Bulls Sign Aaron Brooks
JULY 14TH, 5:26pm: The deal is official, the Bulls announced in a press release.
JULY 9TH, 10:47am: The deal won’t be for the minimum, but instead for slightly more than $2MM, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). Chicago will use a portion of its $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception, Johnson adds.
JULY 7TH, 1:08pm: The Bulls will re-sign Aaron Brooks for one year at the minimum salary, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Brooks could have signed for 20% more than the minimum via Non-Bird rights, but Chicago gets a break as its poised to pay the tax thanks in large measure to its deals with Jimmy Butler and Mike Dunleavy.
The 30-year-old Brooks served as Chicago’s primary backup point guard this past season, even starting 21 games, but little chatter surrounded his free agency, surprisingly, as his sparse rumors page shows. The Bulls thus keep their primary backcourt contributors in house, with Derrick Rose and Tony Snell under contract, Butler having agreed to re-sign and Kirk Hinrich having opted in.
Butler, a seven-year veteran, will nonetheless see a slight raise, from $1,145,685 to $1,270,964. The Bulls need only pay $947,276, the equivalent of the two-year veteran’s minimum, with the league picking up the rest. The disadvantage of the one-year deal is that Chicago can’t trade him without his consent, as he’d lose his Early Bird rights if he were traded, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Bulls Re-Sign Mike Dunleavy
JULY 14TH, 5:21pm: The deal is official, the Bulls announced via a press release.
9:08am: The sides have reached agreement, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). It’ll be $14.4MM over the course of the three years with a partial guarantee on the final season, Wojnarowski also tweets.
JULY 1ST, 8:16am: The Bulls and Mike Dunleavy are close to a three-year, $15MM deal, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Chicago has remained the favorite even as other teams were poised to give chase. LeBron James apparently prompted the Cavaliers to pursue the client of outgoing Wasserman agent Arn Tellem, while the Wizards and Clippers also reportedly had interest.
Chicago has Early Bird rights on Dunleavy, and it would seem they’re putting them to use here. The Cavs were likely limited to no more than the taxpayer’s mid-level of $3.376MM, and while the Wizards could have spent their $5.464MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level, the Bulls appear to have come up with a comparable figure. That’s even though Chicago is poised to pay the tax, too.
Kings Sign Luc Mbah a Moute
The Kings have signed Luc Mbah a Moute, the team announced (on Twitter). Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported overnight that they were close to a one-year deal, a day after Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that the sides were making progress. It’s unclear just how much the Darren Matsubara client is getting, though Sacramento is in line for a $2.814MM room exception after clearing cap room this summer for a handful of other deals.
Mbah a Moute returns to Sacramento, where he played nine games at the start of the 2013/14 season before the Kings traded him to the Timberwolves for Derrick Williams, who left this month in free agency to sign with the Knicks. Thus, today’s move is something of an about-face on that deal, which came during the tenure of former Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro.
New Kings vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac brings Mbah a Moute from the Sixers, and the seven-year veteran forward had expressed interest in returning to Philadelphia. The Sixers under GM Sam Hinkie have nonetheless rarely signed veterans such as Mbah a Moute, who arrived in Philadelphia as part of the Kevin Love trade. Mbah a Moute made 61 starts this past season, but he also served as a mentor for Joel Embiid, who’s now likely to miss all of 2015/16 as he continues to recover from a broken foot.
Celtics Acquire Perry Jones III
2:42pm: The deal is official, the Thunder and Celtics announced. The second-rounder headed to the Thunder is a protected 2018 selection, according to Oklahoma City. Boston’s announcement calls it a conditional 2018 pick, so the protection is probably such that it may not ever end up conveying to the Thunder.
To recap, the Thunder get that pick, while the Celtics get Jones, Detroit’s 2019 second-round pick and cash.
2:03pm: The pick going to the Celtics is Detroit’s 2019 second-rounder, which Oklahoma City picked up in the Reggie Jackson trade, Mayberry reports (on Twitter).
1:51pm: The second-rounder headed Boston’s way isn’t one of OKC’s own picks, a source Himmelsbach (Twitter link).
1:47pm: A protected second-round pick is going to Oklahoma City in the move, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman (on Twitter). That’ll allow the Thunder to create a trade exception equivalent to Jones’ salary, Mayberry notes. The Celtics will absorb Jones into cap space, tweets former Nets executive Bobby Marks.
1:30pm: The Thunder will trade Perry Jones III to the Celtics, along with a second-round pick and cash, reports Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). It’s not entirely clear what’s going back to Oklahoma City, but it doesn’t amount to much, Bulpett says, indicating that it’s a move the Thunder are making with luxury tax savings in mind. Indeed, the deal stands to save the Thunder some $7MM in combined salary and tax payments, tweets Royce Young of ESPN.com.
[RELATED: Thunder Expected To Sign Josh Huestis]
Oklahoma City had been carrying a payroll of about $98MM, well above the $84.74MM tax threshold, and moving off of Jones’ salary, worth more than $2.038MM, has reportedly been a priority. Chris Mannix of SI.com reported before the draft that the Thunder were shopping the former 28th overall pick, among others, adding after the draft that Oklahoma City was holding out for a first-round pick. That sort of return for Jones wasn’t to be, but it appears as though the Thunder have at least unloaded his rookie scale contract, which is entering its final season.
It’s unclear if the Celtics envision Jones as part of their long-term plan, and indeed much is in flux for the Celtics, as a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe that the team is active on many fronts (Twitter link). Jones, who turns 24 in September, is eligible for a rookie scale extension, though that seems unlikely. The forward is coming off a career year for the Thunder, who thrust him into more minutes than before amid injuries to much of their usual rotation players, but he still put up only 4.3 points in 14.7 minutes per game.
For all the hottest NBA rumors and deals, follow us on Twitter!
Clippers Likely To Waive Lester Hudson
The Clippers are likely to waive Lester Hudson and his non-guaranteed minimum salary before it becomes fully guaranteed at the end of Wednesday, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times hears (on Twitter). The team signed Hudson at the end of the regular season this past spring, tacking an additional year onto the contract.
Hudson had been out of the NBA since the 2011/12 season before he inked his deal with the Clippers. The 30-year-old combo guard, who’ll turn 31 next month, averaged 3.6 points in 11.2 minutes across five regular season appearances, and he made it into seven of the team’s 14 playoff games, though he saw just 5.4 MPG.
The defensive ability of Hudson intrigued Clippers coach/president Doc Rivers, but Nate Robinson was also in the running for the roster spot that went to Hudson, and Rivers acknowledged that a knee injury to Robinson that hadn’t yet healed played a part in the team’s decision to sign Hudson instead. Hudson probably has a safe landing in China if he so chooses, since he averaged 31.2 points per game for Liaoning this past season before returning stateside.
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Miller, Ellington, Mickey
The Sixers, for all their losing on the court, continue to turn a profit, and the value of the franchise has at least tripled since owner Josh Harris and his partners bought the team in 2011, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. Thus, Harris continues to appear patient with a slow, draft-focused rebuild, and even as last month’s draft was going on, the Sixers were in talks with teams in the bottom half of the lottery, seeking to acquire their picks, Lowe hears. Philadelphia is reportedly interested in Norris Cole, but it remains to be seen if that manifests into the first free agent signing of much significance in the tenure of GM Sam Hinkie. Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:
- The Nets appeared likely to waive Quincy Miller shortly after acquiring him from the Pistons on Monday, but a source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com that Brooklyn plans to keep him at least through the start of training camp in the fall (Twitter links). It’ll cost the Nets a $50K partial guarantee if they keep him through Wednesday.
- Wayne Ellington‘s two-year deal with the Nets is worth $3,067,500, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
- The Celtics and No. 33 overall pick Jordan Mickey began negotiations on Monday, reports Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (on Twitter), and confidence about the ability to reach a deal surrounded the opening of the talks, MassLive’s Jay King hears. Still, neither side is in a hurry, Bulpett tweets. Mickey, a client of Matt Babcock, is expected to seek guaranteed money, King writes.
- Gigi Datome spoke with the Mavericks, Clippers and Wizards, but those teams wouldn’t promise him that he’d be a part of their rotations, tweets Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. The former Celtics forward just signed with Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker.
- Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge doesn’t see deals for veterans like David Lee and Amir Johnson as antithetical to a youth-focused approach, believing that vets can serve important mentorship roles, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald details.
Spurs, Knicks Work Out Elliot Williams
TUESDAY, 12:41pm: Williams worked out for the Spurs on Monday, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). San Antonio appears to be limited to the minimum salary, with the $2.814MM room exception ticketed for Manu Ginobili. Still, the Spurs are open to adding at least one more wing player, according to Charania.
MONDAY, 9:59am: The Knicks worked out four-year veteran Elliot Williams on Sunday, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Williams, the 22nd overall pick in 2010, signed a total of five 10-day contracts this past season, split among three different teams, but he didn’t end up on any deal that covered a longer amount of time.
Reports have linked the Knicks and their $2.814MM room exception to Alexey Shved, but Williams may well be a cheaper alternative at shooting guard. Williams averaged 6.0 points in 17.3 minutes per game across 67 appearances for the Sixers in 2013/14. He split his time between the Jazz, Hornets and Pelicans in 2014/15.
New York also completed its planned workout with shooting guard Daniel Hackett, who went undrafted out of USC in 2009 and has since played extensively overseas, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). He averaged 9.9 PPG in 27.4 MPG for EA7 Emporio Armani Milano of Italy this past season.
Pacers Sign Joseph Young
TUESDAY, 12:25pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
12:20pm: The first two years are guaranteed, Charania adds.
MONDAY, 12:08pm: The Pacers and No. 43 overall pick Joseph Young have reached agreement on a four-year deal worth more than $4MM, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Indiana appears poised to use a sliver of its cap room on the combo guard from the University of Oregon, who’s getting a deal more lucrative than the two years and nearly $1.4MM that the minimum-salary exception could provide. The most he could make in a four-year minimum-salary deal is $3,502,513, so he’s receiving more than the minimum in at least one of those seasons.
The 23-year-old has looked strong in the summer league, as Charania notes, averaging 22.5 points in 29.8 minutes per game in four appearances. He was a scorer in college, too, having put up 20.7 PPG in 36.7 MPG as a senior this past season. Young shot 39.0% from behind the arc for his college career, and he’s adept a getting to the hoop, too, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in his profile, having ranked him the 30th-best prospect in the draft.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him lower, at No. 53, so Young’s draft position largely split the difference between his projections. He’s a client of Kevin Bradbury, as Givony notes, and he projects to help fill the need for more perimeter players in Indiana’s new, more fast-paced approach.
Pacers Sign Monta Ellis
JULY 14TH, 12:20pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
“He’ll be a great addition to our team,” president of basketball operations Larry Bird said. “And he fits our needs for how we want to play. We’re excited to have him. He adds another veteran in our lineup and we think he’ll be a great fit, complementing George Hill in the backcourt.”
Despite the earlier reports, it’s a straight signing, not a sign-and-trade.
2:06pm: The expectation is that if the Mavs don’t sign DeAndre Jordan, they’ll have talks with the Pacers about turning the Ellis deal into part of a sign-and-trade that would bring Roy Hibbert to Dallas, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reported earlier that Hibbert is a consideration for the Mavs if Jordan is out of the picture.
JULY 2ND, 12:10pm: The Pacers and Monta Ellis have reached agreement on a four-year deal, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The contract will be worth $44MM with a player option after year three, Broussard adds (on Twitter). Ken Berger of CBSSports.com has the value of the deal at an estimated $45MM (Twitter link). The Pacers had reportedly offered a deal with similar terms over three years on Wednesday, when the sides met, so it appears the player option season has sprung up since then.
The client of Happy Walters and Jeff Fried turned down a four-year, $48MM offer from the Kings, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Hawks, Nuggets, and Heat were also reportedly in pursuit, and the interest was seemingly mutual between Ellis and Miami. The Mavs didn’t rule out a return, but they had other priorities, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reported, and they didn’t intend to give him a raise on the roughly $8MM salaries he’d seen with them.
Indiana proved more willing to give the 29-year-old the raises he sought as he turned down his $8.72MM player option to stay in Dallas. The Pacers will use the cap flexibility created when David West decided against picking up his $12.6MM player option to accommodate the shooting guard, who figures to rev up Indiana’s offense, filling the playmaker role that Lance Stephenson used to occupy, as Chris Crouse of Hoops Rumors examined when he looked at Ellis’ free agent stock. The Pacers have wanted a more up-tempo attack, as they made clear this past spring.
Timberwolves Sign Nemanja Bjelica
JULY 14TH, 11:32am: The deal is official, the team announced (on Twitter).
1:40pm: Bjelica’s deal is worth $11.7MM over three years, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Bjelica confirmed that he’s heading to Minnesota in a statement released to Wojnarowski through Tellem. Minnesota will foot the maximum $625K toward his buyout from Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker, Wojnarowski adds. The total amount of that buyout was reportedly 1.2 million euros, the equivalent of more than $1.325MM, so Bjelica will have to pay the rest himself.
JULY 6TH, 1:12pm: The Timberwolves have reached a deal with draft-and-stash prospect Nemanja Bjelica, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Krawczynski reported in late June that the sides were close to agreement, and Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders more or less promised to get a deal done shortly thereafter. The sides had reportedly spoken about a $12MM deal over three years, but it’s unclear just how much the reigning Euroleague MVP is getting to come stateside.
The Arn Tellem client had reportedly been seeking between $5MM and $7MM a year, numbers that likely would have forced Minnesota to use its entire $5.434MM mid-level exception, though both sides have apparently held mutual interest for some time now. Minnesota acquired the rights to Bjelica in a trade on draft night in 2010, when the Wizards selected him 35th overall. Other teams reportedly had interest in trading for his rights this spring, but the Wolves clung to them.
Bjelica left Fenerbahce a few days ago after a season in which he averaged 11.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 26.1 minutes per game. He’s 27 years old, so he would appear to be an already fully developed prospect, save for whatever seasoning he’ll pick up in the NBA this year.