Timberwolves Launch Pursuit Of Luol Deng
12:35pm: Deng will meet with the Timberwolves within the next week as the two sides discuss a possible deal, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
12:22pm: With Luol Deng officially a free agent, the Timberwolves have launched their pursuit of the veteran forward, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). While Stein doesn’t offer any specific details, it’s probably safe to assume the Wolves have at least been in touch with Deng and/or his representatives.
Minnesota’s pursuit of Deng comes as no surprise, with a report earlier this week indicating that Timberwolves head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau had interest in both Deng and Joakim Noah, another release candidate. Of course, both players were Bulls during Thibodeau’s time in Chicago and would be reunited with former teammates like Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, and Taj Gibson if they were to join the Wolves.
The Timberwolves, who project to have a couple regular season roster spots up for grabs, have used most of their mid-level exception, but still have their full $3.382MM bi-annual exception available. However, it’s not clear if Deng will command more than the veteran’s minimum, given his infrequent and ineffective minutes over the last two seasons.
[RELATED: Six Possible Landing Spots For Luol Deng]
Deng, 33, appeared in just one game during the 2017/18 campaign for the Lakers, who opted to focus on developing their young players. In his first year in Los Angeles in 2016/17, the veteran had a more regular role, averaging 26.5 minutes per contest in 56 games. He had his worst season as a pro though, posting just 7.6 PPG and 5.3 RPG with a .387/.309/.730 shooting line.
Considering he was willing to give up $7.3MM in his buyout agreement with the Lakers, Deng appears confident that he’ll catch on with another NBA team for the 2018/19 season. It remains to be seen if Minnesota will be that team or if a handful of contenders will compete for his services.
And-Ones: Pitino, Free Agents, Team Canada
A return to the NBA doesn’t appear to be in the cards for Rick Pitino, who coached the Celtics from 1997 to 2001 before spending most of the last two decades with Louisville. Having been dismissed from Louisville after the program was investigated by federal prosecutors for potential recruiting violations, Pitino writes in his new book, “Pitino: My Story,” that no NBA doors have opened lately.
“Since leaving Louisville, my agent has reached out when NBA openings have surfaced,” Pitino wrote, per Jeff Greer of The Louisville Courier Journal. “We couldn’t even get an interview. I can’t blame the general managers who turned me down. Louisville fired me so abruptly, it instantly created the impression that I must be guilty of something.”
Asked today on Good Morning America if he wants to coach again, Pitino replied, “I don’t. It’s over for me, I know that” (video link).
Here are a few more items from around the basketball universe:
- Veterans like Dwyane Wade, Rodney Hood, and Jamal Crawford may be the most notable free agents still available, but they’re hardly the only ones capable of helping an NBA team. Mark Deeks of GiveMeSport examines 30 unsigned players who are candidates to land on NBA rosters.
- In an entertaining column for The Advocate, Scott Kushner makes his case for why the NBA season should start its season on Christmas Day, pushing the playoffs deeper into the summer.
- Team Canada’s training camp roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers features a handful of NBA players, including Kelly Olynyk (Heat), Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers), Dillon Brooks (Grizzlies), Cory Joseph (Pacers), and Khem Birch (Magic).
- In a reversal of roles, Damian Lillard broke some news regarding Chris Haynes today, tweeting that the veteran reporter will be leaving ESPN for Yahoo, where he’ll become the Senior NBA Insider and will help build the site’s NBA team. Adrian Wojnarowski, Shams Charania, and Bobby Marks have left Yahoo within the last year and a half.
Pacers Re-Sign Ben Moore
The Pacers have officially re-signed forward Ben Moore to a new contract, per the NBA’s transactions log. Scott Agness of The Athletic first reported the agreement, tweeting that Moore was signing a one-year, partially guaranteed deal with Indiana.
Moore, who initially joined the Pacers last August as an undrafted free agent out of SMU, was waived before the regular season began, but later agreed to a two-way contract with the club.
The 23-year-old only appeared very briefly in two games for the Pacers, but had a solid year for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G League, averaging 11.7 PPG and 6.4 RPG with a .552/.352/.812 shooting line in 43 games (27.9 MPG). His two-way deal expired at season’s end.
While a return to Fort Wayne looks like the most probable outcome for Moore to open the 2018/19 season, the Pacers only have 14 players on guaranteed NBA contracts, with no obvious candidate to fill the 15th spot on their regular season roster. Unless the club intends to keep that final slot open to begin the year, Moore could compete to be Indiana’s 15th man.
Moore may also get an opportunity to earn some valuable non-NBA experience later this month, before the Pacers’ training camp gets underway. He’s one of 14 players vying for a spot on Team USA’s 12-man roster for the club’s World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay (September 14) and Panama (September 17).
Clippers’ Decision On Tyrone Wallace Due Soon
The Clippers have until the end of Wednesday to decide whether or not to match the Pelicans‘ offer sheet for Tyrone Wallace, according to Keith Smith of RealGM.com (Twitter link), who hears from a source that L.A. received the signed offer sheet on Monday. RealGM’s log of NBA transactions confirms that Wallace signed his offer sheet with New Orleans on September 3.
[RELATED: Pelicans, Tyrone Wallace agree to offer sheet]
Under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, a team has just two days after receiving an offer sheet to decide whether or not to exercise the right of first refusal. If the Clippers decide not to match the Pelicans’ offer for Wallace, his deal with New Orleans will become official.
Wallace, who finished last season on a two-way contract with the Clippers, received a qualifying offer from the team in June. For two-way players, a qualifying offer is equivalent to another two-way contract offer, with a $50K guarantee. So even though the reported terms of Wallace’s deal with the Pelicans are modest – the veteran’s minimum for two years, with a $300K partial guarantee due next week – they’re more player-friendly than his QO from L.A.
Matching Wallace’s offer sheet wouldn’t cost the Clippers much financially, but a roster logjam makes it unlikely that they’ll bring back the former second-round pick. For now, the Clippers have 15 players with guaranteed salaries, plus Patrick Beverley on a non-guaranteed deal, so they’ll already have to trade or release one veteran on a guaranteed contract to reach the 15-man regular season limit. Retaining Wallace would force the club to make another preseason roster decision.
Additionally, the Clippers’ backcourt is so crowded that there probably wouldn’t be many minutes available for Wallace if he were to return to Los Angeles. Beverley, Lou Williams, Avery Bradley, Milos Teodosic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jerome Robinson, Sindarius Thornwell, and Jawun Evans are all currently under contract with the franchise.
Western Notes: Deng, Hill, Mavs, Capela
The Lakers and Luol Deng agreed to a buyout earlier this week, which will allow Los Angeles the ability to offer a top free agent a max contract next offseason. Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that the final figure on what Deng agreed to give up in the agreement came out to $7.3MM, slightly less than what was previously reported.
The Lakers are projected to have approximately $38MM in cap space next offseason, enough to be a major player in the market. While we wait to see if the team makes any other moves, let’s check out some notes from their rivals in the Western Conference:
- The Suns are not interested in George Hill, Ashish Mathur of Amico Hoops reports. Phoenix traded away Brandon Knight over the weekend and has made inquiries on a few veteran options.
- The Mavericks lost Doug McDermott in free agency, but Ryan Broekhoff, who signed a multiyear, minimum-salary deal with Dallas, may be a suitable replacement for the former first-round pick, Eddie Sefko of Sports Day writes. The Mavericks need all the shooters they can get, Sefko adds, so Broekhoff may find himself getting some playing time as the season goes along.
- The Rockets and Clint Capela took some time to arrive at their five-year, $80MM+ deal but many of the team’s prominent members never doubted that the big man would return, as they tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “Oh, we’re not worried about stuff like that,” head coach Mike D’Antoni said of Capela possible slipping away. When James Harden was asked if he was concerned about Capela leaving, he replied “Nah.”
Community Shootaround: Detroit Pistons’ Playoff Chances
The Pistons entered the 2017/18 campaign with dreams of making the postseason but finished with a 39-43 record and a date with the lottery for the second straight year. The disappointing season brought changes in the Motor City, and with LeBron James out of the Central Division picture, the team may have an opportunity to rise in the standings.
Rod Beard of The Detroit News believes the best case scenario for the Pistons involves new coach Dwane Casey getting the team’s core to jell, thus getting the most out of the talent on the roster. Blake Griffin is in the midst of his first offseason with the club and he feels he’s at full health for the first time in several years.
Reggie Jackson is set to enter the season healthy after missing 37 games last season. Beard notes that the Pistons went just 12-25 during that span. Jackson’s presence on the court allows Detroit to get the most out of its other pieces, so having him healthy will be key this upcoming season.
The Pistons brought in Jose Calderon to mitigate the risk of a Jackson injury. Calderon may not see many minutes unless Jackson is sidelined, but if he’s called to action, he should be more effective at running the first team than Ish Smith, whose ball-dominant game is more suited for the second unit.
Offshore sportsbook Bovada has the Pistons’ over/under at 38.5 wins, the ninth-highest mark in the Eastern Conference and the third-highest in the Central Division. If Detroit can surpass its over/under by just a few wins, a playoff birth could be in the cards for this squad.
Do you believe the Pistons will surpass their projected win total and make the postseason? Do they have a chance to steal the Central Division crown in a weakened group? Or will they yet again fall short of their preseason goals?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
Timberwolves To Work Out Several Veterans
Minnesota appears to be looking to bring in a veteran on the wing, with Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 reporting (Twitter link) that the team will host several free agents for workouts this week. Nick Young, Arron Afflalo, and Corey Brewer are among the players expected to meet with the Timberwolves.
The franchise has only 12 players on guaranteed salaries in addition to James Nunnally‘s partially guaranteed pact, so the organization has the ability to open up as many as two or three roster spots with ease. The Wolves could be an option for Luol Deng now that the wing is a free agent and they reportedly would have interest in Joakim Noah should the center hit the open market. Both Deng and Noah previously played under coach Tom Thibodeau when he was coaching in Chicago.
Brewer was drafted by the Timberwolves with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2007 draft before being dealt to the Knicks in the Carmelo Anthony trade. He came back to the Wolves in the summer of 2013 and they traded him again, this time to the Rockets in another three-team deal. Both stints in Minnesota predated Thibodeau’s arrival.
Minnesota had interest in Young early in free agency, though no deal materialized. He’s coming off a one-year, $5.19MM contract with the Warriors, one that he’s unlikely to surpass in annual value this offseason. The shooting guard scored just 7.3 points per contest during his lone season in Golden State and he was recently arrested in Los Angeles for allegedly failing to cooperate during a routine traffic stop.
Afflalo has played for six NBA franchises during his 11-year career. He shot 38.6% from behind the arc last season in Orlando, a figure that exactly matches his career average.
Spurs Sign Chimezie Metu To Three-Year Deal
SEPTEMBER 4: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
AUGUST 30: The Spurs have reached a contract agreement with 2018 second-round pick Chimezie Metu, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Metu is signing a three-year deal with San Antonio.
Metu, a 6’11” forward/center, declared for the draft as an early entrant this past spring after a productive season at USC. In his junior year, Metu averaged 15.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 1.7 BPG with a .523 FG% in 34 games.
The Spurs used the 49th overall pick in the 2018 draft to nab Metu, and while it took a couple months for the two sides to finalize a contract agreement, Charania notes that the team is “high” on the young big man.
San Antonio will use a portion of its mid-level exception to complete its deal with Metu. The Spurs initially used about $6.15MM of their $8.64MM MLE to sign Marco Belinelli, and could’ve fit Dante Cunningham‘s one-year, $2.49MM contract neatly into the remaining portion of that exception.
[RELATED: How teams are using 2018/19 mid-level exceptions]
However, signing Cunningham using the mid-level exception would’ve prevented San Antonio from offering Metu more than two years, since the team only would have had the bi-annual exception and minimum salary exception still available in that scenario. Instead, the Spurs completed their deal with Cunningham using the bi-annual exception, leaving their MLE open for Metu.
The Spurs currently have 13 players on fully guaranteed salaries, not counting Manu Ginobili, who figures to be waived at some point after having announced his retirement. Metu’s deal will almost certainly have at least a guaranteed first year, increasing San Antonio’s fully guaranteed contract count to 14. Quincy Pondexter, who reportedly received a partial guarantee on his new contract, is also in the mix for a spot on the regular season roster.
Suns Notes: Bridges, Point Guards, Melton
Mikal Bridges has the ability to immediately contribute for the Suns but the decision to trade up to the No. 10 spot was all about the future, Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer writes. Bridges’ combination of top 3-point shooting and elite length make him a perfect long-term fit next to Devin Booker.
In the best-case scenario for the Suns, Bridges can be a J.J. Redick/Kyle Korver-type of shooter on one side of the court without being a liability on the defensive end, Tjarks adds. The scribe, noting that Bridges defended all five positions at times while playing at Villanova, envisions the wing finding success at the next level.
Here’s more from Phoenix:
- Tjarks wonders (same piece) if the Suns will experiment with Booker this season by playing him at point guard. Phoenix doesn’t have an experienced point guard on the team, though it has the assets to make another trade should it look for more experience at the position.
- Dan Favale of NBA Math wonders if the Suns will make a deal for a point guard, as he discusses on the Hardwood Knocks podcast. Favale speculates that George Hill or Kemba Walker could be possibilities while mentioning that neither the Hornets nor Cavs appear to be in full rebuilding mode, so acquiring one of the two veterans could be tough to pull off at this point.
- De’Anthony Melton, who was sent to Phoenix in the Ryan Anderson trade, remains unsigned and Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors recently examined what kind of deal the Suns could offer the 2018 second-round pick. Phoenix can sign him to a contract that lasts more than two years, but it would require the team to make another move that opens up cap space.
Pelicans Sign Darius Morris
4:25pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
9:51am: The Pelicans are continuing their efforts to add depth at the point guard position, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that veteran free agent Darius Morris is signing with New Orleans. Morris will receive a partially guaranteed two-year deal, per Charania. It’ll be worth the minimum.
News of the Pelicans’ agreement with Morris comes a day after word broke that the club is signing two-way restricted free agent Tyrone Wallace to an offer sheet. New Orleans has two openings on its 20-man offseason roster, so the team could add both Wallace and Morris and let them battle it out for a regular season roster spot. Morris could also be an insurance policy in case the Clippers match the Pelicans’ offer sheet for Wallace.
Morris, a second-round pick in the 2011 NBA draft, spent four seasons playing for the Lakers, Sixers, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Nets after entering the league. In 132 total regular season contests (11.1 MPG), the 27-year-old averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.4 APG, last appearing in an NBA game in 2015. Since then, Morris has played in the G League for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and in China for the Guangdong Southern Tigers.
Like Wallace, Morris was one of a handful of free agent point guards who worked out for the Pelicans in August. The club also took a look at Ty Lawson and Erick Green.
If the Clippers don’t match Wallace’s offer sheet with New Orleans, he would become the seventh player on the Pelicans’ roster with a non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed salary. Emeka Okafor, Jahlil Okafor, Troy Williams, Kenrich Williams, Garlon Green, and Morris would also be in the mix on non-guaranteed on partially guaranteed deals.