Spurs Sign Jeremy Sochan To Rookie Contract
The Spurs have signed forward Jeremy Sochan to a rookie scale contract, according to a team press release.
The lottery pick became the first top-10 selection for San Antonio since Tim Duncan went first overall in 1997. The Spurs used the No. 9 overall pick on Sochan, who played one season at Baylor and was named the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 9.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 1.3 SPG while appearing in 30 games.
Assuming the usual 120% rate above rookie scale, Sochan’s four-year deal is worth $23,046,751. He’ll make $5,063,520 during his rookie campaign.
Sochan won’t play in the Summer League after missing all of the team’s pre-Vegas practices due to COVID-19. He also suffered a hamstring injury, Paul Garcia of Project Spurs relays via Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The injury occurred prior to the draft, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets.
This leaves Dyson Daniels (Pelicans) and Walker Kessler (Jazz) as the only unsigned first-round selections.
Clippers Make Offer To Moses Brown
The Clippers have extended an offer to free agent center Moses Brown, Kelly Iko of The Athletic tweets.
Brown entered the market as an unrestricted free agent after the Cavaliers didn’t issue him a qualifying offer worth a little over $2MM.
Brown has bounced around the league since debuting in 2019, appearing in games for Portland, Oklahoma City, Dallas, and Cleveland. He has averaged 6.0 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 14.1 MPG through 92 career appearances.
The Clippers are thin at the center spot beyond starter Ivica Zubac. They lost free agent Isaiah Hartenstein to the Knicks.
The Clippers have an opening on their 15-man roster and both of their two-way slots open, though second-rounder Moussa Diabate is expected to fill one of them.
Contract Details: Rubio, Bol, Dort, Boucher
The Cavaliers will use a portion of their mid-level exception to sign Ricky Rubio, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets. Rubio has agreed to a three-year, $18.4MM contract to return to Cleveland.
Rubio, who suffered a torn ACL in late December, finished the season with the Pacers. The Cavs’ front office explored the possibility of a sign-and-trade with the Pacers but couldn’t come to an agreement, Fedor explains.
Here are a few more contract-related notes from around the league:
- The second year of Bol Bol‘s contract with the Magic is a team option, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. According to Spotrac, Bol Bol’s two-year deal is a minimum-salary contract worth a total of $3,968,718.
- The unlikely bonuses in Luguentz Dort‘s contract with the Thunder are for making the All-Defensive Team and the Defensive Player of the Year award, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (video link). Those bonuses are worth $1MM annually. The five-year deal has a total base value of $82.5MM.
- Chris Boucher‘s three-year, $35.2MM contract with the Raptors is fully guaranteed, Marks tweets. The first year of the contract is worth $12.7MM and his cap hits decline over the following two seasons.
Central Notes: Duarte, Travers, Smith, Simonovic
The toe injury that marred Chris Duarte‘s rookie season is still lingering, according to James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star. The Pacers guard initially suffered the left toe injury on February 13. He only played in five of the Pacers’ last 24 games.
“I’m just listening to my body right now,” he said. “Whatever my body tells me, if that be to stop, I stop. If not, then I keep going.”
Duarte still plans to play on the Pacers’ Summer League team.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Cavaliers second-round pick Luke Travers will likely remain overseas next season, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. Travers is participating on the Cavs’ summer league team but with Cleveland’s current roster situation, the plan all along has been to stash the 6’7” wing. “At the end of the day, it’s whatever the team wants and that’s what I’m willing to do,” he said. “If that’s to go back and do another year then it is what it is. If that’s to stay, then I will do that as well.”
- Jalen Smith could have gotten more money in free agency but he chose to re-sign with the Pacers because of his comfort level and the opportunity to be a starter, Boyd writes. “I chose my future over instant gratification,” said Smith, who signed a three-year deal with a player option. “I feel as though that was the biggest part. You don’t want to take on such a big task so early on in your life rather than trying to work towards it and miss out on it in the future, and that was pretty much the main thing that was going through my head the whole entire time.”
- Improved conditioning could lead to more minutes for the Bulls’ Marko Simonovic, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “Every day I try to improve my body and put some muscles on. The last two months, I did it,” he said. “And when I came back here, everybody said I’m looking better than I was before. Just keep working.” He appeared in nine games last season.
Eastern Notes: Banchero, Portis, Wizards, Knicks
With the Las Vegas Summer League underway, top pick Paolo Banchero isn’t shying away from the spotlight, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes. The Magic forward is eager to show the fans why Orlando considered him the draft’s top prospect.
“I love when big crowds are out, when all the cameras are out, that’s when I play my best,” he said. “So, I’m looking forward to it and it’s going to be fun.”
Orlando begins Summer League play tonight.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- Bobby Portis has inked his four-year, $48.58MM contract with the Bucks but he’s not in a celebratory mood, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. Portis says it just motivates him to keep working. “I’m glad that the Bucks chose to bring me back and we met at terms and this and that, but I’ll always feel like I’ve got something to prove,” he said. “Obviously I’m happy that I got a chance to build generational wealth for my family, but still a lot of work left to do and there’s not time or need to celebrate. I work hard, I work on my game.”
- The Wizards still have some holes to fill at point guard and center, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington notes. However, guards Kris Dunn and Pierria Henry and big man Jaime Echenique, who are Summer League team members, could force their way into the mix. There’s a good chance the roster they currently have is essentially the one they will go with when the season opens, Hughes adds.
- There are a number of under-the-radar players on the Knicks’ Summer League roster who could catch someone’s attention, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes. Braziller provides details on seven of those players, including guard Jean Montero and forward Feron Hunt.
Timberwolves Sign Wendell Moore To Rookie Deal
The Timberwolves have signed Wendell Moore to his rookie scale contract, according to the NBA’s transactions log.
Moore was selected with the No. 26 pick. The Mavericks held the pick and agreed to trade it to Houston as part of the Christian Wood deal. Houston then re-routed the pick to Minnesota for the rights to TyTy Washington and two future second-rounders.
The former Duke wing’s four-year deal is worth $11,839,563, assuming the usual 120% rate above the rookie scale. His first-year salary would come out to $2,306,520.
Aron Baynes To Work Out For Teams Friday
Free agent center Aron Baynes, who suffered a serious injury during the Tokyo Olympics last summer, will work out for NBA teams Friday in Las Vegas, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports.
It’s the next step in a remarkable recovery by the 35-year-old Baynes. He suffered a spinal cord injury after a freak fall while playing for the Australian national team.
As he revealed in January, Baynes ran to the bathroom between the third and fourth quarters of Australia’s game against Italy but didn’t return, prompting a concerned staff member to look for him. That staffer found Baynes in the locker room near the bathroom, sprawled on the floor with blood on his uniform and two puncture marks in his upper arm (possibly caused by two towel hooks on the wall).
Baynes, who had landed on his head and neck after slipping off the rim during a dunk attempt in warmups three days earlier, may have hit his head again when he fell on his way to the bathroom. He was unable to stand up or walk under his own power and was quickly rushed to a Japanese hospital, where he stayed for the rest of Australia’s Olympic run, worried that he might be paralyzed. Scans showed internal bleeding was putting pressure on his spine.
Baynes was in hospitals in Tokyo and Brisbane for nearly two months last summer as he learned to walk again, according to Windhorst. He began playing basketball again in January after regaining his strength through daily physical therapy.
Baynes has played nine seasons in the NBA and averaged 6.1 PPG and 5.2 RPG with the Raptors during the 2020/21 season.
Bucks Sign MarJon Beauchamp To Rookie Contract
The Bucks have signed shooting guard MarJon Beauchamp to his rookie scale contract, according to the NBA’s transactions log.
Beauchamp, who averaged 15.1 PPG in 12 games for the G League Ignite last season, was the 24th pick in the draft.
Assuming Beauchamp signed for the usual 120% of the rookie scale amount, his four-year contract would be worth $12,544,796 with a first-year salary of $2,420,400.
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Lester Quinones Signs Two-Way Deal With Warriors
JULY 5: Quinones’ two-way deal with the Warriors is now official, the team announced (via Twitter).
JUNE 23: The Warriors are adding Memphis guard Lester Quinones on a two-way contract, Shams Charania of Stadium tweets.
Quinones averaged 10 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.3 APG and 1.2 SPG during his junior season. He shot 44.9% from the field and 38.9% on 3-point attempts.
Golden State had guards Chris Chiozza and Quinndary Weatherspoon on two-way deals at the end of the season, but Chiozza is no longer eligible for a two-way contract and there’s no guarantee Weatherspoon will be back.