Grizzlies Release Avery Bradley
The Grizzlies have waived guard Avery Bradley, according to the NBA’s Transactions Log. Bradley had just a $2MM guarantee on his $12.96MM salary for next season if was was let go before July 8, according to Basketball Insiders. The guarantee date was originally July 3, but Bradley agreed to move it last week.
Unloading Bradley’s contract provides more flexibility for Memphis to match a potential offer sheet for restricted free agent guard Delon Wright. The Grizzlies have about $123MM on their books, including Wright’s $7.6MM cap hold, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Once considered one of the NBA’s top perimeter defenders as well as a potent scorer, Bradley’s game has slipped since the Celtics traded him to the Pistons in 2017. However, he looked like his old self during his brief stay in Memphis, averaging 16.1 PPG in 14 games. Still only 28, Bradley should garner interest from several contending teams on the open market.
Clippers Waive Tyrone Wallace, Sindarius Thornwell
5:04pm: The Clippers have officially waived both Wallace and guard Sindarius Thornwell, according to the NBA’s official transactions log. The 48th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Thornwell had a promising rookie season but struggled last year in a reduced role, averaging 1.0 PPG and 0.7 RPG in 64 games (4.9 MPG).
Thornwell’s $1,618,520 salary was due to become guaranteed on July 20, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, so the Clippers won’t be on the hook for it.
3:54am: The Clippers will waive guard Tyrone Wallace, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Per Basketball Insiders, Wallace was on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract which would have become partially guaranteed for $300K in September, then fully guaranteed in January.
The news of Wallace’s release will be significantly overshadowed by other Clippers-related moves tonight, as the team reached an agreement to sign Kawhi Leonard and struck a deal to acquire Paul George during perhaps the most dramatic half-hour in franchise history.
Still, Wallace saw a decent amount of action as a role player for the Clips in 2018/19, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 62 games (10.1 MPG). His performance represented a step down from his 2017/18 showing, when he posted 9.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 30 games (19 starts) while playing on a two-way contract.
Those rookie-year numbers helped earn Wallace an offer sheet from the Pelicans as a restricted free agent last summer, which the Clippers matched. Because of that offer sheet, New Orleans will be the only team not eligible to claim Wallace off waivers, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The former Cal standout will become an unrestricted free agent if he goes unclaimed.
Knicks Sign Ignas Brazdeikis
10:23pm: Brazdeikis received a three-year deal with the first two seasons guaranteed, tweets Lithuanian basketball writer Donatas Urbonas. The Knicks hold a team option on the third year.
5:02pm: The Knicks have signed second-round pick Ignas Brazdeikis, according to the NBA’s transactions log.
Terms of the agreement were not released, but it looks like New York will use cap room, since it was announced before any of the team’s other moves. That means Brazdeikis is eligible for a deal up to four years, which is what second-round pick Mitchell Robinson received last summer.
New York traded up to No. 47 on draft night to select Brazdeikis, sending cash and the 55th pick to the Kings in return.
A 6’7″ forward out of Michigan, Brazdeikis averaged 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 37 games in his only season with the Wolverines. He was also a 39% 3-point shooter in college.
Spurs, Marcus Morris Agreed To Two-Year Contract
[UPDATE: The agreement between Morris and the Spurs has fallen apart, and he has instead opted to sign with the Knicks.]
The Spurs have agreed to terms with free agent forward Marcus Morris, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Morris will sign a two-year, $20MM contract with San Antonio. The deal will feature a second-year player option, Charania adds.
It appeared the Spurs wouldn’t have the flexibility to sign a player like Morris after seemingly committing most of their mid-level exception to DeMarre Carroll. However, San Antonio will acquire Carroll in a sign-and-trade after by sending Davis Bertans to Washington. That frees up the full mid-level, which will be used to sign Morris, as Jabari Young of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter).
Technically, Morris’ new deal will be worth just shy of $19MM over two years, with a first-year salary of $9.26MM. Using the full mid-level and acquiring Carroll via sign-and-trade will hard-cap the Spurs.
Morris, who earned the No. 22 spot on our list of this offseason’s top 50 free agents, was probably the most notable name still on the board after Kawhi Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins agreed to sign with the Clippers and Lakers, respectively. The 29-year-old had a solid year in Boston as the Celtics’ primary starting forward, averaging 13.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.5 APG with a .447/.375/.844 shooting line.
Marcus is the second Morris twin to agree to a new contract this week — his brother Markieff Morris joined the Pistons on a two-year deal of his own.
As for the Spurs, they could still be in the market for one more veteran big man, but they only have the minimum salary exception available and will remain patient, according to Young.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bulls Release Shaquille Harrison, Walt Lemon Jr.
The Bulls have waived Shaquille Harrison and Walt Lemon Jr., according to a press release from the team. Chicago needed the cap space to finalize the signings of free agents Thaddeus Young, which is now official, and Tomas Satoransky, who is still waiting to sign his deal. Harrison and Lemon both had non-guaranteed contracts that would have paid them $1,588,231 next season.
Harrison, 25, appeared in 73 games this year, starting 11, after signing with the Bulls last summer. He posted a 6.5/3.0/1.9 line in about 20 minutes per night.
Lemon, 26, got into six games after signing with Chicago in late March. He started the season on a two-way contract with the Celtics, but never played for them before being released in November.
Magic Re-Sign Nikola Vucevic To Four-Year Deal
JULY 6: The Magic have officially re-signed Vucevic, the team confirmed today in a press release. The club also announced its deals with Terrence Ross and Al-Farouq Aminu.
JUNE 29: All-Star center Nikola Vucevic will stay in Orlando on a four-year, $100MM contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The deal will enable the Magic to keep one of the primary cogs of their playoff team in place for what should be the best part of his career. The 28-year-old posted career highs this season with 20.8 points and 12.0 rebounds per night. He also improved as a 3-point shooter, sinking 1.1 per game and hitting them at a .364 clip.
Vucevic was among the biggest bargains in the league this year, putting up All-Star numbers at a salary of $12.25MM. He has blossomed into an elite NBA center since being acquired from the Sixers in a four-team trade in 2012.
The signing is bad news for teams seeking center help in free agency, such as the Kings and Mavericks. The Celtics were also rumored to be interested in Vucevic before committing their cap room to Kemba Walker.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
More Details On Thunder, Raptors Trade Talks
Earlier today, we relayed a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on the Thunder‘s efforts to engage the Raptors in trade discussions involving Paul George. As Wojnarowski explained, the threat of Oklahoma City sending George to Toronto instead of to Los Angeles forced the Clippers to put a massive offer on the table to ensure that they secured not only George but Kawhi Leonard as well.
[RELATED: Thunder to trade Paul George to Clippers]
Wojnarowski’s report suggested that Thunder head of basketball operations Sam Presti had been open to pursuing a deal with the Raptors that would have sent both George and Russell Westbrook to Toronto, with Pascal Siakam as the centerpiece of the deal. However, Raps president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri balked at the idea, and talks didn’t gain traction.
Bruce Arthur of The Toronto Star adds a few more details to that report, tweeting that the Thunder asked for Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and four unprotected first-round picks as a starting point for George.
Arthur’s report doesn’t make clear whether Westbrook was involved in that proposal, or which veteran(s) the Raptors would have had to include for salary-matching purposes. However, according to Arthur, the Raptors believed they were being used as leverage — and also believed that Leonard would be headed home to Los Angeles.
[RELATED: Russell Westbrook mulling possibility of being traded]
Wojnarowski’s and Arthur’s sources paint a similar picture of the Raptors’ involvement in these trade talks with the Thunder. It sounds as if things never really got all that serious from Toronto’s side, given their concern that they were being used to get more out of the Clippers, but OKC had to make the Clippers believe that sending George to the Raptors was a real possibility. Ujiri and Raps GM Bobby Webster didn’t have the ability or the inclination to top the Clippers’ offer, league sources told Wojnarowski.
It’s possible that the Raptors would’ve made a stronger push for George if they’d known that acquiring him would lead directly to a long-term commitment from Leonard, but there’s no indication that was the case.
As Wojnarowski reported, the Clippers believed Kawhi would go to the Lakers if the Clips couldn’t acquire PG13 — assuming they were right, it’s not clear that Toronto acquiring George would have changed that.
Spurs Acquire DeMarre Carroll In Sign-And-Trade
JULY 6: The Spurs and Carroll’s agent Mark Bartelstein have reworked the forward’s deal to make it a three-year, $21MM contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Adding the third year was necessary since San Antonio officially acquired Carroll via sign-and-trade rather than signing him outright (sign-and-trade contracts must be for at least three years). That deal is outlined right here.
JUNE 30: DeMarre Carroll has agreed to join the Spurs on a two-year deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The contract will pay him $13MM over the two seasons.
Carroll spent the last two seasons in Brooklyn after the Nets acquired him via trade from the Raptors during the 2017 offseason. With Brooklyn landing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the team was limited in what it could offer free agents, so Carroll departing isn’t major news.
For the Spurs, it’s their second deal of the day with the team re-signing Rudy Gay. The Spurs forward rotation appears stable.
Barring some sort of sign-and-trade arrangement, the Spurs figure to sign Carroll using their mid-level exception.
Heat Acquire Jimmy Butler In Sign-And-Trade
The Heat have officially acquired Jimmy Butler from the Sixers in a sign-and-trade deal that also includes the Trail Blazers and the Clippers, according to press releases from Miami and Philadelphia.
The Heat also acquired big man Meyers Leonard from the Trail Blazers and cash considerations from the Clippers. Miami sent shooting guard Josh Richardson to Philadelphia, center Hassan Whiteside to the Blazers and a conditional first-round pick to the Clippers. The Clippers also received forward Maurice Harkless from Portland and the draft rights to 2017 second-round pick Mathias Lessort from the Sixers.
The Clippers and Blazers have also confirmed the swap.
The 2023 first-rounder that the Heat forwarded to the Clippers, which is lottery-protected through 2025 and unprotected in 2026, was subsequently moved to the Thunder as part of the agreed-upon Paul George blockbuster.
Butler inked a four-year, $141MM contract with the Heat. Miami waived forward Ryan Anderson and stretched his contract in order to stay below the hard cap and complete the sign-and-trade.
“Jimmy’s leadership, tenacity, professionalism, defensive disposition and his ability to create his own shot will improve our roster immediately,” Miami president Pat Riley said in the press release. “Any time you can add a four-time All-Star to your roster, you make that move. Meyers is a versatile big, a great shooter, can play inside and block shots. The addition of both men puts us in a great position to win.”
The disgruntled Butler was dealt by Minnesota to Philadelphia last season. The Sixers wanted to retain Butler but couldn’t convince him to stay and got something for him via the sign-and-trade mechanism. In 65 total games for the Wolves and Sixers last season, Butler averaged 18.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.9 SPG with a .462/.347/.855 shooting line. Richardson averaged a career-high 16.6 PPG and 4.1 APG last season.
Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey called the acquisition of Whiteside an “impact move for our roster.” The Blazers were looking for a starting center with Jusuf Nurkic on the mend from a serious leg injury.
Zion Williamson To Miss Rest Of Summer League
No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson will be held out for the remainder of this month’s Las Vegas Summer League after suffering a bruised left knee in Friday’s game, the Pelicans announced today in a press release.
While fans in Vegas will be disappointed not to see any more of Williamson in action this month, it’s no surprise that the Pelicans will be cautious with their new franchise cornerstone. Based on the club’s announcement, it doesn’t sound as if Zion’s knee issue is serious.
“Zion will move forward from this incident without issue,” head of basketball operations David Griffin said in a statement. “However, in an abundance of caution, we have made the determination that he will not appear in game action for the remainder of the NBA Summer League. He will continue to take part in training and conditioning with our performance team.”
Williamson played just nine minutes in his professional debut on Friday vs. the Knicks, but looked good in limited action, pouring in 11 points and grabbing three rebounds.