Antonius Cleveland Claimed By Bulls
The Bulls have claimed guard Antonius Cleveland, who was placed on waivers by the Hawks, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The move is official, according to the Bulls’ website.
Cleveland was let go by the Hawks in order to facilitate the three-team Carmelo Anthony trade with the Thunder and Sixers. Atlanta also received swingman Justin Anderson in that deal.
Cleveland, 24, saw action in four games with the Hawks last season, averaging 3.3 PPG in 10.4 MPG. He also appeared in 13 games with the Mavericks and seven G League contests.
Cleveland was signed to a multi-year contract in March after signing consecutive 10-day contracts earlier in the season. He had a non-guaranteed salary of $1.38MM for next season before he was placed on waivers. Chicago now picks up that contract.
Chicago had an open slot on its roster but the 6’6” Cleveland joins a crowd at the shooting guard spot that includes Zach LaVine, Justin Holiday, Chandler Hutchison and Antonio Blakeney.
Lakers Sign Michael Beasley
JULY 23: Beasley’s contract with the Lakers is now official, the team announced today in a press release.
“Michael adds another component of versatility to our deep roster,” GM Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “His length and ability to guard multiple positions, stretch the floor, play-make and create his own shot are all essential characteristics for us. Coming off one of the finest years of his career, we think Michael is poised to have a very exciting and strong season for us.”
JULY 20: Free agent forward Michael Beasley has agreed to a contract with the Lakers, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. It’s a one-year, $3.5MM contract, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN (Twitter link).
Los Angeles used a big chunk of its $4,449,000 room exception to get Beasley in the fold.
Exactly what kind of role Beasley will carve out is a big question mark. He’ll join a forward rotation of LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Lance Stephenson. Luol Deng is still on the roster as well, though Los Angeles is trying to find a way to dump his contract.
Beasley fits in with a locker room already full of volatile personalities. Along with Stephenson, the Lakers have also signed two other players this summer who are no strangers to controversy, Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee.
Beasley, still just 29, has bounced around the league since the Heat made him the second pick in the 2008 draft. He’s also played for the Timberwolves, Suns, Rockets and Bucks before a productive stint with the Knicks last season. He averaged 13.2 PPG, his highest total since posting a career-best 19.2 PPG with Minnesota in 2010/11. He also averaged 5.6 RPG and 1.7 APG while appearing in 74 contests, including 30 starts.
The Knicks lost interest in bringing back Beasley after signing former Magic forward Mario Hezonja.
Nemanja Bjelica Signs Three-Year Deal With Kings
JULY 21, 1:57pm: The deal is official, per a media release from the Kings.
JULY 20, 9:08pm: The Kings have reached a three-year, $20.5MM agreement with free agent forward Nemanja Bjelica, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The third year will not be guaranteed, Charania adds.
This completes Bjelica’s unusual odyssey in free agency. The former Timberwolves reserve originally agreed to a one-year, $4.45MM deal with the Sixers early in free agency, then backed out of that agreement on Tuesday. He stated publicly he would likely head back to Europe, explaining that he wanted to create “some kind of stability” for his family.
Kings general manager Vlade Divac and other teams then reached out to Bjelica, trying to convince him to remain in the NBA. Sacramento’s offer won him over.
“The organization’s belief in and commitment to me overwhelmed me and my family,” he told Charania. “I am ready to do everything I can to help the Kings and be a part of the Sacramento community.”
It helped the Kings’ cause that EuroLeague powerhouses like Fenerbahce and CSKA Moscow reportedly were not interested in him at this time.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor noted in a conversation last week with Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 that Bjelica entered the offseason seeking a multiyear NBA contract. The stretch four has been a rotation player with Minnesota the past three seasons. He averaged 6.8 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 67 games last season, including 21 starts.
Where Bjelica fits in with the Kings is a mystery. Sacramento already has No. 2 overall pick Marvin Bagley III, Zach Randolph and Harry Giles at the power forward spot. His path to playing time may be at small forward.
Atlantic Notes: Smart, Raptors’ Tax, Trier, Scariolo
Guard Marcus Smart seriously considered signing his $6.1MM qualifying offer from the Celtics and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald tweets. “I went back and forth internally, but it’s a problem a lot of people would like to have.” Smart said. “I definitely thought about taking the qualifying offer, but all my options were open.”
Smart wound up staying in Boston on a four-year, $52MM deal. “To be honest, I didn’t know where I was gonna end up. I was just enjoying this whole process,” he told The Associated Press. “It is a business, so things aren’t perfect. That’s why it’s called negotiations. You guys come together and you finally agree on something. We both agreed. Boston loves me and I love Boston.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Raptors continue to explore moves to shed salary and get under the luxury-tax line, Ian Begley of ESPN tweets. The Raptors still have over $137MM in salary commitments following the Kawhi Leonard deal and are nearly $14MM over the tax threshold.
- Allonzo Trier has an outside chance to gain a spot on the 15-man Knicks roster after a solid showing in summer-league action, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Trier, an undrafted guard out of Arizona, has a two-way contract but if he makes a strong impression in training camp, it could be converted to a standard contract. The Knicks waived forward Troy Williams this week, trimming their 15-man roster to the league limit, and could open up another spot if they waive Joakim Noah and utilize the stretch provision for the remaining money on his bloated deal.
- Italian head coach Sergio Scariolo is close to joining Nick Nurse‘s Raptors staff, according to a Sportando report. Scariolo, who is also the Spanish national team coach, has been offered a position but needs to work out a settlement with the Spanish federation, since he has a contract with it until 2020. The situation is expected to be resolved, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun relays. The Hornets were also interested in hiring Scariolo, Wolstat adds.
Ujiri: There Was No Trade Talk With DeRozan
Raptors president Masai Ujiri claims he never told DeMar DeRozan he would not be traded, though Ujiri admits making a mistake talking at length with the All-Star shooting guard about his future with the franchise, according to an ESPN report. DeRozan fumed publicly over being traded to the Spurs as their centerpiece of the deal that landed Kawhi Leonard in Toronto.
“I had a conversation with DeMar at summer league, and I really want to leave it at that,” Ujiri said during a news conference Friday. “We spoke … I think maybe my mistake was talking about what we expected going forward from him. So, not necessarily talking about a trade but what I expect from him going forward, and I think that’s where the gap was.”
We have more regarding the blockbuster trade:
- Ujiri simply couldn’t pass up the chance of acquiring Leonard, even though Leonard wants to play in Los Angeles when he can exercise his early termination contract option next summer. Ujiri feels it was worth the risk. “We’ve been doing this for how many years?,” Ujiri said, according to a transcript of his press conference posted by RaptorsRepublic.com. “You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and when you get a chance to get a top 5 player – which isn’t very often – I think you have to jump on it.”
- Leonard has not expressed any reservations about playing in Toronto, according to Ujiri, who will push hard to convince Leonard to re-sign with the Raptors. “I think there’s a lot to sell here,” Ujiri said. “Our team, our culture, our city, our ownership, we have everything here except a championship, in my humble opinion. I don’t think we lack anything in this city.’
- DeRozan apparently wasn’t impressed by Ujiri’s apology, according to an Instagram post that was relayed by The Score (Twitter link).
- Leonard has officially arrived in Toronto to take his physical. The team tweeted out a photo of him at their practice facility.
Grizzlies Sign Yuta Watanabe To Two-Way Deal
The Grizzlies have signed rookie forward Yuta Watanabe to a two-way contract, according to a team press release.
The signing has international significance. Watanabe will likely become just the second player born in Japan to appear in an NBA game. Yuta Tabuse appeared in four games for the Suns during the 2004/05 season.
The Grizzlies opened up a two-way contract slot by waiving swingman Myke Henry earlier on Friday.
The 6’9” Watanabe played for the Nets’ summer league team after going undrafted and averaged 9.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 1.6 BPG in 24.0 MPG over five games.
Watanabe played four years of college ball at George Washington University. Watanabe, 23, was named the 2017/18 Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year while averaging 16.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 1.6 blocks in 36.6 MPG.
Grizzlies Waive Swingman Myke Henry
The Grizzlies have waived swingman Myke Henry, according to a team press release.
Henry was signed to a two-way contract in January. The DePaul product appeared in 20 games with Memphis last season, averaging 5.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 1.1 APG in 18.9 MPG. Henry, 25, also played in 38 G League games for the Oklahoma City Blue and Memphis Hustle last season, averaging 16.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 2.1 APG.
By cutting Henry loose, Memphis frees up a two-way slot. Point guard Kobi Simmons is the other player on a two-way deal.
Raptors Sign Lorenzo Brown To One-Year Deal
JULY 20: The Raptors have officially signed Brown, the club announced today in a press release. The one-year deal is partially guaranteed, per Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic (Twitter link).
JULY 17: The Raptors are finalizing a one-year contract with guard Lorenzo Brown, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Brown played on a two-way contract with the club last season and earned G League MVP honors for Raptors 905.
The 6’5” Brown appeared in 14 games with the Raptors last season, averaging 2.3 PPG in 9.9 MPG. Brown, 27, has bounced around the league since he was drafted in the second round by the Timberwolves in 2013. He has played for the Sixers, T-Wolves and Suns, logging a total of 77 career NBA appearances. He’s a career 37.5% shooter overall and just 15.4% from long range.
Brown dominated in 32 G League starts last season, averaging 18.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 8.8 APG and 1.8 SPG.
The Raptors have opened up some roster spots over the past week by waiving forward Alfonzo McKinnie and rescinded their qualifying offer to another forward, Malcolm Miller.
Nets Notes: Russell, Napier, Faried, Whitehead
Nets GM Sean Marks won’t rule out the possibility of giving guard D’Angelo Russell an extension but it seems unlikely, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post (Twitter links). “For now, we’re going to see how this group plays together, how it all unfolds…I’m not going to rule out anything,” Marks said in a news conference, adding, “As we stand now, this is the group and we have no plans to make any crazy changes, whether that’s an extension or signing or trade anyone else. But things happen quickly.” Russell will make a little over $7MM this season and the team would have to decide whether to extend a qualifying offer of $9.16MM next summer if they don’t sign him to an extension.
In other news regarding the Brooklyn franchise:
- The Nets will have to figure out how Shabazz Napier will fit into their backcourt but he’s not worried about it, Tom Dowd of the team’s website reports. The team already has Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie to play the point and Caris LeVert can also fill in at that spot. Napier was Damian Lillard‘s primary backup with the Trail Blazers last season. Napier signed a two-year contract on Tuesday. “That’s something I’m going to figure out when training camp starts,” Napier told Dowd about his role. “Right now, I’ll just continue to be who I am and come into training camp with an attitude of competing at the end of the day.”
- Brooklyn took on Kenneth Faried‘s contract in a Nuggets salary dump but Marks feels Faried can be a major contributor next season, Dowd relays in a separate story. Faried has an expiring $13.76MM contract. “I think he fits with that Brooklyn grit that we talk about in terms of how he plays; he plays with high intensity, obviously at a fast pace,” Marks said. “His game will transition well to Brooklyn and what [coach] Kenny’s [Atkinson] wanting to do here.”
- No one was more disappointed about the trade with the Nuggets than guard Isaiah Whitehead, the player shipped to Denver in the deal, as Bryan Fonseca of Nets Daily relays. Whitehead appeared in 89 games for his hometown team over the past two seasons. A source close to Whitehead sent a text to Fonseca after the trade that stated, “Being in Brooklyn meant everything to him.”
Lonzo Ball Undergoes Arthroscopic Knee Surgery
JULY 17, 7:41pm: Ball had surgery on Tuesday and is expected to make a full recovery by training camp, the team tweets.
JULY 13, 5:08pm: Lakers second-year point guard Lonzo Ball will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday, the Lakers’ PR department tweets. An update on his prognosis will be made after the surgery, the team adds.
Ball is still expected to be ready for training camp, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.
News of the surgical procedure doesn’t come as a surprise. Ball dealt with left knee issues for a good portion of his rookie season. It was revealed late last month that Ball had torn meniscus in the knee.
The Lakers gave themselves some protection at the point guard spot by signing Rajon Rondo to a one-year, $9MM deal.
A sprained left medial collateral ligament and a left knee bruise limited Ball to 52 games in his rookie campaign. Ball was a triple-double threat every time he took the court, averaging 10.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 7.2 APG but shot just 36% from the field.