Trail Blazers Sign Ben McLemore
AUGUST 5: The team has officially signed McLemore, according to a team press release. It’s a one-year, minimum-salary deal.
AUGUST 2: The Trail Blazers will sign free agent shooting guard Ben McLemore, his agent Rich Paul has informed Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).
The athletic swingman flashed significant promise during his first few seasons with the Kings, who selected him with the seventh pick in the 2013 draft out of Kansas. He next proved himself to be a valuable role player while with the Grizzlies, and then suited up for an encore 2018/19 Sacramento season.
Armed with quickness and a reliable three-point shot, McLemore served as a helpful wing contributor on the Rockets’ most recent playoff team, operating as a role player to support All-Star guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook, during the 2019/20 season.
After the Rockets began a midseason 2020/21 fire sale, they sent McLemore to the Lakers. McLemore averaged 8.0 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 21 contests for Los Angeles, connecting on 36.8% of his 5.4 three-point attempts a night. He should prove a valuable floor-spacing role player on the perimeter for Portland.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Raptors Re-Sign Khem Birch To Three-Year Contract
AUGUST 6: The Raptors have made it official with Birch, formally issuing a press release to confirm his new deal.
AUGUST 5: The Raptors have reached a three-year contract agreement with one of their own free agents, center Khem Birch, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
The deal will be worth $20MM. Toronto only held Non-Bird rights on Birch, so it will likely use part of its mid-level exception to re-sign Birch. It’s also conceivable that the Raptors could open up sufficient cap room to make it happen, but if they take back Goran Dragic or another high-salary player in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade with Miami, they’ll need to use the mid-level.
Birch joined the Raptors in April after the rebuilding Magic bought him out. He started 17 of 19 regular-season appearances with the Raptors, averaging 11.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG and 1.2 BPG in 30.4 MPG. The 28-year-old Birch played his first three-and-a-half NBA seasons with Orlando but was mainly used off the bench.
The Raptors waived Aron Baynes on Wednesday, so Birch could compete with Chris Boucher for a starting role with the club.
Wizards Rescinding Garrison Mathews’ Qualifying Offer
The Wizards are pulling their qualifying offer to Garrison Mathews off the table, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move will make Mathews an unrestricted free agent.
Mathews, who has been on a two-way contract with Washington for each of the past two seasons, emerged as a regular rotation player for the team in 2020/21, averaging 5.5 PPG in 64 games (16.2 MPG). The 24-year-old shooting guard has displayed a reliable outside shot since entering the NBA, making 38.9% of 244 total three-point attempts.
The Wizards issued Mathews a qualifying offer last week to make him a restricted free agent. That QO was a partially guaranteed one-year minimum-salary offer and gave Washington matching rights in the event that Mathews signed an offer sheet with another team.
However, as Katz explains, the Wizards’ roster is almost full as a result of the complex five-team trade that will send six players to D.C. — by my count, 14 of the 15 slots on Washington’s regular season roster are spoken for. The club is also close to the tax line, Katz notes, and may want to retain some flexibility with that 15th roster spot.
Mathews will now be free to sign outright with any other team.
Wizards Waive Caleb Homesley
The Wizards have waived shooting guard Caleb Homesley, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log.
Homesley, who went undrafted out of Liberty in 2020, joined the Wizards for training camp last fall but was waived before the regular season began. He later suited up for the Erie BayHawks (the G League team the Wizards shared with New Orleans in 2020/21) and appeared in 15 NBAGL games (24.9 MPG), averaging 9.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.3 APG.
The Wizards liked what they saw from Homesley in the preseason and in the G League enough to sign him to a multiyear contract during the last week of the 2020/21 season. That was a four-year contract, but the last three years – including ’21/22 – were non-guaranteed, allowing Washington to cut him without incurring a cap hit.
Releasing Homesley doesn’t necessarily mean he’s no longer in the Wizards’ plans. He was listed on the team’s Las Vegas Summer League roster and could be a candidate to return to the club on a new Exhibit 10 deal or two-way contract. For now though, he’s on waivers — he’ll become a free agent this weekend if he goes unclaimed.
McKinley Wright Signs Two-Way Deal With Timberwolves
AUGUST 5: Wright’s two-way contract with the Timberwolves is now official, according to the transactions log at NBA.com. Both of Minnesota’s two-way slots are now full, as our tracker shows.
JULY 30: The Timberwolves will sign a two-way deal with undrafted Colorado guard McKinley Wright IV, writes ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The 6’0″ point guard enjoyed four decorated seasons with the Buffaloes. He was a three-time All-Pac-12 selection, a two-time All-Pac-12 Tourney honoree, and a 2020 Pac-12 All-Defensive Team member.
Wright, 22, ranks sixth on ESPN’s list of undrafted prospects. He averaged 15.2 PPG, 5.7 APG, 4.3 RPG and 1.1 SPG in 32 games for the Buffaloes, on .480/.301/.844 shooting during his senior season in 2020/21. Wright started in all but one of his 132 regular season games with the club.
Raptors Extend, Promote Masai Ujiri
5:09pm: The Raptors have officially announced Ujiri’s new deal and new title, announcing in a press release that he has signed a multiyear contract to become the team’s vice chairman and president.
“Great sportsmen impact their games. Great leaders impact their communities. Masai Ujiri does both, and we’re very pleased he is returning to the Raptors as vice-chairman and president,” Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment chairman Larry Tanenbaum said in a statement. “Masai and MLSE share the goals of bringing another NBA Championship to Toronto, and off the court, working towards making our city, country and world a better place. These are exciting times, and we look forward to all that comes next for our team, for Masai and for his family. Masai, we’re glad you’re staying home.”
1:29pm: The Raptors are losing six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry to the Heat this week, but they’ve reached an agreement to lock up their other key free agent, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
According to Wojnarowski, Toronto’s president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri has agreed to a “significant” new deal with the franchise that will give him the title of vice chairman in addition to team president. The Raptors posted a video to their Twitter account alluding to the new deal with Ujiri, whose previous contract had been about to expire.
“I love being the leader of the Toronto Raptors and I’m here to stay,” Ujiri said in the video.
Ujiri, who won the NBA’s Executive of the Year award in 2013 with the Nuggets, was hired as the Raptors’ head of basketball operations that same year and spearheaded the turnaround of a club that had missed the playoffs in five straight seasons prior to his arrival.
Ujiri and his front office have displayed a knack over the years of finding hidden gems in the draft class, including Pascal Siakam (No. 27 pick), Norman Powell (No. 46 pick), and Fred VanVleet (undrafted free agent). He also memorably acquired Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs during the 2018 offseason, a move that pushed the Raptors over the top for the first championship in team history.
There was some uncertainty about what Ujiri’s future held when he didn’t agree to an extension with the Raptors a year or two before his contract expired, but he continued his usual work in the draft and free agency this summer, signaling that he had no plans to leave the organization. According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Ujiri is staying in Toronto despite being courted by multiple franchises “beyond (the) NBA’s boundaries.”
Suns Re-Sign Frank Kaminsky
AUGUST 9: The Suns have officially announced the return of reserve center/power forward Frank Kaminsky.
AUGUST 5: Free agent big man Frank Kaminsky has agreed to return to the Suns on a one-year deal, his agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman tell Marc Stein (Twitter link). Kaminsky’s one-year deal will be worth the veteran’s minimum, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.
Kaminsky, 28, first joined the Suns for the 2019/20 season after four years in Charlotte. He signed with Sacramento during the 2020 offseason, but was released by the Kings at the end of the preseason and was claimed off waivers by the Suns, resulting in him spending another season in Phoenix.
Kaminsky appeared in 47 regular season games for the Suns in 2020/21, averaging 6.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.7 APG with a shooting line of .471/.365/.617. He wasn’t in the club’s regular playoff rotation, making 10 appearances and logging just 6.8 minutes per contest.
With Dario Saric in danger of missing the entire 2021/22 season due to a torn ACL, there’s a viable path to play regular minutes for Kaminsky. Newcomer JaVale McGee and second-year big man Jalen Smith will be among the other reserves vying for playing time in the frontcourt, but Kaminsky’s ability to space the floor will make him a better fit in certain lineups.
Warriors Sign Moses Moody To Rookie Contract
The Warriors have signed swingman Moses Moody to his rookie scale contract, the team announced on social media today.
Moody, 19, averaged 16.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per contest (32 games) as a freshman at the University of Arkansas last season.
Golden State picked Moody with the No. 14 pick in this year’s draft. The Warriors also held the No. 7 pick in the draft, choosing to select G League Ignite player Jonathan Kuminga.
The Warriors dealt with numerous injuries last season and finished with a 39-33 record. Having young pieces such as Kuminga and Moody will be imperative for the future, though the team remains focused on contending with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson,and other veterans in the present day.
Moody is set to earn $3.56MM next season and $17MM in total on his four-year rookie contract. As we previously relayed, the Warriors signed Kuminga to his rookie scale deal as well. It will pay him $5.46MM next season and $24.85MM in total.
George Hill Signs With Bucks
AUGUST 6: Hill’s deal with the Bucks is now official, according to the team (Twitter link).
AUGUST 5: Having cleared waivers, Hill is now on track to sign with the Bucks, according to Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that the guard will sign a two-year, $8MM contract with Milwaukee. That money will come out of the team’s mid-level exception.
Both years of the deal will be guaranteed, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
AUGUST 3: Veteran point guard George Hill, who was released on Tuesday by the Sixers, intends to rejoin the Bucks after he clears waivers later this week, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While it’s still possible that Hill could be claimed on waivers by a team with cap room or a large trade exception, it’s unlikely that any club would want to guarantee his $10MM+ salary, so it’s a safe bet he’ll become a free agent.
Hill played for the Bucks in 2019/20, averaging 9.4 PPG and 3.1 APG with a league-high .460 3PT% in 59 games as the club’s third guard. However, he became expendable when his contract was needed for salary-matching purposes in the Jrue Holiday trade.
Hill, who was sent to Oklahoma City in that Holiday blockbuster, averaged 8.7 PPG and 2.4 APG on .482/.388/.800 shooting in 30 total contests (22.4 MPG) for the Thunder and Sixers this past season.
He didn’t make much of an impact in the postseason for Philadelphia, with just 4.7 PPG and 1.5 APG in 12 playoff games (17.1 MPG). The 76ers opted to waive him before his salary for 2021/22 became fully guaranteed.
The Bucks are now eyeing deals with two veterans who are currently on waivers. A report earlier on Tuesday indicated that Milwaukee is expected to sign Rodney Hood, who was cut today by Toronto.
Hornets Considering Offer Sheet For Lauri Markkanen
The Hornets, one of the NBA’s only teams that still has cap space available, have “strong” interest in a potential offer sheet for Bulls restricted free agent forward Lauri Markkanen, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
By my unofficial count, Charlotte currently has about $14MM in projected cap room and could increase that number slightly by waiving one or more of the non-guaranteed contracts on the team’s books (Cody Martin, Caleb Martin, and Jalen McDaniels). That would likely be enough space to make a competitive bid for Markkanen and put pressure on the Bulls, who have the ability to match any offer sheet he signs.
Chicago will be hard-capped as a result of the club’s sign-and-trade deals for Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan. Accommodating a significant salary for Markkanen would potentially push the club into the tax and close to that hard cap. ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) said following the DeRozan agreement on Tuesday that the Bulls’ team salary was about $19.5MM below the tax line and $26MM below the hard cap, with six open roster spots.
The seventh overall pick in the 2017 draft, Markkanen showed a ton of promise during his first two NBA seasons, posting a career-high 18.7 PPG and 9.0 RPG on .430/.361/.872 shooting in 52 games (32.3 MPG) in 2018/19. However, his development trajectory has leveled off since then, as he has battled a series of injuries and given the Bulls up-and-down production.
Still, the Finnish forward is only 24 years old and is a legitimate floor-spacing big man, having knocked down 40.2% of his three-point attempts this past season. Charlotte has plenty of talent in its backcourt (LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, James Bouknight) and on the wing (Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington) and may view Markkanen as a nice fit up front.
If the Hornets is worried about a potential offer sheet being matched and the Bulls don’t want to risk losing Markkanen for nothing, the two sides could engage in sign-and-trade talks to ensure the seven-footer ends up in Charlotte and Chicago gets a minor asset or two in return for agreeing to let him walk. However, if Markkanen officially signs an offer sheet with the Hornets, a sign-and-trade would no longer be possible.
A restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet during the moratorium period, but the two-day matching clock doesn’t begin until the moratorium ends, so there’s no rush for Charlotte to get Markkanen to sign on the dotted line today.
For what it’s worth, a report earlier this week stated that the Spurs had interest in Markkanen in the DeRozan sign-and-trade, but weren’t comfortable meeting his asking price.