Warriors Re-Sign Zaza Pachulia
The Warriors have re-signed Zaza Pachulia, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. The big man will receive a raise this year, in the form of a one-year, $3.5MM deal.
The 20% pay increase is the most the franchise could give the Georgian center, Anthony Slater of the Mercury News adds and will – per Bobby Marks of ESPN – increase the franchise’s luxury tax bill significantly, as much as $8.8MM in tax alone.
In 70 games for the Dubs this season, Pachulia posted 6.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. His biggest contribution to the team, however, is his physical presence in the paint.
Hawks Request Waivers On Jamal Crawford
7:28pm: The Hawks have formally requested waivers on Crawford, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
The Cavs appear to be the frontrunners of all the teams mentioned to be in the hunt for Crawford’s services. Per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, the veteran guard is “theirs to lose.” Crawford will be able to officially finalize a deal with the Cavs or another team once he clears waivers.
5:37pm: The Hawks have finalized a contract buyout with Jamal Crawford, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The 36-year-old was acquired in the three-way deal that sent Danilo Gallinari to the Clippers.
Particularly interested in the news will be the Cavaliers and Celtics who, along with the Timberwolves, Bucks and Wizards, are reported to be in the mix for the services of the combo guard. David Aldridge of TNT notes that the Lakers could be in pursuit as well.
In 82 games for L.A. last season, Crawford posted 12.3 points per game. The veteran has spent each of the past five seasons with the Clippers and has long been one of the league’s most impactful reserves.
If a contending team like the Cavs or C’s lands the three-time Sixth Man of the Year, it may drastically bolster their shot at competing in the East.
Upon news of the buyout, which was also promptly reported by ESPN’s Chris Haynes, Sam Amick of USA Today notes that the Wolves, Wizards and Cavs are out front in the race to land the guard’s services.
Bucks Sign JeQuan Lewis
The Bucks have signed JeQuan Lewis to a free agent contract, the team announced via a press release on its website. The terms of the deal have not been made public.
The signing was announced along with that of Bronson Koenig’s two-way deal on Thursday.
Undrafted out of VCU, Lewis is a 6’0″ guard that put 15.2 points and 4.5 assists per game as a senior. He’ll compete for Milwaukee in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, alongside Koenig.
Hawks Renounce Rights To Ilyasova
The Hawks have renounced the free agent rights to Ersan Ilyasova, Keith Smart of RealGM tweets. Ilyasova’s cap hold had been set at $12.6MM.
Atlanta’s front office has been busy today, already signing big man Mike Muscala to a deal, so it appears as though they could be hard at work mapping out their approach to the post-Paul Millsap era.
Having renounced Ilyasova’s Bird rights, they’ll no longer be able to bring him back without using an exception or their cap room.
The oft-underutilized 29-year-old played 26 games with Atlanta last year, his fifth club in two seasons, and will now find his way onto yet another roster in time for 2017/18.
Bucks Sign Second-Rounder Sterling Brown
The Bucks have signed second-round pick Sterling Brown out of SMU, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The senior shooting guard averaged 13.4 points per game in the NCAA last season.
The two parties inked a three-year pact with the first two seasons guaranteed. Considering Milwaukee’s second-round pick ended up being Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon last season, the addition of Brown could end up being a shrewd move for the franchise.
Brown is a brother of former Lakers guard Shannon Brown and, per Draft Express’ scouting report, started to blossom as a pro prospect during his junior season. Now he’s an efficient jump shooter that has flown under the radar as a sleeper.
Rockets Waive Ryan Kelly
The Rockets have waived forward Ryan Kelly, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Kelly’s contract, acquired in one of Houston’s half dozen pre-Chris Paul trade deals, would have otherwise become guaranteed had he lasted through the day.
As Feigen notes in a separate tweet, Kelly was initially added as a trade chip but was obviously not used. Houston had picked him up from Atlanta in exchange for $75K.
Kelly, a sharp shooting 26-year-old power forward out of Duke, appears to be just on the brink of actually catching on in an NBA rotation. Although he started 59 games between his first and second seasons with a destitute Lakers club, he’s failed to make an impact since. This marks the fourth time in the last nine months that Kelly has been waived.
Bucks, Bronson Koenig Finalize Two-Way Contract
JULY 6: The Bucks and Koenig have finalized an agreement on a two-way contract, agent Keith Kreiter tells Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link).
JUNE 23: The Bucks are expected to reach a deal with Wisconsin product Bronson Koenig, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders tweets. The senior is the Badgers’ all-time three-point leader.
Per Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net, the agreement will likely come in the form of a two-way deal, one of the new contractual mechanisms implemented by the latest collective bargaining agreement.
Until the signing is official, we won’t know exactly what the terms of the contract will be, so there exists the possibility that it’s simply for Summer League. But it sounds like Koenig will be with the Bucks for training camp.
Pacers Trade Paul George To Thunder
JULY 6, 12:05pm: The trade is official, according to a tweet from the Pacers.
JUNE 30, 8:42pm: Paul George will be traded to the Thunder, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets. The scribe adds in a second tweet that Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis will be headed to the Pacers.
The deal was quickly confirmed by both TNT’s David Aldridge and Shams Charania of The Vertical and following up shortly thereafter was Royce Young of ESPN noting specifically that there will be no picks changing hands.
While George had been the subject of trade rumors ever since he expressed his desire to leave the Pacers next summer, the Thunder were not among the teams floated as a possible destination. It has since been made clear, however, that the Thunder have been in pursuit of George since at least the draft.
The move can be regarded as a risky one by general manager Sam Presti, who will see one of the game’s top two-way perimeter players suit up alongside the ever-prolific Russell Westbrook in 2017/18. George, however, has made no secret his desire to sign with his hometown Lakers next summer.
The relative lack of a return the Pacers received from Oklahoma City, specifically no draft picks, is indicative of how nervous league executives are about George ultimately leaving for Los Angeles in 2018, Brian Windhorst of ESPN says.
Teams on the outside looking in as the Thunder welcome the year’s most coveted “rental” include the Cavaliers, Celtics, Rockets and Wizards.
As the dust settles, the basketball community will pay special attention to how this impacts the future of the Thunder organization. Will the gesture of going out and landing Geoge be enough to convince Westbrook to sign a long-term extension this summer?
Of note is that the Thunder will not have the available cap space to negotiate a significant pay raise for George, meaning he’ll inevitably hit the free agent market in 2018. That doesn’t bode well considering his widely reported desire to play for the Lakers.
As far as the other side of the deal is concerned, the Pacers will bring a familiar face back to the state of Indiana. Prior to going second overall in the 2013 draft, Oladipo spent three years with the Hoosiers. Now, after a solid but unspectacular four years with the Magic and Thunder, the 25-year-old will have the opportunity to elevate his game with another change of scenery.
In Sabonis, the Pacers acquire a skilled big man fresh off of an acceptable first campaign. In limited action behind Steven Adams and Enes Kanter, Sabonis averaged 10.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per 36 minutes. He’ll slot in next to or just behind Myles Turner in Indiana.
The blockbuster deal is the second such move that will send an elite talent from the Eastern Conference westward. On draft day, Jimmy Butler of the Bulls was moved to the Timberwolves.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Grizzlies Sign Ben McLemore To Two-Year Deal
JULY 6: The Grizzlies have officially signed McLemore, according to the NBA’s transactions log.
JULY 2: The Grizzlies are finalizing a deal with Ben McLemore, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The pact, Chris Haynes of ESPN adds, is said to be for two years at $10.7MM.
The 24-year-old shooting guard has strung together four underwhelming seasons with the Kings after getting picked seventh-overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. In 2016/17, however, he posted 8.1 points per game in just 19.3 minutes of action.
There isn’t much standing between McLemore and a larger role in Memphis, USA Today’s Jeff Zilgitt suggests, noting that he’ll likely see significant minutes with his new ball club. The swingman does, after all, boast the physical tools to be a decent perimeter defender and is a capable three-point shooter.
McLemore was eligible to be a restricted free agent this summer, but didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Kings, allowing him to sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent.
Based on the terms of the agreement, it appears the Grizzlies will use the full taxpayer mid-level exception on McLemore — a deal with that MLE would top out at $10,643,600 over two years, and would allow the Grizzlies to avoid being hard-capped.
I doubt Memphis will go too far into the tax, if they even exceed that tax line at all. But if the team wants to try to bring back JaMychal Green, Zach Randolph, and Tony Allen, it will get expensive. The Grizzlies are projected to have more than $98MM in guaranteed salary on their 2017/18 cap after taking McLemore’s deal into account. That doesn’t include Green, Randolph, Allen, or the team’s other free agents.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Latest On Dion Waiters
The Lakers will meet with Heat free agent Dion Waiters tonight, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders reports. L.A. is just the latest in a long line of suitors for the shooting guard after his breakthrough year with the Heat.
While Waiters played a vital role in Miami’s dramatic turnaround last season, the franchise can’t offer him a lucrative deal so long as their iron remains in the fire for Jazz free agent Gordon Hayward.
During this time, Waiters could stake a new claim with an organization impressed by his 2016/17 resurgence. As Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times notes, Waiters is a former client of sports agent-turned-Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.
That this meeting with the Lakers will come after his meeting with the Heat could suggest that Waiters doesn’t imagine the Heat will be in a position to offer a deal that suits him, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel posits.
In 46 games for the Heat last season, Waiters averaged 15.8 points and 4.3 assists per game. While it’s unclear exactly what Waiters will net on the open market, it will inevitably be far more than the $3MM he played for in 2016/17.
We wrote last month that Waiters was open to the idea of giving the Heat a “hometown discount” considering how much he’s benefited from the organization’s culture. Just what that might entail, however, remains to be seen.