Wong, Tshiebwe Sign Two-Way Contracts With Pacers
Guard Isaiah Wong and power forward Oscar Tshiebwe have inked two-way contracts with the Pacers, the team’s PR department tweets.
Both rookies will look to eventually earn their way to a spot on the 15-man roster.
Wong was chosen with the No. 55 pick of this year’s draft. He played four seasons for Miami (Fla.) and led the Hurricanes to the Final Four this past season. He averaged 16.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals in 37 games last season. He also displayed a solid perimeter game (38.4% on 3-pointers).
Tshiebwe went undrafted despite a stellar college career at Kentucky. He averaged 16.2 points and 13.7 rebounds for the Wildcats last season. Tshiebwe’s agreement with the Pacers was previously reported and now it’s official.
The 6’9″ big man was a consensus All-American Second Teamer with the Wildcats last season and a consensus All-American First Teamer in 2022.
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.
Heat Rumors: Strus, Robinson, Herro, Bouyea
The Heat didn’t go beyond their initial offer to Max Strus, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).
Strus attracted plenty of attention on the free agent market and Miami eventually agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Cavaliers that turned into a three-team swap. Strus wound up with a four-year, $63MM contract, far more than the Heat were willing to pay him. The Heat will get a traded player exception worth approximately $7MM in the deal.
Miami did make a counter-offer for Gabe Vincent, Winderman adds, but it couldn’t stop him from agreeing to a three-year contract with the Lakers for more money.
We have more on the Heat:
- Orlando Robinson has signed a standard minimum-salary contract but he has some work to do to earn the full value for 2023/24, Winderman tweets. There are conditional elements to the contract, including guarantee dates. One of those stipulations is that he must make the opening-night roster.
- The Nets have been contacted regarding the possibility of acquiring Tyler Herro in order to facilitate a Damian Lillard deal between the Trail Blazers and Heat, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. This confirms another report that the Nets were interested in Herro, whose four-year, $120MM extension kicks in next season.
- Herro may be weary of hearing his name in trade rumors. For what it’s worth, Herro has removed “Miami Heat Guard” from the header on his Twitter feed and replaced it with “Slow motion,” NBA Central relays (Twitter link).
- Jamaree Bouyea, recently signed to a two-way contract, believes he can become the next Heat success story among undrafted players, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. Bouyea played on separate 10-day contracts with the Heat and Wizards as an undrafted rookie last year. “I like how they just invest, they invest in their young guys,” he said. “Obviously, they have a bunch of undrafted talent that got paid this offseason and offseasons before this, as well.”
Jazz Sign All Three First-Round Picks
The Jazz have signed their three first-round picks — forward Taylor Hendricks, guard Keyonte George, and forward Brice Sensabaugh — to rookie scale contracts, according to a team press release.
Hendricks, the No. 9 overall pick, will make $5,569,920 in his first season. He’ll bank $25,351,580 over the life of the four-year contract. The UCF product averaged 15.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 34.7 minutes during his only college season.
George will receive $3,889,800 in his first season. The four-year contract is worth $18,816,885.
The No. 16 pick started 33 games for Baylor in his lone collegiate season and averaged 15.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.1 steals in 28.7 minutes per game. He was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
Sensabaugh, taken with the 28th pick out of Ohio State, will bring in $2,448,600 as a rookie. The four-year deal is worth $12,576,077. He appeared in 33 games last season and averaged 16.3 points. 5.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 24.5 minutes per game.
First-round picks virtually always sign contracts worth 120% of their rookie scale amount and the above figures represent those amounts. Rookie scale contracts are guaranteed for the first two years, with team options on the third and fourth years.
Nick Smith Signs Rookie Contract With Hornets
Nick Smith Jr. has signed his rookie contract with the Hornets, according to the NBA transactions log.
The 6’5” guard out of Arkansas, who missed nearly two months of his lone college season due to a knee injury, will receive $2,463,960 if he signed for the usual 120% of the rookie scale amount at his slot.
The 27th overall pick will make $12,651,907 over his first four NBA seasons if the team options are eventually exercised for the final two years.
Smith was the second of Charlotte’s two first-round picks. The Hornets drafted potential franchise player Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick.
Smith could jump right into the Hornets’ rotation as LaMelo Ball‘s backup.
Gradey Dick Signs Rookie Contract With Raptors
Gradey Dick has signed his rookie contract with the Raptors, according to NBA’s transactions log.
Assuming Dick signed a contract worth 120% of his rookie scale amount, which is normal practice in the league, he’ll make $4,536,720 in his rookie season. Over the next four seasons, the contract will be worth $21,422,550.
Rookie scale contracts are guaranteed for the first two years, with team options on the third and fourth years.
The No. 13 overall pick in the draft, Dick started 36 games in his lone season at Kansas. The 6’8” Dick averaged 14.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He made 40.3% of his 3-point tries and was considered one of the top pure shooters in the draft.
Nets Sign Lonnie Walker To One-Year Deal
JULY 10: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
JULY 2: The Nets are signing free agent swingman Lonnie Walker on a one-year contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
The Lakers were interested in re-signing Walker but he could find more playing time in Brooklyn. Walker made $6,479,000 in his one season with the Lakers and he became an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The 24-year-old Walker, who played four seasons with San Antonio, appeared in 56 regular-season games (32 starts) with the Lakers. He averaged 11.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 23.2 minutes. He also appeared in 13 postseason contests, averaging 6.2 points in 13.8 minutes.
How exactly Walker slots into Brooklyn’s rotation remains to be seen. The Nets have a glut of wings, so the addition of Walker could signal some other moves.
The team has also parted ways with Patty Mills and Joe Harris this offseason, so there could be a path to minutes even without further roster shuffling, though fellow newcomer Dennis Smith Jr. also figures to have a role in the backcourt.
Eric Gordon Signs Two-Year Contract With Suns
JULY 6: The Suns have officially signed Gordon, the team announced in a press release.
“Eric is a winning player who will make our team more dynamic and help us in our pursuit of an NBA championship,” general manager James Jones said in a statement.
JULY 2: The Suns have reached an agreement with free agent guard Eric Gordon, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Gordon had multiple suitors and turned more lucrative offers to join one of the prime contenders for the 2024 championship, Charania adds (Twitter link).
It’s a two-year contract with a player option, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. Due to its salary-cap issues, Phoenix could only offer Gordon the veteran’s minimum after he passed through waivers.
Gordon became a free agent when the Clippers declined to guarantee his $20.9MM salary for next season. The Clippers had luxury tax issues and decided to give Gordon’s minutes to younger players.
Gordon now becomes at least a key second-unit performer on a potentially powerhouse team. He could be the leading scorer off the bench while playing alongside Cameron Payne or Damion Lee in the backcourt. It’s conceivable Gordon could slide into the starting unit with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal at the wing positions. He’s been a starter in 627 of 818 career NBA regular-season games.
After clearing waivers, Gordon had narrowed his choices to the Suns, Warriors and Rockets, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Warriors had made Gordon their top backcourt target on the free agent market via a veteran’s minimum deal, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. However, the pathway to minutes in Golden State’s backcourt — with the addition of Chris Paul — would have been murkier than the Suns’ current situation.
L.A. acquired Gordon from the Rockets in a three-team deal at the trade deadline. He averaged 11.0 PPG and shot 42.3% from three-point range in his 22 regular season games with the Clippers and put up similar numbers in the playoffs.
Gordon joins a host of other free agents who have reached agreements with the Suns in the early days of free agency. The Suns have also secured the services of Drew Eubanks, Keita Bates-Diop, Josh Okogie, Lee, Yuta Watanabe and Chimezie Metu.
The addition gives Phoenix a full 15-man roster. The Suns’ roster now exceeds $250MM in total payroll and luxury tax penalties, Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype notes (Twitter link).
Luka Garza Returns To Timberwolves On Two-Way Deal
The Timberwolves have re-signed big man Luka Garza on a two-way contract, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype tweets. The signing is official, according to the NBA’s transactions log.
Garza was also on a two-way deal last season. Entering his third NBA season, Garza received a qualifying offer from Minnesota prior to the start of free agency, making him a restricted free agent. Minnesota has a full 15-man roster after reaching agreements with three free agents and adding two rookies via the draft.
While Garza didn’t get a standard contract from the club, he’ll now fill one of the Timberwolves’ three two-way slots for the coming season. Garza appeared in 28 games for the Timberwolves last season, averaging 6.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game off the bench.
He spent his first NBA season with Detroit after being selected with the No. 52 pick of the 2021 draft. He played 32 games for the Pistons, including five starts.
Under the new CBA, two-way players can now negotiate to receive $75K immediately upon signing, and they can negotiate that 50% of their salary is guaranteed if they are on the roster on the first day of the regular season.
Northwest Notes: Lillard, Jazz, Timberwolves Moves, Brown, Jackson, Braun, Wallace
The Jazz will have internal discussions about getting involved in the Damian Lillard sweepstakes, according to The Athletic’s Tony Jones.
If they make a run for him, the Jazz could put together an impressive package of expiring contracts and future first-round picks for the Trail Blazers All-Star guard, who requested a trade this weekend. He’d instantly transform a team with a suddenly formidable frontcourt and quality depth into a contender.
The downside is Lillard’s age, defensive deficiencies and gargantuan contract. Jones explores the pros and cons of a potential Jazz trade for Lillard and ultimately concludes it would be worth it, as long as they set a strict limit on what they would give up.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- The Timberwolves, after extending Naz Reid, made a number of under-the-radar moves in free agency to help them avoid future tax issues, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes. They divvied up their mid-level exception to acquire Shake Milton and Troy Brown, as well as re-signing Nickeil Alexander-Walker via his Bird rights. All of the contracts were two-year deals. Thus, their roster is almost all set for next season and the combined salaries are below the luxury tax threshold.
- After losing Bruce Brown in free agency to Indiana, the Nuggets have a huge hole to fill in their rotation. Jones explores how Denver will fill up those available minutes. Reggie Jackson, who is re-signing with the club on a two-year deal, is slated to be the backup point guard. Christian Braun will see his minutes expand, presumably as a combo guard. Denver could also add another piece via free agency to improve its depth.
- Due to trade restrictions, Cason Wallace will miss the Thunder’s three Summer League games in Salt Lake City, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman notes. Wallace was chosen with the No. 10 pick in a draft-night swap with the Mavericks, who also shipped forward Davis Bertans to OKC in exchange for the No. 12 pick. The trade can’t be finalized until at least Thursday, forcing Wallace to miss those games. However, he’ll be eligible to play in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Kevin Love Signs Two-Year Deal With Heat
JULY 6: The Heat have made it official, issuing a press release to announce their new deal with Love.
JUNE 30: Veteran power forward Kevin Love is returning to the Heat on a two-year contract, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The second year will include a player option (Twitter links).
The Heat are using their Non-Bird rights to re-sign Love, which will result in a $3.7MM cap hit for next season, the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang tweets. Miami could have gone as high as $3.84MM to retain Love, so they’ll get a little cap relief if the $3.7MM figure is correct.
In either case, it’ll be a bargain for a five-time All-Star and 34-year-old rotation player. After reaching a buyout with the Cavaliers, Love appeared in 21 regular-season games with the Heat, including 17 starts. He averaged 7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists, though the 37% career 3-point shooter struggled from long range (29.7%).
Love played 20 postseason games with Miami, including 18 starts, and produced an average of 6.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 17 minutes. His 3-point shooting perked up to his usual level (37.5%).
While it remains to be seen how the rest of the Heat’s roster moves shake out, Love will likely be a starter or key second-unit player once again for the defending Eastern Conference champions.