Atlantic Notes: Horford, Lowry, Raptors, Portis, Knicks
Sixers power forward Al Horford shot down an ESPN report that his new team was guilty of tampering prior to free agency. He addressed the issue on the Dan Patrick Show (hat tip to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg). Horford declined his team option with the Celtics and signed a four-year, $109MM contract with Philadelphia. “It’s ridiculous. … (Celtics GM) Danny [Ainge] was really good to me. I know he’s definitely frustrated that things didn’t work out with us,” Horford said.
We have more from around the Atlantic Division:
- Heading into unrestricted free agency next summer, Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry has hired Priority Sports — headed by longtime agent Mark Bartelstein — to represent him, according to a Priority Sports tweet. Lowry signed a three-year deal worth up to $100MM in 2017. His previous reps were Gerard Darnes Soms, Andrew Miller and Juan Aisa, according to Spotrac.
- The Raptors used their $3.623MM bi-annual exception to sign forward Stanley Johnson, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic. The $9.26MM mid-level was split up among Patrick McCaw, Matt Thomas, second-round pick Dewan Hernandez and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who received $2.5MM rather than the veteran’s minimum. McCaw signed a two-year, $8MM deal while Thomas and Hernandez received partially-guaranteed three-year contracts.
- Power forward Bobby Portis believes the players the Knicks brought in are a hungry group ready to overachieve, as he told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. Portis joined the team on a two-year, $31MM deal, though only the first year is guaranteed. “I love being underrated, man. I’m an underdog,” he said. “I say that every day. We’re the team that’s being counted out right now. People are looking past us. They’re talking about stars going to new teams and this and that, and that’s okay. Everybody on this team has a huge chip on their shoulder.”
- After striking out on the big free agents this summer, the Knicks will have to exercise patience and come up with a better plan to lure top talent, Steve Popper of Newsday opines.
Southwest Notes: Diallo, Morris, Iguodala, Favors
Cheick Diallo was squeezed out of New Orleans due to a numbers crunch, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM tweets. The Pelicans didn’t want to lose the young power forward but they essentially had to choose between him and Jahlil Okafor, according to Gambadoro. New Orleans got three players back in the Anthony Davis deal, added three first-rounders including top pick Zion Williamson, and signed free agent guard J.J. Redick. New Orleans did not make a qualifying offer to Diallo, which made him an unrestricted free agent. He signed a two-year contract with the Suns.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Marcus Morris said he meant no disrespect when backed out of a verbal two-year agreement with the Spurs to sign a one-year contract with the Knicks, as he told Shams Charania of The Athletic. “The first thing that I did when I knew I would be going another direction, I called and made sure they knew. There was no shade. There’s no disrespect,” Morris said. “I had great conversations afterward, and as long as I feel that I’m clear with them and gave them my truth, I feel good about moving forward. … I thought at the time that the Spurs deal was all that I had. The process wasn’t what I expected and it didn’t go the right way.” The way Morris’ free agent journey played out contributed to bad blood between the two organizations.
- Andre Iguodala remains in limbo after getting traded to the Grizzlies, Charania reports in a video post. The Rockets, Clippers, Mavericks and Nuggets have all shown interest in the veteran forward. Houston and the Clippers are the top contenders but the Rockets have major luxury tax concerns while the only thing that would make sense for the Clippers salary-wise would be to move Maurice Harkless, whom they acquired from the Trail Blazers. However, the Clippers don’t want to ship out Harkless, Charania adds.
- The Pelicans believe they can turn big man Derrick Favors into a bigger offensive threat than he was with the Jazz, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. Favors was acquired for two second-rounders in a salary dump by Utah. The opportunity to play alongside Jrue Holiday, Zion Williamson and Redick will facilitate the process. Favors will be utilized more often as a passer and be encouraged to develop his 3-point game, Guillory adds.
Smart, Young Invited To Join USA Basketball Camp
Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been added to USA Basketball’s training camp roster for the FIBA World Cup this summer, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Veteran forward Thaddeus Young, who signed with the Bulls in free agency this summer, has also been invited to participate, Charania adds in another tweet.
The move was necessitated by the flurry of defections from the original 20-man roster. Anthony Davis, James Harden, Bradley Beal, CJ McCollum and Eric Gordon have already withdrawn from Team USA participation this summer, starting with training camp in Las Vegas in August. Two other players, Damian Lillard and Kevin Love, are also undecided and will announce their decisions in the next few days.
The roster will be trimmed to 12 players for the World Cup in China. Smart, who averaged 8.9 PPG, 4.0 APG and 1.8 SPG last season, would give coach Gregg Popovich a versatile defensive option if he makes the final cut.
Smart joins new teammate and backcourt partner Kemba Walker, who is on the original 20-man roster. That list of 20 invitees to the USA Basketball camp can be found here. Smart signed a four-year deal with Boston last summer.
Young averaged 12.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG in 81 games with the Pacers last season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Harris Withdraws From Team USA This Summer
Add Tobias Harris‘ name to the growing list of USA Basketball players pulling out of consideration for this year’s FIBA World Cup. Harris, who re-signed with the Sixers for five years and $180MM this summer, has decided to focus on the upcoming NBA season, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
Anthony Davis, James Harden, Bradley Beal, CJ McCollum and Eric Gordon have also withdrawn from Team USA participation this summer, starting with training camp in Las Vegas early next month. Two other players, Damian Lillard and Kevin Love, are also undecided and will announce their decisions in the next few days, Joe Vardon of The Athletic reports.
Team USA will bring 12 players to the FIBA tournament. Among the players under consideration to replace the stars who have withdrawn, according to Vardon, include Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, D’Angelo Russell, Mike Conley, Josh Richardson, Thaddeus Young and Julius Randle. Select Team members could also be considered for the final 12-man roster, including Trae Young, Vardon adds. Top pick Zion Williamson has withdrawn from the Select Team this summer.
The original list of 20 invitees to the USA Basketball camp can be found here.
Spurs Hire Tim Duncan As Assistant Coach
The Spurs have hired future Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan, the team announced today in a press release, revealing that Duncan has joined Gregg Popovich‘s staff as an assistant coach.
“It is only fitting, that after I served loyally for 19 years as Tim Duncan’s assistant, that he returns the favor,” Popovich said in a statement.
A 15-time All-Star as a player, Duncan won five NBA titles and two MVP awards during his 19-year career as a Spur. After his retirement in 2016, the big man took on an unofficial role in San Antonio as the “coach of whatever he wants to be,” in Popovich’s words. Now, he’ll serve as an assistant in a more official capacity.
According to the Spurs, Will Hardy will also move to the front of the team’s bench as an assistant coach.
Duncan and Hardy will be tasked with helping to fill the gaps created on Popovich’s staff this spring when Ettore Messina elected to return to Italy and Ime Udoka headed to Philadelphia.
Bucks Sign Luke Maye
The Bucks have signed Luke Maye to a one-year contract, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. Financial details aren’t known, but an Exhibit 10 deal seems likely.
A 6’8″ forward, Maye played his college ball at North Carolina, winning a national championship with the Tar Heels in 2017. He went undrafted last month after a senior season in which he averaged a double-double (14.9 PPG, 10.5 RPG) in 36 games (30.9 MPG).
Maye joined the Bucks for Summer League play this month, but struggled in limited action, averaging 3.0 PPG on 18.8% shooting (3-of-16) in three games (13.7 MPG).
Nonetheless, Milwaukee didn’t waste much time officially locking him up to a contract. If it’s an Exhibit 10 deal, the Bucks likely view Maye as a contributor for their G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.
Wizards Owner: Wall “Probably Won’t” Play In 2019/20
Speaking today to reporters, including Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link), Wizards owner Ted Leonsis acknowledged that injured point guard John Wall “probably won’t play” during the 2019/20 season.
Wall is recovering from an Achilles tear he suffered earlier this year and the Wizards are taking his recovery and rehab process slowly to make sure they get it right, Leonsis said today.
Wall is entering the first season of a four-year, $171MM super-max contract which will run through the 2022/23 season, so the Wizards will certainly be motivated to get him healthy and rebuild his value for the last few years of that deal.
Leonsis’ comments confirm what we already expected, since a report earlier this month indicated that the Wizards had applied for a disabled player exception as a result of Wall’s injury. A DPE permits a team to replace a seriously injured player by adding someone without using cap space.
Before granting the exception, the league would have to rule that the injured player is “substantially more likely than not” to be out of action through at least June 15 of the league year. There has been no word on whether the Wizards’ request been approved, but even applying for a DPE represented a tacit acknowledgement that Wall was unlikely to play in 2019/20.
If the Wizards receive a disabled player exception, it would be worth $9.258MM. The club would be able to use it to sign a player to a one-year contract worth up to that amount, or to trade for a player on an expiring contract, assuming his salary fits into the DPE. It could also be used on a waiver claim.
Pistons Sign Donta Hall, Todd Withers
The Pistons have signed a pair of players that were on their Summer League roster earlier this month, inking free agent forwards Donta Hall and Todd Withers to contracts, per RealGM’s official transactions log.
Exact details of Hall’s and Withers’ new deals aren’t known, but RealGM classifies them as one-year contracts. Detroit likely made use of the Exhibit 10 clause in both cases.
Hall, who went undrafted out of Alabama last month, averaging 10.5 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in 34 games as a senior in 2018/19. In five games for the Pistons’ Summer League team in Las Vegas, he recorded 6.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in just 16.8 minutes per contest.
As for Withers, he played his college ball at Queens University of Charlotte before joining the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, for the 2018/19 season. The 23-year-old appeared in 48 NBAGL games last season, averaging 6.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG and earning an invite for Summer League this offseason. He played well in Vegas, averaging 10.0 PPG on 56.7% shooting in five games (18.8 MPG) for Detroit’s squad.
Neither Hall nor Withers looks like a strong bet to make the Pistons’ 15-man regular season roster for 2019/20, though both players could end up in Grand Rapids playing for the Drive.
Rockets Re-Sign Gerald Green
JULY 22: The Rockets have made it official with Green over three weeks after agreeing to terms, announcing today (via Twitter) that the swingman has officially re-signed with the club.
JUNE 30: The Rockets will re-sign free agent Gerald Green on a one-year deal, his agent, James Dunleavy, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Green, 33, has spent the last two seasons with the Rockets. In 2018/19, he averaged 9.2 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 73 games (20.2 MPG), with a shooting line of .400/.354/.838. Of his 578 shot attempts, 441 came from beyond the arc.
While terms of Green’s deal aren’t yet known, he played on a minimum-salary deal last season, so another one looks like a strong possibility.
Because he’s re-signing with his current team on a one-year contract, Green will have the ability to veto any trade that involves him during the 2019/20 league year. If he approves a trade, he would lose his Bird rights for 2020.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
No Zion Williamson For Team USA This Summer
In addition to the five Team USA training camp invitees that have already withdrawn from 2019 World Cup consideration, a member of the Select Team has now removed his name from the player pool as well. USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson won’t suit up for the program this summer.
As Charania details in a follow-up tweet, Williamson and the Pelicans are focused on making sure the former Duke standout is “fully integrated” in New Orleans this fall.
Williamson had been on track to participate on the Select Team which will scrimmage against Team USA’s training camp roster next month in advance of the World Cup in China. The Pelicans’ big man reportedly would have had a chance to earn a spot on the 12-man roster with a strong showing, but that scenario is no longer in play.
Williamson joins Anthony Davis, James Harden, Bradley Beal, CJ McCollum, and Eric Gordon among the players who have pulled out of Team USA obligations so far this offseason. The program is still waiting on final decisions from Damian Lillard and Kevin Love, tweets Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
While Team USA hasn’t officially announced the list of players who will make up the Select Team in August, reports have indicated that John Collins, Marvin Bagley, De’Aaron Fox, Jarrett Allen, Mitchell Robinson, and Trae Young are among those expected to participate. If more members of the initial 20-man camp roster withdraw, some of those youngsters could receive consideration for the final 12-man roster.