Knicks Sign First-Rounder Quentin Grimes
The Knicks have signed first-round pick Quentin Grimes, the team’s PR department tweets.
Grimes, the 25th pick, was acquired in a draft-night trade with the Clippers. The 6’5” guard out of the University of Houston averaged 17.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 2.0 APG last season.
Assuming the usual 120% above rookie scale offers made to first-round picks, Grimes will make $2.17MM. Over the next four seasons with raises, he’ll max out at $11.13MM.
Eastern Notes: Smart, Jokubaitis, Magic Staff, Aldridge
The Celtics have offered Marcus Smart a four-year extension, longtime beat writer Mark Murphy tweets. The Celtics are awaiting a response from Smart’s agent, Jason Glushonworth, on an extension worth approximately $17MM annually, Murphy adds (Twitter link). The maximum possible extension the Celtics could give Smart would be worth around $77MM, Ryan McDonough of NBC Sports Boston tweets. The extension would kick in during the 2022/23 season. Smart has an expiring $14.33MM contract for next season.
We have more tidbits from the Eastern Conference:
- The assumption that Rokas Jokubaitis was a draft-and-stash pick by the Knicks last month may not be entirely accurate. The Lithuanian guard, chosen with the No. 34 pick, hasn’t ruled out the possibility of playing in the NBA this season, Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets. It’s unclear whether New York is on board with that possibility or if the team prefers to stash Jokubaitis for at least a year.
- The Magic have settled on a number of coaching hires to assist new coach Jamahl Mosley, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Nate Tibbetts, Jesse Mermuys, Dale Osbourne, Bret Brielmaier and Lionel Chalmers will join Mosley on the bench. The expected hires of Tibbetts and Osbourne were previously reported.
- If LaMarcus Aldridge chooses to come out of his health-related retirement, the Bulls could be his destination. Both K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago and Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times report that there could be mutual interest between the club and the veteran big man (Twitter links). Aldridge would require team medical clearance from his heart-related issues in order to sign a contract and take the court again.
Rookie JT Thor Signs With Hornets
The Hornets have signed second-round draft pick JT Thor, according to a team press release.
Thor, a 6’9” forward, was officially acquired from the Pistons along with center Mason Plumlee on Friday in exchange for the draft rights of Balsa Koprivica.
[RELATED: 2021 NBA Draft Pick Signings]
Terms of the contract are undisclosed, but the club is under the cap and has the ability to give him a starting salary worth more than the rookie minimum and/or a contract that covers more than two years.
Thor, the 37th overall pick, averaged 9.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 1.4 BPG in his lone season with the Tigers. Thor projects to spend most of his rookie season in the G League.
Free Agent Rumors: Iguodala, Oubre, Williams, Smith
A reunion between the Warriors and defensive specialist Andre Iguodala could be in the works. Iguodala has narrowed his choices to his former team along with the Nets and Lakers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Iguodala, 37, played 63 regular-season games with the Heat this past season and averaged a modest 4.4 PPG in 21.3 MPG, with a majority of his field-goal attempts coming from beyond the arc. Iguodala won three rings in six seasons with the Warriors.
We have more free agent buzz:
- Free agent forward Kelly Oubre is in discussions with the Hornets, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets. Oubre averaged 15.4 PPG and 6.0 RPG for Golden State last season but only made 31.6% of his 3-point attempts. The Hornets are also reportedly pondering an offer sheet to Bulls free agent Lauri Markkanen — with approximately $14MM in cap room remaining, they wouldn’t be able to sign both players unless one accepted a very team-friendly rate.
- Before Lou Williams chose to return to the Hawks, the Lakers, Warriors and Bucks showed interest in the three-time Sixth Man of the Year award, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Williams opted for a one-year, $5MM agreement with Atlanta.
- Free agent guard Dennis Smith Jr. won’t return to the Pistons, Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets. That’s no surprise, considering Detroit drafted Cade Cunningham with the No. 1 pick and reached an agreement with Cory Joseph after declining its team option on him.
Southwest Notes: Spurs, Batum, Finley, Kerr, Green
The five-team trade the Spurs are involved in continues a trend of the teamstockpiling draft picks, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News notes. The Spurs will gain a 2022 second-round pick along with Chandler Hutchison from the Wizards in the agreed-upon multi-team swap, highlighted by the Lakers’ acquisition of Russell Westbrook. San Antonio is also acquiring three picks – a first-rounder and two second-rounders – in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade with the Bulls.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- The Mavericks were among the teams interested in Clippers forward Nicolas Batum before he agreed to re-sign with Los Angeles, Marc Stein of Substack tweets. The Warriors also checked in on Batum before he chose to take a two-year deal with a player option from the Clippers.
- The Mavericks have officially announced the promotion of Michael Finley to assistant GM/VP of basketball operations, the team’s PR department tweets. Finley will work under new president of basketball operations Nico Harrison in his expanded front office role.
- Warriors coach Steve Kerr is ecstatic that one of his former assistants, Willie Green, got the Pelicans‘ head coaching job and believes he’ll have little trouble growing into the role, Kerr told William Guillory of The Athletic. “There’s just kind of this quiet dignity and intelligence about him that the players will really appreciate,” Kerr said. “And then I think, like all coaches, he’s going to have to find his voice and find his style. I’m sure he’s going to hire a great staff to help him do that. And he’ll grow into the job, but I think he’ll be fantastic.”
Solomon Hill Signs With Hawks On One-Year Deal
AUGUST 5: Hill has officially signed, according to a team press release. It’s a minimum-salary deal.
AUGUST 2: Free agent forward Solomon Hill has agreed to re-sign with the Hawks on a one-year deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
In his eight-year career, Hill has played for five teams. In part due to frontcourt injuries, Hill saw action in 71 regular-season games, including 16 starts.
He was the fifth option offensively, averaging just 4.2 shot attempts and 4.5 PPG in 21.3 MPG. He also appeared in 14 playoff games during the team’s run to the conference finals, though his playing time dropped. He only appeared in four games against the Bucks during the Eastern Conference Finals.
However, the front office valued Hill enough to bring him back on a short team deal, likely the veteran’s minimum or something close to it.
Raptors Re-Sign Khem Birch To Three-Year Contract
AUGUST 6: The Raptors have made it official with Birch, formally issuing a press release to confirm his new deal.
AUGUST 5: The Raptors have reached a three-year contract agreement with one of their own free agents, center Khem Birch, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
The deal will be worth $20MM. Toronto only held Non-Bird rights on Birch, so it will likely use part of its mid-level exception to re-sign Birch. It’s also conceivable that the Raptors could open up sufficient cap room to make it happen, but if they take back Goran Dragic or another high-salary player in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade with Miami, they’ll need to use the mid-level.
Birch joined the Raptors in April after the rebuilding Magic bought him out. He started 17 of 19 regular-season appearances with the Raptors, averaging 11.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG and 1.2 BPG in 30.4 MPG. The 28-year-old Birch played his first three-and-a-half NBA seasons with Orlando but was mainly used off the bench.
The Raptors waived Aron Baynes on Wednesday, so Birch could compete with Chris Boucher for a starting role with the club.
Trail Blazers Sign Cody Zeller
AUGUST 4: The Trail Blazers have issued a press release formally announcing the signing of Zeller. Because it’s a one-year, minimum-salary contract, it can be completed during the free agency moratorium.
AUGUST 2: Free agent center Cody Zeller has agreed to a one-year deal with the Trail Blazers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. It’ll be a minimum-salary contract, reports Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (via Twitter).
Zeller has spent his entire eight-year career with the Hornets. He averaged 9.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.8 APG in 20.9 MPG last season, though he only appeared in 48 games due to a hand fracture suffered during the season opener.
Zeller admitted prior to free agency he wasn’t sure what to expect.
“I think the biggest thing is just being somewhere where I’m valued. I just want to win,” Zeller said.
Zeller will presumably back up Jusuf Nurkic, unless Portland makes some other moves.
Kent Bazemore Signs With Lakers
AUGUST 6: The Lakers have officially signed Bazemore, the team announced today in a press release.
AUGUST 2: Kent Bazemore will remain in the Pacific Division but he isn’t re-signing with the Warriors. Bazemore has agreed to a one-year deal with the Lakers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. It’ll be worth the veteran’s minimum, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
Bazemore had a good run this past season in his second stint with Golden State. He appeared in 67 games, including 18 starts, and averaged 7.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.6 APG in 19.9 MPG. Bazemore’s 40.8% success rate from 3-point range was a career best.
The Warriors were interested in re-signing Bazemore. In fact, they were willing to give him more money, but he took Los Angeles’ offer because he sees the Lakers as a title contender and was told he’d have a major role, Mark Medina of USA Today tweets.
Instead, Bazemore will join several other free agents — Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza and Dwight Howard — who agreed to contracts with the 2019/20 NBA champions. Bazemore previously played 23 games with the Lakers during the 2013/14 season.
Trey Lyles Signs Two-Year Deal With Pistons
AUGUST 6: Lyles’ deal is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
AUGUST 2: Free agent forward Trey Lyles has reached a two-year agreement with the Pistons worth approximately $5MM, agent Rich Paul told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
A two-year, minimum-salary deal for Lyles would work out to about $4.44MM, so it sounds like he may get something a little higher than the minimum.
Lyles has spent the last two seasons with the Spurs. He also had two-year stints in Utah and Denver. Lyles saw his playing time diminish last season, as he appeared in just 23 games. His representatives were eager to find a new home for their client, who was looking for a fresh start. He started 53 of 63 games in his first year with San Antonio.
Lyles has averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 15.6 MPG through 374 career games. He’s a 34.1% 3-point shooter.
He’ll provide insurance at the power forward spot behind Jerami Grant and Sekou Doumbouya.