Jared Dudley Signs One-Year Contract With Lakers
DECEMBER 1: The Lakers’ signing of Dudley is now official, per Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
NOVEMBER 30: Veteran forward Jared Dudley will sign a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract with the defending champion Lakers, Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN tweet.
Dudley’s interest in rejoining the Lakers was reported earlier this month. The veteran’s minimum this season is $2,564,753.
Dudley, 35, has bounced around the league but won a ring this summer in Orlando. He appeared in 45 regular-season games with the Lakers, averaging 1.5 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 8.1 MPG. He also saw action in nine postseason games but did not score.
He’s also played for the Suns, Hornets, Clippers, Bucks, Wizards and Nets during a journeyman career that has spanned 892 games.
He’s well-respected in the locker room and adds another veteran option for coach Frank Vogel.
Longtime NBA Center Andrew Bogut Retires
Longtime NBA center Andrew Bogut has announced his retirement, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Bogut, who just turned 36 this weekend, had played the last two seasons in Australia with the Sydney Kings, along with a brief return to the Warriors in between NBL seasons.
A 14-year NBA veteran, Bogut holds career averaged of 9.6 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in 706 career regular season contests for the Bucks, Warriors, Mavericks, Cavaliers, and Lakers.
Bogut had continued to thrive in Australia over the last couple years. He was the NBL’s MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, and earned All-NBL Second Team honors last season. He put his career on hold this spring during the early months of the pandemic.
He appeared in 11 regular season games (plus 19 playoff contests) for Golden State in 2018/19. He won a championship with the Warriors in 2015.
Bogut was the No. 1 pick of the 2005 draft and began his career in Milwaukee.
Rockets Add Hornacek To Silas’ Coaching Staff
The Rockets have hired Jeff Hornacek as an assistant on Stephen Silas’ staff, according to a team press release.
Hornacek was the head coach in Phoenix for 2 1/2 seasons from 2013-16 and in New York for two seasons from 2016-18. Previous reports indicated Houston was close to an agreement with Hornacek and now it’s official.
John Lucas, who was reportedly one of the finalists to replace Mike D’Antoni as head coach, will remain in the organization as an assistant. Will Weaver, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop will also join Silas’ staff.
Weaver was the head coach of the Sydney Kings in Australia after being named NBA G League Coach of the Year for the 2018/19 season with the Long Island Nets. Higgins spent the past two seasons with the Magic as associate coach/player development, while Diop spent the past four seasons on the Jazz’s staff.
Pistons Waive Zhaire Smith
The Pistons have placed swingman Zhaire Smith on waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The transaction was expected, as Detroit’s plan to waive Smith was previously reported. The Pistons officially acquired Smith from the 76ers in exchange for center Tony Bradley a week ago.
Smith was due to make $3.2MM during the upcoming season but that was the only guarantee left on his rookie contract. His $4.915MM salary for the 2021/22 season includes a team option.
There’s a good chance Detroit will use the stretch provision on Smith’s contract. Only the guaranteed money would count, so if the Pistons stretch his contract for three years, the cap hit would be around $1MM per season.
Smith was drafted just outside the lottery with the No. 16 pick in the 2018 draft but his first two seasons were marred by injuries. He’s appeared in just 13 NBA games.
Wizards Sign Anthony Gill To Two-Year Deal
NOVEMBER 30: The Wizards have officially signed Gill, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sources tell Katz that it’s a two-year, minimum-salary deal with a non-guaranteed second year.
NOVEMBER 20: The Wizards have reached a two-year agreement with power forward Anthony Gill, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
The 6’8″ Gill, 28, went undrafted out of Virginia in 2016 and has spent his professional career overseas. He’s played the last three seasons with Khimki in the EuroLeague.
In 70 career games with Khimki, Gill averaged 10.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 1.2 APG in 23.5 MPG. He’s a solid 3-point shooter, knocking down 40.6% of his attempts.
Gill adds more depth to Washington’s roster as a stretch four. The Wizards are still hoping to re-sign Davis Bertans.
Georgia Bubble Being Considered For G League
NOVEMBER 29: Further details of a proposed Atlanta-based G League “bubble” campus have emerged, Santa Cruz Warriors sideline reporter Adam Johnson tweets.
The Atlanta bubble would last for one month, likely starting in late January, with a minimum of 12 games that may increase to 15-16 games, plus a potential playoff schedule. The campus would require daily coronavirus testing and a mandated quarantine for players.
The G League Ignite team, a club comprised mostly of high-level prospects, would compete in this bubble environment as well, Johnson notes in a separate tweet.
NOVEMBER 27: An Atlanta-area “bubble” concept is one of the options being mulled for the G League season, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.
Under the proposal, NBA teams would pay a fee in the neighborhood of $500K to play their G League games in Georgia, rather than their home sites. Not all G League clubs would be expected to participate there.
As difficult as the logistics are for pulling off an NBA season without the campus environment it had in Orlando during the restart, the same concerns surround its development league. A bubble-style setting could be a partial solution for the G League but the challenges of the upcoming NBA season could spill over to the G League.
Players on two-way deals will be able to stay with their NBA teams for up to 50 games this upcoming season due to COVID-19 concerns. Getting those players experience and court time in the G League would be more complex if they had to shuttle back and forth to the Atlanta area.
The NBA is reportedly committed to holding a G League season.
Nets Sign Second-Rounder Reggie Perry
NOVEMBER 29: Perry’s deal, a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, will most likely be converted into a two-way contract, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
NOVEMBER 27: The Nets have signed rookie big man Reggie Perry, according to a team press release.
It’s uncertain whether Perry received a standard contract or two-way deal but Brooklyn does have a two-way slot open.
The 6’10” Perry was selected with the 57th overall pick in the second round. The Clippers owned that pick but traded his draft rights as part of a three-team swap that also included the Pistons.
Perry played two seasons at Mississippi State, posting career averages of 13.4 PPG, 8.6 RPG and 1.4 APG in 27.3 MPG in 65 games. He was named the SEC’s Co-Player of the Year as a sophomore.
Hagans Signs Two-Way Contract With Timberwolves
NOVEMBER 28: The signing is official, the Wolves announced in a press release.
NOVEMBER 18: The Timberwolves have agreed to a two-way contract with undrafted Kentucky guard Ashton Hagans, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Hagans started two seasons for the Wildcats. As a sophomore, Hagans averaged 11.5 PPG and 6.4 APG in 30 regular-season games. He also averaged 1.9 SPG but will need to improve his perimeter shooting to stick in the NBA. He made just 25.8% of his long-range attempts last season.
Hagans can be active for up to 50 games on his two-way deal but he’ll have to scrap for minutes behind Ricky Rubio, who was acquired by Minnesota earlier on Wednesday, as well as D’Angelo Russell and possibly first-round selection Leandro Bolmaro.
And-Ones: Buycks, Hannahs, Belinelli, Deck
Guard Dwight Buycks is seeking a two-way NBA contract after cutting ties with French team Nanterre 92 earlier this month, Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw tweets. Buycks, who turned down multiple NBA offers last year, averaged 7.4 PPG in 29 games with the Pistons in 2017-18. Buycks, who went undrafted in 2011, played for EuroLeague Greek team Olympiacos last season.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA guard Dusty Hannahs has signed with Kolossos Rodou in Greece, the team announced (hat tip to Sportando). Hannahs, 27, played two game with the Grizzlies last season on a pair of 10-day contracts. He spent most of the season in the G League.
- Marco Belinelli‘s three-year contract with Virtus Bologna is worth $5MM Euros, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport (hat tip to Sportando). Belinelli chose to return to Europe after failing to receive an attractive offer in free agency. The 18th overall pick in the 2007 draft, Belinelli spent 13 years in the NBA, playing for nine different teams during that stretch. The 34-year-old guard accepted a reduced role for the Spurs last season, averaging 6.3 PPG on .392/.376/.828 shooting in 57 games.
- Gabriel Deck could leave Real Madrid for the NBA if the Spanish team doesn’t give him an extension, Sportando relays in a report by Marca. The Argentinian forward will be an unrestricted free agent next summer but would be willing to exercise an escape clause to play in the NBA this upcoming season. He’s averaging 5.7 PPG and 3.1 RPG in nine games with Madrid this season.
Clippers Sign Second-Rounder Daniel Oturu
3:30pm: It’s a two-year, $2.4MM guaranteed contract, Greif adds in another tweet.
12:22 pm: The Clippers have officially signed second-round pick Daniel Oturu, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
The Clippers have already reportedly filled their two two-way slots, so it’s safe to assume Oturu signed a standard contract. It’s likely Oturu received a starting salary at or near the first-year minimum of $898,310, though terms were not disclosed.
Oturu was selected with the 33rd overall pick. As a sophomore at Minnesota, the 6’10” Oturu averaged 20.1 PPG, 11.3 RPG and 2.5 BPG in 33.9 MPG. He was also named to the Big Ten All-Defense team.