2019 June | Hoops Rumors

Knicks To Sign Julius Randle To Three-Year, $63MM Deal

June 30th, 2019 at 6:38pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Knicks have agreed to sign Julius Randle to a three-year, $63MM deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).

Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the final year of the pact contains a team option, while Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link) classifies it as a partial guarantee.

Rumors of the Knicks’ interest in Randle sprouted once the Pelicans landed Zion Williamson and it became clear that New Orleans wasn’t likely to compete for the big man’s services. Those rumors continued in the week leading up to free agency.

New York is expected to have $51M in cap room after the agreement, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). It’s unclear if which players they are targeting with their cap space. The Knicks missed out on their top target in Kevin Durant, watching the former MVP sign with the crosstown Knicks. Kyrie Irving is also headed to Brooklyn.

Randle had a breakout season during his lone year in New Orleans. He notched career-highs in points per game (21.4), 3-pointers made (nearly one per contest), and player efficiency rating (21.0).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sixers Discussing Extension With Ben Simmons, Nuggets Begin Talks With Jamal Murray

June 30th, 2019 at 6:12pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers have begun contract extension talks with Ben Simmons and his agent Rich Paul, Adrian Wojnarowski of the ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Sham Charania of The Athletic tweets that the Nuggets have starting discussing an extension with Jamal Murray and his agent, Mike George of One Legacy.

Players from the 2016 draft class who remain on their original rookie deal are eligible to sign extensions this summer. Simmons was the No. 1 overall pick from the draft and Murray was the No. 7 overall selection.

Assuming a projected salary cap of $117MM for the 2020/21 season, the total max value of an extension for either player is approximately $170MM over five seasons.

Each player had arguably had their most successful campaign in 2018/19. Both the Nuggets and Sixers made it to the Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs, each falling in heartbreaking fashion.

Rodney Hood Re-Signs With Blazers

June 30th, 2019 at 5:45pm CST by JD Shaw

JULY 6: The Blazers have offically re-signed Hood, the team confirmed today in a press release.

JUNE 30: Free agent Rodney Hood has agreed to stay with the Trail Blazers on a two-year deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

While Woj pegs the value at $16MM, Jason Quick of The Athletic reports that the agreement will be worth $5.7MM next season and contains a $6MM player option for the following season. Those numbers make more sense, as Portland doesn’t have Hood’s Bird rights and likely will be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception.

Portland acquired Hood in a deal with Cleveland prior to the trade deadline last season, using his scoring and energy off the bench heading into the playoffs. The team recently traded for Kent Bazemore as insurance on the wing if Hood committed elsewhere, but the two sides were able to finalize an agreement less than an hour into free agency.

Hood, 26, averaged 9.6 points per game in 27 contests with the Blazers this season, shooting 45% from the floor and 35% from 3-point range. He was the No. 23 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft to Utah.

Wizards Re-Sign Thomas Bryant

June 30th, 2019 at 5:38pm CST by JD Shaw

JULY 7: The Wizards have formally announced Bryant’s new three-year deal, issuing a press release to confirm the signing.

“Re-signing Thomas was our top priority this offseason and we’re extremely excited to have him with us as he takes the next step in his development,” Wizards interim head of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard said in a statement. “His overall attitude, work ethic and team-first mentality embody the type of environment that we are working to create and sustain within the Wizards organization.”

JUNE 30: The Wizards have agreed to a three-year, $25MM contract with center Thomas Bryant, his agent, Todd Ramasar, tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Bryant is coming off an impressive season with the team, holding per-game averages of 10.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 20.8 minutes. At just 21 years old, he remains one of the league’s most intriguing prospects at the center position, set to enter his third NBA season in the fall.

Washington also has the free-agent situations of Bobby Portis, Jabari Parker and Tomas Satoransky to worry about in the coming days, with Portis and Parker currently operating as though they won’t return with the team, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link).

The Wizards dealt with several injuries to core players this season, finishing with a 32-50 record and failing to make the playoffs.

Pacers Add Malcolm Brogdon, Jeremy Lamb

June 30th, 2019 at 5:35pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: Both deals are now finalized, with the Pacers formally announcing the addition of Lamb today. The Brogdon sign-and-trade was confirmed on Saturday.

JUNE 30: The Pacers have reached a pair of deals to add two noteworthy free agents to their roster. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter), the team has struck an agreement to acquire Malcolm Brogdon and will sign Jeremy Lamb to a three-year, $31.5MM contract.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that the Pacers are signing Brogdon to a four-year, $85MM deal and will acquire him via sign-and-trade to ensure that the Bucks don’t match the offer. Milwaukee will receive a first-round pick and a pair of future second-rounders, per Woj. All four years of Brogdon’s deal are guaranteed, adds David Aldridge of The Athletic (via Twitter).

The additions of Brogdon and Lamb represent an interesting pivot for the Pacers, who had reportedly hoped to re-sign Bojan Bogdanovic, and appeared to be on track to add Ricky Rubio to replace departed point guards Darren Collison and Cory Joseph. Instead, Bogdanovic will head to the Jazz on a four-year deal, while Rubio agreed to sign a three-year contract with the Suns.

It’s probably not fair to characterize Brogdon and Lamb as fallback options though. Brogdon was viewed as one of this year’s top restricted free agents after recording 15.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 3.2 APG with an impressive .505/.426/.928 shooting line in 2018/19. As for Lamb, he was Charlotte’s second-best scorer behind Kemba Walker, averaging 15.3 PPG and 5.5 RPG on .440/.348/.888 shooting for the Hornets.

The duo will join a backcourt that will feature a healthy Victor Oladipo at some point during the 2019/20 season (though likely not by opening night). The Pacers still project to have about $5MM in cap room after agreeing to their deals with Brogdon and Lamb, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box first reported (via Twitter) that the Bucks were working on a sign-and-trade involving Brogdon. Milwaukee reached deals to bring back Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez and is reportedly working on trying to bring back George Hill as well. Additionally, sending Brogdon to Indiana will generate a traded player exception for the Bucks, which will be worth half of Brogdon’s first-year salary.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mavericks Sign Dwight Powell To Three-Year Extension

June 30th, 2019 at 5:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6, 9:31pm: The Mavericks have officially signed Powell to his three-year extension, which will go into effect in 2020/21, per the NBA’s transactions log.

JUNE 30, 5:30pm: The Mavericks and Powell have agreed to terms on a three-year, $33MM extension, tweets Stein.

JUNE 30, 10:36am: The Mavericks are planning to make an extension offer to Dwight Powell when free agency officially begins later today, and the expectation is that an agreement will soon follow, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. The new deal will pay him $33MM over three seasons.

Dallas has made signing the 27-year-old center-forward one of its top offseason priorities, Stein adds (Twitter link). Powell averaged a career-best 10.6 PPG this season, along with 5.3 RPG, in 77 games.

Powell’s extension doesn’t take effect until the 2020/21 season, so it won’t affect the cap space that the Mavericks have this summer, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Powell has already opted into his current deal for next season at $10.3MM.

Magic Sign Al-Farouq Aminu To Three-Year Deal

June 30th, 2019 at 5:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 6: The Magic have officially signed Aminu, the team announced today in a press release.

JUNE 30: The Magic have agreed to a contract with Al-Farouq Aminu, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

The deal will be for three years and $29MM, which works out to the amount of the full non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception. It includes a player option on the final year.

Aminu, 28, averaged 9.4 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 81 games (28.3 MPG) as the Trail Blazers’ starting power forward last season. He’s also capable of knocking down three-pointers, having made 35.3% of his attempts during his four years in Portland, and is a strong defender.

With so many high-priced commitments in Portland, it’s no surprise that Aminu was forced to look elsewhere for a contract this offseason. Orlando has been busy this weekend, already agreeing to bring back Terrence Ross and Nikola Vucevic.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Sign Trevor Ariza

June 30th, 2019 at 5:17pm CST by JD Shaw

JULY 7: The Kings have officially signed Ariza, according to a press release.

JUNE 30: Free agent Trevor Ariza plans to sign a two-year, $25MM contract with the Kings, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The second season of the deal contains a partial guarantee, as reported by The Athletic’s Sam Amick.

Sacramento also reached agreements with forward Harrison Barnes and center Dewayne Dedmon at the start of free agency. Barnes was awarded a four-year, $85MM deal, while Dedmon was given a three-year deal worth $41MM.

Ariza, who is celebrating his 34th birthday today, averaged 12.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 3.7 APG last season in 69 total games for the Suns and Wizards. He was dealt from Phoenix to Washington early in the season after spending the previous four years with the Rockets.

Magic Re-Sign Terrence Ross

June 30th, 2019 at 5:16pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 6: The Magic have officially re-signed Ross, the team announced today in a press release.

JUNE 30: The Magic will re-sign Terrence Ross to a four-year, $54MM deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Orlando appears content to run it back with the team that made the playoffs this past season for the first time since it traded away Dwight Howard. The Magic also agreed to re-sign Nikola Vucevic, one of the pieces they received in that 2012 Howard deal.

The Magic acquired Ross in the Serge Ibaka deal during the 2016/17 campaign. He started 81 games for the club last season, posting 15.1 PPG in just 26.5 minutes per game as Orlando’s sixth man. He also knocked down 38.3% of his attempts from beyond the arc while jacking up 7.0 per game.

Because the Magic held Ross’ Bird rights, no other exception will be required to make the signing official.

We ranked Ross 19th in our list of this year’s top 50 free agents.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Notes: Harris, Leonard, Portis

June 30th, 2019 at 5:10pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Tobias Harris is meeting with the Sixers to begin free agency, The Athletic’s David Aldridge tweets. Harris is seeking a full, five-year max deal.

Jimmy Butler is in Miami to begin his free agency tour and is expected to tell the Heat that he wants to sign with them. The Sixers will likely get a chance to speak with Butler before he signs elsewhere, as Miami doesn’t have the cap space necessary to offer Butler a max contract.

Here’s more from the start of free agency:

Magic Johnson said he has spoken to Kawhi Leonard and Dennis Robertson (Leonard’s uncle) after Leonard’s camp contacted him, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times relays (Twitter link). No meeting between the parties has been set up yet.
Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker are both operating as if they will not be back with the Wizards, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports reports on Twitter. Both players were brought to Washington in the mid-season deal that sent Otto Porter Jr. to Chicago.
Julius Randle is on the Knicks‘ radar, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). New York missed out on Kevin Durant, watching him sign with the Nets.
The Knicks are meeting with Reggie Bullock tonight, Aldridge tweets. Bullock is ready to commit to a “strong offer,” Aldridge adds. The Lakers would like to keep him, though New York will be among the teams which will have a chance to steal him away from Los Angeles.

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