Free Agent Notes: Timberwolves, Wizards, Randolph
- The Wizards have interest in re-signing shooting guard Alan Anderson and will meet with him this weekend, league sources told J. Michael of CSNmidlatlantic.com (Twitter links). The meeting is expected to take place in Las Vegas, Michael adds. Anderson, who made $4MM last season, appeared in just 13 games with the Wizards after undergoing a second surgery on his left ankle. The previous season, he played in 74 games with the Nets and averaged 7.4 points in 23.6 minutes.
- Shooting guard Brandon Paul is drawing major interest around the league after some strong performances for the Hornets’ summer-league team, Sportando tweets. He’s averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds through four games in the Orlando Summer League. The 6’4” Paul went undrafted in 2013 out of the University of Illinois and has been playing for a Spanish league team, FIATC Joventut.
- Forward Anthony Randolph will remain in Europe and sign a one-year deal with Spain’s Real Madrid, a source told Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Randolph received interest from the Mavericks this summer, Spears adds. The contract will be the $1.5MM-$2MM range, international journalist David Pick tweets. The 6’11” Randolph hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2013/14 season, when he appeared in 43 games with the Nuggets.
- Power forward Willie Reed has drawn interest from the Warriors, Spurs, Heat, Thunder, Timberwolves and Pacers, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. Reed, an unrestricted free agent, averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes over 39 games with the Nets last season.
- Free agent center Robert Sacre, who played the last four seasons with the Lakers, has drawn interest from the Timberwolves and Rockets, Wolfson reports in a separate tweet.
Timberwolves Sign Lottery Pick Kris Dunn
The Timberwolves have signed point guard Kris Dunn, the fifth pick in last month’s draft, the team announced in a press release. Terms of the contract were not disclosed but assuming Dunn received the standard 120% of his scale amount, he would make $3,872,520 in his first season and $19,302,919 through the remainder of his four-year rookie contract.
Dunn was the first point guard chosen in the draft after a stellar career with Providence. The two-time Big East Player of the Year and conference Defensive Player of the Year averaged 16.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.5 steals as a junior last season.
The 6-4 Dunn will compete for minutes with Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine, though either could be traded by the start of the season to open up playing time for Dunn. Minnesota has shopped Rubio and head coach Tom Thibodeau is optimistic his trade value will increase from teams who failed to sign a starting point guard in free agency.
The Timberwolves and Bulls were engaged in draft-night trade talks involving Dunn and Jimmy Butler, per several reports, but couldn’t agree on a deal. Chicago wound up agreeing to terms with free agent point guard Rajon Rondo.
Wizards Decline Option On Drew Gooden
The Wizards have declined their option on veteran power forward Drew Gooden, making him an unrestricted free agent. The news was first reported by ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and confirmed as official in a tweet from J. Michael of CSNMidatlantic.com.
Salary-cap issues forced the Wizards to set Gooden free. Gooden’s $3.5MM salary for 2016/17 would have been guaranteed if he remained on the roster on July 15. Washington’s guaranteed payroll jumped to $96MM with the reported free agent additions of three other big men, Ian Mahinmi, Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith.
Gooden, who turns 35 in September, has played in Washington the past three seasons. He appeared in 30 games last season, averaging 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.2 minutes. A calf injury was partially responsible for Gooden’s lack of playing time.
Gooden, who has been in the league since the 2002/03 season, has developed into a stretch four during the latter stages of his career. He averaged 41.2% and 39.0%, respectively, on 3-point attempts during his first two seasons with the Wizards. That dropped to 17.1% in limited action last season.
And-Ones: Celtics, Mavs, Suns, Sixers
- The Mavericks are determined to retain center Salah Mejri despite trading for Andrew Bogut on Monday, according to David Aldridge of NBA com (Twitter link). Mejri’s approximate $875K salary for next season becomes guaranteed on July 12th if he remains on the roster.
- The Suns will give point guard Tyler Ulis, their second-round pick, the equivalent of a late first-round pick’s contract starting at approximately $1MM, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. Ulis will receive two guaranteed years with two team option years, just as first-rounders get, Coro adds, though Phoenix is unsure whether Ulis can be the third point guard as a rookie.
- Former NBA guard Alvin Williams is working with the Sixers’ coaching staff during Summer League action, and is likely to remain on the club’s staff beyond the summer, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Latvian small forward Davis Bertans is negotiating a deal with the Spurs in the $1.3MM-$2MM range, according to international journalist David Pick. Talks have been ongoing since Friday between San Antonio and the 2011 draft-and-stash prospect, Pick adds (Twitter links). Bertans’ NBA opt-out, which expires in mid-July, is worth the standard $650K.
- The Nuggets have added Jordi Fernandez to their coaching staff, according to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. Fernandez was head coach of the Cavaliers’ D-League team, the Canton Charge.
Russell Westbrook Going On Trading Block?
The Thunder may begin fielding offers for All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook in the wake of Kevin Durant‘s decision to bolt to the Warriors, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
Oklahoma City is considering a renegotiation and extension of Westbrook’s current contract, which has one year remaining, sources told Windhorst. However, a league source informed David Aldridge of NBA.com that Westbrook, who can become an unrestricted free agent next summer, has no interest in doing that.
Thus, several league executives have opined to Windhorst that the Thunder will consider testing the market for Westbrook, who will make $17.77MM next season. The Thunder will take some time before making any roster decisions, Windhorst adds. If they gamble that they can re-sign Westbrook next summer, they may wind up losing both of their superstars without any compensation.
GM Sam Presti told Royce Young of ESPN.com and other members of the media during a press conference on Monday that Westbrook would embrace the challenge of playing without Durant.
“He’s a true leader that takes it on. And I think he’ll take this on as well,” Presti said.
With the rising salary cap, there is no real incentive for a max-level player like Westbrook to sign an extension, since he can easily make more money as an unrestricted free agent. Oklahoma City will have plenty of cap space next summer, as only Enes Kanter and Kyle Singler have guaranteed deals beyond next season.
Hornets Sign Roy Hibbert To One-Year Deal
THURSDAY, 11:22am: The Hornets have formally issued a press release to announce the signing of Hibbert.
MONDAY, 7:51pm: The Hornets and free agent center Roy Hibbert have agreed to a one-year, $5MM contract, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
Hibbert averaged 5.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks with the Lakers last season. The former All-Star for the Pacers essentially replaces Al Jefferson, who agreed to a three-year deal with Indiana. The Lakers secured their starting center in the early hours of free agency by agreeing to a four-year, $64MM contract with Timofey Mozgov.
The Hornets have also been trying to trade Spencer Hawes and the remaining $11.7MM on his contract to clear salary-cap space, which will likely require them to include a future draft pick, league sources informed Wojnarowski.
Hibbert’s ability to protect the rim was the deciding factor in Charlotte’s decision to offer him a contract, Wojnarowski adds.
Knicks Re-Sign Lance Thomas To Four-Year Deal
FRIDAY, 2:16pm: The Knicks have officially re-signed Thomas, the team announced today (via Twitter).
MONDAY, 7:10pm: The Knicks have reached a multi-year agreement with their restricted free agent forward Lance Thomas, a league source informed Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). The contract is a four-year deal starting at around $6.1MM, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. That would make the contract worth approximately $27.3MM.
The 6’8” small forward, who has played five NBA seasons, averaged 8.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 22.3 minutes last season for New York while appearing in 59 games. He has also played for the Pelicans franchise and Thunder in his NBA career.
Thomas had received interest from the Thunder as well as the Timberwolves, Spurs, Clippers, and Pelicans in the free agent market.
Knicks Rescind Langston Galloway’s Qualifying Offer
The Knicks have rescinded their qualifying offer to shooting guard Langston Galloway, making him an unrestricted free agent, sources told Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Galloway’s qualifying offer was worth $2.725MM.
The move was likely made to fit Brandon Jennings‘ contract offer into cap space, Begley continues. The former Bucks, Pistons and Magic point guard agreed to a one-year, $5MM deal with New York on Monday. Galloway could still re-sign with the Knicks but rescinding the QO obviously reduces their bargaining power, since they could have matched an offer when he was a restricted free agent.
Galloway appeared in all 82 games in his second season with the Knicks, though he started just seven games. He averaged 7.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 24.8 minutes while shooting 39.3% from the field.
The club has not renounced free agent forward Lance Thomas, so it can use Early Bird rights to sign him to a contract worth a maximum of approximately $6.2MM, Begley adds.
Several teams have shown an interest in signing Galloway, and Thomas also has a number of suitors, including the Thunder, Timberwolves, Nets and Hawks, Begley previously reported.
Magic Rescind Dedmon’s Qualifying Offer
The Magic will rescind their qualifying offer to Dewayne Dedmon, making the 7-foot center an unrestricted free agent, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. Dedmon had gone into the free agent market as a restricted free agent after the Magic made a qualifying offer of $1,215,696.
Dedmon, who will be entering his fourth season in the league, has received some interest from the Warriors, who are seeking a rim protector to round out their roster, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Removing Dedmon from their roster gives the Magic more wiggle room to sign Raptors free agent center Bismack Biyombo, who committed to Orlando for four years and $72MM.
The pending acquisition of Biyombo, along with the presence of Nikola Vucevic, made Dedmon expendable. Recently-acquired Serge Ibaka can also slide over to the middle, if necessary.
Dedmon appeared in 58 games with the Magic last season, including 20 starts. He averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 17.2 minutes.
Kings Waive Caron Butler, Duje Dukan
The Kings have waived small forward Caron Butler and power forward Duje Dukan, sources told Shams Charania of The Vertical.
That frees up more roster space, though Butler had already exercised his player option worth $1,551,659 for next season. Deleting Dukan from the roster gives them a little more cap room, since Dukan’s $874,636 contract was not guaranteed.
Butler might have trouble finding a new team if he doesn’t retire, though Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical believes the Heat might have some interest. The Kings obviously would have moved his contract if they could have found a taker. The 36-year-old barely saw the floor during the 2015/16 season, playing a total of 176 minutes in 17 games for the Kings. Most of his absences were primarily the result of DNP-CDs.
Dukan signed with the Kings after going undrafted last June. The University of Wisconsin product spent most of the season with the Kings’ D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, before appearing in one April game with Sacramento. Dukan can still play on the Kings’ summer team even though he’s been waived, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee notes.