Nuggets Sign JaMychal Green To Two-Year Deal
AUGUST 19: The Nuggets have officially re-signed Green, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
AUGUST 2: The Nuggets will bring back reserve power forward JaMychal Green, an unrestricted free agent, on a two-year, $17MM deal, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The agreement includes a player option for the 2022/23 season, Charania adds.
After going undrafted out of Alabama in 2012, the 6’8″ Green logged time with the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Clippers before linking up with Denver. Green, now 31, initially joined the Nuggets as a free agent in 2020, inking a two-year, $15MM deal with a player option for the 2021/22 season, which he then declined this summer.
An athletic big man with long-range shooting ability, Green proved a helpful contributor in Denver’s frontcourt rotation. Across 58 contests with Denver, Green averaged 8.1 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 19.3 MPG, with a stellar shooting line of .463/.399/.807. He averaged 5.4 PPG and 5.2 RPG during 19 MPG in the 2021 postseason.
The Pelicans were also interested in adding Green this summer, writes Mike Singer of the Denver Post.
The Nuggets appear determined to retain some key role players this summer, as it was also reported today that Denver is set to bring back free agent shooting guard Will Barton, also on a two-year deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Knicks Sign Dwayne Bacon
AUGUST 19: The Knicks have officially signed Bacon, according to RealGM’s transactions log. It’s a one-year, minimum-salary contract, and I’d be surprised if it’s fully guaranteed.
AUGUST 9: After being waived by the Magic on Sunday, free agent shooting guard Dwayne Bacon appears to have lined up a new home elsewhere in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks are set to sign Bacon on a new deal, reports Tim Bontemps of ESPN (via Twitter).
Bacon, 25, spent his first three NBA seasons with the Hornets and their NBAGL affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm.
He then signed on with the Magic in 2020, proving his durability by appearing in every single game for Orlando during the 72-game 2020/21 NBA season, including 50 starts. He averaged 10.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.3 APG and 0.6 SPG in 25.7 MPG for a lottery-bound Orlando squad. Bacon sported a shooting line of .402/.285/.824.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) notes, the Knicks’ roster currently projects to include 14 guaranteed deals, one non-guaranteed contract (Argentinian point guard Luca Vildoza), and one player on a two-way contract (rookie forward Jericho Sims). It’s unclear whether Bacon will receive a full or partial guarantee on his new deal.
Of course, before he can sign with the Knicks, Bacon will need to clear waivers. That will happen on Tuesday, assuming he goes unclaimed.
Pelicans Sign Jose Alvarado To Two-Way Deal
AUGUST 18: Alvarado has signed his two-way contract, Andrew Lopez of ESPN tweets.
JULY 30: The Pelicans are set to sign a two-way deal with Georgia Tech point guard Jose Alvarado, reports Ken Sugiura of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).
Alvarado logged four seasons with the Yellow Jackets. During his 2020/21 senior season, Alvarado averaged 15.2 PPG, 4.1 APG, 3.5 RPG, and a whopping 2.8 SPG, on .504/.390/.838 shooting.
The 2020/21 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Alvarado was also a two-time All-ACC honoree and was named to the 2020/21 All-ACC Tourney team. The 23-year-old Brooklyn native is considered a solid shooter, off-ball scorer and playmaker, but his lack of size or athleticism could limit his NBA ceiling.
Pelicans Sign Daulton Hommes To Two-Way Contract
AUGUST 18: The Pelicans have officially signed Hommes to his two-way contract, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
AUGUST 9: The Pelicans are set to add 25-year-old rookie swingman Daulton Hommes on a two-way contract, Excel Basketball agent James Dunleavy informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).
Woj notes that Hommes is currently on the Pelicans’ Las Vegas Summer League team. After going undrafted in 2019 out of Point Loma Nazarene, Hommes spent his first pro season in the NBA G League playing for the Austin Spurs in 2019/20. In 36 games for Austin, Hommes averaged 8.3 PPG on 42.2% field goal shooting, to go along with 3.5 RPG and 1.2 APG. After that, he suited up overseas in Italy for Vanoli Cremona during the 2020/21 season.
Prior to embarking on his pro career, the 6’8″ forward was honored as the 2019 NABC Division II Player of the Year, as well as a First-Team Division II All-American.
As a two-way player, Hommes will be eligible to appear in 50 games for the Pelicans. He will also log time with New Orleans’s new G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, during its debut season.
Hommes appears set to be the second and final two-way player on the Pelicans’ roster. It was previously reported that former Georgia Tech point guard Jose Alvarado would occupy the Pelicans’ other two-way player slot for the 2021/22 season.
Knicks Re-Sign Derrick Rose To Three-Year Deal
AUGUST 18: Rose has officially re-signed with the Knicks, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
AUGUST 2: Knicks combo guard Derrick Rose will return to Madison Square Garden on a three-season, $43MM contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).
Rose, 32, is set to re-join New York after a successful 2020/21 season with the club. The Knicks pried Rose away from the Pistons early in the year, and Rose quickly ascended the ranks within the team’s guard rotation, playing major minutes for a playoff-bound New York team, led by Rose’s former coach with the Bulls and Timberwolves, Tom Thibodeau.
After the trade, Rose suited up for 35 regular season contests with New York, averaging 14.9 PPG, 4.2 APG, 2.9 RPG and 0.9 SPG in 26.8 MPG for the team. The 6’2″ vet connected on 48.7% of his field goal attempts, including a solid 41.1% on 2.6 three-point attempts a night, while nailing 88.3% of his free-throws.
Rose elevated his play in the Knicks’ first-round playoff series against the Hawks, eventually stepping into the starting lineup for the team’s final three games of the series. He averaged 19.4 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 4.0 RPG across 35.0 MPG.
Rose, a former three-time All-Star and the 2011 MVP before his career trajectory was permanently altered by a series of severe knee injuries, was first traded to the Knicks from the Bulls ahead of the 2016/17 season. He then played for the Cavaliers and Timberwolves before inking a two-year contract with the Pistons in 2019.
Pistons Sign Chris Smith To Two-Way Deal
AUGUST 17: Smith’s two-way contract is now official, according to RealGM’s transactions log. Smith and Garza are Detroit’s two-way players.
JULY 30: The Pistons are expected to add UCLA swingman Chris Smith on a two-way contract this season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The 6’9″ Chicago native was a four-year player with the Bruins. In January 2021, Smith tore his ACL after just eight games and missed most of his senior season. Over those eight games, all starts, Smith averaged a solid 12.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.0 APG, and 0.9 SPG, while shooting .415/.500/.794.
Even without Smith, the Bruins enjoyed a spirited March Madness run in 2021, reaching the Final Four before they fell to Gonzaga.
Smith’s best college season wound up being his fairly healthy junior year in 2019/20. As a junior, Smith was UCLA’s leading scorer with his 13.1 PPG average. The 21-year-old also pulled down 5.4 RPG, dished out 1.5 APG, and made 1.0 SPG across 31 games. He posted a shooting line of .458/.341/.840. He was named a 2019/20 All-Pac-12 First Teamer and that same season’s Pac-12 Most Improved Player.
The Pistons, led by GM Troy Weaver, have had a busy draft day. They selected Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham with the top pick in the 2021 draft. They subsequently picked three players in the second round: Michigan forward Isaiah Livers, Iowa big man Luka Garza and Florida State center Balsa Koprivica.
New York Notes: Toppin, Weatherspoon, Edwards, DeAndre
Second-year Knicks forward Obi Toppin is hoping to earn a bigger role with New York next season, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
During his first Summer League, Toppin is averaging 23.0 PPG and 8.2 RPG across 36.5 MPG and has proven to be an adept scorer from everywhere on the court, driving inside for dunks and easy looks around the basket plus converting his three-point attempts at a solid 35.5% clip. The eighth pick in the 2020 draft out of Dayton, Toppin averaged just 11.0 MPG across 62 games in his rookie season.
“I feel like I know my role,’’ Toppin said of how he’ll slot in as the main reserve behind All-Star forward Julius Randle during his second season in the league. “I tried to focus on rebounding and defense mostly. Just improving in that, offensively things will come to me. I feel like defense is the most important thing when playing for coach [Tom Thibodeau] — and playing anywhere.”
There’s more out of the Big Apple:
- Nets Summer League standout Quinndary Weatherspoon has impressed during his time in Las Vegas this year, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “Yeah, Q’s great,” Summer League coach John Ott said of the 6’3″ shooting guard. “We’ve asked him at times to pick up full court. He’s accepted that, bringing some of the defensive mentality that we were hoping to find in Summer League. He’s definitely shown more than capable to guard on the basketball at this level.”
- Rookie Nets forward Kessler Edwards knows how the Nets want him to contribute after signing a two-way deal with Brooklyn, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “(The Nets) told me they just want to see me doing all the little things, along with rebounding the ball, crashing the glass, run the floor, spacing the floor, knocking down open shots and then really just guarding 1-through-5,” Edwards said. “Those 3-pointers and that defensive ability and versatility is what I take pride in. That’s what I like doing the most when I play.”
- Veteran Nets center DeAndre Jordan may not start the 2021/22 season with Brooklyn, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The Nets continue to consider possible trade routes for the final two years and $19.7MM left on the 33-year-old big man’s current deal.
California Notes: Iguodala, Bledsoe, Metu, Longabardi
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is excited to have veteran swingman Andre Iguodala back for his second stint with the club, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“He means the world to us,” Kerr told Poole, echoing a sentiment he recently expressed to The Athletic. “The last two seasons, we’ve been somewhat rudderless in many ways. I suspect we’re going to get our rudder back with Andre.”
Iguodala signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Golden State after spending the last two seasons with the Grizzlies (for whom he never played) and Heat.
There’s more out of California:
- The Clippers‘ reunion with point guard Eric Bledsoe received an A-minus grade from Kevin Pelton of ESPN. Bledsoe was re-acquired in a trade this week that sent point guards Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo and center Daniel Oturu to the Grizzlies. Pelton praised the cost savings of the deal, which will amount to a reduction of about $30MM off L.A.’s luxury tax bill. Pelton also notes that the younger, more durable Bledsoe could prove to be an on-court upgrade for the Clippers as well, though he struggled in recent playoff appearances with the Bucks.
- Fourth-year Kings center Chimezie Metu has been suspended for one Summer League game after punching two-way rookie Mavericks forward Eugene Omoruyi in the head during the fourth quarter of an eventual 86-70 win Sunday, per an NBA press release (Twitter link). Metu will miss the Summer League title game on Tuesday against the Celtics.
- The Kings will be hiring Mike Longabardi as a front-of-bench assistant coach, per Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link). Longabardi, most recently an assistant with the Wizards since 2019, won the 2008 title as a Celtics assistant and the 2016 championship as a Cavaliers assistant.
Southeast Notes: LiAngelo, Haslem, Cooper, Reddish
Multiple members of the Hornets organization have loved what they’ve seen out of guard LiAngelo Ball, a member Charlotte’s Summer League club who is hoping to earn a G League contract, reports Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Schultz, Charlotte appreciates the work ethic of Ball, older brother to reigning Hornets Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball. The 6’5″ LiAngelo, 22, is the middle brother in a family of basketball pros. His older brother, Lonzo Ball, just inked a lucrative four-year, $80MM deal with the Bulls this summer.
The Hornets are no doubt hoping that LiAngelo, the only member of the three Ball brothers to not be drafted, can prove to be a diamond in the rough. “Great kid,” Hornets assistant coach Jay Triano raved. “He was at the facility practicing every day for two months to play in the Summer League. Shows a ton of character. He can shoot it, great feel, knack for scoring.”
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- Now that the Heat have re-signed lifer Udonis Haslem to a veteran’s minimum deal for his 19th season in Miami, the rest of the club’s offseason signings can now be completed, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Haslem is the 14th Miami player under a standard contract for the 2021/22 season, meaning the Heat will now be able to ink younger players to Exhibit 10 deals. Those players will compete for two-way deals and could end up playing for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate.
- Hawks rookie point guard Sharife Cooper sat down for an extensive conversation with Chris Kirschner of The Athletic about falling to the middle of the second round in the 2021 NBA draft and his fit on the team behind star point guard Trae Young. The Hawks drafted Cooper with the No. 48 pick out of Auburn. “It’s extremely motivating,” Cooper said of his slide in the draft. “We’ll see in a couple of years who can really play and who can’t play. That’s what I’ll say.” A high-level ball-handler, Cooper has already shown promise as a distributor and a speedy interior finisher at the next level while in Summer League, writes Kirschner. “I can pass,” Cooper said of his attributes as a player. “I can score. I feel like I’m a leader. I like talking on the floor. My biggest weakness — I definitely want to be more efficient. I definitely want to take care of the ball better.”
- Hawks forward Cam Reddish, eligible for an extension to his rookie contract in 2022, has signed with Klutch Sports Group, per an announcement from the agency (Twitter link). Though Reddish only appeared in 26 games with Atlanta during the 2020/21 season due to an Achilles injury, he showed promise during his brief stint with the Hawks in the 2021 postseason, averaging 12.8 PPG on 52.8% shooting (64.3% on threes) in 23.0 minutes per contest.
Suns Sign JaVale McGee To One-Year Deal
AUGUST 16: The Suns have officially signed McGee, the team announced today in a press release.
AUGUST 2: The Suns have agreed to a one-year contract with veteran center JaVale McGee, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), who reports that the deal will be worth $5MM.
Perhaps the premier rim-rolling backup center in the NBA, McGee has made it a habit to know his role for some excellent playoff teams over the last several seasons. He has won two titles with the Warriors and one with the Lakers during his decorated career.
McGee, 33, will be fortifying the front line for a Phoenix club that struggled to defend the rim when starting center Deandre Ayton sat during a playoff run that saw the Suns get to within two wins of the franchise’s first-ever NBA title. After Ayton’s primary backup, Dario Saric, left the Suns’ NBA Finals series against the Bucks with an ACL tear, Phoenix had to get creative in trying to steady the ship whenever Ayton rested or got into foul trouble.
With Saric absent, deep-reserve big man Frank Kaminsky gave the club serviceable minutes erratically, but he is not nearly the defender McGee can be. Saric will likely miss most – if not all – of the 2021/22 season due to his injury, so adding a reliable backup who is a true center was a must this offseason.
The seven-foot journeyman most recently suited up for the Nuggets. Denver was swept out of the playoffs during a Western Conference semifinals series against McGee’s new club, the Suns.
McGee was first dealt from the Lakers to the Cavaliers during the 2020 offseason to make room for new L.A. roster additions. After 33 games with Cleveland during the 2020/21 season, he was shipped out to a better fit, a playoff-bound club in need of a backup center upgrade. In 46 total games last year, McGee averaged 7.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG, while shooting 51.1% from the field, in just 14.7 MPG.
Luke Adams contributed to this report.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.