Jabari Parker Signs With Barcelona
August 7: Parker’s one-year deal with Barcelona is now official, pending the results of his physical exam, the team announced in a press release.
August 6: Free agent forward and former lottery pick Jabari Parker is expected to ink a new deal with international club FC Barcelona, per Ramon Palomar of Sport.es.
Palomar notes that the 6’8″ power forward is being eyed as a positional replacement for longtime Barcelona star Nikola Mirotic, another former NBA vet (and one-time Parker teammate on the Bulls).
Lucas Clemente of Mundo Deportivo reports that Parker underwent a physical with the club earlier this week to ensure that his surgically repaired left knee is in good enough shape to compete.
The No. 2 pick out of Duke in 2014 never quite had the NBA career many pundits had pegged for him. Parker was affected by a pair of ACL tears in that left knee, in 2014 and 2017.
Never a great defender, his offense stalled out too following the injuries, as he lost some of his athletic burst. Through 310 regular season games with the Bucks, Bulls, Wizards, Hawks, Kings and Celtics, he holds career averages of 14.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.9 SPG. He last played in the NBA with Boston during the 2021/22 season.
Barcelona may not be done adding NBA alums. George Syrigos of Apex Sports notes that the Spanish club is rumored to also have interest in signing former title-winning shooting guard Bryn Forbes as a potential replacement for departing guard Cory Higgins.
Pacific Notes: Davis, LeBron, Alapag
Lakers star center Anthony Davis‘ new three-year maximum extension, projected to be worth $186MM, effectively makes him the full-fledged face of the team, opines Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times.
The 6’10” big man is now under team control until the 2027/28 season, when he will turn 35. As Plaschke notes, Davis has already had major injury problems during three of his four seasons with L.A.
After he proved to be the club’s most essential player in leading the Lakers back to the Western Conference Finals this spring, Davis earned the vote of confidence, in Plaschke’s view. That said, Los Angeles will now rise and fall with Davis. Though his offense can be somewhat inconsistent, he remains one of the league’s best defenders. When healthy, he has helped L.A. reach two Western Conference Finals and win one title.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- The Davis signing seems to indicate that the Lakers hope to retain 38-year-old All-Star forward LeBron James even beyond his current contract, which takes him through the 2024/25 season, per Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. James has a player option for the last year of that deal, his age-40 season. “Nothing happens in a vacuum in all this,” a Western Conference executive told Deveney. “You sign AD to this deal, there is the Klutch connection there, and LeBron has a certain level of responsibility for what Davis does with the Lakers. So of course, there is communication there.” Deveney notes that James is widely anticipated to remain a Laker for the rest of his playing career.
- Following a two-season stint with the Kings‘ NBAGL affiliate in Stockton, Jimmy Alapag has been promoted to a player development coaching gig with Sacramento and will join the coaching staff of reigning Coach of the Year Mike Brown, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Alapag, who was an 11-time All-Star while playing for the Philippine Basketball Association, initially coached in that league before joining the Kings’ Summer League bench in 2019.
- In case you missed it, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. has suggested that Golden State is amenable to four-time champ Andre Iguodala playing for a 20th season – and a ninth with the Warriors – but the club is not counting on his return like it did last summer. Iguodala, 39, only appeared in eight contests last year due to injuries. He has yet to officially retire.
Atlantic Notes: Harrell, Nets, Hart, Brown
Although reserve big man Montrezl Harrell tore the ACL and medial meniscus in his right knee this summer, the Sixers intend to keep him on their roster, at least for the time being, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Though Pompey notes that Harrell, who inked a one-year, minimum-salary contract to return to the Sixers, most likely will not recuperate in time to play for the team in 2023/24, he believes retaining the former Sixth Man of the Year is the right play. Pompey suggests the Sixers could look to package his salary in a trade later.
Given that Harrell was the third or possibly fourth center on the club’s depth chart, he wasn’t likely to have played major minutes anyway. The 6’7″ vet averaged 5.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 2022/23, his lowest numbers since his 2015/16 rookie season.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- The Nets still have three roster spots – including one two-way slot – open ahead of training camp this fall, Net Income of Nets Daily writes. Net Income notes that the team still has its bi-annual exception and full mid-level exception at its disposal, and its $157MM in cumulative player salary puts it $9MM beneath the NBA’s $165MM luxury tax threshold. The free agent market at this point is a bit threadbare, so one wonders if Brooklyn would opt to use more than a veteran’s minimum on any of the still-available personnel.
- Knicks swingman Josh Hart becomes extension-eligible on August 9, but as Fred Katz of The Athletic notes, that isn’t stopping him from partaking in Team USA during this month’s FIBA World Cup. Katz writes that the typical move these days for players with big money potentially on the line is to preserve their bodies and avoid possible offseason injuries until a deal is done, but Hart is happy to buck that trend. An extension of his current deal could net him, at most, a four-year contract worth up to $81.3MM.
- Although he inked a new five-year, maximum-salary contract extension this offseason, All-Star Celtics wing Jaylen Brown still has one glaring issue in his game: protecting the ball. As Jared Weiss of The Athletic notes, Brown coughed up the ball 66 times during the 2023 playoffs, including eight incredibly costly turnovers in a Game 7 Eastern Conference Finals defeat against the Heat. Weiss takes a look at how Brown might be able to limit this particular problem going forward.
Terrence Williams Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison
Former Nets swingman Terrence Williams has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefit Plan for former players, per Priscilla DeGregory of The New York Post.
In 2021, Williams and 17 other ex-NBA pros were charged for an elaborate plot to steal $5MM from the league. Last year, he pled guilty to coordinating the scheme, which required he and his fellow ex-players cumulatively submit at least that amount in phony claims between 2017 and 2021. Williams also earned $346K in kickbacks for setting up the operation, DeGregory notes.
The most notable name on the list of additional players charged was former six-time All-Defensive Team shooting guard Tony Allen, who won a title with the Celtics as a reserve in 2008.
As part of an already established plea agreement, Williams was also ordered to pay $3.1MM in restitution and forfeitures. $2.5MM of that sum will be doled out in restitution to the league’s health care plan, while $650K will be forfeited to the federal government.
“Williams recruited medical professionals and others to expand his criminal conspiracy and maximize his ill-gotten gains,” the case’s prosecutor said, per DeGregory. “Williams not only lined his pockets through fraud and deceit, but he also stole the identities of others and threatened a witness to further his criminal endeavors.”
The then-New Jersey Nets selected Williams with the No. 11 pick in the 2009 draft out of Louisville. He spent just a year-and-a-half with the Nets, and subsequently bounced around during a brief four-season NBA career. Across 153 regular season games with the Nets, Rockets, Kings and Celtics, Williams averaged 7.1 PPG on .412/.317/.659 shooting splits, 3.6 RPG, 2.4 RPG and 0.5 SPG.
In addition to a later stint with the Lakers’ NBAGL affiliate, then called the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the 6’6″ shooting guard/small forward also played for international clubs in China, Turkey, the Dominican Republic, the Philipines, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Israel, and Venezuela.
Serge Ibaka Hopes To Keep Playing In NBA
Veteran big man Serge Ibaka, who has been in the NBA for 14 seasons, is still looking for his next opportunity as free agency’s second month gets underway.
In a new interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter video link), Ibaka explained how he can still help clubs in the league ahead of the 2023/24 season.
“A lot of things that I can bring to a team… basketball, experience of winning, playing with great players,” Ibaka said.
Speaking to Charania, the 33-year-old explained, from his perspective, how his season as a deep-bench reserve with the Bucks went awry. He was flipped to the Pacers in February as part of the four-team deal that sent Kevin Durant to the Suns, and Indiana subsequently waived him. Ibaka claimed that Milwaukee told him ahead of the year that he would be used as an injury replacement.
“[Then-head coach Mike Budenholzer] told me to my face: Listen, you’re coming here, I promise you nothing — but you never know, it’s a long season, guys can have injuries, you have to stay ready,” Ibaka said (h/t to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm and other staffers).
That proved not to be the case, and the club was cagey about why it continued to mostly hold him out even when big men ahead of him in the team’s rotation were hurt.
“It got to some point where I cannot take this anymore,” Ibaka said. “I love this game so much, but if this is going to take my peace of mind, my joy, it’s not worth it. I earned my respect in this league. At least communicate. I’m not asking about playing, I’m just asking for communication.”
Across just 16 games with the Bucks, the 6’10” center/power forward averaged 4.1 PPG and 2.8 RPG last season. Though the 2019 NBA champion may no longer be his peak All-Defensive Team self, he at least seems optimistic that he has more left to give.
Dmytro Skapinstev Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Knicks
The Knicks have inked center Dmytro Skapintsev to an Exhibit 10 contract, the team announced on Thursday (Twitter link).
The 7’1″ big man most recently suited up for the Knicks’ Summer League team, where he averaged 7.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.8 BPG.
Skapintsev played internationally for clubs in his native Ukraine and in Lithuania before joining New York’s G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, for the 2022/23 season.
Across 28 regular season games with Westchester last year, including eight starts, Skapintsev averaged 8.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, and 0.6 BPG. He shot 60.8% from the floor and 77.8% from the field in those contests.
Exhibit 10 deals can include optional bonuses worth up to $75K. If the 25-year-old is cut prior to the regular season, he could rejoin Westchester as a returning rights player. Should he stay with Westchester for at least 60 days, he would earn that bonus.
New York now has a full 21-man offseason roster, with 12 players on fully or partially guaranteed contracts, six on non-guaranteed deals, and three on two-way pacts.
And-Ones: Harrison, Bennett, New CBA, Hill
Former NBA journeyman point guard Andrew Harrison has a new international address. He has agreed to a contract with Greek team PAOK BC, per Eurohoops.
The Kentucky alum was selected with the No. 44 pick in 2015 and enjoyed stints with the Grizzlies, Cavaliers and Pelicans from 2016-19. Across 145 career NBA games, the 6’6″ guard holds averages of 7.0 PPG, 2.8 APG, 2.0 RPG and 0.7 SPG in 20.6 MPG.
Harrison also suited up for the G League affiliates of the Timberwolves, Warriors and Bulls. He has been playing abroad off and on since 2019, including stints in Russia, China, and Turkey.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft, has agreed to a contract with South Korean club the Goyang Sono Skygunners, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Carchia notes that Bennett averaged 22.6 PPG and 12.2 RPG while playing for Taiwan’s Hsinchu JKO Lioneers in 2022/23. Across 151 NBA contests with the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Raptors and Nets, the 6’8″ power forward holds averages of 4.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 0.5 APG.
- The league’s fresh Collective Bargaining Agreement could help the NBA achieve even more significant parity than it has enjoyed in years, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. As Bontemps notes, five different clubs have won the title in the past five seasons. Only once before in NBA history has that happened. The new CBA is especially punitive towards teams that go way above the luxury tax line in terms of certain team-building mechanisms, and was created to disincentivize teams from spending beyond the second luxury tax apron. “I think people are going to be more cost conscious in roster building,” a front office executive told Bontemps. “You’re just not going to give away max contracts to above-average starters who are not max-level players.”
- During a new interview with Marc Stein on his podcast The Saturday Stein Line, USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill indicated that he perceives a lack of appreciation for international competition stateside. “There’s maybe in a way a lack of appreciation for the international game here in the U.S.,” Stein said (hat tip to HoopsHype for the transcript). “And what I mean by that is that it’s hard, like it’s not easy… It’s not the original Dream Team where you steamrolled the competition. The rest of the world has improved, and the talent level has increased. And it’s a game that they are more familiar with the game, is officiated differently, and the rules are different.”
Pacific Notes: Kawhi, Brown, Suns Payroll
The Clippers are reportedly in “no rush” to enter into a new extension for oft-injured star forward Kawhi Leonard, reports Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN in a new edition of Zach Lowe’s podcast The Lowe Post.
“I hear it’s kind of quiet right now,” Youngmisuk said (hat tip to Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated for the transcription). “There is no rush on an extension for Kawhi Leonard, and then Paul George will be eligible in September.”
The 32-year-old Leonard, a five-time All-Star, two-time Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Finals MVP, remains an impactful player when healthy. After missing the entire 2021/22 season with an ACL tear, the 6’7″ swingman averaged 23.8 PPG on .512/.416/.871 shooting splits, along with 6.5 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.4 SPG and 0.5 BPG last year, albeit in just 52 games. He tore his meniscus during L.A.’s first-round matchup against the Suns this spring, and has not played a full postseason without a major injury since 2020.
As Youngmisuk notes, Leonard’s fellow injury-prone, maximum-salaried wing George will also be eligible for a lucrative new extension this offseason.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Clippers rookie Kobe Brown considers his four years of college seasoning a positive asset as he preps for his pro hoops debut, writes Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points. The 6’7″ wing was selected with the No. 30 pick out of Missouri in June. “Just because of the experience, the maturity on and off-the-court,” Brown told Azarly of how his extended NCAA run will help him at the next level. “I hear some guys you gotta kind of worry about off-the-court and if they’ll catch onto stuff faster, but me being older, I’ve kind of already lived a lot, not a whole lot, but a little bit more than some of the younger guys in the league so I understand a lot of off-the-court stuff a lot better.”
- The Suns’ $188.5MM payroll ranks third in the NBA this season. Jeremy Cluff of The Arizona Republic unpacks the team’s contract situation for 2023/24. That number will shoot up to $204MM+ in 2024/25 among just 11 players who will be signed on that season, assuming some player and team options are picked up.
- In case you missed it, former Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers is expected to receive a variety of inquiries about his services, should openings arise in rival front offices. Myers has publicly stated he wanted to take a break from the NBA at large upon departing, so it will be interesting to see how clubs try to entice him to return.
Atlantic Notes: Mazzulla, Bridges, Thibodeau, Rajaković
Despite moving 2022 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart and key reserve forward Grant Williams in separate summer trades, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla intends to employ similar defensive principles in 2023/24, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
Himmelsbach adds that newly acquired big man Kristaps Porzingis has always been a solid defender around the rim, and can aid Boston at that end of the floor, too.
“With Marcus gone, we don’t want our defensive identity to go out the door as well, so we have to really emphasize that at the start of training camp,” Mazzulla said. “I think what Kristaps can bring to us defensively, and the additions some of our other guys can bring to us defensively, I want to make sure that’s where we hang our hats this year.”
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- As the Nets’ No. 1 option, small forward Mikal Bridges is striving to hone his play-making this offseason, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscriber link). “Yeah, you could do [drills] … but it’s more of a mindset, and having that mindset coming in and watching film,” Bridges said of how he intended to improve. “That’s the biggest thing, to have that mindset of playmaking.”
- The 2023/24 Knicks roster has been constructed with an eye towards the preferences of head coach Tom Thibodeau, under whom the team has had its most success in years, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Braziller notes that the trade addition of Josh Hart and the signing of Donte DiVincenzo, two defensively versatile wings, plus the subtractions of talented-but-raw forwards Cam Reddish and Obi Toppin, all seem to be in line with Thibodeau’s ethos to team-building.
- In an interview with Sportski zurnal (as translated by Eurohoops), new Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković explained how he has always had major goals in mind with regard to his coaching career. “Since the beginning of my coaching career, I have always been very ambitious, but at the same time I knew that a coaching career is not a 100-meter race, but a long marathon,” Rajaković said. “I have only just run half a marathon, I still have a long way to go. I am currently in my 27th year of coaching. of work and I hope that I will stay in coaching for as long as possible. I’m enjoying it and it’s nice.”
Wizards Sign Jared Butler To Two-Way Deal
JULY 28: The Wizards have officially signed Butler, according to a press release from the team. The club has one open two-way slot remaining.
JULY 24: The Wizards have agreed to sign free agent point guard Jared Butler to a two-way deal, his agent Mark Bartelstein at Priority Sports informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Butler, 22, was selected with the No. 40 overall pick out of Baylor in 2021. He played out his rookie season with the Jazz, who waived him ahead of the 2022/23 season. He joined the Nuggets’ NBAGL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, at the start of last season, before eventually latching on with the Thunder on a two-way deal this past March.
Across 48 total NBA contests in his two seasons of experience, Butler holds averages of 4.1 PPG on .415/.343/.688 shooting, along with 1.5 APG.
Last year in the NBAGL, he enjoyed significantly more run, and accordingly had more impressive stats. He posted averages of 16.7 PPG, 6.3 APG, 3.3 RPG, and 0.9 SPG in his 27 total games split between the Grand Rapids Gold and the Thunders’ G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.