Frank Mason III Signs Two-Way Deal With Bucks
JULY 26: The deal is now official, the Bucks confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 20: Point guard Frank Mason III has agreed to a two-way contract with the Bucks, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Mason was waived earlier this month by the Kings and went unclaimed.
Mason, 24, was selected by Sacramento with the 34th overall pick in the 2017 draft. He had a promising rookie season, averaging 7.9 PPG and 2.8 APG, but lost his place in the regular rotation last season.
He was supposed to play for the Kings in the California Summer League, but was held out of action due to a sore right hip. Mason had a $1.62MM salary for the upcoming season but it wasn’t guaranteed.
He’ll provide depth at the point behind Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and Donte DiVincenzo.
Forward Bonzie Colson holds the other two-way spot with Milwaukee, but the team also agreed to sign Cameron Reynolds to a two-way deal, so Colson looks like the odd man out.
Sixers Re-Sign Furkan Korkmaz
JULY 26: The Sixers’ deal with Korkmaz is now official, the club announced on Thursday night in a press release.
“We’re excited to have Furkan back and look forward to his continued growth and contributions,” GM Elton Brand said in a statement. “He has a strong work ethic and he’s well-respected in our locker room. Having just turned 22, Furkan is a talented young player with significant potential, and we’re thrilled to have him on our roster.”
JULY 24: Free agent swingman Furkan Korkmaz has agreed to re-sign with the Sixers on a two-year deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Korkmaz will receive the veteran’s minimum of $1.62MM next season and $1.76MM in 2020/21, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
The 6’7” Korkmaz, a 2016 first-rounder, averaged 5.8 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 14.1 MPG over 48 regular-season games last season. He also made four appearances in the playoffs. He saw action in 14 games during the 2017/18 season.
Philadelphia renounced its rights to Korkmaz earlier this month and it appeared he was headed overseas to play in Turkey. However, he ultimately decided to stay in the NBA and he’ll provide depth at the wings behind starters Tobias Harris and Josh Richardson. The Sixers now have 14 players with guaranteed contracts and a pair of two-way players.
Anthony Bennett Signs With Rockets
JULY 25: The Rockets have officially signed Bennett, per RealGM’s log of NBA transactions.
JULY 12: Forward Anthony Bennett has agreed to a non-guaranteed contract with the Rockets, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Bennett would appear to be a long shot to make the 15-man roster.
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2013 draft bided his time in the G League last season with the Agua Caliente Clippers. He appeared in 25 games last season and averaged 12.2 PPG in 20.9 MPG. He played in 35 G League games the previous season.
After the Cavaliers gave up on him, Bennett played for the Timberwolves, Raptors and Nets. He also played in Turkey for part of the 2017 season. In 151 NBA games, Bennett has averaged 4.4 PPG in 12.6 MPG.
Bucks Sign Kyle Korver To One-Year Deal
JULY 25: The Bucks have officially signed Korver, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 20: Veteran shooting guard Kyle Korver is signing with the Bucks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
Korver will get the veteran’s minimum of $2.6MM on the one-year deal but Milwaukee will only take a $1.6MM cap hit, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
Korver was waived by the Suns on July 8. He temporarily wound up with rebuilding Phoenix after being traded by the Jazz and Grizzlies this offseason. The Suns will receive a $559K set-off on the $3.44MM they owe Korver after placing him on waivers, Marks notes. Korver had a $7.5MM contract for next season but only the portion the Suns owe was guaranteed.
Korver averaged 8.6 PPG on .416/.397/.822 shooting in 70 games (19.1 MPG) last season for the Cavaliers and Jazz. A June report indicated that the 38-year-old – who is a career 42.9% three-point shooter – was expected to play for at least one more year.
Korver will add depth at the shooting guard spot behind Khris Middleton and Sterling Brown in Milwaukee, reuniting with head coach Mike Budenholzer, whom he played for in Atlanta.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pau Gasol Signs With Trail Blazers
JULY 25: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Gasol, the team announced today in a press release.
“Pau is a future Hall of Famer that brings invaluable championship experience and an elite skill set and basketball IQ to our roster,” Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement.
JULY 24: Pau Gasol has agreed to a one-year contract with the Trail Blazers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. He’ll receive the veteran’s minimum of $2.6MM, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
The veteran big man finished last season with the Bucks, who let him go as an unrestricted free agent. Gasol underwent surgery in May to repair a navicular stress fracture in his left foot. He’s expected to make a full recovery in advance of training camp.
After being bought out and waived by the Spurs and arriving in Milwaukee in early March, the six-time All-Star appeared in just three games, averaging 1.3 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 10.0 minutes per contest. Gasol turned 39 this month but was determined to continue his career for at least another season.
Gasol provides insurance with Jusuf Nurkic recovering from a serious leg injury suffered in late March. Hassan Whiteside was acquired from the Heat this offseason to start in his place. Zach Collins can also swing over to the “five” spot.
Portland now has 14 players with guaranteed contracts.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wizards Notes: Leonis, Sheppard, Brown, Medina, Roster
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis believes the franchise can make a quick turnaround, as he told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He believes that with backcourt stars John Wall and Bradley Beal leading the way, Washington can become a contender. However, Wall is expected to miss all of next season as he recovers from an Achilles tear.
“My belief is that you can you do things fast. We have the wherewithal and resources and facilities and technology,” Leonsis said. “If we can bring John back and, with Brad, develop our draft picks and assets, start to manage the [salary] cap, why can’t this be quick? It doesn’t need to be a five years it took when we drafted John and Brad. We can turn this one faster.”
We have more on the Wizards:
- Leonsis indicated that new GM Tommy Sheppard and chief planning and operations officer Sashi Brown will have equal say on decisions where their duties overlap, according to NBC Sports Washington’s Chase Hughes. There is going to be much more shared decision-making in the new front office setup. However, Brown said that basketball personnel decisions will ultimately be made by Sheppard (Twitter links).
- Daniel Medina will also play a major front office role, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt. Medina has been hired as the chief of athlete care and performance for Monumental Basketball. He will focus on medical, training, mental health, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and physical therapy and recovery. “The goal is to create a very collaborative, many-hands-make-light-work level and be prepared for the new NBA where data technology and health and wellness and all of these services merge with what is happening on the court,” Leonsis said.
- Leonsis now believes having three max players on the roster isn’t conducive to building a successful team, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets. Leonsis previously felt that having three max stars was the way to go but he now subscribes to the theory that spreading the wealth is a better approach. “Depth is becoming so much more important in this league, just because of the injuries,” he said.
Warriors Sign Ky Bowman To Two-Way Deal
JULY 23: The Warriors have signed Bowman to a two-way contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle had previously reported that Bowman would get a two-way deal.
JUNE 21: Undrafted Boston College point guard Ky Bowman will sign a one-year contract with the Warriors, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets.
It’s uncertain if the contract will be an Exhibit 10 deal, though that’s what many undrafted players receive.
Bowman, who exited college after his junior year, didn’t get picked despite averaging 19.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.0 APG and 1.4 SPG for the Eagles last season. Bowman had some big scoring outputs last season, including outings in which he poured in 44, 38 and 37 points.
He could be a developmental player for Golden State, which will be seeking guard depth. Second-unit stalwart Shaun Livingston has talked of retirement.
The Clippers were the other finalist for Bowman, who could have been drafted if he had been willing to commit to a two-way deal, according to Schultz. Bowman also tested the draft waters after his sophomore season.
Brian Wright Becomes Spurs GM
JULY 23: The moves are now official, the Spurs confirmed in a press release.
JULY 20: The Spurs are promoting assistant general manager Brian Wright to the role of GM, Jabari Young of The Athletic reports. R.C. Buford will remain in the organization and Wright will report directly to him, Young adds.
Buford, 58, has been in San Antonio’s organization since 1994 and has served as the team’s GM since 2002. The Spurs have won four championships with Buford running the front office.
Buford will likely help oversee Spurs Sports & Entertainment under his new title, Young adds. He and Gregg Popovich are expected to continue to oversee the team and have final say on personnel decisions.
Wright was hired by the Spurs in his current capacity during the summer of 2016. He was previously an assistant GM with the Pistons after an eight-year stint in the Magic organization.
Initially, Wright focused mainly on scouting with San Antonio. He’s been more active over the past year, fielding trade calls for Kawhi Leonard, leading the negotiations to re-sign Rudy Gay and engineering the sign-and-trade involving DeMarre Carroll, according to Young.
The restructuring of the front office could lead to an additional hire, Young adds.
Atlantic Notes: Horford, Lowry, Raptors, Portis, Knicks
Sixers power forward Al Horford shot down an ESPN report that his new team was guilty of tampering prior to free agency. He addressed the issue on the Dan Patrick Show (hat tip to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg). Horford declined his team option with the Celtics and signed a four-year, $109MM contract with Philadelphia. “It’s ridiculous. … (Celtics GM) Danny [Ainge] was really good to me. I know he’s definitely frustrated that things didn’t work out with us,” Horford said.
We have more from around the Atlantic Division:
- Heading into unrestricted free agency next summer, Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry has hired Priority Sports — headed by longtime agent Mark Bartelstein — to represent him, according to a Priority Sports tweet. Lowry signed a three-year deal worth up to $100MM in 2017. His previous reps were Gerard Darnes Soms, Andrew Miller and Juan Aisa, according to Spotrac.
- The Raptors used their $3.623MM bi-annual exception to sign forward Stanley Johnson, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic. The $9.26MM mid-level was split up among Patrick McCaw, Matt Thomas, second-round pick Dewan Hernandez and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who received $2.5MM rather than the veteran’s minimum. McCaw signed a two-year, $8MM deal while Thomas and Hernandez received partially-guaranteed three-year contracts.
- Power forward Bobby Portis believes the players the Knicks brought in are a hungry group ready to overachieve, as he told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. Portis joined the team on a two-year, $31MM deal, though only the first year is guaranteed. “I love being underrated, man. I’m an underdog,” he said. “I say that every day. We’re the team that’s being counted out right now. People are looking past us. They’re talking about stars going to new teams and this and that, and that’s okay. Everybody on this team has a huge chip on their shoulder.”
- After striking out on the big free agents this summer, the Knicks will have to exercise patience and come up with a better plan to lure top talent, Steve Popper of Newsday opines.
Southwest Notes: Diallo, Morris, Iguodala, Favors
Cheick Diallo was squeezed out of New Orleans due to a numbers crunch, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM tweets. The Pelicans didn’t want to lose the young power forward but they essentially had to choose between him and Jahlil Okafor, according to Gambadoro. New Orleans got three players back in the Anthony Davis deal, added three first-rounders including top pick Zion Williamson, and signed free agent guard J.J. Redick. New Orleans did not make a qualifying offer to Diallo, which made him an unrestricted free agent. He signed a two-year contract with the Suns.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Marcus Morris said he meant no disrespect when backed out of a verbal two-year agreement with the Spurs to sign a one-year contract with the Knicks, as he told Shams Charania of The Athletic. “The first thing that I did when I knew I would be going another direction, I called and made sure they knew. There was no shade. There’s no disrespect,” Morris said. “I had great conversations afterward, and as long as I feel that I’m clear with them and gave them my truth, I feel good about moving forward. … I thought at the time that the Spurs deal was all that I had. The process wasn’t what I expected and it didn’t go the right way.” The way Morris’ free agent journey played out contributed to bad blood between the two organizations.
- Andre Iguodala remains in limbo after getting traded to the Grizzlies, Charania reports in a video post. The Rockets, Clippers, Mavericks and Nuggets have all shown interest in the veteran forward. Houston and the Clippers are the top contenders but the Rockets have major luxury tax concerns while the only thing that would make sense for the Clippers salary-wise would be to move Maurice Harkless, whom they acquired from the Trail Blazers. However, the Clippers don’t want to ship out Harkless, Charania adds.
- The Pelicans believe they can turn big man Derrick Favors into a bigger offensive threat than he was with the Jazz, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. Favors was acquired for two second-rounders in a salary dump by Utah. The opportunity to play alongside Jrue Holiday, Zion Williamson and Redick will facilitate the process. Favors will be utilized more often as a passer and be encouraged to develop his 3-point game, Guillory adds.