Atlantic Notes: Punter, Fournier, Knicks, Nets, Lillard, Herro
EuroLeague star Kevin Punter had serious contract talks with the Raptors but the 30-year-old shooting guard decided to stay overseas, Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops.net relays. Punter would up extending his contract with Partizan Belgrade for two years after rejecting an offer from FC Barcelona. Punter averaged 15.5 points in 34 EuroLeague games last season while making 41.7% of his 3-point attempts and 90.6% of his free throw attempts.
“We were talking with the Raptors really heavily. I thought that was going to be an opportunity. We’ve been speaking with them for a while now, so I thought that was possible I was going to go to Toronto,” he told Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews during a podcast. “It didn’t work out. Obviously, it’s a game of leverage. You can’t give the NBA too much of your leverage because the NBA will take it and run with it.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Evan Fournier and his expiring $18.9MM contract remains the biggest issue hanging over the Knicks, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes. Fournier is in limbo, with no future in the organization. However, his contract would come in handy if the Knicks have a chance to complete a blockbuster trade. His salary could also facilitate a deal for a backup power forward in the aftermath of the Obi Toppin trade with the Pacers.
- The Knicks are still far from their goal of being a championship-level team, Steve Popper of Newsday opines. They must determine whether to surrender their assets — including RJ Barrett or Immanuel Quickley — for an impact player such as Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine or OG Anunoby.
- The cost of acquiring a star like Damian Lillard or a top-notch offensive player like Tyler Herro might not be in the Nets’ long-term interests, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Brooklyn isn’t close to contending for a title and even a perennial All-Star Lillard won’t change that, so the team would be better off exercising patience rather than taking on either of those multiyear contracts, Lewis concludes.
Rockets Rumors: Lucas, Powell, Landale, VanVleet
Longtime Rockets assistant John Lucas won’t be part of Ime Udoka’s staff but he’ll remain in the organization, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. He’ll move to a front office role, working as an assistant to GM Rafael Stone.
Lucas, a former Cavaliers, Spurs and Sixers head coach, joined Mike D’Antoni’s staff in Houston during the 2016/17 season and has been with the franchise since then.
We have more on the Rockets:
- Houston’s first-year offer to Mavericks free agent Dwight Powell was higher than the $8MM Jock Landale will receive next season as part of his four-year, $32MM contract agreement with Houston, Marc Stein reports in a Substack post. Powell decided to take the Mavs’ three-year offer, even though it totaled only $12MM. Only the first year of Landale’s contract is guaranteed — it’s probably safe to assume the same was true of the offer for Powell.
- Speaking of Landale, he knows he has to show the Rockets he’s worthy of getting the full value to his contract, he told ESPN’s Olgun Uluc. “I felt as though I’d worked my way to when I played and when I played heavy minutes, I always produced,” Landale said. “If I can get the trust of a coach who has the front office behind me, and they’re all supportive of the decision, absolutely I believe I can play to that contract. I also feel that, given it’s non-guaranteed, there’s no ability for me to take my foot off the gas, and I feel that’s really important and plays into my character a bit. I’ve still got to earn everything.”
- While they paid an extremely high price financially, the Rockets finally have a much-needed stabilizing presence, leader and offensive connector in Fred VanVleet, Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes. Houston’s offense lacked cohesion and control in recent seasons and VanVleet’s presence should change that.
Pacific Notes: Suns, Warriors, Saric, Lakers’ Moves, Carroll
The Suns’ willingness to give numerous free agents a two-year deal with a player option has helped them trump the Warriors in the free agent market, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic explains.
Golden State has been unwilling to provide minimum-salary offers with a second optional year due to luxury tax implications and the risk of committing a 2024/25 roster spot to a signee who didn’t work out. The Suns also had more playing time available and those factors helped sway Eric Gordon, who was the Warriors’ top backcourt target in free agency.
The Warriors are planning to go with a 14-man roster and have two slots open, which they intend to use on bigs, Slater writes. Power forward Dario Saric remains their top target still on the board.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- The Athletic’s John Hollinger gives the Suns high marks for their free agent catches, including a couple of underrated players in Keita Bates-Diop and Drew Eubanks. Bates-Diop, who previously played for the Spurs, could emerge as a key role player in the postseason, since he can guard multiple positions and shoots reasonably well from long distance. Eubanks is an energetic backup center who’s a superior rim protector and defender than Jock Landale, whom the Suns let go.
- The Lakers‘ front office made a series of shrewd moves this summer, Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times opines. The Lakers’ didn’t chase another star, as they have in the past. Instead, they re-signed Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura and signed two other solid players in Gabe Vincent and Taurean Prince, rather than trying to sign Kyrie Irving or trade for Bradley Beal.
- DeMarre Carroll is joining the Lakers as an assistant coach, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets. Carroll was an assistant on Mike Budenholzer‘s staff with the Bucks last season and now will join Darvin Ham‘s staff. Carroll played for the Hawks when Budenholzer was the head coach there and Ham was one of the assistants.
Suns Sign Second-Rounder Toumani Camara
9:30pm: Camara signed a four-year contract that features a fully guaranteed first-year salary, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). In past years, the Suns wouldn’t have had the ability to sign Camara for four years, but they used the NBA’s new cap exception for second-round picks to complete the signing.
8:30pm: The Suns have signed second-round pick Toumani Camara, the team’s PR department tweets.
Terms of the contract have yet to be revealed.
The 6’8” forward out of Dayton was selected with the No. 52 pick of the draft. Camara played two seasons with the Flyers after a two-year stint at Georgia. Last season, he averaged 13.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals. In 125 career games, Camara posted averages 11.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists.
Phoenix now has 16 players on the roster, counting their free agent agreements, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets. Ish Wainright (non-guaranteed until January), Jordan Goodwin (partially guaranteed) or Isaiah Todd (guaranteed) could eventually be the odd man out.
Hawks Sign First-Round Pick Kobe Bufkin
The Hawks have signed first-round pick Kobe Bufkin to a rookie scale contract, according to a team press release.
As the 15th overall pick, Bufkin will make $4,094,280 in his rookie season. His four-year contract is worth $19,801,203.
Bufkin appeared in 61 games (33 starts) throughout his two-year career at Michigan, averaging 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 23.3 minutes. The 6-4 guard started 33 games last season, averaging 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.3 steals in 34.0 minutes.
Bufkin moved up the draft board due to his offensive skills and he’ll compete for backcourt minutes behind starters Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.
The salary figures represent 120% of the rookie scale amount, which first-rounders typically sign. Rookie scale contracts are guaranteed for the first two years, with team options on the third and fourth years.
Hawks Sign Rookie Mouhamed Gueye To Four-Year Deal
The Hawks have officially signed second-round draft pick Mouhamed Gueye, the team’s PR department tweets. Gueye agreed to a four-year, $7.64MM deal, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets
Gueye was the 39th overall pick, which the Hawks acquired in a draft-night trade with the Celtics. The Hawks sent their 2027 second-round pick to Boston in exchange for the rights to Gueye. The No. 39 pick was originally held by Charlotte.
A 6’11” power forward out of Washington State, Gueye was an All-Pac-12 First Team selection during his second and final NCAA season. Across 33 contests in 2022/23, he averaged 14.3 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.8 BPG for the Cougars.
Gueye is a developmental player. He led the Pac-12 in double-doubles, even though he’s played the sport for just three-and-a-half years. He grew up as a soccer player, Scotto notes.
Though terms of the four-year deal weren’t disclosed, it won’t be fully guaranteed. As Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirms (Twitter link), the Hawks completed the signing using the new cap exception for second-round picks, which requires that the final season be a team option. The guarantee details on the first three years aren’t yet known.
Clippers Sign First-Rounder Kobe Brown
The Clippers have signed late first-round pick Kobe Brown, according to the team’s PR department.
The 6’7” forward played four seasons at Missouri. He averaged 15.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals last season for the Tigers.
As the last first-round selection in last month’s draft at No. 30 overall, Brown will make $2,413,320 in his rookie season. His four-year rookie scale contract will total $12,394,178.
The salary figures represent 120% of the rookie scale amounts for 2023’s first-round picks. Rookie scale contracts are guaranteed for the first two years, with team options on the third and fourth years.
The 23-year-old Brown has much more experience than a typical rookie and the Clippers could look to get him some meaningful minutes early in his career.
Malik Beasley To Sign One-Year Contract With Bucks
Free agent guard Malik Beasley is signing a one-year contract with the Bucks, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
A seven-year veteran, Beasley is signing for the veteran’s minimum of $2,709,849, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Milwaukee will carry a cap hit of $2,019,706.
Beasley entered the free agent market when the Lakers declined their $16.5MM option on his contract for next season. Beasley had multiple suitors who were seeking a low-cost perimeter option and the Bucks’ interest in him had previously been reported.
A long-range shooting specialist who holds a career mark of 37.8% from deep, Beasley shot just 35.7% last season, including 35.3% with the Lakers. He was acquired from Utah at the trade deadline in the deal involving Russell Westbrook.
Overall, the 26-year-old appeared in 81 games last season, including 27 starts (25.8 MPG). He was a non-factor in the postseason, appearing in 11 games while shooting 26.9% from long distance in 8.3 MPG.
If he regains his previous form, Beasley could play major minutes as the backup shooting guard behind Grayson Allen. Beasley was a 2016 first-round pick for Denver and spent three-and-a-half seasons there before a two-and-a-half-year stint with Minnesota. He’s averaged 10.8 points in 21.9 minutes through 417 regular-season games.
Warriors Sign First-Round Pick Brandin Podziemski
The Warriors have signed first-round draft pick Brandin Podziemski to a rookie scale contract, the team’s PR department tweets.
The No. 19 selection in last month’s draft, Podziemski started 32 games for Santa Clara this past season and averaged 19.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals in 36 minutes per game. He was named West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year after transferring from Illinois.
Assuming he received 120% of the rookie scale amount — which virtually every first-rounder does — he will make $3,352,440 in his first season. The total value of Podziemski’s four-year contract will be $16,239,818.
Rookie scale contracts are guaranteed for the first two years, with team options on the third and fourth years. The 6’5” Podziemski, 20, figures to spent most of his rookie campaign in the G League.
Lakers Sign Castleton, Hodge To Two-Way Deals
The Lakers have signed center Colin Castleton and guard D’Moi Hodge to two-way contracts, the team announced in press releases.
Both rookies went undrafted last month and the two-way agreements were previously reported. They’ll also suit up for the Lakers’ Summer League squad.
The 6’11” Castleton started 26 games for Florida last season, averaging 16.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.0 blocks in 31.2 minutes per contest. He was named to the All-SEC First Team. Castleton had a five-year college career at Florida and Michigan.
Hodge played his final collegiate season at Missouri, where he averaged 14.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.6 steals in 29.1 minutes per game. Prior to last season, Hodge played at Cleveland State(2020-22) and the State College of Florida (2018-20).
Under the new CBA, two-way contracts are worth half the rookie minimum, which comes out to $559,782 for each player. They can be partially guaranteed for up to $75K at the time of their signing.