Draymond Green Signs Four-Year Extension With Warriors
8:55pm: The deal is official, according to a tweet from the Warriors.
10:14am: The Warriors and Draymond Green have agreed to a four-year, maximum extension worth nearly $100MM, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Green, who was set to hit free agency next summer, will remain with Golden State.
Green’s new deal, which starts during the 2020/21 season, brings his total contract to $118M over five years. The three-time All-Star will make $22.2MM, $24MM, $25.8MM and $27.6MM over the course of the extension, Wojnarowski notes (Twitter link).
It’s a bit surprising for Green to agree to these terms since he would have been eligible for a five-year, $204MM deal next summer from the Warriors — or four years and $151MM from other teams. He could have qualified for an even more lucrative deal with Golden State if he had earned All-NBA honors or won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020.
However, the defensive specialist elected for the long-term security, especially after seeing former and current teammates Thompson and Kevin Durant sustain career-altering injuries just before hitting free agency. Green’s new deal starts at 120% of this year’s $18,539,130 salary.
After signing Klay Thompson to a five-year maximum deal earlier this summer and Stephen Curry also on a long-term pact, the Warriors have kept the core of their recent championship teams intact.
Green, 29, had a down year by his standards in 2018/19, averaging 7.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 6.9 APG for the Warriors in 66 games. Green’s 7.4 PPG was his lowest total since his sophomore campaign in 2013/14.
However, the former Defensive Player of the Year remained an effective player for Golden State, helping the organization reach its fifth NBA Finals in as many seasons. He continued his trademark strong postseason play, averaging 13.3 PPG, 10.1 RPG and 8.5 APG in 22 contests.
When Thompson returns from a torn ACL, the Warriors’ core figures to contend for a fourth championship in six seasons. Golden State offset the loss of Durant by acquiring D’Angelo Russell from the Nets in a sign-and-trade.
With Green off the board for 2020, an already weak free agency class has taken a hit. Barring extensions, Anthony Davis and DeMar DeRozan figure to headline next summer’s free agency class.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Warriors Notes: Green Extension, Youth Movement, Kerr
Draymond Green‘s contract extension is a victory for both sides, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. The Warriors and Green avoided a potential free agency drama next summer by agreeing to a four-year, $99.6MM extension that will run through the 2023/24 season.
Slater calls the agreement a “team-friendly extension” for Golden State, considering that Green would have qualified for a five-year, $201MM deal next summer and could have become eligible for a $235MM super-max contract by earning Defensive Player of the Year honors. Green opted for the security of having a huge deal in place and securing a long-term future with the Warriors.
Slater cites a Summer League conversation with a Golden State assistant coach who said the team was looking forward to having “Contract Year Draymond,” implying that he would be extra motivated to have a huge season with free agency awaiting. Although the Warriors will miss out on that, they now have the comfort of knowing that Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will all be together for a few more years.
There’s more from the Bay Area:
- The agreement minimizes future risks for both Green and the organization, writes Danny Leroux of The Athletic. After this summer’s spending spree, most of the teams that can open cap space next July are a long way from contention. Leroux identifies the Hawks, with former Warriors executive Travis Schlenk as GM, as the most intriguing team that could have made a serious run at Green. From Golden State’s perspective, with Curry and Thompson already combining for $78.4MM in 2020/21, there wouldn’t have been much available cap space to replace Green if he had left.
- The extension shows the Warriors aren’t willing to give up their place as one of the elite teams in the West, observes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. There’s an edict from ownership to remain competitive despite the loss of Kevin Durant in free agency and a torn ACL that will sideline Thompson for most of the upcoming season.
- After years of surrounding their stars with veterans, the Warriors emerged from the offseason shakeup as one of the league’s youngest teams, notes Nick Friedell of ESPN. DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston are all gone, with a group of rookies and unproven players hoping to take their places. “We went from one of the oldest teams in the league to one of the youngest,” assistant GM Kirk Lacob said. “All of a sudden you look at it and Steph is the oldest player on the whole team. Klay and Draymond are the elder statesmen. I think Alfonzo McKinnie (26) may be our fourth-oldest player by age. He’s only had a couple years of NBA experience.”
- The Warriors will look to the Spurs as a blueprint as they navigate their new situation, Friedell adds. San Antonio has managed to reach the playoffs every year after the losing the core of its championship teams. Coach Steve Kerr is part of Gregg Popovich’s staff on the FIBA World Cup team.
Sindarius Thornwell To Sign With Cavaliers
6:52pm: Thornwell’s new contract will be non-guaranteed, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
6:09pm: The Cavaliers will sign Sindarius Thornwell to a one-year contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The agreement was confirmed by Thornwell’s agent, Andy Shiffman of Priority Sports.
The 24-year-old shooting guard spent his first two NBA seasons with the Clippers after being taken with the 48th pick in the 2017 draft. Thornwell played 15.8 minutes in 73 games as a rookie, but those numbers dropped to 4.9 minutes in 64 games last season. He averaged 2.5 PPG during his time in L.A.
He became a free agent when the Clippers waived him last month before his $1,618,520 salary for next season would have become fully guaranteed on July 20.
The signing will bring Cleveland to 14 players officially under contract, along with one two-way player, plus the expected additions of Marques Bolden and J.P. Macura. Teams can bring 20 players into training camp.
Julius Randle Out Of World Cup; Torrey Craig Joining Select Team
Team USA lost another star today as Julius Randle announced that he won’t be competing for a spot on the FIBA World Cup squad, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN. He cited an unspecified family issue for the decision.
Randle, who signed with the Knicks last month, was a late addition to camp, receiving an invitation 11 days ago along with the Celtics‘ Jaylen Brown after several high-profile players declined the opportunity. With competition for 12 roster spots to begin Monday, it’s not clear if there’s time to find a replacement for Randle.
A move was also made to the Select Team that will scrimmage against those players in Las Vegas. Torrey Craig of the Nuggets was chosen to replace Landry Shamet of the Clippers, who announced yesterday that he won’t be participating.
Players will report to camp tomorrow and the battle for roster spots will run through Thursday. The World Cup will take place from August 31 to September 15 in China.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 7/27/19 – 8/3/19
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:
- In our Community Shootaround posts, we asked if Kawhi Leonard intentionally harmed the Lakers or Raptors in free agency, which Eastern Conference team is most underrated heading into next season, if and where Thunder guard Chris Paul will be traded next season, how the league should handle tampering violations and which pair of teammates are the best in the league.
- In his weekly mailbag, Arthur Hill tackled a variety of topics, including tampering issues around the league, Paul’s future and the possibility of Joe Johnson returning to the NBA.
- Luke Adams took a closer look at non-guaranteed contracts on a team-by-team basis, the amount of players on each team’s current roster, rules relating to offseason roster limits, a handful of offseason storylines still worth watching and the coaching changes that took place during the offseason.
- Chris Crouse previewed the 2K League Finals.
- We reviewed all the contract extensions handed out this summer.
Warriors Sign Devyn Marble To Exhibit 10 Deal
The Warriors have signed swingman Devyn Marble to an Exhibit 10 contract, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.
Marble, 26, averaged 13.3 PPG in 34 games for Italy’s Aquila Basket Trento last season. He was the 56th overall pick in the 2014 draft and was acquired by the Magic in a draft-night deal with the Nuggets. He appeared in 44 games with Orlando before he was traded during the summer of 2016 to the Clippers, who quickly waived him.
Marble played briefly in Greece before joining Trento in January 2017.
The Warriors had 16 players on the roster prior to the signing, so they’ll bring in a few more players before camp begins.
Five Key Stories: 7/27/19 – 8/3/19
If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
Warriors forward Draymond Green agreed to a four-year, $100MM extension. The free agent class next summer took another hit as Green decided to stay with the team that drafted him. Green potentially could have signed for much more next summer with either Golden State or another team. However, the defensive specialist elected for long-term security before hitting the market. His decision may have been influenced by seeing Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant suffer serious injuries just before hitting free agency.
The Blazers signed shooting guard C.J. McCollum to a three-year, $100MM extension. McCollum still has two years left on his current deal but both sides were eager to make a longer commitment. McCollum, who has averaged at least 20.8 PPG in each of the last four seasons, won’t be eligible for unrestricted free agency until 2024. Portland locked up McCollum’s backcourt partner Damian Lillard with a four-year, super-max extension earlier this summer.
Pelicans top executive David Griffin said he was miserable running the Cavaliers’ front office when LeBron James was there. Griffin was quoted in the Sports Illustrated article as saying that he and others were unhappy there because “LeBron is getting all the credit and none of the blame. And that’s not fun for people.” He also questioned James’ desire after Cleveland won the championship. Griffin later clarified his comments on ESPN’s The Jump, saying he was miserable in his former job because of the pressure to build a title team, not because of a rift with James. He also said James proved he didn’t lose his desire by reaching the Finals again.
Forward Patrick Patterson was bought out by the Thunder and plans to sign with the Clippers. Patterson’s playing time and production diminished last season but he’ll rejoin Paul George on a serious title contender. Los Angeles is limited to offering the veteran’s minimum, which is roughly $2.3MM for a player with Patterson’s level of experience. He had one year and approximately $5.7MM left on his deal with OKC.
Carmelo Anthony is hoping another NBA team will give him a chance to extend his career. Following a brief and unhappy experience with the Rockets last season, Anthony finds himself in limbo. The 35-year-old forward says he’s ready and willing to play a reduced role and is “in the gym every single day” as he awaits another opportunity. He also denied that he was looking for a farewell tour.
Here are 10 more noteworthy headlines from the past week:
- A showdown between the Clippers and Lakers headlines the Christmas Day schedule.
- Shooting guard Nik Stauskas signed with a Spanish team.
- Guard Ron Baker signed with CSKA Moscow.
- Shooting guard Lance Stephenson, who was on the Lakers’ roster last season, opted to play in China.
- The Grizzlies signed Euro guard Marko Guduric to a two-year contract.
- The Hornets signed brothers Cody Martin and Caleb Martin.
- Several teams showed interest in trading for Pacers big man Myles Turner prior to the draft.
- The Heat waived forward Yante Maten.
- Center Timofey Mozgov signed with a Russian team.
- Blazers big man Zach Collins is recovering from an ankle injury suffered this offseason.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Justin Hamilton Re-Signs With Beijing Ducks
Former NBA big man Justin Hamilton has re-signed with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to Sportando.
Hamilton, 29, will suit up for a third consecutive season in China after spending parts of three seasons in the NBA. The seven-fo0ter was a second-round pick in 2012 and went on to play for the Hornets, Heat, Timberwolves and Nets. Hamilton’s most recent – and most substantial – NBA experience came in 2016/17 when he appeared in 64 games for Brooklyn.
Last season, Hamilton posted impressive numbers for the Ducks, averaging 23.3 PPG and 9.7 RPG in 45 games. The year before, he posted 24.8 PPG and 10.9 RPG for Beijing.
Lorenzo Brown Signs With Serbian Team
Free agent point guard Lorenzo Brown has signed a deal with the Serbian club KK Crvena Zvezda of the ABA League for the 2019/20 season, the team announced (via Sportando).
Brown, 28, has seen action in five of the past six NBA seasons. The North Carolina State product has suited up for the Sixers, Timberwolves, Suns and Raptors. Last season, Brown played for the eventual NBA champion Raptors, averaging 2.1 PPG off the bench in 26 games.
The Raptors waived Brown in early January. The former second-round pick latched on with the Guangzhou Long-Lions in China for the remainder of the season, averaging 25.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 4.9 APG.
Hawks Notes: Carter, Roster, Parker, Spalding
The Hawks have left open a roster spot for Vince Carter but it’s still unsure whether the 42-year-old will rejoin them, as Chris Kirschner of The Athletic details.
Carter doesn’t want to just ride the bench if he plays a 22nd season, which would be an NBA record. However, lottery picks De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish and free agent signee Jabari Parker will all see significant action, which would cut into Carter’s minutes. Carter is taking a wait-and-see approach.
“Just waiting for the right opportunity, and nothing has changed as far as that goal, and that dream of mine is to still play,” Carter said. “It’s just a patient thing. I get it. I’m older. Teams are going younger. Hopefully, within the coming days, we’ll have something figured out.”
We have more on the Hawks:
- The Hawks plan to keep one roster spot open entering next season in order to facilitate trades, Kirschner reports in the same piece. They plan to use their approximate $5MM in remaining cap space to help make a trade before February’s deadline to collect future draft picks.
- Parker used his abbreviated stay with the Bulls as a learning experience, as he told Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. Parker signed with the Bulls last offseason on a two-year, $40MM deal that included a team option. He lost his rotation spot and was traded to the Wizards, who declined the option this summer. He then signed a two-year, $13MM contract with the Hawks. “It was really good because now I can relate to every kind of player,” Parker said of playing for Chicago. “When I talk to kids, I can talk to them about everything – from being the best player on a team to being the player who isn’t even playing. I’m just grateful for that experience. It allowed me to see things differently.”
- Forward Ray Spalding said the Hawks sought him out after the Suns declined to sign him after summer league play, as he told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “Phoenix set up different contracts with different players. My agent thought maybe it would be time to look elsewhere,” Spalding said. “So we did that and the Hawks reached out. He really liked what the Hawks said about me and offered me so I felt like this would be a safe place to start.” Spalding signed an Exhibit 10 contract.