Southwest Notes: Wood, Ingram, Bane, Tripp
Of all the free agents who signed this offseason, no one had a more difficult path to a big-money deal than Christian Wood, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Wood went undrafted out of college, played for five NBA teams and was waived in China before breaking through last season with the Pistons.
“Coming back from China (in 2017) and going into the G League, I knew I had to step up,” Wood said. “I actually got cut from that China team. They said I wasn’t good enough at the time. That chip on my shoulder from me being undrafted and me being waived from there, I knew I had to change. It’s a journey I wouldn’t put anybody on. It’s a journey I learned a lot from to get to where I am now. I wouldn’t have asked for it to be any other way because it made me (get) to where I am now.”
Wood is reuniting with new Rockets head coach Stephen Silas, who was an assistant in Charlotte when Wood played there in 2016/17. He is looking forward to being part of Silas’ five-out offense, which requires big men who can shoot from the outside.
“I like to get out and run,” Wood said. “I know the Houston Rockets like to get out and run. The way James (Harden) and other guys play around him, I think I can be a great fit.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Brandon Ingram‘s new contract shows the Pelicans consider him as much a part of their future as Zion Williamson, notes William Guillory of The Athletic. Ingram signed the largest contract of the offseason, earning $158.25MM over the next five years.
- Desmond Bane‘s deadly outside shot, along with his maturity and competitiveness, inspired the Grizzlies to trade up to the 30th pick, according to Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Bane averaged 13.6 PPG and shot 44.2% from beyond the arc last season at TCU. “He was a guy that kind of rose to the top because he fits so many things that we’re about here,” said Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins. “He’s a playmaker and he’s unselfish. Those are big things we talked about being a together and unselfish team.”
- The Grizzlies signed Pacific guard Jahlil Tripp to a training camp contract, the team announced on Twitter. Tripp won Defensive Player of the Year honors last season in the West Coast Conference.
Kings Among Teams Hoping To Sign Glenn Robinson III
The Kings are among a group of four teams that have expressed the most interest in adding Glenn Robinson III, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
Sources tell Anderson that the Lakers, Clippers and Jazz are considered Sacramento’s main competition to sign the free agent forward. Sources also say new Kings general manager Monte McNair and assistant GM Wes Wilcox have been diligent in their pursuit of Robinson.
Sacramento could offer regular playing time to Robinson, who is one of the top free agents still left on the market. The Kings need wing depth after declining to match the offer sheet Bogdan Bogdanovic received from the Hawks, and Robinson would get an opportunity to compete for back-up minutes at small forward.
Robinson, 26, averaged 11.7 points and shot 39.1% from three-point range last season in a combined 62 games with the Warriors and Sixers. Philadelphia acquired him at the trade deadline to add bench depth, but his numbers declined after the deal and he was barely used in the playoffs.
A second-round pick in 2014, Robinson has also played for the Timberwolves, Pacers and Pistons.
Cavaliers Sign Marques Bolden, Levi Randolph To Exhibit 10 Deals
DECEMBER 1: Bolden’s deal is now official, per RealGM’s transactions log. So is Randolph’s, according to Fedor (Twitter link).
NOVEMBER 28: The Cavaliers will give Exhibit 10 contracts to two players from their G League affiliate, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Cleveland has already reached an agreement with center Marques Bolden, while guard Levi Randolph is expected to sign his deal Tuesday. Both played for the Canton Charge last season.
Bolden, 22, was also in training camp with the Cavs last year and signed a 10-day contract with the team in January, getting into one game. He averaged 9.7 points and 6.9 rebounds in 38 games with Canton.
Randolph, 28, has been trying to break into the NBA since graduating from Alabama in 2015. He has been part of Cleveland’s training camp the past two seasons and signed a two-way contract in January, but was waived six days later. Randolph, who led the Charge in scoring last year at 16.9 PPG, is playing for Team USA this weekend at the FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying games.
We told you earlier this week that former Michigan wing Charles Matthews will also get an Exhibit 10 deal with Cleveland. The Cavs plan to have the NBA limit of 20 players in camp, according to Fedor.
Rockets, Kings Finalize Kenyon Martin Jr. Trade
NOVEMBER 25: The Rockets and Kings have each sent out press releases confirming that the trade is complete. Houston officially acquired the rights to Martin in exchange for the Lakers’ 2021 second-rounder and cash, as detailed below.
NOVEMBER 18: The Rockets have agreed to reacquire their pick at No. 52 and used it to select Kenyon Martin Jr., tweets Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated.
In order to land Martin at No. 52, the Rockets sent $1MM in cash and the Lakers’ 2021 second-round pick to Sacramento, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).
Martin, the son of the first pick in the 2000 draft, played this year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, after originally committing to Vanderbilt. The 19-year-old was among the players selected for the NBA’s virtual draft combine.
The Rockets originally sent the pick to Sacramento in a three-way trade in 2019 to acquire Iman Shumpert.
Donovan Mitchell Signs Max Extension With Jazz
NOVEMBER 24: The Jazz have officially signed Mitchell to his new five-year extension, per the NBA’s transactions log. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the deal features a 15% trade kicker.
NOVEMBER 22: Jazz star Donovan Mitchell will sign a maximum rookie scale extension, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal will cover five seasons, starting in 2021/22, and will include a fifth-year player option for the ’25/26 season, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).
Mitchell will be guaranteed 25% of the salary cap, which would make the total value of the deal around $163MM over five years. That figure could rise to 30% if he meets All-NBA criteria for the upcoming season, which would put the contract in the neighborhood of $195MM. Those projections rely on an annual 3% increase in the cap, so the actual value could vary.
Mitchell will earn about $5.2MM in 2020/21, the last year of his rookie contract, before the extension officially begins a year from now.
The 13th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Mitchell has become a star in Utah during his three NBA seasons and is coming off his first All-Star appearance. He averaged a career-best 24.0 points per game last season and followed that with a historic playoff performance, scoring 36.3 PPG in the seven-game loss to the Nuggets.
He has improved his averages in several key statistical categories – including points and assists per game, as well as three-point percentage – in each of his three professional seasons and is still just 24 years old.
Utah has gotten most of its offseason business out of the way during the first 48 hours of the free agency period, having agreed to re-sign Jordan Clarkson and reaching a deal to bring back Derrick Favors using their mid-level exception.
Having locked up Mitchell, the Jazz are expected to focus on a new contract for center Rudy Gobert, who is also eligible for an extension. Gobert will reach unrestricted free agency in 2021 if the two sides don’t agree to a new deal before then.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hawks Sign Onyeka Okongwu, Announce Two-Way Players
The Hawks signed first-round pick Onyeka Okongwu and filled both two-way slots, the team announced on its website.
Forward/center Nathan Knight and guard Skylar Mays will both get two-way deals. We shared news of Knight’s expected signing last week, while the contract with Mays is new. They will be limited to 50 NBA games on their two-way contracts and will play in the G League if that season is held.
Knight played four seasons at William & Mary, averaging 20.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game as a senior. Mays was the starting point guard at LSU for the past four years and was a first-team All-SEC selection after averaging 16.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 3.2 APG in his senior season.
Okungwu was the sixth overall selection in last week’s draft after an outstanding freshman year at USC. Terms of the signing weren’t announced, but he is eligible to receive up to 120% of the rookie scale, which would be $5,813,640.
Jazz To Allow Fans For Home Games
The Jazz announced a plan to have a limited number of fans in Vivint Arena when the new season starts next month.
There will be a reduced seating capacity of 1,500 people in the lower bowl of the building, along with limited seating at the suite level. All seating will be socially distanced, and safety measures have been adopted throughout the arena in conjunction with the Utah Department of Health. No fans will be permitted at preseason games.
“The Jazz believe this is a responsible way to start the season from a public health and safety standpoint. Our intent is to increase the number of fans as the season unfolds in compliance with state guidelines,” said team president Jim Olson. “We want to reassure our guests that we are taking the utmost precautions to have a safe and enjoyable experience as they return. We are optimistic for the future and continue to closely monitor the public health situation with State of Utah, Salt Lake County, and Salt Lake City officials as well as the NBA.”
The team is partnering with Alsco to provide products that limit the spread of COVID-19, such as hand sanitizer dispensers, masks, gloves and hospital-grade cleaning solutions. Other safety measures will be adopted, such as mandatory face coverings, mobile entry and screening procedures at all entrances, plexiglass barriers and signs to remind fans of the need for social distancing.
Community Shootaround: Best, Worst Free Agent Deals
The rushed nature of this offseason turned free agency, which often plays out over several weeks, into a wild extended weekend. Dozens of players rushed to find new teams ahead of training camps, which will get underway in just a few days.
Although this was billed as a relatively weak free agent class, millions of dollars were quickly committed, with Brandon Ingram (five seasons, $158.25MM from the Pelicans), Gordon Hayward (four years, $120MM from the Hornets), Fred VanVleet (four years, $85MM from the Raptors) and Davis Bertans (five years, $80MM from the Wizards) landing the richest deals. The top contenders for next season may not have changed, but some other teams were extremely active as they try to move up.
John Hollinger of The Athletic cites the Hawks as the team that did the most to improve. Atlanta won’t know until later today if Sacramento will match its four-year, $72MM offer sheet to Bogdan Bogdanovic, but the Hawks already stocked their roster with free agent signings Danilo Gallinari, Rajon Rondo and Kris Dunn. Hollinger sees Atlanta as a legitimate playoff threat and suggests the team could look to trade John Collins for a starting small forward.
On the downside, Hollinger is mystified by the Pistons‘ decision to give up their three best young players in Christian Wood, Bruce Brown and Luke Kennard to hand out sizeable deals to Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee.
He cites the Suns‘ signing of Jae Crowder as the best fit, as Crowder is a tough-minded stretch four who should get plenty of open shots playing alongside Chris Paul and Devin Booker.
The worst fit, according to Hollinger, was the Lakers‘ addition of Montrezl Harrell, because L.A. had success in the playoffs by surrounding Anthony Davis with big men who could shoot from the outside. That’s not part of Harrell’s game, although he will provide a physical presence inside after the loss of Dwight Howard.
Rookie scale extensions were also part of the free spending as Jazz star Donovan Mitchell and Heat big man Bam Adebayo both cashed in.
We want to get your take on the flurry of signings, which we’re chronicling in our Free Agent Tracker. What are the best deals so far, and which teams will end up with buyer’s remorse? Please leave your responses in the comments section.
Pacific Notes: Harrell, Zubac, Oubre, Kings
Montrezl Harrell decided to sign with the Lakers because he wasn’t convinced the Clippers wanted to keep him, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Speaking to the media for the first time since accepting a two-year, $19MM offer to change teams, Harrell indicated that he would have remained with the Clippers if he believed they were interested.
“I feel that if you spend your career in any place long enough, you’re going to want to still keep playing there and keep growing there,” he said. “So, of course I still have great respect for those guys and for that organization. But like I said, as far as they wanted me back, obviously it doesn’t seem that way, does it?”
The new deal for the reigning Sixth Man of the Year contains a player option for 2021/22 that could have him back on the market in July. Some observers have suggested his connection to Klutch Sports prompted him to join fellow clients LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but Harrell said that wasn’t a factor.
“As far as my decision, it didn’t have any effect, because at the end of the day, my decision doesn’t affect neither one of those guys’ lives as far as their living conditions,” he said. “I have a family I have to provide for, so my decision was my decision.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Any further roster upgrades for the Clippers may have to come through trades, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times, who identifies Ivica Zubac, Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams as their best assets. A rival executive tells Greif that Zubac would likely bring the greatest return because he’s only 23 and can still develop his game. Zubac is under contract for three more seasons at a total of $21MM. Williams, who is in the final year of his deal at $8MM, may have limited trade value because of his age and defensive liabilities. Executives who Greif spoke to believe it would be difficult to unload Beverley’s contract, which pays him $27MM over the next two seasons, and the Clippers would likely have to attach draft picks to move him.
- After being traded from Phoenix to the Warriors, Kelly Oubre appeared to take a shot at Suns owner Robert Sarver, notes Nick Friedell of ESPN. “I can play for an owner — somebody who actually cares about the organization and not just the perception of the organization on the media end of it,” Oubre said in a radio interview.
- New Kings general manager Monte McNair looked for versatile players in the draft and tried to alter the roster to better fit De’Aaron Fox‘s timeline, writes Greg Wissinger of The Sacramento Bee. That’s why he pursued 25-year-old Wesley Iwundu and 26-year-old Willy Hernangomez, although both signed with other teams.
Kevon Harris To Sign With Lakers
The Lakers will sign shooting guard Kevon Harris, tweets Ben Stinar of Forbes. No details were given on the deal, which was confirmed by his agent, Billy Davis. It’s likely a training camp contract, although the team does have a two-way slot still available.
Harris, 23, averaged 17.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game in his senior season at Stephen F. Austin. He was named Southland Conference Player of the Year.
Harris will face long odds to earn a spot on the Lakers’ roster, but he should be a candidate for their G League affiliate if that league is able to operate this season.