Free Agent Rumors: Durant, Hill, Rockets, Hayward
Kevin Durant would have give the Warriors an even bigger discount to help them land Kings free agent Rudy Gay if Andre Iguodala had not agreed to re-sign, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. Durant agreed to a two-year, $53MM contract on Monday with a starting salary of $25MM. Iguodala agreed to a three-year, $48MM contract to remain with Golden State. Amick’s tweet gives insight into the type of money it will take to land Gay despite the Achilles tear he suffered last season.
In other free agent developments:
- The Nuggets are still pursuing free agent point guard George Hill and trying to clear cap to make that happen, Amick tweets. Denver already made a big splash by reaching an agreement with power forward Paul Millsap on a three-year, $90MM contract. The Lakers are in serious discussions with Hill on a one-year deal but Los Angeles is also considering another free agent point guard, Rajon Rondo, according to Amick (Twitter link).
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey plans to hold onto his remaining non-guaranteed contracts and $3.3MM bi-annual exception, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Morey might add a player on a minimum contract, Feigen adds.
- The Jazz’s meeting with Gordon Hayward on Monday lasted 3 1/2 hours and included newly-acquired point guard Ricky Rubio, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Hayward held meetings with the Heat and Celtics the previous two days and is expected to make a decision within the next two days.
Pacers Sign Darren Collison
JULY 7: The Pacers have formally announced the signing of Collison.
“Having had Darren here in the past, we obviously knew what we were getting, both on the floor and in the locker room,” Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. “When you bring in a player like Darren, you know you’re not only getting a point guard, you’re adding a veteran presence to your team.”
JULY 3: Point guard Darren Collison has agreed in principle on a two-year, $20MM contract with the Pacers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Collison averaged 13.2 PPG and 4.6 APG in 68 games, including 63 starts, with the Kings last season.
The second year is partially guaranteed, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. The agreement leaves the Pacers with approximately $13MM in cap space, Zach Lowe of ESPN tweets.
This is Collison’s second stint with Indiana. He was their starting point guard during the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons.
Indiana had a big hole to fill at that spot after Jeff Teague reached a three-year, $57MM agreement with the Timberwolves. They also have combo guards Monta Ellis and Victor Oladipo, who will be coming over from the Thunder in the Paul George deal.
The Knicks reached out to Collison but their interest was apparently lukewarm at best.
Collison served an eight-game suspension at the start of last season after a domestic battery incident. He has appeared in 563 career games, averaging 12.7 PPG and 4.8 APG while shooting 38% from long range.
The addition of Collison appears to be a stopgap move for a rebuilding Pacers club in the aftermath of trading their best player.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Motley Signs Two-Way Contract With Mavs
The Mavericks signed forward Johnathan Motley to a two-way contract on Monday, the team announced in a press release. The news was relayed by Mavs.com beat writer Earl K. Sneed.
The 6’10” Motley went undrafted last month after the Baylor big man declared for the draft after his junior season. He averaged 17.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.1 BPG in his final college season. He’s played two games in the Orlando Summer League with the Mavs, averaging 3.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.0 BPG.
The agreement was reached last month but the signing is now official. Motley was projected as a second-round pick but teams were reluctant to take him because of a knee issue.
Teams are allowed to sign two players under two-way contracts. Those players will spend most of next season in the NBA G League and not more than 45 days with their NBA team. Two-way players are paid a corresponding daily amount based on the number of days they play in each league.
Nuggets Rumors: Lyles, Cancar, Bledsoe, Connelly
Forward Trey Lyles will earn playing time by his efforts on the defensive end, according to Nick Kosmider of the Denver Post. The Nuggets acquired him in a draft-day trade with the Jazz that involved a swap of first-round picks. Lyles joins a crowded frontcourt but Denver needs a better defensive presence at the power forward spot. “I think personally, for me, being able to be versatile and guard different positions, keep guys in front of me and just compete is the main thing for me,” he told Kosmider. “This past summer I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on that. I’m continuing to focus on it through different training exercises to get better with it.” Lyles shot just 36% from the field last season while averaging 6.1 PPG during his second year in the league.
In other news involving the Nuggets:
- Second-round selection Vlatko Cancar will remain in Europe for a couple of seasons before joining the Nuggets, Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports tweets. The Nuggets used the 49th overall pick in last week’s draft on Cancar, a 20-year-old small forward from Slovenia. He currently plays for Mega Leks in the Serbian League.
- GM Tim Connelly nearly pulled off another draft-day swap but it fell apart at the last minute, Kosmider reports. A disappointed Connelly thought he had a done deal before the trading partner backed out, though Connelly wouldn’t provide any details (Twitter links). The Nuggets tried to trade for Jimmy Butler before the Bulls dealt him to the Timberwolves and also pursued a deal for Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe, according to Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post. The Nuggets were also involved in three-way negotiations that would have brought Cavs power forward Kevin Love to Denver.
- The front office led by Connelly hasn’t proven it can attract top free agents to Denver, Kiszla writes in the same story. The Nuggets are reportedly targeting Blake Griffin and Paul Millsap but Kiszla doubts that the team’s brass can close the deal on any of this year’s high-level free agents.
Russell Westbrook Named Most Valuable Player
Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook was named the league’s Most Valuable Player, as was announced on TNT’s awards show Monday night. He was selected ahead of the other finalists, Rockets guard James Harden and Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard.
Westbrook became the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1961/62 to average a triple-double for a season. He posted an NBA-leading 31.6 PPG, 10.7 RPG and 10.4 APG while carrying the Thunder to the postseason.
Harden averaged 29.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG and an NBA-best 11.2 APG. Leonard averaged 25.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 3.5 APG and was also a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year award while averaging 1.8 SPG.
Four of five members of the Hoops Rumors staff chose Westbrook.
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Green Named Defensive Player of Year
Warriors forward Draymond Green was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, as was announced during the TNT awards show Monday night.
Green led the league in steals at 2.03 per game and was 12th in blocks at 1.4 per game. He topped the other two finalists, Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard. Leonard won the award the past two seasons.
D’Antoni Captures Coach Of The Year Award
Mike D’Antoni was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year, which was announced on the TNT awards show Monday night.
D’Antoni led the Rockets to the third-best record in the Western Conference at 55-27 in his first year with the club. The Rockets finished 41-41 in 2015/16. He also won the award in 2005 when he patrolled the sidelines for the Suns.
The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich and Heat’s Erik Spoelstra were the other finalists. The Hoops Rumors staff gave two of the five votes to D’Antoni.
Antetokounmpo Wins Most Improved Player Award
Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player, as was announced on the TNT awards show Monday night.
The Bucks point forward posted averages of 22.9 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 5.4 APG and 1.9 BPG last season. The previous season, he averaged a slash line of 16.9/7.7/4.3/1.4.
Antetokounmpo topped the two other finalists, Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in the voting. In the Hoops Rumors staff picks, Antetokounmpo received two of the five votes.
Porter, Bogdanovic Receive Qualifying Offers
Otto Porter and Bojan Bogdanovic have received qualifying offers from the Wizards, making the duo restricted free agents, Candace Buckner of the Washington Post tweets.
The qualifying offer for Porter, worth $7,732,904, was a mere formality. He will be one of the most sought-after restricted free agents on the market this summer. The small forward averaged 13.4 PPG and 6.4 RPG last season.
Bogdanovic averaged 12.7 PPG and shot 39.1% from long range in 26 games off the bench after being acquired from the Nets in mid-season. The shooting guard’s qualifying offer is worth $4,663,317.
Tim Hardaway Jr. Receives Qualifying Offer
The Hawks have extended a qualifying offer to shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr., making him a restricted free agent, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
The qualifying offer is for $3,335,707 but Hardaway Jr. is likely to receive a lucrative offer sheet during free agency. He averaged 14.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 2.3 APG in 79 games last season. His playing time increased after Kyle Korver was dealt to the Cavaliers.
He declared after the season that he would prefer to stay in Atlanta.