Hawks Sign Rookie Mouhamed Gueye To Four-Year Deal
The Hawks have officially signed second-round draft pick Mouhamed Gueye, the team’s PR department tweets. Gueye agreed to a four-year, $7.64MM deal, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets
Gueye was the 39th overall pick, which the Hawks acquired in a draft-night trade with the Celtics. The Hawks sent their 2027 second-round pick to Boston in exchange for the rights to Gueye. The No. 39 pick was originally held by Charlotte.
A 6’11” power forward out of Washington State, Gueye was an All-Pac-12 First Team selection during his second and final NCAA season. Across 33 contests in 2022/23, he averaged 14.3 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.8 BPG for the Cougars.
Gueye is a developmental player. He led the Pac-12 in double-doubles, even though he’s played the sport for just three-and-a-half years. He grew up as a soccer player, Scotto notes.
Though terms of the four-year deal weren’t disclosed, it won’t be fully guaranteed. As Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirms (Twitter link), the Hawks completed the signing using the new cap exception for second-round picks, which requires that the final season be a team option. The guarantee details on the first three years aren’t yet known.
Clippers Sign First-Rounder Kobe Brown
The Clippers have signed late first-round pick Kobe Brown, according to the team’s PR department.
The 6’7” forward played four seasons at Missouri. He averaged 15.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals last season for the Tigers.
As the last first-round selection in last month’s draft at No. 30 overall, Brown will make $2,413,320 in his rookie season. His four-year rookie scale contract will total $12,394,178.
The salary figures represent 120% of the rookie scale amounts for 2023’s first-round picks. Rookie scale contracts are guaranteed for the first two years, with team options on the third and fourth years.
The 23-year-old Brown has much more experience than a typical rookie and the Clippers could look to get him some meaningful minutes early in his career.
Malik Beasley To Sign One-Year Contract With Bucks
Free agent guard Malik Beasley is signing a one-year contract with the Bucks, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
A seven-year veteran, Beasley is signing for the veteran’s minimum of $2,709,849, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Milwaukee will carry a cap hit of $2,019,706.
Beasley entered the free agent market when the Lakers declined their $16.5MM option on his contract for next season. Beasley had multiple suitors who were seeking a low-cost perimeter option and the Bucks’ interest in him had previously been reported.
A long-range shooting specialist who holds a career mark of 37.8% from deep, Beasley shot just 35.7% last season, including 35.3% with the Lakers. He was acquired from Utah at the trade deadline in the deal involving Russell Westbrook.
Overall, the 26-year-old appeared in 81 games last season, including 27 starts (25.8 MPG). He was a non-factor in the postseason, appearing in 11 games while shooting 26.9% from long distance in 8.3 MPG.
If he regains his previous form, Beasley could play major minutes as the backup shooting guard behind Grayson Allen. Beasley was a 2016 first-round pick for Denver and spent three-and-a-half seasons there before a two-and-a-half-year stint with Minnesota. He’s averaged 10.8 points in 21.9 minutes through 417 regular-season games.
Warriors Sign First-Round Pick Brandin Podziemski
The Warriors have signed first-round draft pick Brandin Podziemski to a rookie scale contract, the team’s PR department tweets.
The No. 19 selection in last month’s draft, Podziemski started 32 games for Santa Clara this past season and averaged 19.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals in 36 minutes per game. He was named West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year after transferring from Illinois.
Assuming he received 120% of the rookie scale amount — which virtually every first-rounder does — he will make $3,352,440 in his first season. The total value of Podziemski’s four-year contract will be $16,239,818.
Rookie scale contracts are guaranteed for the first two years, with team options on the third and fourth years. The 6’5” Podziemski, 20, figures to spent most of his rookie campaign in the G League.
Lakers Sign Castleton, Hodge To Two-Way Deals
The Lakers have signed center Colin Castleton and guard D’Moi Hodge to two-way contracts, the team announced in press releases.
Both rookies went undrafted last month and the two-way agreements were previously reported. They’ll also suit up for the Lakers’ Summer League squad.
The 6’11” Castleton started 26 games for Florida last season, averaging 16.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.0 blocks in 31.2 minutes per contest. He was named to the All-SEC First Team. Castleton had a five-year college career at Florida and Michigan.
Hodge played his final collegiate season at Missouri, where he averaged 14.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.6 steals in 29.1 minutes per game. Prior to last season, Hodge played at Cleveland State(2020-22) and the State College of Florida (2018-20).
Under the new CBA, two-way contracts are worth half the rookie minimum, which comes out to $559,782 for each player. They can be partially guaranteed for up to $75K at the time of their signing.
Wong, Tshiebwe Sign Two-Way Contracts With Pacers
Guard Isaiah Wong and power forward Oscar Tshiebwe have inked two-way contracts with the Pacers, the team’s PR department tweets.
Both rookies will look to eventually earn their way to a spot on the 15-man roster.
Wong was chosen with the No. 55 pick of this year’s draft. He played four seasons for Miami (Fla.) and led the Hurricanes to the Final Four this past season. He averaged 16.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals in 37 games last season. He also displayed a solid perimeter game (38.4% on 3-pointers).
Tshiebwe went undrafted despite a stellar college career at Kentucky. He averaged 16.2 points and 13.7 rebounds for the Wildcats last season. Tshiebwe’s agreement with the Pacers was previously reported and now it’s official.
The 6’9″ big man was a consensus All-American Second Teamer with the Wildcats last season and a consensus All-American First Teamer in 2022.
Under the new CBA, two-way contracts are worth half the rookie minimum, which comes out to $559,782 for each player. They can be partially guaranteed for up to $75K at the time of their signing.
Bucks Sign Robin Lopez
JULY 6: Lopez is back with the Bucks. His deal with Milwaukee is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
JULY 3: The Bucks are reuniting the Lopez twins, having agreed to sign free agent center Robin Lopez, according to Shams Charania of the Athletic (Twitter link).
Milwaukee reached a two-year, $48MM deal with Brook Lopez on Saturday. While Charania didn’t specify the terms of Robin’s agreement, Brook’s brother will likely earn the minimum salary, given the team’s cap constraints and the fact that he’s coming off a minimum deal.
A 15-year NBA veteran, Robin spent the 2022/23 campaign with the Cavaliers, playing limited minutes in a frontcourt led by Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. He appeared in just 37 games, averaging 3.0 points and 1.4 rebounds in 8.1 minutes per night. Those numbers were all career lows.
Although Robin’s on-court role in Milwaukee may not be any more expansive than what it was in Cleveland, he’ll provide the Bucks with another veteran leader in the locker room and an experienced option up front if called upon.
It will be Robin’s second go-round with the Bucks. He and Brook also played together for the team in 2019/20.
Having also agreed to bring back free agents Khris Middleton and Jae Crowder, Milwaukee still has at least two or three roster spots to fill, with limited financial resources to do so. The full $5MM taxpayer mid-level exception won’t be available to the team, barring a cost-cutting move.
Rockets Announce Coaching Staff For 2023/24
New head coach Ime Udoka officially announced his coaching staff for the 2023/24 season, the Rockets announced in a press release.
Ben Sullivan, Royal Ivey, Garrett Jackson, Tiago Splitter, Cam Hodges and Mike Moser will be Udoka’s assistants, per the team. Sullivan, Ivey, Jackson, Splitter and Moser were all previously reported additions (or in Splitter’s case, nearing a deal). That makes Hodges the only real new hire, based on reporting we’ve seen.
All six coaches have ties to Udoka. According to the Rockets, Sullivan got his NBA start as an assistant video coordinator after Udoka recommended him to the Spurs. Udoka was an assistant coach in San Antonio at the time. Sullivan has been an assistant with the Hawks, Bucks and Celtics over the past several seasons, including under Udoka in Boston in 2021/22.
Ivey, a 10-year NBA veteran as a player, has made previous coaching stops with Oklahoma City, New York and Brooklyn. He was a Nets assistant for the past three seasons, including alongside Udoka in ’20/21.
Jackson and Moser were player enhancement coaches for the Celtics. Jackson was with Boston for the past two seasons, while Moser was there for one. Udoka was suspended for all of last season by Boston after an affair with a team staffer, but he likely hired Moser even though they only worked together for a short period.
Splitter, another former NBA player, was Udoka’s teammate on the Spurs in ’10/11 and coached alongside him in Brooklyn in ’20/21. He has been an assistant with the Nets for the past four years.
Hodges got his NBA start with the Spurs as a player development assistant and worked with Udoka in both San Antonio and Philadelphia. He has been a coaching associate with the Clippers since 2020, according to Houston’s release.
Atlantic Notes: J. Brown, Embiid, Knicks, Raptors
A handful of players have agreed to contract extensions since the new league year began on Saturday, but Celtics wing Jaylen Brown isn’t among them — yet.
Appearing on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Monday (YouTube video link), Brian Windhorst said the Celtics and Brown have mutual interest in getting something done and that he expects things to “head in that direction.” However, he also referred to the deal as “fragile.” Asked to clarify what he meant by that, Windhorst explained that Brown having qualified for a super-max extension doesn’t mean no negotiations will be required.
“I think it’ll get done, but he’s eligible for up to 35% of the salary cap, but he doesn’t have to get that,” Windhorst said. “The Celtics could negotiate on that. They could negotiate on a player option. They could negotiate on several things. So it’s not as simple as saying, ‘Jaylen, here’s your contract, sign it or not.'”
While most players who have signed designated veteran (super-max) contracts have received a full 35% starting salary, Rudy Gobert is one notable exception. When he signed his super-max extension with Utah, it began at 31.4% of the cap.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Rival executives have no expectation that the drama in Philadelphia related to James Harden‘s trade request will prompt Sixers center Joel Embiid to seek a change of scenery himself, writes Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. “No, just no way,” one general manager replied when asked about the possibility. “He is a different kind of character. He is a lot more like (Damian) Lillard and (Bradley) Beal because he wants to be loyal to the team, he wants to stay there, he has a lot of appreciation for how he has been treated there.” Of course, Lillard and Beal eventually did request trades, so – as the GM notes – if the 76ers haven’t moved any closer to title contention two or three years from now, it could be a different story.
- While the Knicks got better by adding a shot-maker and creator in Donte DiVincenzo, their rotation took a hit with the trade of Obi Toppin, who was the power forward on the second unit, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. It remains to be seen what the plans are for that spot, according to Braziller, who notes that New York’s excess backcourt depth could set the team up for a roster-balancing trade.
- Barring a trade that shakes up the roster, the Raptors aren’t in position to make another significant move this offseason. So in order for the team to take any sort of step forward after losing Fred VanVleet, Toronto may need the hiring of head coach Darko Rajakovic to be its most impactful move of the offseason, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star suggests.
Rockets Sign Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore
Former Overtime Elite guard Amen Thompson and Villanova forward Cam Whitmore have officially signed their rookie scale contracts with the Rockets, per NBA.com’s official transactions log.
Known as a top-tier athlete, Thompson averaged 16.4 points, 5.9 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals on .566/.250/.656 shooting last season for the City Reapers, who won the Overtime Elite championship. He was the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, one spot ahead of his twin brother Ausar Thompson.
Whitmore was viewed as a potential top-five pick early in the pre-draft process, but his stock was said to be falling in the days leading up to June 22, as rumors of medical concerns and poor workouts circulated. He ultimately slipped all the way to Houston at No. 20 after a freshman year in which he averaged 12.5 PPG and 5.3 RPG and earned Big East Rookie of the Year honors.
As our chart of rookie scale salaries for 2023 first-rounders shows, Thompson should have a cap hit around $8.8MM this season, while Whitmore’s figures to be $3.2MM. They’ll earn up to $40MM and $15.6MM, respectively, over the course of their four-year rookie deals.
We’re tracking all of this year’s draft pick signings right here.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.