pistons‘ roster, opines Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
“They can still play an NBA basketball game. They can contribute,” says senior advisor Ed Stefanski. “But if they don’t play one night, they’re not going to be moping in the locker room. They’re going to be ready to play all the time and they’re going to help these young guys become professionals.”
With both Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith returning this season, Calderon is not likely to see much time at the point guard position. However, given Calderon’s size (6’3”) and ability to shoot from long range (career 41.1% 3-point shooter), it will be interesting to see whether Calderon could play along Jackson or Smith, especially when two rookies – Khyri Thomas and Bruce Brown – are likely to be relied upon for reserve shooting guard minutes.
As for Pachulia, he seems to be firmly rooted as a reserve center behind starter Andre Drummond and backups Jon Leuer and Henry Ellenson. But, with an 82-game season to play, injuries could very well force the 34-year-old Georgian big man into more minutes.
“I’m very excited about our two veterans in Pachulia and Calderon,” Stefanski added. “Both winners in the NBA. Both have won championships. Both – if you talk to people in the league – they’re as good a guys as you’re going to get, as professional as you’re going to get.”
Community Shootaround: Best Offseason Deal
The frenzy that is the NBA free agency period has largely come to a close, with 48 of our 50 top-rated 2018 free agents now having either agreed to sign or signed a new deal. Only Rodney Hood and Dwyane Wade remain free agents.
Out of those 48 free-agent signings, Chris Paul signed the largest deal, both in terms of total and per-season value, while Nerlens Noel (per-season value) and Isaiah Thomas (total value), who was ironically expected to sign a large deal not too long ago, signed the least lucrative deals.
LeBron James‘ deal with the Lakers was a close second in value to Paul’s contract with the Rockets. Widely considered to be the best player in the world, it’s hard not to consider James’ contract with the Lakers the best offseason deal.
However, one could realistically argue that Paul George re-signing with the Thunder, after last summer having so clearly iterated his intentions to go to L.A. when he became a free agent this summer, or Clint Capela‘s team-friendly deal with the Rockets, to be better overall deals that James’. Moreover, the defending champion Warriors signed DeMarcus Cousins – a bonafide star when healthy – to a one-year deal for the mid-level exception, which is generally reserved for role-type players.
So that leads us to our topic of discussion: Which summer signing/reported signing do you think was the best deal of the summer? Was it clearly James’ heading to L.A. or does another situation exceed that signing?
Please take to the comments section to voice your opinion. We look forward to what you have to say.
Jazz Sign Tyler Cavanaugh To Two-Way Contract
The Jazz have signed forward Tyler Cavanaugh to a two-way contract, per an official release from the team.
Cavanaugh, 24, played for the Hawks last season as a rookie after going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft. He appeared in 39 games (one start) during the 2017/18 season, posting respectable averages of 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game.
Cavanaugh also saw action in the G League with Atlanta’s affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, where he averaged 14.5 points and 7.3 boards in 23.6 minutes per contest. He was waived by the Hawks back in May, likely in response to an ankle injury, coaching change, and imminent salary guarantee date.
Having already signed Naz Mitrou-Long to a two-way deal, the Jazz have now filled up both of their two-way slots in anticipation of the 2018/19 season. Both players will be eligible to spend up to 45 days with the Jazz during the G League season.
Nate Robinson To Play In Lebanon
Former NBA player Nate Robinson will continue his playing career overseas, per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. According to Carchia, Robinson penned a deal with Homenetmen of the Lebanese Basketball League.
Robinson, a late first-round selection in the 2005 NBA Draft, spent his first five seasons with the Knicks before becoming a journeyman during the back half of his NBA career. From 2010 to 2015 he played for seven additional NBA franchises and in 2016, he signed his first contract overseas with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League.
The 5’9” point guard, perhaps best known for being a three-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion from 2006 to 2010, said as recently as December that he is still looking for an opportunity to return to the NBA, but for now, he’ll have to settle for a chance to showcase his ability in Lebanon.
Robinson, 34, holds NBA averages of 11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in 618 career contests with a career shooting line of .463/.360/.796.
Bucks Sign Pat Connaughton
AUGUST 1: The Bucks have officially signed Connaughton, the team announced today in a press release.
“Pat is a talented wing player with a tremendous work ethic and great character,” GM Jon Horst said in a statement. “We believe he will continue to grow and develop his skills working with Coach Bud and his staff. We are excited to welcome him to the Bucks organization and we know he will be a positive addition to our roster both on and off the court.”
JULY 27: The Bucks have reached an agreement to sign free agent swingman Pat Connaughton, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). According to Charania (via Twitter), Connaughton will ink a two-year deal that will be worth slightly more than the minimum in each season. The first year will be guaranteed.
The Bucks are over the cap and used their entire bi-annual exception to sign Brook Lopez. However, the team still has a bit of its mid-level exception available. Having used $7MM of the $8.641MM exception to add Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee could give Connaughton a starting salary of $1.641MM, which would exceed his minimum salary of $1,567,007.
Assuming Connaughton gets the rest of the Bucks’ MLE and the maximum allowable 5% raise in year two, the two-year pact would be worth about $3.36MM.
Connaughton, 25, spent the last three seasons in Portland, carving out a regular rotation role in 2017/18. Appearing in all 82 games for the Blazers, the former Notre Dame standout averaged 5.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 18.1 minutes per contest, with a .423/.352/.841 shooting line. However, he didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the team last month, making him an unrestricted free agent.
While he’s unlikely to see an increase in minutes in Milwaukee, Connaughton will provide solid depth for the Bucks. We had mentioned him earlier today in our look at the top free agent wings still available.
Once Connaughton is officially under contract, the Bucks will have 14 players on guaranteed salaries, with Brandon Jennings and Tyler Zeller on non-guaranteed deals.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southwest Notes: Rockets, Grizzlies, Mavericks
Like his head coach Mike D’Antoni, who spoke this week about having to prove the critics wrong once again in 2018/19, James Harden doesn’t believe the Rockets have taken a step back this offseason. Speaking to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, Harden brushes off the idea that Houston blew its best chance to knock off Golden State this past spring and won’t get another opportunity.
“What we have right now is for sure good enough,” Harden said of the Rockets. “We have to realize nothing changes for us. You’ve got to realize: that was me and Chris [Paul]‘s first year together. Guys were asking, ‘Can they play together? How is that going to work?’ We made it work, and it was easy. Once training camp hits, we’ll work our butts off, and every single day we’ll just continue to get better and keep chopping away.”
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- In the second part of his interview with Peter Edmiston of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, Grizzlies executive VP of basketball operations John Hollinger discusses the decision-making process in the front office, team ownership, expectations for 2018/19, and the club’s focus on player development. On Tuesday, we relayed several of Hollinger’s comments on the Grizzlies’ offseason moves.
- Appearing on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, TNT’s David Aldridge said he’s not surprised that the Mavericks are making an effort to accelerate their rebuild by signing DeAndre Jordan and trading their 2019 first-round pick. “[Team owner Mark Cuban] is not really interested in, I don’t think, kind of the gradual three- or four-year rebuild,” Aldridge said, per The Dallas Morning News. “I just don’t think that’s how he’s wired.”
- While Anthony Davis figures to remain friendly with DeMarcus Cousins off the court, Davis is looking forward to trying to beat his former Pelicans teammate on the court, as he tells Angel Diaz of Complex Sports. “I wish the best of luck to him and we’ll see him three – maybe four – times this year, and try to beat him,” Davis said of Cousins. “Now he’s the enemy. Anybody who’s not on the Pelicans is an enemy to me. He went from a teammate to an enemy.”
Mavericks Sign Codi Miller-McIntyre
The Mavericks continue to fill out their training camp roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed free agent guard Codi Miller-McIntyre to their 20-man roster. Terms of the deal aren’t known, but it’s likely a training camp contract with little to no guaranteed money.
Miller-McIntyre, a former Wake Forest point guard, went undrafted in 2016 and has spent the last two seasons playing overseas, spending time with teams in Belgium and Russia. With Parma Basket Perm, a team in Russia’s VTB United League, the 24-year-old averaged 16.0 PPG, 8.0 APG, and 5.0 RPG in 24 games last season, earning All-Star honors. He played for the Raptors’ Summer League team in Las Vegas last month.
The Mavs have yet to complete all of their reported signings this summer, but it appears they’ll have a full 20-man roster once they do. Currently, Dallas has 13 players who have officially signed guaranteed contracts, plus a pair of players on two-way deals. Devin Harris and Salah Mejri are also expected to be received guaranteed salaries, with camp invitees Miller-McIntyre, Ding Yanyuhang, and Terry Larrier filling out the roster.
With a spot on the Mavs’ regular season roster probably a long shot, Miller-McIntyre may end up becoming a member of the Texas Legends, Dallas’ G League affiliate.