Lakers Re-Sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
JULY 6: The Lakers have officially re-signed Caldwell-Pope, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 1: The Lakers will re-sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Chris Haynes of ESPN reports. The news comes less than an hour after it was revealed that they’ll be inking LeBron James as well. James and Caldwell-Pope are both represented by agent Rich Paul and the Klutch Sports Group.
In a subsequent tweet, Haynes added that the deal for Caldwell-Pope will be a one-year pact worth $12MM. That’s $6MM less than the one-year contract the two parties agreed on last summer.
Caldwell-Pope, 25, joined the Lakers last summer after spending the first four years of his NBA career in Detroit. The 6’5″ shooting guard enjoyed his best season as a shooter last year, setting new career highs in FG% (.426) and 3PT% (.383). He averaged 13.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, and 1.4 SPG in 74 games (all starts).
Caldwell-Pope, who complements his ability to make three-pointers with strong perimeter defense on the other end of the floor, will return to Los Angeles after apparently seeing interest from a number of teams, including the Grizzlies and Clippers.
Adding Caldwell-Pope’s new $12MM deal to James’ max contract significantly reduces the Lakers’ available cap room. With Luol Deng‘s $18MM salary and Julius Randle‘s $12MM+ cap hold on their books, the Lakers are essentially capped out after committing $47MM+ to LeBron and KCP. However, the team could re-open space by renouncing Randle and trading or stretching Deng.
The Lakers could get up to about $23.6MM in cap room by renouncing Randle and stretching Deng. Renouncing Randle and trading Deng for no incoming salary would result in $30MM+ in space. Keeping Randle’s cap hold on the books and stretching Deng would open up about $12MM.
Luke Adams contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Free Agent Rumors: Gordon, Brewer, Favors
While the Magic plan to pursue a long-term deal with restricted free agent Aaron Gordon, another team to keep an eye on is the Lakers, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets.
It’s no surprise that Gordon, a 23-year-old fresh off of a career year with averages of 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, is generating interest in free agency but Zach Lowe of ESPN writes that Orlando may not have much pressure to go as high as the max to retain him.
The Lakers join a number of other teams apparently interested in poaching Gordon’s services, including the Pacers (story) and Kings (story).
- The Rockets have scheduled a meeting with free agent wing James Nunnally, per international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link). Nunnally, who has also been linked to Portland and Minnesota, played for Turkish team Fenerbahce last season and knocked down 55% of his three-pointers in EuroLeague play, making him an interesting fit for Houston.
- Having already been linked to several potential targets since the free agent period opened, the Timberwolves have also “planted seeds” with Corey Brewer and Davis Bertans, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). As Wolfson observes, Minnesota has made a habit in recent years of spreading a wide net in free agency, inquiring on dozens of players.
- In a later tweet, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News added that the Timberwolves have also checked in on Derrick Favors, Mike Scott, David Nwaba and Ian Clark.
West FA Rumors: A. Johnson, Looney, Exum
At least three Western Conference teams are said to have already contacted veteran big man Amir Johnson mere hours into free agency. Per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News the Timberwolves have been in touch, while Sean Deveney of The Sporting News adds that the Clippers and Lakers have too.
This time last season, Johnson inked a one-year, $11MM deal to serve as a reliable, veteran presence in the middle for the Sixers and it stands to reason that any of the teams kicking the tires on him this time around would be interested in a similar addition.
Johnson averaged 4.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for Philly in 2017/18 but served as a defensive force in the paint and a low maintenance spot starter in games that Joel Embiid sat out.
There are more free agency rumors from around the Western Conference:
- The Warriors have already made contact with Kevon Looney about bringing him back to the Bay Area, Mark Medina of The Mercury News writes, but the forward is said to be fielding interest from other teams as well. Golden State elected not to guarantee the fourth year of his rookie deal when they had the chance to do so last fall.
- The Jazz are making restricted free agent Dante Exum a priority, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets, and already have a meeting set up to discuss a new deal.
- Pending restricted free agent Montrezl Harrell has changed representation, Liz Mullen of The Sports Business Journal tweets. Now the Clippers big man will be represented by Bobby Petriella of Rosenhaus Sports. He was previously represented by Klutch Sports Group.
Wolves Plan To Offer Jimmy Butler Contract Extension
The Timberwolves plan to offer guard Jimmy Butler a contract extension in the four-year, $110MM range as soon as they’re eligible to do so, Marc Stein of The New York Times tweets. That, however, doesn’t mean that he’ll necessarily sign it.
Due to limitations of the contract extension scale in place, Butler would only be eligible sign for as much as $24.5MM in 2019/20. That mark falls well short of the projected first year of a max contract for a player with Butler’s service should he choose to enter free agency in 2019.
Butler will be 29 years old this time next year, with eight years of NBA experience. While the actual figures will change when the 2019/20 salary figures are released, he would be eligible to sign for north of $30MM based on this year’s figures and is still young enough to make a serious case for a full five-year deal.
Butler posted 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in his first season with the Timberwolves and emerged as a driving force behind Minnesota’s return to the postseason for the first time in 2004.
Hawks Among Those Interested In Zach LaVine
Count the Hawks among those interested in Bulls guard Zach LaVine, Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. They’ll join a handful of suitors that also includes the Kings, as we wrote about earlier this week.
Atlanta, like Sacramento, will have plenty of cap space to throw at the restricted free agent. A bidding war between clubs well short of the cap, coupled with the 23-year-old’s hypothetical ceiling, could drive the former slam dunk champion’s forthcoming contract through the roof.
While there are concerns about LaVine’s health following an ACL tear in early 2017, he remains a world-class athlete that averaged 18.9 points per game half-way through 2016/17 before succumbing to the injury.
LaVine performed admirably in just over a third of a season with the Bulls but Chicago may pause at the thought of matching a max or near-max contract offer sheet should either the Hawks or Kings decide to go that high.
It’s worth noting that Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk has been particularly conservative financially throughout his short tenure with the franchise. That said, the chance to net a potential All-Star young enough to build around may prove too much to resist.
Grizzlies Sign Omri Casspi
JULY 11: The Grizzlies have officially signed Omri Casspi, the club announced in a press release.
JUNE 30: The Grizzlies have agreed to add forward Omri Casspi on a one-year deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports. Memphis would mark the 30-year-old’s seventh NBA stop since 2011.
Casspi’s one-year deal will be a fully guaranteed, minimum-salary contract, tweets Chris Herrington.
In 53 games for the Warriors prior to being cut late in the season, Casspi averaged 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Despite the modest numbers in 2017/18, however, Casspi has carved out a nine-year career as a solid depth piece and should help a Grizzlies team intent on returning to contention for a playoff spot.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Drawing Interest From Clippers, Grizzlies, More
A number of teams are interested in the services of Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope following his one-year stint in Los Angeles, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.
Although the Grizzlies are the only team that Scotto specifically names, ESPN’s Chris Haynes adds that the Clippers will go so far as to meet with the swingman on July 1.
In 74 games with the Lakers, Caldwell-Pope averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per contests but while his career stat lines appear to have stagnated, he’s a renowned 3-and-D option still just 25 years old.
As things stand, the Grizzlies have approximately $9MM in cap room for this season, which would be considerably less than the $18MM he signed on for with the Lakers last summer.
The Clippers, with DeAndre Jordan‘s $24.1MM player option now off the books, will be able to offer slightly more than Memphis, approximately $14MM. In that situation, it’s likely that he’d replace pending free agent Avery Bradley.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Clippers aren’t interested in bringing Bradley back, however, as Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times reports. Bradley and the Clippers will also be in touch on July 1.
Ironically, the Pistons essentially replaced then-restricted free agent Caldwell-Pope with Bradley last summer when the opportunity to acquire the latter from the Celtics came up ahead of the Gordon Hayward deal.
Pacers Sign Doug McDermott To Three-Year Deal
JULY 6: McDermott’s contract is now official, according to a press release from the Pacers. “In Doug’s case, we were looking for elite shooting, but we were also impressed with how he moves without the ball and his spot-up shooting,” said president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard.
JUNE 30: The Pacers have agreed to a three-year, $22MM deal with Doug McDermott, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The small forward comes off of a year split between the Knicks and the Mavs.
In McDermott, the Pacers will add a solid perimeter threat with size. The 6’8″ forward is a career .403 three-point shooter and posted a .494 average in 26 games with Dallas.
Despite his solid stint with the Mavericks, McDermott was not made a restricted free agent this summer. Dallas initially tendered a qualifying offer to the veteran sharpshooter, but withdrew it shortly thereafter, ensuring that McDermott would be unrestricted. The Mavs intended to use a significant chunk of cap room on DeAndre Jordan, and didn’t want to carry McDermott’s $10MM cap hold on their books.
McDermott will add valuable depth to Indiana’s rotation, slotting in behind starting three Bojan Bogdanovic. Meanwhile, the Pacers should still have cap room available to add another player or two.
Latest On Paul George, Thunder
According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, there’s growing reason to believe that the Thunder may have a verbal agreement with Paul George considering that the soon-to-be free agent is currently partying with Russell Westbrook and members of the club’s front office at an Oklahoma City house party.
With less than two hours until teams and players can formally negotiate, Stein tweets that the Thunder will have fooled many if the two parties don’t come to an agreement on a two- or three-year max deal quickly.
It was Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports who first reported that members of the team’s front office were in attendance at the shindig but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has since tweeted that Thunder general manager Sam Presti had specifically wanted to hold the team’s meeting with the free agent in Oklahoma City as part of it’s year-long recruiting effort to retain him.
As Royce Young of ESPN writes in a feature on the party, Westbrook is hosting the 500-person get-together that has been branded as a “summer hype house party”.
According to Young, Westbrook flew eight hours from Hawaii, where he was vacationing with his family, in order to host the event.
Hornets Notes: Monk, FA Targets, Coaching Staff
A disappointing 2017/18 put the Hornets in an awkward position, staffed with enough talent to compete for one of the East’s final playoff spots, yet financially compelled to blow things up and start fresh. This season stands to be different. In a recent interview with Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, newly appointed head coach James Borrego discusses his vision for the club heading forward.
The biggest change heading into 2018/19 is Borrego’s willingness to incorporate 2017 pick Malik Monk heavily in the team’s rotation. Whereas previous head coach Steve Clifford opted to play veterans over youth, Borrego sees Monk as “major player for the team” with the potential to be an elite shooter.
Borrego also notes that it’s a priority of the Hornets to add a ballhandler that can serve as the primary backup point guard to Kemba Walker.
There’s more out of Charlotte tonight:
- The Hornets will bring Chad Iske aboard to join James Borrego‘s coaching staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Iske previously coached with the Wizards.
- A number of veteran playmakers will catch the eye of general manager Mitch Kupchak when free agency begins, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. Some realistic options are be Shelvin Mack, Seth Curry, Shabazz Napier, Raymond Felton, Dante Exum and Ty Lawson.
- The Hornets will give Brice Johnson a look when they hold a mini-camp this week, a team press release reveals. Johnson was a first-round pick of the Clippers in 2016 but was waived by the Grizzlies in March after being traded twice to Detroit and Memphis.