Atlantic Notes: Rose, Hayward, Brown, Spellman
New Knicks president Leon Rose has exuded patience during free agency with an eye toward next offseason’s potentially star-studded free agent class, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. Though the Knicks had some interest in Fred VanVleet and Gordon Hayward, they were not going to shell out the money and multi-year contracts that those top-level free agents received. New York could still trade for Russell Westbrook if the Rockets’ asking price drops but Rose isn’t inclined to make any panic moves, Popper adds.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Hayward posted a message on Twitter, thanking Celtics fans for their support during his three seasons there. “I know there were some ups and downs, but I will always cherish my experience in Boston. I am forever grateful that I was given the opportunity to wear a Celtics uniform and play in front of the Garden faithful,” said Hayward, who also posted a tweet about his excitement to play for the Hornets.
- The Nets are looking at Bruce Brown as a defensive stopper, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Brown was acquired from the Pistons in a three-team deal and slots in as a combo guard. “Bruce, we’ve talked about adding some defensive players,” Nets GM Sean Marks said. “A toughness, a mindset, that’s what we’ll certainly be looking for in Bruce.”
- The Knicks will retain big man Omari Spellman and he’s got a pretty good shot to make the opening-night roster, Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets. New York has an agreement to acquire Spellman, shooting guard Jacob Evans and the rights to a future second-round pick from the Timberwolves in exchange for Ed Davis. Berman’s note indicates Spellman’s salary wasn’t simply thrown in to make a trade work.
Wizards Re-Sign Davis Bertans To Five-Year Deal
NOVEMBER 22, 9:45pm: Bertans’ fifth year will only be partially guaranteed for $5MM for now, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, who tweets that it will become fully guaranteed if Bertans plays 75% of his team’s games in year four of the deal.
NOVEMBER 22, 1:06pm: It’s official, according to Bertans, who tweeted a photo that shows him signing his lucrative new deal with the Wizards.
NOVEMBER 20, 8:55pm: The Wizards and Davis Bertans have agreed to a five-year, $80MM deal, agent Arturs Kalnitis tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Bertans’ new contract will include an early termination option for year five, per Wojnarowski.
Re-signing the talented stretch four was Washington’s top priority this offseason and the team accomplished that goal at a premium price.
Bertans, who turns 28 this Thursday, opted out of the NBA’s restart due to his history of ACL injuries and a desire to preserve his value as an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Bertans was the subject of numerous trade rumors prior to February’s deadline but the Wizards chose to keep him with the intent of locking him up long-term. By retaining him, they held his Bird rights, giving Washington the ability to exceed the cap to re-sign him.
He had a career year in 2019/20 during his first season as a Wizard, averaging 15.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 54 games (29.3 MPG).
His calling card is his ability to stretch defenses. Bertans made 42.4% of 8.7 three-point attempts per game.
He was in the Spurs organization for three seasons and played regularly off the bench. He wound up in Washington last offseason as part of a three-way deal that also involved the Nets.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Raptors Sign DeAndre’ Bembry
NOVEMBER 26: The Raptors’ deal with Bembry is now official, according to the NBA’s transactions log.
NOVEMBER 22: The Raptors have reached an agreement with free agent swingman DeAndre’ Bembry, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
It’s for the veteran’s minimum and the second year isn’t guaranteed, The Athletic’s Blake Murphy tweets. He’ll receive $1,737,145 next season with $1,977,011 for the non-guaranteed second year.
Bembry became an unrestricted free agent with the Hawks decided to not extend him a qualifying offer. He’ll provide a little more depth on the wing for the Raptors.
Bembry was the No. 21 pick in 2016 and has spent the last four seasons in Atlanta, but didn’t have a notable season in 2019/20, averaging 5.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .456/.231/.542 shooting in 43 games (21.3 MPG).
Toronto reached an agreement on Sunday with one of its free agents, Chris Boucher. They’re also signing former Suns center Aron Baynes.
Pistons Likely To Waive Zhaire Smith
The Pistons are reportedly trading for Sixers wing Zhaire Smith but it’s unlikely they’ll keep him. They plan to waive Smith and use the stretch provision on his contract, Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports tweets.
However, while they will likely do so, it’s not definite, according to The Athletic’s James Edwards III (Twitter link). The Pistons would like to either keep that roster spot open and/or they have something else in the works, Edwards adds.
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. If the Pistons stretch his contract for three years, the cap hit would be around $1MM per season.
Detroit’s new GM Troy Weaver has executed a flurry of moves in recent days to completely reshape the roster. In one of those moves, he acquired center Tony Bradley from the Jazz, a trade that became official on Sunday. He then reached an agreement with the Sixers to ship Bradley to Philadelphia for Smith.
As we noted earlier, Smith has barely seen the court during his first two professional seasons, mainly due to health issues. He’s appeared in just 13 total NBA games. The Pistons seemingly have no interest in reviving Smith’s career and were just seeking to clear a frontcourt logjam by trading Bradley.
Jazz Ship Tony Bradley, Saben Lee To Pistons
NOVEMBER 22: The Jazz have officially announced their deal with the Pistons, confirming in a press release that they received cash from the Pistons in exchange for Bradley and the rights to No. 38 pick Saben Lee. Detroit has already agreed to flip Bradley to Philadelphia in a separate deal.
NOVEMBER 18: The Jazz have agreed to trade center Tony Bradley and the No. 38 pick to the Pistons for cash considerations, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).
Bradley, 22, appeared in 58 regular-season games last season, averaging 4.9 PPG and 4.6 RPG in 11.4 MPG. Bradley will be entering his fourth season after spending most of his first two seasons in the G League.
Bradley has a $3.54MM guaranteed contract for the upcoming season and could be a restricted free agent if Detroit extends a $5.277MM qualifying offer next offseason.
Utah’s motivation for the trade was to open more cap room and increase roster flexibility, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. The Jazz have made re-signing unrestricted free agent guard Jordan Clarkson a top priority.
[UPDATE: Jazz, Jordan Clarkson agree to four-year deal]
Detroit has been arguably the busiest team this week, with new GM Troy Weaver completely reshaping the roster by acquiring assets and adding young players. The Pistons made three first-round selections, via their own lottery pick and a pair of draft-night trades.
Free Agent Rumors: Bogdanovic, Hawks, Batum, Lin, Hernangomez
Sources remain confident that the Hawks are in a strong position to sign Bogdan Bogdanovic, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Kirschner says he has heard that a deal for Bogdanovic could be in the four-year, $72MM range, which is the same ballpark identified by Brian Windhorst of ESPN earlier this week.
The Hawks are believed to still have about $20MM in cap room available, so they have the flexibility necessary to make a move for Bogdanovic. However, he remains a restricted free agent, so if they sign him to an offer sheet that would tie up their cap space for multiple days, they’ll want to be pretty confident that the Kings won’t match it.
Here are a few more free agency updates:
- Veteran combo forward Nicolas Batum has already received interest from multiple teams, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. The Hornets chose to waive-and-stretch the final year of Batum’s contract in order to sign free agent forward Gordon Hayward.
- Point guard Jeremy Lin wants to return to the NBA and several contenders are interested, Alex Kennedy of Basketball News tweets. Lin spent last season in China, averaging 22.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 5.6 APG. Lin was recently spotted working out with Nets players, according to Kennedy, though it’s not certain whether Brooklyn is one of the teams showing interest. He played for the Hawks and Raptors during the 2018/19 season.
- While Malik Beasley got a deal with the Timberwolves done quickly, the team appears willing to be more patient with its other restricted free agent. According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), Minnesota is letting the market play out for Juan Hernangomez to establish the parameters of his potential deal.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Nuggets Rumors: Grant, Bates-Diop, Bol, Craig, Nnaji
Jerami Grant‘s decision to join the Pistons had a lot to do with his role with the Nuggets, according to Mike Singer of the Denver Post.
Grant received similar offers of three years and $60MM from Detroit and Denver and decided to take an expanded offensive role with the rebuilding Pistons. Grant wasn’t thrilled with being the fourth option on a prime championship contender. He served on the second unit a majority of last season behind Paul Millsap and Grant viewed that as a sacrifice.
Singer offers more info on the Nuggets
- They filled one of their two remaining roster spots by agreeing to a contract with Millsap on Saturday afternoon. But they don’t intend to keep forward Keita Bates-Diop, so that will open up another roster spot. It will likely be filled by second-year center Bol Bol. The team plans to convert his two-way contract into a standard deal.
- With Millsap coming back, the next priority is restricted free agent Torrey Craig. His perimeter defense increases his value due to Grant’s departure.
- If Craig signs elsewhere, they’ll look to add a mobile big man to replace Mason Plumlee, who is also headed to Detroit. If that plan falls through, the role may be filled by first-round selection Zeke Nnaji.
Facundo Campazzo Signs Two-Year Deal With Nuggets
NOVEMBER 30: Campazzo has officially signed a multi-year deal, according to team press release.
NOVEMBER 21: The Nuggets will sign Campazzo using their bi-annual exception, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post, who reports that the deal will have an overall value of $6MM.
NOVEMBER 20: The Nuggets have reached a two-year agreement with Argentinian guard Facundo Campazzo, HoopsHype tweets.
The contract is fully guaranteed, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.
The Real Madrid point man has been one of Europe’s top guards for several seasons. Campazzo, 29, has played overseas since 2008 and has been with Real Madrid since 2014.
Several NBA teams were reportedly interested in him, including the Spurs, Timberwolves and Mavericks. He could emerge as the top backup behind Jamal Murray in Denver.
A two-time EuroLeague champion and three-time Spanish League champion, Campazzo has also been part of four Argentine League championships. He’s also won a EuroCup Defensive Player of the Year award.
In 28 EuroLeague games last season, Campazzo averaged 9.9 PPG and 7.1 APG. His 3-point percentage slipped to 31.0% but he’s typically a reliable outside shooter, knocking down 37.5% of his long-range shots the previous two EuroLeague seasons.
Kahlil Whitney Receives Camp Deal With Hornets
The Hornets have agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with swingman Kahlil Whitney, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ Advance Media.
He joins three other former Kentucky players on Charlotte’s roster — Malik Monk, P.J. Washington and second-round pick Nick Richards — Zagoria notes. Whitney had a disappointing one-and-done season with the Wildcats, averaging just 3.3 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 12.8 MPG during an 18-game stint. He withdrew from the school due to his lack of playing time.
An Exhibit 10 contract provides players with an invitation to training camp and a guarantee of up to $50K if they are waived and later assigned to the team’s affiliate in the G League.
Bucks Sign Jaylen Adams To Two-Way Contract
NOVEMBER 24, 9:00pm: The signing is official, per team press release.
NOVEMBER 21, 3:04pm: Free agent guard Jaylen Adams has agreed to a two-way contract with the Bucks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Adams signed with the Trail Blazers prior to the restart as a substitute player when Trevor Ariza opted not to participate in Orlando. He made three brief appearances during Portland’s postseason run.
The 6’2” Adams also appeared in 34 games last season with the Hawks, averaging 3.2 PPG and 1.9 APG in 12.6 MPG. Additionally, he spent a chunk of last season in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd. Adams, 24, went undrafted in 2018 after a stellar college career with St. Bonaventure.