Pistons Sign Jon Leuer
JULY 8: The Pistons have officially signed Leuer, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 2: The Pistons and unrestricted free agent Jon Leuer have reached an agreement on a contract that will land the forward in Detroit, his agents at Priority Sports tweeted. It will be a four-year deal worth $42MM, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). The contract is fully guaranteed, adds Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter).
Detroit has been on the market for a stretch-four and Leuer, who has shot 37.5% from beyond the arc over the course of his five-year career, can certainly help to that end. He may not be as newsworthy an addition as Al Horford, whom the team was reportedly courting, but landing Leuer on a deal with an average annual salary of $10.5MM in the current free agent market is a nice fallback for the boys from Motown.
Leuer made 67 appearances for the Suns this past season, averaging 8.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 18.1 minutes per outing. He shot .481/.382/.762 on the season.
Week In Review 6/26/16-7/2/16
With 2016 free agency in full swing, here’s a look back at all the notable news and events from around the NBA this past week:
Trades
- The Magic acquired Jodie Meeks from the Pistons in exchange for a protected 2019 second round pick.
Signings/Agreements
- Darrell Arthur — Nuggets
- D.J. Augustin — Magic
- Nicolas Batum — Hornets
- Jerryd Bayless — Sixers
- Kent Bazemore — Hawks
- Bradley Beal — Wizards
- Jordan Clarkson — Lakers
- Mike Conley — Grizzlies
- Matthew Dellavedova — Bucks
- Luol Deng — Lakers
- DeMar DeRozan — Raptors
- Andre Drummond — Pistons
- Jared Dudley — Suns
- Evan Fournier — Magic
- Jeff Green — Magic
- Justin Hamilton — Nets
- Solomon Hill — Pelicans
- Dwight Howard — Hawks
- Al Jefferson — Pacers
- Joe Johnson — Jazz
- Jeremy Lin — Nets
- Egidijus Mockevicius — Nets
- E’Twaun Moore — Pelicans
- Timofey Mozgov — Lakers
- Joakim Noah — Knicks
- Chandler Parsons — Grizzlies
- Ish Smith — Pistons
- Mirza Teletovic — Bucks
- Evan Turner — Trail Blazers
- Hassan Whiteside — Heat
International
- Former Kings swingman James Anderson reached an agreement with the Turkish club Darussafaka.
- Former NBA player Austin Daye signed with the Turkish club Galatasaray.
Waivers
- The Nets waived Jarrett Jack.
- The Bucks waived Johnny O’Bryant and Damien Inglis.
- The Wolves waived Greg Smith.
- The Grizzlies claimed Tony Wroten off waivers from the Knicks.
Option Decisions
Opting In/Picked Up
- Tim Duncan [Spurs] — Player
- Jordan McRae [Cavaliers] — Team
- Mike Muscala [Hawks] — Team
- Hollis Thompson [Sixers] — Team
Opting Out/Declined
- Wayne Ellington [Nets] — Player
- Pau Gasol [Bulls] — Player
- Alonzo Gee [Pelicans] — Player
- LeBron James [Cavaliers] — Player
- Damjan Rudez [Timberwolves] — Team
- Lance Stephenson [Grizzlies] — Team
Qualifying Offers
Submitted
- Harrison Barnes
- Bradley Beal
- Tarik Black
- Markel Brown
- Jordan Clarkson
- Allen Crabbe
- Seth Curry
- Troy Daniels
- Dewayne Dedmon
- Matthew Dellavedova
- Andre Drummond
- Festus Ezeli
- Evan Fournier
- Tim Frazier
- Langston Galloway
- Maurice Harkless
- Marcelo Huertas
- Tyler Johnson
- Meyers Leonard
- Boban Marjanovic
- Donatas Motiejunas
- Miles Plumlee
- Dwight Powell
- Jared Sullinger
- Dion Waiters
- Tyler Zeller
Declined
- Isaiah Canaan
- Ian Clark
- Bryce Cotton
- Cleanthony Early
- James Ennis
- Jorge Gutierrez
- Terrence Jones
- Ryan Kelly
- Shane Larkin
- James McAdoo
- Eric Moreland
- Andrew Nicholson
- Willie Reed
- Christian Wood
Miscellaneous News
- The NBA dismissed and disqualified O.J. Mayo from the league for violating the terms of its anti-drug program.
- The Suns hired Tyrone Corbin as an assistant to head coach Earl Watson.
- USA Basketball finalized its 12-man roster for this summer’s Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Bulls power forward Bobby Portis and small forward Tony Snell signed with CAA Sports.
- The Pistons named Jon Phelps as GM and Rex Walters as head coach of the Grand Rapids Drive.
- The Bucks and GM John Hammond agreed to a one-year contract extension.
Bucks Sign Mirza Teletovic
JULY 8: The Bucks have formally announced their deal with Teletovic, via a team release.
JULY 1: The Bucks and unrestricted free agent Mirza Teletovic have reached an agreement on a multiyear contract, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). The proposed deal is for three years and $30MM, Stein adds. Michael Scotto of The Associated Press tweets that the contract won’t contain any player or team options.
In Teletovic, Milwaukee adds a badly needed stretch-four to its rotation, an area the team was reportedly determined to address this offseason. It’s doubtful Teletovic will be a starter, but he should be a valuable piece off the bench while allowing 2016 first-rounder Thon Maker more time to develop.
The 30-year-old appeared in 79 games for the Suns this past season and averaged a career-high 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 21.3 minutes per contest. Teletovic connected on 42.7% of his field goal attempts overall, while knocking down 39.3% of his three-pointers, which was a career-best.
And-Ones: Parsons, Humphries, Bass, Howard
Unrestricted free agent Kris Humphries, who split time last season between the Wizards, Suns and Hawks, is one of the players the Celtics are considering making a run at this offseason, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com relays (on Twitter). The Hawks, Nets, Wolves, Spurs and Hornets are also interested in the big man, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets.
With free agency now underway, here’s the latest happening from around the league:
- The Trail Blazers intend to make a strong push to ink both Chandler Parsons and Dwight Howard this offseason, Jason Quick of CSNNW.com tweets. Parsons and Howard were former teammates with the Rockets and have remained friends, the scribe notes.
- The Hawks made a strong impression on Howard during their meeting with him today, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. The scribe adds that the possibility of D12 joining Atlanta is gaining traction.
- The Warriors are looking to bolster their bench and have expressed interest in unrestricted free agent Andrew Nicholson, who spent the past four seasons with the Magic, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
- Former Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt is joining Rick Carlisle‘s staff with the Mavericks, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com tweets.
- Former Nets forward Sergey Karasev signed a three-year deal with the Russian club BC Zenit Saint Petersburg, the team announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 22-year-old made 40 appearances for Brooklyn this season and averaged 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.0 per contest while shooting .405/.297/.929 from the field.
- Former Wizards forward Chris Singleton has signed with the Greek club Panathinaikos, international journalist David Pick relays (via Twitter). Singleton last appeared in the NBA during the 2013/14 season.
- The Wolves have reached out to free agent power forward Brandon Bass to gauge interest, Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN tweets.
- With the Pacers reportedly reaching an agreement with Al Jefferson, unrestricted free agent big man Ian Mahinmi won’t be returning to the team next season, Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star relays (via Twitter).
- The Mavericks have no immediate plans to target Bismack Biyombo or Howard after missing out on Hassan Whiteside, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link).
O.J. Mayo Dismissed From NBA
The NBA has dismissed and disqualified O.J. Mayo from the league for violating the terms of its anti-drug program, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reports (via Twitter). The shooting guard will be eligible to apply for reinstatement in two years, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. It’s unclear exactly what drugs Mayo allegedly had in his system to prompt such a response from the league, though early indications are that it was a “drug of abuse,” and not PEDs or marijuana.
The timing could not have been worse for Mayo, who is an unrestricted free agent, given the magnitude of the contracts reportedly agreed upon thus far. But financial concerns aside, one hopes that this will act as a wake-up call for the player and he will be able to get his life and career back on track. It’s unclear if the NBPA with file an appeal on his behalf at this time. The guard previously tested positive back in 2011 for dehydroepiandrosterone, an over-the-counter steroid precursor, Ken Berger of CBSSports notes (on Twitter).
Mayo, 28, appeared in 41 games for Milwaukee this season and averaged 7.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 26.6 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .371/.321/.775.
Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors
Hoops Rumors lets you keep up with your favorite teams as they plot their moves, and we also provide ways to easily follow the latest on all of your favorite players and trade candidates. You can get news about players wherever you go with our Trade Rumors app, available for iOS and Android devices. The app is free and allows you to add a feed for any player and set up notifications that will alert you whenever we write about him.
Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page. You can find any player by using our search box (located in the right sidebar); by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post in which he’s discussed; or, by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, Kevin Durant’s page is hoopsrumors.com/kevin-durant.
You can also set up an RSS feed for any of our player pages by adding /feed to the end of the page URL, like this: hoopsrumors.com/bismack-biyombo/feed. Entering that URL into the reader of your choice should enable you to get updates whenever we write about Bismack Biyombo. It works for teams, too. If you’re a Raptors fan, you can enter hoopsrumors.com/toronto-raptors/feed into your reader and stay on top of all the latest from Toronto.
In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags that we use at the bottom of posts. You can keep tabs on news related to the draft right here. Items about the salary cap can be found on this page. You can simply scan our top stories here. Again, you can set up a feed with any of these pages by adding /feed to the end of the URL.
And-Ones: Howard, Harkless, Mozgov
Dwight Howard is seeking a contract starting at $24MM annually, a league source tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). Howard is expected to conduct his meetings in Atlanta, with the Celtics and Hawks the first two teams scheduled to meet with the big man, Watkins notes. The Blazers and Hornets have also expressed interest in Howard, who is an unrestricted free agent, the scribe adds.
With free agency set to kick off, here’s the latest from around the league:
- The Pistons, Wizards, Bulls, Lakers and Mavericks are among the teams interested in Trail Blazers restricted free agent Maurice Harkless, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter).The 23-year-old appeared in 78 games this season and averaged 6.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 18.7 minutes per contest.
- One of the first calls the Pacers will make when free agency commences will be to unrestricted free agent big man Ian Mahinmi, who the team is interested in re-signing, Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star tweets. Mahinmi earned $4MM in 2015/16.
- If the Warriors miss out on signing Kevin Durant, the team could shift its focus to unrestricted free agent forward Pau Gasol, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link) relays. Shelburne also notes that Gasol isn’t too keen on taking a discounted deal, but market and contender status could sway him.
- Cavs unrestricted free agent center Timofey Mozgov has no desire to ink a one-year deal this offseason, preferring the security and stability of a long-term pact, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post relays.
- Unrestricted free agent point guard Beno Udrih, who spent time last season with the Grizzlies and Heat, has switched to Octagon Sports for representation, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. Udrih agreed to a buyout arrangement in February with Miami that helped the organization avoid crossing the luxury tax threshold.
- Also switching agents is Rockets forward Terrence Jones, who will now be repped by Dan Fegan and James Dunleavy of Independent Sports and Entertainment, Charania relays (on Twitter). Jones is an unrestricted free agent this offseason after earning $2,489,530 in 2015/16.
- Former NBA player Austin Daye has signed with the Turkish club Galatasaray, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter). Daye last appeared in the NBA during the 2014/15 campaign when he split time between the Hawks and Spurs.
- The Kings are interested in Ryan Anderson and Courtney Lee, who are both unrestricted free agents, and restricted free agent Allen Crabbe, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.
- Another player gaining traction within the Sacramento organization is Thunder restricted free agent Dion Waiters, who could help strengthen the team’s backcourt, Chris Mannix of The Vertical tweets.
- DeMar DeRozan is set to meet with the Raptors in Los Angeles as soon as the free agent period commences, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.
Hoops Rumors 2016 Free Agent Tracker
With free agency set to officially get underway and news and rumors already swirling, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this July. To this end, we present our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, position, free agent type, and a handful of other variables.
A few notes on the tracker:
- During the July moratorium (July 1st-6th), most of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data as needed.
- Similarly, contract years and dollars will be based on what’s been reported to date, so in some cases those amounts will be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
- A restricted free agent who signs an offer sheet will be listed under the team that extended the offer sheet, but note that those signings won’t be official unless the player’s original team declines to match within the three-day period to do so. If the original team matches, we’ll update the tracker to show that the player is back with that team.
Our 2016 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. It will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.
2016 Qualifying Offers Recap
Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. In order for a team to make a player a restricted free agent, a qualifying offer must be extended to him. The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s service time and previous contract status. A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then receives the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club. You can read more about qualifying offers here.
If a player is not tendered a qualifying offer, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and free to sign with any team that were to come calling with his previous squad unable to prevent such a transaction. Listed below is the complete list of players who were eligible to receive qualifying offers this season and whether or not one was tendered. Players are listed in alphabetical order by category:
Players Receiving Qualifying Offers
- Harrison Barnes
- Bradley Beal
- Tarik Black
- Markel Brown
- Jordan Clarkson
- Allen Crabbe
- Seth Curry
- Troy Daniels
- Dewayne Dedmon
- Matthew Dellavedova
- Andre Drummond
- Festus Ezeli
- Evan Fournier
- Tim Frazier
- Langston Galloway
- Maurice Harkless
- Marcelo Huertas
- Tyler Johnson
- Meyers Leonard
- Boban Marjanovic
- Donatas Motiejunas
- Miles Plumlee
- Dwight Powell
- Jared Sullinger
- Dion Waiters
- Tyler Zeller
Players Not Receiving Qualifying Offers
Qualifying Offers: Clarkson, Dellavedova, Galloway
Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. In order to make a player a restricted free agent, a team must extend a qualifying offer to him. The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s service time and previous contract status. A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then receives the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club. You can read more about qualifying offers here.
Here’s the latest QO activity from around the league:
- The Cavaliers tendered point guard Matthew Dellavedova a qualifying offer worth $1,434,095, making him a restricted free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- The Lakers have submitted qualifying offers to Jordan Clarkson ($2,725,003), Tarik Black ($1,180,431) and Marcelo Huertas ($1,074,636) making all three restricted free agents, but declined to tender one to Ryan Kelly ($2,155,313), making him an unrestricted free agent, Pincus tweets.
- The Knicks submitted a qualifying offer to guard Langston Galloway ($2,725,003), but declined to do so for forward Cleanthony Early ($1,180,431), making him an unrestricted free agent, Pincus relays (via Twitter).