Western Notes: Parsons, Gay, Seraphin
In a statement that may make some Mavericks fans scoff, Chandler Parsons told the media during his introductory press conference today that he wants to be active in attracting free agents to the Grizzlies, The Associated Press relays. “Being the first big-name free agent to come here, I think that’s special, and I want to be a trendsetter here,” Parsons said. “I’m going to work extremely hard to be the best basketball player I can be. But … next summer you best believe I’m going to be with him [GM Chris Wallace] recruiting more talent to Memphis.”
“Just looking at this core and what they’ve established here over the years, like I said, I wanted to be a part of that,” Parsons continued. “I think my game, my style of play fits perfectly with what they’re doing here.” Here’s more from out West:
- Rudy Gay has requested that the Kings trade him this offseason and the team is trying to find a taker, but are not interested in a potential deal with the Pacers for Monta Ellis, Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee tweets. Sacramento is also potentially looking to trade Kosta Koufos and Ben McLemore, Marc Stein of ESPN relays (via Twitter).
- The Mavericks sent $3.2MM in cash to the Pacers as a part of the Jeremy Evans trade, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter).
- The Clippers viewed former Knicks big man Kevin Seraphin as an alternative if an affordable deal could not be worked out with Marreese Speights, who agreed to a contract with Los Angeles earlier today, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter).
- The Lakers will receive the Nuggets’ 2018 second round pick and the Bulls’ 2019 second-rounder as part of the trade to acquire Jose Calderon, Pincus tweets. Neither selection comes with any protections attached, Pincus adds.
Knicks Notes: Williams, Noah, Vujacic
The Knicks officially renounced their rights to free agents Derrick Williams, Kevin Seraphin, Lou Amundson and Cleanthony Early, and as a result, the quartet no longer count against the team’s salary cap figure, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). The team can still re-sign any of the players using cap space, save Williams, who agreed to a one-year pact with the Heat earlier this evening.
Here’s more from the Big Apple:
- Joining the Knicks was a dream of Joakim Noah‘s for a long time, who relishes the challenge of playing in New York, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “I’m not taking this opportunity for granted,’’ said Noah. “This has been a dream of mine since I was 5 years old. We’re proud to be from New York. My parents are divorced, but my father is a proud New Yorker. We all are. Fortunately, his son is playing for the New York Knicks now. This means everything to me. I’m going to do everything to make this special.”
- With Langston Galloway on his way to the Pelicans, the Knicks may turn to a familiar face to bolster their backcourt — Sasha Vujacic, Berman relays in a separate piece. New York can offer little more than the veteran’s minimum to the 32-year-old, who may be able to find more lucrative offers overseas, the scribe adds. Vujacic made 61 appearances for the Knicks in 2015/16 and averaged 4.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 14.9 minutes per contest.
- You can view the Knicks’ current roster and depth chart here.
Warriors Re-Sign Ian Clark
JULY 8th, 8:25pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.
JULY 7th, 8:01pm: The Warriors and free agent Ian Clark have agreed to a deal that will see the player remain with the team, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). It will be a one-year contract that is fully guaranteed, Charania notes. The scribe didn’t relay the amount of the pact, but it is more than likely a minimum salary affair.
The team had passed on tendering the shooting guard a qualifying offer worth $1,215,696, which made Clark an unrestricted free agent. There has been virtually no chatter connecting Clark to other teams, so it appears that Golden State declining to make him a restricted free agent didn’t hurt its chances to retain the player.
Clark averaged 3.6 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.0 assist in 8.8 minutes per game last season for the Warriors. He shot .441/.357/.824 from the field.
Nets Sign Isaiah Whitehead
The Nets have signed Isaiah Whitehead to a multiyear contract, the team announced via press release. The exact terms of the arrangement were not relayed, nor how much, if any, guaranteed money was included in the pact.
The Nets acquired the rights to Whitehead, who was the No. 42 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, from the Jazz in exchange for pick No. 55 and cash. Whitehead was ranked as the 52nd best prospect in this year’s draft by ESPN’s Chad Ford and 57th by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
The 6’5″ freshman turned into a dangerous 3-point weapon for the Pirates, connecting on 37% from long distance while averaging 18.2 points and 5.1 assists per game. He led Seton Hall to an upset of national champion Villanova in the Big East title game.
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Mavs Sign Dorian Finney-Smith
The Mavericks announced via press release that the team has signed free agent Dorian Finney-Smith. The arrangement is for three years and includes a partial guarantee for the first season, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link).
The 6’8″ forward out of the University of Florida went undrafted this year. Finney-Smith led the Gators in rebounding in all three of his seasons with the team and he led the team in scoring in each of his final two campaigns. Finney-Smith is slated to participate in the Las Vegas Summer League as a part of Dallas’ squad.
Finney-Smith averaged 14.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 31.8 minutes in 36 games in 2015/16 and was named to the Second Team All-SEC by the conference’s coaches and Third Team All-SEC by the Associated Press, according to the official release. In 134 career collegiate games, he averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game.
Nets Ink Trevor Booker
JULY 8th, 4:27pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
3:24pm: Booker’s deal is for two years and $18MM, per Jones (on Twitter).
JULY 2nd, 3:01pm: The Nets and unrestricted free agent Trevor Booker have reached an agreement on a contract, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune reports (via Twitter). The length and terms of the arrangement are not yet known. Brooklyn apparently pivoted to Booker when negotiations with Marvin Williams fell through, with Williams looking more and more like he will be making his return to the Hornets next season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Brooklyn continues to add veteran pieces and Booker will join Jeremy Lin and Justin Hamilton, whom GM Sean Marks previously came to agreements with, on a revamped Nets squad. Booker was reportedly drawing interest from multiple unnamed teams.
Booker, 28, appeared in 79 games for the Jazz last season and averaged 5.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20.7 minutes per outing. His slash line was .490/.293/.670.
Mavericks Waive JaVale McGee
The Mavericks have parted ways with center JaVale McGee, the team announced via press release. He now becomes an unrestricted free agent, provided he clears waivers. The franchise was reportedly looking to find a trade partner for McGee, whose salary of $1,403,611 for 2016/17 was scheduled to become fully guaranteed on July 12th.
It’s no surprise Dallas found no takers for McGee, given that free agency is in full swing and there are plenty of available reserve options still on the market for a new home. Since the big man’s guarantee had not yet kicked in, the Mavs won’t be on the hook for any salary as a result of waiving McGee.
McGee, 28, appeared in 34 games for the Mavs this past season and averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per outing. The center shot .575/.000/.500 on the year.
Heat To Sign Derrick Williams
The Heat have agreed to a contract with free agent forward Derrick Williams, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). The arrangement is for one year and will pay Williams $5MM, the scribe adds. Ian Begley of ESPN.com first reported Miami’s interest in Williams.
The Knicks had expressed their desire to bring Williams back to New York for next season, but the team lacked the cap flexibility to re-sign him, though, the forward “only” landing a salary of $5MM in the current free agent market is a bit surprising. Williams isn’t necessarily a starting caliber player, but he can certainly be a valuable contributor off the bench. The 25-year-old opted out of his contract with the Knicks in June and was slated to earn $4.598MM for 2016/17, so he secured himself a small raise for his troubles.
Williams appeared in 80 games for the Knicks this past season, including nine tip-offs as a starter. He averaged 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 17.9 minutes per outing. Williams’ slash line on the year was .450/.293/.758.
Blazers Sign Festus Ezeli
FRIDAY, 10:04am: The Blazers have made their deal with Ezeli official, announcing the signing in a press release.
THURSDAY, 8:36pm: The Trail Blazers and unrestricted free agent Festus Ezeli have come to an agreement on a contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). It will be a two-year deal worth $16MM, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets. The arrangement includes a team option for the second year, Spears adds (via Twitter). Ezeli became an unrestricted free agent after the Warriors renounced his rights earlier this week. He met with team officials on Wednesday in Portland, where things apparently went well.
It remains to be seen what effect inking Ezeli will have on the team’s dealings with restricted free agent Allen Crabbe. The swingman reportedly agreed to a four-year, $70MM offer sheet from the Nets, but a later report noted that no offer had been made. With Brooklyn signing Heat restricted free agent Tyler Johnson to a $50MM offer sheet, it’s unclear if Crabbe remains in the Nets’ plans, or is now viewed as a fallback option if Miami matches the offer to Johnson.
Ezeli saw only 16.7 minutes per game last season, but he made the most of his time, sporting a 17.7 player efficiency rating and averaging 7.0 points and 5.6 rebounds.