Bucks Sign Big Man Christian Wood
SEPTEMBER 21: The signing is official and includes a significant partial guarantee, according to RealGM. ESPN’s Bobby Marks provides specific details, tweeting that Wood will get $100K in guaranteed money.
AUGUST 15: The Bucks have reached an agreement with big man Christian Wood, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. It’s a training camp deal with an opportunity to make the 15-man roster, according to Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The 6’11” Wood made a splash with the Bucks in the Las Vegas summer league, where he was named all-first team. He averaged 20.4 PPG, 10.8 RPG and 2.8 BPG over 27.1 MPG in five games. He also posted impressive numbers in 45 G League games last season, averaging 23.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.7 BPG in 33.1 MPG while playing for the Delaware 87ers, the Sixers’ affiliate.
The Raptors recently took a look at Wood while working out free agent big men.
Milwaukee already had a full roster when it reached an agreement with swingman Shabazz Muhammad earlier this week. It had 14 players with guaranteed contracts, four with non- or partially-guaranteed deals, and two on two-way pacts prior to the Muhammad and Wood agreements, so it will have to shed two players to fit them in.
Undrafted in 2015, Wood has appeared in 30 NBA games. He played 17 for the Sixers during his rookie campaign and 13 more with the Hornets in 2016/17. He averaged 3.2 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 8.4 MPG in those games.
Suns Sign De’Anthony Melton
4:23pm: The contract is a guaranteed two-year, $2.3MM rookie deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
4:03pm: The Suns have officially signed rookie guard De’Anthony Melton, the team announced today in a press release. Phoenix now has 18 players under contract, including 14 on guaranteed contracts, assuming Melton’s first-year salary is fully guaranteed, as expected.
Melton, who averaged 8.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 3.5 APG in his first year at USC in 2016/17, was linked to the NCAA’s bribery scandal last year, prompting the Trojans to hold him out of action. He left the program in February and entered the 2018 NBA draft as an early entrant.
The Rockets used the 46th pick to nab Melton, but traded him to the Suns along with Ryan Anderson in the August deal that sent Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss to Houston. During his brief time as a Rocket, Melton made a strong impression at the Las Vegas Summer League, where he recorded 16.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 3.0 SPG in five contests.
Assuming the Suns don’t trade for a veteran point guard, Melton should have the opportunity to make an immediate impact in Phoenix, where he’ll vie with Shaquille Harrison and fellow second-rounder Elie Okobo for minutes at the point. Isaiah Canaan, who is on a non-guaranteed contract, may also be in the mix.
While most second-round picks who signed NBA contracts this offseason received three- or four-year deals, the Suns don’t currently have cap room or the mid-level exception available, meaning they probably won’t be able to offer Melton more than two years, using either the room exception or minimum salary exception. I explored the club’s contract options for the rookie guard earlier this month.
Knicks Unlikely To Extend Kristaps Porzingis This Year
The Knicks have until October 15 to sign Kristaps Porzingis to a long-term extension, but the team isn’t planning to complete a deal at this point, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. While the Knicks feel good about how Porzingis’ rehab from his ACL tear is progressing, the club’s hope is to re-sign him when he reaches restricted free agency in 2019, rather than extending him now, Berman notes.
Waiting until next offseason would allow New York to carry about $10MM in extra cap room into the summer, which could come in handy as the team explores the free agent market. The club will have the right of first refusal on Porzingis as an RFA, so he won’t be able to walk unless New York lets him go.
If the Knicks wait until next year to lock up Porzingis, they could still offer him the same contract – up to five years and an estimated $158MM – and would avoid making him a designated rookie scale player, further maximizing their roster flexibility. Still, the approach isn’t without its risks.
[RELATED: Extension Candidate: Kristaps Porzingis]
Porzingis hasn’t always seen eye to eye with Knicks decision-makers, and while the tension between him and the organization occurred when Phil Jackson and Jeff Hornacek were running the show, the current management group won’t want to risk alienating its potential franchise player.
Additionally, if Porzingis reaches restricted free agency, there’s nothing stopping him from turning down a long-term offer from the Knicks. He could theoretically sign a shorter-term offer sheet with another team or accept his qualifying offer — he’d still end up a Knick in either of those scenarios, but he’d be on track to become an unrestricted free agent sooner.
Still, the Knicks sound confident that the risks involved in waiting on a Porzingis deal should be worth the reward, given their relationship with the young big man.
“Our philosophy is that we’re going to stay connected with [the Porzingis camp],” GM Scott Perry said this week. “It’s a long-term thing. Obviously you mentioned the point of the cap space in July. But we just feel like we’re in a real good space with him, as well as he is with us. And we’re going to do the right thing by him and this organization.”
“He’ll never feel like he’s not a cornerstone part of what we’re trying to do here,” president of basketball operations Steve Mills added. “He understands that. We make that crystal clear to him and his representation.”
NBA Approves Three Proposed Rule Changes
The NBA’s Board of Governors has unanimously approved a series of rule changes related to the shot clock, clear-path fouls, and the definition of a “hostile act,” reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). All three rule changes will go into effect for the 2018/19 season.
The rule changes are as follows:
- The shot clock will now reset to 14 seconds instead of 24 seconds after an offensive rebound.
- The clear-path foul rule has been modified and simplified. The NBA has published a video highlighting the changes made to the rule, which Wojnarowski outlined last month.
- The definition of what constitutes a “hostile act” (for the purposes of triggering an instant-replay review) has been expanded to include any hostile interaction with a referee, coach, or a fan, rather than just another player.
You can read the full explanations for each rule change right here, via Howard Beck of Bleacher Report.
[RELATED: Community Shootaround: Proposed Rule Changes]
While we’ll occasionally notice the new clear-path foul and “hostile act” rules during games this season, the tweak to the shot-clock rule is the most noteworthy of these three changes. It should speed up the game a little more, and may create additional end-of-game opportunities for teams that surrender offensive rebounds.
Pacers Sign Omari Johnson; C.J. Wilcox Out For Season
The Pacers issued a press release on Friday announcing their 18-man roster for training camp. While we already knew that Indiana had 18 players under contract, the team’s list of camp players is missing one name and includes a new one.
According to the Pacers, former Grizzlies forward Omari Johnson has signed a contract with the team. The Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate, completed a trade with the Memphis Hustle earlier this week to obtain Johnson’s NBAGL rights, so the Pacers presumably view him as a player that will eventually end up in Fort Wayne.
Johnson, who will turn 29 in November, appeared in the first four games of his NBA career for the Grizzlies last season, averaging 5.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.8 APG. The 6’9″ forward has been solid in the G League, recording 15.9 PPG and 6.6 RPG with a .450/.401/.703 shooting line in 143 career NBAGL contests. He was waived by Memphis in June.
Meanwhile, the Pacers’ press release also included some bad news, as the team announced that C.J. Wilcox suffered a torn right Achilles tendon during an offseason workout. Wilcox underwent surgery to repair the injury and will miss the entire 2018/19 season.
Wilcox had been one of Indiana’s two-way players, along with Edmond Sumner. While the Pacers don’t explicitly say that they’ve waived Wilcox, he’s not listed on their roster for training camp. If he hasn’t been officially released yet, it will likely happen soon so that the team can get someone else in that second two-way contract slot.
Raptors Sign Eric Moreland To Exhibit 10 Deal
SEPTEMBER 21: The Raptors have officially signed Moreland, the team announced today in a press release.
SEPTEMBER 18: The Raptors, who have one spot still available on their 20-man offseason roster, are set to fill that opening with a former Piston. According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link), Toronto has agreed to terms with free agent big man Eric Moreland on a partially guaranteed one-year deal.
It’s an Exhibit 10 contract for Moreland, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Exhibit 10 deals can be converted into two-way contracts, so Moreland could be a candidate for Toronto’s second two-way slot.
Moreland, 26, was leaned on as a rotation piece in Detroit last season after only playing sparingly for the Kings in two seasons earlier in his NBA career. In 2017/18, the forward/center averaged 2.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 1.2 APG in 67 contests (12.0 MPG) for the Pistons, emerging as a solid frontcourt option after Jon Leuer went down with an injury.
Toronto already has 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, and Lorenzo Brown – who has a sizable partial guarantee – is considered a strong bet to make the team as well. Moreland could vie for the 15th spot, but the in-the-tax Raptors may opt to start the season with just 14 players for financial reasons.
Jimmy Butler Rumors: Dieng, Clippers, Bucks, More
The early trade market for Jimmy Butler is “confused and cool” as teams contemplate the risk of trading for the All-Star wing, according to Zach Lowe, who takes a deep dive into the Butler situation his his latest piece for ESPN.com. The 29-year-old’s reported desire for a five-year contract that could be worth in the neighborhood of $190MM may make some potential suitors back off, though those teams could also be posturing in the early going, Lowe notes.
One of the most interesting tidbits that Lowe passes along in his article is on the Timberwolves‘ desire to include Gorgui Dieng in a deal if they decide to move Butler. Lowe is skeptical that any prospective trade partners will be eager to take on Dieng, who still has three years and over $48MM left on his contract.
Here’s more from Lowe and others on Butler and the Wolves:
- It would be “shocking” if the Clippers were willing to offer rookie guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in any package for Butler, sources tell Lowe. In fact, there has been no indication that the Clips haven’t acted aggressively – or much at all – on Butler so far.
- The Bucks placed a courtesy call to the Timberwolves asking to be kept in the loop if the team gets serious about moving Butler. Still, Lowe doesn’t view Milwaukee as a fit, observing that Khris Middleton would probably have to be included. The Bucks would likely have a better chance next summer to re-sign Middleton than Butler.
- After reporting earlier today that the Timberwolves are telling teams Butler’s not available, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has updated his story to suggest that opposing clubs believe the “fastest avenue” to negotiating a trade is to engage owner Glen Taylor, rather than Tom Thibodeau. Thibodeau is less inclined to part with Butler, but Taylor has stepped in on this sort of matter in the past, overseeing trades involving Kevin Garnett and Kevin Love.
- In the wake of Butler’s trade request, initial reports suggested his desire to leave Minnesota was motivated more by “contractual matters” than any discord with Karl-Anthony Towns or Andrew Wiggins. A source in Butler’s camp who spoke to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times disputes that notion, suggesting it was “manufactured” by “ownership mouthpieces” to make Butler look bad. “According to the source, this is about a philosophy in making an impact in the Western Conference,” Cowley writes. “In Butler’s mind you can’t run down a dynasty like Golden State when two of the so-called dogs in the pack are in fact kittens.” Presumably, that’s a reference to Towns and Wiggins.
Spurs Sign Okaro White To Exhibit 10 Deal
The Spurs have made another addition to their training camp roster, according to ESPN’s Michael C. Wright, who tweets that veteran forward Okaro White has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with San Antonio. Per RealGM’s transactions log, the Spurs have also officially completed reported deals with Drew Eubanks, Olivier Hanlan, and Jaron Blossomgame.
White, who signed a two-year contract with the Cavaliers during the final week of the 2017/18 season, was waived by Cleveland in August before the team owed any guaranteed money for that second year. Formerly a member of the Heat, White has appeared in 41 NBA games over the last two seasons for Miami, averaging 2.9 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 13.4 minutes per contest.
The Florida State alum, who missed a good chunk of the ’17/18 campaign with a broken foot, talked earlier this year about how he’s still working to mentally get over that injury. It appears he’ll have the opportunity to work on it this fall with San Antonio.
The Spurs now have a full 20-man roster, with 15 players on fully guaranteed salaries, four on non-guaranteed deals, and one (Eubanks) on a two-way pact. However, one of those 15 guaranteed contracts is Manu Ginobili‘s — the club will still need to officially release him at some point after he announced his retirement.
Suns Have Inquired On Tyus Jones
12:58pm: The Suns aren’t the only team to inquire on Jones, though they’ve been the most active in trying to acquire him, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, noting that the Pelicans have liked him in the past.
According to Wolfson, the Timberwolves have told teams they aren’t interested in moving Jones right now. They also haven’t engaged in extension talks yet with the fourth-year point guard.
8:22am: The Suns, who remain on the lookout for possible point guard targets, have asked about Timberwolves guard Tyus Jones, sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe. It’s not clear how recently that inquiry happened, or if the two teams engaged in any discussions.
Jones appeared in all 82 games for the Timberwolves last season, averaging 5.1 PPG and 2.8 APG as Jeff Teague‘s backup at the point. However, the club acquired Derrick Rose late in the year and re-signed him in the offseason, raising some questions about Jones’ role. According to a June report, Teague suggested last season that the 22-year-old – who averaged 17.9 MPG – should play more.
That same report indicated that Jones considered requesting a trade, but that head coach Tom Thibodeau “reasserted his support” for the youngster, assuring him his role will increase in 2018/19 despite Rose’s return, due to the departure of Jamal Crawford. Still, Jones is entering a contract year and will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2019, so if Minnesota isn’t certain of his long-term role, it could make sense to gauge his trade value.
As for the Suns, they’ve traded Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight within the last year, leaving them without a clear-cut starting point guard. Patrick Beverley, Cory Joseph, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Terry Rozier are among the other potential Phoenix trade targets named by various reports.
For now, the Suns’ depth chart at the point features Shaquille Harrison, De’Anthony Melton, Elie Okobo, and Isaiah Canaan. Canaan is on a non-guaranteed contract while Melton – acquired in a deal with the Rockets – remains unsigned.
Bucks Waive James Young, Two Others
After releasing Travis Trice, Jordan Barnett, and Brandon McCoy earlier this week to make room on their roster for James Young, Ike Nwamu, and Robert Johnson, the Bucks have now waived Young, Nwamu, and Johnson as well, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
The back of Milwaukee’s roster has been undergoing significant turnover this month as the team secures certain players’ G League rights for the Wisconsin Herd. There’s a good chance that at least three or four players from that group – Young, Nwamu, Johnson, Trice, Barnett, and McCoy – end up with the Herd to start the 2018/19 season.
With three openings having been created on their 20-man offseason roster, the Bucks appear likely to finally complete a series of long-rumored signings. The team has reportedly agreed to terms with NBA free agents Shabazz Muhammad, Christian Wood, and Tim Frazier. Officially signing the trio would bring Milwaukee’s roster back up to 20 players for next week’s camp.
As for the three players just waived by the Bucks, Young is probably the best bet to get another shot from an NBA team. The 23-year-old has logged 95 career regular season games in four seasons for the Celtics and Sixers since being drafted 17th overall in 2014.