Bulls, Jabari Parker Discuss Possible Offer
JULY 14: The Bucks did not rescind their qualifying offer to Parker by Friday’s deadline, tweets Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel. While Parker remains a restricted free agent, it remains unlikely that he returns to Milwaukee given Chicago’s expected offer, Velazquez adds.
JULY 13, 6:49pm: Chicago is close to signing Parker on a short-term deal, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
5:17pm: The Bulls are progressing on an offer sheet to Bucks restricted free agent forward Jabari Parker, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. A number of topics are still been discussed by Chicago’s front office and Parker’s representatives, Wojnarowski adds.
The Bucks would have 48 hours to match any offer that Parker might receive. However, it appears that if Chicago truly wants Parker, Milwaukee won’t go to great lengths to keep him. The Bucks are unlikely to match an offer sheet for Parker, according to a follow-up story by Wojnarowski. In fact, Milwaukee has mulled the possibility of pulling Parker’s qualifying offer and making him an unrestricted free agent.
This would go a long way toward explaining the Bulls’ recent moves. Chicago has been clearing cap space in recent days by trading Jerian Grant, waiving Sean Kilpatrick, and withdrawing David Nwaba‘s qualifying offer. The Bulls could open up as much as $20.6MM in cap space if they also renounced Noah Vonleh‘s rights and waive Paul Zipser and Julyan Stone, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
The Bucks would have to clear salary in order to avoid moving into luxury-tax territory if they chose to match a competitive offer sheet to Parker, Marks notes in another tweet.
Parker is a Chicago native and has been linked to the Bulls in multiple reports.
With Lauri Markkanen entrenched at power forward, the Bulls apparently view Parker as a solution at small forward. The 6’8” Parker, who has suffered two major knee injuries in his young career, averaged 12.6 PPG and 4.9 RPG in 31 games last season after returning from his latest injury.
Atlantic Rumors: Gaines, Nurse, Celtics, Knox
Clarence Gaines Jr. is no longer with the Knicks’ organization, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic reports. Gaines was the team’s VP of player personnel under former team president Phil Jackson, who credited Gaines for lobbying to select Kristaps Porzingis in the 2015 lottery. Gaines did scouting for the current regime last season. Several newcomers have been hired by the front office and Gaines did not have strong ties to GM Scott Perry, Ian Begley of ESPN notes. Gaines’ contract expired after last season.
In other developments around the Atlantic Division:
- Challenging DeMar DeRozan to become a better defender is just one of the things new Raptors coach Nick Nurse has in mind for next season, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun writes. Nurse is trying to devise ways to play two smaller guards, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, together and still minimize the issues that it presents defending pick-and-rolls, Wolstat continues. Playing Serge Ibaka more often at center is another wrinkle Nurse plans to employ, Wolstat adds.
- The Celtics are planning to hold onto their $8.641MM mid-level exception for the balance of the offseason, Keith Smith of RealGM tweets. Their priority is to re-sign restricted free agents Marcus Smart and Jabari Bird and see what develops during the season, Smith adds.
- Strong summer-league showings by first-round pick Kevin Knox and second-rounder Mitchell Robinson have made the Knicks look wise in their selections, ESPN’s Andre Snellings writes. Knox should jump right into the Knicks’ starting lineup at small forward, while Robinson could eventually work his way into the rotation. While neither player shows superstar potential, they both have skill sets that should translate to the league, Snellings adds.
- The Nets have positioned themselves to make a big splash next summer, Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype notes. They can create enough salary-cap room to sign two first-tier free agents to go along with two first-round picks, provided that the protections on the pick the Nuggets sent them don’t kick in.
- Knicks coach David Fizdale will head off to Latvia on July 22nd to visit with Porzingis and check on his progress from knee surgery, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports.
Pelicans’ Draft Pick Tony Carr Headed To Italy
Pelicans second-round pick Tony Carr has agreed to a deal with Italy’s Fiat Torino, William Guillory of the New Orleans Times-Picayune relays. The news was first reported by Sportando.
Carr has been playing for the Pelicans’ summer-league team. He’ll be coached by longtime NBA and college coach Larry Brown, who took the job with the Italian club last month.
Brown is notoriously tough on point guards, so Carr will get plenty of guidance on how to be a floor leader for a professional team. He’s struggled in summer-league play, averaging 7.0 PPG and 3.8 APG.
The 6’5” Penn State product, the 51st overall pick, averaged 19.6 PPG, 5.0 APG and 4.9 RPG as a sophomore last season before declaring for the draft.
New Orleans has three other point guards on the roster, Jrue Holiday, Elfrid Payton and Frank Jackson.
Jazz Sign Georges Niang To Multi-Year Deal
8:47pm: The signing is official, according to a Jazz press release.
8:10pm: It’s a three-year, $5MM contract with a first-year guarantee, according to Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News.
7:11pm: The Jazz have agreed to a multi-year deal with forward Georges Niang, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Niang was a restricted free agent after Utah extended a qualifying offer late last month. He played on a two-way contract last season.
Niang received the two-way deal in January after playing for the Warriors’ G League team in Santa Cruz. He made nine brief appearances with Utah last season, averaging 1.0 PPG and 1.o RPG in 3.6 MPG.
The 6’8” Iowa State product saw action in 23 games with the Pacers the previous season.
Mavs Sign Kostas Antetokounmpo To Two-Way Deal
The Mavericks have signed second-round draft pick Kostas Antetokounmpo to a two-way contract, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.
The brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo was the No. 60 selection in the draft. The Mavericks acquired his draft rights, along with the rights to Raymond Spalding, from the Sixers in exchange for the draft rights to Shake Milton.
Kostas is a 6’11” power forward who will get a chance to develop his game in the G League.
The younger brother, who turns 21 in November, played college ball at Dayton. In his lone season with the Flyers, he averaged 5.2 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 15.1 MPG.
Raptors Rescind Qualifying Offer To Malcolm Miller
The Raptors have withdrawn their qualifying offer to forward Malcolm Miller, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to RealGM.
The 6’7” Miller played on a two-way contract with Toronto last season. He appeared in 15 games, including four starts, and averaged 2.5 PPG in 8.4 MPG.
A summer-league injury may have played into the Raptors’ decision. Miller suffered a dislocated shoulder in Las Vegas.
Miller, 25, went undrafted in 2015 after playing college ball at Holy Cross.
Mavericks Waive Swingman Jalen Jones
The Mavericks have waived swingman Jalen Jones, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Jones, who was on a two-way contract, appeared in 12 games for Dallas last season. He averaged 5.8 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 13.5 MPG.
The 6’7” Jones also played four games for the Pelicans last season. Dallas claimed him in January after New Orleans cut him loose. He made history as the first player on a two-way contract getting claimed off waivers.
The Texas A&M product went undrafted out of college.
Dallas opens up a two-way slot by the transaction. Its other two-way slot currently belongs to forward Johnathan Motley.
Check out all the two-way contracts for every club here.
Magic Rumors: Grant, Mozgov, Gordon, Caupain
Newly-acquired point guard Jerian Grant expected to have a bigger role with the Magic than he had with the Bulls, John Denton of the team’s website reports. Grant was traded to Orlando as part of a three-team deal also involving the Hornets. He’ll compete with D.J. Augustin for the starting job. “I’ve improved and learned a lot about the game – about how you have to be aggressive, know the game and know your teammates,’’ Grant told Denton. “Being that point guard, it’s the toughest position in the league and you’ve got to bring it every night. I feel that with this opportunity, I’m ready to take advantage of.”
In other developments involving the Magic:
- Center Timofey Mozgov was the other player acquired in the trade but it’s uncertain what his role will be, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Mozgov has two years and $32.72MM remaining on his contract but Orlando has three other centers on the roster, including Nikola Vucevic, lottery pick Mohamed Bamba and Khem Birch. “He’s very bright,” coach Steve Clifford said of Mozgov. “He’s a big body, and he’s a much better athlete than people give him credit for. So we’ll see. We’ll bring them in and start to get to know them.”
- Forward Aaron Gordon said that reaching a multi-year agreement with the club brought tears to his eyes, Denton writes in a separate piece. Gordon was relieved to sign a four-year, $80MM contract after entering the month as a restricted free agent. “I’m a guy who naturally has a lot of energy, so with all of that [pressure of getting an agreement] piled on top of me, I was pacing,” he said. “It’s relief that we got it done and even more relief that I can come back to Orlando.”
- The Magic have signed guard Troy Caupain to a two-way contract. Caupain played for their G League team last season. Get all the details here.
Northwest Notes: Blazers, Tolliver, Noel, Roberson
The Trail Blazers are looking to make trades to upgrade their roster, Sean Meagher of The Oregonian relays via an NBA-TV interview. Portland retained Jusuf Nurkic with a four-year deal and added guards Seth Curry and Nik Stauskas in free agency. They also used a slice of their mid-level exception to sign second-rounder Gary Trent Jr.
“There’s a great foundation there, we need to continue to add veterans,” Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey told Leigh Ellis of The Starters. “The draft was the draft, we didn’t have a lot of resources in free agency – we had the tax-payer mid-level, we broke that up – and now we’ll go into the rest of the offseason looking to make trades to bolster the top nine guys in our rotation.”
In other news around the Northwest Division:
- The Timberwolves valued veteran power forward Anthony Tolliver as much for his defense as his 3-point shooting and veteran leadership, coach Tom Thibodeau told Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Tolliver signed a one-year, $5.75MM contract after a solid season with the Pistons. “We wanted to address the defense of the second unit, and we think he’ll be a great fit,” Thibodeau said. “Whatever he’s asked to do, he does it. He always stars in his role. We can’t have enough guys like that.”
- Nerlens Noel was recruited by Russell Westbrook and Paul George to join the Thunder, he told Nick Gallo of the Thunder’s website. Noel signed a two-year deal with a player option, adding depth to OKC’s frontcourt. “They called the night of free agency when I was meeting with coach Billy [Donovan],” Noel said of the Thunder’s 1-2 punch. “They told me, let’s get it done and that we want to do special things this year. I definitely felt where they were coming from. I gave it a little thought and with as much love as they showed, it became an easy decision.”
- Thunder guard Andre Roberson says he’s on track to be back in action for the start of the season, according to Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. He ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee in January. Roberson is able to do some light shooting and ball-handling drills but hasn’t started running.
Clippers Sign Luc Mbah A Moute
JULY 11: The Clippers have officially signed Mbah a Moute, according to the NBA’s transactions log.
JULY 9: Rockets free agent forward Luc Mbah a Moute has agreed to a one-year contract with the Clippers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The contract will be worth $4.3MM, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet.
Mbah a Moute had expressed dissatisfaction in his negotiations with Houston this month with the Rockets apparently offering just the veteran’s minimum. The Spurs, Lakers, Wizards, and Sixers had also reportedly expressed some level of interest in Mbah a Moute.
The Clippers essentially split their mid-level exception to acquire both Mbah a Moute and another forward, Mike Scott, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
The loss of Mbah a Moute appears to increase the possibility that Carmelo Anthony will wind up in a Houston uniform. The Rockets have now lost two key defensive wings in free agency with Trevor Ariza joining the Suns.
Familiarity played a role in Mbah a Moute’s decision, as he played two seasons for Doc Rivers and the Clippers before joining the Rockets prior to last season. He averaged 7.5 PPG in 25.6 MPG in his limited offensive role while making an above-average 36.4% of his long-range attempts.
In terms of the Clippers, the addition of Mbah a Moute gives them 14 guaranteed contracts and three others – Milos Teodosic, Patrick Beverley and CJ Williams – that are partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes. Los Angeles now has $118MM in salary, $5.7MM below the luxury-tax threshold.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.