Mavs Reach New Agreement With Devin Harris?
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban indicated that the team has a new deal with point guard Devin Harris, whose initial three-year, $9MM agreement with the team was scrubbed when he suffered a toe injury.
"He's coming back. We just restructured the deal,'' Cuban said, according to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).
A new deal between Dallas and the Excel Sports Management Client would come as no surprise, since the team still had interest in bringing him aboard even as the two sides mutually agreed to call off the initial arrangement. The financial terms of the latest agreement are unclear, but I'd imagine he'll take a paycut of some kind. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors speculated this week that Harris could be in line for a two-year minimum salary contract with a player option for the second season.
The Mavs have a lot of balls in the air with regard to free agency at the moment, having struck a deal with Samuel Dalembert earlier this evening. The team is expected to reach agreement with Brandan Wright soon, and Dallas continues to eye Greg Oden. Cuban confirmed the team is still in the market for the No. 1 overall pick, but the owner says his team and Oden's representatives haven't engaged in contract talks, Price notes (on Twitter).
Dallas also has a decision to make regarding Bernard James, whose contract for this season was supposed to have become fully guaranteed if he wasn't waived on or before this past Monday. James and the team agreed to put off that deadline.
New York Notes: Childress, Morris, Hannah
The Nets have stolen New York's backpage headlines from the Knicks, observes Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, who believes that if Carmelo Anthony flees for the Lakers next summer, it wouldn't be the worst possible outcome for the Madison Square Garden faithful. While baseball decamps from New York following last night's All-Star Game, here's a look at the city's basketball beat:
- Former Net Josh Childress will meet with several teams Friday in Las Vegas, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. So, far the Knicks have been the only ones linked this month to 30-year-old swingman, and the two sides have already spoken.
- While noting that Baron Davis was part of a Knicks contingent observing Bobby Brown's workout yesterday, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports that Darius Morris and Stefhon Hannah also worked out for the Knicks (Twitter links).
- Keith Bogans says that when he consented to his inclusion in the Nets/Celtics blockbuster trade, he wasn't aware he'd get the hefty $5MM+ salary that the sign-and-trade afforded him, notes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
Mike Miller Suitors Wary Of Possible Surgery
Mike Miller is considering fusion surgery for bulging disks in his back, and that's giving teams pause as they consider whether to submit an amnesty claim for him, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Cavs are strongly considering claiming Miller, and according to Wojnarowski, several contenders are thinking about signing him if he were to go unclaimed. If Miller hits free agency, that would give clubs additional time to have doctors to examine the 33-year-old and for him to express his needs and intentions regarding surgery.
Miller also considered surgery last summer, when he downplayed retirement talk. Miller hasn't had retirement on his mind this summer, either, saying last month that he felt like he could play for four or five more years.
The Cavs are aware of Miller's back issues even as they continue to ponder making a bid, Wojnarowski writes. The Rockets reportedly have interest in him, and the Clippers have been linked to him as well, though presumably those teams would sign him rather than submit a waiver claim. Teams must have cap space to place either a full or partial amnesty bid, and the deadline to do so is 4:00pm Central time Thursday.
2013 Draft Pick Signings
Teams typically fly their draft picks in and show them off to fans and the media in the first few days after they’re selected. Still, those incoming prospects often remain unsigned for weeks, if not months. That’s especially true for second-rounders, many of whom never sign. Just 20 of the 30 second-round picks in 2012 played in the NBA this past season.
Many second-rounders have competed in summer league for their respective teams without a formal agreement for next season, furthering the point that in many cases, all the pick amounts to is an invitation to try out.
That’s not so for first-rounders, whose contracts are guaranteed by rule for at least two years once they sign. Negotiations with first-round picks are usually easy for teams, since almost all of them receive 120% of their rookie-scale amounts. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors recently ran down the likely starting salary for each first-round pick. The predetermined salary structure is one of the reasons why first-rounders come to terms more quickly than their second-round counterparts, as evidenced by this year’s draft-pick signings.
Here, we have a roundup of which picks have been signed and which remain without a contract. Each player is listed with the team that currently owns his rights, which in many cases isn’t the team that originally drafted him, given the volume of trades we saw on draft night and the weeks since. The first-rounders who signed presumably did so for 120% of their rookie-scale amounts (unless otherwise noted), but since there’s no established structure for contracts given to second-rounders, we’ve provided detail where available.
Updated 10-21-13
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Anthony Bennett — signed
- Orlando Magic: Victor Oladipo — signed
- Washington Wizards: Otto Porter — signed
- Charlotte Bobcats: Cody Zeller — signed
- Phoenix Suns: Alex Len — signed
- Philadelphia 76ers: Nerlens Noel — signed
- Sacramento Kings: Ben McLemore — signed
- Detroit Pistons: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — signed
- Utah Jazz: Trey Burke — signed
- Portland Trail Blazers: C.J. McCollum — signed
- Philadelphia 76ers: Michael Carter-Williams — signed
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Steven Adams — signed
- Boston Celtics: Kelly Olynyk — signed
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Shabazz Muhammad — signed
- Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo — signed
- Atlanta Hawks: Lucas Nogueira — playing overseas
- Atlanta Hawks: Dennis Schröder — signed
- Dallas Mavericks: Shane Larkin — signed
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Sergey Karasev — signed
- Chicago Bulls: Tony Snell — signed
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Gorgui Dieng — signed
- Brooklyn Nets: Mason Plumlee — signed
- Indiana Pacers: Solomon Hill — signed
- New York Knicks: Tim Hardaway Jr. — signed
- Los Angeles Clippers: Reggie Bullock — signed
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Andre Roberson — signed, with a starting salary at 80% of the rookie scale
- Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert — signed
- San Antonio Spurs: Livio Jean-Charles — playing overseas
- Phoenix Suns: Archie Goodwin — signed
- Golden State Warriors: Nemanja Nedovic — signed
Round Two:
- Portland Trail Blazers: Allen Crabbe — signed to a three-year deal with a team option for the final season.
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Alex Abrines — playing overseas
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Carrick Felix — signed to a four-year deal with a non-guaranteed season in year four.
- Houston Rockets: Isaiah Canaan — signed to a three-year deal with a team option for the final season.
- Washington Wizards: Glen Rice Jr. — signed to a two-year deal with a partial guarantee on year two.
- Sacramento Kings: Ray McCallum — signed to a three-year guaranteed deal.
- Detroit Pistons: Tony Mitchell — signed to a three-year deal with a non-guaranteed third season.
- Milwaukee Bucks: Nate Wolters — signed to a three-year deal worth $2,263,758. Only the first two seasons are fully guaranteed.
- New Orleans Pelicans: Jeff Withey — signed to a two-year deal with a non-guaranteed second season.
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Grant Jerrett — will play in D-League
- Memphis Grizzlies: Jamaal Franklin — signed to a three-year deal with a non-guaranteed third season.
- New Orleans Pelicans: Pierre Jackson — unsigned
- Dallas Mavericks: Ricky Ledo — signed to a four-year deal which is guaranteed for two years.
- Atlanta Hawks: Mike Muscala — playing overseas
- Houston Rockets: Marko Todorovic — playing overseas
- Denver Nuggets: Erick Green — playing overseas
- Utah Jazz: Raul Neto — playing overseas
- Los Angeles Lakers: Ryan Kelly — signed to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary.
- Chicago Bulls: Erik Murphy — signed to a two-year, non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary.
- Miami Heat: James Ennis — playing overseas (deal includes NBA out)
- Orlando Magic: Romero Osby — receiving camp invite
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Lorenzo Brown — signed
- Boston Celtics: Colton Iverson — playing overseas
- Philadelphia 76ers: Arsalan Kazemi — playing overseas
- Denver Nuggets: Joffrey Lauvergne — playing overseas
- Detroit Pistons: Peyton Siva — signed to a two-year, non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary.
- Phoenix Suns: Alex Oriakhi — playing overseas
- San Antonio Spurs: Deshaun Thomas — playing overseas
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Bojan Dubljevic — playing overseas
- Memphis Grizzlies: Janis Timma — playing overseas
Cavs Mulling Amnesty Claim Of Mike Miller
6:28pm: The Cavs have decided to delay their official signing of Andrew Bynum, and that's tied to their pursuit of Miller, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The Cavs have postponed Thursday's scheduled signing, as Mary Schmitt Boyer of the The Plain Dealer originally reported, and that's so they can preserve the cap space necessary to make a bid on Miller, according to Windhorst (Twitter link). If Cleveland submits the winning bid for Miller, the team would waive non-guaranteed players to re-open space for Bynum's deal, as Windhorst explains via Twitter.
5:10pm: The Cavs are strongly considering claiming Mike Miller off amnesty waivers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Heat used the amnesty clause yesterday to rid themselves of the two years and $12.8MM remaining on his contract. The Cavs, and any other NBA team with cap space, can place a partial bid on that amount. If there are multiple bids, Miller's rights would go to whichever team bid the highest.
Miller, 33, would become a free agent if no team claims him. With the Clippers and Rockets already linked to the 13-year veteran sharpshooter, an amnesty claim might represent the Cavs' best chance to get him.
There have been reports indicating the Cavs are out of cap room, so if they're accurate, the team will have to waive some of its non-guaranteed players to make a bid on Miller. The Cavs can eliminate as much as much as $4,120,814 from their books by waiving C.J. Miles, Chris Quinn and Kevin Jones. They're not allowed to make a trade to open up cap space under the rules of the amnesty provision.
Miller is a friend of former Heat teammate LeBron James, as Wojnarowski notes. The Cavs are gearing up for a run at James next summer, when the four-time MVP can opt out his contract with the Heat, so perhaps that's one of the factors the team is considering as it thinks about claiming Miller.
Mavs Close To Deal With Samuel Dalembert
The Mavs have made Samuel Dalembert a target for the past couple of weeks, and now it appears they're nearing an agreement with the veteran center, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Dallas is one of several teams looking at Greg Oden, but Stein adds that the Mavs feel compelled to add Dalembert after missing out on Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum (Twitter link).
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning news wrote over the weekend that Dallas and the Pinnacle Management client were "inching toward" a deal, so it looks like they're finally approaching the end of that process. Stein identified Dalembert as the Mavs' prime target a week ago.
As for Oden, the Mavs are aware they can be outbid, but they've met face-to-face with the Mike Conley Sr. client and continue to try to sell him on the idea of making his comeback in Dallas, Stein tweets. The Mavs would like to sign both Dalembert and Oden, and with the prospect of a crowded frontcourt, the team convinced Bernard James to postpone the date when his contract for this season goes from non-guaranteed from fully guaranteed, as Stein also reports via Twitter. That date was originally this past Monday, but James' salary remains non-guaranteed. Dallas wants to let its pursuit of the other big men play out before committing to James, though the team is still high on him, according to Stein (Twitter link).
The team is also likely to re-sign Brandan Wright, one of its own free agents. None of the big men the Mavs appear to be going after have the cachet of Howard or even the oft-injured Bynum, so it's odd to see them place such a priority on Dalembert, who played only a bit part with Milwaukee this past season. Dalembert would seem to be a lateral move, at best, from Chris Kaman and Elton Brand, who've signed with other teams after spending 2012/13 with the Mavs.
Eastern Notes: Curry, Henderson, Oden, Joseph
We've already had two amnesty provisions in the East announced tonight in Linas Kleiza and Drew Gooden. Let's round up the rest of the Eastern Conference news here on Tuesday night:
- The latest on the Sixers coaching search indicates that the team is no rush to make a decision, but that doesn't bother in-house candidate Michael Curry, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Curry, who conducted the team's pre-draft workouts and coached the Sixers summer league team, is expected to be interviewed and was told from the start by general manager Sam Hinkie that the coaching search would be a long process.
- The Bobcats and restricted free agent Gerald Henderson are having ongoing contract discussions about a return to Charlotte, but are still not close financially, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Just last week, we heard that the Bobcats and Henderson had reached a stalemate. It doesn't look like things have changed much, but the report that the sides are still communicating is good news for Bobcats fans.
- With the Heat now rumored to be the unofficial frontrunner to land Greg Oden, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel wonders what type of message it would send if the team used the taxpayer mid-level exception, worth about $3.2MM, on the injury-prone Oden only days after re-signing Chris Andersen, who contributed to their second straight title run, for about half the price. Winderman also speculates that the Heat could try to move Joel Anthony in a cost-cutting move that would easier allow them to ink Oden (Twitter links).
- Kris Joseph, waived yesterday by the Celtics, will likely look to latch on with an NBA team in a training camp this fall. The Nets, with whom Joseph finished last season, are said to have interest in the forward, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, but are prohibited from signing him for a year after shipping him north in the deal to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
Rockets Sign Omri Casspi
JULY 16TH, 9:23am: The Rockets have made the Casspi signing official, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). As Feigen originally reported, it's a minimum-salary pact.
JULY 6TH, 2:58pm: Wojnarowski pegs the value of the deal at $2.6MM, which would make it more than a minimum-salary arrangement. It makes more sense that Casspi would come at the minimum, rather than at a deal that eats into the team's $2.65MM room exception, but we'll see how it shakes out when the deal becomes official after the July moratorium. Wojnarowski also notes that the Rockets became more intrigued with Casspi and his shooting touch after their agreement with Howard.
2:45pm: Casspi's deal is for the veteran's minimum, and the second year is a team option, Feigen tweets. That means a salary of $947,907 this year and $1,063,384 in 2014/15.
2:27pm: Omri Casspi and the Rockets have agreed on a two-year deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Houston had been pursuing the 25-year-old former first-round pick since the trade deadline, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle notes (on Twitter). Casspi became an unrestricted free agent when the Cavs declined to offer him a qualifying offer this summer, following a season when it appeared he'd fallen out of favor in Cleveland.
A report during the season indicated the Creative Artists Agency client would head back to his native Israel to play, but it sounds like there was enough NBA interest to keep Casspi stateside. His numbers have been in freefall since his rookie year with Sacramento, when he notched 10.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest. His 4.0 PPG and 2.7 RPG in limited minutes this year were far cries from his earlier production, and his three-point shooting, a strong suit when he was a King, deserted him in Cleveland. Presumably, the Rockets are looking for him to regain his stroke to give James Harden and Dwight Howard more room to score in the paint.
The Rockets appeared to be close to landing Casspi around the March 1st buyout deadline, but their agreement with Aaron Brooks scuttled that idea. Now, Brooks is gone and Delfino is headed to Houston.
Kings Sign Carl Landry
JULY 15TH, 12:58pm: The Kings have officially signed Landry, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 6TH, 3:35pm: The value of Landry's deal has yet to be finalized, but it will be between $26MM and $27MM, and it will likely include a player option as well, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
3:23pm: Carl Landry will sign with the Kings, agent Mark Bartelstein tells TNT's David Aldridge (Twitter link). The power forward will get a four-year, $26MM package, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The 29-year-old had been in serious talks with the Clippers, but it appears they were outbid, as Marc Stein notes on Twitter, pegging the value of Landry's deal at $27MM. Either way, the Clippers were limited to their mid-level exception, and the Kings were willing to surpass that.
Landry spent last season with the Warriors, but declined his $4MM player option. He said his first priority was to re-sign with Golden State, and even though the W's recent moves appear to have enabled the team to have the flexibility to re-sign him and Jarrett Jack, the prospect of a tidy raise appears to have been too tempting for Landry.
The Blazers and Bucks appeared to be in the mix as well, and Landry expected a half dozen teams to pursue him. The former second-round pick averaged 10.8 points and a career-high 6.0 rebounds this past season, but his value has shown up better in advanced metrics, as his career PER is 17.7, well above average.
The Kings had been angling for more expensive targets this summer, but withdrew their four-year, $56MM offer to Andre Iguodala, and gave up on retaining Tyreke Evans, sending the restricted free agent out in a sign-and-trade that netted Greivis Vasquez. The team could use the money it's saved on another complementary piece to go along with Landry.
Rockets Sign Robert Covington, B.J. Young
MONDAY, 12:11pm: The Rockets have officially announced the signings of both Covington and Young in a press release. Isaiah Canaan's signing was formally announced within the same release.
SUNDAY, 12:40pm: Robert Covington went undrafted out of Tennessee State last month, but he reportedly reached an agreement on a partially guaranteed two-year deal with the Rockets soon after the draft. It appears the deal has been finalized, as Covington tweets that he's signed his contract, and GM Daryl Morey also took to Twitter to welcome him to the team. Morey also welcomed former Arkansas point guard B.J. Young in the same tweet, though no official announcement has been made.
The 6'7" Covington averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as a senior last season for Tennessee State, which competes in the Ohio Valley Conference. The 22-year-old saw fewer minutes per outing for the Rockets summer league team in Orlando this past week, but he still managed 12.4 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 23.4 MPG.
The partial guarantee on Covington's deal is likely around $150K, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress noted when he broke the story of his agreement last month. Presumably, the full amount is equivalent to the minimum salary.