Grizzlies Release Avery Bradley
The Grizzlies have waived guard Avery Bradley, according to the NBA’s Transactions Log. Bradley had just a $2MM guarantee on his $12.96MM salary for next season if was was let go before July 8, according to Basketball Insiders. The guarantee date was originally July 3, but Bradley agreed to move it last week.
Unloading Bradley’s contract provides more flexibility for Memphis to match a potential offer sheet for restricted free agent guard Delon Wright. The Grizzlies have about $123MM on their books, including Wright’s $7.6MM cap hold, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Once considered one of the NBA’s top perimeter defenders as well as a potent scorer, Bradley’s game has slipped since the Celtics traded him to the Pistons in 2017. However, he looked like his old self during his brief stay in Memphis, averaging 16.1 PPG in 14 games. Still only 28, Bradley should garner interest from several contending teams on the open market.
Knicks Sign Ignas Brazdeikis
10:23pm: Brazdeikis received a three-year deal with the first two seasons guaranteed, tweets Lithuanian basketball writer Donatas Urbonas. The Knicks hold a team option on the third year.
5:02pm: The Knicks have signed second-round pick Ignas Brazdeikis, according to the NBA’s transactions log.
Terms of the agreement were not released, but it looks like New York will use cap room, since it was announced before any of the team’s other moves. That means Brazdeikis is eligible for a deal up to four years, which is what second-round pick Mitchell Robinson received last summer.
New York traded up to No. 47 on draft night to select Brazdeikis, sending cash and the 55th pick to the Kings in return.
A 6’7″ forward out of Michigan, Brazdeikis averaged 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 37 games in his only season with the Wolverines. He was also a 39% 3-point shooter in college.
Bulls Release Shaquille Harrison, Walt Lemon Jr.
The Bulls have waived Shaquille Harrison and Walt Lemon Jr., according to a press release from the team. Chicago needed the cap space to finalize the signings of free agents Thaddeus Young, which is now official, and Tomas Satoransky, who is still waiting to sign his deal. Harrison and Lemon both had non-guaranteed contracts that would have paid them $1,588,231 next season.
Harrison, 25, appeared in 73 games this year, starting 11, after signing with the Bulls last summer. He posted a 6.5/3.0/1.9 line in about 20 minutes per night.
Lemon, 26, got into six games after signing with Chicago in late March. He started the season on a two-way contract with the Celtics, but never played for them before being released in November.
Magic Re-Sign Nikola Vucevic To Four-Year Deal
JULY 6: The Magic have officially re-signed Vucevic, the team confirmed today in a press release. The club also announced its deals with Terrence Ross and Al-Farouq Aminu.
JUNE 29: All-Star center Nikola Vucevic will stay in Orlando on a four-year, $100MM contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The deal will enable the Magic to keep one of the primary cogs of their playoff team in place for what should be the best part of his career. The 28-year-old posted career highs this season with 20.8 points and 12.0 rebounds per night. He also improved as a 3-point shooter, sinking 1.1 per game and hitting them at a .364 clip.
Vucevic was among the biggest bargains in the league this year, putting up All-Star numbers at a salary of $12.25MM. He has blossomed into an elite NBA center since being acquired from the Sixers in a four-team trade in 2012.
The signing is bad news for teams seeking center help in free agency, such as the Kings and Mavericks. The Celtics were also rumored to be interested in Vucevic before committing their cap room to Kemba Walker.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eastern Notes: Lawson, Bulls, Collison, Sirvydis, Magic
The Celtics announced three additions to their coaching staff today, including the official hiring of Kara Lawson as their first-ever female assistant. A 13-year WNBA veteran and Olympic gold medal winner, she spent the past two seasons as the primary television analyst for the Wizards and covered games for ESPN Radio.
“This was a good fit,” Lawson said to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “I wanted to go somewhere where I’d be challenged, I wanted to go somewhere where I’d be allowed to coach, and I wanted to go to an organization that was going to be playing in big games to be able to get a sense of that last frontier of coaching, which is being able to do it in pressure situations in the regular season and the playoffs.”
Also added to coach Brad Stevens’ staff were Brandon Bailey, who served as coach of the Celtics’ G League affiliate in Maine the past two seasons, and Joe Mazzulla, a former assistant with the Red Claws.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- It got lost in the shuffle of this week’s free agency frenzy, but according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link), there was a belief in league circles that the Bulls were the frontrunners to sign Darren Collison before the free agent point guard unexpectedly announced his retirement.
- The Bulls have added two new assistants to head coach Jim Boylen’s staff, according to a press release from the team. Chris Fleming announced in May that he was leaving the Nets to come to Chicago, and Roy Rogers, who recently parted ways with the Rockets, officially joined the team Wednesday. In addition, Karen Stack has been elevated to assistant coach, Paul Miller was named assistant to the head coach and former intern Chris Kent is the new video coordinator.
- Deividas Sirvydis, who was selected by the Pistons with the 37th pick in the draft, will likely spend the upcoming season in Europe, tweets international basketball writer Donatas Urbonas. Rytas Vilnius GM Rolandas Jarutis expects to have the 6’8″ shooting guard back next season unless he has an outstanding performance with Detroit’s Summer League team. Sirvydis, 19, was MVP of the EuroLeague Basketball Next Generation Tournament in 2018.
- The Magic have probably given up on Fran Vazquez ever coming to the NBA, but there was news this week on their 2005 draft pick, whose draft rights they still retain, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. The 36-year-old re-signed with his Zaragoza team in Spain, so his cap hold will be removed from Orlando’s books for another season.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Knicks Reportedly Canceled Meeting With Kawhi Leonard
The Knicks pulled out of a scheduled meeting with Kawhi Leonard, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Leonard agreed earlier in the week to meet with Knicks officials, but not until today after he completed sessions with the Lakers and Clippers. New York decided its chances of luring Leonard were remote without Kevin Durant and decided to call off the meeting because of “logistics.” There had been rumors that Leonard and Durant were looking to team up with the Clippers or Knicks, but those plans were scrapped when Durant committed to the Nets on Sunday.
New York’s front office didn’t want to wait for a decision from Leonard before diving into the free agent market. Berman noted that the team exhausted nearly all of its $70MM in cap space in the first 20 hours after free agency began.
The best scenario for the Knicks, he adds, would be for Leonard to sign a one-year deal with an option in Toronto and hit the market again next summer. Julius Randle is the only one of New York’s signees to get a guaranteed multi-year deal.
There’s more from New York City:
- The Knicks plan to retain Damyean Dotson through his July 15 guarantee date, Berman adds in the same story. The second-year guard, who will earn about $1.5MM, will get increased competition for minutes from free agent additions Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington and Elfrid Payton.
- Tim Bontemps of ESPN examines whether the Knicks did the right thing by loading up on free agents after their top targets were off the board. While they retained their financial flexibility for the future and should put a better product on the court, they also missed out on a chance to acquire assets by saving some of that cap money to facilitate deals such as the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade, the Andre Iguodala trade to the Grizzlies or the D’Angelo Russell trade to the Warriors.
- Kevin Knox wants to prove his omission from the All-Rookie Team was a mistake, relays Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Knox collected just 22 second-team votes, well short of the amount needed to earn a spot. “Yeah, of course I deserved to make it,” he said. “But it was definitely motivation. I worked hard this summer. That was kind of a chip on my shoulder for me to work hard this summer. Definitely, it was motivation. I’m going to use it for summer. I’m going to keep using it for next year.”
Amar’e Stoudemire, Monta Ellis To Work Out For NBA Teams
Amar’e Stoudemire and Monta Ellis will hold a private workout for at least five NBA teams next week, tweets Jordan Schultz of ESPN. He states that both players have overcome past injuries and are hoping to catch the attention of a contender, such as the Lakers, that has several roster spots to fill. The session is set for Monday evening in Las Vegas.
Stoudemire, 36, hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2015/16 season when he got into 52 games for the Heat. He has been playing for Hapoel Jerusalem, a team he co-owns in the Israeli Premier Basketball League. He briefly retired in 2017, but decided to return to the game after spending time in the BIG3 League last summer.
The last NBA experience for the 33-year-old Ellis came with the Pacers during the 2016/17 season. He was a regular part of Indiana’s rotation, playing 74 games and averaging 8.5 points per night. However, the team opted to use the stretch provision on him that summer to unload his contract. He will receive $2,245,400 a year from the Pacers through the 2021/22 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Sports Images.
Rockets Focused On Andre Iguodala, JaVale McGee
After missing out on their top summer target when Jimmy Butler opted for Miami, the Rockets are looking at two former Warriors as they fill out their roster, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
With a need for depth at the wing and in the middle, Houston is turning its attention to Andre Iguodala and JaVale McGee, according to Feigen. With the moratorium is lifted Saturday, Iguodala will be on his way to Memphis, part of a cost-cutting move that enables Golden State to trade for D’Angelo Russell without exceeding the tax apron.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey may be willing to send next year’s first-round pick to the Grizzlies as part of a package to acquire Iguodala, who will make $17,185,185 in the final year of his contract. Morey could hope for a buyout and try to get Iguodala at a better price, but he would risk losing him to another team, such as the Lakers, where Iguodala’s former agent, Rob Pelinka, serves as GM.
Houston pursued Iguodala when he was a free agent in 2017 and put on “the best recruiting presentation of all time,” a source told ESPN. Iguodala canceled his other meetings and was reportedly ready to sign with the Rockets before Golden State increased its offer.
Feigen notes that if a trade happens, Memphis will have pulled off the rare feat of getting one first-rounder for taking Iguodala and another for letting him go.
The Rockets met with McGee, who played for the Lakers this season, on Sunday in a session that two sources told Feigen “went really well.” Houston’s interest in McGee wasn’t just a hedge against a Clint Capela trade, he adds. The team is looking for more size on its reserve unit and likes McGee as a pick-and-roll partner for James Harden and Chris Paul.
Cavaliers Sign Kevin Porter Jr.
The Cavaliers now have all three of their first-round picks under contract with today’s signing of Kevin Porter Jr. following yesterday’s deals for Darius Garland and Dylan Windler. The team formerly announced all three moves in a press release.
Porter, the final player selected in the first round, had a roundabout journey to Cleveland, being taken by the Bucks and dealt to the Pistons on draft night. Detroit moved his draft rights to the Cavs in a June 26 deal. No terms were released for Porter’s contract, but he is eligible to earn $1,936,440, $2,033,160 and $2,130,240 in his first three NBA seasons.
Porter spent one season at USC, averaging 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in about 22 minutes per game. He ranked sixth in the Pac 12 in 3-point shooting percentage at .412%.
Jimmer Fredette Done With Summer League
Jimmer Fredette has left the Warriors‘ Summer League team to make sure he doesn’t get injured while he sifts through his options overseas, according to Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News.
Fredette, 30, accepted the Summer League opportunity with Golden State after playing six games for the Suns at the end of the season. He has been a star in China for the past three years, setting several scoring records and collecting a CBA International MVP award.
“He still can play. I think he should still play,” said Aaron Miles, the Warriors’ Summer League coach. “I should say this – I think he should do whatever he feels is best for him and his family. I know a lot of times as you get older, sometimes it’s more mental than physical. But I don’t know his situation. I don’t know what the reasoning behind it. But he definitely has a lot of basketball left.”
Fredette averaged 9.5 PPG and 20.5 minutes of playing time in two games in the California Classic League. However, the Warriors are more concerned with developing their draft picks, Jordan Poole, Eric Paschall and Alan Smailagic, along with second-year guard Jacob Evans and fourth-year center Damian Jones.
A source tells Medina that Fredette decided to leave the league after several foreign teams contacted his representatives about his availability.
A prolific scorer at BYU, Fredette had a journeyman NBA career after being selected with the 10th pick in the 2011 draft. After spending his first two and a half seasons with the Kings, he had short stays with the Bulls, Pelicans and Knicks before leaving the league in 2016.