Kings Sign First-Round Pick Justin Jackson
The Kings have signed Justin Jackson to a rookie scale deal, according to NBA.com. Jackson will take home nearly $13.5MM over the next four years, assuming he signed for the standard 120% of the rookie scale.
Sacramento traded down from the No. 10 pick in order to select Jackson with the No. 15 selection as well as Harry Giles with the No. 20 overall selection. Outside of their draft night trade, the Kings also nabbed De’Aaron Fox with the No. 5 overall pick and Frank Mason III with the No. 34 overall pick.
Jackson spent three seasons at UNC where he helped lead the team to a national title last year. As a junior, he earned the ACC Player of the Year award in a season where he scored 18.3 points per game while pulling down 4.7 rebounds.
Latest On Jamal Crawford
4:21pm: The Celtics are also among the teams Crawford would consider if he’s bought out, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.
3:52pm: Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link) hears that in addition to the Wolves, Cavs, and Wizards, the Bucks would be in the mix for the shooting guard’s services in the event of a buyout. Kennedy mentions the Lakers as well, though Spears’ report (noted below) suggests the mutual interest between L.A. and Crawford has faded.
2:45pm: The three-team trade between the Nuggets, Clippers, and Hawks is expected to be finalized today and Jamal Crawford will work with Atlanta on a buyout agreement shortly after landing on the team, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com tweets.
It initially appeared that the shooting guard preferred to sign with the Lakers given his home in Los Angeles and his relationship with No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball. However, Marc J. Spears of the Undefeated reports (Twitter link) that neither Crawford nor the Lakers have much interest in working on a deal. The scribe adds that 37-year-old is expected to have interest from the Wolves, Cavs, and Wizards once a buyout is completed.
The Warriors were considered front-runners to sign Crawford earlier in the week, but the team opted to sign Nick Young to bolster its second unit. Crawford played for the Warriors during the 2008/09 season.
Atlanta is under no obligation to reach a buyout agreement with the shooting guard and the team could decide to trade him or keep him on the roster. It was reported earlier in the week that if Crawford wanted a buyout, he would have to give up a “significant portion” of his salary. He’s set to make over $17.2MM in guaranteed salary over the next two seasons.
Spurs Sign First-Round Pick Derrick White
The Spurs have signed Derrick White to a rookie scale deal, according to a team press release. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but if White signed for the standard 120% of the rookie scale, he’ll take home roughly $8.54MM over the next four seasons.
White was the No. 29 overall pick out of the University of Colorado. During his lone season with the school, he was named Pac-12 All-Conference First-Team, All-Defensive Team, and All-Tournament Team.
The guard played three seasons of Division II basketball for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs prior to landing in the Pac-12. He’s that school’s all-time leader in career points and assists. White is currently playing for San Antonio’s summer league squad in Utah.
Pistons Sign Eric Moreland
The Pistons have signed Eric Moreland, according to a team press release. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) reports that the arrangement is for three years and adds that the deal is not fully guaranteed.
Signing Moreland for three seasons means the team will have to use part of its mid-level exception to sign the big man. Detroit has already used part of their mid-level on Langston Galloway to a three-year, $21MM contract.
Moreland played for the Canton Charge last season and he averaged 12.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per contest. He was named an All-Star of the G-League as well as All-NBA G-League Third Team.
The big man last played in the NBA for the Kings during the 2015/16 campaign. During that season, he played in eight games, scoring just a point per contest.
Moreland was known as a defensive-minded big during his time in the collegiate ranks at Oregon State. He left the school as its all-time leader in blocks, but he was not selected during the 2014 draft.
Bucks Sign D.J. Wilson To Rookie Scale Deal
The Bucks have signed D.J. Wilson to a rookie scale deal, according to the team’s website. Assuming Wilson signed for 120% of the rookie scale, he will make slightly under $12.2MM over the next four seasons.
Wilson was the No. 17 overall pick out of the University of Michigan. The 6’10” forward led the Wolverines with 5.3 rebounds per game during his junior season. He also had a team-high 57 blocks on the year.
The 21-year-old will play for Milwaukee’s Summer League team in Las Vegas. The team opens competition on Friday against the Cavs.
Raptors Sign Malcolm Miller To Two-Way Deal
The Raptors have signed Malcolm Miller to the franchise’s first two-way deal, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star tweets. As part of the new CBA, each team will get a pair of two-way contracts, so Toronto will have one more of these types of deals to hand out.
Players on two-way deals will spend most of their season in the G-League since they cannot spend more than 45 days with an NBA club, as our glossary page on two-way contracts shows.
Miller played four seasons at Holy Cross and spent the 2015/16 season playing for the Maine Red Claws, the affiliate of the Celtics. The 6’7″ combo forward spent last season playing abroad for Alba Berlin.
Cavs Offered Chauncey Billups Below-Market Deal
The Cavaliers were unable to reach an agreement with Chauncey Billups to make the former point guard their new president of basketball operations and Marc J. Spears and Chris Haynes of ESPN.com report that a deal never consummated in part because the team gave Billups a low-ball offer.
Cleveland reportedly initially offered Billups an annual salary of $1.5MM. League sources tell the pair of ESPN scribes that $4MM is viewed as the typical starting point in negotiations for that type of role. The Cavs eventually raised the offer to $2MM per season, though it wasn’t enough to entice the 40-year-old. Koby Altman, who is the Cavs’ assistant GM, is currently in charge of team president responsibilities.
Billups has no prior experience on the management side, but he is considered around the league as a “future front-office star.” He recently said that he intends to pursue a front office role at some point in the future.
Knicks Not Expected To Make Any Win-Now Moves
Nearly every team within the Atlantic Division has been busy this offseason by either adding key pieces or retaining their own stars. The Knicks may be the division’s lone exception and a league source tells Adam Zagoria of FanRag that the team isn’t expected to make any moves with the short-term in mind.
“[They are] building around K.P.,” one league source tells Zagoria. “Cleaning up all of Phil’s win-now mistakes.”
The source added that the franchise is “trying to build the right way, not with over-the-hill, oft-injured players that fit an antiquated and unproductive system.” New York added several veterans last offseason with the hope of making the playoffs while running the triangle offense during the 2016/17 campaign.
This offseason, the team appears to be targeting players who are not past their primes. New York was interested in Dion Waiters before the shooting guard re-signed with the Heat and it reportedly reached out to Jonathan Simmons about bringing the small forward to the Big Apple.
The Knicks remain hopeful that it can deal Carmelo Anthony and if a deal materializes, it could signal that the team will tank during the upcoming campaign. However, a source tells Zagoria that we won’t see a dramatic tank project akin to Philadelphia’s scheme with Sam Hinkie. “It looks like a rebuild,” a second league source tells Zagoria. “I do not think that they need to tank because they are not going to be very good anyway.”
Pacers Sign Edmond Sumner
The Pacers have signed Edmond Sumner, according to the team’s website. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports hears (Twitter link) that the deal will be for two seasons and it will be the team’s first ever two-way contract.
Each team is allowed to sign two players to two-way deals, as our Two-Way Contracts Glossary page shows. Players under these contracts will spend most of their time in the G-League since they are only allowed to be with their NBA club for at most 45 days.
The Pelicans selected Sumner with the No. 52 overall selection in the 2017 draft before shipping his rights to Indiana for cash considerations. The Pacers came out of the draft with three prospects, having selected T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu with its two original selections.
Sumner played three seasons for Xavier, scoring 14.3 points per game in his final season with the school. He added 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals per contest during his junior season.
Jazz Sign Donovan Mitchell To Rookie Deal
The Jazz have signed No. 13 overall pick Donovan Mitchell to a rookie scale contract, according to the team’s website. The team did not disclose the terms of the contract, but he’ll take home roughly $14.6MM over the next four seasons assuming he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
Utah traded Trey Lyles and the No. 24 overall pick, which ultimately became Tyler Lydon, to the Nuggets for the rights to Mitchell on draft night. The Jazz may need Mitchell to step up right away, as they look to fill the void left by Gordon Hayward‘s departure. The team also lost George Hill in free agency but gained Ricky Rubio via a trade with Wolves.
Mitchell, who played two seasons at Louisville, was considered one of the best perimeter defenders in his draft class. He averaged 15.6 points and 2.1 steals per contest during his final season playing for Rick Pitino.