Turkish Team Interested In Frank Kaminsky
Now that Frank Kaminsky has been officially waived by the Kings, he may be headed to Turkey. Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays a report from Turkish reporter Ugur Ozan Sulak that Fenerbahce will attempt to sign Kaminsky.
Fenerbahce is coached by Igor Kokoskov, who is familiar with Kaminsky from his time in the NBA, though Kokoskov had been let go by the Suns by the time Kaminsky joined the team. Skerletic adds that Fenerbahce negotiated with Kaminsky the last time he was a free agent.
The 27-year-old big man played for the Suns last season, averaging 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 39 games. He signed a non-guaranteed deal with Sacramento last month.
Pistons Waive Dzanan Musa
11:33am: The move is official, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.
8:16am: The Pistons will waive swingman Dzanan Musa, a source tells Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
Musa will still earn $2,002,800 for the season as Detroit had 16 players in camp with guaranteed contracts. His $3,615,054 team option for 2021/22 will be voided unless he’s claimed on waivers.
The move will bring the roster down to 15 players on standard contracts, although Detroit still has an open two-way slot.
Musa was acquired from the Nets last month in a three-team trade that also brought Rodney McGruder and the draft rights to Saddiq Bey, the 19th pick this year. Musa spent two years in Brooklyn and averaged 4.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 40 games last season.
Watanabe Gets Two-Way Deal From Raptors; Watson Promoted To Main Roster
11:06am: Watson’s new contract is a two-year, minimum-salary deal with a $350K partial guarantee in year one, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic.
8:55am: The Raptors have converted Yuta Watanabe‘s camp contract to a two-way deal, according to NBA.com’s transactions page. Paul Watson, who joined the team on a two-way contract last season, has been promoted to the main roster.
Watanabe, 26, saw minimal playing time with the Grizzlies over the past two years, playing mostly in the G League. The small forward appeared in 33 total games for Memphis, and averaged 2.0 PPG in 18 games last season.
Watson, a 25-year-old shooting guard, played 10 NBA games in 2019/20. He signed with Toronto in January, one day after being waived by the Hawks.
Both players performed well during the Raptors’ three preseason games, sealing their spots on the regular season squad. Watanabe put up 14 points and 11 rebounds in 30 total minutes, while Watson had 11 points, five boards, and three blocked shots in 29 total minutes.
The Raptors’ roster, which includes 15 players on standard contracts and two – Watanabe and Jalen Harris – on two-way deals, is now set for the regular season.
Rudy Gobert Signs Five-Year Extension With Jazz
11:00am: Gobert’s extension is official, the Jazz announced in a press release.
“Rudy is such a special player,” new team owner Ryan Smith said in a statement. “He makes everyone on the court better. We couldn’t be more excited about his commitment to this team, to Utah, and most importantly, to keeping this unique culture together.”
9:13am: Rudy Gobert has reached an agreement on a five-year, $205MM extension with the Jazz, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The final year of the deal will be a player option, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“It means that they believe in me,” Gobert told MacMahon, confirming the agreement. “They believe in what we’ve been building over the years with this whole organization, with coach (Quin Snyder) and all the guys. For me, it’s an incredible blessing. It’s a very motivating feeling to know that we all share the same vision and we all share this goal for this state and for this franchise.”
The 28-year-old center was eligible to receive a super-max deal that would have been worth up to $228MM. He opted to take a little less so that Utah could have some financial flexibility to build the team around him and Donovan Mitchell, who also signed a five-year extension last month. There were reports of tension between Gobert and Mitchell after both players contracted COVID-19 in March, but they have now committed to a long-term future with the franchise.
Gobert’s new deal is the third-largest in NBA history, MacMahon notes. The only bigger contracts are the new $228MM super-max deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the five-year, $206.8MM super-max that the Thunder gave Russell Westbrook in 2017.
Gobert is currently in the final season of a four-year, $102MM arrangement, and Utah has some flexibility with the parameters of his new contract, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The Jazz could start the deal at $35.3MM for 2020/21, which is $4MM below 35% of the salary cap, with 8% raises each year. They could also opt to give him the full 35% at the beginning, which translates to a $39.3MM salary with 2.2% annual raises.
Gobert, who faced a Monday deadline to get a five-year extension finalized, has become one of the best centers in the league during his seven seasons in Utah. He won Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2017/18 and 2018/19 and has been an All-NBA selection in three of the past four years. The only thing missing from his resume is a long playoff run, which he believes the Jazz can accomplish soon.
“I want to win, and I feel like leaving this money on the table for the team just to be able to have better talent around me and Donovan was really important,” Gobert said. “I want to win, and I believe in this group and I believe in this organization, and I was willing to leave that money on the table for them.”
Gobert’s new contract is the latest in a long line of lucrative extensions signed since the new league year began last month. Only three players – Anthony Davis, Brandon Ingram, and Gordon Hayward – signed free agent contracts worth more than $100MM this offseason, but Gobert is the seventh player to finalize an extension worth $160MM or more, as our tracker shows.
The deal also takes another marquee free agent off the market for 2021. Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Paul George are among the other stars who will no longer reach free agency next summer after signing extensions this year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Clippers Notes: Kennard, Leonard, West, Kabengele
After a pair of uninspiring games to start the preseason, Luke Kennard promised his Clippers teammates he would become more aggressive, write Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. Kennard delivered on Thursday night, coming off the bench to score 13 points and hit 3-of-4 three-point attempts.
“After our first scrimmage in training camp, I just told him, ‘Be aggressive, be who you are,’” coach Tyronn Lue said. “‘If you’re doing too much, I’ll let you know – and I doubt I would ever say that.’ And I told him, ‘Kawhi (Leonard) and (Paul George), they need that from you. They want that from you. So don’t come here trying to fit in, trying to please guys. Just play your game, and then we’ll make sure we tailor your game around our offensive foundation.’”
Kennard is getting used to competition again after being shut down for more than a year. He was sidelined by knee tendinitis last December with the Pistons, and the league went on hiatus before he could return. The Clippers picked him up in a three-team trade on draft night.
There’s more on the Clippers:
- Leonard has responded to charges that the team and executive board member Jerry West used improper tactics to lure him to L.A., tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. According to a TMZ report, Johnny Wilkes, who claims to be Leonard’s friend, is suing West for $2.5MM. “That has nothing to do with me swaying my mind to go somewhere,” Leonard said. “I’m from L.A. and I grew up here my whole life and out here people try to find any way to get some money, so he probably won’t be the last. I know a lot of people out here.” TMZ has published a voicemail allegedly left by West.
- Mfiondu Kabengele remains in the Clippers’ plans for the future, even though the team elected not to take him to Orlando for the restart, Greif writes in a full story. President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said it was difficult to decide who was brought to the Disney World campus. “We obviously were in a championship and still are in a championship contending mode, and we prioritize performance and medical for the playing group,” Frank explained. “You would have loved to have brought Fi there. Fi has a contagious personality. He stayed engaged throughout. He would jump on Zooms and watch practice. He would talk to his teammates. He talked to the staff. He kind of lived the journey remotely.”
- ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz examines how the Clippers can fix the flaws that caused them to underachieve last season with a second-round exit after adding two All-Stars.
Spurs Waive London Perrantes
The Spurs have waived point guard London Perrantes, according to NBA.com’s transactions page. San Antonio’s roster is now at 14, along with a pair of two-way players.
Perrantes, who signed with the team Saturday, was believed to have an Exhibit 10 contract, which makes him eligible for a bonus of up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate. Perrantes finished last season with Capital City, which still owns his G League rights, so it appears the Austin Spurs would have to make a trade before he could join them.
Perrantes’ only NBA experience came during the 2017/18 season when he appeared in 14 games as a two-way player for the Cavaliers.
Grizzlies Waive Three Players, Set Regular Season Roster
The Grizzlies have made three roster cuts, announcing today in a press release that they waived forward Bennie Boatwright, along with guards Shaq Buchanan and Ahmad Caver.
Boatwright, Buchanan, and Caver each signed non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts with the Grizzlies after playing last season for the Memphis Hustle in the G League. All three players are likely to rejoin the Hustle – the Grizzlies’ NBAGL affiliate – now that they’ve been waived, and should be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K apiece.
After today’s cuts, the Grizzlies’ roster is all set for the regular season. The team is carrying a full squad, with 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts and a pair on two-way deals.
Raptors Sign, Waive Breein Tyree, Tres Tinkle, Dewan Hernandez
The Raptors signed and waived guard Breein Tyree, forward Tres Tinkle, and big man Dewan Hernandez earlier today, according to Blake Murphy and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Those moves were all made with an eye toward securing G League rights for the Raptors 905 and have no impact on Toronto’s regular season roster, Murphy confirms. The Raptors’ G League affiliate is expected to participate in the proposed NBAGL bubble, and it sounds like Tyree, Tinkle, and Hernandez will suit up for the team.
Tyree, who spent all four years of his college career at Mississippi, averaged 19.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.5 APG on .427/.360/.822 shooting in 31 games (34.6 MPG) as a senior in 2019/20. He competed in training camp for a two-way deal with the Heat, but was released on Wednesday.
Tinkle, 24, averaged 18.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 3.2 APG in 31 games (34.5 MPG) as a redshirt senior for Oregon State last season. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Lakers (and was subsequently waived) after going undrafted, but L.A.’s G League team isn’t expected to take part in the G League bubble, so joining the Raptors 905 will give Tinkle a chance to play — and to potentially earn a $50K bonus.
Hernandez, meanwhile, was drafted 59th overall by the Raptors in 2019 and spent his rookie season with the club, recording 14 points and 14 rebounds in 28 total minutes across six NBA games. The former University of Miami standout also appeared in nine G League games for the Raptors 905, averaging 13.4 PPG and 9.6 RPG. However, he was sidelined for much of the season by an ankle injury and was cut last month.
Wizards Sign, Waive Jordan Bell
11:00pm: Bell has been released by the Wizards and figures to play for the club’s G League team in the proposed bubble, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.
9:25am: The Wizards have signed veteran big man Jordan Bell, according to RealGM’s official transactions log.
Bell, 25, was waived by the Lakers in late November after L.A. acquired him as part of the JaVale McGee trade to the Cavaliers.
It’s likely that Bell’s deal with Washington is an Exhibit 10 contract, which is a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum salary pact that allows a player to make a bonus of up to $50K if he is waived and remains on the franchise’s G League squad for at least 60 days.
The Capital City Go-Go (the Wizards’ NBAGL affiliate) claimed Bell off waivers in March, so the team holds his returning rights for the upcoming season. He’ll likely report there after being waived by Washington, assuming the Go-Go participate in the proposed G League bubble. The Wizards and Pelicans have reportedly discussed combining NBAGL teams for that event.
The Los Angeles native started his career with the Warriors during the 2017/18 season. Golden State won the NBA championship that season with Bell as a key reserve for the team, averaging 4.6 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 57 games (13 starts).
Bell appeared in 68 games for the Warriors the following season but has since bounced around the league. After signing with the Timberwolves in 2019, Bell was traded as part of the four-team, 12-player trade in February and subsequently released.
Suns Release Johnathan Motley
The Suns have waived training camp invitee Johnathan Motley, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Motley had a non-guaranteed contract, so Phoenix won’t owe him his minimum salary.
Motley, 25, signed a camp deal with the Suns after playing on two-way contracts for the last three seasons, first with Dallas and then with the Clippers. Over the course of those three NBA seasons, he has averaged 4.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 46 appearances (8.1 MPG).
Motley has made a greater impact at the G League level, where he has been named to the All-NBAGL Second Team for three consecutive years. In 2019/20, he averaged 24.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 2.8 APG on .518/.356/.753 shooting in 26 games (33.0 MPG) for the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.
The veteran forward appeared in all four of Phoenix’s preseason games and performed well, with 24 points and 19 rebounds and 47 total minutes. However, he also racked up 10 personal fouls and six turnovers in those minutes.
The Suns’ roster now appears ready to go for the regular season, though the team could still make tweaks before Tuesday. Phoenix is carrying 12 players with fully guaranteed salaries, two with partial or non-guarantees (Damian Jones and Cameron Payne), and one on a two-way contract (Ty-Shon Alexander).